Four Major Championships Highlight Month of August

Aug. 1, 2020

Beautiful skies above the 2020 Western National Championships

SSUSA put on four major championship tournaments in August, as Texas, Utah, Michigan and Florida hosted a combined 261 teams.

Western National Championships
The largest tournament, so far this year, was the Western National Championships, with a record 147 teams competing in St. George, Aug. 11-16.

The tournament, which was set to originally take place July 28 – Aug. 2 in Sacramento, was moved to Utah due to COVID-19 restrictions still in place in the Golden State, and replaced the Spring World Championships.

The move snapped a seven-year run of the tournament being held in Sacramento/Placer counties. The last time the tournament was not held in California was in 2012, when Aurora, Colo., hosted the Western Nationals.

Battling high temperatures in the triple digits, 31 teams went on to take the first step toward the Triple Grand Slam by earning a spot in the U.S. National Championship game, which will take place during the World Masters Championships.

Highlighting the first session was Top Gun Elite (CA), who won six straight games in the elimination side of the bracket, to take home the Men’s 65 Major Championship.

The second session also featured a Cinderella run, as Michael’s Automotive Group (WA) won five straight elimination games, including double-dipping Alliance/Scrap Iron (CO).

Battleborn NV/Asurea won the largest bracket of the tournament, the 20-team Men’s 50 Platinum Division, going 5-0.

On the Women’s side, Hafta Play (CA), 40 AAA; Old School (CA), 50 Major; and Old Nasty Curves (CA), AAA, were all winners.

For complete game-by-game scores, please CLICK HERE.

Git-R-Done (CA) - Men's 80 AAA Champions

Old School (CA) - Women's 50 Major Champions

Texas State Championships

Moving to the Lone Star State, 46 teams competed in Grapevine at the Texas State Championships, Aug. 4-9.

The tournament was originally scheduled for April 28 – May 3, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.

Champions were crowned in nine divisions.

Tournament Highlights:
Vivid/Easton (TX) won the competitive eight-team Men’s 50 Major Division, coming out of the elimination side of the bracket to double-dip ManCave (TX).

In the Men’s 50 AA Division, Team LBK (TX) also came out of the elimination bracket to double-dip previously unbeaten Softball Rehab (TX).

In the Men’s 65/70 Gold Division, Texas Thunder 65 avoided the dreaded double-dip to defeat San Antonio Silver Streaks 70 (TX) in the “if” game, after dropping the championship game.

The seven-team Men’s 70/75 Gold Division featured a full six-game round robin to determine the champion. USA Patriots (OK) posted a perfect 6-0 record to claim the championship.

For complete game-by-game scores, please CLICK HERE.

Northern Championships

Heading up north to the Great Lakes State, the Northern Championships in Lansing featured 38 teams, playing Aug. 13-16.

Champions were crowned in nine divisions.

Tournament Highlights:
The six-team Men’s 55 Major Division featured a pair of thrillers in the championship and “if” games.

Coming out of the elimination side of the bracket, Larry’s Tire/Neuman Data (MI) edged out a 29-28 victory in the championship game over Aurora Tap House (IL), forcing the “if” game.

In the deciding game, Aurora Tap House returned the favor with a one-run victory of their own, 21-20.

In the Men’s 65 AA Division, Indy Fog (IN) won a hard-fought best-of-three series against Shannon Fence/CPOA (OH) that went the distance.

Midwest Titans (IN), Men’s 50 Major; Gray Ghost (IL), Men’s 50 AAA; and Ohio Hitmen, Men’s 55 AAA all went undefeated in their respective brackets.

Michigan Merchants double-dipped Pet Supplies Plus (MI) in the Men’s 60 AAA Division.

For complete game-by-game scores, please CLICK HERE.

Spring National Championships

Finally, heading back down south to the Sunshine State, the Spring National Championships in Polk County hosted 30 teams, Aug. 14-16.

The Spring Nationals were originally scheduled for March 20-22, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic.

Champions were crowned in eight divisions.

Tournament Highlights:
Suncoast/Adidas/Shades (FL) double-dipped S2S (FL) in the Men’s 50 Platinum Division.

In the six-team Men’s 50 AAA Division, A.D.S/Woodlawn Hitting Club (FL) won five straight games after dropping their opening bracket game, including a double-dip of Silver Rays (FL).

Kelleher/LeMay/Blue Mountain (FL), 55 Major Plus; Florida Automated Shade 60 (FL), Men’s 55/60 Gold Division; Venom 70 (FL), Men’s 60/65/70 Gold Division; and Venom 75 (FL), Men’s 70/75 Gold Division were all winners.

Kryptonite Miken/Worth (FL), Women’s 40 Major, and BAGS (FL) Women’s 50 AAA, were the winners on the Women’s side.

For complete game-by-game scores, please CLICK HERE.

Along with these four major championships, other smaller qualifiers also took place this month, including the Milwaukee Classic (Wisconsin), Kansas City Classic (Missouri), and Cool Country Classic (Arizona).

Upcoming Qualifiers

This weekend, two qualifiers are scheduled, as the Rochester 10,000 Lakes Classic (Minnesota) and the Wayne Gilmore Memorial (Maryland), will take place.

These are the last two qualifiers scheduled before the World Masters Championships.