Pasquito and Decibus among inductees at Trenton Softball HOF
Among the very deserving inductees at this year’s Trenton Softball Hall of Fame’s annual banquet will be Frank Pasquito in the Player/Manager Division, and Princeton’s Van Service’s Lou Decibus in the sponsorship division.
FRANK PASQUITO
After playing baseball and football at Lawrence High, Pasquito got his start in softball in the Lawrence Township League on a Marty’s Bicycle team that included hall of fame player Jack “The Lawrence Legend” Mitchell.
A solid hitter with power and very popular with his fellow players, Pasquito would go on to play with some of the best teams in the history of the area. These included Zip’s Steak House, Coors Beer and Richardson Realty of the Mercer Major League.
In addition to excelling as a player, along the way Pasquito also started organizing and managing some high quality teams. He played and managed Grosso Trucking and Ferrara’s of the Mercer Major League and Lawrenceville Deli in the Ewing A League.
Pasquito was also a player on the Hibernian powerhouse teams in the Hamilton A League and was a member of seven state championship squads. One of those teams, Ferrara’s, was seventh in a national tournament in Dallas.
LOU DECIBUS
Still going strong in his 17th year as the sponsor of the Princeton Van Service team, Decibus is a throw-back to the earlier days of softball when sponsors went to great lengths to take care of their players.
In addition to picking up the tab for league fees, tournament fees and uniforms, Decibus
throws an annual dinner party for his team.
During his 17 years of sponsorship, Princeton Van Service has won 13 league titles, 13 playoff crown and five state championships.
BANQUET INFO
The banquet will be held on the Sunday of April 30 at John Henry’s Stone Terrace in Hamilton Township. Tickets are $65 per person and can be purchased by calling Artie Kearns at 609-771-6143 or Ed Fedorko at 609-226-6648.
This year’s inductees in the Men’s Player Division are Charles Maxwell, Mike Matto, Mark Drew, Frank DiRe, Eddie Rosado and Chris Russell. The women’s players who will be inducted are Patty Kinghorn and Kerin Pearson.
Six current high school athletes who play either softball or baseball will also receive scholarships.
SENIOR PLAYERS NEEDED
Now in its third decade, the Mercer 59-and-older Softball League is looking for players to fill out the rosters for four teams.
The league plays on Mondays and Wednesdays at Mercer County Park. Tryouts will be held on April 5, 10, 12 on Mercer Park Field 1. For more information call Tim Cash at 609-658-6757.