Rain Attempts to Usurp All Divisions of 2026 Texas State Champs; Umpires Save the Day

May 1, 2026

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

“Please thank the umpires” became a common phrase at the 2026 Texas State Championships, where muddy playing fields failed to outwit determined tournament officials.

After heavy rain cut Session 1’s schedule in half, more rain threatened to wipe out Session 2 during the April 28–May 3 tournament in Dallas.

Working feverishly, Senior Softball-USA Executive Director Fran Dowell secured an emergency complex for Friday play only, allowing most of the day’s seeding games to occur at the Park at Texas Star, a four-field complex with turf infields in the Dallas suburb of Euless. Unfortunately, one division did not play at all that day.

After Friday play ended, tournament directors learned that Dallas Parks and Recreation would not be providing any field maintenance staff for Saturday and Sunday play at Kiest Park, where the tournament originally had been scheduled, because of budget issues.

Tournament staff recruited six SSUSA umpires to arrive early Saturday to rake and chalk the fields. Worse-than-expected conditions greeted them. Two hours before game time, water still glistened in some sections of all four infields.

SSUSA Umpires attempt to dry out and fix fields in the morning before games at Kiest Park in Dallas.

After walking the fields, the park supervisor estimated that only two fields would be playable at all that day – a day when nine rounds of games had been scheduled across six Kiest Park fields.

Umpires don’t give up easily, however.

Assisted by a handful of players and coaches, the umpires toiled a combined 25 hours on the fields. By 10 a.m., games had started on two fields. By 1 p.m., the other two fields had joined them.

Teams competed during shortened games, but at least they played.

All this happened after Session 1’s teams suffered through a thunderstorm deluge during their second afternoon of play. Fields remained unplayable for the remainder of Session 1. Directors awarded championships based on games already concluded.

Overall, 13 of the 60 participating teams captured division titles. Fifteen teams claimed berths to the 2027 Tournament of Champions to be played in Polk County, Fla.

Results:

Men's 50+ AAA: Rainy conditions hit this division hard. No seeding games got played. A new round-robin schedule ended with an unbeaten champion, Alliance/Scrap Iron 50 of Colorado (photo below). West Texas 50s took second in the four-team division. Get 5 of Texas placed third.

Men's 50/55+ Platinum: Top-seeded Major Plus team The Firm 55 of Texas (photo below) lost its first bracket game by one run then came back to double dip third-seeded JTF/Squared Away of Texas 31-17 and 22-21. Second-seeded Pro Vision Posse 50 of Washington took third in the three-team division.

Men's 55+ Major: Fourth-seeded Escobar Body Shop of Texas (photo below) capped a 5-1 tournament with a 19-18 title triumph over sixth-seeded WALKOFF 55 of Maryland. Second-seeded NOP Softball of Oklahoma captured third in the nine-team division.

Men's 55+ AAA: Second-seeded Alliance/Scrap Iron 55 of Colorado (photo below) capped a 5-0 tournament with a 22-21 victory over top-seeded Heroes 55 of Nebraska in the title game. It marked Alliance’s third one-run victory of the tournament. Third-seeded Scrap Iron Mile High of Colorado finished third in the six-team division.

Men's 60+ Major: Another one-run game decided this division, with second-seeded Demolition 60 of Texas (photo below) knocking off top-seeded The Tribe of Missouri 22-21 for the title. Demolition finished 4-1 overall. Fifth-seeded RockNLegends 9/ Short Porch of Texas nabbed third place in the five-team division.

Men's 60+ Silver: The sixth-seeded M-60 Tankers, a AAA team from Texas, (photo below) capped a 5-1 tournament with a 20-19 championship victory over the fourth-seeded KC Kids / Bear's Ballers of Missouri, which won five elimination games to reach the finals. Top-seeded Lumberjack Red of Minnesota finished third in the 10-team division. Third-seeded Club Tilt/Haus of Colorado snagged the 60+ AA TOC berth.

Men's 65+ Major Plus: After rain eliminated all head-to-head games in this division, Dudley Lightning 65s of Missouri conceded the championship and TOC berth to Texas Crush Sixty Fives.

Men's 65+ Major: Tie-breakers determined this division, with the 2-1 Matney Legends of Texas claiming the crown and TOC berth. Avalanche Elite Contractors of Michigan took second while Houston Fire 65s placed third. Both those teams also finished 2-1.

Men's 65+ AAA: Unbeaten after two seeding games, Albuquerque Asphalt Softball Club earned the championship awards and TOC Berth. OKC Boomers, which went 1-1 overall, received second place. Alliance/Scrap Iron 65 of Colorado took third.

Men's 70+ AA: Rain prevented head-to-head competition between the Robson Ranch Texans and Triple 2 of Texas, which meant seeding games determined the results. Robson Ranch, which went 3-0 in seeding games, nabbed first. Triple 2 took second in the two-team division.

Men's 70/75+ Gold: Rain also prevented head-to-head competition in this two-team division, which was won by the 2-1 Major team Texas Express 75s. TL Thunder 70 of Texas took second.

Men's 75+ Silver: Robson Ranch, a AA team from Texas, nabbed the title and TOC berth after going 3-0 in seeding games. USA Patriots of Oklahoma finished second and received the AAA TOC berth. The Rangers of Texas took third in the three-team division.

Men's 80/85+ Gold: This division played a full round robin before rain washed away the rest of the games. The unbeaten KC Kids/Bale Chevrolet 80+ AAA team won the four-team division and earned the TOC berth. The San Antonio Legends lost only once, by one run to the KC Kids, and finished second. The Texas Legends 80 took third in the five-team division.