The recent presentation of the prestigious McMillan Award to Cole Vicars brought to mind several issues. First and foremost would be the prominent place held by the Vicars family in the Indiana ASA Softball Hall of Fame.
This past February, Charles E. Vicars, known as “Little Charlie,” was inducted into the Indiana ASA Softball Hall of Fame. In doing so, he joined his father, “Big Charlie,” Charles W. Vicars.
Both Charlies played prominent roles on the local softball scene as well as achieving statewide notoriety.
As for myself, I remember “Big Charlie” as the manager and organizer behind the Clean Air Service men’s fastpitch teams that competed at the highest levels, both statewide and regionally.
“Little Charlie” was the outstanding starting shortstop for the above-mentioned teams. His abilities were recognized nationally with an invitation to a Pan-Am games tryout.
Congratulation to both for their softball achievements.
Another issue that immediately came to mind was the possibility of Cole following in the footsteps of grandfather “Big Charlie” and father “Little Charlie.” Following what will undoubtedly be an outstanding baseball career, will there be any fastpitch softball left for Cole? As unimaginable as it may seem, the fastpitch scene locally is dormant. Let’s hope that by the time Cole is ready, there will be a resurgence in interest in the fastpitch game locally.
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One of my pet peeves is teams that refuse to “play up.” By that, I mean a team or teams that avoid playing against opponents thought to be better than themselves. As such, I would like to recognize a couple of local men’s slowpitch squads that compete against all comers despite the opponents’ classification status.
One of the most active is Matco Tools/Chop Shop. Classified as an ASA Class D team, it is unfazed by higher-classified opponents. Matco Tools/Chop Shop has proved its worth in the Midwest Open, Bedford Allnighter, the Vincennes Ed Dukes Classic, Jasper’s Brad Brass Invitational and two other round-robin tournaments.
Its most notable victory to date was a 19-16 win over a powerful Propane Direct team in the Ed Dukes Classic.
The 2007 Matco Tools/Chop Shop roster includes Richard King, Todd Heim, Chris Nidiffer, Jeff Long, Dusty Batchelor, Jason Moore, Chad Cress, Eddie Bennett, Ronnie Whistler, Joe Harberger, Timmy Wilson, Nate Blacketer and John Walker.
Another local team showing no fear is Crawl Works/Kihm Metal. Having played in the previously mentioned Vincennes and Jasper tournaments, this team also is slated to play the highly acclaimed Worth tourney in Avon later this summer.
The Crawl Works/Kim Metal roster includes Kelly Chesshir, D.J. Chesshir, Steve Chesshir, Shane Chesshir, Brian Chesshir, Brian Cook, Chad Howard, Chris Swarner, Randy Winkler, Josh Hardy, Troy Sanders, Bill Brown, Bo Gillin and Jim Freeman.
Kudos to both teams for “playing up.”
• • •
In Terre Haute adult coed kickball news, the battle of Pfizer teams resulted in a thrilling come-from-behind 11-10 win by the Playground Bullys over Kickin’ it old School. The game was marked by friendly banter and trash talkin’.
• • •
I would like to offer a warm welcome to Geoff Martin of the local Tabco team. Geoff, after playing on the local softball scene for more than 20 years, recently joined the local K club. He earned the honor by striking out in a recent league slowpitch affair.
• • •
Teams interested in playing locally next weekend should contact Brad Johnson at (765) 720-5561 or Bob Bridgewater at (812) 223-6352. They are organizing a tournament for the Saline City facility.
Interested teams must register by Wednesday.
See ya at the park.
John Benton can be reached by phone at (812) 877-2566.
Softball Scene
Softball Scene: Congrats to ‘Big Charlie’ and ‘Little Charlie’ for softball accomplishments
- 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.
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