8th Spring Worlds Grows to 86 Teams

May 1, 2014

MESQUITE, NV/ST. GEORGE, UT – The eighth annual Spring Worlds provided a special opportunity to honor the man who brought this tournament – and many more senior softball events – to Mesquite: Frank Pati.

The State of Nevada honored Pati with its first Nevada Senior Citizen of the Year award. (See story on Page 3).

The Spring Worlds grew to 86 teams this year, making it one of the largest early senior tournaments in the country, running from March 18-23.

The games actually went smoothly this year and the weather was great in the daytime – although it did cool off for the few evening games, according to Tournament Directors Don Brooks and Doug Robbins.

Last year, the Spring Worlds was marked by tragedy when Rudy Flores, a player for So Cal 55’s, suddenly collapsed in the first base coach’s box. Efforts to revive Flores were unsuccessful and he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

So Cal 55’s competed again this year, placing third in the 55 Major division. Doubleplay/Monarch of California took first place, beating Scrap Iron Mountain Thunder 15-6 in the title game.

The SoCal Knights emerged from the loser’s bracket to double-dip Sac Pack of Utah 14-10 and 17-10 to win the 50 Major championships.

Another Cinderella team Jaxx/Bret of Utah in the eight-team 50 AAA division, double-dipped the Arizona Bulldawgs 24-19 and 14-10 in an impressive finish.

And a third Cinderella team, Last Call of Nevada came out of the 65 AAA loser’s bracket to defeat the Mustangs of California twice, 17-14 and 19-9, for the title.

In the 55 AAA, Baker Boyz of California defeated LVSSA 55s of Las Vegas 16-10 in the finals. And in the 55 AA, Rocky Mountain Extreme of New Mexico forced an “If” game by beating the Mountain Men of Utah 15-7. However the Mountain Men edged out New Mexico 18-17 in the “If” game to win the championship.

In the 60 Major-Plus, two Northern California teams faced off, with the Old Dawgs defeating Timberworks Construction 22-19 in the finals.

In the 60 Majors, Top Gun III of California beat Superior Water & Air of Idaho 18-12 for the title.

In the largest division, the 10-team 60 AAA, Cal Extreme forced an “If” game by beating Results Realty of Nevada 18-14. However, Results Realty came back in the finals to win 21-7.

Scrap Iron Freedom of Colorado soundly defeated The Copper Gang of Utah 26-7 for the 60 AA title.

In the 65 Major division, R&R of California beat Tharaldson’s of Nevada 23-16 in the championships.

In the 65 AA, The Sacramento Islanders Gold edged out Damaged Goods of California 19-18 to win the championships.

In the 70 Major-Plus, Stark Street Pizza of Nevada dominated Scrap Iron Legacy of Colorado 20-5 for the title.

In the 70 Majors, Tri-State D-Backs of New Mexico beat California Connection 13-10 to force the “If” game. Connection came back in the finals to win the final game 23-17.

El Paseo Bank of California beat Top Gun 70s 19-13 to win the 70 AAA division, and in the 70 AA, Scrap Iron force defeated Git-R-Done of California 20-5 in the championship game for the title.

Two California teams battled out for the 75 AAA championships, with Sage Mobile Homes beating Gold Coast by a lopsided 9-1 for the win.

In the oldest division, Fairway Ford of California forced an “If” game by defeating Arizona Prospectors 13-8 in the 80 division championships, but the Prospectors came back in the “If” to defeat Fairway 8-3 for the title.

For complete results, please go to www.seniorsoftball.com.