Local softball aficionados were treated to a triple header last Saturday, July 27 at Kathy Pedersen Field as the Nakusp Slo-Pitch League came to an exciting conclusion.
The first semi-final game of the evening pitted the hometown favourites “In the Parkers” (ITP) versus down lake rivals the “Burton Barleys.” The aging Barleys keep the game close in the first inning going 1-2-3 to close out the first. The Barleys benefitted from the hot bat of Curtisss Pawley as he hit a frozen rope for an in the yard home run. For the Parkers, bats started to heat up in the second inning led by the hot hitting of Zac Wethal and Ryan Struck, the latter contributing two home runs to his team’s offensive output. The Barleys attempted to make a comeback in the third inning led by team patriarch Rocky Parton who courageously played on one leg after taking a line-drive off his right ankle. X-rays came back negative, thankfully. In the Parkers were able to bat through their rotation in the last four innings to win handily by a score of 37-14.
In the second semi-final of the evening, the youthful “Brew Jays” took on the experienced “Wolf Pack.” The speed, athleticism and outstanding hitting of the Brew Jays led by Kodi Bowman, Andrew Likness and Abby Jones proved too much for the Wolf Pack as the Brew Jays jumped to a 16-1 lead by the fourth inning. The Wolf Pack put on their rally caps in the latter stages of the game led by the stellar hitting of Gordie Marshall and defensive prowess of one Cheryl Black. The damage was done however as the Brew jays took the game 21-7 and advanced to the championship game against the In the Parkers.
The championship game did not disappoint as the Brew Jays and In the Parkers were evenly matched. The title game consisted of numerous lead changes as each team hit the ball extremely well and errors were kept to a minimum. At the end of the third inning ITP held a slight lead of 8-6. However, the Brew Jays charged back in the fourth for six runs led by the white-hot batting of Shea Weigheill, Terryn “Rooks” Stenseth, Kris James and Avery Palmer. Brew Jays pitcher Taylor Reitmeier was solid on the mound especially in the later innings as the Brew Jays withstood a late inning rally by ITP to take the Nakusp Slo-Pitch crown by a score of 17-11.
League organizers would like to thank all the volunteers (especially umpires Rusty Reimer and Johnni “Bass Boat” Kraft), and fans that came out to the games to support the teams and help make the season a success.
But just because the finals are now over doesn’t mean you’ve missed all the slo-pitch action. This August long weekend teams from western Canada and the U.S. are coming to Nakusp to compete in a tournament.