"IF" Games Galore at the 2026 Land of Enchantment Champs

July 1, 2026

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

Only two out of 65 teams managed to go undefeated during a competitive SSUSA Land of Enchantment Championship that played June 23-28 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Competition was so close overall that half the divisions – including all four women’s brackets – needed a second title game to determine the champion. In addition, 49 games were decided by just one or two runs.

“The Land of Enchantment tournament this year was a complete success,” Tournament Director Linda Weber said. “We had rain one night, but the complex grounds crew, maintenance staff and directors came in early to get the fields ready so there was no delay in starting the games Saturday morning.”

Tournament director, Linda Weber (blue shirt) with tournament staff and umpires.

In addition, players appreciated improvements to the Los Altos Softball Complex, Weber said.

“The outfield grass on all five fields was re-seeded and watered every month since November to ensure that it was in pristine condition for the SSUSA tournament,” she said. “We had rain one night, but the complex grounds crew, maintenance staff and directors came in early to get the fields ready so there was no delay in starting the games on Saturday morning.”

Teams from nine states participated, including 18 teams from Texas and 16 from New Mexico. Three teams came all the way from Florida, and two arrived from Wisconsin.

Albuquerque Sports Commission, sponsors of the 2026 Land of Enchantment Championships, gave commemorative pins to all players and guests of the event.

When it came time to hand out trophies, the host state reigned supreme. New Mexico claimed six titles – twice as many as any other state.

Old Glory Blue (TX) vs. High Desert Diamonds (NM) during seeding games of the Women's 60+ AAA division.

Eighteen teams earned berths to the 2027 Tournament of Champions to be played in Polk County, Fla.

“This tournament has a potential of growing larger each year, and I hope it does as it is a beautiful place to visit and enjoy the attractions and scenery,” Weber said. “We had lots of compliments from the players and fans on the field conditions, complex, umpires, food trucks and the communication with the managers” on bracket information and game scores.

Results:

Women's 40/50+ Gold: Second-seeded TTAU, a 50+ Major team from Florida (photo below), battled three times in bracket play against top-seeded Royal-T Real Estate of Washington – with only one game being close. That was the first championship bout, which Royal-T won 20-19. TTAU responded with a 28-17 if-needed championship victory to claim the four-team division. A+ Legacy of New Mexico took third and received the Women’s 40+ AAA TOC berth.

Women's 50+ AAA: Top-seeded Get Dirty of New Mexico (photo below) lost its second bracket game 13-8 before storming back to double-dip second-seeded Old Glory Red of Texas 22-7 and 17-12 in the title games. Third-seeded Wicked of Texas finished third in the four-team division.

Women's 55/60+ Gold: After losing the first championship game by one run, 22-21, the second-seeded AAA team Takin' Chances 55 of California (photo below) nabbed the title with a 7-0 forfeit victory in the if-needed game against top-seeded Slugger Strong 60 of Florida. Third-seeded G.W. Construction took third in the four-team division.

Women's 60+ AAA: The top-seeded High Desert Diamonds of New Mexico (photo below) double-dipped third-seeded Old Glory Blue of Texas 15-10 and 13-3 in the title games to finish 6-1 overall. Second-seeded Colorado Wildfire 60 took third in the four-team division.

Men's 40+ Major: Playing a best-of-three format, the unbeaten Kingsmen 40 of New Mexico (photo below) swept the A's NM 40s 19-14 and 26-19.

Men's 50+ Major: Also playing a best-of-three format, El Paso Strong 50 (photo below) capped a 4-1 tournament by sweeping Originals 50 of Texas in a pair of white-knuckle contests, 20-19 and 25-24. In the first game, the Originals plated seven runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game, only to watch El Paso Strong score the game-winner in the bottom of the inning. In the second game, the Originals scored six times in the top of the seventh to take a one-run lead – only to watch El Paso score twice in the bottom to win again.

Men's 50+ AAA: Fifth-seeded Get 5 of Texas lost its first bracket game then won five in a row behind a high-scoring offense. Get 5 exploded for 67 runs in the two championship games – a twin killing of third-seeded Mis Hermanos of Arizona 28-22 and 39-26. Top-seeded 505 50s of New Mexico finished third in the six-team division.

Men's 55+ AAA: Third-seeded Scrap Iron Mile High of Colorado averaged 27 runs per game in bracket play, capped by a 31-30 championship victory over top-seeded Duke City Empire of New Mexico. Mile High appeared to have that title game easily secured until Duke City scored 13 times in the top of the seventh to knot the score. Mile High answered with the game winner in the bottom of the inning. Sixth-seeded Lokahi of Arizona placed third in the six-team division.

Men's 60+ Platinum: Three-quarters of games in this three-team bracket were decided by one run, but not the title game. The second-seeded 60+ Major Plus team Scrap Iron Colorado Legends (photo below) topped the third-seeded 60+ Major team Canyon West/Coors Light/N2uitive of Arizona 23-20 to win the division and the 60+ Major Plus TOC berth. Canyon West nabbed the 60+ Major TOC berth. Top-seeded Arizona Monsoon finished third.

Men's 60+ AAA: After getting spanked in the winner’s final 20-5, the second-seeded Salty Old Dogs of Texas (photo below) did some spanking of their own, winning the third-place game 28-12 before double-dipping top-seeded Alliance/Scrap Iron 60 of Colorado 27-22 and 44-28 to claim the five-team division. The third-seeded Tejanos 60 of Texas took third.

Men's 60+ AA: The top-seeded Colorado Renegades (photo below) knocked off the second-seeded Club Tilt/Haus of Colorado 24-16 for the championship. The third-seeded El Paso Bad Boys finished third in the three-team division.

Men's 65+ AAA: Second-seeded Albuquerque Asphalt Softball Club (photo below) capped a 5-0 tournament with a 21-6 thrashing of fourth-seeded Milwaukee Merchants/Shirts and Logos from Wisconsin in the title game. The Merchants won three elimination games to reach the finals. Top-seeded Scrap Iron Heavy Metal of Colorado nabbed third in the five-team division.

Men's 65/70+ Major: Second-seeded Arizona Old School (photo below), a 65+ team, edged the top-seeded 70+ Arizona Scorpions 21-20 to win the three-team division. It marked the second one-run game in a row between those two teams, with Old School winning both. The Arizona Owls finished third.

Men's 70+ AA: Top-seeded New Mexico Boomers 70s (photo below) edged second-seeded Duke City Dynamite of New Mexico 17-16 in the title game to finish 5-1 overall. Third-seeded Triple 2 of Texas finished third in the three-team division.

Men's 70/75+ Gold: Third-seeded Full Throttle 70s/Bobby Q of Arizona (photo below) knocked top-seeded Playmakers 70 of Wisconsin into the elimination bracket only to face them again the title games. The Playmakers won the first one 25-16 before Full Throttle triumphed 18-15 in the if-needed game. Sixth-seeded Scrap Iron Peak Softball of Colorado finished third in the six-team division.

Men's 75/80+ AAA: Seeded third in a three-team division didn’t slow ZIA 80s of New Mexico (photo below), which lost the first title game 14-10 before subduing 75 Scrap Iron Diamonds of Colorado 22-14 in the if-needed title game. The Rangers of Texas took third.