WATERLOO - Three accomplished players and a longtime sponsor will be inducted into the Waterloo Softball Association Hall of Fame tonight as part of the organization's annual 4th of July festivities at Hoing-Rice Complex in Waterloo.

The night begins with the annual Home Run Derby. Registration is at 5:30 p.m. with the long ball competition at 6 p.m. Bruce Dinnibier, Claudio Carrasco, Jack Schake and Greg Saul will be recognized as the newest Hall of Famers at approximately 7 p.m., before the annual battle between local police and firemen on the slowpitch field at 7:30 p.m.

Dinnibier, who lost a battle with cancer in 2007, was a football and baseball all-stater at Waterloo West High. After graduating in 1969, he starred in both sports at the University of Northern Iowa and led the North Central Conference in home runs and slugging percentage as a senior. He broke into the slowpitch game with Simpson Dodge and went on to hammer softballs for some of the most powerful teams in metro history, including Crossroads Ford, Bo Jingles, North Central, Dugout Lounge, Ertl Toy and Narey's 19th Hole.

Carrasco came to the metro area as a second baseman for the Waterloo Indians in the 1980s. He led the club in base hits during the 1987 season and played seven seasons of professional ball before settling in the metro area and taking up softball in 1990.

He has played slowpitch for R&M Metals, Dee's Nutz, S&R Metals, IBP/Tyson, Super Troopers, Team X, Legends, Deery's, Azzy's/AZAP, Warm Trucking, Broosters and Watco. Many of those teams went on to play in national men's and co-ed tournaments, and Carrasco was named all-tournament at the 2007 35-and-over state tourney. Meanwhile, he established himself as one of the region's top modified fastpitch players, as well, while playing for Shagnasty's.

Carrasco has earned first-team all-state honors six times, a first-team Midwest Regional award, a first-team All-America honor and several most valuable player honors.

Schake began playing slowpitch at the age of 14 in 1958 and played for Al's Gas, Saul Hardware, Bill Staebell Home Improvement, Evansdale Make-up, Simpson Dodge, Gas Light and Mama Nick's. He was part of the Simpson Dodge teams that won state titles in 1970 and '71, and his Mama Nick's team was invited to the World Industrial Tournament in New Orleans after finishing second at state.

Schake played every position on the field at least once. He was primarily known as a base-hitter with a lifetime batting average above .600, although he counts a two-homer inning as one of his career highlights.

Saul began playing slowpitch ball in 1978 with Cedar Valley Baptist Church and continued with various teams throughout the 1980s. In 1991, he formed his own Professional Insurance Planners and Consultants team (PIPAC).

Since then, Saul has played for and sponsored a number of teams ranging from co-ed to Class A, including Cohesions, Expressions and PIPAC. He currently sponsors a co-ed and men's team in WSA leagues.