2020 60+ Wood Bat

LA Athletics 9, So Cal Angels 2

Submitted by Bob Sherwin, Athletics manager

Pitching, clutch hitting and not giving up were the keys to the championship.

Mike Denevi and Tracy Wheeler combined on the mound to get our first pool play win against Milwaukee.  Our second game against the Orange County Angels saw us surrender a 10-3 lead in the seventh inning resulting in a 10-10 tie.  Game three was a must win to avoid a ‘play in’ game for the semi-finals. We met the Inland Angels and trailed for three innings until we broke out with an 18-5 win.  Mike Patrick, Tracy Wheeler, Mike Denevi and Doc Hamilos combined on the mound to get our win.

In the semi-final, we took on the tough 3N2 Rangers and defeated them 7-4.  Joe Whitmer got the win going a strong five innings before giving way to Danny “The Beast” Pawelek and then Mike Denevi, who recorded the save. 

In the Championship game against the ever so tough OC Angels, it was Denevi going all nine and coming out on top 9-2.  Denevi was a monster in all the games he threw, particularly in the championship holding the Angels to just two runs.

Great defense in the outfield by Skip Donnelly and John Lane, along with solid infield play by Paul McPherson and Kevin Bronson, helped make things easier for Denevi.

Offensively we were led throughout the tournament by Mike Thatcher and Dan Coleman. In the championship game Coleman banged out three hits and Thatcher two including a huge triple with two RBI.  Chuck Williams had three doubles in the game with three RBI while Marty Schroedter doubled with bases loaded to break open the game in the eighth inning.

I normally name co MVPs but this year since so many contributed to our success, I would probably just name Denevi.  Without his pitching, we would not have won….plain and simple.

After collecting the winner’s trophy, I realized that since 2008 the Athletics have won 10 championships in this tournament (six in the 55+ and four in the 60+) and four out of the last five.  Our loss in 2017 was the year of torrential rain when we only played a total of 12 innings the entire weekend.   I’m extremely proud of our record and showing in this tournament and hopefully we can continue our success as we move to the 65+.