2010 Pioneer Player: Kent Grosshuesch

Kent Grosshuesch

Kent's outstanding career began back in 1996, when a team made up of teachers from Naperville needed a pitcher for their recreational league team. During the years following, Kent continued to play in the rec league with Ray's Liquors, Feldotts and Moser Lumber, prior to joining "The Lantern" squad with Ron Brown as their coach. This was a new experience for Kent as the team switched from playing 16" softball to playing 12" and became one of the best.

In 1977, he became a member of "The Storm," a Chicago-based Semi-Pro team, prior to moving to Arkansas, where he played 9 years on a team called "The Flames." It was the #1 team in Northwest Arkansas for many years and was the state champion in their class in 1988.

A few years later, he moved to Germany and played on the Pirmasen's Army Base team for three years, prior to becoming the Girls Fastpitch coach at Ramstein High School on Ramstein Air Base, which has won 7 of 11 European Championships.

Kent's coach, Ron Brown of "The Lantern," credits a lot of the team's success to Kent's quality pitching and cat-like reflexes on the mound. In regards to Kent's qualifications for the Hall of Fame, Brown says, "During his time with us, there was no finer pitcher in the state and he was as good a hitter as he was a pitcher."