Locals to be inducted in ASA Hall

Two of the top players from the Vandalia Freight men’s fast-pitch softball team will be inducted into the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame in April.

Catcher/manager Rich Well and first baseman/outfielder Nick Casey are among the 12 individuals to be inducted to the Hall of Fame on April 12 at a ceremony held at the Hotel and Conference Center in Decatur.

Both men were key members of the team when The Freight picked up ASA Class A national championships in 2005 and 2007.

Though full statistics from The Freight are not available due to some results having been lost, the numbers that exist show that Well and Casey are each deserving of his spot in the Hall of Fame.

Well holds team records in batting average (.408), games played (568), runs (521), hits (866), RBI (591), doubles (167) and total bases (1,444). In addition, he clobbered 112 home runs.

In 2005, Well was named the national Most Valuable Player after a superb national tournament saw him drive home 10 runs on seven hits. Two of those were home runs and two were doubles.

Two years later, he had a 3-for-3 effort in one of the five wins leading to the national title.

In total, Well was named all-state eight times, earning MVP honors in 1999 and 2005, and he received All-America honors in 1999, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

The Freight were national runners-up in 1999, and during that year’s national tournament, Well hit .455, with six RBI, one triple and two doubles.

In 2009, when the team finished third in the national tournament, Well drove in at least one run in all five games.

Well's career lasted from 1980-2009, and he also played for Bobby B's in Ipava, Trone Construction in Canton, KornTop in Quincy and Plymouth, Ill.

He is currently the superintendent of schools for the Vandalia district.

Casey holds team records in home runs (144), triples (45), walks (286) and slugging percentage (.684), playing in 567 games. He also held a 74-59 record as a pitcher, and drove home 560 runs, while scoring 481 times.

In 2005, Casey was named to the all-tournament team in the state tournament, and had at least one hit in four of the seven games in the national tournament.

In the 2007 national championship game, Casey drove home the winning run on a two-run double in a 3-1 win against New Image from Montfort, Wis.

He earned all-state honors six times, earning the MVP award in 2003. In 1999 and 2009, he was named an All-American.

In 1999, Casey hit .375 in the national tournament, smacking two home runs and driving in six runs.

Casey hit in all but one game of the 2009 national tournament, and picked up six RBI.

Casey's career lasted from 1987-2009, and he also played for Hosick Motors in Vandalia,  Cowden Merchants in Cowden and KornTop in Quincy.

He is currently the director of the Okaw Area Vocational Center in Vandalia, and coaches eighth-grade boys basketball.

The Freight was inducted to the Hall of Fame as a team in 2011, and has come out of retirement a few times since then. Prior to its retirement, the team boasted a 542-303 record.

Vandalia won state titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and picked up ISC World Tournament championships in 2005 and 2006.

Other inductees in this year's class are:

•Jim Trump, Greenfield
•Rudy Klokkenga, Bloomington
•Earl Eichelberger, Champaign
•Tom Laue, Shumway
•Scott Standerfer, Charleston,
•Lisa Cuocci, Benton
•Bill Hamer, Annawan
•Jim Collins, Towanda
•Don Schultz, Decatur
•Zam Mogil-Hay, Schereville, Ind.

Teams inducted this year are:

•Zeigler Raiders
•Kankakee Kardinals
•Annawan/Atkinson Snicks
•Nokomis Bud Light