Laura Trexler and Denise Henderson, two of the earliest and most prestigious stars in Southern Lehigh's Colonial League softball dynasty, will be among the five inductees on Wednesday night when the 14th annual Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place at Pates Park.
Others to be inducted include longtime area umpire John Endy, outstanding area men's fastpitch player Gordy Frack and the late Pete Konapelsky, who spent several decades involved in men's fastpitch game as a player, coach and sponsor.
The ceremony will take place at about 7:15 in between games of a busy card at Pates Park.
Here's that schedule:
3:30 PM Patriots Red Old Timers vs. Patriots Blue Old Timers
5:30 PM 2014 Carpenter Cup Softball Team vs. Patriot Flames
7:15 PM 14th Annual HOF Induction Ceremony
8:00 PM Stripes and Strikes (Hazleton, PA) vs. 23-U Patriettes
Information on the inductees:
Trexler
She was a star pitcher on several of the Southern Lehigh's first four Colonial League champions from 1975-78. In 1977, she also led the team to a District 11 title and was one out away from winning the state title when Twin Valley hit a two-run home run to win the championship game, 6-5.
In her final two years at Solehi, Trexler won 39 games and was 22-1 as a senior in 1978 when the Spartans again won the league and district titles and advanced to the state semis before losing.
With the Patriot Queens in 1979, Trexler pitched the team to a runner-up finish in the state, a first-place finish in the Central Atlantic Regional and a third-place effort in the national tournament in Bay City, Michigan.
Henderson
At Southern Lehigh, Henderson, an all-star catcher, helped her teams go a combined 84-9 and win four consecutive Colonial League titles, all with undefeated records.
In that era, the Spartans also won three District 11 titles, advanced to the state semifinals three times and the state championship game once, coming within one out of victory.
As a senior captain, Henderson hit .515 with 53 RBIs (still a school record) and 10 home runs. She was an easy choice as team MVP.
She went to Bloomsburg and from 1981-84, she led the Huskies to a 114-21 record, giving her a combined scholastic and collegiate career record of 190-30.
Bloomsburg won multiple state and regional titles and a national crown in 1982 with Henderson as a four-year starter and All-American.
When Henderson left Bloomsburg, she held the school records for most hits (44) and runs (35) in a season and the highest batting average (.411).
Since her college career ended, Henderson has stayed in the women's game as a reliable, dedicated catcher. She has played for a variety of local teams, including the Pates Women's Club and Topton Spirit.
She has traveled the country playing the sport and participated in 10 national tournaments.
Frack
Gordy Frack’s biggest softball moment came in the middle of the winter.
It was in February of 1976 when Frack hit three home runs and batted over .400 overall to help the Rising Sun Hotel share the championship in the World Softball Tournament in Wellington, New Zealand.
Frack was on a star-studded team featuring several other Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Famers including Ty Stofflet, Larry Bergh, Zeke DeLong and Art Weida.
While that happened in the middle of winter, Frack shined for 19 summers, from 1972-1990, on area softball diamonds playing for a variety of local teams and was known for his consistency as a player and reliability as a teammate.
Konapelsky
Konapelsky, one of the game's most colorful personalities, was an outstanding pitcher going back to the Young Men’s Club Class A team in the 1950s. And then he was front and center leading the St. Mary’s Ukes team to a 19-0 record and the city league championship in 1975. In all, St. Mary’s Ukes won three city and one state title.
He later was the sponsor and coach of the M&K Sales team that won numerous fastpitch and slo-pitch titles and also coached Allentown Patriots’ teams for many years, leading them to state, regional and national tournaments.
He was also a local commissioner in ASA fastpitch and instrumental in the development of the Lehigh Valley Softball League.
In 1982, he was honored with one of Lehigh Valley fastpitch softball’s biggest honors, the Buddy Hahn Memorial Award saluting him for outstanding contributions to the development of Lehigh Valley fastpitch.
Endy
Endy, a longtime Upper Saucon Township resident who was also an elementary school teacher in the Quakertown School District for 30 years, has been a fixture on local diamonds for nearly a half-century. He just completed his 48th season of calling games in the Lehigh Valley.
He was worked 12 District 11 championship games, including this past season’s title game between Parkland and Pleasant Valley, and worked games in the first two rounds of the PIAA tournament.
He also worked the ECAC South Regional in the collegiate ranks.
Endy handled the 2000 PIAA Class A championship game between Canton and Chartiers-Houston at Shippensburg and has done numerous high school league championship games and playoff games at the collegiate level.
But while mostly known these days these days for his calls on the girls and women’s softball scene, he also has an extensive background in the men’s game. He worked the ISC World tournaments in 1983 in Bakersfield, Calif., and the one hosted by the Allentown Patriots at Pates and Bicentennial parks in 1984.
He also did his share of ISC qualifying tournaments in Canada, New York state, Ohio and West Virginia and has served as an assignor for several leagues.
Endy has also had a distinguished career as a soccer official – working 48 years in the high school ranks and 46 in college. He has also done more than a dozen District 11 title games and three state finals in that sport.
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