The silence is gone. The sounds echoing from Eakin Field are the same sounds we have heard in the past at the local softball fields in and around the Chicagoland area. Those youngsters of the past are now grown men who have contributed to the growth of the country and who most have served our country in the Armed Forces.
90-year-old Peter Karambelas (right) throws out the opening pitch of the season. Officiating is Softball League president Glenn Groebli. (Photo provided)
These grown men are now ready to show their stuff on a weekly basis. They still think that what they were able to do 30, 40 years ago they can still do today. They will tell tall tales of the heroics that they performed in years gone by. While most might not remember what happen last week, they can tell you by date and who they were playing when they got their big hits. This is what they still play for, getting the big hit or making a game-saving catch. Their wives, families, grandchildren, and friends are all there to cheer them on. They can do no wrong in the eyes of the faithful fans that cover our bleachers.
The season officially began on Saturday, May 2, with a double header. The Softball Club continues to attract new players with the total number of players now stands at just over 220 players. The 16” Evening league will consist of 12 teams and the Thursday-Morning 16” league will expand from the six teams in 2014 to seven teams in 2015. The Sun City Softball Club will continue to have the Wednesday-Night 12” league, which will feature four teams. There will be softball played every night and Saturdays from May 2 to the second week in September.
This year will bring some very exciting events that have not been held in the past. This will be the first year that the all-star game will not share the spotlight with National Night Out. National Night out will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and the All Star game will take place on Tuesday, July 14. This gives each event a chance to expand their program, which, in turn, will benefit all the people who have faithfully attended these events.
The Softball Club will take this opportunity to have a Skill Competition, which will feature two events (Home Run hitting and Hitting Accuracy). The Home Run event will feature both 12” & 16” while the Hitting Accuracy will feature only 16”. Each event will be broken down into four age groups, so players will be going against their peers rather than having a gap in ages.
The distance in the Home Run Event will also have different footage by age group so those younger will have a further distance for a home run compared to a shorter distance for those a few years older. Players will begin to sign up for these events, starting the beginning of June. This will all take place on Saturday, July 11, and the top finalists in event and age group will advance to the finals which will be held prior to the All Star game on Tuesday, July 14. This will give all of our fans a chance to see the players excel at exhibiting their skills in a different format.
While the above is new for 2015, we hope that the fans will support their favorite players as they compete for first place in their age group and event. Saturday, July 11, will be a full day of all of the above events so plan on coming out and cheering the Boys of Summer as they demonstrate their skills. The All Star game itself will continue to feature a long-time tradition of having free hotdogs and water.
The teams have been practicing, umpires have been trained, new players have been assigned, softballs & uniforms will be delivered shortly, field has been prepped, which means there is only one more thing that needs to be said.
Let the games begin! Play ball, gentlemen.
The Sun City Softball Club President Glenn Groebli and his Board, which consist of Terry Johnson, Frank Yacono, Alan Scott, Ron Tenggren, Joe Thomas & Bob Lodewyck want to thank all of our fans who have supported softball for so many years and look forward to your continuing support as the 2015 season begins.
Glenn Groebli
President
Sun City Softball Club
Head: The Boys of Summer are back
