SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Medicine Hat Huff 'N Puffs +65's Slow Pitch team pose wtih their medals and banner after winning gold at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah on Oct. 7.
The Huff 'N Puffs team is as follows: Front Row;
Mike Ferre, Rod Brusky, Dean Roy, Jim Larson, Tim Seitz, Dave Sawatsky and Kerry Schentag. Back Row: Larry Rudolph, Kevin Sauer, Glenn Kessler, Jim Fink, Larry Hurrell, Jamie White, Jack Simons and Dery Eresman (coach).
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Huff ‘N Puffs +65s Slow Pitch team’s carry-ons were a little heavier leaving the Huntsman World Senior Games last week.
The local senior slow pitch team won first place in the A division of a world tournament held in St. George, Uta. from Oct. 5-7. Huff ‘N Puffs shortstop Jamie White said it was a surprising but proud outcome for the group.
“We didn’t have a bunch of guys parachuting in from elsewhere, all of our guys play together, so it was a great experience,” White said “We were all friends who are average ballplayers who gelled together. We’re very proud of what we did, it was a proud accomplishment.”
The Huff ‘N Puffs were 2-1 through the round robin after beating teams from Pennsylvania, Idaho and losing to Montana. Their first playoff game was against the Southlake Hornets from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and they beat them 23-22. Their next contest was against the Edmonton Prairie Combines and they kept up the winning effort, beating Edmonton 18-14 to punch their finals ticket.
It was a rematch affair in the finals as they battled Edmonton who had to beat Medicine Hat twice to win the gold while the Huff “n Puffs only had to win one to take home the medal. The Prairie Combines took the first game 29-22 to force the second game, which went Medicine Hat’s way after an eight-run eighth inning for the 30-23 gold clinching win.
White said they all got a laugh about facing Edmonton in a U.S.-based tournament and said they were happy to face a fellow Alberta team in the finals.
“We haven’t been to Edmonton for two to three years because of COVID, so it was just nice to see all the guys again that you’ve seen over the last 10 years,” White said. “You renew all the acquaintances but it’s still competitive, and at the end of the day we all have a cold beer and some big hugs.”
Medicine Hat was well represented in the tournament with five teams split among the 55, 60, 65 70 and 75-year-old divisions. White said the they were the only team to win so far as the 50 and 70-year-old divisions play this week.
White said the Huff ‘N Puffs all play in Medicine Hat’s senior slow pitch league together and have for multiple seasons. He said their strength as a team at the World Senior Games was their defence but also how well they handled the ups and downs of a sport like slow pitch.
“Our hitting came together fantastically, we played good defence wasn’t always spectacular, but we played good defence,” White said. “One thing about our age, we all make mistakes, none of us are perfect. Everybody makes an error here and there but nobody gets on anybody’s back. We’re all here to support each other and this group just really gelled at the right time.”
