Area softball team set for return to National Senior Games
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa. Or at least it will be for the Wilmington Men Over 75 softball team.
The club will compete in the National Senior Games in early August. The event will take place in Des Moines.
As the name of the team suggests, all members of the team are ages 75 and up. But to them, age is just a number as they still have a competitive fire burning within them.
“It’s always an honor to represent your city,” pitcher George Allen said. “At this age, it’s obviously an honor to be able to still play. Most of us have been athletes all our lives playing different sports. Softball, baseball, whatever. You just don’t want to stop. You want to keep moving. You sit down in that recliner, you might not get back up.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
Wilmington’s roster has a handful of players that have been inducted into the softball hall of fame at the local and state levels.
They have also won this tournament twice, both in the last decade. Outfielder Mike Dolan says they have the tools to bring home another trophy.
“The comradery,” Dolan said. “We’re all there for one another. It’s a healthy competition. If any one of us have a problem, everybody’s there to help out. We have very good defense, we’ve got decent speed, and we’ve got good hitting ability. Everybody makes a big deal out of hitting and obviously it is important. But in 2019 when we won in Albuquerque, our speed and defense, that is what really carried us through that tournament.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
The team hopes to enjoy their time in the Midwest and are considering making a special stop in the Hawkeye State that can motivate them during the tournament.
“This could be our Field of Dreams,” Allen said. “We want to win, obviously. That’s the expectation. We’ll just have to see when we get there. We figure it’ll be competitive and we’ll have fun and we’ll play our game.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
Around 15 teams will be competing at the National Senior Games in their bracket. Wilmington earned their spot by winning the North Carolina state title back in October.
While WWAY was at one of their practices, a member of the team broke his bat when hitting a softball. The bat and its damage can be seen below.
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
