The 23rd annual Beep Ball Bonanza took to the diamond in the 23rd annual event in Indianapolis over the weekend of June 1st and 2nd.

Competing in Bracket A were the Bayou City Heat, Cleveland Scrappers, Gateway Archers and Indy Thunder Blue teams. In Bracket B, the Chicago Comets, Indy Edge, Indy Thunder Gray and Philadelphia Fire. The games were played at North Central High School's baseball field and were open free to the public. These teams represent four of the eight top Beep Baseball teams in the world.

The Indy Thunder defeated Cleveland 27-5 but lost to the Gateway Arches (the eventual tournament winner) 25-18 and later triumphed over Bayou 19-14. On the Sunday, they defeated the Indianapolis south side-based Indy Edge 9-5 to take third place in the tournament.

The National Beep Baseball Association (NBBA) was organized in the United States in 1976 for adults with visual impairments to play baseball. Each year, the NBBA coordinates local, state, and regional tournaments, among them the Indy Invitational in Indianapolis, Indiana;

Darnell Booker is the General Manager, Coach and Founder of the Indy Thunder Beep baseball team that he started in the year 2000. He described how Indy Thunder got into full swing. "It was just an idea to start an idea off with four teams in 2001 original pillars the Indy Thunder, Cleveland, Chicago and Columbus (OH) and then, taken over by RHIA Extreme Team, moved on Indy Edge was a part of the pillar 5th pillar Gateway Archers (from St. Louis) about five years ago. Two of the top teams, in the world, the Indy Edge and Indy Thunder that won five Beep Ball Championships in a row from 2016 to 2021. The 2020 Beep Ball World series was canceled due to COVID. We won a tournament that was played in August of 2020. A couple of the players moved on to playing with the Indy Edge on the south side of Indianapolis. (The Thunder are from the north side of Indianapolis). We developed those guys," he recalled.

He described how he initially stepped up to the plate in America's pastime. "I was introduced to the sport in 1985 as a senior in high school at the Indiana School for the Blind by a lady named Jan Traphagan. She managed the Indianapolis Eagles in the 1980s that I played for from 1985 to 1997. We won a World Series with Jan as a player in 1990. I played in the back row and batted. We currently have a pretty talented team of players, but I think my skills now are more as a leader. Jan had to leave the team because her job transferred her to the Detroit area. We played together on some teams in the Midwest, like on a team from Chicago. Our team was dormant from 1997 to 1999. I have been coaching people from 15 to 60 years of age. We've always been in the top 10 except for 2011 when we finished 12th, but we've been pretty dominant since 2016.

Darnell's passion for the game and his influence go beyond the Beep Ball field as he reflected, "It was good to be a part of a championship team in 1990 with the Eagles and also in seeing blind and visually impaired players learn the game. As a coach, I enjoyed helping the players develop and giving them a sense of camaraderie and leadership by letting people know that blind and visually impaired people can be productive in society."

Indy Thunder Beep Ball manager, coach and player Darnell Booker continues mentoring and teaching his players lessons and leadership not only on the field, but also in the game of life. To learn more about them, visit www.thunderbeepball.org and www.facebook.com/indythunderbeepball.