Horseshoes: Hatch goes undefeated to win Hot Pahrump Daze title

Jim Hatch of Pahrump hit 93 ringers on 200 shoes to go undefeated through five games and win the tournament championship at the Hot Pahrump Daze tournament June 12 at Petrack Park.

Entering the Nevada Horseshoe Pitching Association-sanctioned tournament with a field-best 42.78 ringer percentage, Hatch exceeded that, getting ringers on 46.5% of his attempts and hitting 24 more than anyone else in the tournament. Dan Dunn of Las Vegas finished with more points than Hatch (195-194), but Dunn lost twice and finished third, behind Joseph Kalache of Las Vegas.

Mark Kaczmarek and George Mallory, both of Pahrump, finished in a tie in Class B, each posting 4-1 records. But Kaczmarek, who had the better day statistically, defeated Mallory in a playoff to claim the title.

Kaczmarek’s 74 ringers and 191 points easily outdistanced the Class B field, and he topped his entering ringer percentage by 1.77 points. Lawrence Workman of Henderson finished 3-2 to place third in the division.

DJ Zuloaga of Pahrump won all five of his games to win Class C by two games over Russell Jacobs and Kevin Chael. Chael finished with more points, but Zuloaga had one more ringer and more than doubled his entering percentage. Jacobs then defeated Chael in a playoff to claim second place.

The next day, The Hubb Bar &Grill in Pahrump hosted the latest installment of the Shoes &Brews Series, and Kaczmarek and Zuloaga continued their solid pitching. Kacmarek teamed with Dave Lawrence to win the doubles tournament, while Zuloaga and Lathan Dilger survived a three-way playoff to finish second.

Teams are selected by draw, with one A player and one B player on each of the six teams. Kaczmarek and Lawrence defeated all five foes during the round-robin tournament to win the title, taking home $30 each and 10 points in the series standings.

Meanwhile, Zuloaga and Dilger, Kasey Dilger and Kevin Chael and Brennon Jeff and Steve Witherell each went 3-2 to tie for second, forcing a playoff. Zuloaga and Lathan Dilger won the toss and got to sit out while the other two teams squared off.

Jeff and Witherell defeated Kasey Dilger and Chael to set up a battle for second place with Zuloaga and Lathan Dilger, which they lost, leaving them in third place. Zuloaga and Lathan Dilger pocketed $18 and 5 points apiece; Jeff and Witherell settled for $12 and 2 points apiece. As a consolation prize, Kasey Dilger won the 50/50 and took home $38.

“I’d like to thank Dennis and his staff at The Hubb for the great food and drinks and the beautiful horseshoe pits they constructed,” said Lathan Dilger, president of the Nevada Horseshoe Pitching Association and Southern Nevada Horseshoe Pitching Association. “I hope to get other families involved. They just don’t know what they’re missing, how much fun it is.

“Like I said before, we’re like family, all of us.”

The next event is the NHPA-sanctioned Ho-Z Classic on Saturday in Tonopah. The tournament, open only to NHPA members, will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Joe Friel Sports Complex.