by Annette Hanson

For the Sequim Gazette

On Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17, Sequim drew quite a crowd at the Carrie Blake Park softball fields.

Eight teams from around Puget Sound participated in the 2015 Senior Coed Softball Tournament. Organizers Bill Ellis and Gary Elliott said participants came from Bellevue, Port Townsend, Renton, Bainbridge Island, Mercer Island, Maple Valley, and Sequim.

Overall, 96 players donned team shirts to represent their cities and sponsors. The hosting teams, 7 Cedars Casino and Sequim Merchants, welcomed the visitors to Sequim early Saturday morning at the Opening Ceremony. The 18-piece jazz ensemble, Olympic Express Big Band, played in a light drizzle, but spirits seemed charged in anticipation for the games to begin. Topping off their tunes, Teresa Pierce sang the Star Spangled Banner, and then cheers sent players to the fields for the first scheduled games.

Over the two-day period, each team played six games for a total of 24 overall. Players on all eight teams scored a total of 494 runs.

The 7 Cedars Casino team included players Nancy McPhee, Bob Travis, Vern Klimecky, Gary Poor (coach), Annette Hanson, Rod Shock, Larry Kilmer, Ron Hall, Sharon Hall, Gerry Weed, Harry Zackman, Dave Unruh, and Russell Schmidt. The Sequim Merchants team had Larry Reinarz, David Pugsley, Jim Copeland (Coach), Gale Powers, Val Allard, Rick Conner, Jon Wendt, Karen Clatanoff, Kevin Foster, Ron Eisele, Dave Underwood, Ron Gwaldis and Norm Forney.

Organizers Ellis and Elliott and players thanked sponsors who supported the tournament: the City of Sequim, 7 Cedars Casino, Ben’s Bikes, Oasis Bar and Grill, Thomas Building Supply, A-1 Auto Parts, Oak Table Café, and Sequim Bay Lodge.

The coed senior softball had age requirements of 55+ for men and 50+ for women. Special rules minimized contact during play, emphasizing safety.

Team captains reported no serious injuries over the weekend—just sore muscles and a few bruises.

Sequim Merchants player Dave Underwood said, “One of the real highlights of the tournament was watching 92-year-old George Goldsberry from Bellevue who not only pitched, but hit … although he did use a runner from the plate.”

The number of visitors, out-of-town family and friends, reported to have watched the tournament totaled 142, of which 69 spent the night in the area—not bad for Sequim. Ellis said at the opening, “The number one rule was to have fun!” He and Gary Elliott declared, “All teams came in first place and a fun time was had by all!”