COEUR d'ALENE - Darlene Lenz has enough softball memories to fill a stadium.

The 80-year-old remembers how one of her first teammates had quite the arm.

"I played first base when Jo was playing shortstop," she said. "When she threw that ball to first base, I had to buy a new glove. She threw so hard that it hurt my hand."

Lenz, of Coeur d'Alene, recalls the competitiveness of the state tournaments she played in during the '70s. She remembers the friend she played softball with in Minnesota in the '50s, and she'll never forget explaining her two black eyes to a little girl during a competition in the '90s.

"She said, 'What happened to you?'" Lenz said as she shared the story. "I said, 'I got hit by a softball.' The little girl responded, 'Twice?'"

This is a special year for Lenz because she is celebrating 50 years as an active women's softball player for Coeur d'Alene's Recreation Department.

"1964 is when they (Coeur d'Alene) started women's teams," she said. "Before that, there were no women playing softball."

She now plays first base for Jimmy's Misfits, but was a catcher for many years.

She laughed as she remembered her husband, Cliff, telling her she couldn't play, but did anyway.

"That's been 50 years this year. I couldn't believe it had been that long," she said. "Time goes fast."

Her daughter - Robin Lenz, 57, of Coeur d'Alene - said she and the whole Lenz family feel that her mom's long history with the sport is a big deal.

"That's quite a landmark, to be 80 and still playing ball," Robin said.

Robin organized a reunion of her and her mother's former teammates during one of their games earlier this month. Many older players attended to celebrate Darlene's accomplishments.

"The thing that was impressive to me; Darlene played the entire game," said former coach Bob Hays, 73, of Hayden. "She didn't play one or two innings, she played the entire game."

Hays began the Coeur d'Alene Auto Parts team in 1971 and coached Lenz ladies for several years. He said it was a competitive team, and the ladies made it to state and national tournaments on many occasions.

He remembers when Darlene hit a home run at a competition in Kansas City.

"I think that was the highlight of her softball-playing days," he said with a chuckle. "When she hit the ball square, she could really hit it."

He commented on Darlene's softball longevity.

"Anybody that plays a competitive sport at a high level, and I'm not talking about a bunch of little old ladies playing half speed," he said. "Anyone who can play the sport past 55 is pretty remarkable."

He recalled how Darlene was the "mom" of the team when the team transitioned to mostly younger players. He called her "the center, the stabilizing force" of the team.

"She's a unique lady, and anybody that doesn't know her is missing out," he said.

Robin has an abundance of memories of watching her mom's games when she was young.

"She beat the runners down first base," Robin said. "Mom got there, so if there was an overthrow, she got it, to keep them from getting another base."

Softball has been a family tradition since 1975, when Robin joined Darlene to play for the Auto Parts team. Cliff worked as an assistant/base coach, Robin's sister, Kelly, joined the team four years after Robin, and the Lenz softball legacy expanded from there.

Darlene and Robin joked on Sunday that the men in their family would have to stay home and work while the ladies played ball.

"It's just the thing to do," Robin said. "If there's not a Lenz on the softball field, there's something wrong."

Coeur d'Alene Recreation Department director Steve Anthony said the Lenz ladies have been a big part of women's softball in Coeur d'Alene's history, and he referred to Darlene as a "very classy player."

"She was competitive, but she always played with a lot of class," he said. "She always has the right attitude."