2025 65+ Desert

Racine Blues 18, Seattle Mariners 10

Submitted by Bill Windler, manager

The 65+ Racine Blues were fortunate enough to win the championship of the Desert Division in the MSBL World Series.

First, kudos go to Dan Ketter and Bill Sweetman, also the Blues’ stellar second baseman, for putting the roster together primarily from the team that competes at the Rock complex in Franklin, Wisconsin, but also including exotic additions such as Ultan McGill of Ireland.

Secondly, hats off to the very stiff competition. The Blues went 3-2 in group play and had to avenge both of those losses in the playoffs, defeating the Storm Chasers, 21-16, in an epic semifinal and the Seattle Mariners, 18-10, in the final.

Pitcher Phil Smith was named our most valuable player. He made three appearances, including a solid and much-needed six-inning outing in the championship game. Jeff Danihel closed that game with 2 2/3 innings of excellent relief.

The pitching staff had plenty of depth, including semifinal winner John Becker, Frank McCann, Terry Wilson, Marti Lee, and Gary Gaszak. They were backed by a defense that committed relatively few errors for a team of our vintage.

However, the Blues’ calling card was offense sparked by a strong running game. The team averaged 15.4 runs per game and was led by the one-two punch of McCann and Tom Hopkins, who each went 5 for 6 in the title game. McGill went 3 for 4 with four runs scored and three RBI. For the tournament, McCann scored 18 runs and Becker drove in 15.

As for the running game, the Blues stole 60 bases and were caught twice. Hopkins and McGill had 11 each, and Becker swiped nine.

Other standouts for the Blues were Jeff Gladfelter, Don Pannemann, Peter Holzwart, Wayne Berry, Franco Marcos, and Matt Jones.

The Blues led the league in good times, and their camaraderie was a testament to the judgment of Ketter and Sweetman.