Larry Wolfe Our Lady Sluggers senior softball team opens their 2024 season at home at the Field of Dreams on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Their opponent on opening day will be the View Point Gems. The first pitch is scheduled for noon. The Sluggers are members of the 10-team Valley of the Sun League. The remainder of…
Larry Wolfe Music has been in Dennis Henderson’s DNA since the third grade when he started playing the string bass in a youth orchestra. By the time he was a sophomore at Arcadia (Calif.) High School, he was playing the electric bass guitar in his own rock ‘n’ roll band. He then attended Pasadena Arts College…
Larry Wolfe Dan Malachuk is flying high—in more ways than one! Now starting his third year in our program, Dan was named Most Improved Player in the Lakes Division last year, increasing his batting average from .566 to .683—good for a Top Ten spot. He also flies high as a pilot of 737 aircraft for…
Larry Wolfe Our Fall Senior Softball Season began on Oct. 31 and will continue through Dec. 18. This season’s team sponsors and managers are as follows: In the Lakes Division: A-1 Golf Carts (Mgr. Dennis Kennedy), Core Consulting (Mgr. Chris Jensen), Skyview Digital Media (Mgr. Dave Kratz), and Young Home Team Realtors (Mgr. Gary Hillabolt).…
Larry Wolfe High heat in baseball and fast-pitch softball parlance is a term that is used to describe a pitch, usually a fastball, that is high in the strike zone. A high heat fastball tends to be a hard pitch to hit, as it is difficult for most batters to swing around quickly enough to…
Larry Wolfe At last count, there were 121 baseball/softball statistics categories; 72 are considered “standard,” while 49 are considered “advanced.” Additionally, Major League Baseball has created 32 measurements, called “Statcast” numbers. These measure things such as launch angle, exit velocity, catcher framing, and outfielder arm strength. However, our Sun Lakes Softball stats are much simpler.…
Larry Wolfe Manager Dennis Kennedy’s A-1 Golf Carts team won the Lakes Division pennant with a record of 11-5, with Manager Chris Jensen’s Core Consulting squad finishing second with an 8-7 mark. In the highly competitive Sun Division, Manager Ron Carmichael’s Spooner PT team won the pennant with a 9-7 record, finishing just one game…
Larry Wolfe The Spring Sun Division Tournament was held over three days in April, with Manager Mike Gloyd’s Camp Hilby team winning the championship. Here’s a game-by-game recap of the tourney: In the opener, Camp Hilby cruised to a 29-18 win over Manager Joe Commisto’s Redeemed Team. Marty Hobby led the way for the Campers,…
Larry Wolfe In the opening game of the Lakes Division Spring Tournament, Manager Chris Jensen’s Core Consulting team outlasted Manager Tom Erpelding’s Skyview Digital Media squad 24-20. In a well-balanced attack, eight Consultants had three hits each, with Tim Loeffler adding a homerun. Ken Brenden was the leading hitter for the Drones, going 4 for…
Larry Wolfe A native of Olds, a farming community in Central Alberta, Canada, Garnet (pronounced like the birthstone) Hammer attended Olds High School where he was a member of the Spartans hockey team. He also played baseball during Alberta’s short summer season. The Hammer family has farmed in the area since 1900 so, naturally, Garnet…