Golden Boys unbeaten
The mix was right. The record was perfect.
The Golden Boys, sponsored by Mark Golden and sporting a blend of younger players and older veterans, recently completed a 27-0 season — including playoffs — in the Franklin Field Softball League.
The team is believed to be the first squad to go unblemished through an entire season in the league in nearly 40 years.
"It's hard to do because there's so many good teams around," Franklin Field league president Jerry Ehrman said. "These guys all hit the ball, ran well and played solid defense."
The league has a seven-home run limit per game, but the Golden Boys weren't known for the longball.
"We didn't have a lot of power on this team," first baseman Frank Hawryliak said. "We were a bunch of line-drive hitters and our defense was phenomenal."
Hawryliak said the team averaged about 18 runs per game and allowed fewer than 10. In fact, all but three of its games ended after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Hawryliak, 49, has been in the league for 30 years.
"I played on a softball team in the Air Force that was pretty darn good," he said. "This may be the best team I've played for since then."
The Golden Boys' 20 consecutive regular-season wins were followed by seven straight playoff victories, including a sweep of Michael's in the finals by approximate scores of 29-6, 21-4 and 14-12.
"We felt like we should have gone unbeaten two years in a row," shortstop Kregg "Bucky" Kozik said. "We were perfect in the regular season last year and got upset in the semifinals."
Seven players on the Golden Boys, Keith, Kregg, Kevin and Van Kozik, Chris Shoentag, Brent Fehl and Steve Gresley, are teammates on a Church League team that has won that championship 11 of the past 12 years.
"Softball is serious to us, but it's relaxing at the same time," Kozik said. "It's fun being able to have some guy-getaway time, play ball and forget about everything else in life for a while.
"Some players on our (Golden Boys) team are from my father's generation. They've been playing ball for years and it's cool being on the same field with them."
The Golden Boys' regular batting order had Mark Golden pitching, Keith Kozik in left-center, Hawryliak at first base, Dave Miller catching, Kregg Kozik at shortstop, Steve Scott in left field, Fehl in right field, Shoentag at third base, Dave Codispot at second base and Mike Deihl in right-center.
"The younger guys brought speed to the team and we jelled as a unit," Hawryliak said. "We had the same lineup most of the time.
"This is just a group of good guys who know how to play the game."
Kozik even lauded the efforts of Frank Hawryliak Sr., nearly 80, who attends nearly every game played in the league.
"We call him our general manager," Kozik said. "He gets around on a scooter and knows every team well. He does a lot of scouting for us.
"Most of our players are coming back next year. Obviously, we want to see if we can do this again."
