SPA News

DALTON,GA - GOOD TIMES/CLEAN PLANET ran the table in the SPA 50 MAJOR WORLDS BRACKET at DALTON, GEORGIA HERITAGE POINT PARK JULY 19-21 to take home the 2019 title.

GOOD TIMES went 4-0 in bracket play downing WALKER BROTHERS 17-1 in the TITLE GAME. Leading up to the finale GOOD TIMES defeated TEAM ARKANSAS 18-2, TENNESSEE COMETS 23-9 and BEST WAY 17-5.

WALKER BROTHERS reached the finals with wins over BOB JOHNSON (17-10), GEORGIA CLASSICS (13-8) and LSDB (19-15)

Others in the 15-team bracket were SIX ONE FIVE SR SOFTBALL, ATLANTA MONARCHS, COVELLO SANITATION, DOC'S SOFTBALL, SOUTHEAST WATER/SWARM and LIGHTHOUSE LOOKOUTS.

GOOD TIMES manager GENE MYERS received the 2019 SPA 50 MAJOR MANAGER-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD.

NED JOHNSON took home the MVP AWARD.

ALPHONSE BICHETTE, KEITH FELDON, JOHN HEFFLEFINGER, DAVID JOHNSON and JOSEPH ROBINSON all received ALL-AMERICAN recognition.

The CHAMPS roster in addition to the players already mentioned include; JACK BUTLER, CARL CASTELLO, JOSEPH FUHRMAN, TIMOTHT GRUNDMANN, JEFFREY JACOBY, JEFFREY KIGHTLINGER, THEODORE LEHR, BRENT MCGARY, EUGENE MYERS, ARBER PARHAM, KEVIN PEET and ABDREW SIMPSON.

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.

MARIETTA, GEORGIA played  host to 21 teams JUNE 20-23 at the AL BISHOP SOFTBALL COMPLEX in the SPA PEACH STATE CLASSIC senior softball tournament..

Ten teams squared off in the 50+MAJOR bracket with LIGHTHOUSE going 4-0 in lighting up the scoreboard to take home the title.

In their four wins the champs touched home plate 134 times in wins over SE SWARM (35-5,35-33), BEST WAY (31-16) and RIVER ROCK (33-19).

SE SWARM reached the finals beating BEST WAY 28-27 to take runner-up honors.

Others in the bracket were DUDLEY, WALKER BROS, TN COMETES, DOC'S SOFTBALL, ATLANTA MONARCHS and TEAM INTENSITY.

The MONTGOMERY SWARM bested KENT PLAYERS 23-15 and 21-17 along with a 25-18 defeat of WDMS to win the 55 AAA bracket. KENT PLAYERS reached the finals by downing GEORGIA RENEGADES 19-8.

DARRELL HARRIS took the top prize in the 55 AAA group with a pair of wins over ATLANTA RECYCLE (20-12, 26-16) and a 23-18 defeat of TN CONNECTION.

ATLANTA RECYCLE edged PANHANDLE 22-21 reaching the finals.

Three teams battled in the 60 AAA/65 MAJOR group with GAS downing COLUMBUS LXV 24-11 and MOBLEY ROOFING 117-10 for the title. COLUMBUS LXV beat MOBLEY ROOFING 22-10 to reach the finals.

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.

The HEART OF OHIO is back!!

Ten years ago it used to be one of the top drawing senior softball tournaments east of VEGAS when the Columbus Senior Softball Organization was running the tournament.

When COSSA dropped it attendance went way down but a revival took place this year with 57 TEAMS ATTENDING.

In one of the bigger brackets TEN TEAMS squared off for the 50 AAA title.

LOWES LEGENDS  won it with bracket wins over AREA FIFTY-ONE SOFTBALL (20-10), AREA FIFTY-ONE (17-16), MIAMI VALLEY (22-7) and OHIO HITMEN (17-9).

AREA FIFTY-ONE beat OHIO HITMEN (24-19) to take second.

Other teams in the group were CIRCLE CITY PLAYMAKERS, DAYTON LEGENDS, TEAM 216, GO SPORTS PLUS, DAYTON LEGENDS FIFTIES and BULL MOOSE 50's.

GEM CITY MERCHANTS lost the first game 30-31 to AMERICAN METAL RECYCLING but bounced back with 19-3 and 25 22 wins to win the best-two-out-of-three for the 50 MAJOR CROWN.

The finishers in the 55 MAJOR were DLB SOFTBALL champ and CPOA Runner-up. OHIO ELITE/AMK, MOTOR CITY PUSH and DAYTON LEGENDS rounded out the 55 MAJOR bracket.

ANTIQUE ROAD SHOW downed TOUCH EM AA (23-19), BULL MOOSE (20-9) and TOUCH EM ALL (17-11) to win the 55 AAA title. TOUCH EM ALL beat  BULLMOOSE 23-8 for second.

DETROIT PONY EXPRESS was the fourth team in the group.

JUST ONE MORE beat DURHAM SILVER STICKS 22-12, 18-10 for the 60 AA title. DURHAM edged DAYTON DIAMOND DAWGS 12-11 for second place.

JP MOTERMEN went 4-0 in bracket play with wins over LOUISVILLE SILVER SLUGGERS< CINCINNATI 60's, LOUISVILLE and OHIO ELTE DOCS and capture the 60 AAA top prize.

Others in the bracket were PEPCO/SFS, CHAMPAIGN SOFTBALL, DAYTON LEGENDS and OHIO SIXTIES.

The MINUTEMEN/SFS edged UNIVERSAL SOFTBALL twice in bracket play (27-25. 9-6) and a long with a 20-6 victory over UPSTATE EXTREME ROYALS took the 65 AAA crown.

UNIVERSAL beat CAVCO 21-9 for second place. Others in the bracket were MCMAHON<COYNE<VITANTONIO; and SIDELINE BULL MOOSE.

The 70 AA saw ROCHESTER CLASSICS end on top followed by MICHIGAN LAKERS, LEGENDS OF DAYTON, ROCHESTER ROYALS, INDY 70's and DAYTON LEGENDS SILVER EXPRESS.

DAYTON LEGENDS had a long day in order to win the 70 AAA Crow.

They started with a win over CHICAGO HITMEN (24-10), dropped to the loser's bracket with a 10-16 loss to STEEL CITY. They beat DR VINYL (26-11), MIDSTATE SENIORS (16-14) LEFEGUARD FINANCIAL (20-5) and STEEL CITY twice (25-21. 19-12)  for the title.

Yhers in the bracket were DOC MARTINS ROPE COURSE and COSSA.

The 75 AAA went to RARE BREED with a pair of wins (21-12, 18-3) over DAYTON LEGENDS.

Quoting SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE'S poem THE ANCIENT MARINER with some modification.

WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE

AND ALL THE BOARDS DID SHRINK

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

THIS WEATHER REALLY DID STINK

Only the 70 and 60 Divisions were played at Barberton June 11,12,13,14,15 as the rest of the schedule was not only rained out but flooded out.

The fields were actually best suited for the first SPA COMBINED CANOE and KAYAK individual and team racing.

It was the first time in the tournaments 18-year history it was rained out.

The 75 SCARLET bracket saw the INDIANAPOLIS CLASSICS finish (6-0,5-0) in the round robin to edge HILL CONSTRUCTION (5-1,4-1)  INDIANAPOLIS beat HILL 16-15 in head-to-head action.

MICCHIANA MERCHANTS (2-3,2-2), JERSEY MASTERS (1-4,1-3), CAROLINA  BLUE SKY (1-5,1-4) and DAYTON LEGENDS (1-5.1-4) rounded out the six-team bracket.

SYRACUSE CYCLONES edged RUSH TRUCKING 10-9 in the GREY DIVISION to finish (5-1,4-1) to the TRUCKERS (5_1,4-1) but one the title and the tie-breaker win.

ROCHESTER CHESS (4-2,3-2), CHICAGO GREY SOX (3-3,2-3), AMR (2-4,2-3) and RARE BREED (1-5,0-5) were the others in the bracket.

OHIO ELITE DOCS (4-1) won the 60's GREY Division edging out JUST ONE MORE (3-2) on the strength of a 29-17 win in a head-to-head match. JUST ONE MORE win the 60 AA bracket edging DURHAM SILVER STICKS (2-3) 25-23.

PELLY'S STIX (1-4) and OHIO SIXTIES (1-4) were also in the GREY Division.

The CHICAGO PRIME beat JP MOTERMEN 23-18 to break a tie between the two teams (each 4-1) and win the 60 SCARLET bracket.

The MINUTEMEN finished a close (3-2), CARDOT MADALINA  CONSTRUCTION (2-3) and LOUISVILLE SUPER SLUGGERS (1-4). rounded out the group.

Twenty-two teams participating in the SPA 2019 TEXAS LONE STAR NIT learned first hand how to spell WAXAHACHIE June 7-9 as they battled for titles at its SPORT COMPLEX. When the dust cleared TEN TEAMS were crowned champions.

The TEXAS LEGENDS beat the TEXAS THUNDER in a third deciding game 19-13 to take the 60 AA crown. The Thunder won the second game 15-14 and the LEGENDS the first by a 22-18 count.

The THUNDER took the 60 AAA title.

LA LEGENDS beat OAK-ARK 9-6 and 12-9 for the 70 AAA title. The LEGENDS also beat OAKIES 17-2 in the opening round. OAK-ARK downed the OAKIES 22-12 to reach the finals.

Others in the bracket were TEXAS CLASSICS and TEXAS RAIDERS.

The 75 DIVISION saw HILL CONTRACTING drop TEXAS 75 KNIGHT RAIDERS 16-3 and 19-3 for the top prize.

GONZALEZ INSULATION edged TEXAS THUNDER 24-22 in winning the 65 MAJOR TITLE while the THUNDER claimed the 65 AAA award.

TEXAS ACES defeated TEXAS ELITE 27-15, 30-24 and ETX 23-22 to win the 50 AAA CHAMPIONSHIP.

Others in the bracket were UNDISPUTED TRUTH and UNDERDOGS 55"s.

ESCOBAR BODY SHOP took home the 50M PLUS crown beating ROCKIN N LEGENDS 26-25 and OK RHINO 27-25.

ROCKIN N LEGENDS downed MANCAVE 29-7 for the 55 MAJOR title while MANCAVE took care of OK RHINO 29-18 for the 50 MAJOR top prize.

Twenty-six teams mainly from Minnesota and Wisconsin invaded PIONEER PARK, MINNESOTA JUNE 6-9 to play in the SPA/SSUSA STEVE SIMMONS MOSQUITOLAND CLASSIC.

In a mixture of AAA and MAJOR championships were earned in 50, 60,70 Majors and 50, 60, 70, 75/80 AAA.

MN LUMBERJACKS defeated MAHER HOMES 24-11, 25-24 for the 50 AAA title while CPD/ANCEL downed IOWA DEMONS 24-15 for the MAJOR crown.

CT VIPER also participated in the 50's groups.

The 60's saw WISCONSIN PLAYMAKERS lose twice to MINNESOTA LUMBERJACKS 12-14, 14-19 as the LUMBERJACKS won the 60 AAA title.

MINNESOTA MERCHANTS downed ALL AMERICAN RESTORATION 22-14 to take home the 60 MAJOR crown.

Other teams playing in the 60's group were MINNESOTA MERCHANTS and MINNESOTA MASTERS/ANCEL.

The MINNESOTA PRIZE defeated ALL-AMERICAN 19-9 TO WIN THE 70 major  with CHICAGO STRIKERS beating BADGER CLASSICS 18-13 for the 70 AAA Crown.

Also participating in the 70's were MIDWEST EXPRESS, CHICAGO HITMEN, ROCHESTER RAPTORS, MINNESOTA MASTERS and MINNESOTA LUMBERJACKS.

PROHEALTH  75's  was the winner over MINNESOTA MASTERS 80'S IN THE 75/80 BRACKET.

Only four teams showed up for the May 5 8-9 AWARDS EXPRESS tournament at CONCORD, NC's FRANK LISE PARK but that was fine with BLACKBURN TRUCKING.

The TRUCKERS beat THE GRILL 16-12 in the deciding game after THE GRILL won the "IF" game 18-3 to force the extended match.

For the tournament the two teams went 2-2 against each other. THE GRILL went undefeated in pool with a 20-10 win over BLACKBURN but was edged 19-18 by the champs in opening round of bracket play.

The other teams participating were LAST CALL and CAROLINA PROSPECTORS..