Vernon — There may not be an official name to the newly organized 60-and-over league at Jack and Mary Lou Thompson Softball Complex, but league founder Lary Williams has a pretty good suggestion.

“We call it the Monday Night Follies,” he said.

“When we first started I told the guys that it didn’t matter if we won or lost, it was a good day if: A, you had fun and B, you walked off the field on your own.”

Call Monday a success then.

Monday marked the fifth and second to last night in the 60-and-over softball league’s inaugural season. From a result standpoint, the news wasn’t so good for Williams and Co., who were dominated in a doubleheader at the complex by a talented club of players from Mercer, Erie and Crawford counties.

But by Williams’ criteria, it was certainly a success.

“These guys have been playing together for years at various levels,” Williams said of the competition. “We’ve only won two games. So we knew what we were getting into.”

Regardless, it was a good time for all.

“You may not be good, but we’re having fun,” said one of the players’ wives who helped make up a pretty vocal cheering section.

Last night’s action started off quite rough for the Blue squad with the team dressed primarily in burgundy hitting just a home run shy of the cycle through its first four at bats to take a 3-0 lead. In the 60-and-over league, teams are limited to scoring just five runs per inning. That cap was nearly reached by the burgundy team before Team Blue had recorded a single out.

“I’d like to get at least one out before they score their fifth run,” Blue’s second baseman Terry Clark said.

Blue did finally record an out, but the top half of the inning did come to an end when the fifth run crossed the plate. Things went a little different in the second inning giving the Blue team some ray of hope.

“Hey, we’re getting better,” coach Andy Kurt said. “We got two outs before they scored. Things are looking up.”

Blue got out of the inning before allowing five runs and appeared to get something going in the bottom half of the second when Williams reached on a sharply hit ground ball to third base.

“You got them worried now,” one of the wives again yelled.

“Worried about what?” Williams questioned. “Sun stroke?”

Williams’ hit was followed by a single by George Schroeder. Williams came around to score then on a single by Roger Smith. Blue was on the board, but down 8-1. It didn’t much matter.

“This is about coming out here and having a good time,” Williams said. “We’re supposed to play 11 players. But it’s so hard to keep 11 players healthy … You have hamstrings, calf injuries. The one guy we had come off (yesterday) injured an achilles. And we’re grandfathers too. We have one player who has a grandchild playing for Cochranton Little League.

“Ideally, we need 15 players on a team.”

Williams is hoping next year that may be a possibility.

The 60-and-over league is the third league started by Williams, who also began the 35-and-over and 50-and-over leagues now playing at the Jack and Mary Lou Thompson Softball Complex. And Williams said none of it would be possible without the help of several people, including Jack Thompson and Dale Krueger.

“It hasn’t been without a lot of effort,” Williams said. “We had a couple fellows who have really helped us. We’ve made maybe 50 phone calls and used personal contacts to try to recruit players.

“It was discouraging for a while, but I think we’re going to make it.”

The previous two leagues started by Williams also started slowly but are now flourishing. When Williams started the 35 and over league he said there were just four teams. That number increased to as many as 18 since then.

“Same with the 50 and over league,” Williams said. “We started with four and now there are six.”

Williams said the rules for the 60 and over league do differ from most other leagues. He said they are designed to enable the older player to still enjoy the game.

“This whole league is built on the idea of trying to protect the players, but to have fun as well.”

One of the rule differences is the number of players allowed on the field at a given time. In the 60 and over league, there are 11 players on defense. There is also a 200 foot restraining arc in the outfield. Fielders are required to remain behind the line until the ball is hit.

“As you get older, it’s harder to hit for long distances,” Williams said. “This gives them a chance to get over the infield and maybe get a base hit.”

The 60-and-over league is for players who turned 58 this year or older. Anyone interested in playing next season should contact Lary Williams at 332-0386 or by email at wlwilliams@zoominternet.net