A night filled with softball
From the Beacon News
By John Sahly staff writer
The Aurora Fastpitch Softball Association teams don’t usually cross paths that often. So tonight’s kickoff event at Stuart Sports Complex will be something of an anomaly.
That’s because all seven teams will be playing tonight, either in exhibitions against one another or in competitive games against out-of-town teams. Association president Bill Pfeiffer said tonight presents an opportunity to everyone involved and the rest of the community.
“We get all of the teams together so they can all appreciate who else is involved,” Pfeiffer said. “The parents then can see the players on the other teams in our organization, and any other fastpitch fans can see what’s going on. The games are still going to be competitive and they mean something, but this is more of a fun thing that you can go out and just play.”
Most of the younger teams (12-and-under, 14U, 16U and 18U) will be playing the early part of their schedules because of schools recently letting out for the summer.
On the men’s side, the Dolan and Murphy Shamrocks (20-4) are off to a good start this season. The Shamrocks finished third in the Dick Tracy Tournament in Rockford and the Jack Grafmeier Tournament in Kimberly, Wis., earlier in the season, and will play the men’s 23-and-under team, ATMI Precast.
The Shamrocks play primarily in tournaments in preparation for the ASA National Tournament in South Bend, Ind. If Dolan and Murphy is to improve on last year’s 1-2 record in the national tournament, it may be because of two of its pitchers, Juan Potolicchio and Jonas Mach.
“With Juan and Jonas, we’ve got two mid-to-high level pitchers and they’ve been pretty good for us,” said coach Robin Raider.
One of the other benefits of bringing together experienced players for a showcase night is that it allows the younger teams in the AFSA system the chance to get to watch the older players in action.