2025 65+ National

Mustangs Baseball Club 7, Rhode Island Salty Dogs 3

Submitted by Mike LaComb, manager

The 65 Mustangs Baseball Club had a great week of fun and good competition at the 2026 Fall Classic in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Battling some very good teams from around the country, even with a small roster, the Mustangs were able to win the championship.

In 2014, the Mustangs won their first national championship in the 50+ Cactus Division at the MSBL World Series in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, we have been fortunate to win several more championships as we have aged up through the divisions. But we would not have won our first one back in 2014, had it not been for Joe Feller gaining five victories in that tournament, three as a starter, and two in relief.

Now, once again, the legacy of Joe Feller continues, as he led the Mustangs to their first 65+ championship, with him pitching 33 innings with three complete game wins, including the semifinal and the championship game, as he held down two very good teams, the Mass Chiefs and the Rhode Island Salty Dogs. Well deserved, Joe was named the tournament MVP.

Along with Joe, Ken Prohoniak and John Denney both pitched wins in the round robin. Mike Taylor battled through a bad knee to pitch a round robin complete game.

Defensively, Terry Lewis (CF), Dan Cassidy (SS), and Mike McConnell (C) each played almost every inning of the seven games in their positions. To say we were strong up the middle would be an understatement! Dan Mitchell, Polo Castro, and Jeff Ritell roamed the outfield all week.

Offensively, RJ Burns had an OBP of .633, as he went 19 for 30, to lead the team in hits. Terry Lewis smacked four triples in the seven games. Mike LaComb, Don Dawson, RJ Burns, Dave Amos, Terry Lewis, and Gary D’ambrisi all had OBPs over .500 for the week.

Joe Feller, Dan Cassidy, Jeff Ritell, and Ken Prohoniak all boasted slugging OBPs over .400, while Mike McConnell, Polo Castro, and Dan Mitchell wrapped up the lineup by posting OBPs over. 300.

All in all, the team had a great week of support to rally behind Joe Feller, as we had a lot of fun together. It seems like yesterday we were all playing at younger ages. It is hard to believe that at 65, we are still playing baseball.

Many thanks to Gary, Anthony, Drew, Mike, and Willie for running such a great tournament! And, thanks to Steve and Brian (Sigler) for keeping MSBL going strong so we can all still play this game that we love.