Senior Softball dominates again

Dan Rea

Set against a dark, threatening, smoke filled sky caused by the Cedar Creek fire which was raging out of control on Father’s Day weekend, aka Grandfather’s Day, and with the uncertainty that this annual Pinetop softball tournament could be canceled on a moment’s notice along with an evacuation alert, our Golden Boys of Summer, PebbleCreek’s C team (players over 65) and B team (players under 65 ), defied all odds and Mother Nature in capturing two championships, each team winning their respective division. Both teams were sponsored by Craig Hauger’s Questar Financial Services.

For the C team, victory was especially sweet as they were repeat champions and have now won a title in three of the past four years. With the B team’s win, that totals four Pinetop championships in the past four years—an awesome run.

The C team’s game was a classic come from behind win. With a four run lead going into the top of the seventh inning, they could not hold the lead. The opponent put up eight runs in the open seventh inning and led by four runs into the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, and the tying and winning runs on third and second base, it was panic time. Not to worry as “Mr. Clutch,” aka Rich Karp, came up big again and calmly drilled a shot up the middle and knocked in the winning runs. It was Rich who also knocked in the winning run in last year’s championship game—déjà vu anyone?

Not to be outdone by their older counterparts, PebbleCreek’s B team got back to their winning ways. Faced with the challenge of beating two teams on Sunday who were undefeated, they more than rose to the occasion by winning the first game and then closed out the championship game in dramatic fashion, scoring their winning run in the bottom of the seventh—don’t you just love happy endings.

A great big shout out to the 2016 PebbleCreek C repeat Championship team: John Spencer, player/manager/guru; Al Chandler, Steve Fletcher, Al Gragnano, Keith Helker, Allan Jones, Rich Karp, Dan Rea, Steve Rustman, Jay Sabatello, Fred Schmidt, Norm Smith, Ted Wallace and coaches Jim Rains and Mark Roberts.

Likewise, kudos to PebbleCreek’s B Championship team: Craig Hauger, player/manager/sponsor; Dennis Makinen, Bill Pardue, Juan Santiago, Jim Kirk, Steve Ward, Kerry Kruger, Larry Beaman, Leonard Gann, Ed Glovinski, Bryan Bostock, Randy Prinz and Ken Johnson.

The success of both teams was not only attributed to the players’ skills, focus and spirit, but included another key element which was the extraordinary level of enthusiasm and support shown by the wives and friends who were in attendance. Everyone at the ballpark knew exactly where the PebbleCreek fans were. Their impact cannot be overstated. The support that both the B and C teams demonstrated for each other was another key to their success.

It is apparent that PebbleCreek’s softball teams are now, and should remain, a major force to reckon with in tournament play going forward.

For the entire PebbleCreek softball community, which includes all players, their spouses, family, friends and sponsors—it doesn’t get much better than this!