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The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada • Page 11

The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada • Page 11

Location:
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
Issue Date:
Page:
11
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Wednesday, August 5, 1992 A1 1 V- Golden boy from Agassiz Swimmer Bobby Penner won five gold medals at the Games for the Physically Disabled, page A 12. THE PROGRESS By Russ Ullyot Sports Reporter PORTS 'Heads up V. Side Lines RUSS ULLYOT Arms steal, erst same Dropped ball gives Players a 2-1 victory A dropped fly ball let Players Arms steal a first-game victory in the Chilliwack Men's Softball League Div. 2 championship series played Thursday. In the fifth inning with two out and two runners on base, what should have been a routine, inning-ending fly ball off the bat of Jeff Long turned into a fielding 'miss-adventure' for Delta Stucco's right fielder.

Jim Burns appeared to have the ball only to have it drop out of his glove and both base runners ended up scampering across home plate, producing a 2-1 Players victory. Losing pitcher Bob Richardson had held Players hitless through four innings, only to give up a single to Mike Skalicky and a double to Jamie Burt to put two runners on base. The Delta hurler then struck out the next two batters and looked as if he had extricated himself from the scoring threat by prompting Long to pop the ball up to right field. Delta had scored first in the game, also an unearned run, when Scott Martin scooted home on a passed ball in the top of the fourth inning. Martin had reached first base when winning pitcher Kevin Skalicky muffed a fielding play.

The Stucco did mount a scoring threat in the seventh inning, when singles by Greg Barber and Barry Petkau put runners on the corners with one out. Kevin Skalicky then caused a pop out by Wayne Raymond and a groundball from Lloyd Watts to end the game. Base lines: Game two of the series was played last night (Tuesday), with game three tonight (Wednesday) at 8 p.m. at Fraser Park. If necessary, game four will be played Monday (Aug.

10) at 6:45 p.m. at Fraser Park and game five contested next Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. Prairie hitters stop B.C. Majic Slo-pitch softball is here to stay.

This past weekend, softball fans attending Townsend Park the few who watched the action were given a vision of what the future holds for them. The past few years have seen mixed leagues spring up, while die-hard fast pitch fans (myself included) resolutely hold on to a game shrinking in participation and quality. In Chilliwack we have kept the slo-pitch game suppressed, and prevented it from invading the competitive softball structure. For four days this past weekend though the dark secret was let out and men's competitive slo-pitch was the talk of the town. Putting the game back in the closet will prove impossible.

One only has to look towards Saskatchewan to envision what will happen. Saskatoon had long been considered the centre of fast pitch softball in Canada. Ed Van Impe park is one of the best softball facilities in the world, but the game has declined so greatly in the past few years that the public cry is for the park to be changed to meet slo-pitch dimensions and ever-increasing demands for additional playing space. The Saskatoon Olympic Hurlers, who came to Chilliwack and won the Coors Slo-pitch Men's 'A' National tournament, have a budget of $25,000 this year, money the sponsors say is well spent. While there is still no youth slo-pitch programs, youngsters are now coming out of baseball and softball programs directly into the slo-pitch game.

This year in B.C., Paul Langford, Pacific Region director for Slo-pitch National, has sanctioned 250 slo-pitch tournaments and the number could have been higher. "We're done at 250," said Langford. "Now we are going to condense a few of the tournaments and go for quality." Why the appeal? "The game is basically like baseball," explains Langford. "There is a lot of hitting and movement. In fast pitch you get scores like 1-0 and 2-1.

In baseball the scores are 6-5 or 8-6 and in slo-pitch they are 12-10 or 15-14." Sometimes the scores go a lot higher, but the games are quick and participant-oriented The real clincher to the sport is that you can virtually play it until your body doesn't want to move anymore, with age-group play and special rules keeping anybody with the spirit on the diamond. My game of choice may still be fast pitch, but soon it may not be the most popular selection in Chilliwack for competitive ball players. r-i i 4fe Phcild by Rick Collins Two Vancouver teams, Sapperton (left) and Alemania, were in the final of the Chilliwack Soccer Tournament Men's Open Division on Monday. Alemania posted a 1-0 victory, needing penalty kicks to get the result. Details on the tournament will be included in the Chilliwack Progress Weekender.

50-plus and 55-plus national tournaments (see story below). He added that having reasonably priced hotel rooms was also a boon. On Sunday, however, hotel rooms were far from the minds of the Hurlers as they ran their record to a perfect nine wins and no losses. Three of those victories came against the Majic, who could weave a spell over all others but the Hurlers. Port Moody won seven of 10 games they played over the four-day tourney, which began Thursday.

In Sunday's final, Carlyle Sholter belted two homers, with single round-trippers coming from Mike Ganzert, Eldon Thiessen, Darren Leedahl and Todd Murdock. Three of the blasts Murdock and Leedahl and Sholter's first came during a six-run second inning. Sholter, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, had a perfect five-for-five game, adding two singles and a ground-rule double to his collection of hits. The Hurlers have been Saskatchewan champions each of the past three years, having been to the Slo-pitch Canada Nationals and the Coors Slo-pitch Nationals in each year, but this was the first national title for the team. Hurlers wins Coors national slo-pitch title By Russ Ullyot Staff Reporter The Saskatoon Olympic Hurlers propelled themselves to a 19-6 victory over the Port Moody Majic to win a national championship.

The team may sound like they are part of a new teenage fad extracted from the film Wayne's World, but so far it seems the teenage population has not been infected by one of the fastest growing social activities in North America. It is slo-pitch softball and this past weekend, Chilliwack got its first taste of how the game can be played beyond the mixed recreational levels enjoyed locally. Townsend Park hosted the Coors National Men's 'A' Slo-pitch Championships, bringing together 12 of the best teams west of Quebec. Six of teams were from B.C., four travelled from Ontario, and one each from Saskatchewan and Alberta. "We came to Chilliwack because we were able to keep all three tournaments at the same park," said tournament organizer Paul Langford, Slo-pitch Nationals Pacific Region director.

The Men's 'A' ran in conjunction with the Shannon sizzles at Far Western events in times of 24.73 seconds, 0:54.27, and 1:58.24 respectively. He took top placings in the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke races in times of 1:08.85 and 2:30.04 minutes. Completing the weekend achievments was a 0:59.66 clocking in the 100-m butterfly. Shannon was awarded a plaque for each of his victories and a large bronze trophy for the top overall swimmer award. Shannon was accompanied to California by Scot Bain, 14.

Bain's best performance was a fourth place finish in the 100-m butterfly in an time of 1:01.35, which ranks him fourth in Canada for his age group. Bain also placed seventh in the 200-m butterfly and the 50-m freestyle, adding an eighth place finish in the 100-m freestyle in his other trip to the finals. Spartan named top swimmer atCaliforniaage-group meet Daryl Shannon was named 'Top Achiever' at the Far Western Age Group Championships conducted in Cupertino, Cal. this past weekend. Shannon, 16, of Chilliwack's Spartan Swim Club swam away with the award for his age group by making six finals.

In those finals, he posted six victories with six personal best performances, spotlighting him as one of the stars of the premier age-group swimming meet of North America. More than 1,250 swimmers from across the United States and Canada attended the five-day meet. Shannon won the 50-, 100- and 200-metre freestyle Softball reaches a mature age Slo-pitch seniors play for national title By Russ Ullyot Staff Reporter Softball is truely becoming a game for all ages. At Townsend Park this past weekend, 15 teams from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario competed for the Coors national slo-pitch 50-plus and 55-plus championships. These players may not have the vitality associated with youth, but there is still a glint in their eyes when they take to the diamond, and strength in their step when the ball is powered over the fence.

Roger Petch and Floyd Haller were two such individuals to enjoy a trot around the base paths. Home runs by the two Royal City Firemen sparked a four-run fifth-inning rally and a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over the Edmonton Prowood Lights White Sox to give the New Westminster team the 50-plus championship. Petch, who was named co-winner of the most valuable players award, contributed two of six round-trippers belted in the contest. Leading Edmonton to an early ad cranking out four hits. The man responsible for most of the runs though was Jim Cattoni, who played baseball in Chilliwack in the mid-1950s, as he seemed to be pinch running for everybody in the lineup.

"I haven't been hitting worth a darn so I think they're punishing me by making me run a lot," Cattoni said. He crossed home plate four times during the nine-run rally. Cattoni's run-scoring prowess came as a result of one of the several peculiar rules in seniors slo-pitch: pinch runners are allowed for anyone that requests one; players are allowed to overrun second and third bases as long as they make a right-hand turn, so as not to show they might be intending to advance an additional base; a commitment line is used approximately halfway between third and home, which once crossed by a runner means he may not return to third base; and runners do not have to touch home plate but rather must only cross a line that runs perpendicular from the third base line at the top of home plate, while the catcher has only to catch the ball and step on home plate to record an out. See Slo-pitch A12 vantage were long balls from Vern Holland and Gerry Girard, the other MVP award winner. Those homers were answered by fence busters from Royal City's Dick Foster and Bob Moriota.

The White Sox put two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, but Royal City third baseman Gary McConnell recorded the final out by snaring a bullet line drive. "The ball came out of there like a shot," McConnell commented during the victory celebration. The ball "It has kept us all a lot younger," Fenton was still lodged in his glove when the team packed up the equipment. In the men's 55-plus, St. Albert Poor Boys romped to a 20-9 victory over Kelowna Brock's Plumbing for the national title.

The Poor Boys, with 30 hits in the ball game, expanding on a 5-2 lead with a nine-run sixth-inning rally. They then capped their run-scoring production with six more in the seventh inning. Poor Boys' Don Goodman and Gil Oke were both four-for-four at bat, with teammate Gordon White also f' V- I Photo by Sieve McKinley Royal City players celebrate winning the 50-plus championship on Sunday..

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About The Chilliwack Progress Archive

Pages Available:
294,465
Years Available:
1891-2022