Opening ceremonies

JOHN HUTHMACHER
Hastings Tribune

More than 800 players from 71 teams across the nation joined U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., the Kool-Aid Man, fans and umpires for opening ceremonies of the Class C men's fastpitch national tournament at the Bill Smith Softball Complex Wednesday afternoon.

Weather permitting, it will take 141 games of softball to weed out the top two teams, which then will square off at 5 p.m. Sunday for the 2004 Amateur Softball Association National Men's Fastpitch championship. The last time the tournament was in Hastings was in 2001.

For most of the players who withstood the 91-degree heat for team introductions, the highlight of the event was Osborne tossing out the ceremonial first pitch. Dozens of players lined up near home plate afterward to shake Osborne's hand, take pictures and collect autographs. Osborne was happy to oblige, staying for about 20 minutes to meet those gathered.

"It's great to have 71 teams in Hastings," Osborne said. "It's great exposure for this part of the world. I think certainly it brings in a little tourist trade and is good for the economy."

The trip was Osborne's first visit to Smith Complex, but certainly not his first walk across a softball diamond. Following his pro football career with the Washington Redskins, he hooked up with a fastpitch softball team in Lincoln called Chubbyville, where he handled hot corner duties for about five years while working as a graduate assistant.

"We were a pretty good team and had a lot of fun," he said. For Osborne, revisiting his old stomping grounds has become a somewhat regular occurrence in his role as third district representative. Even so, he's always glad to make the trip, he said.

"It's always good to be in Hastings," he said. "I've still got a lot of friends here. It's an honor to be asked and it's great to be here." Joe Patterson, tournament director and state softball commissioner, said he thinks Osborne's appearance was the afternoon's highlight. "We always bill Hastings as the birthplace of Kool-Aid and Tom Osborne whenever we go after these tournaments," said Patterson, who also is Hastings' city administrator. "A lot of people have heard that. Now they got to see both Tom Osborne and the Kool-Aid Man on the same field. "We had a couple of glitches - the car that was supposed to bring in the flag had a dead battery - but I think everyone hung in there." Patterson said he hopes having the extra tournament visitors in town through the weekend will boost the city's economy. "Any time you can host a national championship in a community like Hastings, you're honored to do that," he said. "Our goal is to have a good tournament where there is very little controversy, we don't get anybody injured, and the people that come to Hastings spend a lot of money."

John Wissemath, a pitcher for Nielsen Realty in Sacramento, Calif., seemed as enthused to have Osborne on hand as he was to get the tournament started. "It was nice to have Tom Osborne here," Wissmath said. "He was a great legend and I think he brought some morale to the people here." For Wissemath, 41, the trip represents his sixth national softball tournament appearance.

A 22-year veteran on the mound, the right-hander said he was impressed to see how well the fields are kept. "The facilities are beautiful," he said. "They really keep these fields watered down. That's a huge advantage (in) men's fast pitch softball." Andy Mata, 34, a second baseman for Atwell Media Services in Orville, Calif., said he expects his team's run for the title to be a memorable journey.

"We're here to win the national championship," Mata said. "You can tell everybody that. "I just love the game," he added. "This is nice. It's all good." Don Carter, 33, right fielder for the Riverton Rocky Mountain Liquor team in Wyoming, said the fields at Smith Complex are the best he's seen.

His goal is to "win it all," he said. "We'll see what happens." Rodd Welch, 32, a first baseman who played for the Oroville Riot team in Oroville, Calif., that finished fifth at the nationals in Hastings three years ago, said he hopes his Atwell Media team will be just as competitive in this year's tournament. "We've had a lot of luck here," Welch said. "It'll be interesting."

BOX
Tournament note

Edgar is the only area team competing in the national tournament. Eleven other Nebraska teams made the tournament - four from Lincoln, two from Grand Island and one each from Cortland, Dannebrog, Clarkson, Leigh and Omaha.

Edgar qualified by finishing 10th at the state tournament in Hastings and 13th at the regional tournament in Topeka, Kan. Edgar plays its first game at 4 p.m. today on Field 3 at the complex.

Team members are: Jim Hild, Kyle McReynolds, Greg Bohling, Troy Shuck, Kent Kinnaman, Todd Deines Jr., Dan Shaw, Darren Shaw, Rick Hoffman, Blake Hoffman and Nate Schardt all of Edgar; Mike Bower of Nelson; Clint McReynolds of Lincoln; Kasey Kluver of Fairfield; Gary Hild and Ron Holeman, both of Davenport; Galen Endorf of Tobias; and Mike Allen of Hastings.