Pierce, Dennis

Dennis Pierce would like to thank his lucky stars. More specifically, the stars Dennis was most thankful for were not of the planetary variety, rather they were #l and #2 in his heart and #1 and #2 in the lineup card for three-time national champions, Riverside Paving, of Louisville, Kentucky. Namely, those stars were leadoff hitter, David Crawley, and #2 hitter Mike Jackson; and what they did for Riverside and Mr. Pierce was set the proverbial table, and Dennis took care of the rest by smashing three-run homer after three-run homer well beyond the outfield fences.

This broken record of hit, hit, then homer by Pierce played itself out throughout Riverside's run of three ASA Major titles in 1991, 1994, and 1995. In 1994 and 1995, Riverside Paving's large lefty earned MVP honors both Labor Day weekends in Lawton, Oklahoma (1994) and Salem, Oregon (1995). Pierce walloped 19 long balls in Lawton to set a Major home run record, and his 49 RBIs also broke the ASA Major National mark. Ironically, Pierce broke the home run record of 18 set by fellow Kentuckian and this year's Kentucky Softball Hall of Fame inductee, Dewayne Nevitt, who in 1991 at Decatur, Alabama set the home run standard of 18 with Wildcat Fence in a 4th place finish at the Majors.

Perhaps Dennis Pierce's best year ever was in 1995 when he hit .714 for the season and smashed 138 home runs to go alongside his second straight National MVP.

The Super ranks followed after Pierce's Major moments with Riverside Paving, and he played on such teams as Long Haul, R&D, and the Hitmen of Steele. After Steele's and a rigorous Super schedule, the Derby City standout decided to go back to the Majors where he excelled with New Construction, Planet Softball, and Reece/Roosters.

Pierce's 10 All-American awards highlight an illustrious softball career which includes five National team titles, several home run awards, and a handful of nationally recognized MVPs for tournaments such as the prestigious Conway Twitty in Hendersonville, Tennessee and others around the region.

As much as Dennis enjoyed the national softball stage, he truly loved the state and local scene playing virtually every weekend with whomever was lucky enough to pick him up. He enjoyed league ball at Bertram in Louisville, Kentucky where he crushed many balls into the right field trees much to the pleasure of the Derby City crowds.

Some of Pierce's favorite Kentucky tournaments were the Bowling Green Spring Classic, Lake Cumberland Classic in Monticello, the Thoroughbred in Lexington, Burkesville's Southern Classic, and, of course, the L.I.T. (Louisville Invitational) where his hometown fans could come to watch probably the most prolific power hitting lefty in Kentucky softball history.