MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Men’s summer softball season reached its end Thursday evening as the upper, middle and lower divisions took up three fields at Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex in the pursuit of a championship. When the competition was over, The Kids, Average Joes and OG’s claimed the championships of their respective divisions.

The Kids earn back-to-back championships 

First to claim their championship title was The Kids, who have now won the upper division two years in a row. After defeating the Dawgs in a play-in round, The Kids faced off against the undefeated Smash team. 

The two teams had a close upper division championship game, but ultimately The Kids rallied to win it all. 

“Two-time champs, feels good,” said Saky Garza from The Kids. “This time it was a solid group of friends and actually about 90% of us are related. It’s pretty fun playing with family like that, definitely a good year.” 

Garza said The Kids were very successful this season, only falling to the Dawgs and Smash up until the championships. As the team already begins looking forward to next season, he hopes they can run it back once again. 

“We want to bring back the same squad, god willing; it’d be nice,” he said. “Same thing, we’ll be back. We’re only getting older, so we want to keep playing.” 

Average Joes run it back 

Another team that came back to win a repeat championship title was the Average Joes who this year became the middle division champions. The championship matchup came between the Average Joes and BFF/Sun Splash.  

The Average Joes and Sun Splash battled throughout the evening with the teams playing two games for the championship. Both teams had strong hits, and the opposition matched with quick plays on defense, but eventually, the Average Joes pulled ahead to claim their second championship title. 

“It was fun,” said Jaime Vela from the Average Joes. “We had our work cut out for us, but honestly we took it one pitch at a time, and we went out and got after it.” 

Vela said he enjoyed the opportunity to play alongside his team of close friends for another great season of softball. 

“We’re a bunch of guys that get along really well,” he said. “We mesh together well and we hang out all the time, on and off the field, so we enjoy being around each other and that makes a big difference. The chemistry makes a big difference.” 

OG’s prove themselves in the championships 

At about the same time as the conclusion of the middle division championships, the OG’s pulled off a victory in two games to win the lower division title. The lower division championship game came between the OG’s and the Ochoa Fam.  

The Ochoa Fam got ahead and won in the first game of the night which put the OG’s on the ropes for the final game. After a hard-fought and strategic battle between the two teams, the OG’s sealed victory by staying up by two points in the seventh inning. 

“Ochoa’s tough man, they fought to get here,” said Eddie Gonzalez from the OG’s. “They took us out the first game and we just had to come back, but sometimes you get a little rattled during the game and you just have to calm down and play for your team.” 

For the OG’s, win or lose, it’s all about doing it together as a team, he said. Their team chemistry is something that means a lot to the team as they have built a close knit, family-oriented team. 

Gonzalez said the team also prides itself on giving back to the sports community. Many of the players in their free time act as coaches or umpires for other leagues, with Gonzalez coaching for about 25 years. Through this and the 10 years that they’ve been together as a team, they have gained a positive reputation in the area. 

“We’re a little old, but we’ve gotten a little respect from some folks and it’s much appreciated,” he said. “We still get a chance to play and that’s a good thing.” 

Building a community 

With the summer season now concluded, the players all showed their appreciation for what the league means to them. For league director Isaac Valdez, the championship night means more than just the chance at a championship title. 

“As men, we get to be competitive for a night, we get to go back to when we’re in high school, college, whatever it is and we get to compete,” said Valdez. “The game gets intense; Moses Lake is different than any other league.” 

He said throughout both the season and the tournament, the teams play hard and compete to their fullest strength. Each passing year he has seen both the number of teams and the competition improve. 

“As a director, as somebody that’s watching this, to have two (late) games is amazing,” said Valdez. “That means that we have the people in the right divisions; nothing is given, everything is earned.” 

The age range between players and the amount of time that some teams and players have been playing is something that was also impressive. Teams competing on championship night had players ranging from recent high school graduates to players aged up to 65 and have been around the sport for around 30 years.  

Despite the age difference between each of these players, they are all able to bond both within their own teams and across the league.  

These bonds will continue to develop through the remainder of the summer as the men will be joined by the women for the start of Co-ed adult softball. The first games will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex. 

    Jaime Vela from the Average Joes takes a swing at a pitch during the championships in the middle division against BFF/Sun Splash Thursday evening.
  

    Saky Garza steps up to bat for The Kids during the upper division championships against Smash.
  

    CJ Ochoa from the Ochoa Fam steps up to bat early Thursday evening against the OG’s in the lower division championships.
  

    One of the Sun Splash players works to throw the ball back to the mound from deep in the outfield Thursday in the championships against the Average Joes.
  

    A Smash player adjusts his hat as the team prepares to go on defense against The Kids in the upper division championship game Thursday.