Tournament wrapup

Roberts Construction Pulls Off Upset in Quad Cities 50+ Finals

Sept. 1, 2003 – Gus Linke

MOLINE, Illinois ˆ Rain and stormy weather threatened to dampen the eighth annual Quad Cities Senior Softball Classic here in June, but only delayed play about one-half hour.

Fortunately, the cloud cover kept the temperature and humidity down ˆ even though the competition was as hot and keen as ever.

In the seeding round of the 50 bracket, it seemed that every game boiled down to who had the last at-bat. Sunday morning brought out the sun, and with the "boys of summer" resuming play. The competition was fierce. In the 50-year-old championship bracket, the third- and fourth-seeded teams pull off upsets. In the championship game, Roberts Construction of Madison, Wisconsin, defeated Chicago Classics Red, 34-25 in eight innings.

To ensure 5 games, the 55 division was divided into two groups. In the 55 Red Division, Chicago Classics Red defeated the Kansas City Avengers 17-12, to claim a championship. While in the Blue Division, Quad City Express put on their hitting shoes to pound out a 34-11 victory over U.S. Pallet of St. Louis, Missouri.

In the 60 division, the Chicago Classics Red defeated Augustana College Seniors 19-15 for the title.

The 65 division was as competitive as it gets. A.G. Edwards of St. Louis, Missouri, saved the best for last, defeating number two seed Milwaukee/Cudworth Post 23, by a 26-25 score in 13 innings to earn a shot at the championship. In the championship, A.G. Edwards held a 5 run lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning, against top seed Midwest Geezers of Chicago.

The Geezers showed why they are champions, they scored 6 runs to claim a hard fought championship win. Only one team was entered in the 70 division, the Milwaukee/Cudworth Post 23 70's.

Although they played in the 65 year old division, the Milwaukee crew quickly became the team, fan, and sports media favorites. They did win two games against 65 year old teams. The annual sportsmanship plaque went to the U.S. Pallet 55's, congratulations to Paul Harrington and a great group of guys.