I've always thought the State Singles Tournament was one of the most important, and pressure filled tournaments that any pitcher could pitch in. Nerves, butterflies, and knots in the stomach do not only effect the lower classes, even the best pitchers feel pressure at the worst times. We had some pitchers who didn't quite do as well as they hoped to, and there were some who pitched their butts off. 

Class D was one of the first to finish up and Charlie Carter took home 1st place with 6 wins and 1 loss. There was a 3 way tie for 2nd between Charles Edmonds, Marty Sheets, & William Hartless. Bill Hartless squeaked by Marty Sheets for 2nd place with a 40.75 % day and Marty pitched 40.49 % and received 3rd. Donald Parkes, a 30ft.Mens Champion was seeded in with D class and had a pretty good day averaging 38.15 %.

Class G finished up next, giving us our first playoff game of the day. Jack Abrams and George Zahorchak were both 6 and 1 after regulation. Jack started the game with a 21 point lead and didn't let up, pitching 13 ringers out of 36 shoes to win the game 42 to 8. George received 2nd and Greg Perry finished 3rd with 5 wins and 2 losses. 

It came down to the 7th game to decide Class F. Ken Henson and Gerald Bird played each other last and had only 1 loss each. They were the 7th & 8th seeds in their class. The percentage spreads in every class was so close that this could have happened in any class. Every one had 2 or more losses except for Ken & Gerald going into the last game, so the winner of this game would take home 1st place. Gerald hit 7 ringers of his first 10 shoes to lead 16 to 4. Ken closed it up a bit to make it 15 to 22 before Gerald finished the game 40 to 25 to win 1st place. Boyd Lambert finished 3rd with 4 wins & 3 losses. 

Paul Arnold went 7 and 0 to win Class C. Paul entered the tournament with a 43.87 % average, and pitched 53.73 % for the day. That's fantastic pitching for anyone to hit 10 % better than what they came in with. Paul was also the highest percentage pitcher that advanced into the 16 man class. Ray Staton took 2nd place with 5 wins & 2 losses and Robert Staton took 3rd with 4 wins & 3 losses. Robert also averaged well enough to advance to the top class. 

Wayne Sturtz won Class B with 6 wins & 1 loss and pitched well enough to advance but had tickets to a concert and couldn't pitch, so that allowed another pitcher to move up. Ray Barb & Ron Trobaugh were tied for 2nd. Ray had the higher percentage with a 48.44 %, and Ron received 3rd with 46.38 %. Ray & Ron also advanced to the top class. 

There was a 4 way tie for 1st in Class E, and we were really pressed for time to get out meeting in before starting the next round of classes. We decided to have our meeting and have the playoff afterwards. Granville Weakley, David Turner, Steve Wheeler, & Elgin Davis were all tied at 5 and 2. David Turner got off to a good start on Elgin Davis and Elgin was making a decent comeback but ran out of shoes. David went on to win 33 to 22. Granville Weakley & Steve Wheeler had the best playoff game of the day, after 50 shoes, the score was tied 36 to 36. They pitched down and back to break the tie and were tied again 39 to 39. Again they pitched down with both getting a ringer each no score, but coming back, Granville must have wanted it more and got 2 ringers 6 to win the game 45 to 39. That put Granville & David in a playoff to decide 1st place. David didn't do as well as his first game, but Granville pitched 19 ringers out of 38 shoes to win the game 42 to 12. Granville lost his first two games to start the tournament and won the next 7 in a row to take home 1st place. David finished 2nd, and Elgin received 3rd. 

At the meeting we discussed having an "All Club Tournament" next year and scheduling it on the 3rd Saturday in August. The intent of this tournament would be for ALL clubs to participate. I'm still discussing the format, and will be taking input and suggestions over the next couple of months. We also gave out certificates for 10 or more tournaments and patches for 10, 20 and 30 year memberships. Kevin Snelgrove, our Regional Director was so excited about out membership growing to over 300, that he went looking for an answer that would explain how it happened. He came to the conclusion that there were so many people who have promoted horseshoes, helped out, or made a difference in our organization that he gave out coffee mugs that read "Proud To Be a Family Member" to about 30 different people. In my opinion, Kevin Snelgrove is a big reason that we've grown to over 300 members. When some of you get a chance, I know he would appreciate it if you would tell him what good job he's doing as our R. D. Thanks Kevin, your enthusiasm is contagious! There were no new changes in State Officer positions. Pat Snelgrove was nominated and approved for Secretary/Treasurer/Statistician. Renee Cowan was nominated and approved as our 1st Vice President. In the middle of all the discussions and getting back to the tournament, we forgot to give out awards for the MostGamesWon- the winners of the most wins in each division -we will send those out soon and apologize for our slip up. 

Class M was won by Marvin Lunceford with 5 wins and no losses. Marvin pitched 3 % on the nose for the day and won all 5 games. Timmy Boggs got 2nd with 4 wins and 1 loss and pitched 14 %. David Orndorff took 3rd place with 3 wins & 2 losses and pitched 12 %. Marvin won his class with 3 % and pointed everyone to death. Who says coming close doesn't count. 

Class J Champion Jerry Roberts went 6 and 1, and pitched 30.39 % for the day. Steve Marquess and Golden Salmons were tied for 2nd place at 5 and 2. Steve took 2nd averaging 26.23 % and Golden finished 3rd with       23.64 %.

Ben Robinson went undefeated in Class I to win 1st place. Chuck Duymich went 6 & 1 to get 2nd, and Chuck Gurtler received 3rd with 5 wins and 2 losses. 

Coming down to the last game in Class H, If Charlie Leonard could have beat Walter Foster, there would have been a 3 way tie for first place, the way things were going, it wouldn't have surprised me. Walter was on his game and won 34 to 28. Walter finished 6 and 1 to win H Class. Gene Webb and John Cummins were tied for 2nd with 5 wins & 2 losses, Gene had the higher average and took 2nd with 36.65 %, and John received 3rd with 30.70 %. 

Class K followed true to form, of course there was a 3 way tie for 1st place. Tony Webb, Jerry Gilmer, & Jeremi Skillman finished up tied at 5 and 2 each. Jerry Gilmer had the higher percentage so he had to watch as Jeremi and Tony played to determine who would advance to play for the title. It was pretty close for about 16 shoes before Tony started hitting and went on to win 39 to 14. Tony got off to a very good start on Jerry but Jerry started closing it up and made a good game of it, but Tony held on to win Class K, 36 to 25. 

Class L, What did you expect? Another 4 way tie for 1st. You would almost think these guys were playing for the State Title or something. Kevin Snelgrove, Billy Morris, Fred Mullenix, & Terry Sparks were all 5 and 2 after regulation. After we figured the percentages up, Billy Morris and Kevin Snelgrove were paired up and Terry Sparks had to play Fred Mullenix. Billy and Kevin's game went down to the last pitch. With 4 shoes to go, Billy scored a ringer each 1 and took a 30 to 27 lead. He left the pole open, but had 2 close shoes when Kevin came up. One ringer would have tied it up, but Billy came away with 2 points and won the game 32 to 27. One court over Terry and Fred were in a tight game as well. With 4 shoes left, Terry had a 6 point lead, when Fred threw 2 ringers 6 to tie it up. Fred then pitched a 1 ringer 3 to win 23 to 20. This put Fred and Billy in a playoff for the Class L title. It was also quite a battle, neither pitcher would give an inch, it was close all the way to the end. With only 2 shoes left, the score was tied 24 to 24, Billy managed to get 1 point on the last pitch to win 25 to 24. Fred finished 2nd, and Kevin took home 3rd. 

David Cowan Jr. was seeded with the Women's Class A. David has played Amy & Renee before and the heat they throw at him has kept him from doing his best stuff. But today would be different, David averaged 65.88 % for the day and took Amy Hall to 72 shoes before she finally won the game, but Davey pitched 53 ringers out of 72 shoes for a 73.61 % game. Nice pitching Davey. Amy Hall Won her 8th Women's Class A title with 81.69 % for the day. Renee finished 2nd and averaged 66.67 % for the tournament. 

In Women's Class C, Diane Barb won the title going 7 and 2 for the day. Tonya & Charlene Hix were tied for 2nd with 6 wins and 3 losses, Tonya took 2nd with the higher average and Charlene took 3rd.

Women's Class D was won by Yvonne Orndorff. Pam Matsko took 2nd. What a closely seeded class that was! The entering percentage was less than 1%, and both enjoyed the competition. It was anyone's title. 

With as many playoffs as we've had today, I was watching how the Women's Class B was winding down and it looked like we would have another one before it was over. Christa Hall and Cindy Jones were both 5 & 1 going into the last game. Christa had Kara Vannoy last and Cindy was playing Donna Keefer. After 28 shoes Donna was leading 17 to 15, but Cindy hit 8 ringers out of the next 10 shoes to take a 28 to 18 lead and went on to win the game 38 to 21. Christa was leading Kara 26 to 18 before Kara started to hit pretty good and came back to win 31 to 26. Cindy Jones was watching as this game ended and was so emotional she couldn't hold it back. She was the 7th seed in the class and didn't feel she had much of a chance to do well, much less win her class. This is one State Singles she will never forget. Cindy Jones won Women's Class B with 6 wins and 1 loss and averaged 45.28 %. Christa Hall took 2nd with 5 wins and 2 losses and averaged 38.79 %. Sonya McDowell and Kara Vannoy were tied for 3rd. Sonya edged Kara out for 3rd with 40.75 for the day and Kara pitched 39.22 %. 

In our Junior Girls Class, Brittany Ferguson went 5 & 0 to win her class. Jessicca Matsko took 2nd with 4 wins and 1 loss. And Rachel Cowan finished 3rd with 3 wins & 2 losses. 
In the Junior Boys Class B, Daniel Yelinek and Marvin Long were tied for first with only 1 loss each. Daniel won the playoff game and took home 1st. Marvin finished 2nd, and Nicholas Matsko finished 3rd. 

We seeded Trey McDowell with the Junior boys Class B, he is our Pee Wee pitcher. Trey won 1st place in the Pee Wee Division. His trophy was almost as tall as he was. His Grandpa, Floyd Hix Jr. said this would be quite a story for show and tell, now that school was about to start. I would sure like to be around when he starts talking about what he did on his Labor Day weekend. 

As I sit here writing this story the Men's Championship class has only played 5 games so far. There are 6 of us at 5 & 0, and one has 1 loss and one has 2 losses. We are scheduled to play our remaining 10 games Sept. 14th at Grottoes horseshoe courts. When the other 10 games are finished, we'll try to finish this story. You are all invited to come watch the finals, and help out any way you can. Scorekeepers and court maintenance help will be needed. 
                                  Ricky Hall 
                                  President, VaHPA