There was a rather unusual police chase in Cypress last Thursday.
Rough and tumble patrol officers from the Cypress Police Department, alongside their chief, spent the afternoon chasing foul balls and base hits as their colleagues kept the city safe.
First year Police Chief Mark Lauderback said he knew this was going to be a tough game, but the hardest part, he said, was picking the officers to play against the Cypress Varsity girls softball team.
“Almost everybody in the department wanted to play,” said Lauderback, “and unfortunately everybody can’t because somebody has to go out there and answer the calls for service. So even the people that are working today wanted to be here.”
Coach Kevin Dull, who coaches the girls’ varsity softball team, said he jumped at the chance to play the department, realizing what a great opportunity this was for both the police and the school.
“Cypress is a great community,” said Dull, adding that the “work they [Cypress Police] do every day is awesome and makes our community a great place to live. Playing a tribute game is a great way to show thanks,” he said.
“They [CPD] are the true heroes so it makes it so rewarding. And fun.”
Dull said Lauderback is a close friend of head football coach Rick Feldman (the OC Register Coach of the Year), and together they came up with the idea.
Dull said Lauderback is “a big softball fan” and comes to a lot of the girls’ games and supports us.”Feldman not only attended the game, but he asked the entire high school Cypress football team to attend. “I just asked them, and they didn’t have to come, but almost every one of them came to show support,” he said.
So, while the game was underway, the stands were filled with the football team, parents, well-wishers and others doing “waves” and other cheers as they participated in the fun.
Make no mistake, however, these Cypress softball girls meant business when they took the field. Although the PD had an obvious strength advantage, let’s just say the girls may have edged them out when it came to ball handling, style and finesse.
Nevertheless, regarding the score, the men and women of the CPD built up an early lead with a few back-to-back home runs with Coach Dull on the mound pitching the girls.
The officers did demonstrate some hitting prowess even if they were sometimes a step behind the speedy girls in the field.
“Hey Greg, that’s the fastest I ever saw you move,” came a cry, then a laugh, from the police dugout as first baseman, Patrol Officer Greg Blaum ended up flat on his back attempting to tag out one of the girls at first base.
The police department’s early lead suddenly started disappearing, however, when star pitcher Alexa Meraz took the mound to replace her coach.
Meraz, a senior, is a standout pitcher who has signed a scholarship to play softball at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
Suddenly, the yellow softballs whizzed by the police in what seemed like a blur as the police department’s hit parade became a mere trickle.
The sudden change of pitching, as you might expect, prompted a loud acceleration of the ‘humorous’ comments coming from the police department’s dugout as the fun continued.
The Cypress officers did manage a few additional hits, including a single by Lauderback followed by a home run by Blaum as they scored just enough to edge the Cypress girls 10-8.
For the officers, and the girls, however, it was a game in which the experience had meant way more than the score.
Blaum (for the police) and Meraz (for Cypress softball) were named the game’s MVP’s in a very unscientific sample after the game.
“The thing I’m most excited about is that some of our officers were able to get a few hits off the girl’s pitching,” said Chief Lauderback. “But then again, it’s nice that everybody had a good time, even though it was good to see a few balls go over fence.”
“You know, it’s all about relationships,” said newly installed Lauderback, “and building the relationships and trust within the community and the police department.”
“Especially in these crazy times that we’re coming out of right now,” said Lauderback, “where we’re, you know, law enforcement wasn’t really put in a positive light.”
Moreover, he said coming out to play softball illustrates how much the department cares about the community they police, and that it’s not an ‘us against them’ mentality as some people want to think it is. We’re actually all in this together,” the police chief said.
Lauderback, even while still Chief in Westminster, began experimenting with public perception of police and realized it is critical for any community to be properly introduced to the organization responsible for enforcing its laws.
“I think it shows that there’s a picture that is painted one way of somebody, but when you actually get to meet them, you get to see what they’re all about, you get to form your own opinion, and you don’t base that on the opinion of others,” said Lauderback.
“What a great opportunity to just show that we’re regular people,” he said. “We like to come out and have fun. We have a job to do, and unfortunately that job sometimes is ugly,” the Chief said.
“Even the people that are working today, they wanted to be here,” said Lauderback, “but they knew they couldn’t. Some officers drove in from as far away as Chino and the Inland empire to play softball with the girls.”
“That just speaks volumes for the people who work for this community and put on that badge and that uniform every day to protect anyone that comes within the boundaries of this city,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, we’re all human. We’re all the same people and we all just enjoy getting together and having a good time. It’s about the relationship building, which is what this was.”
The experience was not lost on the team.
“I thought this was such a good idea, so much fun,” said Meraz after the game. “This is such a good opportunity to like, be in our community, to know everyone and it just shows Cypress for who we are.”
Meraz rates the police “way better” than the teachers whom they also play. “I think it was fair, even though they had such an advantage,” she said.
“We did really good. I think they had such an advantage, but we still ended up, like, almost tying the game,” said Meraz. “Some of these police officers were really good, I was like, ‘oh wow,’ but it was really fun.”
Meraz said she is looking forward to her college career but will remember this day, and even the pizza and fellowship the officers offered the team after the game.
For his part, Blaum, the police’s MVP, said it had indeed been a long time since he played ball in school. “I hadn’t swung a bat in years,” he said, “so it was interesting.”
“It was a lot of fun,” said Blaum, the police’s first baseman and star hitter. “This is a great time for us, we’re hanging out, blowing off steam and we’re in our own community.”
“People get to see us as normal people, not as cops,” he said.
Asked about the play where his teammates made a bit of fun and him moving as fast as they’d ever seen, yet ended up on the dirt, he sighed.
“Yes, that’s true,” Blaum laughed, “even though gravity had a lot to do with it.”