Big Bill Gaston shows the perfect swing in a recent contest. (Photo by Core Photography, LLC)
Larry Wolfe
The Young Realty team, managed by Rick Oien, won the Senior Softball Summer League title with a record of 25-15. Manager Doug Friesen’s Farmers Insurance squad finished a close second, while Manager Randy Peterson’s Robson Ranchers finished third. Manager Kim Whitney’s A-1 Golf Cart team placed fourth, while Manager Jim Leckner’s State Farm Insurance club languished in the fifth spot in the standings.
The Top Ten batters, based upon a minimum of 80 plate appearances, were Dan Melosi (.789), Bob Wicks (.739), Steve Andrews (.716), Randy Peterson (.713), Larry Kaufmann (.695), Mike Lebet (.689), Thom Stephens (.688), Steve Hilby (.655), Tom Kasunic (.644) and Ken Brenden (.642). Tom Chilton was the home run leader with 30. Others with double-digit homer totals were Dan Melosi (24), Tom Kasunic (16), Reyes Gonzales (14), Thom Stephens (11) and Mark McKinnon (10).
The Summer League featured 103 games played over a 21-week period. The league was very competitive with 44 of the games played being decided by two or fewer runs. The games included 10 slugfests with over 30 runs scored between the two teams in those contests with Young Realty’s 21-20 win over Farmers Insurance the top scoring game. At the other end of the spectrum, Robson Ranch edged State Farm Insurance 2-1 in an outstanding display of pitching and defense.
Given all the vacation travel and the number of sunbirds (the antonym of snowbirds!), it’s necessary to use a lot of substitute players in the summer. Eighty-six different players participated at some level this summer. Thanks to all of them, and especially to the five managers mentioned in the first paragraph, for making the Summer Season a success. Additional kudos go out to Gary Hillabolt, the Summer League Coordinator, and to our league statistician extraordinaire, Cyndy Hilby, for compiling all the stats for the Summer Season.
Our thanks go out to Tresha Aschenbrener, owner of 360 Physical Therapy, for renewing her advertising banner at the Field of Dreams. She’s been a consistent supporter of Sun Lakes Softball since 2004. Check out the Sponsors Page on our website (www.sunlakessoftball.com) to learn more about 360 Physical Therapy and all of our other advertisers and team sponsors.
After a break of five weeks, it’s now time for the opening games of our Fall Season in both the Sun and Lakes Divisions. See our website for the team rosters, schedules and other news.