Great Fields and Tight Competition Define the 2026 NorCal Championships

July 1, 2026

Channel 31's Good Day Sacramento interviewed SSUSA's master scheduler, Dave Dowell, at Elk Grove's Hal Bartholomew Sports Park.

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

Californians swept all 14 championships decided at the recently completed Northern California State Championships played in the greater Sacramento area.

But then, all but three of the 54 teams that entered hailed from The Golden State. So their odds of sweeping were good.

Seven women’s teams and 47 men’s teams competed June 26-28 at parks in Elk Grove, Lincoln and Davis – three cities within a 50-mile radius of Sacramento.

Directors Deanna Sesso and Anthony Hinojosa with tournament staff and umpires at Foskett Park in Lincoln.

“The three parks were in excellent condition, which added to the tournament’s success,” Tournament Director Stephanie Hopkins said. “We ordered perfect weather for the weekend, and we had great competition in some very good divisions.”

Tight contests abounded, with 51 games decided by one or two runs.

The Men’s 50+ AAA division proved to be one of the most competitive. All six seeding games as well as the championship game ended in one-run victories.

Unloaded 50s finished as finalists in the Men's 50+ AAA division.

Hopkins also credited a solid crew of directors, and the wares offered by vendors Suncoast and Punisher, for elevating the tournament atmosphere.

Results (all teams are from California unless noted otherwise):

Women's 40+ Major: Playing a best-of-three format, I.S.S.U.E. (photo below, red jerseys) swept Still Mobbin of Nevada (photo below, blue and white jerseys) in a pair of nail-biters, 12-11 and 15-14.

Women's 40/50+ AAA: Second-seeded Mood Swings, a 40+ AAA team, capped a 5-0 tournament with a 17-14 championship victory over the third-seeded Vintage Rockstars. Fourth-seeded Unloaded Women's 40 finished third in the five-team bracket.

Men's 40+ Platinum: Fourth-seeded SA/Anarchy/Premier Built Const (photo below), a 40+ Major team, averaged 26 runs per bracket game, including a 23-17 title-game victory over second-seeded The Ravine. Third-seeded Dynasty Brothers Sports captured third in the 11-team division.

Men's 40+ AAA: Playing a best-of-three format, Ol Dirty Ballerz (photo below) swept CC/Youngsters 26-24 and 25-23.

Men's 50+ Major: Top-seeded A&B PLBG 50 (photo below) capped a 5-1 tournament by edging third-seeded G.O. Softball/Mae Capital 24-23 in the title game of this three-team division. Second-seeded 3 Score/LPC finished third.

Men's 50+ AAA: After a 1-2 start in seeding games, third-seeded Central Cal 50s (photo below) won three close bracket games, including a 21-20 thriller in the title game against fourth-seeded Unloaded 50s. The second-seeded Nor-Cal Hitmen 50 took third in the four-team division.

Men's 55+ Major Plus: Playing a best-of-three format, Gold Nation Hustle 55s needed all three games to subdue Battleborn NV 55 of Nevada (photo below) 24-9, 5-20, 34-27.

Men's 55+ Major: Unbeaten in five games, top-seeded A-1 Pavement Marking 55s (photo below) erased third-seeded Supreme Athletic Outlaws 21-13 in the title game. Second-seeded BR & Company took third in the three-team division.

Men's 55+ Silver: Second-seeded Khaos (photo below), a AAA team, knocked off the Nor-Cal Hitmen 21-19 to claim this six-team division with a 4-1 overall record. The NorCal Maniacs won three elimination games to finish third in the six-team bracket.

Men's 60+ Major: Second-seeded SMASH defeated third-seeded North Valley Seniors 19-17 to win the three-team division. Top-seeded AFTERSHOCK finished third after losing its first bracket game by two runs and its second bracket game by one run.

Men's 60/65+ Gold: Unbeaten in five games, the second-seeded AAA team Warriors 60 (photo below) lost the first title game 23-15 to New Dawn Awning 65 and won the if-needed game by forfeit, 7-0. New Dawn won five consecutive elimination games. Top-seeded Sacramento Flash finished third in the six-team bracket.

Men's 65/70+ Gold: Playing a best-of-three format, the Major team New Dawn Awning 70s  swept the Hustlers 8-5 and 15-13 to claim the title.

Men's 70/75+ Gold: Also playing a best-of-three format, Pacific Storm (photo below) blew away Last Call 75 of Nevada 17-9 and 23-17.

Men's 80/85+ Gold: After playing a double round robin, all three teams in this division were 2-2. Omen 85 (photo below), a Major Plus team, won the title by defeating the Jaguars 21-20 in the third-place game and then ousting the Enforcers 23-20 in the title game.