SPA News

The 75's and 80's turned out May 22 and 23 for the JIM WELCH SPA TOURNAMENT at GORDY MAC COMPLEX in TROY, ILLINOIS with LOTA  SOFTBALL and INDY CLASSICS the big winners.

The INDY CLASSICS roared through 75 Division going 6-0 with wins over SR REDBIRDS, QUAD CITY ALL STARS and MIDWEST EXPRESS.

the REDBIRDS (4-2) took runner-up honors followed by QUAD CITY (2-4) and MIDWEST EXPRESS (0-6).

LOTA SOFTBALL made the trip from ARKANSAS and went 4-0 to take the 80's Division ahead of second place CHIGAGO GEEZERS and the third place KC ANTIQUES.

"Those who participated had a good time," Director Lenny Suess said. "We had last minute cancellations across the board which cut participation in half and forced us to drop the 65 group.":

"I think next year we will open the tournament up instead of just trying to give the 75's and 80's an extra tournament," Suess said." Last year we drew over 20 with all ages, that is probably the best way to go."

The COLUMBUS HEART OF OHIO enjoyed their new dates welcoming FORTY-SEVEN teams MAY 9-13 to the BERLINER COMPLEX.

“We moved the tournament up from the end of June to the beginning of May and it worked well,” TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR LARRY MILLIRON said, "Based on the initial response this year for the new dates I expect the tournament to top fifty teams in 2019.

Ten teams, also up from 2017, went home with division titles.

The BAD BOYZ won a SPA DALTON TRIPLE CROWN bid winning the three-team 50 MAJOR championship. The BOYZ downed GEM CITY MERCHANTS 39-18 for the crown. AMERICAN METAL RECYCLING was third.

Another TRIPLE CROWN QUALIFIER was the DAYTON LEGENDS by beating OHIO ELITE/CREATIVE STUCCO 33-22 in the championship game. The LEGENDS also beat the LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS twice as well as a second win over OHIO ELITE in their march through bracket play. OHIO ELITE was second followed by JJ FINANCIAL and LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS.

BRICKYARD took the 50AAA six team group crown beating MJ LOWE PLUS 21-13 in the “IF” game. The champs lost 14-20 setting up the “IF” game.

Earlier in bracket play in the BRICKYARD beat MJ LOWE 21-14 and the OHIO HITMEN 29-13.

FREDERICK WINE AND DINE was third followed by OHIO HITMEN, DAYTON LEGENDS and CIRCLE CITY PLAYMAKERS.

The ANTIQUE ROAD SHOW beat DETROIT CONNECTION twice 33-12 and 25-21 for the 55 AAA crown. DAN CALMES BULL MOOSE, BUCKEYE CLASSICS and PITTSBURGH NORTH rounded out the five-team division.

Hometown UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL 60’s outgunned three other teams for the 60 AAA title. On the way to the winner’s circle UNIVERSAL beat CINCINNATI 60’s (22-16), BRICKYARD CLASSICS (20-17) and MINUTEMEN/PEPCO 28-17.

MCMAHON-COYNE-VITANTONIO-JUST ONE MORE won two titles. The one for the MOST WORDS IN THEIR TEAM NAME and also the 60 AA championship.

The champs beat long-time 60 AA foe INDY FOG 17-10, 17-16 and DURHAM SILVER STICKS 24-17 in bracket play. DAYTON LEGENDS DIAMOND DAWGS was the fourth team in the group.

SIDELINE BULL MOOSE OUTLASTED five others for the 65 AAA title. BULL MOOSE had to win an “IF” game 25-12 over STEEL DAWGS to do it.

After beating DECLAIRE-LEMMACHIA-ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE 29-16 and STEEL DAWGS 14-11 earlier in bracket play, they lost 9-14 to the DAWGS forcing the “IF” game.

Others in the group were DAYTON LEGENDS, DOC MARTENS/ROPE COURSE and UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL 65 TEAM.

The DAYTON LEGENDS won the SEVEN-TEAM 70 AAA crown going 4-0 in bracket play.

The LEGENDS opened their run beating INDY 70’s (22-4), LIFEGUARD/PEPCO (13-5) and STEEL CITY (15-6) before beating the STEEL CITY 17-14 in the title game.

Others in the bracket were CHICAGO STRIKERS, INDY 70’S, LIFEGUARD PEPCO, RUSH TRUCKING, MICHIGAN LAKERS and FRICKERS SPORTS BAR.

Five teams battled for the 70AA championship with CHICAGO HITMEN winning the bacon. THE HITMEN downed DAYTON LEGENDS FARM TEAM 24-16, ROCHESTER CLASSICS 17-5 and LEGENDS OF DAYTON 20-18 in the title game.

CENTRAL OHIO COSSA was the fifth team in the bracket.

COSSA 75’S beat FRICKERS twice 15-9 and 13-9 to claim the 75 championship in a best two-out-of-three contest.

Next up in the SPA OHIO CIRCUIT is THEE BUCKEYE CLASSIC followed by FIRST FLIGHT OF OHIO and the GREAT LAKES SPA NIT.

The PENSACOLA SOUTHERN NIT saw twenty teams battle it out May 5-6 at Exchange Park with six going home with championships.

Florida's MATADOR CLUB/DAG ARCHITECT bested three others for the 70-75 title.

The MATADORS defeated LA LEGENDS 23-13 AND FOR FREEDOM 17-10 in bracket play to wrap it up while the LEGENDS took second

The LEGENDS edged SOUTHERN LEFTOVERS 18-17 to make it to the title game.

COLUMBUS LXV defeated RPR SOFTBALL (25-19) and TAG (25-14) to win the 65 bracket RPR defeated THE FIRM 4-13 to reach the finals.

Six teams locked horns in the 60 bracket with ELITE SOFTBALL downing SMITH MASON DUDLEY (24-20), SEASONED VETS (18-12) and  GAS (GEORGIA ALABAMA SENIORS SOFTBALL) 24-23 for the crown.

SMITH MASON came out of the loser's bracket with wins over, the VETS, BAND OF BROTHERS and GAS to reach the finals. SEASONED VETS finished third, BAND OF BROTHERS fourth with GAS and ATLANTA RECYCLING rounding out the bracket.

DOC C'S downed RIVERROCK VENTURES for the 50 MAJOR title while WDMS SENIORS was the 50 AAA champs and JAMES R SMITH TRUCKING the 55 AAA top dog.

Others in the combined bracket were SOUTHERN WATER THE SWARM and FLORIDA AUTOMATED SHADE.

"The tournament ran very smoothly with great competition, "DIRECTOR MIKE DESORBO said. "We were expecting thirty teams but we had a rash of last minute cancellations due to weather, injuries and such."

SPA crowned 10 individual team champs in eight age brackets as 30 teams competed in the LAYLA BRYAN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT held April 19-22 at MCMASTERS ATHLETICS COMPLEX in GEORGEOWN,TEXAS.

"It was a great tournament and I know LAYLA was watching and was proud of the tournament in her name," SPA president RIDGE HOOKS said. "There was great competition in all the brackets which made for a great tournament."

Four teams competed on the 65 PLUS bracket with HENDRICKS winning the 65 MAJOR title and HOOKS taking home the 65AAA crown.

HENDRICKS defeated HOOKS 25-17 and DALLAS SPURS 38-19 on their trip to the top spot while HOOKS knocked off HOUSTON CLASSICS 31-21 to reach the finals.

LOUISIANA LEGENDS defeated the AVENGERS 24-14 and the GREY SOX twice (24-9 in the finale) for the 70 AAA championship.  The GREY SOX beat AUSTIN MERCHANTS 26-25 for third place in the four-team bracket.

SAN ANTONIO SILVER STREAKS defeated 2017 champ SAN ANTONIO LEGENDS 17-15 for the 70 MAJOR title.  The LEGENDS reached the finals defeating BOYD METALS 30-12. The OKIES was the fourth team in the group.

In a three-team bracket, STILL took home the trophy defeating the TEXAS GREYHOUNDS 26-19 in the title game. The TEXAS CLASSICS was the third team in the group.

The 75/80 Division title went to the TEXAS legends who beat the DESPERADO"S 24-7 and 13-12 along with a 26-23 win over HILL CONTRACTING.

The DESPERADO'S reached the finals with a win over HILL CONTRACTING. The SAN ANTONIO 80's were the fourth team in the bracket.

CARRIAGE HOMES topped the TEXAS LEGENDS for the 60 AAA crown The LEGENDS defeated the DALLAS SPURS to reach the title game. The TEXAS THUNDER rounded out the bracket.

The HOUSTON FIRE downed GONZALES INSULATION twice in the best two-out-of-three battle for the 60 MAJOR CROWN.

ESCOBAR BODY SHOP beat TEAM ARKANSAS 41-19 in the "IF" game to take the top spot in the 50 MAJOR BRACKET, ESCOBAR had beaten TEAM ARKANSA 41-40 and L&R SOFTBALL 28-23 before losing to TEAM ARKANSAS 19-21 to force the "IF" game.

The TENNESSEE COMETS (50 AAA) and GAS (60 AAA) defended their 2017 crowns at the VALLEY, ALABAMA SPA MID-SOUTH NIT.

The April 19-22 held at the VALLEY SPORTSPLEX facility saw 33 teams battle it out for titles in eight divisions.

The TENNESSEE COMETS went undefeated in pool and bracket play finishing it off with two wins over MAJOR LEAGUE (21-17, 24-20) for the 50 AAA title.

MAJOR LEAGUE took runner-up honors in the five-team bracket followed by BLUEGRASS, ATLANTA 50's and KENT"S PLAYERS.

GAS bested ELITE SOFTBALL 21-16 and 20-18 along with a 25-9 win over SEASONED VETS in bracket play for the 60 AAA crown.

ELITE SOFTBALL was second followed by SEASONED VETERANS and SOUTHERN THUNDER in the four-team bracket.

DUDLEY rolled over the competition going 5-0 in pool and bracket play to take the 55 MAJOR CROWN.

The champs beat DT EXPRESS 38-21, MONSTER 55 SOFTBALL 23-19 and MONTGOMERY SWARM 29-27 in bracket action.

DT EXPRESS finished second followed by MONSTER SOFTBALL and MONTGOMERY SWARM.

DOC'S also went 5-0 in taking the 50 MAJOR title.

DOC'S beat LIGHTHOUSE LOOKOUTS 31-30, 33-24 and RIVER ROCK RENTALS 30-21 in bracket play.

LIGHTHOUSE LOOKOUTS was second in the five-team group followed by WALKER BROTHERS, S.E.SWARM. RIVER ROCK RENTALS and ATLANTA MONARCHS.

The 65 AAA title went to T.A.G. in the five-team bracket. T.A.G. edged COLUMBUS LXV twice 19-18 and 22-20 in the finals. They also defeated RPR 31-22 in bracket play.

COLUMBUS XLV who only lost to T.A.G. (4-2) in the tournament was second. RPR, (BY) GRACE REDEEMED and THE FIRM rounded out the bracket.

TRAVELERS beat 2017 champ TIME BANDITS in the "IF" game 21-6 to win the 70 AAA title. In the march to the crown, TRAVELERS beat FOR FREEDOM 24-11, TIME BANDITS 17-2 and lost 19-15 to the TIME BANDITS forcing the "IF" match.

FOR FREEDOM was third followed by DEEP SOUTH (who went 2-0 in pool play) and SOUTHERN HEAT.

ATLANTA RECYCLING 60'S took the 60 MAJOR TITLE while JR SMITH was 55 AAA champ. Others competing in the 55AAA/60M bracket were TENNESSEE COMETS, SOUTHERN SILVERBACKS and DARRELL HARRIS.

"After last year's rain problems this was quite an upgrade," SPA CEO RIDGE HOOKS said." PETE (FOWLER) did a great job in setting this year's event up and making it an enjoyable experience for the participating teams and their fans."

The weather all but washed-out the SPA SALUTE TO VETERANS TOURNAMENT at COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS April 5-6.

“We had 25 teams set up for the tournament in all ages,” SPA president and CEO RIDGE HOOKS said. “The weather wasn’t kind and we were only able to get the 65,70 and 75 groups played.”

HILL CONTRACTING won the 75 MAJOR while SAN ANTONIO DESPERADO’S edged out the TEXAS LEGENDS for the 75 AAA title.

The TEXAS CLASSICS out gunned the GREY SOX 25-16 and AUSTIN MERCHANTS 14-11 to take home the 70 AAA crown.

HOUSTON CLASSICS claimed the 65 AAA championship while ROBSON RANCH went home with the 65 AA trophy. The 70 AA title was won by the TEXAS GREYHOUNDS.

The SOUTHERN SPRING NIT kicked off the SPA 2018 tournament season March 15,16,17,18 in Montgomery, Alabama with thirty teams taking part in the event which saw winners crowned in eight divisions.

“It was a very competitive tournament,” SPA Director Lonnie O’Haver said. “We also had great weather which made it a very enjoyable tournament.”

The TENNESSEE COMETS won the 50 AAA eight team division going undefeated (6-0) in both pool and bracket play. It wasn’t a walk though as the COMETS edged SE SWARM 21-18 in the title contest and Brickyard 21-18 in the winner’s bracket game.

The SE SWARM (5-3) got their money’s worth in the tournament when after losing their opener in bracket play they had o beat BLUEGRASS, KENT PLAYERS, and BRICKYARD Sunday to reach the finals.

Final standings: 1. TENNESSEE COMETS (6-0), 2. SE SWARM (5-3), BRICKYARD (4-2), KENT PLAYERS (2-3), BLUE GRASS (2-3), MAJOR LEAGUE SENIORS (2-3), ATLANTA 50’S (0-4) AND TEAM ADIKTIVE (0-4)

Eight teams also squared off in the 50 Major with the same result – an undefeated winner.

TEAM ARKANSAS ran the table with wins over RIVERROCK VENTURES (38-25), WALKER BROS (28-24), RESOLVE 50’S (30-14 and 27-14 in the finals.

RESOLVE 50’S (4-3) took runner-up honors. Filling out the bracket were WALKER BROS (4-3), LIGHTHOUSE LOOKOUTS (3-3), DOC’S (3-2, ATLANTA MONARCHS (1-4), SR SOFTBALL SOFTIES (1-3) AND RIVERROCK VETERANS (0-4).

The five-team 55AAA/MAJOR saw AAA MONTGOMERY SWARM beat DARRELL HARRIS 17-12 in the finals for the title. The SWARM also went undefeated in pool and bracket play at 5-0.

In bracket play they earned their way to the finals beating DT EXPRESS 2-19 and JR SMITH 27-21.

AAA DARRELL HARRIS (4-3) took second place after playing four games on Sunday.

The rest of the field were AAA JR SMITH (3-2), MAJOR DT EXPRESS (1-4) AND TENNESSEE CONNECTION (0-4)

The SWARM also took the 207 title going 5-0.

SEASONED VETS (5-1) won the 60AAA/MAJOR crown beating GAS SOFTBALL (5-2) 23-11 in the title game. GAS reached the title game with a 28-27 cliff hanger over ELITE SOFTBALL (3-3).

Also in the bracket were BAND OF BROTHERS (2-4) and SOUTHERN SILVERBACKS (0-5).

The 65AAA,70AAA and 70 MAJOR saw three teams walk away with crowns.

COLUMBUS XLV (4-1) won the 65 title, LA LEGENDS (4-1) were the 70 AAA champions and MATADOR CLUB (2-3) took the 70 MAJOR trophy. DEEP SOUTH (0-5) was the other team in the bracket.

“This was a good way to start off our 2018 season,” SPA president and CEO RIDGE HOOKS said. “Great competition and great weather. You really couldn’t ask for much more. NATALIE NORMAN and her staff did an excellent job, I really appreciate her effort.”

Good news for mid west softball teams as the TROY ILLINOIS JIM WELCH MEMORIAL SPA CLASSIC is back on schedule for MAY 22-27 at GORDY MAC COMPLEX in TROY..

The tourney was dropped earlier in January due to field availability. It is for 65,.70,.75 and 80 divisions..

"The field problem has been handled and we are ready to go," tournament director LENNY SUESS said. "We may change the format this year depending on amount of teams entered."

Last year TWENTY TEAMS took part in a round robin event but SUESS says, "If there is an increase in teams we will probably go to a five game guarantee of three pool and double elimination."

Dates for the tournament are 75 and 80 groups MAY 22-24 while the 65 and 70 divisions square of May 25-27.

The tournament will also provide 1/2 dozen softball to each team. The cost of the tournament is $325.

The host hotel is the BEST WESTERN ($76) with rooms at RED ROOF ($66), MOTEL 6 ($56) and HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ($125) also available.

Contact SEUSS at (618) 791-1380 or ljseuss@gmail.com

Following is the result of the 2017 tournament.

WELCH TOURNAMENT CONTINUES TO GROW

The second annual Jim Welch Memorial tournament in Troy, Illinois hit the magic 20  number in terms of teams attending.

The round robin event held May 23-24 showed a big improvement from the first year.

"We had a good turnout this year and I expect to see another big increases in 2018," tournament director Lenny Seuss said. "This is only my second year running a SPA tournament so each year you learn a little more about getting teams to attend."Pallet "Retention is the key," he explained. "If we retain at least 18 and add another 12 teams next year there is no reason we can not draw 30 teams.. We also expect to expand our draw to include more 60,55 and 50's teams."

This year's tournament with the emphasis on the older groups was divided into five groups (80, 75, 70, 65, 50-55-60) with five division winners.

US Pallet ran the table going 6-0 to win the 70's group with Bank of Rison, Indy 70's and Mokando finishing 2-3-4.

Dr.Vinyl bested MidState 65's 27-14 in the title game to finish ahead of them and 50 Caliber  65's in the 65 group.

In the 80's the Texas Greyhounds avenged and earlier loss to Antiques of KC to finish 5-1 on top of the group with the Antiques at 4-2 for second. Texas Classics (2-4) and Louisville Thunder (1-4) rounded out the four-team division.

The Senior Redbirds edged Midwest Driving 17-16 in the semi-finals and Indianapolis Classics 25-23 in the finals to win the 75 division crown.

The Central Illinois Chiefs 60's beat the 50 Caliber 55's 17-10 to win the 50/55/60 bracket. Team Illinois 50's was third.

Next year's tournament will be around the same time, so save a space on your schedule.

The SPA Raymore, Missouri Mid-America Qualifier August ROUND ROBIN tournament was a nail biter  with winners not decided until the final games in a couple of brackets.

"It was a well balanced field with a lot of close games," Tournament Director Jerry Hinton said. "They really liked the concept of six games against six different teams, although in a few instances they only had five. But all-in-all it was a great event and we are looking forward to 2018 to increase the turnout."

This year TWENTY teams squared off with EIGHT bringing home titles in the event played  August 11-12 at Rec Park in Raymore.

The 65 AAA was a tournament director's nightmare with three teams having identical 4-2 records, with the winner decided on the tie breaker runs allowed rule.

KC Kids, Boyd Metals and USA Patriots all finished at 4-2 with KC KIDS winning the tie-breaker for the 65 AAA crown. R&D Leverage went home with the 65 AA Crown.

The 70 AAA title went to Bank of Rison who went 6-1 to edge Oakies 70 AAA (5-2).  Midwest Express (3-4) and Mokando (2-5) finished 3 - 4 while MidWest Driving School was the 75 AAA champ.

KC Classics won the 50 AAA championship  and Arkansas 50 won the 50 Major title. Midwest Construction rounded out the field.

SCRAP IRON THUNDER went 4-2 to take the 55 Major crown with Nebraska Silver Bullets (3-3) claiming the 55 AAA championship. Others in the field were Southwest Thunder and JR Logistics.

KC Thunder went 5-0 in winning the 60 AAA title while Bagby's won the  60 AA crown. Also competing were Carriage Homes and KC Monarchs.

The 2018 SPA MID-AMERICA TOURNAMENT will be held in Liberty, Mo's Fountain Bluff Sports Complex August 10-12.

Chattanooga’s (Phil) Rowland Development Group, better known as RDG came out of the loser’s bracket to win the 2017 SPA 60 AA World championship September 14-17 held in Dalton, Georgia.

RDG lost their opening bracket game 8-12 to Glory Daze but beat Indy Fog 13-2 and Glory Daze twice 18-15, 14-8 for the comeback championship.

“We did not have an easy time,” RDG’s and SPA 60 AA Manager-of-the-Year Mike Ricketts said. “We had to come from behind in the 6^th or 7^th inning in both games with Clory Daze to win.”

The biggest comeback was in the game they needed to force a championship game with Glory Daze. A Glory Daze win would have ended the tournament with them as champs and RDG second.

“We won the open inning and that was the difference,” Ricketts said of the teams 18-15 win.

The final game was a 14-5 victory for RDG.

RDG was bumped to the losers bracket by Glory Daze in the second round 12-8 and RDG needed a 13-2 win over Indy Fog to set up the two important games with Glory Daze.

The SPA World title was the first one for the champs after coming in 3^rd in 2015 and 2^nd in 2016.

Tim Terrant was the Tournament MVP. Selected to the All-American team were Ed Girard, Steve Southern, Michel Hoy, Gerald “Jethrow” Paulton and Jim King.

Others on the championship 60AA RDG team are: Howard Wilcox, Martin Simmons, Steve Stokes, Jeff Sentten, Tommy Schleit, Brent Nicholas, Dennis Terrant and Steve Wegenbauer.

Glory Daze was second and Indy Fog third in the three team field.