The Champs: Front (kneeling, left to right): Jon Hendrikse, Paul Gayer, Bob Reed, and Rick Oien. Back (left to right): Sam Giordano, Tom Schneider, Dave Waibel, Randy Neumann, Marty Hobby, and Kelly Anderson
Larry Wolfe
In the opening game of the Sun Division Softball Tournament, Manager Randy Neumann’s Spooner PT team cruised to an easy 19-7 victory over Manager Mike Gloyd’s Redeemed Team. Lead-off hitter Paul Gayer led the Therapists’ attack, going 4 for 4, while Tom Schneider and Dan Melosi hit long balls for the winners. Tom Stephens homered for the Redeemers, while both Mike Lebet and John Castro doubled twice.
In the second contest, the Wolfe & Associates squad, managed by Bobby Farmer, beat Manager Dave Platt’s Leckner Realty team 23-16. Larry Kaufmann led the Wolves’ attack, going 5 for 5. Both Bobby Farmer and Ron Carmichael went 4 for 4 with a walk, with Bobby adding a long homer. Manager Platt led his own Realtors team, going 4 for 5.
On day two, the Redeemed Team out slugged Leckner’s Realtors by a 29-28 count, eliminating the Realtors from the tournament. The Field of Dreams became “Home Run Heaven” during this contest, as each team slugged six homers. “Big Bob” Wicks went 5 for 6, homering in three consecutive innings, which must be a record of some type! Kelly Anderson and Bob Henning also had five hits apiece, while Dan Melosi, Steve Hilby, and Henning added homers for the Realtors. Mike Lebet and Dick Bleich paced the winning Redeemers with five hits each, with Lebet and Tom Stephens homering twice. John Castro and Bleich added single shots. In the second contest of the day, Spooner PT topped Wolfe & Associates in another slugfest by a 27-26 score. In the winners’ well-balanced attack, six players had four hits each (Marty Hobby, Tom Schneider, Rick Oien, Sam Giordano, Dave Waibel, and Brad Wendt). Marty Hobby tied Bob Wicks’ short-lived record with homers in the first three innings of the game. Bobby Farmer was 4 for 4 with a homer to lead the Wolves. Dave Lingen also had four hits, while Dave Armstrong homered twice, and Larry Kaufmann added one homer, but it wasn’t enough, as the Therapists came from behind with three runs in the final frame to top the Wolves. Kelly Anderson had the game-winning hit.
In the day-three elimination game, the Redeemers topped the Wolves 31-24, sending the pack of Wolves back to their den. Four Redeemers tallied five hits each (Bill Corso, Tom Stephens, Dick Bleich, Brad Wendt, and Mike Gloyd). Tom Stephens and Mike Lebet had two homers each, while John Castro and Brad Wendt added single shots. The losing squad was led by Kim Whitney, who went 5 for 5 with a homer. Dan Melosi was 4 for 5 with two long balls, while Larry Kaufmann and Bobby Farmer also homered. This victory sent the Redeemers to meet the Spooner PT team for the championship.
The Therapists played “small ball” to edge the Redeemers 19-17 for the championship win. Paul Gayer, Bob Reed, Sam Giordano, and Dave Waibel each had four hits to lead the PT team. No one homered, but the team’s timely clutch hitting beat the powerful Redeemers, who homered four times, two by Mike Lebet and one each by Brad Wendt and Bob Wicks. The Redeemers had the tying run at the plate in the final inning but couldn’t come through in the clutch. Congratulations to Manager Randy Neumann and all the Spooner PT players for a hard-fought victory.