Chicago Snowballs take on the Rocket Squirrels at League Stadium

This story was done in partnership with Visit Dubois County.

Something different is coming to League Stadium when the Chicago Snowballs take the field at League Stadium in Huntingburg this July.

The Snowballs and their rival team, the Rocket Squirrels, are part of a growing “sportstainment” movement that blends competitive baseball with music, comedy, audience participation and theatrical antics. The two teams will bring that formula to Huntingburg for a Saturday night game and Sunday matinée.

“People want to leave having had a great experience,” said Snowballs founder Cherie Travis. “They want to see great baseball, they want to see silliness, they want to see music, and they want to be entertained.”

Travis readily credits Savannah Bananas founder Jesse Cole with helping create a new genre of baseball entertainment, but says the Snowballs have added a few wrinkles of their own. 

Each team features four women competing alongside their male teammates, making the Snowballs the first co-ed franchise of its kind.

The co-ed concept wasn’t part of Travis’ original vision. That changed after she watched a women’s basketball game and began wondering how women could become part of the experience.

“Women’s sports is amazing,” Travis said. “We thought, how can we bring women to this team?”

The answer turned out to be simple: recruit talented female baseball players and let them compete.

“They’ve assimilated perfectly,” Travis said. “They’re great baseball players. There’s no ‘let’s make it easy for somebody.’ They can compete.”

What Travis didn’t anticipate was the impact those players would have on young fans.

During the franchise’s season opener over Memorial Day weekend in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, girls lined up to meet female players for autographs and photographs.

“I knew going into it that we would inspire girls,” Travis said. “But boy, it was just incredible.”

One moment in particular stood out. Before a Sunday game, twin sisters who play for the Rocket Squirrels approached Travis in tears after learning that a young girl who played on a boys’ baseball team had called meeting them the best day of her life.

The girl had never seen women playing baseball at that level before.

“All of a sudden they realize this is so much bigger than a game,” Travis said. “They can be inspiring to kids, and it was pretty powerful.”

The teams themselves were intentionally designed with distinct personalities.

Travis wanted to avoid creating a one-sided rivalry like the one between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals.

“We wanted to make sure that both of our teams have a big personality,” she said.

The Snowballs embrace a fun-loving, good-natured identity. The Rocket Squirrels, meanwhile, play the role of mischievous troublemakers, which may be why they seem to appeal to the children in the stands.

“I described the Rocket Squirrels persona as kind of like the annoying little brother that’s always getting into trouble, always playing tricks,” Travis said. “You give them license to be even more that way, and it just makes it even funnier.”

Just as importantly, the games themselves are not scripted. Both teams are evenly matched. The outcome, Travis said, is genuinely up for grabs every night.

But for Travis, the appeal of the franchise extends beyond baseball.

“I think the world feels a little unsettled right now,” she said. “I feel like we are the antidote. People can come out, have a great time, and really leave feeling uplifted seeing players who don’t take themselves too seriously, are great athletes, and put on a good show.”

“We want people to leave feeling a little bit better about the world.”

Tickets can be purchased here.