Vernon News

Wherever the New Mexico Ichiban slow pitch team went at Vernon’s Funtastic tournament this weekend, they were warmly welcomed by members of other teams and by fans.

The team, which hails from the mile high city of Albuquerque, travelled over 1600 miles to get to Vernon. They flew to Seattle and rented vans for the drive to Vernon. While I was exclaiming how good it was of them to travel all this way to play ball, one of the players passing by said, “no problem, it was down hill all the way!” That ebullient attitude typifies the team’s joyous style of play, which features buckets of base hits and swift, uninhibited base running.

The Ichibans displayed plenty of hitting and running as they rolled over a good team from Victoria, 20-4 in a 4 pm Sunday game at Kin Park. Both teams had been undefeated before this game in the tournament’s first flight. Saturday night, the Albuquerque squad tied a game following “a bit too much beer garden and beach time,” according to Coach Steve Archibeque.

Funtastic organizers identify two kinds of mixed slow pitch teams, “fun teams” and “serious teams.” The Ichiban squad clearly belongs in the latter category, although the Funtastic atmosphere places a premium on camaraderie, an aspect that coach Archibeque said are not always present in the tournaments his team enters.

The Ichibans play plenty of ball, in a spring league, a summer league, and a fall league at home. They also enter the state championships and 6 to 8 other tournaments per year. The trip to Vernon is the farthest they’ve travelled, and several players had to scramble to get passports because it was their first trip outside the U.S.

A passport was not an issue for Vernon native, Sean Lecouse, who annually returns to Vernon for a visit. After starring in football locally, he won a scholarship to New Mexico State, where he played linebacker for the Division 1 Aggies. Before leaving for New Mexico in the early 1990s, he played baseball for the Enderby Legionnaires, a very good baseball team at that time. Looking every inch a linebacker, Lecouse admits that he misses the body contact that football offers, but he enjoys playing for the Ichiban: “they’re a great bunch of people, and good athletes, too.”

One of the fine athletes mentioned by Lecouse was Ora Hensley, who played shortstop for a New Mexico college. According to Steve Archibeque, “all our women are good ball players, which is the way to form a competitive co-ed team.”

Lecouse was instrumental in bringing the team to Vernon. The only issue was the cost. Although some of the players were able to afford the full cost of the trip, the team was able to raise funds by working in the concessions at Albuquerque Isotope games. The Isotopes are the L.A. Dodgers’ top minor league team.

Since arriving in Vernon, said Archibeque, the team has been treated very well. “Everything was booked in town, so they found great accommodations up at the Silver Star resort.” He adds, “We’re having loads of fun here. People are so friendly, coming up to say ‘hello’ and make us feel welcome. We’ll come back if we can swing it. And it’s a small world yesterday at Alexander’s Beach Pub, a guy came up and said he’d lived in Albuquerque when he had played hockey for the Albuquerque Scorpions.”

The team’s presence apparently has started a trend, said Archibeque: “now guys are asking us about tournaments down south, because they want to travel, too. I think that’s terrific.”