BRICKYARD INVITATIONAL

June 1, 2010 – Steve Simmons New England & North Regional Director, Clubs & Leagues

INDIANAPOLIS – The most valuable players at the Brickyard Invitational may very well have been the Midwest Sports Complex’s grounds crew.

Tim Fishburn’s complex was the host site for this qualifier, as it has been for the last several years, and his staff is prepared to handle wet weather. The fields drain well and his people get them prepared in a minimum amount of time following a rainstorm.

The grounds crew was put to the test not once, but twice, as overnight rains on both Friday and Saturday left the fields in need of preparation. In conditions that might have caused other complexes to call off the day’s activities, the Midwest Sports Complex was able to get the tournament up and running after a two-hour delay Saturday and after only a one-hour delay Sunday.

The tournament went on as scheduled and the fields became more playable as the day wore on, despite an occasional shower. Teams were not going to let a little precipitation stop them from kicking off their 2010 season.

One of the features of this tournament is that it has become a destination venue for Major and Major Plus teams. The tournament consisted of 37 teams and 15 of those teams were Major or Major Plus teams.

A large reason for the success of this tournament can be attributed to Nancy Allen, the tournament’s UIC and also a SSUSA director. Nancy’s husband was integral in starting this tournament and Nancy has continued to promote the event and encourage teams to attend. She was busy working the phone right up to a week before tournament time, making sure all teams were informed and nobody was left behind when the registration deadline clock struck 12.

Her efforts, plus the tournament’s established reputation, brought a very competitive bunch of teams together. In two of the three premier divisions, the 50 Major Plus and the 55 Platinum, there was some great competition for the titles. The OKI Players (OH) met Windy City Softball (IL) in the championship game of the 50 Major Plus and won 15-11. In the 55 Platinum division three teams, Premier / RSIG (MI), Roberts Construction / Pope Transport (WI), and Black-N-Blue (IN), all finished their round-robin schedule against fellow 55+ teams tied at 4 & 1. The tie-breaker was their respective records in the one game each played against 50 Major Plus teams. Premier / RSIG was the only one of the three to beat their 50 Major Plus opponent and this enabled them to claim the 55 Platinum title.

The third premier division was the 50 Major division. Teams from five states (Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin) populated this five-team bracket and, interestingly enough, none of the teams came from the host state of Indiana. In what had the trappings of a Big Ten league the 50 Caliber St Louis (MO) team prevailed, winning all six of their games including their two playoff games by 14-12 over the Motown Stars (MI) and 10-6 over the Milwaukee Merchants (WI).

The remaining six divisions all utilized cross-divisional play as part of their respective tournament formats. The 50 AAA teams were matched against the 55/60 Gold teams, the 55/60 Silver teams were matched against the 60 AA teams, and the 65 AAA teams were matched against the 65 AA teams.

Emerging from the 50 AAA division as the eventual champion was the Brickyard Softball (IN) team. They beat fellow 50 AAA teams Underdawgs (MO) 13-10 and Chicago Prime (IL) 20-13 to earn that title. Ralph Adams’ Brickyard Fiddy-5 (IN) team won the 55/60 Gold championship. They finished 2 & 1 in their own division and 3 & 0 against the 50 AAA teams, including a 12-11 win over Brickyard Softball, for an overall 5 & 1 record.

Both the Chicago Classic Bobcats, managed by Mike Caliendo, and Legacy Investment Services (IL), managed by Jack Collins, went undefeated at 4 & 0 in their respective divisions to win the 55/60 Silver and 60 AA division titles.

The three-team 65 AA division earned collective bragging rights over the 65 AAA division. In nine cross-divisional games, with no equalizer used, the 65 AA teams compiled a 5 & 4 record against the 65 AAA teams. The best 65 AAA team was .Jobs / Indy 65’s (IN) with an overall 3 & 2 record. The top 65 AA team was Olde D’s (MI) with a 4 & 1 record. In the head-to-head matchup between these two teams .Jobs / Indy 65’s won 15-14.

Following are the top three finishers in each division:

50 MAJOR PLUS

1. OKI Players, OH

2. Windy City Softball, IL

3. Coors Light, IL

50 MAJOR

1. 50 Caliber St Louis, MO

2. Milwaukee Merchants, WI

3. Can-Do-Metals, IL

50 AAA

1. Brickyard Softball, IN

2. Chicago Prime, IL

3. Underdawgs, MO

55 PLATINUM

1. Premier / RSIG, MI

2. Roberts Construction / Pope Transport, WI

3. Black-N-Blue, IN

55/60 GOLD

1. Brickyard Fiddy-5, IN

2. St Louis Senior Heat, MO

3. KC Kids, KS

55/60 SILVER

1. Chicago Classic Bobcats, IL

2. Dayton Legends 55’s, OH

3. Mattingly’s Bar & Grill, MO

60 AA

1. Legacy Investment Services, IL

2. Blue Chips 60’s, IL

3. Indiana Legends / Columbus, IN

65 AAA

1. .Jobs / Indy 65’s, IN

2. Indianapolis Classic, IN

3. KFC of Champaign, IL

65 AA

1. Olde D’s, MI

2. Chicago Seniors, IL

3. Chicago Classics Gray Sox, IL