TOC: The Champion of Tournaments

June 1, 2016 – Ross McCulligan

TOC Honors Winners of Top Championships

POLK COUNTY, FLA. – Winners of the 20 major SSUSA Championships of 2015 flocked here in February 2016 to compete in the crown jewel of the sport: the original Tournament of Champions (TOC).

“The event itself transcends any other softball tournament anywhere – and truly honors the winners of 2015 in a very special way,” said Terry Hennessy, Senior Softball-USA chief executive officer. 

Consider just the extras:

•  The 1,500-person banquet at the Lakeland Center.

•  A free Josten’s top-quality ring for each player of the winning team in the 30 divisions competing.

•  A bat for the MVP in each of the 30 divisions.

•  Polo shirt for each of the 1,000-plus players. 

•  Free skills contests with bats, gloves and shoes as prizes.

•  A free hitting clinic with some of the best hitters in the country.

•  An epic All Star Game.

•  A game against the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball team.

“And that doesn’t even include the main event – competition against the best teams in the country in each division,” he said.

The TOC drew the winners from National, World and Regional SSUSA championships and most divisions were geographically diverse and represented by the top teams – making for exciting games and excellent softball.

The 40/50 Platinum Division consisted of three 40 Major teams: Homer Lovers, Suncoast Dudley and MidAtlantic Elite, while Team 1 Sports/Miken represented the lone 50 Major Plus team.  Top seed, Homer Lovers, defeated MidAtlantic 40s 15-14 to open the bracket.  Team 1 Sports dispatched Suncoast to the elimination bracket in a high scoring affair, 34-27.  Suncoast went on to squeak by MidAtlantic 25-24 and Team 1, 32-19, to claw their way into the championship game.  The championships provided one of the best games of the tournament with Suncoast forcing an ‘IF’, winning 35-34 against Homer Lovers.  Suncoast’s bats stayed hot in the ‘IF’ as they were able to double dip Homer Lovers 25-10 to win the division.

Four teams also comprised the 50 Major division, Doerflinger, El Paso Spurs, Good Times and Suncoast Dudley 50.  After some impressive play in the seeding round, Doerflinger continued their excellent play right on into the bracket.  As the No. 1 seed, they overcame a test against El Paso Spurs 24-19 in the first round.  Their gloves then also caught fire as Doerflinger dispatched Suncoast and Good Times with terrific defense 21-7 and 22-7 to win the division championship.

The 50 AAA division was geographically diverse, hosting seven teams from six different states from Arizona to Maryland.  Fifth-seeded GAP Sports went on quite a run through the bracket, defeating Motor City, Arizona Old School and Carolina Five-O. The Phoenix Bulldawgz were sent to the elimination bracket in the second round losing 18-14 to Carolina Five-O.  After a gritty win against Maryland Cougars, 17-12, the Bulldawgz ran into a fatigued and injured Carolina Five-O team who was forced to concede victory to the Bulldawgz, placing them in the championship.  Fresh off the forfeit from Carolina, the Bulldawgz rallied to a 17-10 victory over GAP Sports in the championship.  In the ‘IF’ the Bulldawgz were once again the better squad as they shut the door on GAP Sports 19-14 for the championship.

A mixed division comprised the 50/55 AA bracket with Manifest and Grey Geese representing the 50s age group and Scrap Iron Coyotes and Silver Foxes representing the 55s.  Scrap Iron Coyotes won a barn burner in the opening game of the bracket against top seeded Grey Geese, 20-18.  The Coyotes then dispatched the Silver Foxes with relative ease 21-12 to gain their way into the championships round.  The Grey Geese fought their way through the elimination bracket to once again square off with Scrap Iron in the championship.  Because Scrap Iron was the lone 55 team and Grey Geese the lone 50 team left standing, the teams agreed on a winner-take-all championship, voiding any potential ‘IF’ game that could take place.  The agreement worked in the Grey Geese’s favor after they defeated the Coyotes 24-19 to win the bracket outright.

Seven different teams represented seven different states in the 55 AAA division, spanning the country from California to Pennsylvania.  Olympian Athletics grabbed a bye as the top seed in the bracket to square off with Integrity Builders in the second round.  Olympian grabbed the early bracket victory with a combination of timely hitting and defense, 17-9 over Integrity.  LVSSA Hitmen dumped Olympian into the elimination bracket, defeating them 20-19 to edge their way into the championship game.  Olympian Athletics was once again matched up against Integrity Builders in the elimination bracket.  Integrity was not able to overcome Olympian and once again they fell 23-13.  Olympian defeated LVSSA 15-10 in the championships to force an ‘IF.’  However, LVSSA Hitmen bounced back to a 15-11 victory to win the division championship.

Seven teams competed in the mixed 55/60 Platinum division.  As the sixth seed, Hollis Appraisals made an impressive run to the championship by scoring no less than 21 runs in three consecutive victories, highlighted by their narrow margined victory over No. 1 seed Tasty Pizza.  After losing in the first round to Hollis 24-15, High Street Bucs ran through the elimination bracket with ease, defeating their opponents by an average of seven runs in three straight wins.  Their dominance of the elimination bracket once again set the table for a matchup with Hollis in the championship.  However, there would be no game as the teams decided to call it a tournament and take the title in each of their respective divisions, Hollis capturing the 60 Major Plus championship and High Street Bucs securing the division for the 55 Majors.

As 60 Major teams, KC Renegades and Kinnco Services took on Team Florida, 65 Major Plus in the 60/65 Platinum division.  Third-seeded KC Renegades took on No. 2 seed Team Florida in the first round of the bracket with the Renegades getting a one-run victory, 24-23.  However, the bracket would belong to Kinnco Services as they dispatched KC Renegades 23-11 and 23-14 to win the championship.  Team Florida bowed out of the tournament after their one-run defeat, exiting as the 65 Major Plus champion.

The second largest bracket of the tournament was the 60 AAA division with eight teams.  Minnesota Masters/Ancell proved the adage ‘it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.’  After dropping their first game of the tournament 16-7 to T.A.G, the Masters regrouped and finished strong.  As the fourth seed in the bracket, they made short work of the top seed, Northern Virginia Force, 22-7 in the second round.  The Masters continued their dominant play with a 17-5 victory over Bomb Squad to claim the stake in the championship.  No. 3 seed Slug-A-Bug provided the Masters with their first true test of the tournament in the championship game.  A thrilling and well fought game by both teams ended with the Minnesota Masters claiming a 21-20 victory for the championship.

Seven teams competed in the 60 AA division.  Scrap Iron Freedom handled Stagecoach Saloon 19-4 to send the top seed into the elimination bracket.  Bucky’s Casino battled their way through the bracket to face Scrap Iron with a chance to reach the championship round.  Bucky’s won a competitive ball game 16-11 to advance to the title game.  However, Scrap Iron held strong in the elimination bracket by defeating Stagecoach 17-15.  The rematch with Bucky’s Casino was a futile effort, as Scrap Iron seemed to have run out of gas.  Bucky’s handled them with ease, cruising to a 18-4 championship victory.

TB Financial Group represented the lone 70 Major Plus team as they took on five other 65 Major teams in the mixed division.  As the one and two seeds respectively, San Antonio Silver Streaks and Southern State Services both grabbed byes to begin bracket play.  The Silver Streaks then cruised past TB Financial 19-9 while Southern State Services squeaked by the Marauders 20-19.  Southern State then slugged their way past the Silver Streaks 25-15 for their spot in the championship game.  Fourth seed Windsor Chiefs crushed the San Antonio Silver Streaks 30-6 in the elimination bracket to square off with Southern State in the finals.  A high scoring championship game ensued with Southern State Services claiming the division with a 30-20 win. 

Four teams from California, Indiana, New York and Texas made their way to Florida for a chance at the 65 AA division.  In the first round, the No. 1 seeded Long Island Jaguars defeated Damaged Goods, 15-6 while three seed Indiana Legends upset the Dallas Spurs 13-7.  The Jaguars then went on to cruise by the Legends 17-9 to make their way into the championship game.  The Indiana Legends stormed back against the Dallas Spurs in an offensive slugfest 32-27 to claw their way out of the elimination bracket.  However, the Long Island Jaguars were able to continue their dominance to win the division over the Legends 25-17.

The largest division of the tournament took place in the 65/70 Gold division with nine teams vying for their shot at the TOC championship.  Top seed AMR South, a 70 Major Plus, made a surprisingly quick exit from the tournament with a bracket loss 11-8 to Spice Properties, 65 AAA.  AMR then removed themselves from the elimination bracket with a forfeit to Sacramento Islanders, 65 AAA.  The second-seeded Florida Mustangs strung together an impressive run against Doc Martens/Ropes Course, U.S. Jobs/Direct Employers and MCC Insurance by an average of 8 runs a game, to gain their spot in the championship game.  U.S. Jobs fought their way out of the elimination bracket with a convincing victory over MCC 16-5.  The championship matchup between the Florida Mustangs and U.S. Jobs was a defensive battle with the local team, Mustangs taking the crown 17-12.

The 70/75 Gold division pitted two 70 AAA teams, Bostonian and Minnesota Lumberjacks, against two 75 Major teams, Bucs and Bulls and New York Statesmen.  Bostonian took early control of the bracket with an 18-6 victory over Bucs and Bulls.  Bostonian fought their way through a scrappy Lumberjacks team in the second round 15-8.  The Lumberjacks were rewarded with a forfeit by the New York Statesmen in the elimination round, setting up a championship rematch with Bostonian.  Another close ball game ensued but the Lumberjacks failed to get over the hump as Bostonian took the division 14-9.

Another four-team division comprised the 70/75 Silver bracket.  Columbus Silver Sticks and Indianapolis Classics, 70 AA, battled with Hill Contracting and Peach Tree Restaurant, 75 AAA.  Both 70 AA teams emerged victorious in the first round of the bracket to square off in a barn burner in the second round, with the Silver Sticks edging out Indianapolis Classics 25-24.  Peach Tree forfeited their elimination game to the Indy Classics, as they had wrapped up the 75 AAA championship.  Columbus pulled away late from the Indy Classics with a 29-16 victory to win the division.

Florida Investment Properties, Minnesota Legends and ProHelath Care all had their eyes set on obtaining the 80 Major division championship.  As the third seed, Minnesota Legends outlasted ProHealth Care 12-11 in the first round only to fall to No. 1 seed Florida Investments 13-5.  MN Legends once again defeated ProHelath Care by a slightly larger margin, 12-8, to face off with Florida Investments once again in the championship.  Florida Investment Properties (FIP) played a flawless game in the final to defeat Minnesota Legends 17-11 and win the 80 Major division.

Center For Sight, 85 Major took on BackOffice Associates and Gray Sox, 80 AAA in the 80/85 Gold division.  Center For Sight defeated BackOffice 12-7 in the opening round but then fell to the one seed Gray Sox 17-6.  BackOffice and Center For Sight battled back and forth in an elimination game Sunday morning and Center For Sight emerged victorious 14-13.  Another excellent championship game followed between Gray Sox and Center For Sight.  Center For Sight continued their excellence by defeating the Gray Sox 21-20 consequently winning the division.  The Gray Sox were also crowned 80AAA champions.

In the Women’s 40 Gold division, Kryptonite Majo, went head to head with Chill 40 Below, AAA, for the TOC division title.  In the opening bracket game, Kryptonite hung tough to secure a 20-17, victory.  With both teams worn down, Kryptonite won another tight ballgame 17-13 to win the division.  Chill 40 Below was awarded the Women’s 40 AAA division title.

The Women’s 50 division was also a best-of-three matchup between Arizona Dream Team and Dreamgirlz, hailing from Virginia.  Arizona Dream Team battled till the end but Dreamgirlz proved themselves dominant with consecutive wins of 16-9 and 17-11 for the division championship.  

The TOC is sponsored by Polk County Sports Marketing, Miken Sports, Josten’s and SSUSA.

2016 TOC All Tourney Players Named

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Men’s 40/50 Platinum: Team 1 Sports/Miken – Tony Bassett, Don Burke, Edward Starcher

Men’s 50 Major: Doerflinger – James Buchanan, Kenny Jackson, Todd Deck, Emory Lunsford, Paul Mercado; Suncoast Dudley – Timothy Bohlmann, Reggi Brown, Ernie Colon Jr.; El Paso Spurs – Fernando Briseno, Fabian Sanchez

Men’s 50AAA: Phoenix Bulldawgz – Randy Tompkins, Cory Fitzlaff, Kenny Vaught, Paul Hendricks, Manny Ramirez, Charley Marshall; GAP Sports – William Cressman, Jeff Farr, Mark Miller, Bob Morse; Carolina Five-0 –Bruce Holmes, Jeff Lester, Drew Pearson

Men’s 50AA: The Grey Geese – Stan Adams, Robbie Fowle, Glen Looper, Stu Rapella, Johnny Vaughn; Manifest 50’s – David Juarez, Nacho Liebas

Men’s 55/60 Platinum: Hollis Appraisals 60  - Ed Carrington, Horace Jefferson, Pat McLellan, Rich Meltz, Dave Motta;
Tasty Pizza/J and H Wall/Showcase 55 – Don Hoffman, Dan Krtnick, Steve Swanson; SoCal 55 – Ray Robles, Tony Baltazar

Men’s 55AAA: LVSSA 55 Hitmen – Brian Buhl, Gary Gosz, Ed Harman, Mike Stater, Bill Udart; Olympian Athletics – Pat Daley, Doug Hartzok, Mike Keenan, Shaun Young;  Integrity Builders – Rod Chambers, Chuck Grubb, Richard Wyllie

Men’s 55AA: Silver Foxes – Paul Grillot, Billy Oblaczynski, Daniel Woodcum

Men’s 60/65 Platinum: Kinnco Services – Tim Barker, Bill Koleszar, Billy Osborn, George Roberts, Terry Lee, John Van Wagner; KC Renegades – Robert Radford, David Cook, Terry Cloutier, Charlie Daniels

Men’s 60AAA – Minnesota Masters/Ancell – Gary Bennett, Bruce Boyer, Ray Glynn, Wayne Peterson, Fritz Wegscheider;  MP Components – Jack Griffin, Cal Lounds, Greg, Maddelein

Men’s 60AA – Bucky’s Casino – Don Gilbert, Bill Hirschberg, Doug Royse, Duane Steinbrink, Bob Ziegler; Scrap Iron Freedom – Mike Boulier, Gary Foster, Mick Roemer, George Wise; Stagecoach Saloon – Rich Marquez, Steve Tucker, Dennis York

Men’s 65 Major: Southern State Services – Pete Carrier, Jim Kahn, Don Lesher, Bill Magley, Larry Sample, Mike Walsh; San Antonio Silver Streaks – Dennis Abernethy, Mel Colwell, Chris Schneider

Men’s 65AAA: Florida Mustangs – Chuck Duff, Gary DeFalco, Don Held, Eric Johnson, Don Witmer; US Jobs/Direct Employers – Jerry England, Chuck Loeser, Curt Pribble, Tom Sornson; MCC Insurance – Bob Darrah, Steve Lambert, John Hayes

Men’s 65AA: Indiana Legends/Columbus – John Gunn, Dan Londeree, Jerry Pardue, Steve Taylor; Damaged Goods – Bill Neri, Tim Ryan, Fred Pratt

Men’s 70AAA: Bostonian 70 – Bob Clifford, Tom Hall, Dave Joseph, Ray LePage, Mike Russillo; MN Lumberjacks 70 – Rich Hanson, Mick Leibfried, Walt Petersen, Rich Root

Men’s 70AA: Columbus Silver Sticks – Joe Andrew, Ron Cochran, Don Cohron, Doug King, Jack Scott; Indianapolis Classics – Ron Huser, Butch Perry, Ken Keeler, Ken Bonham

Men’s 75 Major: New York Statesmen 75 – Fred Cronin, Jake Dieter, Jim Nugent, Dick Ochampaugh, Jack Westbrook; Bucs & Bulls 75 – Frank Congleton, Doug McLellan, Don Schroeder

Men’s 75AAA: Peachtree Restaurant – Art Barnes, Marvin Kravitz, Bob Hostetler, Joel Medvidovich, Tom Sieworek

Men’s 80 Major: Florida Investment Properties – Dave Bush, Bob Johnson, Larry McCurdy, Joe Sykes, Roger Thresher, Bill Yeager; Jimmy’s MN. Legends 80 – Dave Belbin, Bob D’Amadio, Stan Droogsma, Norris Kruse

Men’s 80/85 Gold: Center for Sight 85 – Everett Arnold, Don Gsell, Ralph Martz, Richard Pavlak, Robert Rogers, Howard Schoen; Gray Sox 80 – Norm Ellis, Jud Gebben, Joe Reynolds, Will Venema, Herschel Wells; BackOffice Associates 80 –Nate Koppel, Jim Parmelee, Vince Van Norman

Women’s 40 Masters: Kryptonite – Michelle Carroll, Carolyn Deeb, Karen Hunger, Sara Payne, Mirian Shields, Theresa Walburger