80/85+ Game Plays 10th Inning During the 2023 Rock N Reno Cup

June 1, 2023

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

RENO, Nev. - Nearly 200 teams from 13 states and Canada descended on northern Nevada to compete in the granddaddy of senior softball tournaments – the 35^th Annual Rock ’N Reno Challenge Cup.

Some great-grandpas generated some of the tournament’s greatest buzz by playing an edge-of-your-seat game that spanned two and one-half hours.

General Equipment 80s of Oregon finally dispatched Top Gun Glue Angels 85s of California 26-25 in the bottom of the 10^th inning at Shadow Mountain Softball Complex in Sparks, Nev. The teams were tied 10-10 after five, 13-13 after seven, 14-14 after eight, and 22-22 after nine innings in what was both teams’ first bracket game. (Game Card Below).

“Look at that ninth inning,” one commenter noted after seeing the scorecard posted on Facebook. “What a great back-and-forth game. Only 25 years until I get to play that age bracket.”

Twenty-six of the 191 participating teams earned berths to the 2024 Tournament of Champions in Polk County, Florida, by winning their age and rating division during games played at parks in Carson City, Sparks and Reno. Nine days of games began May 26 and concluded June 4.

“Sparks, Reno and Carson City always put out the best welcome for all of us,” Senior Softball USA Executive Director Fran Dowell said. “It was a great tournament.”

Though the weather largely cooperated, scattered showers caused some games to be moved from the Shadow Mountain Softball Complex and the Reno Softball Complex at Rancho San Rafael. Those games played instead on the turf fields at Golden Eagle Regional Park in Sparks.

Teams came from as far away as Texas, Minnesota, Hawaii and Alaska to participate in one of the most-competitive SSUSA tournaments of the year.

Results:

Women’s 40+ Masters Major: TABU of California (photo below) double-dipped Still Grubbing of California 12-11 and 22-4 after losing to the same team earlier in bracket play. Flash Mob of California finished third in the three-team bracket.

Women’s 40+ Masters Silver: Dynasty Sisters Mood Swings (photo below), an AAA team from California, lost the first championship game 25-21 to Girls on Top (G.O.T.) of California but persevered in the second 16-7. Royal-T Real Estate/The LaFlamme Group of Washington placed third in the eight-team bracket.

Women’s 50+ Gold: Top-seeded West Coast United (photo below), an AAA team from California, double dipped Takin’ Chances of California 16-11 and 11-10 after losing by one run to the same team earlier in bracket play. Old Nasty Curves of California finished third in the seven-team division.

Women’s 55+ Seniors: Top-seeded Arizona Dream Team (photo below) lost the winner’s bracket final but returned to double dip second-seeded Adrenalin of Nevada 18-1 and 15-5 for the title. B.O.O.B.S of California finished third in the six-team division.

Men’s 40+ Masters Platinum: In the tournament’s largest bracket, 18^th-seeded BT Bombers/Six Pac of California (photo below) went 0-2 in pool play but never lost in six bracket games. The 40+ Major team defeated the top two seeds before dispatching Battleborn NV/Asurea 40s, the 22^nd seed, in the championship game 28-19. Top-seeded Project 57 of Idaho finished third in the 22-team bracket.

Men’s 40+ Masters AAA: After losing in the winner’s bracket finale, third-seeded G2G of California doubled dipped GTR of Oregon 21-19 and 27-21 in the title games. T.N.T. (Tacos & Tequila) of California finished third in the six-team division.

Men’s 50+ AAA: Eleventh-seeded Band of Brothers of Utah (photo below) lost the first title game 21-17 but won the second 12-9 to capture the 14-team division. Rolfe & Company of California took second. Thunder Buddies of Arizona finished third.

Men’s 50/55+ Platinum: Gold Nation 50s of California (photo below) went 7-1 overall, including 21-11 and 20-17 victories in the title games against G.O. Softball/Mae Capital of California, to win the 12-team bracket. L.A.F. 55 of California won five elimination games to finish third.

Men’s 55+ Major: Third-seeded Aftershock 55 of California (photo below) averaged 25 runs a game in bracket play and captured the title with a 23-16 victory over sixth-seeded Damage NV. DeMarini/Torch Eyewear of Oregon placed third in the eight-team bracket.

Men’s 55+ Silver: Third-seeded Scrap Iron Mile High of Colorado (photo below) went 7-1 overall, losing only in the first championship game 14-13. In the second thrilling title game, it edged D’Amore Law of Washington 27-26. Junkies/A-1 Pavement Marking 55s of California finished third in the 16-team bracket, which was the tournament’s second-largest.

Men’s 60+ Major: Top-seeded California Energy edged second-seeded Xcelerated Softball of California 20-19 for the championship of the nine-team division. Xcelerated had won four elimination games in a row. Precision/Wolfpack of Washington placed third in the nine-team division.

Men’s 60+ AAA: Second-seeded Tri-State Kings of Alaska (photo below) lost the winner’s finale but rebounded to double dip Winn/Kia of California 19-18 and 20-13 to win the six-team division. Mountain Men 60 of Utah placed third.

Men’s 60+ AA: Top-seeded Mike’s Bar & Grill of Washington (photo below) defeated the Tri City Legends of Washington 21-19 in the championship game of the three-team division. Fresno Mayhem of California took third.

Men’s 65+ Major Plus: In a best-of-three format, Cal Energy capped a 5-0 tournament by defeating Texas Crush Sixty Fives 25-21 and 34-20 for the title.

Men’s 65+ AAA: The fourth-seeded Baker Boyz of California (photo below) went 6-0 overall, including a 14-1 championship game victory over Hustlers of California. Team Alaska finished third in the 11-team division.

Men’s 65+ AA: Scrap Iron 65s Rockies of Colorado (photo below) capped a 6-0 tournament with a 20-10 victory over the Classics 65 of Utah in the title game. East/West Aircraft 65s of Idaho finished third in the four-team bracket.

Men’s 65/70+ Platinum: Sixth-seeded New Dawn Awning of California, a 65+ Major team, knocked off the first, second and third seeds enroute to winning the title with a 19-14 victory over the Oregon Crabs 65. The Crabs won five elimination games to reach the championship game. Timberworks/Suncoast of California finished third in the nine-team bracket.

Men’s 70+ Major: The top-seeded Enviro-Vac Marauders of British Columbia, Canada, (photo below) lost the first title game 16-10 but dominated the second 22-7 to win the eight-team division. Animals 70s of California took second. Ryan’s Way of Utah won three elimination games to finish third.

Men’s 70+ AAA: Top-seeded No Dice/Costa Rica of California lost the first title game 24-13 but won the second 26-10 over Scrap Iron 5280’ of Colorado. Cut Loose 70s of California won four elimination games to finish third in the nine-team division.

Men’s 70+ AA: The second-seeded Scrap Iron Diamonds of Colorado went 5-1 overall and defeated East-West Aircraft Sales of Idaho 19-8 for the championship. Spikes of Washington finished third in the four-team division.

Men’s 75+ Platinum: Maverick Construction 75s of Texas (photo below) won the 75+ Major TOC berth when it captured the four-team division with a 20-18 championship victory over Omen 75 of California. Omen earned the 75+ Major Plus TOC berth. Valley Fog of California finished third in the four-team bracket.

Men’s 75+ AAA: Second-seeded Last Call 75 of Nevada (photo below) double dipped Please Don’t Bug Me of California 24-12 and 15-8. Solano Senior Enforcers of California finished third in the six-team division.

Men’s 75+ AA: In a best-of-three format, the Mustangs of California (photo below) swept the California Oaks 14-8 and 19-11.

Men’s 80/85+ Major Plus: Top-seeded San Francisco Seals, an 80+ Major Plus team, won the division after second place Top Gun Blue Angels 85 forfeited. General Equipment of Oregon finished third in the three-team division.

Men’s 80/85+ AAA: Gold Rush of California (photo below) dominated every game as it went 6-0 playing a seven-team, round-robin format. It won 19-4, 16-2, 17-5, 19-7, 19-10, and 18-3. The second-place team, Scrap Iron 80s, and third-place team, Minnesota Masters, both finished 4-2.