This past weekend in Effingham, Ill., included rain, muddy fields, hardworking ground crew and a few softball games between local Terre Haute rivals. In the end, local Terre Haute teams finished 1-2-3 in the 13-team affair.
Budweiser captured its first tourney title in what has proved to be a difficult 2009 season. As the 2008 ASA Class “C” state champions, the Budweiser team has struggled through the 2009 season with only an Avon round-robin tourney win. Competing largely in the NSA Men’s Class “C” division this season, Budweiser has found victories hard to come by.
In Effingham, the Budweiser squad reeled off five consecutive wins to grab the tourney title and the right to advance to the ISA (Independent Softball Association) state tournament later this season. Budweiser recorded wins over Ad Hatters 19-7, Jackson 12-6, DBS 22-11, Outkast 18-6 and Crawlworks 23-0.
Offensively, the Budweiser team was led by Rick Robins with a 16-for-23 performance. Also contributing was Brad Pierce who stroked four home runs during tourney play and Ryan Carter was 9 for 15 with four walks and a home run.
Also playing for the Budweiser team were the following: Darren Buck, Clay Huffman, Ryan Nicholson, Kevin Kull, Gary Potter, Kyle Knapp and Chad Wilguess.
For local softballers, the tourney proved interesting due to the fact it was the first time during the 2009 season that Terre Haute’s three traveling teams actually met on the playing field. Tourney play featured games between Budweiser, Outkast and Crawlworks. This time, Budweiser came out on top with a 18-6 win over Outkast and a 23-0 win over Crawlworks.
The Crawlworks team, which has enjoyed considerable success during the 2009 season, continued to make a good showing. Dropping a tough opening round game by a 12-1 score, the Crawlworks team won six consecutive games before falling to Budweiser in the championship game.
Noteworthy was their first win, a 11-10 victory over T-Town which featured Randy Winkler’s two-out walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Following that narrow victory, the Crawlworks team reeled off five more wins in convincing fashion.
Outkast, much to their credit, performed well without a full roster. Coming off a Friday night round-robin tourney win in Avon, the Outkast team finished third while missing several key players during tourney play.
All three local teams are expected to participate in the upcoming ASA state tournaments.
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Being old school with regard to local softball affairs, I remember the days when several women’s slow pitch softball leagues were in action. The Brazil women’s softball league featured nearly 20 teams participating in league play.
Terre Haute’s Memorial Park has a league and the Glenn Civic Center had a strong women’s program and hosted several state and regional tournaments. Unfortunately, with the advent of coed softball, the popularity of the women’s slow pitch game has waned.
One women’s league that refuses to suffer from declining numbers is the Montezuma women’s league. This season will see teams from Tangier, Montezuma, Cayuga, Clinton, Rockville and Bloomingdale competing for the coveted league crown.
Games are scheduled for the Montezuma facility each Sunday through Sept. 20. Games begin at 1 p.m. and conclude with a 5:30 p.m. contest. The public is encouraged to support this long-lived women’s program.
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With the end of July fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking fall softball. Both local Y programs will be offering adult fall league softball. Below you can find the contact names and numbers for both the Terre Haute Family Y and Brazil YMCA adult softball programs.
Interested parties can enroll in the Terre Haute Family Y program by calling Elle Hightower at (812) 239-9039. Those interested in participation in the Brazil YMCA program can contact Debbie Plummer at (812) 442-6761.
Softball Scene
Softball Scene: TH teams slug through poor weather to roll in Effingham tournament
- Softball Scene
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title
The Swingers from Greencastle double-dipped Carlisle Plaza 10-7 and 8-6 to win the ASA coed novice state title in Lafayette last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Brent D. Long Tournament a success on and off field
Somebody forgot to tell the Tykal’s American team that they weren’t the favorite in the Brent D. Long Tournament last weekend at Spencer Field.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Team Bud takes third at coed state tourney
Following last week’s news that local softball fortunes had improved with Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association men’s Class D state finals, this weekend’s news is even better.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley slowpitch team takes seventh at state
News from the state softball front has improved as a result of Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the ASA MSP Class “D” state tournament this past weekend. With their finish, this is the first local team with a .500-or-better record in state tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Tough tournament trail
Results from various ASA state tournament play continue to trickle in and unfortunately for local softball interests, they are disappointing. The combined record for the Outkast men’s team and the Ladies Last Call women’s team was one win and four defeats.
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Valley softball teams fail to impress in ASA tourneys
“Disappointing” might be the operative word to describe the outcome for Wabash Valley softball efforts in the ASA men’s slowpitch Class D (North) and men’s slowpitch Class E (North) state tournaments last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Copeland’s wins its first Show-Me’s coed tournament
Results are in for the Show-Me’s coed city softball tournament and Copeland’s are the new champions.
The eight-team affair was divided into two four-team pools, with the pool winners matched in the championship game. -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley squad wins Bedford tourney, series titles
This past weekend the Crawlworks/All American Auto Repairs squad ventured to Bedford to participate in another leg of the Tanel 360/Dudley Challenge Series. In doing so, Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair not only captured the tourney title but also annexed the season-long series title.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Sign-up now under way for city slowpitch championship
Arrangements for the Show-Me’s city slowpitch softball tournaments have been completed and interested teams are encouraged to sign up.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: The talent ladder for local softball
I would like to open this week’s column with a “thank you” to Tribune-Star sportswriter David Hughes for his excellent article featuring local softball star Kevin Kull, which ran in Wednesday’s paper.
The article, which chronicled Kull’s rapid rise to prominence, was a much-discussed topic around the ballpark Wednesday and Thursday evenings. In addition, it provided me with an idea for this week’s installment of “Softball Scene.” -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Teams give some pep to area men’s softball
Wabash Valley softball action picked up briefly at Spencer Field last Saturday as four men’s slowpitch squads competed in tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Coed slowpitch softball tourney raises money for cancer research
Last weekend, Hamilton Center and the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department co-hosted a co-ed slowpitch softball tournament to raise money for cancer research.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley teams strong at tournaments
The results are in from last weekend’s Bedford All-Nighter and Wabash Valley softball interests fared well in the 42-team men’s slowpitch tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Local adult softball teams gearing up for action
Well softball fans, it’s time for yet another season of adult softball in the Wabash Valley.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley well-represented in state tournamen t
The Wabash Valley was well-represented in the ASA Coed Class D/E state tournament last weekend at the Avon softball facility.
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Budweiser team has mixed results in national slowpitch regional tourney play
The local Budweiser men’s softball squad ventured to Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend to participate in the 82-team ASA MSP national regional tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Myers family softball tradition carries on
This past Jan. 10, local softball icon Wayne Myers passed away leaving behind two brothers, Fred and Bill, son Terry, daughter Elaine as well as grandchildren Haley, Whitey and “Chicky.” In addition, the Indiana Amateur Softball Association was left without its commander in chief.
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Softball Scene: Softball moments of years past
With the summer softball season coming to an end, I thought it might be interesting to look to past Softball Scene columns and dredge up a few old memories from seasons gone by. This type of column also serves as a reminder to those presently playing that in a few short years, your achievements will be largely forgotten by those who will be playing in future seasons.
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Softball Scene: Valley squads fare well at state tournaments
The results from the Indiana Amateur Softball Association’s MSP Class “C”, “D” and “E” state tournaments are in and local softball interests fared well. Of the five local men’s teams participating, four managed to come away with winning records.
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Softball Scene: 8 Valley softball teams competing in 5 different state tournaments
This weekend several local softball teams are vying for titles in Amateur Softball Association state tournament play. In all, eight local squads are competing in five different state tournaments.
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Softball Scene: Outkast heating up at right time with state tournament approaching
Local softball player and enthusiast Ryan Dehart recently made an astute observation when commenting on the Outkast softball squad. He said, “they’re getting hot at the right time of the year.” Lending support to Dehart’s claim was Outkast’s showing in the recent Hooter’s Invitational hosted by Indy Sports Park.
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Softball Scene: Get scoop on upcoming men’s, co-ed tournaments in Wabash Valley
Several questions have arisen concerning the upcoming city tournaments for men’s and co-ed softball teams. In an attempt to dispel any rumors and to address the questions, I will now address callers’ concerns.
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Softball Scene: Terre Haute ready for first-time city tournaments in July
The Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department, working in conjunction with several interested softball parties, will be hosting city championship tournaments for both men’s and coed softball teams.
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Softball Scene: Hit Men making their mark on travel softball scene
I have recently noticed a dearth of young softball squads coming up through the ranks. In short, I am interested in knowing who will replace the Wabash Valley’s top-caliber talent as they fall pretty to age, injury work and family obligations.
- Softball Scene: Valley teams have mixed results in state tournaments
- Softball Scene: ‘Old School’ softball at Saline City withstands test of time As the college football season begins and Wabash Valley adult softball action starts to wind down, those interested in a dose of “old school” softball should travel to Saline City this weekend.
- Softball Scene: Crawlworks’ hard work to host tournament pays off Recent Softball Scene columns have been devoted to efforts to raise funds for various causes. The opening segment of this week’s column will stick with that theme.
- Fund-raising tourneys a great way to contribute to community
- SOFTBALL SCENE: Crawlworks prevents Valley shutout Thank goodness for the efforts put forth by the Crawlworks men’s slow pitch team in the ASA MSP Class D state finals. Without their 6-2 finish, local softball efforts were almost shutout in ASA state tournament play this past weekend.
- Softball Scene: Several Wabash Valley softball teams preparing for state-tournament action The next three weekends should prove interesting for local softball squads as several local teams will be competing for state titles. Hoping to improve on last year’s second-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) women’s class C tournament, the Chop Shop women’s team will be traveling to Kokomo this weekend. Chop Shop’s second-place finish at state earned it a nationals’ berth, and the squad finished fourth.
- More Softball Scene Headlines
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title




