Kiracofe Memorial Packs Loaded
Field for 40th Edition
Field for 40th Edition
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
BY DEL NEWELL
Special to the Gazette
KALAMAZOO -- The longest running slow-pitch softball tournament in the country is showing no signs of
slowing down. In fact, the Burley Kiracofe Jr. Memorial has more teams than ever and is planning to give
out rings to the winning teams when the 40th annual high-arc tournament is staged Friday-Sunday at the
VerSluis-Dickinson Diamond Complex off Douglas Avenue.
"These will be special rings,'' said Mike Brockelbank, who will be directing the popular tournament for the
14th year and has been involved with the Kiracofe for 38 years.
"Rings will go to the winning teams in the three divisions (Men's Upper, Men's Lower and Women's) and
also each of our tournament directors (Ron Mosher, Terry Young, who's deceased, Dave Rozelle, Dick
Cagle and Dan Perrin).
"We also plan to have skydivers and other activities,'' said Brockelbank, who along with his brother, Terry,
and a myriad of volunteers plan to make the Kalamazoo Amateur Athletic Federation-sponsored event
another big summertime hit.
The tourney, named in memory of Burley Kiracofe Jr., a Portage Northern graduate and slow-pitch player
who was killed in Vietnam in 1969, has again attracted top local talent and teams throughout Michigan.
"The defending champs will all be back,'' Brockelbank said. "Problem is some of the players have changed
sponsors and a lot of players have changed teams.''
For the record, the defending champs are Farm Bureau Insurance (Men's Upper), of Portland, and RJ's
Rounders (Men's Lower) and Softballfans (Women's), both of Kalamazoo. Christina Dowling, the slugging
star who manages Softballfans, will also be back. Last year, Softballfans averaged 23.5 runs per game and
outscored opponents, 94-27.
RJ's Rounders, featuring Eric and Donnie Yant and a lineup of former Vicksburg and Portage Central
athletes, will also be back, but will be sponsored by RJ's Bar & Grill/Hardballfans.
"There are three very good Class C teams -- Hardballfans, Extreme Softball and Softballfans (men's) --
that are playing in the Upper Division,'' Brockelbank said.
The favored team in the Upper Division will again be Suburban Softball/Street Kids, which is ranked No. 3
in the country in Class B and rated No. 1 in the state.
"We haven't played as well in the Kiracofe as I feel we should,'' said player-manager B.J. Roberts. "We
won it in 2005 and have finished runner-up three times (2000, 2001 and last year). But we've added five
players to our roster, including Chris Douglas, who leads the team in batting with an .800-plus average,''
Suburban, which has a 58-15 record, has a Who's Who of slow-pitch talent in its lineup, including
Portage's Matt Lavender, Todd Gooding, of Three Rivers, the Fairbanks brothers, Todd and Troy, of
Jackson, and Ben Knight, the former Otsego prep sports standout, among others.
Terry Patesel, who used to be player-manager of the Cavaliers, will have another championship contender
in Jim's Beef/Sugar. Patesel, who was on vacation and missed last year's Kiracofe, will again run the
popular Home Run Derby contest.
Jeff Crawford is another familiar name on Jim's Beef/Sugar roster. It's also possible that John Simpson, a
world-class slow-pitch player from Comstock, will be playing with Patesel's team.
The double-elimination tourney begins Friday night, runs throughout Saturday and wraps up with
championship games Sunday afternoon.
BY DEL NEWELL
Special to the Gazette
KALAMAZOO -- The longest running slow-pitch softball tournament in the country is showing no signs of
slowing down. In fact, the Burley Kiracofe Jr. Memorial has more teams than ever and is planning to give
out rings to the winning teams when the 40th annual high-arc tournament is staged Friday-Sunday at the
VerSluis-Dickinson Diamond Complex off Douglas Avenue.
"These will be special rings,'' said Mike Brockelbank, who will be directing the popular tournament for the
14th year and has been involved with the Kiracofe for 38 years.
"Rings will go to the winning teams in the three divisions (Men's Upper, Men's Lower and Women's) and
also each of our tournament directors (Ron Mosher, Terry Young, who's deceased, Dave Rozelle, Dick
Cagle and Dan Perrin).
"We also plan to have skydivers and other activities,'' said Brockelbank, who along with his brother, Terry,
and a myriad of volunteers plan to make the Kalamazoo Amateur Athletic Federation-sponsored event
another big summertime hit.
The tourney, named in memory of Burley Kiracofe Jr., a Portage Northern graduate and slow-pitch player
who was killed in Vietnam in 1969, has again attracted top local talent and teams throughout Michigan.
"The defending champs will all be back,'' Brockelbank said. "Problem is some of the players have changed
sponsors and a lot of players have changed teams.''
For the record, the defending champs are Farm Bureau Insurance (Men's Upper), of Portland, and RJ's
Rounders (Men's Lower) and Softballfans (Women's), both of Kalamazoo. Christina Dowling, the slugging
star who manages Softballfans, will also be back. Last year, Softballfans averaged 23.5 runs per game and
outscored opponents, 94-27.
RJ's Rounders, featuring Eric and Donnie Yant and a lineup of former Vicksburg and Portage Central
athletes, will also be back, but will be sponsored by RJ's Bar & Grill/Hardballfans.
"There are three very good Class C teams -- Hardballfans, Extreme Softball and Softballfans (men's) --
that are playing in the Upper Division,'' Brockelbank said.
The favored team in the Upper Division will again be Suburban Softball/Street Kids, which is ranked No. 3
in the country in Class B and rated No. 1 in the state.
"We haven't played as well in the Kiracofe as I feel we should,'' said player-manager B.J. Roberts. "We
won it in 2005 and have finished runner-up three times (2000, 2001 and last year). But we've added five
players to our roster, including Chris Douglas, who leads the team in batting with an .800-plus average,''
Suburban, which has a 58-15 record, has a Who's Who of slow-pitch talent in its lineup, including
Portage's Matt Lavender, Todd Gooding, of Three Rivers, the Fairbanks brothers, Todd and Troy, of
Jackson, and Ben Knight, the former Otsego prep sports standout, among others.
Terry Patesel, who used to be player-manager of the Cavaliers, will have another championship contender
in Jim's Beef/Sugar. Patesel, who was on vacation and missed last year's Kiracofe, will again run the
popular Home Run Derby contest.
Jeff Crawford is another familiar name on Jim's Beef/Sugar roster. It's also possible that John Simpson, a
world-class slow-pitch player from Comstock, will be playing with Patesel's team.
The double-elimination tourney begins Friday night, runs throughout Saturday and wraps up with
championship games Sunday afternoon.
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