Newcomer Michael Shrewsberry won again!! This being only his second tournament (his first being the Frye), he has won first place both times. On Saturday, at the end of 5 rounds of play, Michael found himself  in a three-way tie for first place in D class. His first game in the playoff was against Terry Sparks. The determination could be seen in his eyes with every pitch. Michael won the game 42 to 13 pitching 18%. His next match proved to be a little bit tougher. He was pitted against Bernie McGough. With quite a bit of joking and ribbing, both pitchers finally settled down and the game began. The stress of being in a playoff, coupled with the crowd that gathered along the edge of the court didn’t seem to phase him. He easily took Bernie 42 to 22 throwing 24% to win the class. We look forward to seeing Michael come back for more next year!!

W L Doss almost swept C class. His only loss was to John Ham in the 5th round. Betty Weakley took second by percentage over Roger Harmon in third.

From B class, Marty Coleman said "I don't know why I haven't joined the VaHPA before. "Winky" (WL Doss) has been talking this up for at least seven years. I'm having a ball at these tournaments".  After 7 rounds, Marty found himself in a pitchoff for 1st with Ronnie Hicks. At 30 shoes, Ronnie had a slim advantage, 19 to 18, the next 18 shoes he just could not keep up with the doubles Marty started throwing. Marty won 41 to 29, 19 out of 48 shoes, which won him first place in the class, with Ronnie 2nd. In that same class, Charlie Carter nudged Granville Weakly out of third by percentage.

What a lot of excitement in B Class !!  Mark Bunch, pitching against his mentor Marvin May, threw a shut out pitching 75%, with a score of 40 to 0. All it took was 24 shoes. Marvin tried his best by pitching 6 ringers against Mark. This was Mark's highest game ever, with 18 out of 24. He was very pleased with himself, and Marvin joked that he might not be so free to give Mark access to the courts in his cellar - Mark's favorite practice place. Good pitching Mark!!

In A class, Jackie Whetzel had his hands full. He was pitted against Amy, Renee and Ricky. Despite the fact that Amy threw her best game against him, he kept a great smile on his face. During the tournament, Amy just missed throwing 2 perfect games. In the first one, she threw 25 out of 28 shoes (89.2%) and in the second pass, against Jackie, she threw 26 out of 30 (86.6%).  Amy ended the day with a 78.95%, Ric took second and Renee third. 

The longest game of the day was in A Class between Ric and Amy. Amy won, but it took 70 shoes, She threw 56 ringers for 80% in the game and Ric had 52 ringers for a 74.2% game. His high game for the day.

On behalf of the Stuarts Draft Horseshoe Club, thank you all for your support.  See you on the courts next year. Kevin