SPA News

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - Ten teams challenged the weather OCTOBER 17-20 at MIKE DESORBO EXCHANGE PARK in PENSACOLA, FLORIDA.

TEAM LOUISIANA downed DOC C twice 23-17 and 20-13 for the 50 PLUS CROWN.

Four teams went at it in the 60 PLUS group with SMITH MASION beating BAND OF BROTHERS for the title. SMITH MASON reached the finals with a 23-20 over WESTROCK.

WESTROCK had the satisfaction of sending BAND OF BROTHERS to the loser's bracket 20-19 in first round play. The fourth team in the bracket was SMITH MASON.

TRAVELERS an DAG went best two-out-of-three for the 70 GOLD title with winning twice 25-9 and 14-13. DAG took the middle game 17-11.

THE 70 SILVER went to BOYD METAL over MISFITS.

DALTON, GA - The GOLDEN GIRLS downed the CHATTANOOGA CHARGERS twice in bracket play to win the 2019 SPA WOMEN'S 70's SILVER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AUG 18-22 at DALTON. GEORGIA'S HERITAGE PARK.

The GOLDEN GIRLS and the CHARGERS played each other three times in bracket play. GOLDEN beat CHATTANOOGA 10-7 in the DE second round but lost to them 11-23 when the CHARGERS came out of the loser's bracket.

The tournament was decided in the third match between the two as the GIRLS won 15-8.

THE GOLDEN GIRLS opening round game was 16-1 over NW MTN MAMA;S. The CHARGERS also beat the NW MOUNTAIN MAMA's by 20-17 to make it to the finals.

MEMBERS OF THE 2019 SPA 70'S SILVER DIVISION WORLD CHAMPION GOLDEN GIRLS ARE: KAREN ADAMS, SANDY PRICE, SHARON BARAN, BARBARA LUKENS, JUDY COTHRAN, GAIL DOREO, AVIS VAUGHT, SUSAN HOPKINS, RONNIE RUMP, JOSIE LANASA, CAROL COURTER, GLORIA MILLER, KAREN PARRINELLO, CAROL WATERS, CAROL KOSZOLA, EVELYN BECK, RUTH WEIL, CAROLYN OLIVER and ELLEN BOWERS.

DALTON GEORGIA - The OHIO CARDINALS put a last minute 70's team together for the SPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and surprisingly ended up winning the 2019 SPA 70 GOLD WORLDS CHAMPIONSHIP.

With no 65's tournament being held at DALTON,GA SEPT 18-32, the OHIO team made a roster out of their 70's players and entered as the OHIO CARDINAL 70's.

The BUCKEYE bunch may want to keep that team together in 2020 as they beat JOLICO SRS 18-3, GOLDEN GALS 20-7 and FUN BUNCH 15-3 to win 2019 SPA 70's GOLD WORLDS.

FUN BUNCH had a nice run when after losing their opening tournament game 23-30 to the GOLDEN GALS, they fought out of the loser's bracket beating JOLICO SRS 17-10 and GOLDEN GALS 16-8. before losing in the finals to OHIO CARDINALS.

Roster for the OHIO CARDINAL 70's team is not available for this article so here was their 65 roster which could not play in DALTON but some were members of the 70 WORLD CHAMPS:.JUDITH PEELE, ELLEN WOODARD, JEANETTE WORLEY, MAUREEN FITZGERALD, TERESA ANN SMITH, MARILYN LOVETT, JANET DETERS, SUE MINNICH, PEGGY MEACHAM, DORY WAGNER, CYNTHIA KELLY, LANI NEER, CATHY FLETCHER and OPHELIA MILEY.

DALTON, GA - In a best two-of-three showdown for the SPA 70 AA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, the TEXAS RAIDERS downed the TEXAS CLASSICS in two straight to take home the title.

MEMBERS of the CHAMPIONSHIP 70 AA TEXAS RAIDERS are: LEE BLANTON, BILLY DRESSER, GARY GRAVES, MAY GROUNDS, FERNANDO LOPEZ, CHARLES MYERS, RICHARD RENFRO, JOHN SCHHEISER, STEPHEN SMITH, CATARINO VILLARREAL, RICK POWERS, TERRIL MILLER, VICTOR VARGAS, TIM WEAVER, RODRIGO DRISCOLL. PATRICK POWERS, MARLON MOORE, STEVEN JOHNSON and ABEL FLORES.

DALTON,GA - The MIDWEST EXPRESS roared back from a 1-2 effort in pool play to run the table in bracket play (4-0) and take the 2019 SPA 70 AAA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

The EXPRESS started their run to the title beating top seeded OK-ARK 22-20 followed by wins over BOYD METAL 22-16 and TIME BANDITS 15-5 before beating a worn down CHICAGO STRIKERS  20-2 in the finals.

The STRIKERS had lost their first game in bracket play and had to win four straight games to make it to the finals.

Others in the eight team bracket were LA LEGENDS, KC RENEGADES and LIFE GUARD/PEPCO.

MEMBERS OF THE 2019 SPA 70 AAA WORLD CHAMPS are; DEAN BECKER, DUANE CARLOUS, MICHEL COULTER, DAVID DRISCOLL, JOHN KELLY, ROBERT KUBAT,JR, LARRY ORTHE, RONALD PETERSON, ED RASTOVSKI, ED TWOREK, TERRY CORY, BRUCE D. CONNELL, PAUL HANNAM, PAUL JACKSON, HARRY RAKERS, LON MEANS, GLENN SOYER, CLYDE FRY and LARRY STOLTE.

LIBERTY, MO - FOUNTAIN PARK SPORTS COMPLEX in LIBERTY, MISSOURI played host AUGUST 2-3 to the 2019 SPA  MID-AMERICA NIT for 65/70 Divisions.

Three teams made the most of the round-robin opportunity as KC KIDS 65 AAA,  OAKIES 70 AA and MIDWEST EXPRESS 70 AAA all went home with championship hardware.

The KC KIDS had a battle in going 5-0 winning two games by one run and two by three.

Falling to the KC KIDS were OAK-ARK 25-24, BOYD'S METAL 17-16, KC RENEGADES 20-11, ST.LOUIS VISION 19-16 and MID-WEST EXPRESS 18 15 to capture the 65 AAA crown.

MID-WEST EXPRESS claimed the 70 AAA title thanks to wins over ST.LOUIS VISION (22-14), BOYD'S METAL (19-13), KC RENEGADES (8-5) and OAKIES (21-8).

The OAKIES edged ST.LOUIS VISION 19-18 to be awarded the 70 AA crown.

Teams in the seven team event were OAK-ARK 70 AAA, BOYD'S METAL 70 AAA, ST.LOUIS VISION 70 AAA, MIDWEST EXPRESS 70 AAA, KC RENEGADES 70 AAA, OAKIES 70 AA and KC KIDS 65 AAA

The 2019 SYLVANIA OHIO SPA GREAT LAKES NIT hit a new high this year drawing 44 teams, this despite the SPA WORLDS for 75 and 80 were the following week in COLUMBUS, OHIO,

Champs were crowned in two 50 AAA brackets, 60 AAA, 65 AA, 65 AAA, 70 AA and 70 AAA AUGUST 1-4 at SYLVANIA'S PACESETTER PARK.

Fourteen teams entered the 50 AAA division which was divided into a GOLD BRACKET and SILVER BRACKET.

OHIO'S LOWE'S LEGENDS came out of the losers bracket to defeat  ONTARIO, CANADA'S RAM POWER 24-21 AND 10-7 to take the six-team GOLD DIVISION title.

LOWE"S fought their way to the title beating AREA 51 SOFTBALL 15-12, HOMER LOVERS 21-10, losing to RAM POWER 11-18 and downing HOMER LOVERS 15-14 to set up the battle with RAM POWER.

Others in the GOLD GROUP were DIVERSIFIED MACHINE and FLYTIME.

The OHIO HITMEN bested ONTARIO'S LAKESHORE CONSTRUCTION 18-15 and 18-16 to win the 50 AAA SILVER BRACKET. On the way to the title the HITMEN also beat the DAYTON FIFTIES and DAYTON 50's.

LAKESHORE reached the finals by beating MOTOR CITY PUSH 19-3.Others in the eight-team bracket were SYLVANIA BULL MOOSE, MIAMI VALLEY and TEAM 216.

UNIVERSAL MACHINE dropped ONTARIO"S BRANTFORD NISSAN 23-14 and 19-15 to win the 65 AAA title. UNIVERSAL had lost to BRANTFORD earlier 14-22 in bracket play but reached the finals with a 23-5 and 12-2 wins over CAVCO.

BRANTFORD went 2-0 with wins over SIDELINE BULL MOOSE 16-13 and UNIVERSAL 22-14 before losing twice to UNIVERSAL IN THE FINALS.

BRANTFORD NISSAN 70'S AA also lost to a team coming out of the losers bracket for the eight-team 70 AA crown.

KENTUCKIANA beat LEGENDS OF DAYTON 17-8, MICHIGAN LAKERS 22-21 before losing 6-9 against BRANTFORD dropping them in the losers bracket.   They bounced back beat RUSH TRUCKING 15-17, gave BRANTFORD its first loss 20-19 and won the "if" game 17-14 for the 70 AA title.

Other teams in the bracket were TORONTO, ROCHESTER ROYALS and COSSA.

The 70 AAA crown went DAYTON LEGENDS who also had to come out of the losers bracket.

DAYTON beat RUSH TRUCKING 17-10 in their opener but lost to STEEL CITY 9-15 in their next game. They knocked off CHICAGO STRIKERS 20-3 and then forced an "IF" game dropping STEEL CITY 11-8. In the finals DAYTON LEGENDS edged STEEL CITY 11-7 for the 70 AAA title.

HANDLAND FLOORING was the other team in the five-team bracket.

PONY EXPRESS delivered the mail going 3-0 in the four-team 55 BRACKET. The CHAMPS beat ANTIGUE ROADSHOW 10-7, TEAM ELITE 15-14 and  ROADSHOW AGAIN 17-7.

SYLVANIA BULL MOOSE 55'S was the fourth team in the bracket.

CHICAGO PRIME also went undefeated in bracket play to capture to 60 AAA championship.

The PRIME beat JP MOTERMEN twice 13-5 and 19-9 as well as PEPCO/SFS 24-8.

DAYTON LEGENDS 0'S, OHIO 60'S and SYLVANIA 60'S were the other teams in the six-team bracket.

Only three teams were entered in the 65 AA division and JUST ONE MORE beat bot (OHIO SILVERADO'S, DIAMOND DAWGS) to win the title.

The SPA TOM WILLIAMS TRI-CITIES CLASSIC celebrated its 27th year July 12-14 at the WINGED DEER PARK in JOHNSON CITY, TENN.

SPORTS LETTERING scored one for the VOLUNTEER STATE winning the 75's crown in an "IF Game".

SPORTS LETTERING won their first two games over GEORGIA CLASSICS (15-12) and TRI-CITIES (9-8) before the TRI-CITIES team forced an "IF GAME" with a 16-11 win.

SPORTS LETTERING answered back with 20-8 win in the title game.

TRI-CITIES 60's made it through the 60/65 bracket beating GEORGIA CLASSICS 17-16, losing 8-9 to SPORTS LETTERING and beating BLUE SKY 16-15 before the final two games to decide the 75 BRACKET CHAMPIONSHIP.

MOBLEY beat TRI-CITIES 60'S 18-12, TITUS COMPANY 65'S 24-1 and KINGSMEN 18-12 for the 60's TITLE while TITUS COMPANY took home the 65 crown.

TITUS COMPANY beat TR-CITIES 20-11 to set up the finale with MOBLEY

It was an actual SENIOR SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT at the SPA 27th ANNUAL HOOSIER CLASSIC (formerly DWAINE LAIRD) event JULY 8-12 at the SHELBYVILLE, INDIANA BLUE RIVER MEMORIAL PARK.

TWENTY-SIX teams in the 65,70,75 and 80 age group participated in the event as the kids (50,55,60) stayed home.

DR VINYL made the most of their opportunity to play in the 70AAA bracket taking seven games to win the title

The INDIANA team beat MID-STATE SRS 26-24 in their DE opener but were routed 19-7 in their next game against the DAYTON LEGENDS.

DR VINYL won the next five but it wasn't easy. They beat ICEMEN SOFTBALL 25-12, MID-STATE SRS 10-8, DOC MARTENS ROPE COURSE 20-19 and DAYTON LEGENDS twice 16-15, 11-9 for the crown.

DAYTON LEGENDS was 2-0 beating DR VINYL 19-7 and DOC MARTEN ROPE COURSE 16-12 before losing two straight to DR VINYL in the finals..

RUSH TRUCKING and CHICAGO HITMEN rounded out the seven-team field.

Two old friends INDY FOG and DAYTON DIAMOND DAWGS met for the umpteenth time in a tournament for a 65 AA title with the FOG downing the DAWGS 15-2,9-5 for the crown.

UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL downed CHICAGO PRIME 16-7, 20-11 in winning the 65 AAA championship trophy. CAVCO SPORTS was the third team in the group.

RUSH TRUCKING downed INDIANAPOLIS CLASSICS  8-6 and 10-7 to claim the 75 AAA/MAJOR to claim the 75 AAA/ MAJOR crown.

RUSH also beat SENIOR REDBIRDS 18-11 in the DE opener.

The CLASSICS beat CHICAGO GREY SOX 21-18 to reach the finals. PROHEALTH CARE and DAYTON WHC were the others in the six-team bracket.

In an all-MICHIGAN finals PFEIFFER AUTO downed CANTERBURY CRUISERS the "IF" game for the 80 PLUS title.  The CRUISERS forced the "IF" game by defeating the AUTO gang 15-13.

PFEIFFERS had gone 2-0 in the bracket with a 19-14 earlier win over CANTERBURY and 20-15 against the CHICAGO GEEZERS.

CANTERBURY reached the finals by beating the GEEZERS 24-21.

Others in the six-team field were AMR 80's, MAIN STREET PUB and PROHEALTH CARE.

DAYTON's FIRST FLIGHT TOURNAMENT held JULY 1-7 at the KETTERING FIELD COMPLEX combined with an earlier one day event (DICK ERNST SR SOFTBALL CLASSIC) held in APRIL registered a new high with 53 teams in attendance.

FIRST FLIGHT was the leader of the pair as 30 teams battled it out six brackets.

The DAYTON 70'S took the 65AA/70AAA title by going undefeated in bracket play with wins over DOC MARTEN (15-1), DR VINYL(15-14) and DOC MARTEN again in the finals.

The DAYTON DIAMOND DAWGS was the lone 65 AA team in the bracket.

The DAYTON SILVER EXPRESS won a home-town battle over the DAYTON LEGENDS with a pair of 15-10 and 17-16 for the 70AA title.

The RARE BREED out of COLUMBUS, OHIO beat the DAYTON 75's 18-9 and 17-5  for the 75 AAA crown.

CHICAGO PRIME downed the OHIO teams AAA CINCINNATI (21-9,14-6) and MAJOR DAYTON LEGENDS (23-5) to take top prize in the 60AAA/65 MAJOR five-team group.

AAA teams OHIO ELIE DOCS and DAYTON LEGENDS also were in the bracket.

The NINE TEAM 50 AAA group MJ LOWE and MIAMI VALLEY declared co-champs as the rain kept the two teams from playing each other in the finals.

MJ LOWE reached the finals beating the OHIO HITMEN 32-13 and DAYTON PROFFITT 9-5 to reach the finals while MIAMI VALLEY eliminated CIRCLE CITY 14-8 and DAYTON LENER 23-22 to get there.

ACTION SPORTS CINCINNATI 50's and BULL MOOSE 50'S were also in the bracket.

TEAM ILLINOIS with wins over ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW 12-5, DETROIT PONY EXPRESS 20-16 and touch em all 17-9 were the 55 AAA champs. BUCKEYE CLASSICS WAS THE FIFTH TEAM IN THE BRACKET.

GEM CITY downed LS?DB 21-7 for the 50 MAJOR crown with the DAYTON LEGENDS taking home the 55 MAJOR title.