Despite Heavy Rain, East Champs Emerge

Dec. 1, 2014 – Ross McCulligan

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 14th annual Eastern National Championships returned here for its seventh straight year attracting 61 teams in the first leg of the coveted Triple Grand Slam.

Winners of the Eastern Nationals earned a berth in the U.S. National Game against winners of the Western Nationals at the World Masters Championships in Las Vegas. In addition, winners also received a birth to the Tournament of Champions in February.

The Eastern Nationals, played from July 29 to Aug. 3 at the beautiful Walnut Creek Softball Complex, drew 15 divisions, with 56 out-of-state teams traveling to North Carolina.

The first session of the tournament went off well, however tournament directors had to deal with some torrential rain during the second session.

Due to these conditions, all bracket play was cut to single elimination in order to obtain a definite champion, said tournament director JB Barner.

The 40/50 Platinum division was comprised of four teams, three 50 Major Plus and one 40 Major. DLB Softball (Major+) went 3-0 during pool play to grab the No. 1 seed. They defeated Mid-Atlantic Softball 40’s (Major), 16-13, to advance to the championship against Mid-Atlantic Softball 50’s (Major+). DLB handed Mid-Atlantic a significant defeat, 23-6, with some great defense and timely hitting to claim the bracket. Mid-Atlantic Softball 40’s also earned a berth into the U.S. National Game as the 40 Major representatives.

The 50/55 Platinum division consisted of two 50 Major and one 55 Major Plus teams. All three teams went 1-2 in pool play, forcing run differentials to determine seeding placements. Florida Automated Shade (Major) earned a bracket play bye, while Team USA (Major) squared off with Omega IT Services (Major+) in the first round. Team USA topped Omega 22-5 and then Florida Automated Shade, 22-5, to win the division. Omega IT Services also earned a berth into the U.S. National Game as the 55 Major Plus representative.

The 50 AAA division was one of two divisions tied for the largest in the tournament at seven teams. All teams in the bracket played extremely tough, with four out of six games decided by one run. West 94th Street Pub and ILA Fifty Plus both went 2-0 in pool play with West 94th edging out ILA for the top seed in run differentials and gaining a first round bye. ILA defeated Pacs Softball, 15-14, in the first round and then defeated Steel City, 9-8, to claw their way into the championship. Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Old Corps defeated the Buckeyes, 12-11, and then upset West 94th St, 14-2, to face ILA in the championship. Both teams played an excellent game and in the end ILA edged out an, 11-10, victory to claim the division.

As a mixed bracket the 55/60 Platinum division also comprised seven teams, five 55 Major and two 60 Major Plus. Due to the one-game elimination bracket format, teams only needed three consecutive wins for the championship. That team was Triangle Masters, from North Carolina. They defeated High Street Bucs 55, Sweet Construction and Superior Senior Softball by an average of three runs per game to win the division.

The 55/60 Gold division consisted of three 55 AAA teams and one 60 Major team. Old Stars (AAA) dominated two games on their way to the championship, defeating South Florida Heat, 16-8, and Chicago Prime, 14-4. As the only 60 Major team, Carolina Cobras earned a berth in the U.S. National Game at the World Masters in Las Vegas.

Six teams made up the 60 AAA division. Hanningtons 60s and Hamel 60s grabbed the top two seeds respectively in bracket play, subsequently earning a first round bye. Both team won their second round games to square off in the championship. Hamel’s came out swinging and held Hannington’s scoreless with an, 11-0, shutout victory.

The 60 AA division consisted of three teams, Chicago Hitmen, Code Electric and Syracuse Cyclones. The Cyclones were able to defeat Code Electric, 17-12, in the first round and then defeat the Hitmen, 13-11, to win the division championship.

The 65 Platinum division consisted of three teams: Hamel Builders/Superior Senior Softball (Major+), Handeland Flooring (Major) and SW Florida Thunder (Major). Hamel’s grabbed the No. 1 seed while Handeland and SW Florida battled in the first round. SW Florida won their first meeting, 24-9, then lost to Hamel’s, 21-9, to face Handeland once again in the loser’s bracket. Handeland exacted their revenge on SW Florida with a 19-14 victory, however lost the championship to Hamel’s, 22-10. Handeland Flooring did gain a berth in the U.S. National Game as the 65 Major representative.

Joseph Chevrolet, 75 Major Plus, and Vacar Stars, 70 Major, squared off in a best-of-three bracket in the 70/75 Platinum division. Vacar Stars took the first game, 13-10, and Joseph Chevrolet won the second, 12-10. In the championship ‘IF’ game Vacar Stars banged out 13 runs against Joseph Chevrolet’s 6 to win the division.

The 65 AAA bracket included six teams from Georgia, Maryland, New York and North Carolina. Syracuse Cyclones grabbed the top seed in the bracket while Spicer Properties was seeded second.

Spicer defeated the Cyclones, 12-9, in the third round, sending Spicer to the championship and the Cyclones to the loser’s bracket. Syracuse Cyclones defeated Riverside/Longshots, 17-10, to square off with Spicer Properties once again in the championship game. In an excellent battle, Spicer Properties squeaked out a victory, 16-15, over Syracuse Cyclones to win the championship.

The Syracuse Cyclones 70’s team fared better than their 65 counterparts. The Cyclones were seeded second in the five team, 65/70 Platinum division. They won a series of consecutive close games defeating Monkey Joes and Chicago Hitmen (twice) by an average of 1.5 runs. Ultimately they beat the Chicago Hitmen in the championship, 9-8, to win the division.

Hamel Builders (Major) and Carolina Blue Sky (AAA) went head to head in a best-of-three for the 75 Gold division. An ‘IF’ game was needed to decide a winner as the Builders defeated Blue Sky, 13-10, to win the division.

In the 80/85 Gold division Florida Investment Properties battled Center For Sight for the championship. FIP was able to score enough runs defeating Center For Sight, 14-9 and 22-16, in consecutive victories for the division championship.

The Women’s 40 Gold division included one major and four AAA teams.

Due to the adverse weather conditions, bracket play was forced into single elimination format. Kryptonite (major) was defeated by four seed Graphic Expressions/Manic Training in their opening round game, 9-1. Graphic then squeaked by Ladies First, 11-10 to win the division.

Dreamgirlz (Women’s 50) and Lew’s Crew (40 AA) went head-to-head for the Women’s 40 AA/50 division. Dreamgirlz played great ball and was able to defeat Lew’s Crew, 13-4 and 17-12, in consecutive victories for the championship.

For complete scores and bracket results, please visit www.seniorsoftball.com.

Eastern National All Tournament Players Named

2014 Eastern National Championships All Tournament Players:

Men’s 40/50 Platinum – Mid-Atlantic Softball: Danny Grubbs, Ray Anderson, Jose Gilbert; MidAtlantic Elite: Russ Ramsey, Michael Dill

Men’s 50/55 Platinum – Team USA: Jeff Frey, Jay Ehrhart, Phil Miller, Gerrard Blair, Cal Butcher; Florida Automated Shade: Kurt Musial, Chris Coffey, Manny Queipo

Men’s 50 AAA – ILA Fifty Plus: Eric Boles, George Shelby, Reginald Landers, Adrian Dixon, Gus Eddens; Old Corps Classic: Scott Cobb, Jim Gardner, Mark Frastak; West 94th St Pub: Ken Siler, Bobby Holliman

Men’s 55/60 Platinum – Superior Senior Softball: Billy Cameron, Clarence Ellison, Ray Wimbrough, Pete Smith, Randy Thomas

Men’s 55/60 Gold – Old Stars: Kent Karr, Tim Cannon, Wayne Weiss, Ron Floyd, Bob Cash; Chicago Prime: John Bathart, John Isaac, Elmer Piper

Men’s 55 Major – Triangle Masters: Fred Latimore, Kenny Seagroves, Norman (Palo) Bogue, Mike Koch, Wade (Oggie) Heppert; Levin Financial: Leonard Simmons, Jennis Sills

Men’s 55 AAA – Carolina Cobras: Rolando (Rolly) Flores, Tom Stankus

Men’s 60 AAA – Hamel 60: Anthony Marlow, Ralph Hamlin, Eric Johnson, Henry Eugene Pinkney, Warnell Fletcher; Hannington’s 60: Kevin Lipsett, Dan Sides, Thomas Tashea; Flip Dow 60: KC Ladish, Wayne Harper

Men’s 60 AA – Syracuse Cyclones: Bob Darnell, Rich Iuele, Paul Lapan, Gary Lasko, Chris Bell, Jack Hale; Code Electric: Mitch Holloway, Danny Deans

Men’s 65 Platinum – Hamel Builders/Superior Softball: Tommy Dommel, Donald Clatterbough, Andrew Smith, James McLamb, Andrew Zitnay; SW Florida Thunder: Jim McGuire, Sonny Johnson

Men’s 65 AAA – Syracuse Cyclones: Steve Johnson, Bill Dunn, Ala Dragomani; Riverside/Longshots: Granderson Jones Jr, Donald Anthony

Men’s 65/70 Silver – Carolina Cardinals: Jerry Johnson, Walter Bailey

Men’s 70/75 Platinum – Hamel Builders: Skip Poffenberger, Bill Bahnmaier, Ed Attenberger, Bill Nalley, Maynard Wells; Carolina Blue Sky: Lee Wish, Don Morton, Wayne Yates

Men’s 75 Gold – Joseph Chevrolet: Jim Bavis, Richard Lines, Frank Vargo

Men’s 80/85 Gold – Florida Investment Properties: Everett Arnold, Larry McCurdy, Al DeWerth, Roger Thresher, Jerry Jones, Joe Sykes; Center For Sight 85: Don Gsell, Hugh Brotherton, Frank Hart, Paul McGillicuddy

Women’s 40 Gold – Graphic Expression/Manic Training: Paula Locke, Deb Raymond, Gerah Ventresca, Lin Hart, Trish Rosso; Ladies First: Sonya Fultz, Terri Andreoni, Elondis Mack; Kryptonite: April Blake, Karen Hunger

Women’s 40 AAA – Sportsman Shop: Danielle D’Amico, Shannon Moore

Women’s 50 – Dreamgirlz: Lydia Crandall, Sylvia Echols, Barbara Foxx, Beverly Lovett, Shirley Snell, Debra Tucker