No Limits For ‘Youthful’ Players

The want to win is there, but the have to win isn’t.

That’s the biggest reason Regina Five-O pitcher Ron Ness is looking forward to the 1995 Amateur Softball Association 50-and-over men’s slowpitch tournament in Portland.

The 54-year-old Ness, a softball player since 1968, has already played in three national tournaments. But not on a team like this.

“We can beat any people in our league if we hit,” Ness said after a recent men’s Master’s (plus-35) league game at Quad Park in Post Falls.

“It’s going to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever gone through because I like all these guys,” Ness added of the Labor Day weekend tournament. “Everybody’s got a personality on the team. Some are still superstars.”

Five-O carries 17 players on its roster, ages 49 to 70.

“Most of us can play almost anywhere,” manager Bill Clift said. “We try to let people choose.”

Logger Frank Dory, a diving left-center fielder, is “our inspiration,” Clift added. “He’s such a hustler. He looks like he’s 30. He’s just a great competitor.”

The nucleus of the team played for the Regina Bar until forming the Five-O team three years ago. The first year, it went winless. It was .500 last year.

Five-O may finally get a league of fellow plus-50 teams. Quad Park owners plan to start a plus-50 league in 1996.

“There’s a lot of hidden athletes or wannabes out there, but there isn’t the opportunity,” Five-O second baseman Mahlon Maxwell said. “They can either go to the younger teams, or they don’t play.”

“There’s enough guys going to be 50 in the next five years that want to play ball, that this is going to be great,” Ness said. “Our team has started a trend. They can still compete.”

A.K. Sheldon is one who sees no end in sight to his playing days. The 70-year-old started to play softball in 1950.

The biggest change? “Slowpitch for one,” Sheldon said. “It was all fastpitch, much more concentrated than it is nowadays.”

Sheldon is honest, explaining that Five-O has innings that seem like a “comedy of errors.”

But adds, “I try to compete with the young guys. I play the dummy, and you can clean them out every time.”

” Sheldon continued. “Sometimes, we surprise them.”

Ramsey fields complete

The completion of a five-field softball complex at Ramsey Park gives Coeur d’Alene 13 fields.

The city recreation department registered 116 adult teams, including 16 men’s, 22 women’s, 41 coed and 36 church league participants. A year ago, there were 89 teams.

Ramsey was the site of the Kootenai Girls Softball Association tournament championship games last Sunday.

Champs were all out-of-town teams, including Spirit Lake T-Ball in the peewee division, Schrader-Murphy of Rathdrum in minor and LP of Garwood in major.

The North Idaho Girls Softball Association completed its season-ending tournaments at McEuen, Diamond and Finucane parks.

Winners included Papa Murphy’s of Hayden Lake in peewee, Tidyman’s in minor and KJ and Co. in major.

Tournaments

At least 32 - and possibly 36 - teams are expected for the Miller Genuine Draft men’s D slowpitch tournament at Quad Park this weekend. The championship game should start about 6 p.m. Sunday.

Last weekend, Hull’s Hogs of Pateros, Wash., rallied through the losers’ bracket to win the Budweiser men’s C slowpitch tournament. Red Dog of Coeur d’Alene placed second.

The Bud Light coed slowpitch tournament will be played at Quad on June 17-18.

Miller will sponsor a men’s C slowpitch tournament June 17-18 in Coeur d’Alene.