TOC:Softball’s Gem

May 1, 2014

Elite Event Honors Winners of Top Championships Grand Banquet, Rings, Special Events Set TOC Apart

POLK COUNTY, FLA. – Ninety-nine champion teams gathered here in February to celebrate their victories in the most prestigious tournament in North America.

The Original Tournament of Champions celebrated the winners with an unmatched event that included:

*A free gala banquet for 1,500 players and their families.

* Free rings for division champions.

* A Special Edition TOC Miken Ultra II bat for the MVP of each division.

* Free Hitting Clinics with some of the best hitters in the country.

* Free Skills contests with top prizes for each age division, including bats, shoes and fielders gloves.

* An All Star Game featuring the top player from each team.

* A TOC shirt and certificate for each player on each of the 99 participating teams.

“Only winners of the top 20 SSUSA Championships were invited to the TOC – the most elite tournament in the sport,” said Terry Hennessy, SSUSA chief executive officer, “which resulted in thrilling games between the best teams of the year in each division.”

Teams from 27 states and Canada competed in 23 divisions – and hundreds of players participated in the free hitting clinics, skills contests and the warm-up mini-tournament.

And, after the real competition began, there were some tight games in several divisions as the best of the best played.

The division competition was close, with almost half of the games coming down to the “If needed” game. Of the 11 “If” games, only two teams successfully came through the loser’s division to win their divisions.

Advanced Auto from Arizona emerged from the 50 AAA loser’s bracket to beat the Dallas Spurs 17-12, forcing an “If” game and beating Dallas again 13-4.

The Indiana Legends soundly beat top-seeded Hill Contracting / HCI of Texas twice in the 65 AA finals, 22-17 and 30-10 for the championships.

In the 50 Majors, Mid-Atlantic from Virginia forced the “If” game by beating DLB of Wisconsin 14-11 in the championships. But DLB came alive in the finals to win the title 22-15.

And in the 50 AAA, OH MY from California won five straight games from the loser’s bracket, including the championship game against Windy City Thunder of Illinois 12-8. In the “If” game, OH MY came razor-edge close, losing to Windy City 17-16 in the finals.

In the 55 Majors, Doubleplay of California emerged from the loser’s bracket to beat Kinnco Services of Michigan 10-8 in a low-scoring contest. Kinnco’s bats caught fire in the “If” game, while Doubleplay stayed cold, with Kinnco winning the title 12-4.

It was East Coast versus West Coast in the 60 Major-Plus, with Timberworks of California bouncing back from a 18-2 loss to Hollis Appraisals of Florida to force a playoff, which Timberworks won 27-25.

In the 60 AAA, Columbus LX of Alabama forced the “If” game by beating Florida Hitmen 20-15. Florida Hitmen edged out Columbus 12-11 in the finals to win the title.

Two Florida teams battled it out in the 70 Platinum division, with MCC Marketing coming out of the loser’s bracket to beat Florida Legends/ Human Kinetics 18-12. The Legends came back in the “If” game, winning the division 14-8.

The 70 AA division was a battle of the Northeast, with the Syracuse Cyclones of New York edging Cozy Grill of Rhode Island 8-7 to force the “If” game. Cozy Grill won the finals – and the division – decisively, 16-8.

In the oldest division, perennial Florida powerhouses Florida Investment Properties and Center for Sight faced off. Center for Sight forced the “If” game, 15-10, but Florida Investment came back to win the division 18-16.

And in the oldest Women’s Division, New York Doubleplay forced the “If” game by beating Sunny Beaches of Florida 15-14. But Sunny Beaches came back to win the 55/60 finals 16-7.

In other division play, Homer Lovers of Ontario, Canada, won the 40 Major division and Team 1 Sports of Florida took the 50 Major-Plus, beating Tri-State Connection of South Carolina in a high scoring 43-42 contest.

In the 50 AA, Grey Geese Softball of Florida defeated the Antiques of Iowa City 9-7 for the title.

In the seven-team 55 AAA division, Desert Dawgs of California beat Integrity Builders of Nebraska 21-11 in the finals for the championship.

In the 60 Majors, Minnesota Masters beat Top Gun of California 15-9 for the title and Rose Enterprises was awarded the 65 Major-Plus title.

The Ohio Silverados capped their perfect run by beating No Guts/ No Glory of California 17-13 for the 60 AA title.

In the 65 Major division, Voice Tech Slammers defeated the Panhandle Hitmen in an all-Florida finals, 18-7.

In one of the largest divisions, the Winsor Chiefs of Ontario, Canada, ended their perfect bracket run by beating the Marauders of California 21-10 to win the eight-team 65 AAA division.

In the 70 AAA, the top-seeded Vacar Stars of Virginia defeated Pittsburgh Gold in the finals 20-10.

Jimmy’s Minnesota Gold beat Buffalo Wild Wings of Florida by a close 16-15 to win the 75 AAA championships.

Not to be outdone by their younger teammates, Jimmy’s Gold of Minnesota won the 80 AAA division, beating the Texas Classics 25-9 in the finals. In the Women’s division, Lew’s Crew of Maryland won the 40 AA title and the Beavers of Michigan won the 40 AAA title.

Two dream teams faced off in the Women’s 50 division, with the Dreamgirlz of Virginia handily beating the Arizona Dream Team 17-9 in the championship game.

For complete game results, please see www.seniorsoftball.com.