SPA News

Quoting SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE'S poem THE ANCIENT MARINER with some modification.

WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE

AND ALL THE BOARDS DID SHRINK

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

THIS WEATHER REALLY DID STINK

Only the 70 and 60 Divisions were played at Barberton June 11,12,13,14,15 as the rest of the schedule was not only rained out but flooded out.

The fields were actually best suited for the first SPA COMBINED CANOE and KAYAK individual and team racing.

It was the first time in the tournaments 18-year history it was rained out.

The 75 SCARLET bracket saw the INDIANAPOLIS CLASSICS finish (6-0,5-0) in the round robin to edge HILL CONSTRUCTION (5-1,4-1)  INDIANAPOLIS beat HILL 16-15 in head-to-head action.

MICCHIANA MERCHANTS (2-3,2-2), JERSEY MASTERS (1-4,1-3), CAROLINA  BLUE SKY (1-5,1-4) and DAYTON LEGENDS (1-5.1-4) rounded out the six-team bracket.

SYRACUSE CYCLONES edged RUSH TRUCKING 10-9 in the GREY DIVISION to finish (5-1,4-1) to the TRUCKERS (5_1,4-1) but one the title and the tie-breaker win.

ROCHESTER CHESS (4-2,3-2), CHICAGO GREY SOX (3-3,2-3), AMR (2-4,2-3) and RARE BREED (1-5,0-5) were the others in the bracket.

OHIO ELITE DOCS (4-1) won the 60's GREY Division edging out JUST ONE MORE (3-2) on the strength of a 29-17 win in a head-to-head match. JUST ONE MORE win the 60 AA bracket edging DURHAM SILVER STICKS (2-3) 25-23.

PELLY'S STIX (1-4) and OHIO SIXTIES (1-4) were also in the GREY Division.

The CHICAGO PRIME beat JP MOTERMEN 23-18 to break a tie between the two teams (each 4-1) and win the 60 SCARLET bracket.

The MINUTEMEN finished a close (3-2), CARDOT MADALINA  CONSTRUCTION (2-3) and LOUISVILLE SUPER SLUGGERS (1-4). rounded out the group.

Twenty-two teams participating in the SPA 2019 TEXAS LONE STAR NIT learned first hand how to spell WAXAHACHIE June 7-9 as they battled for titles at its SPORT COMPLEX. When the dust cleared TEN TEAMS were crowned champions.

The TEXAS LEGENDS beat the TEXAS THUNDER in a third deciding game 19-13 to take the 60 AA crown. The Thunder won the second game 15-14 and the LEGENDS the first by a 22-18 count.

The THUNDER took the 60 AAA title.

LA LEGENDS beat OAK-ARK 9-6 and 12-9 for the 70 AAA title. The LEGENDS also beat OAKIES 17-2 in the opening round. OAK-ARK downed the OAKIES 22-12 to reach the finals.

Others in the bracket were TEXAS CLASSICS and TEXAS RAIDERS.

The 75 DIVISION saw HILL CONTRACTING drop TEXAS 75 KNIGHT RAIDERS 16-3 and 19-3 for the top prize.

GONZALEZ INSULATION edged TEXAS THUNDER 24-22 in winning the 65 MAJOR TITLE while the THUNDER claimed the 65 AAA award.

TEXAS ACES defeated TEXAS ELITE 27-15, 30-24 and ETX 23-22 to win the 50 AAA CHAMPIONSHIP.

Others in the bracket were UNDISPUTED TRUTH and UNDERDOGS 55"s.

ESCOBAR BODY SHOP took home the 50M PLUS crown beating ROCKIN N LEGENDS 26-25 and OK RHINO 27-25.

ROCKIN N LEGENDS downed MANCAVE 29-7 for the 55 MAJOR title while MANCAVE took care of OK RHINO 29-18 for the 50 MAJOR top prize.

The Women's SPA TWITTY SENIOR WOMENS NIT TOURNAMENT June 16-19 at DRAKE CREEK PARK in HENDERSONVILLE, TENNESSEE was music to a number of team's ears.

Acting out a pair of CONWAY TWITTY hits "The Games that Daddies Play" and "You've Never Been this far before", 29 teams took part in the tournament.

Showing why they love coming to HENDERSONVILLE the TN SR STARS 50;S, EAST COAST GEMS 55'S and JOLICO 65's all were repeat champs with JOLICO making it a THREE-PEAT.

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN STARS was the fourth team in the bracket.

In a re-run from 2018 JOLICO'S 65's beat the OHIO CARDINALS 16-2 and 10-9 to win the 60 PLUS bracket. Jolico also beat the GOLDEN GALS 12-8 on the way to their straight TWITTY title.

TN SR STARS bounced the DREAMGIRLS 17-14 and 21-19 for their repeat 50 PLUS crown. The champs also beat 50 CALIBRE 20-11.

DREAM GIRLS dropped FIRE & ICE 13-6 to reach the finals. JWP was the fifth team in the bracket.

In the 55 PLUS it was EAST COAST GEMS repeating with wins over THE PLAYERS (19-8), SERIOUS FUN (17-8) and 19-4 over SHO ME #1..

THE PLAYERS made it to the finals edging SERIOUS FUN 12-11. In the battle for MISSOURI "bragging rights". SHO-ME #1 downed SHO-ME #2 14-11.

SUNNY BEACHES kept JOLICO 60's from repeating by beating the 2018 TWITTY champ 10-7. The Michigan team didn't go down without a fight forcing a third game beating SUNNY BEACHES 9-5 in the "IF" game.

The champs had put JOLICO into the loser's bracket earlier with a 12-9 win after barely edging HAMEL LADIES 7-7 in the opening round.

Others in the bracket were NOREASTERS and SHO-ME602"s.

Six teams squared off in the 35 PLUS group with MIDWEST MAYHEM downing HILTON 40's 11-9 and 18-7 for the crown.

MIDWEST MAYHEM took the long way around to win the title by after winning the opener 20-19 over OUTER LIMITS they lost to HILTON 40's 13-15 to fall into the loser's bracket. They earned their way to the finals beating SAVE SECOND BASE 20-16, OUTER LIMITS 24-14, PITCHES BE CRAZY 18-4  and HILTON 40's 18-17.

Wicked game was the sixth team in the bracket.

KRYPTONITE downed HIGH CALIBRE 21-5 to take the 45 Plus CROWN.

PITCHES BE CRAZY were the 40 plus champs.

 LADY SHOT CALLERS were the fourth team in the bracket.

Twenty-six teams mainly from Minnesota and Wisconsin invaded PIONEER PARK, MINNESOTA JUNE 6-9 to play in the SPA/SSUSA STEVE SIMMONS MOSQUITOLAND CLASSIC.

In a mixture of AAA and MAJOR championships were earned in 50, 60,70 Majors and 50, 60, 70, 75/80 AAA.

MN LUMBERJACKS defeated MAHER HOMES 24-11, 25-24 for the 50 AAA title while CPD/ANCEL downed IOWA DEMONS 24-15 for the MAJOR crown.

CT VIPER also participated in the 50's groups.

The 60's saw WISCONSIN PLAYMAKERS lose twice to MINNESOTA LUMBERJACKS 12-14, 14-19 as the LUMBERJACKS won the 60 AAA title.

MINNESOTA MERCHANTS downed ALL AMERICAN RESTORATION 22-14 to take home the 60 MAJOR crown.

Other teams playing in the 60's group were MINNESOTA MERCHANTS and MINNESOTA MASTERS/ANCEL.

The MINNESOTA PRIZE defeated ALL-AMERICAN 19-9 TO WIN THE 70 major  with CHICAGO STRIKERS beating BADGER CLASSICS 18-13 for the 70 AAA Crown.

Also participating in the 70's were MIDWEST EXPRESS, CHICAGO HITMEN, ROCHESTER RAPTORS, MINNESOTA MASTERS and MINNESOTA LUMBERJACKS.

PROHEALTH  75's  was the winner over MINNESOTA MASTERS 80'S IN THE 75/80 BRACKET.

SPA continued to be the number one men's senior softball tournament drawing card in MARYLAND attracting 33 teams to the GLEN BURNIE TOURNAMENT may 1-4 at the BACHMAN SPORTS COMPLEX.

"GLEN BURNIE has been a fixture with SPA over the years always drawing between 30-50 teams," SOFTBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT RIDGE HOOKS said. "We were a little down this year with 33 teams but we will probably bounce back to 50 teams next year."

ELEVEN DIVISION champs were crowned in 2019 which saw winners in all age brackets.

The HIGH STREET BUCS won the 70's beating NORTHERN VIRGINIA FORCE (18-0) and SPICERS (17-11) in the finals. NORTHERN VIRGINIA reached the finals downing SPICERS 17-11.

The 70 MASTER crown went to the NEW YORK STATESMEN who beat BRADFORD WHITE 16-9 in the third game in a two-out-of-three showdown. The STATESMEN took the opener 12-10 but BRADFORD rallied to win the second game 17-11.

HAMEL BUILDERS BEAT PEACHTREE 23-10 and JERSEY MASTERS 18-11 for the 80's title.

PEACHTREE reached the finals with wins over BAILEY CAVALIERS 23-22 and 27-10.

The HIGH STREET BUCS downed ROCHESTER TITANS (26-18)and SPRINGFORD (26-25) to win the 65 MAJOR championship while the TITANS claimed AAA title.

ROADHOUSE BLUES and NORTHERN VA FORCE rounded out the five team bracket.

MARYLAND CLASSICS tripped PINEBELT CARS 30-20 AND 18-3 for the 50 AAA title. TIME BANDITS were third in the three team bracket.

THOMAS LAW lost the opener in the best two-out-of-three 28-29 to TEAM USA in the opener but rebounded taking the next two 32-25, 34-28 for the 50 MAJOR + title.

The 50 MAJORS saw BOB JOHNSON run the table in bracket play with wins over PHOENIX TUBE (24-19), COVELLO SANITATION (19-18) and WV HOTSHOTS (22-11) for the championship 50 MAJOR TROPHY.

PHOENIX TUBE beat CAVELLO SANITATION 21-16 for second.R

ROBELL PAINT was the fifth team in the group.

It was another bracket sweep as ACTION AUTO downed BUILDING INNOVATION (25-10. 29-13) and PHOENIX TUBE 24-5 for the 55 MAJOR crown.

THE NATIONALS filled out the four team bracket.

MARYLAND COUGARS beat CRUNCH IT 20-17 and MONECARY BREWERS 29-23 TO WIN THE 55AAA/60AAA title.

NORTHEAST STORM wrapped up the tournament as the 55 MAJOR + STORM beat 60M PROMOTION 17-16 and 28-13 in the 55 M+/ 60 M finale.

MONTGOMERY, ALA - MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA entertained 27 teams for the SPA MENS SOUTHERN SPRING NIT MARCH 14-17.

Champs were crowned in NINE DIVISIONS with the 40/50 group having the most teams with nine.

SIX ONE FIVE bested SOUTHEAST WATER SWARM 36-35 in the title game after losing to SOUTHEAST 32-36 earlier to force the "IF"  championship showdown.

While SIX ONE FIVE had an easier road to the finals with wins over WALKER BROTHERS 27-19, ATLANTA MONARCHS 35-34 and SHIELD CONSULTING COLOR BY DESIGN 44-42 it was not the case for SOUTHEAST.

The SWARM beat DOCS SOFTBALL 31-19 but lost its next game 31-32 to WALKER BROTHERS to fall into the loser's bracket,

SOUTHEAST faced a marathon trip to the title game beating LIGHTHOUSE 31-20, TEAM ARKANSAS 36-21, WALKER BROTHERS 24-18 and SIX ONE FIVE 36-32 to make it to the finale.

Teams in the nine-team bracket were SHIELD CONSULTING COLOR BY DESIGN, SOUTHEAST WATER SWARM, TEAM ARKANSAS, LIGHTHOUSE LOOKOUTS, RIVER ROCK CONSTRUCTION, DOC'S SOFTBALL, ATLANTA MONARCHS, SIX ONE FIVE SENIOR SOFTBALL and WALKER BROTHERS.

T-REX SOFTBALL won the 60 MAJOR CROWN with SEASONED VETS the 60 AAA CHAMPS. Others in the field were BAND OF BROTHERS and GAS.

TRAVELERS 70 were the 70 MAJOR winner with THE TITUS COMPANY 65 AAA champion and COLUMBUS LXV taking the 65 MAJOR TITLE. DEEP SOUTH SOFTBALL was the fourth team in the bracket.

KPI SOFTBALL bested MONSTER SOFTBALL in a 2-out-of-3 match-up winning 21-18 and 37-22 and losing 31-30.

Four teams battled it out for the 55 AAA crown with MONTGOMERY SWARM after losing its opening bracket game 17-19 to PANHANDLE won four in a row including the championship game.

The CHAMPS beat DARELL HARRIS 22-6, PANHANDLE 16-13 and TENNESSEE CONSTRUCTION 26-14 and 25-14.

TENNESSEE had beaten PANHANDLE 20-18 and DARELL HARRIS 28-26 to reach the finals.

KENTS PLAYERSbeat BRICKYARD SOFTBALL 43- 36 and GEORGIA RENEGADES 27-26, 33-18 to go undefeated in bracket play and claim the 50 AAA crown. ACTION SOFTBALL was the fourth team in the bracket.

"It was a good way to start the 2019 year," RIDGE HOOKS SOFTBALL PLAYERS PRESIDENT said. "There were great games in all the brackets, I expect next year to see a huge increase in the tournament."

COLLEGE STATION,TX -The SPA 2019 SALUTE TO VETERANS COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS TOURNAMENT  made up for last year's weather problems with near perfect skies and temperatures. This year's event drew 28 teams to the MARCH 21-24 event.

Eight teams went home with first place awards in the event.

GONZALES INSULATION won the five-team 65AAA- Major "MAJOR" title beating HOOKS 28-14 and TEXAS THUNDER 22-21 for the crown.

TEXAS THUNDER won the 65 AAA crown downing DALLAS SPURS 19-10 and 28-27.

Others in the five-team bracket were HOOKS, ROBSON RANCH and DALLAS SPURS.

The EIGHT TEAM 70'S BRACKET saw LA LEGENDS go undefeated (4-0) in bracket play in winning the championship. The LEGENDS bear OK-ARK 20-2, 11-4, SAN ANTONIO LEGENDS 20-19 and STILL 22-12.

OK-ARK fought its way to the title beating the OAKIES 11-10 and GRAY SOX 16-5 before falling into the losers bracket with a 4-11 loss to LA LEGENDS. OK-ARK bounced back bating SAN ANTONIO LEGENDS 13-10 before losing the title game to LA>

Others in the eight team bracket were: OK-ARK, SAN ANTONIO LEGENDS, STILL, TX RAIDERS, GRAY SOX and TEXAS CLASSICS.

Three teams went at it for the 75 AAA title with HILL CONTRACTING beating the SA DESPERADO'S 16-1 AND 16-6 to claim the crown.

TEXAS CRUSH was the 60 MAJOR PLUS champ. TEXAS THUNDER took the 60 MAJOR title and the TEXAS LEGENDS took home the 60 AA crown.

SAN ANTONIO SOFTBALL 55's was the 55 MAJOR PLUS champ and VIVID EASTON THE 50 MAJOR TITLE WINNER.

SA SOFTBALL beat ESCOBAR 27-14 TEAM ARK 39-23 TO EARN THE TOP SPOT.

VIVID EASTON disposed of MIXED BREED 19-18, TEAM ARK 24-9 and ESCBAR 27-24 on its march to the title.

MANCAVE was the sixth team in the field.

TEXAS ACES beat ETX 50 19-17 and UNDERDOGS 44-20 for the 50/55 title.

ETX downed UNDERDOGS 23-8 to reach the finals.

"It was a great tournament," SOFTBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT and CEO RIDGE HOOKS said." The weather cooperated and the teams all seemed to enjoy themselves. The winners also earned a spot in the SPA TRIPLE CROWN at DALTON."

ELITE SOFTBALL roared through the 2018 SPA 60 AAA WORLDS Sept 13-16 at DALTON, GEORGIA’S HERITAGE PARK COMPLEX going 6-0 in combined pool and bracket play..

The champs were at the top of their game averaging 17.5 runs per game while holding their opponents average to single digits (8.6) in their six tournament games.

ELITE was 3-0 in bracket play beating CARRIAGE HOMES (18-3), SEASONED VETS (14-6) and KC THUNDER 23-18 in the title game.

In pool play they disposed of KC THUNDER 12-8, CHATTANOOGA RAZORS 21-9 and CARRIAGE HOMES 17-8.

Runner-up KC THUNDER had a rough start losing all three pool games and their bracket opener to CARRIAGE HOMES 6-7 which put them into loser’s bracket after only one game..

They responded by beating CINCINNATI 60’s 24-23, CARRIAGE HOMES 21-13 and SEASONED VETS 13-12 before losing to ELITE SOFTBALL in the title game of the six-team division.

For ELITE SOFTBALL it was their first 2018 SPA tournament title after finishing second at the PENSACOLA SOUTHERN NIT and the MID-SOUTH TOURNAMENTS.

Members of the SPA 60 AAA WORLDS champs are: STEVE SOUTHERN, DAVID TAYLOR, DAVID MASHBURN, JIMMIE YOUNG, ALLEN MICKLER, JACK MELSON, ED BLACKMAN, JOHN SMILEY, RON BRUMMETT, RICHARD BRUMMETT and MARK HUGHES.

Led by manager RANDY MOSES, the HAMEL LADY 60’S won the 2018 SPA 60’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP August 19-23 at DALTON, GEORGIA’S HERITAGE PARK.

It wasn’t easy as HAMELS LADIES had to beat the 2016 and 2017 champs JOLICO twice, both times by one run.

‘11 was our magic number,” MOSES said. “We tied it in the seventh inning of the first game with 11 runs to go to extra innings for the first win and won the championship game with 11 runs.”

HAMEL LADIES beat JOLICO13-12 in the first game with THELMA MASON supplying the game winning hit in the bottom of the ninth. CAROLYN COTTERELL came through with a two-out bases loaded hit in the bottom of the seventh for the 11-10 win in the championship game.

It was quite a celebration for the second year team who had just stopped JOLICO’s string of 17 straight wins in the SPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP dating back to 2016 when they were a 55 team.

“It was quite a win for us,” MOSES said of his team. “We knew going in if we wanted to be the champs we would have to beat JOLICO”

HAMELS also beat MARYLAND ROADRUNNERS 24-10 in the first game in bracket play and SHO-ME 60’s (11-1) and NOR’EASTERS (7-6) in pool play.

HAMEL LADIES 60’S Individual award winners: RANDY MOSES, SPA 60 WOMENS’ MANAGER OF THE YEAR and TOURNAMENT MVP SANDY MURPHY.

ALL-AMERICAN selections were KATHERINE SIVELLS, DIANE GARDNER, JANIS JOHNSON, JAN JONES, JOYCE DONALDSON and DELORES GRANDISON.

HAMEL LADY 60’S team members: MOSES, MURPHY, SIVELLS, GARDNER, JOHNSON, JAN JONES, DONALDSON, GRANDISON, SYLVIA JONES, BETTYE MCCLENDON, KATHY KEYS, CAROLYN COTTERELL, SHIRLEY JOHNSON-WEBB, THELMA MASON, BARBARA DAVIS, KATHERINE ROBINSON-CAIN, KAREN BENTON, PATRICIA GAINES, PEGGY JO NEFF and RAMONA WIGGINS.

MN MASTERS/ANCEL emptied the guns in the SPA 60 MAJOR WORLDS title game winning 42-18 over HENDRICKS SPORTS MANAGEMENT July 22 at DALTON, GEORGIA’S HERITAGE PARK.

The champs set up the title game with HENDRICKS by beating CAROLINA COBRA’S (23-20) and INDIANA LEGENDS (23-30).

HENDRICKS made it to the finals b wins over CAROLINA COBRA’S 22-7 and INDIANA LEGENDS 23-21 after losing their bracket opener 23-24 to CAROLINA.

Individual awards were earned by DON BOWMAN JR, MANAGER OF THE YEAR and LON STOLE,MVP.

ALL-AMERICANS were DARYLY COOPER, GARY HAMILTON, GARY MORRIS, STEVEN SCHLETTY, LUDWIG NORDAHL and JEFFREY HANEVIDT.

Other members of the WORLD CHAMPS are GARY BENNETT, LARRY NELSON, JOHN ORF, WAYNE PETERSON, RANDALL SIMONSON, GARY HAENDEL, STEVE PEASE, RAYMOND GLYNN and MICHAEL HALEY.