SPA News

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 CAROLINA A’S beat both the weather and five other teams to win the SPA WARM-UP TOURNAMENT April 6-8 at FRANK LISE PARK in CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA.

CAROLINA A’S was the only 55M team with the others being 50 AAA.

The champs beat C3 RAGS twice (26-22, 20-10) to capture the crown.

The C3 RAGS reached the finals beating CAROLINA FIVE-O by a 22-11 count and BLACKBURN TRUCKING 19-18.

BLACKBURN finished third, PREMIER ELECTRIC four, CAROLINA PROPERTIES fifth and CAROLINA FIVE-O sixth.

Tournament Director was RICK TUCKER.

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.

A highly successful SPA 2017 softball season came to an end with the WINTER NIT at MICHAEL J. DESORBO EXCHANGE PARK in PENSACOLA/ FLORIDA October 13-15.

Twenty-two teams brought down the curtain competing for titles in five divisions.

GAS took the 60 AAA/MAJ Division coming out of the loser's bracket after losing their first game to win five in a row for the crown.

GAS lost to CARRIAGE HOMES 25-26 in the opening bracket game before going on a streak beating BAND OF BROTHERS 21-18, SOUTHERN SLAM 26-22, CARRIAGE HOMES 20-5 and SEASONED VETS twice 18-16 and 33-15.

Following GAS in the standings were SEASONED VETS, CARRIAGE HOMES, SOUTHERN SLAM, BAND OF BROTHERS.

TAG ran the table in the 65 AAA/M bracket running the table beating BOYD'S METAL 20-9 in the title game.. In the run they also disposed of DALLAS SPURS 25-13 and THE FIRM 21-7.

Order of finish was 1. TAG, 2. BOYD'S METAL, 3. DALLAS SPURS, 4. THE FIRM and 5. INDIANA LEGENDS.

The TRAVELERS went undefeated in both and bracket play going 5-0 to capture the 70/75 AAA/ M crown.

The TRAVELERS beat MATADOR CLUB 17-2 in the championship game. They reached the final game by beating FOR FREEDOM (21-6) and MATADOR CLUB (35-15)

MATADOR CLUB was runner-ups followed by FOR FREEDOM, SOUTHEAST LEFTOVERS 75'S and MISFITS.

DOC C'S beat TEAM ARKANSAS three out of five for the 50 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP.

TEAM ARKANSAS had beaten DOC'S twice in the first thgree games but had to forfeit game four and five.

TEAM LOUISIANNA won the 50/55 title but not without a battle. Although going 3-0 in bracket play they had a pair of nail biters.in wins over SOUTHEAST SWARM (19-18), DT EXPRESS (20-18) and ADIKTIV (32-9).

The Carolina A’s went seven-for-seven in winning the SPA 2017 ten team 55 AAA Worlds September 7-10 at Dalton, Georgia’s Heritage Point Park.

“We couldn’t afford to lose a game and fall into the loser’s bracket, “Carolina SPA 55 AAA Manager-of-the-Year Jack Rule said. “We only brought ten players and any extra games would have worn us out completely.”

The “Iron Ten” beat DT Express 27-21 and 22-13, 1 Undercraft 14-11 and JJ Financial 16-10 in bracket play and Tenn. Connection 26-25, DT Express 18-13 and Daryl Harris and Associates 19-17 in pool play.

“Nothing was easy, we had to battle each game,” Rule said. “A lot of our games were decided in the sixth or seventh inning. All the teams we played were very good and with a bounce here or there could have easily been the champs instead of us.”

Although Carolina has seven World championships, this was their first SPA 55 AAA World title.

Ryan Roberts was the tournament MVP. Selected to the All-American All-Star team were James Pearson, Ted Harris, Mark Rippy, Keith Ayers, Buck Josey and Ricky Tucker

Other team members are: James Pearson, Rickie Brown, Perry Clark, Scott Limerick, Carroll Gallagher, Dola Holt, Keith Ayers, Tim Furr, who is also the team sponsor, and team statistician and base coach Dane Pitts.

DT Express was runner-up followed by Detroit Connection, 1 under Craft, TN Connection, Nebraska Silver, Dayton Legends, J.R.Smith, Darryl Harris and JJ Financial.

The New Jersey Masters took no prisoners at the Dalton 70 AAA Worlds going undefeated in pool and bracket play to not only win the World 70 AAA title but also the Triple Crown.

"It was our first World title in ten years," Jersey Master and SPA 70 AAA Manager of the Year Artie Thomas said. "We just got on a roll the first game and never stopped."

The Masters started out in pool play beating Louisiana Legends 14-5, Time Bandits 20-2 (triple crown championship) and Bank of Risson 12-5.

Bracket play saw US Pallet (26-12), For Freedom (18-2) and Columbus ((IND) Silver Sticks 14-12,19-2) for a seven-game sweep.

"Our balanced hitting was the key," Thomas said. "We had hitters from top to bottom. We had seven players who hit over .600".

Leading the way for Jersey was the Most Valuable Player award winner Tom Campitello. Selected for the All-American All Star team were Stan Robinson, Tom Lombardi, Tom Wieczerak, Joe Maikes and Dana Kimmel.

Other members of the team are:Dick Lillich, Karl Eymold, Bob Gallagher, Joe Depierro, Gary Krause, Ray Poyer, Rick Polonitza,Bill McCabe, Joe Starr, Bob Richard, Wayne Westerman, Mike Muldoon and Earl Tapper.

The Columbus Silver Sticks were second in the tournament followed by U.S. Pallet, Chicago Strikers, Midwest Express, Dayton Legends, Chicago Gray Sox, For Freedom, Lifeguard Financial, Time Bandits, Louisiana Legends, Austin Merchants and Bank of Rissin.

It took nearly ten years but the 60 AAA Central Illinois Chiefs finally won a SPA World Championship capturing the title September 7-10 in Dalton, Georgia.

“It has been a long time coming but is worth the wait,” Chief spokesman Mike Chamness said. “Every year we thought we could do it but a bad bounce or something always seemed to cut us short. This year we got all the bounces and breaks.”

The champs ran the table in bracket play beating Atlanta Recycling twice 19-18 and 14-8 to take the title. Earlier bracket wins were 22-7 over KC Thunder, 18-4 Georgia’s Columbus LX and, Georgia’s GAS Softball 13-10.

They went 2-1 in pool play downing Boys of Summer (Tn) 23-13 and Seasoned Veterans 23-13 before losing 17-18 to Columbus LX.

The Chiefs are unique in the fact they do not have one manager or two managers they have four.

Mike Barton was the SPA 65 AAA Manager of the Year but he was ably assisted by Britt Edwards, Chamness and Dan Hittmeier.

Central Illinois short stop Joe Ferguson was Tournament MVP. Selected to the All-American AllStar team were Lonnie Netzell, Bart Wills, Britt Edwards, Kevin Kronst and Greg Finigan..

Team members are: Netzel, Bart Wills, Randy McEldowney, Hittmeier, Edwards, Cliff Krueger, Mike Henry, Chamness, Barton, Kronst, Finigan. Ferguson, Jed Bunyan, Kevin Blakeman and Jeff Huston.

Following the Chiefs were 2. Atlanta Recycling, 3. Boys of Summer, 4 GAS Softball, 5. Cincinnati 60’s, 5. Seasoned Veterans, 7. KC Thunder, 7. Columbus LX, 9. Carolina Patriots, 9. RPR Softball and 9. (By) Grace Redeemed.

Kentucky's Jim & Joe’s Ice out dueled ten other teams to win the 2017 SPA 65+ AAA Worlds September 7-10 in Dalton, Georgia.

The Icemen went 4-0 in bracket play beating The Firm (Tenn) 18-9, The Firm 22-17, The Travelers 16-12 and Boyd Metal 18-14. They went 2-1 in pool play with a 9-8 win over Travelers and 18-14 over Tennessee’s Tag. Their only loss in the tournament was 8-17 to Maryland’s Simmons Day All-Stars.

“I think the difference between us and the others was our speed, especially in the outfield,” Jim & Joe’s SPA 65 AAA Manager of the Year John Coffman said. “We also had a full roster so we were able to rest players and have plenty of runners to give guys a chance to rest.”

The four outfielders Coffman praised were Chris Stenger, Mike Howell, Jimmy Nageleisen and Ed Perry.

The Icemen qualified for Dalton by winning Thee 2017 SPA Buckeye Classic. They also won the Heart of Ohio.

“We enjoyed playing the SPA tournaments, they are always among the best in Senior Softball, especially the Dalton Worlds,” Coffman said.

Tournament MVP was Jim & Joe’s Bobby Mefford with Charles Marrero, Dickie Vaughn, Billy Heim, Larry Metcalf and Billy Brown all selected to the All-American team.

Other members of the 2017 SPA 65 AAA champs are: Bill Brutscher Jr, Greg Ellerkamp, Michael Robey, Anthony Steel Sr, Lamon Tucker, Daniel Vogt, Harry Young, Herman Cottrell and Larry Gray.

Finishing behind Jim&Joe’s Ice were: 2. The Firm, 3. Boyd Metals. 4. Simmons Day AllStars, 5. Trvelers, 5. Tag, 7. Dayton Legends, 7. Blue Chips, 9. Ohio Silverado’s, 9. Cavco Sports and 9 Crystal Heat.