COLUMBUS LXV went into the 2018 SPA 65 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP at DALTON, GEORGIA Sept 6-9 with one thing in mind...win it for HENRY!!
HENRY SOLIC had been the manager and third basemen for COLUMBUS LXV and unfortunately passed away earlier this year.
“HENRY meant a lot to our team and we all miss him greatly,” COLUMBUS LXV Manager-of-The-Year PHIL DUNLAP said. “We remember HENRY before every tournament game and spread his ashes at third base after the tournament.”
“I know he was watching and rooting for us at DALTON,” DUNLAP said. “I know he is just as excited at winning the WORLD TITLE as we are.”
If SOLIC was watching from above, he had some anxious moments as his teammates won nine games in the tournament but five were by one run in the bottom of the seventh.
“We were lucky and won the toss in all five games, so I took last bats,” DUNLAP said.
They also had to come out of the loser’s bracket to win it.
In the only breather in the tournament COLUMBUS won the first bracket game 17-2 over THE FIRM. That was followed by a 25-24 win over SIDELINE BULL MOOSE before losing 14-17 to the DAYTON LEGENDS.
The CHAMPS started their journey out of the loser’s bracket with an 18-17 over RPR and forced the “IF” game beating DAYTON 15-14. The finale was more of the same with COLUMBUS rallying in the bottom of the seventh for the 18-17 tournament title.
“We were kind of lucky winning both the coin flip and then the game,” DUNLAP said.” We just played really, really well. We are not a soon-to-be MAJOR team, we didn’t win a lot of games this year. We just got really lucky in this one.”
COLUMBUS’S pool wins were over INDY FOG (20-14) and SIDELINE BULL MOOSE (10-8), They lost to SCRAP IRON MILE HIGH (10-11). Counting pool games DAYTON LEGENDS had won five in a row before losing the final two to COLUMBUS.
Teams in the nine-team bracket were: 1, COLUMBUS LXV, 2. DAYTON LEGENDS, 3. RPR, 4. BOYD METALS, 5. SIDELINE BULL MOOSE, 5. THE FIRM, 7. MIDSTATE STARS, 7. SCRAP IRON MILE HIGH and 9. HOOKS.
Members of the 65 AAA WORLD CHAMPION COLUMBUS LXV; NATE DOWDELL, DODGER FOWLER, ANDY HARBIN JR, RON INGRAM, ELMO MOSER, RONNIE SPANN, DINO SULLINS, DANNY WILSON, DOC YATES, RANDY LUNSFORD, DOUG DODSON, DANNY BAKER, VAL VALENTINI, PHIL DUNLAP JR, WALTER BROOKS, RODGER ALLEN, JIM THOMPSON, NICO NICOMETO, JEFF GOLLOTTE and LARRY MAFFIT.