SPA News

GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - The EYES OF TEXAS smiled down on the SPA  LAYLA BRYAN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT APRIL 10-15 at the MCMASTER ATHLETIC COMPLEX in GEORGETOWN, TEXAS.

For the second straight the event hit 30 teams with eight teams sharing in EIGHT BRACKET CHAMPIONSHIPS.

LA LEGENDS defeated SAN ANTONIO LEGENDS twice and OK-ARK once in bracket play to take the three-tea, 70 GOLD bracket.

The GRAY SOX came out of the losers bracket to defeat the TEXAS CLASSICS 28-24 and 14-12 for the crown.

The SOX also had to beat the TEXAS RAIDERS twice (28-12, 23-22) to offset their only bracket loss 16-5 to the CLASSICS in the second round.

LOTTA SOFTBALL PLAYED LIKE A "YOUNG 80'S team" beating SAN ANTONIO twice 20-8,21-6 to take the "SENIOR" senior citizens bracket.

The kids HILL CONTRACTING won the 75 title beating the SAN ANTONIO DESPARDO'S 75'S 22-2 AND 7-0. SA reached the finals by beating TEXAS 75 KNIGHT RIDERS 24-11.

TEXAS THUNDER won the 65 AAA/MAJ GOLD BRACKET fighting its way out of the loser's bracket to do it.

The THUNDER beat GONZALEZ INSULATION 29-28 in the opened before losing 20-36 to CENTEX 65's.

The champs bounced back with wins over DALLAS SPURS (21-6) and twice (17-14, 14-5) against CENTEX.

Others in the six-team bracket were USA PATRIOTS and HOUSTON CLASSICS.

The 50 GOLD championship award went to BEATTEXASVETS who downed HOUSTON FIRE 28-27, 20-11 and CROSSFIRE 21-19.

HOUSTON FIRE was second followed by CROSSFIRE and TEXAS ELITE.

The 50 PLATINUM crown was taken by MANCAVE with wins over MIXED BREED 37-30 and OKLAHOMA RHINO 21-6. MIXED BREED took runner-up honors.

"It was another great tournament to honor LAYLA (BRYAN)," SOFTBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT RIDGE HOOKS said. "LAYLA started this tournament and through the years it has been a staple of SPA, this year's tournament continued to honor her name."

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."

The CHICAGO HITMEN finished off a championship season by winning the 2018 SPA 70 AA WORLDS Sept 14-16 at HERITAGE PARK in DALTON, GEORGIA.

The CHICAGO team came out of the loser’s bracket to beat LEGENDS of DAYTON 25-16 and force an “IF” game. The HITMEN took the title deciding game by a 13-9 count.

CHICAGO started their run out of the loser’s bracket with a 10-3 over the TEXAS GREYHOUNDS after losing 21-22 to LEGENDS of DAYTON in the bracket opener.

The HITMEN added the WORLD’S crown to SPA TOURNAMENT titles they had won previously at the HOOSIER CLASSIC and HEART OF OHIO. Ironically the runner-up team in those events was LEGENDS of DAYTON.

In pool play at the WORLDS the HITMEN went 3-0 with wins over OKIES (19-14), DEEP SOUTH SOFTBALL (21-5) and NORTHERN VIRGINIA FORCE (9-5), all AAA teams.

Members of the champion CHICAGO HITMEN are: Manager MIKE SABATINO, STEVE DECORI, AL BARTOLOTTA, FELIX GARCIA, JACK JOST, JIM KUPIEC, RICK MASINO, PHIL WHITMAN, STEVE GAJDA, DAVE VORWALD, WARREN YORK, DANIEL TODD and PAT JOPS.

The OHIO SILVERADOS won the SPA 2018 65 AA WORLD Championship played Sept 6-9 at DALTON, GEORGIA’S HERITAGE PARK.

For the OHIO team it was their fourth SPA championship in 2018 tournaments. They had previously won THEE BUCKEYE CLASSIC, HOOSIER CLASSIC and the GREAT LAKES CLASSIC.

Ironically of the four tournaments, only the HOOSIER CLASSIC with three AA’s had more than two 65 AA teams in the event.

There are only six AA teams (thirty AAA teams) in SPA. The six teams are BRANTFORD (CAN), (by) GRACE REDEEMED (TN), INDY FOG (IND), ROBSON RANCH TEXANS (TEX), UPSTATE EXTREME ROYALS(NY) and the SILVERADO’S (OH).

Tough to have a tournament with more than two teams.

The SILVERADO’S made the most of the opportunity beating INDY FOG 20-11 and 19-7 in a two out of three for the crown..

In pool play the SILVERADOS played three AAA teams losing to RPR SOFTBALL 9-23 , SCRAP IRON MIKE HIGH 3-20 and MIDSTATE SRS 9-11. RPR and SCRAP IRON both went 3-0 in pool play while MIDSTATE was 2-1.

Members of the OHIO SILVERADO’S are manager RANDY BALLARD, JEFF BRENNEMAN, DAVE CAPLINGER, BILL FOLK, KEN SPOERNDLE, LARRY OMALLEY, JIM KIRBY, RANDY MILLER, STERLING MELODY, KEN PODOLAK, LYLE CARPENTER, JOHN WALDSMITH, DAN GERIN, MARK MARINI, LARRY CHIMENTO, THOM BLASDEL, LE GERIN and DANA PAUL BARNETTE

The SPA HOOSIER CLASSIC in SHELBYVILLE, INDIANA JUNE 11-12 due to weather problems was forced to shorten the entries from 40-to 27 but still had a great outing.

“SHELBYVILLE always has a great tournament ever since DUANE LAIRD started it 26 years ago,” SPA PRESIDENT RIDGE HOOKS said.. “It was a shame they had to cancel the 50/55 groups but the 60-and-up had a great tournament”

SHELBYVILLE had one of the year’s highest turnout for the 75’s with seven teams taking part in the seven team round-robin.

COSSA and PROHEALTH tied at 5-1 but the COLUMBUS team won the tie breaker with a 17-12 win over PROHEALTH.

Ironically COSSA’s only loss was 6-8 to FRICKERS which was their only win.

Final results COSSA 5-1, PROHEALTH 5-1, MICHIANA MERCHANTS 4-2, INDIANAPOLIS CLASSICS 3-3. SENIOR REDBIRDS 2-4, AKRON FRICKERS 1-5, CANTERBURY CRUISERS (MAJOR) 1-5.

STEEL CITY lost its second game in bracket play 21-23 to the SILVER STICKS and then won five in a row to take the 70AAA title

The PITTSBURGH team beat the previously unbeaten CHICAGO STRIKERS 21-20 and 19-18 in the “IF” game to sneak by in the championship rounds.

COLUMBUS SILVER STICKS, RUSH TRUCKING, INDY 70’s and MICHIGAN LAKERS filled out the six-team field.

The CHICAGO HITMEN ran the table beating LEGENDS OF DAYTON 26-12 and INDIANA LEGENDS 11-3, 19-4 for the 70 AA crown.

The INDIANA LEGENDS beat LEGENDS OF INDIANA 22-17 to reach the finals.

Others in the bracket were DAYTON FARM TEAM and KENTUCKIANA.

The three-team 65 AA bracket saw OHIO SILVERADO’S beat (by) GRACE REDEEMED 26-7, 26-8 and INDY FOG 21-12 to take the title in the three-team group.

UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL took no prisoners in going 4-0 in bracket play capturing the 65 AAA title.

On the way to the title UNIVERSAL beat BLUE CHIPS 18-10, THE BOMB SQUAD 23-19, STEEL DAWGS 16-12 and THE BOMB SQUAD 12-10 in the finale.

Also in the 65 AAA group were DOC MARTEN/ROPE COURSE and SIDELINE BULL MOOSE.

MARIETTA, GEORGIA’S PEACH STATE CLASSIC entertained 35 teams for their 27^th year. Crowning seven champs in the process.

The eight-team 50 division saw the TN COMETS go undefeated in pool and bracket play to take the title.

The COMETS beat KENT’S PLAYERS (20-11), SWARM 55’s (22-21) SIDELINES (25-16) and PUNISHERS (20-7) in bracket play.

KENT’s PLAYERS came out of the loser’s bracket winning three games to reach the finals.

Others in the group were MAJOR LEAGUE 50’S, GA RENEGADES and ATLANTA 50’S.

reached the finals with a 16-15 edge over the SWARM 55’s.

The 50 MAJOR crown went to WALKER BROTHERS who also went undefeated in the tournament. They went 2-0 in pool and beat LIGHTHOUSE (24-9 and 2-18) as well as DOC C’s 25-16.

LIGHTHOUSE lit up the scoreboard in beating RIVER ROCK VENTURES 34-27 to reach the finals.

Others in the bracket were SE WATER SWARM and ATLANTA MONARCHS.

DARRELL HARRIS with wins over JR SMITH (23-15), TN CONNECTION (17-9), DT EXPRESS (22-21) after losing to JR SMITH (19-23) in the opener claimed the 55 AAA crown.

The 60 MAJOR title went to ATLANTA RECYCLE who beat DT EXPRESS (23-7), TN CONNECTION (26-22) and JR SMITH (22-13) to take the top spot.

RPR downed TAG 25-21 and 17-12 as well as COLUMBUS LXV 23-8 for the 65 AAA title.

TIME BANDITS came out of the loser’s bracket to beat TRAVELERS twice 16-15,14-13 for the 70 AAA/MAJOR/75 MAJOR title.

Others in the bracket were MATADOR, SE LEFTOVER 75’s, FOR FREEDOM and DEEP SOUTH.

ELITE SOFTBALL took the 60 AAA title beating REALITY CHECK in the finals. Others in the group were GAS, SEASONED VETERANS and SOUTHERN THUNDER.

“It was a good tournament with the weather cooperating,” TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR PETE FOWLER said. “The completion was great throughout going down to the final games in most of the brackets.”

The SPA GREAT LAKES TOURNAMENT drew 44 teams 8/2-8/5 tournament making it the second highest SPA draw in OHIO but also in SPA.

“The SYLVANIA tournament had another good year,” SPA President RIDGE HOOKS said. “They probably would have had 50 teams if our 75/80 worlds were not so close.”

The tournament was loaded with one run, “if” games and teams coming all the way through the loser’s bracket to make it to the finals.

CHICAGO PRIME 60’s had the longest run o all the teams. After losing their second round bracket game, they played five game in reaching the finals for a total of seven games.

JP MOTORMEN ended the PRIMES run beating the CHICAGO team 12-9 in the “IF” game to win the 60AAA title..

The MOTORMEN won their first two bracket games over MADALINA/CARDOT (24-9) and BULL MOOSE (20-13) before losing to the PRIME (10-11) to set up the “IF” game.

Others in the bracket were DETROIT LUGNUTS and MINUTEMEN/PEPCO

DURHAM SILVER STICKS beat the DAYTON LEGENDS (13-17,15-13,20-7) to win the 60 AA crown.

The OHIO SILVERADO’S lost the first game to BRANTFORD 6-9 before winning the next two games (16-3, 22-17) for the 65 AA championship.

Nine teams took part in the 65 AAA bracket with the DAYTON LEGENDS running the table (15-11 BOMB SQUAD, 15-8 CAVCO, 25-10 DOC MARTENS, 13-9 UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL

UNIVERSAL also had a long road to the finals winning four straight to get out of the loser’s bracket and reach the finals.

Others in the group were STEEL DAWGS, CHICAGO PRIME, BULL MOOSE and RUSH TRUCKING.

FLYTIME downed DIVERSIFIED MACHINE 14-13 and 24-17 to claim the 50 AAA crown. They also beat DAYTON LEGENDS 21-20 and OHIO HITMEN 15-14 to go 4-0 in bracket play.

DIVERSIFIED beat OHO HITMEN 24-13 to make it to the finals.

The hard luck trophy goes to LAKESHORE CONTRACTING who went 2-3 in pool and bracket play. All three defeats were by one run as one of their wins.

CPOA went 3-0 in bracket play wit wins over DETROIT CONNECTION, BUCKEYE CLASSICS and BULL MOOSE to win the 55 title.

DETROIT CONNECTION was second. Others in the bracket were DETROIT CONNECTION, BUCKEYE CLASSICS, BULL MOOSE, JACKSON MERCHANTS and SENIOR PSYCHOSIS.

CANADA’S DURHAM SILVER STIX beat DAYTON LEGENDS two out of three (1-17, 15-13,20-7) for the 60 AA title.

BRANTFORD beat KENTUKIANA (17-2, 18-12) and ROCHESTER ROYALS (17-4) for the 70 AA crown.

Others in the bracket were COSSA and FRICKERS.

The seven-team 70 AAA title was won by STEEL CITY. The champs beat WINDSOR CHIEFS 26-15, DAYTON LEGENDS 18-2 and WINDSOR again 9-9 to claim the top prize.

Others in the group ere RUSH TRUCKING, HEWCOR BANDITS< CHICAGO GRAYSOX and MICHIGAN LAKERS.

The TOM WILLIAMS TRI-CITIES CLASSIC crowned champs in six divisions during the July 13-15 tournament held at JOHNSON CITY’s WINGED DEER PARK

The TOM WILLIAMS tournament is SPA’s longest running event celebrating its 26^th year.

“We’ve been around for a long time but it never gets old, “TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR TERRY WIDENER said. ”We had a good group this year but next year we plan on opening it up to 50 and 55 teams also.”

ELITE beat REALITY CHECK 19-12 and 18-8 to win the 60 GOLD BRACKET. REALITY had beaten CAROLINA PATRIOTS 23-12 to reach the finals.

In the 75 BRACKET, CAROLINA BLUE SKY downed SPORTS LETTERING 15-11 and LEIDENS LEGENDS 21-17 to win the title. SPORTS LETTERING beat LEIDENS 16-11 for second.

The TRAVELERS defeated the SMOKIES 19-12 and TRI-CITIES 26-8 to win the 70 AAA CROWN.

SOUTHERN HEAT was the 70 AA champs when after an opening 17-18 loss to SMOKIES, they bounced back to beat TRI-CITIES 17-2 and SMOKIES 10-8.

The 65 CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN went to STEELE CREEK by beating TRI-CITIES 25-10 and KINGSMEN 15-7.

TRI-CITIES took the 60 AA title beating BOYS OF SUMMER 27-25 and 26-24.

For the eighth straight year THEE BUCKEYE CLASSIC is not only SPA’s top drawing qualifier tournament but the highest attended AA/AAA senior tournament east of Vegas.

“Some point to ISSA tournaments who draw 90+ teams as the highest attended,” BUCKEYE CLASSIC director RED BOLE said. “But if you subtract their majors and women’s teams they draw around 50-to-55 teams while we have averaged 76 for the past eight years.”

The year 2017 was no different. Despite a threat of rain and teams which had not paid entry fees pulling out at the last minute THEE SPA 2018 BUCKEYE CLASSIC drew 74 teams.

“We will be making changes on when entry fees are received next year,” BOLE said. “It really hurts your schedule when teams you are expecting pull out one-or-two weeks prior to the tournament.”

No problems on the field JUNE 12-24 as none of the 222 games were canceled due to rain.

There were also no repeat champs from 2017 as 15 new champs were crowned.

75”

SCARLET – INDY CLASSICS (6-0,4-0) took the top sot ahead of MONKEY JOE’S (4-2,2-2) and PITTSBURGH GOLD (3-3,-2). MICHIANA MERCHANTS (2-4,1-3) and BAILEY TALENT CAVALIERS (3-2,1-3) rounded out the five-team bracket.

GREY – JERSEY MASTERS (5-1,4-0) beat COSSA (3-3,3-1) 13-11 to win the 75 GREY BRACKET. SYRACUSE (3-3,1-3), BROOKHOUSE (1-5,1-3) and FRICKERS (1-5,1-3) were also in the bracket.

60’s

SCARLET – JP MOTORMEN (5-1) beat MADALINA (5-1) 16-4 for the 60’s GREY title. CHICAGO PRIME (3-3), BUELL FUEL, CINCINNATI 60’s and BULLMOOSE were also in the six-team bracket.

GREY – ROC CITY beat the MINUTEMEN 26-12, 5-9 and 9-7 to take the AAA GREY crown.

MCMAHON-COYNE-VITANTONIO-ONE MORE THING )3-3,3-1) won the GREY AA title edging out FLEX STRUT and GLORY DAZE.

80’s

The 80’s were split into two complexes at FIRESTONE STADIUM and BARBERTON.

PROHEALTH (5-1) outlasted FITTEAM (4-2) and CENTER FOR SIGHT 85’s (4-2) to win the FIRESTONE group. Others at AKRON were CHICAGO GEEZERS, SYRACUSE and LOUISVILLE THUNDER.

PFEIFFERS (5-1) edged PEACHTREE (4-2) at BARBERTON to the MAGIC CITY 80’s crown. The rest of the six-team group were KV SPORTS, HAMELS, LEFTOVERS and LOTA SOFTBALL.

70’s

NORTHER VIRGINIA FORCE went 5-0 with a 14-13 victory over LIFEGUARD (4-1) to take the 70’s Scarlet BRACKET. RUSH TRUCKING, INDY 70’S, FRICKERS and DELAWARE AUTO SALVAGE filled out the six-team bracket.

ROCHESTER CLASSICS (4-0-1) TOOK THE 70’S AA GREY GROUP followed by ROCHESTER ROYALS (2-2-1). COSSA, MAGIC CITY and HEWCOR BANDITS also were in the AA group. SYRACUSE 70’s (4-1) took the AAA crown.

65’s

The 65’s SCARLET title went to undefeated SPRING FORD (6-0,5-0) by virtue of a 15-3 win over runner-up BULL MOOSE )5-1,4-1). CAVCO was a close third followed by LIFEGUARD, BOMB SQUAD and RUSH TRUCKING.

AKRON SILVERADOS beat the ROCHESTER ROYALS 17-12 for the AA 65 Crown. DOC MARTENS ROPE COURSE (5-1,4-0) edged ROCHESTER BREWERS (5-1,3-1) 15-14 for the GREY 65 AAA title. Other AAA teams in the hunt were MICHIGAN LAKERS and STEEL DAWGS.

55 and 50

The nine-team 50’s group went down to the final game and second tie-breaker with DIVERSIFIED MACHINE (5-1) edging GTO (5-1) and LAKESHORE CONTRACTING (5-1) for the championship. OHIO HITMEN (4-2) just missed. Others in the group were BRICKYARD SOFTBALL, POTOMAC SPORTS, OREA BLACK SHEEP. MJ LOWE and FREDERICKS WINE AND DINE.

Also going down to the final game BUCKEYE CLASSICS (6-0) beat BUELL FUEL (4-2) to win the 55 title.

Others in the bracket were CPOA, SENIOR PSYCHOSIS and BULL MOOSE.