SPA News

The 85-year young CENTER FOR SIGHT team invaded THEE SPA 2018 BUCKEYE CLASSIC in BARBERTON, OHIO June 18,19, 20 and surprised the competition nearly winning the 80 PLUS title straight-up.

Playing without the equalization extra player and additional runs the FLORIDA team went 4-2 just one game behind PRO HEALTH 5-1 in the FIRESTONE STADIUM division of the 12-team 80 field.

“What a thrill,” CF S manager HUGH BROTHERTON said. “We have never won more than one game in a tournament when we play against the kids (80 year old). This is real great !!

Brotherton’s team beat LOUISVILLE THUNDER 23-14, SYRACUSE 20-13, PRO HEALTH 19-16 and the THUNDER again. Their only defeats were 20-11 to the CHICAGO GEEZERS and second place (AKRON) FITTEAM 17-15.

“We should have beat FITTEAM,” Brotherton said. “We just made some mistakes at the wrong time.”

However the win over PROHEALTH was a huge bright spot for the 85-team.

“We never had never beaten PROHEALTH ever since we started playing them ten years ago,” BROTHERTON said. “That is a high point for us, to beat a quality team of kids like PROHEALTH just makes participating against the younger teams worthwhile.”

The CFS team has a hard time finding 85-young opponents to play and some times even 80-young teams.

“That is why we like coming to BARBERTON, there are always nine-or-ten 80’s to play and we do not have to play 75’s.” BROTHERON said. “Those kids are catching up with us and will soon be our age.”

When reminded the CFS team will be 90 when the 80’s are 85, Brotherton replied.

“We will still play them, they will just have to give us more runs and two extra players.”

The CENTER FOR SIGHT roster:

Hugh Brotherton, FL; Willard Kittrell, FL; Harold Oliver, FL; Edward Schultz, FL; Bernard Sciacca; Tommy Hicks, FL; Bob Darnell, GA; Howard Schoen, GA; Ferrell Sparks, GA; Alan DeWerth, OH; Dwight McVicker, OH; Roger Thresher, OH; David Goldberg, MN; Jerry Jones, AL; James Thomas, MI; William Weddle, TN; Joe Sykes, TN and Stuart Sellinger.

Two dozen teams visited WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS June 7-10 to take part in the SPA MENS LONE STAR NIT.

TEAM ARKANSAS got the most for their money playing seven games (two pool/five bracket) on the way to the 50 major title.

ARKANSAS lost their opening bracket game 22-34 to MIXED BREED before coming through the loser’s bracket to beat MIXED BREED twice (27-23, 27-26) to win the championship.

OKLAHOMA RHINO and. BEATTEX VETS were the others in the four team bracket.

MAN CAVE had an easier time in the 50 AAA group going 2-0 in pool and 3-0 in bracket play.

The 50 AAA champs beat DEMOLITION SOFTBALL 25-11 in the finals after beating them 20-19 in earlier bracket play.

BULLETTS finished third followed by DIAMOND STATE, GULF COAST and ETX.

Lots of winners in the seven team 70’s and 75-80 group.

TEXAS LEGENDS beat SAN ANTONIO 80’s 21-10 for the 75/80 PLUS crown. SA 80’s took the 80’s title with the SAN ANTONIO DESPERADOES the 75 CHAMPS..

The LOUISIANA LEGENDS downed OKIES 24-18 for the 70 AAA title with HILL CONTRACTING going home as 75 MAJOR CHAMP.

AUSTIN MERCHANTS was the fourth team in the bracket.

Five teams went at it for the 60 PLUS championship. GONZALES INSULATION downed TEXAS THUNDER 20-18 in the finals. GONZALES TOOK 60 MAJOR honors with the THUNDER 60 AAA winner. The TEXAS LEGENDS took the 60 AA crown.

Others in the five-team group were CARRIAGE HOUSE and DALLAS SPURS.

Robson ranch bested HOOKS for the 65 title.

“As always the WAXAHACHIE event was exciting and competitive becoming a very popular TEXAS tournament ,” SPA President and CEO RIDGE HOOKS said. “I think by now everyone not only knows how to spell WAXAHACHIE but also pronounce it.”

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 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."

The SPA GLEN BURNIE TOURNAMENT closed in on the 50 mark with 48 teams attending the MAY 2-6 at the BACHMAN SPORTS COMPLEX.

“It went real well this year,” tournament DIRECTOR LONNIE O’HAVER said. “The weather was great and we had a very competitive tournament in all brackets.”

Sixteen teams went home with championship awards.

PEACHTREE RESTAURANT defeated the NEW YORK STATESMEN 19-10 and 10-8 to win the 80’s division. The STATESMEN made it to the finals with a 20-9 triumph over HAMEL BUILDERS.

The HAMEL BUILDERS 75’s avenged the 80’s team defeat by winning the 75 BRACKET with a 15-10 win over MONKEY JOE’S. NEW JERSEY MASTERS finished third.

The 55 MAJOR PLUS crown went to BOB JOHNSON CHEVROLET DOMINOES TJ’S PLUMBING (and they needed two plaques because the sponsor name would not fit on just one,,,just kidding)

JOHNSON’S beat OLYMPIAN ATHLETES twice 29-12 and 26-20 along with SWEET CONSTRUCTION 23-22 on the way to the title in bracket play.

OLYMPIAN ATHLETES beat WOODLAWN FURNITURE 38-19 to reach the championship game and claim the 55 MAJOR title. SWEET CONSTRUCTION was the fourth team in the bracket.

MARYLAND COUGARS downed RUM HUT twice (20-8, 19-13) and SNEAKY PETE SOFTBALL 23-11 to take home the 55 AAA award.

RUM HUT reached the finals with a 19-14 win over SNEAKY PETE. GRIFFITH BROTHERS was the fourth team in the group.

PHOENIX TUBE beat MARK THOMAS LAW 22-21 and TEAM DUDLEY EAST COAST 28-27 to repeat as the 50 MAJOR champ. MARK THOMAS LAW beat TEAM DUDLEY 25-22 for second place.

Others in the 50 M group were TRINITY RIZZOS, ROEBELL PAINTERS PARADISE PAINTING, BH MAINTENANCE and COVELLA SANITATION.

GTO SOFTBALL downed HIGH STREET 50’S 19-18, 17-12 and MARYLAND CLASSICS 21-12 to run the table in the 50 AAA bracket.

HIGH STREET beat the CLASSICS 25-18 for second. Others in the five-team bracket were BRENCO and TIME BANDITS.

The 50 MAJOR PLUS title went to TEAM USA with 22-7 and 20-6 wins over PROVIDENCE AUTO BODY.

PROMOTION beat the 2017 60 MAJOR champs HIGH STREET BUCS 60’s 36-35 and 29-25 for the 60 MAJOR CROWN. PROMOTION lost to HIGH STREET 15-16 early in bracket play and fought their way through the loser’s bracket to force an “IF” game and beat HIGH STREET in the finals.

SWEET CONSTRUCTION was also in the bracket.

BUELL FUEL beat CHESAPEAKE GRAY 20-19, ROADHOUSE BLUES 21-9 and NORTHERN VIRGINIA FORCE 20-13 to take the 60 AAA title.

CHESAPEAKE beat ROADHOUSE for second place.

In round robin play HIGH STREET 65’s won the 65 MAJOR handing CAROLINA COBRA 65 their only loss by 19-18 count.

JERSEY MASTER RED beat ROCHESTER BREWERS 17-14 to finish first in the 65 AAA group. SIMMONS DAY ALL STARS and SPRING FORD were also in the 65 AAA contest.

JERSEY MASTERS was the 70 MAJOR champ while HIGH STREET BUCS 70’s went 4-0 to finish

ahead of DELAWARE AUTO SALVAGE, SPICER PROPERTIES.

ROCHESTER ROYALS were 70 AA champs.

The tournament was played at BACHMAN SPORTS COMPLEX.

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 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.