Making A Pitch For Fun Softball Teams Getting Ready For National Contests In Spokane

With summer hitting August like a fiery furnace, people are looking for something fun to keep their minds off the heat.

A hobby, you say? How about a friendly game of softball in the evening?

It’s fun and it’s a good way to meet people, according to Jerry Schieche.

Schieche, a 48-year-old mechanic from Spangle, is spending his 26th summer in a row playing recreation softball in Spokane.

Schieche, who played third base in high school, pitches modified ball in an over-40 league. In the past, he has played at every level from C to Major. His team this year is Owl Pharmacy, named after its sponsor.

“We’ve had a lot of fun playing ball so far this year,” said Schieche. “The over-40 league is a different outlook. It’s a bunch of guys who are mostly family oriented and are out here to have a good time.”

Modified softball consists of seven innings. The game is over if one team is leading by 10 runs after the fifth inning. The league also consists of 10-man teams; the extra player is located in the outfield.

Schieche, who grew up in Spangle and works with his father, Bill, at Bill’s Service Station, started pitching a softball in grade school at West Liberty Elementary.

“I thought (pitching) was easy,” he said. “I probably don’t throw the ball a heck of a lot different now than I did when I was in grade school. It might go a little faster and I developed a few more pitches, but that’s about it.”

Schieche went to Washington State University, where he played on an intramural softball team. In 1972, he started playing in a Spokane C league with some college buddies, and they worked their way up to the B league. However, at the end of a season, the top two teams in each league were required to move up to the next level, so Schieche’s team was forced into the A league.

“That was the end of it,” Schieche said. “It just didn’t work for everybody, so the team ended and I went and got on another team and played in the A league.”

Earlier this summer, Owl Pharmacy won the Lower-B city tournament, which consisted of 18 teams.

“We had a lot of offense,” said Schieche. “It seemed like it didn’t really matter how many runs the other team scored, we were just able to get a few more. And that’s the name of the game.”

Low-scoring ball games are rare in the over-40 league, according to Schieche. Modified pitching is a “hitter’s game,” whereas fastpitch is a “pitcher’s game,” he said.

After playing in the more competitive leagues for so many years, Schieche prides himself with being associated with the over-40 crowd.

“We have a real good team this year,” said Schieche. “We’re not in the (over-40 league) because we’re not good enough. It’s the commitment. We don’t want to play two nights a week. During the year we never practice. We just come out to play ball and have a good time.”

However, Owl Pharmacy has been practicing one to two times a week the past month to prepare for the Men’s 40-and-Over Modified National Invitational Tournament next weekend in Spokane. Both Men’s B Modified and the over-40 teams will have tournaments running at the same time at Franklin Park.

Schieche, who has played in national tournaments all over the country, is ready to face the new challenge.

“When you go to a national tournament, it’s a little different story,” said Schieche. “There’s a little more pressure and it’s a little more intense. Plus the fact that there will be teams in the tournament we don’t know.”

Schieche has traveled to Atlanta, Alabama, Minnesota, Miami, Maine and Boston to attend national tournaments.

“That used to be our vacation every summer. It’s a lot of fun and you get acquainted with guys all over the United States,” he said. “Back in the old days, there didn’t used to be any sponsors and, with two weeks’ notice, we’d have to go door to door for donations.”

Will he retire from softball after 26 years? Not likely.

“I’ve had a good career and I’ve had a lot of fun playing softball,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of people who I see all the time and I enjoy playing with the guys on our team.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INVITATIONALS AT A GLANCE What: Men’s B modified pitch and men’s 40-and-over 10-man modified national invitational tournaments When: Aug. 15-17 Where: Franklin Park How: 20-24 B teams and eight 40-and-over teams will play double-elimination tournaments to determine National Invitational champions. … Games will begin about noon Aug. 15, run all day Aug. 16 and finish Aug. 17 with championship games in the early afternoon.