Midway through the 81st season the St Petersburg Half-Century Softball Club crowned its mid-season champion. With the thirty game mark reached in the 60 games season the Cranes captained by Mike Hines sewed up an April playoff spot by finishing first in the four team completion with a 17-13 record.
Hines’s squad moved out to an early season lead winning its first three games and staying atop the standings during most of the schedule’s first 30 games.
Hitters dominated the action with several of the Club’s 81 year records on track to be broken. Most notable of the hitting records in jeopardy is the single season home run record. St Petersburg native, Norm Perry has sent the ball out of the park 29 times during the first 30 games. Perry, in his rookie season is tracking on Dave North’s record of 55 four baggers set during the 1997-98 season.
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Perry’s bat has put him atop of two other offensive categories with 81 runs scored and 88 rbi. Mike Robertson leads the Club in hits with 83. Ken Gourley leads all hitters with a .689 average with the talented rookie, Perry carrying a .635 average. at the half-way mark.
Gourley has been the Club’s offensive leader since the 2009-10 season hitting .610 over that five year span. Gourley’s .670 single season average stands as the Club record.
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Scott Stein leads the club’s pitchers with a 13-4 record. Loomis Gibson finished the season’s first half with a 10-7 record.
The Half-Century Softball Club will continue play through April 5th with games on M/W/F at 9:45 and 11:15 AM. Players M/F are welcome, must be 49-74 years
