The VaHPA would like to thank the Big Oak Horseshoe Club for
its
hospitality hosting the event this year, and extend sincere
appreciation to all of the sponsors.
A Class Raymond Deal & Marvin
May Madison Heights, VA
B Class JC's Handyman
Christiansburg, VA John Cummings
C Class Cosmetic Vein Centers of VA,
LLC Christiansburg, VA Dr. David
MacMillan
D Class Thompson Chrysler Radford,
Va David Snider
E Class Ground Vibration Radford,
Va Angie Payne
F Class Ricky & Amy Hall in memory of their dear
friend David Cook Moneta, VA
G Class Fashion Floors of Roanoke
Roanoke, Va Rick Phleger
H Class Finer Homes Realty
Mechanicsville, VA David & Renee Cowan
Arriving the morning of the event, we looked forward to a day of
perfect pitching weather – sunny, slight breeze, temps around 70. The
Club had turned out the preceding couple of days, getting the courts in
tiptop shape, and the familiar “clink clink” of shoes hitting the peg
could soon be heard.
Familiar faces were all around, and we welcomed back Keith Stevenson, a
Virginia pitcher who recently relocated to West Virginia. We had some
catching up to do with him, and enjoyed the company of his father and
nephew who also came along for the tournament. One person in particular
was missed during the pitching, and that was John Cummings himself,
President of Big Oak, who ended up with two graduations to attend at
neighboring Radford University.
The warm welcome by the club was only slightly overshadowed by the
increasing clouds and wind as the day progressed. Sharon Abel took the
edge off with some of her homemade chili and dogs – need to get her
recipe folks, it’s delicious!
Pitchers came from all over the state, with Dave Moser and Norma
Venavage having the longest travel time – they left home at 4am from
Virginia Beach, to make the event – a six hour trip! We love their
attitude and participation – they are so enthusiastic and great fun to
have around. Jim Walls, from Portsmouth also attended the tournament,
but he let it slip that he was a little spoiled, owning a farm in
Pulaski, he travels back and forth frequently, so just timed it right
this go-round.
Hearl Kelly, returning after a yearlong recuperation from a back
problem, is hitting the courts in fine form, competing in A Class
against Ricky & Amy Hall. The increasing wind did certainly affect
the Hall’s pitching, but Hearl seemed to just ignore it, coming in
first place with a 64.96% overall.
B Class ended with a playoff between Mark Bunch and Bill Hartless. The
round started a little slow, but Mark got into a groove by the 18th
shoe. At that point, he started landing ringer after ringer, pitching
73% during the next 20 shoes, taking the 1st place spot with out a
question, score 45-19.
The C Class playoff between Bob Tinley and Keith Stevenson started with
Keith dominating. Then Bob got warmed up, the lead flip-flopped, and he
never let go, ending the game 38-21, with 28% ringers.
Competition during D Class play was really exciting. Junior pitcher DJ
Lawson took everyone by surprise, pitching 37.97% overall for the day,
a full 18% over his entering stat. Don Lawson, his dad, said they’ve
been practicing a bit, and it certainly has paid off. Facing Don in the
first round, DJ didn’t hold back at all and pitched his highest game of
the day – 41.17% ! Ken Stevenson (WV) and DJ faced each other in
the fourth round, both going into the game with no losses to that
point. It was a really close match, and although the lead went back and
forth several times, the point spread was never more than 2 points. The
game ended 28-26, Ken’s favor, with only one ringer difference between
the pitchers. Ken threw 36%, DJ 38%. What a game!
Even E Class ended with a playoff for first. Jim Walls vied against
Terry Sparks for the trophy, and Jim won the game 23-15. Although the
ringer count was only one different, Jim showed that getting those very
valuable points pays off in the end.
Altogether, the day went over well. Special thanks to John Cummings,
who really assisted in making sure all classes had sponsors, and
raising the awareness about our sport in the local area. He’s a good
leader for the club, and we hope his PR activities are recognized with
increased membership.
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