Senior softball is back at Carrie Blake Community Park

By Michael Dashiell • May 19, 2021 1:30 am

Number one, have fun. Number two, play safe.

Those are the top two rules for Greywolves Senior Softball, a coed group of community members who bat, pitch and throw at the Carrie Blake Community Park fields each Tuesday and Thursday morning, from 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Cost is $10 per year, with bats and balls furnished. All participants need to bring is their glove and an interest in the game.

“It’s just a great place to come out an socialize enjoy the open air and have some fun at the recreation level,” Greywolves player David Unruh said last week.

The club, organizers say, promotes co-ed softball for seniors in Sequim and the Olympic Peninsula region, fostering good sportsmanship and providing positive social interactions among the players.

The group is coed and is open to men age 50 and older and women age 45 and older. Players’ ages vary up to the high 70s.

The league has modified rules that emphasize “limited contact” to help ensure lower risk for injuries.

Among the modifications are two bases at first and a second home plate that helps runners avoid collisions. Base runners are forced out at each base as it’s a “non-tag” game, Unruh noted. Pitchers toss behind netting, and if a ball strikes or is caught in the netting it’s a foul ball. Batters are out if they foul off a pitch with two strikes. In addition, players can use substitute runners at any time, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of people who can’t run,” Unruh said.

Innings are limited to five runs per inning up until the final inning, which are not limited in runs, he said.

Teams are traditionally 10 or more to a side — with four outfielders in play rather than three — but that can be modified on days with not enough players to essentially go five-on-five-on-five, with five players batting, five playing defense on the ride side of the diamond and the third five on the left side.

Everyone is accepted, Greywolf players say, and are encouraged to turn out. Some players go south for the winter while others turn out year-round when the weather permits.

The group plays both recreationally and competitively throughout the summer months, with most games set on Wednesday mornings.

For more information contact Unruh at 425-367-2401 or greywolves.senior.softball@gmail.com.

Sequim Senior Greywolves scrimmage at the Carrie Blake Community Park fields last week. The group invites men (50 and older) and women (45 and older) to join in recreational play on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell