Seventh Annual Fremont Softball Tournament

Fitness Factory finishes first in Fremont

Great softball, super birthday and signed game ball bring smiles to Nick Mootz’s face

By RICHARD A. ROSS

FREMONT CENTER, NY - Stories with happy endings have great appeal. So it was that the Fremont Softball Tournament closed its final chapter with Nick Mootz holding the championship trophy with the Fitness Factory team. The moment provided a coda to a weekend of softball, camaraderie and neighborliness.

The tournament will go down in history as a classic for its scintillating softball games, its feel-good atmosphere and its inordinate success as a fundraiser for Mootz, a 15-year-old from Kenoza Lake who can light up the world with his smile while battling the rigors of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Mootz is currently in remission, aided by fine medical treatment and bolstered by an abundance of love and support at the Ballpark in Fremont Center this weekend.

Mootz, who sported a t-shirt that read, “Team Nick,” celebrated his birthday on August 4 after the game between R+H Gorr and Davis Excavating as those on hand sang “Happy Birthday.” The next day, with the crowds were reaching their peak and the softball action intensifying, he got to hear the entire populace present celebrate the event in song, as many came over to shake his hand and share his birthday cake.

Despite his fatigue on Sunday, Mootz was on hand for the championship game as Fitness Factory capped off a perfect weekend by ousting FYI Graphics by the score of 11-1.

The victory by the men in orange and blue stood in sharp contrast to their last visit to Fremont Center for the Lenny Miret Tournament, when the team ran out of gas on a blistering Sunday while playing their fourth straight game in the loser’s bracket and succumbing to Ronny’s Ringers.

This time out, Fitness Factory stayed on the winning side of the ledger and avoided the stultifying effects of having to play so many games to reach the final.

For the Mootz Tourney, Fitness Factory came armed with their full compliment of players, a positive attitude and their ‘A’ game. The formula worked like a charm and they emerged as tournament victors from a field of 18 teams.

From their Friday night 10-0 bashing of talented Stone Arch Inn, a team many picked to win it all, Fitness added Saturday victories over MMM Waste Removal, Matthew’s on Main and the Scrubs. They capped off the weekend with two wins against FYI Graphics to garner the tournament title. In the process, they yielded a paltry six runs in six games. Several of those runs were unearned.

Fitness Factory is a class act. They play the game with verve and style and unparalleled sportsmanship. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the team’s participation in the tournament.

The team’s final game victory proved to be a walkover, unlike the earlier match up with FYI Graphics, which resulted in a 4-2 win by Fitness Factory. In the tournament finale, Shane Connor pitched lights out, and Fitness Factory bats flamed into action with a pair of two-run homers from Jay Legenos and a first-ever over-the-fence home run for Desmond Gonzalez. Crossing the plate after the two-run jack with a smile two miles wide, Gonzalez got high fives from his teammates and numerous onlookers.

Following the five-inning win, Fitness Factory posed for the championship trophy photo with Mootz and a cadre of kids who accompanied their player dads. Team captain Edwin “Flaco” Rodriguez and his brother Serafin presented Mootz with the championship game ball signed by the entire team.

Earlier in the day, Fitness Factory and FYI Graphics had emerged as the pair of undefeated squads from the tournament’s initial flurry.

Fitness Factory rode great pitching from JoJo Vankeuren and timely hitting, including a two-run homer by Jay Gallo to defeat a feisty young FYI Graphics team by the score of 4-2.

Gallo was responsible for three of the team’s four RBI. The other came on a bases-loaded walk to Keith Shaddock. Stellar defensive play was turned in by outfielder Jay Legenos and infielders Gallo and Weiner. Shane Connor’s diving catch on a liner by Paul Gregorski ended an FYI Graphics seventh-inning rally and iced the game.

That set up a loser’s bracket finale between Matthew’s on Main and FYI Graphics.

FYI Graphics had a fabulous run in the tourney. They opened with a Friday night win over Sutphen East and continued unabated by defeating Ronny’s Ringers, Mullally’s Pub and Davis Excavating. After losing to Fitness Factory, they held on during the 6-5 extra-inning nail biter against a tougher-than-nails Matthew’s on Main team, the 2005 reigning champions.

Matthew’s on Main was a story unto itself. After losing to Fitness Factory on Saturday morning by the score of 8-3, they began an arduous climb to recapture their title. Shorthanded and tired, they trudged on with Brian “Mooner” Buday hurling upwards of 400 pitches during Sunday games. All of that followed Matthew’s Saturday evening win over Ronny’s Ringers that knocked Ronny’s out of the running. Matthew’s continued on apace as they easily beat American Electric and rode a huge seventh inning to defeat Davis Excavating by the score of 16-10. Matthew’s Mike Weir had a grand slam and drove in another two runs to fuel the offense against a Davis team bent on breaking through their long history against Matthew’s. For Davis Excavating, the story had the same sad ending.

Exhausted and having given it their best shot, Matthew’s on Main’s run ended as they relinquished the winning run to FYI Graphics in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Rich Walker banged in the game-winning single.

But the tournament had other stories as well.

Darder’s Stoneworks drew accolades for their fine play, including the incredible play of Orion Darder in the outfield. Darder wowed onlookers with his enormous range and great throws.

Darder’s began the final day of competition by beating Sidetracks by the 10-run rule and then handling Mullally’s Pub 16-8. The day before, they defeated Sutphen East. Darder’s run ended with a loss to The Scrubs by the 10-run rule, a team they lost to by one run in extra innings on Saturday.

Other teams that made a fine showing included R+H Gorr who defeated Stone Arch Inn, Sidetracks who defeated Kohler Lumber, Mullally’s Pub who defeated Radio Shack of Hamlin, PA and the Scrubs from Deposit, NY, who beat Darder’s twice and American Electric. The Scrubs lost to Fitness Factory by the score of 7-1 late Saturday, and were ousted by their defeat to Matthew’s on Main by the 10-run rule on Sunday.

Thanks to the hard-working staff at the Ballpark in Fremont Center, organized and led by Loreen Gebelein, the tournament was an unbridled success. Fine food, drink and the shade of the newly constructed pavilion added to the weekend’s allure.

Mootz and his family left the venue smiling, invigorated by their community’s outpouring; it was a weekend they will long remember.

And they won’t be alone in that regard.

Visit riverreportersports.com for details of Friday and Saturday, as well as photos from the entire tournament.