2018 Quad City Classic Recap

July 1, 2018

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Quad City Classic was host to 41 teams here at Allan Campbell Sports Complex, June 19 - 24.

Park staff and grounds crew scored the upset over large amounts of rain that fell early evening and overnight Tuesday thru Friday.  Coaches and players everyday expressed their overwhelming surprise of the great field conditions. Hats off to staff at Campbell Complex.

Eight champions were crowned throughout the six-day event with the Men’s 70-75 Divisions beginning the tourney on Tuesday. 

Senior Redbirds came out on top for the Men’s 75 AAA crown by defeating second place QC Old Stars in two one-run games, 18-17 and 9-8.  Chicago Hitmen 70's opted out of rights to championship tourney at 6-0.

The largest division of the tournament, the 10-team Men’s 70's Major/AAA Division, was won by Chicago Strikers.  Defensive runs being used as tiebreaker decided the top three spots, with the top three going 4-1.  KC Avengers finished second and Michaels following in third.  Oshkosh Ambassadors Red finished in fourth place at 3-2.

Chicago Strikers - Men's 70's Major/AAA Champs

Play continued on Thursday with the Men’s 60/65's age divisions. 

A three-way tie atop the Men’s 65 AAA/AA division forced defensive runs tiebreaker to be used again.  Chicago Prime, Blue Chips and Mid State Seniors all finished 4-1 in round-robin format.  Blue Chips defeated Prime, 13-7; Mid State Seniors defeated Blue Chips, 15-10; and Prime won the championship resulting from 16-0 score over Mid State Seniors. Blue Chips placed second and Mid State finished third.

The Men’s 60 Major/AAA division played with only three teams on Thursday/Friday.  Chicago Panthers were the AAA champions and overall division champion winning two of three over Milwaukee Merchants (Major Champion).  Panthers defeated Merchants 16-14 and 20-11 sandwiched around their only loss, 21-20.  Oshkosh Ambassadors were the other 60 AAA participant. 

Chicago Panthers - Men's 60 AAA Champs

The weekend schedule was all round-robin format with three divisions of six teams each. 

The Men’s 55 Major division saw the Minnesota Merchants go undefeated averaging 21 runs per game to become champions.  Second place finisher, Busters Bar & Grill would give the Merchants their toughest game losing 17-16 Saturday afternoon.  WC Thunder finished 3-2 taking 3rd place.

In the Men’s 55 AAA division, the final three games all being played at the same time would decide who came away champion.  Antiques of Iowa City held on to beat Midwest Eclipse 20-19 to claim third place.  Luther Group scored three in the bottom of the 7th to beat Steve's Old Time Tap, 14-13, to grab second place hardware. Nebraska 60's had a little easier time in their final game, 20-7, over Minnesota Lumberjacks to win the championship in AAA.  Earlier in the day, Nebraska 60's overcame a 13-run deficit in the 6th inning to defeat Luther Group, which ultimately became the difference maker in determining the championship.

Big Hurt defeating Chitown Assault, 17-11, on Saturday went a long way toward their run to the Men’s 50 Major/AAA championship, finishing 4-1. Their lone loss was to fourth place finisher, Iowa Demons, 12-11.  Assault averaged 21 runs a game in their four wins to finish in second place.  CT Vipers took a 3-0 record into Sunday, but lost both games in round-robin play to the two finishes and claimed third place.

J & J's Sports/Miken/Demons (Men's 55 Major Plus) in the dugout waiting to bat.

Iowa Demons/CNU (Men's 50 Major) enjoying some down time between games.