River City Rockers Ride Right Arm of Ed Gasper to Title
[Grants Pass, Oregon ] – Over 30,000 people attended the Boatnik Festival this weekend and most of them got to see some great fastpitch softball being played at Riverside Park and Gilbert Park. The Paul Carleton coached, River City Rockers from Sacramento successfully defended their title behind the strong arm of Ed Gasper as they defeated Terry Smiths’s, Portland Fastpitch Club and Matt Barnes on the hill. The Budweiser Clydesdales were the featured attraction and wowed the audiences. The Fly Over during the championship game at the end of the national anthem was incredible.
3 Pitchers threw no hitters, Ed Gasper, Matt Barnes and Spud Barker. One pitcher, Mark Connolly, set a Boatnik feat of pitching from both right and left handed. We successfully held our first masters division in the event. The final Standings are below with records and the All Tournament Team. There was some great pitching with Oregon greats: 69 year old Mike Trotter, Mike Warren, Morgan Mapes, Greg Soule, Dean Wescott, Kelly Richardson, Wynn Malinowski, Mark Connelly, and newcomers Marcus Darby and Brady Howe who were very impressive. Out of State Throwers were Spud Barker, Matt Barnes, Ed Gasper, Bert Ford, Russ Wedmore, Jim Carpenter, .
The field conditions were possibly the best ever with just enough rain to keep the fields soft the whole weekend. Thanks to Josh Ogle and the Grants Pass Softball Association for maintaining the fields and getting them in first class shape for us. Thanks to Announcer Paul and scorekeeper Mrs. Stout. The officiating was very good with Bruce Toney, UIC, Dayton, Greg Fowler, Bend, Dave Oliver, Coos Bay, Bob Garibaldi, Eugene, and Ed Earle, Klamath Falls. Taylor Sausages provided excellent concessions. Ken Hicks and Dwayne of InkCredible Art did a great job on the program. Thanks to the City of Grants Pass and the Grants Pass Active Club for allowing us to be part of this great festival each year. There were some great younger players there this year and one new team that should make some noise with a lot of younger guys if they stay together over the next couple years, the Southern Oregon Bandits. At one game that had 151 fans just watching their team alone. The total fan attendance was estimated at over 4,600 throughout the event with close to 600 watching Saturday night.
Champion River City Rockers, Sacramento, California, 6-0
Runner Up Portland FP Club, Portland, Oregon, 5-1
3rd Place Team Jones, Portland, Oregon, 3-2
3rd Place Brotherton Pipe, Rogue River, Oregon, 3-2
5th Place Southern Oregon Bandits, Grants Pass, Oregon, 2-3
5th Place Aces, Tule Lake, California, 1-4
7th Place Mock Ford, Grants Pass, Oregon, 1-4
8th Place Northwest Old Growth, Portland, Oregon, 2-2
9th Place Oregon Masters, Dayton, Oregon, 1-3
10th Place Mock Mazda, Grants Pass, Oregon, 0-4
11th Place NorCal Masters, Beaver, California, 1-3
Masters Division
Champion Northwest Old Growth, Portland, Oregon, 2-1
Runner Up Oregon Masters, Dayton, Oregon, 1-2
3rd Place Norcal Masters, Beaver, California, 0-3
Masters Division Most Valuable Player Gary Lyons, NW Old Growth
Men’s Division All Tournament Team
Most Valuable Pitcher, Ed Gasper, River City Rockers
Most Valuable Pitcher, Matt Barnes, Portland FP
Most Valuable Player, Mario Pararro, River City Rockers
Most Valuable Player, Rob Gehrke, Portland FP
All Tournament Team
Dave Bostic, River City Rockers
Rob Penticoff, River City Rockers
Mark Summers, River City Rockers
Jeff Farrell, Portland FP
Ryan Daley, Portland FP
Josh Agnew, Team Jones
Scott Nokes, Team Jones
Ryan Wilson, Brotherton Pipe
Kevin Ray, Brotherton Pipe
Jeff Weiss, Southern Oregon Bandits
Morgan Mapes, Southern Oregon Bandits
Pat Sorenson, Mock Ford
