YUMA PLAYS HOST TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 1, 2020

Tournament Directors Don Reddig (standing) with wife Diane, and Jerry Smith with wife Maria

YUMA, Ariz. – The first Tournament of Champions qualifier in the 2020 calendar year took place here, June 19-21, at Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex with 33 teams in action.

The tournament began with the Men’s 50 – 60 age divisions playing June 19 - 21, while the Men’s 40 age division played June 20 – 21.

“It was exhilarating to see senior players take the field at the SoCal Championships in Yuma,” said Terry Hennessy, SSUSA’s chief executive officer. “Managers, players and spectators helped implement the new pandemic regulations and were very gracious about it. “

In the eight-team Men’s 50 Major Division, Bart’s Fossils (CA) ran through bracket play with a perfect 4-0 record, including a 34-16 win over Arizona Heat in the championship game.

Scrap Iron/Elite (CO) made a  valiant run through the elimination side of the bracket with four straight wins, en route to their eventual third-place finish. Twin Oaks Softball Club (CA) also made a strong push with three straight wins in the elimination side of the bracket, to finish in fourth place.

The five-team Men’s 50 AAA Division saw top seed Sin City Warriors post a perfect weekend, going 2-0 in seeding play, and 3-0 in bracket play, including a thrilling 13-12 win over Bad Attitude (CA) in the championship game.

LB Softball (CA) finished in third place.

Crush/Miken (CA) swept Rawhide (CA) by scores of 26-11 and 23-19, respectively, to win the Men’s 55 Major Plus Division.

The four-team Men’s 55 Major Division witnessed top seed So Cal 55 (CA) register a flawless weekend, going 3-0 in seeding and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 21-7 win over Enforcers (CA) in the championship game.

Enforcers won back-to-back elimination games to reach the championship game.

Unforgotten Warriors finished in third place.

The best of three game series in the Men’s 55 AAA Division went the distance between California Coast Plumbers/Horn and Weekend Warriors (CA)

The teams traded one-run victories, as California Coast Plumbers/Horn took the opening game 17-16; while Weekend Warriors evened the series with a 23-22 win in extra innings.

The rubber-match saw California Coast Plumbers/Horn take the division with a 17-10 victory.

Action shot from the Men's 55 AAA Championship Game that went nine innings

The three-team Men’s 60 Major Division came down to the “if” game, as Arizona Elite defeated AZ Legends Suncoast, 22-12, to complete the double-dip. Arizona Elite defeated AZ Legends Suncoast 24-20 in the championship game, to force the “if” game.

Reloaded (CA) finished in third place.

The five-team Men’s 60 Silver Division had another team go undefeated, as No. 2 seed Weakened Warriors (CA) went 2-0 in seeding play, and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 23-8 win over Top Gun Lightning (CA) in the championship game.

Top Gun Lightning got off to a rough start, going 0-2 in seeding play, and dropping their first two bracket games. The team bounced back with three straight wins en route to their runner-up finish.

2 Out Nightmare (CA) finished in third place.

The four-team Men’s 40 Gold Division saw top seed Team Amaya (CA) come out of the elimination side of the bracket to double-dip hometown team, Whatever (AZ), by scores of 21-19 and 28-21, in the championship and “if” games, respectively.

The double-dip by Team Amaya completed a run of four straight wins in elimination games.

Sudden Impact (NM) finished in third place.