Girls fast-pitch team inducted into Mid-Ohio Valley Softball Hall of Fame
The Mid-Ohio Valley Flamin’ Fury will be inducted for winning the 2016 United States Specialty Sports Association Class A 12 and under girls fast-pitch World Series last summer at Orlando, Fla. Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held April 14 at the Pike Street Lanes in south Parkersburg, Hall of Fame President Jim Bee said.
The team is excited and appreciates the honor, according to Coach Jason Graham. “We definitely do. I’m proud of them,” he said. “It’s something that can never be taken away.”
The Flamin’ Fury team will be the first youth girls fast-pitch team to be recognized, Bee said. The induction will be for its team accomplishment, he said.
The team came from behind in the double-elimination tournament to play the undefeated Illinois Twisters for the 2016 USSSA 12 and under girls fast-pitch Class A championship, Graham said. Flamin’ Fury won the first game 3-2 and the second 6-5 to clinch the victory.
Players in the Flamin’ Fury are Cameryn Davidson, Taylor Graham, Brooke Sizemore, Paige Adams, Kassidy Trimble, Madison Richards, Hannah Thoburn, Alyssa Marlatt, Arika Quinlan and Brionna Patterson. The assistant coach is Dan Sizemore.
Among the 2017 inductees into the Hall of Fame is the Golden Gals, which will be the second adult team to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Bee said. The team once dominated local youth leagues, adult leagues and tournaments.
The only other team in the Hall of Fame is Jimbos, a famed squad from the 1970s, Bee said.
Recognition and induction ceremonies begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. with the ceremonies at 7 p.m.
Other inductees in the Class are:
* Ed Keiser, who could play nearly every position, will be inducted in the Legend Category. Keiser played for Basin & Hobson and made his name in the softball world while in the military.
Keiser, a Williamstown native who lives in Arizona, was on the “Major Softball Players List.”
* Shortstop Steve Fleak, who played fast and slow pitch in his prime, will be inducted in the Player Category.
* The late Jane Archer of Marietta was the catcher for Hall of Fame Legend Patty Cleveland of the Hadley Funeral Home teams. Archer will be inducted in the Player Category.
* Ron “Mouse” Ward, coach and manager for some of the most powerful teams including Davis Drive Inn, the Legion of Guardsmen, Feathers Footcare and Englander Bedding, will be inducted in the Coach-Manager Category. Ward coached Feathers Footcare as a runner-up in the USSSA Class B Eastern Regional in 1984.
* Also to be inducted:
Players Category will be Kenny Wiggins, Troy Knight, Kim Casto, Jamie Mitchem and Donita Cox.
Umpires Category: Bob Carr, Steve Aversa and Jerry Walker.
Sponsor Category: North Parkersburg Baptist Church for more than 60 years of sponsoring teams.
Director Category: William “Smitty” Vandall.
* Joe Lomax will be inducted as the Satchel Paige of the MOV under the Special Recognition Category.