19th Annual Western National Championships Host Record 133 Teams

Aug. 1, 2019

SACRAMENTO/PLACER COUNTIES - The 2019 Western National Championships was held here, July 30-Aug. 4, for a seventh straight season.

A record 133 teams representing eight states competed on the field, looking to take the first step towards the elusive Triple Grand Slam.

Division winners (as well as singleton teams) from the Western and Eastern National Championships receive a berth into the U.S. National Championship Game, which is played during seeding play at the LVSSA/SSUSA World Masters Championships next month in Las Vegas.

Teams that win the U.S. National Game, as well as their division in the World Masters, complete the Triple Grand Slam.

The Men’s 65 through 85 age divisions began the tournament on July 30, with 37 teams playing at Sacramento Softball Complex and Foskett Regional Park (Lincoln).

Starting off with the Men’s 65 Major Plus Division, Enviro-Vac Marauder (WA) and Timberworks/Adidas (CA) played a best two-out-of-three game series.

The games were a rematch from the Rock ‘n Reno Challenge Cup back in May, which saw Enviro-Vac Marauder down Timberworks/Adidas in a thrilling three-game series.

This time around, Timberworks/Adidas would exact its revenge, sweeping Enviro-Vac Marauder by scores of 32-7 and 22-18.

The series sweep also completed an undefeated week for Timberworks/Adidas, as the team went 3-0 in their round-robin games against Men’s 65 Major teams.

For Timberworks, this will be the team’s fourth straight appearance in the U.S. National Game in the Men’s 65 Major Plus Division. The team will be in search of its third straight Triple Grand Slam title.

In the seven-team Men’s 65 Major Division, Incrediwear (CA) posted a 2-0 record in seeding play to enter the bracket as the No. 1 seed. The team continued its strong play in the bracket, recording a perfect 3-0 mark, capped off by a 14-8 win over Last Call (NV) in the championship game.

Nor Cal Reds (CA) finished in third place, following a solid run through the elimination side of the bracket. The team won three straight elimination games before falling to Last Call in the third-place game.

In the six-team Men’s 65 AAA Division, top seed Cut Loose (CA) came back to double-dip No. 6 seed It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere (CA), by scores of 16-14 and 23-17, in the championship and “if” game, respectively.

It’s 5’Oclock Somewhere had a rough start to the tournament, going 0-2 in seeding play. The team regrouped in bracket play, winning their first three games, including a 13-12 nail-biter over Cut Loose, to punch their ticket to the championship game.

Sidewinders Desert (AZ) finished in third place following a 3-0 run through the elimination side of the bracket, before falling short in the third-place game.

In the five-team Men’s 65/70 Silver Division, top seed Sacramento Islanders came out of the elimination side of the bracket to double-dip Lincoln Hills Coyotes.

In the championship game, Sacramento Islanders held off Lincoln Hills Coyotes 12-11, forcing the “if” game. Building on the momentum of its championship game win, Sacramento Islanders completed the come-back with a 15-4 victory in the “if” game.

With their win, Sacramento Islanders will earn a berth in the U.S. National Game as the Western representative in the Men’s 70 AAA Division.

After winning a pair of elimination games, Last Call (NV) rounded out the top three finishers.

As the lone Men’s 65 AA team, Scrap Iron Diamonds (CO) will represent the West in the U.S. National Game.

In the three-team Men’s 70 AA Division, top seed Valley Fog (CA) ran through bracket play with relative ease, defeating Triple Play (CA) 24-17 and California Oaks 10-2 in the championship game. The team also posted a 3-0 record in seeding play to complete an undefeated week.

Valley Fog (CA) - Men's 70 AA Champions

In the Men’s 70/75 Major Plus Division, Omen 70 (CA) bested their big brothers, Omen 75 (CA) in a head-to-head, three-game series.

Omen 75 took the opening game, 15-8; before the little brothers came back to even the series with a 25-14 win in game two.

The rubber-match would see Omen 70 complete the comeback with a 27-12 win.

In the four-team Men’s 70 Major Division, Nor-Cal Stixx (CA) posted a perfect 3-0 record in bracket play, including a 24-20 win over Scrap Iron Legends (CO) in the championship game. Top seed R&R (CA) finished in third place.

In the four-team Men’s 75/80 Gold Division, State Roofing Systems 75 (CA) knocked off top seed San Francisco Seals 80 (CA), 17-10, in the championship game.

State Roofing Systems will represent the West in the Men’s 75 Major Division, while San Francisco Seals will represent the West in the Men’s 80 Major Division.

Triple Play 75 (CA) finished in third place and will be the West representative in the U.S. National Game in the Men’s 75 AAA Division.

In the four-team Men’s 80/85 Gold Division, Git-R-Done 80 (CA) defeated California Oaks 80, 13-8, in the championship game. Redwood City Gold Rush 80 (CA) finished in third place.

With their win, Git-R-Done will represent the West in the Men’s 80 AAA Division.

As the lone 85 team, Sacramento Gold (CA) will represent the West in the Men’s 85 Major Division.

The tournament continued Aug. 2 with 92 teams in the Men’s 40-60 age divisions, as well as the Women’s 40 divisions taking the field across five different complexes in Sacramento and Placer counties.

Beginning with the six-team Men’s 40 Major Plus Division, Prestige/Elite Sports Orange County (CA) went 4-0 in bracket play, including a 29-23 win over GTS (ID) in the championship game.

Prestige/Elite Sports Orange County (CA) - Men's 40 Major Plus Champions

CB Softball (CA) won three straight games in the elimination side of the bracket before falling in the third-place game.

In the 12-team Men’s 40 Major Division, Team F1rst (CA), Bartz Builders/No Excuses (CA), and Cheap Suits/Republic Realty/CDZ Apparel (CA) entered bracket play as the top three seeds, respectively, following 2-0 records in seeding play.

Of the three, Team F1rst would be the lone team to make it to the championship game, needing to win three straight elimination games, including pair of one-run nail-biters, in the process.

The team was unable to finish off its run, as Thunderstruck (CA), the No. 7 seed in the bracket, completed an undefeated run in the bracket, 5-0, including a 26-14 win over Team F1rst for the championship.

Cali Gold (CA) finished in third place.

The Men’s 40 AAA Division featured a best of three series between Armstrong Transport (WA) and Mixed Up (CA).

After dropping the first game, 14-8; Armstrong Transport came back with wins in games two and three, by scores of 15-14 and 22-15, respectively, to take the series.

Armstrong Transport (WA) - Men's 40 AAA Champions

In the three-team Men’s 50 Major Plus Division, top seed J.K. Inc./Easton (CA) defeated West Coast Aftershock (CA) 33-18 in their opening bracket game to advance to the championship game, where they downed Bad Seed (CA), 27-12.

J.K. Inc./Easton (CA) - Men's 50 Major Plus Champions

In the 14-team Men’s 50 Major Division, PDX/DeMarini (OR) went undefeated in bracket play, winning five straight hard-fought games by an average of 2.2 runs-per-game.

PDX/DeMarini began bracket play with a 24-20 win over Pacific Northwest rival Easton Reds (WA), before knocking off CaliGold Athletics (CA) 17-14, top seed JayCo/ISP (ID), 17-15, and KM Sportz (CA), 26-25, to reach the championship game. PDX/DeMarini, the visiting team, outscored KM Sportz 6-3 in the open inning to squeak out the victory and advance to the title game.

In the championship game, PDX/DeMarini would again face off against KM Sportz, edging out another one-run thriller, 27-26. This time, PDX/DeMarini, as the home team, plated two runs to complete the walk-off win.

PDX/DeMarini (OR) - Men's 50 Major Champions

JayCo/ISP (ID) finished in third place.

In the seven-team Men’s 50 AAA Division, top seed Scrap Iron/Elite (CO) recorded a perfect weekend, going 2-0 in seeding and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 19-10 win over Sacramento Flash (CA) in the championship game.

VC/Miken (WA), who entered bracket play as the last seed, won three straight games in the elimination side of the bracket, before falling in the third-place game.

The five-team Men’s 55 Major Plus Division saw top seed Sommerville Softball (CA) cruise through bracket play with a 3-0 record, including a 32-17 win over No. 2 seed CornerStone (OR) in the championship game.

Sommerville Softball (CA) - Men's 55 Major Plus Champions

CornerStone dropped down into the elimination side of the bracket early on after being upset in their opening game against JU Ent. (CA), 26-18. The team regrouped with three straight wins, including a 21-11 revenge win over JU Ent. in the third-place game, en route to their eventual runner-up finish.

In the 12-team Men’s 55 Major Division, three teams entered bracket play with perfect 2-0 records following seeding play, as WPI/Wilson Auto (ID), So Cal Guys (CA), and 55 OH MY (CA) earned the No. 1 through 3 seeds, respectively.

Of the three, So Cal Guys advanced to the championship game unscathed, winning three straight games.

After being upset in their second bracket game against Sonoma County Crush (CA) 29-22; WPI/Wilson Auto began Championship Sunday in the elimination side of the bracket, needing to win out.

After a thrilling 18-17, walk-off, win to eliminate Doerflinger (WA), WPI/Wilson Auto got rolling, knocking off Vandals (CA) 28-15 and Sonoma County Crush 17-11 to reach the championship game.

WPI/Wilson Auto continued its run, defeating So Cal Guys, 18-6, in the championship game to force the “if” game, where WPI completed the double-dip with a 26-22 win. The winner-take-all victory concluded a valiant five-game run on Sunday.

WPI/Wilson Auto (ID) - Men's 55 Major Champions

Vandals also had a strong push through the elimination side of the bracket with four straight wins to eventually round out the top four finishers.

In the Men’s 55 AAA Division, Desperados NMU (CA) swept Michael’s Automotive Group (WA) by scores of 16-15 and 22-17, in a best two-out-of-three game series.

Desperados NMU (CA) - Men's 55 AAA Champions

The Men’s 60 Major Plus Division also featured a best two-out-of-three game series, as Summy’s (CA) swept MTC/Dudley (CA) by scores of 21-12 and 25-24, respectively.

In the eight-team Men’s 60 Major Division, Samurai (CA) came out strong in bracket play, going undefeated with a 4-0 record, including a 22-18 win in the championship game against Northwest Softball Club/Underdogs (WA).

Samurai defeated Northwest Softball Club/Underdogs in its previous game 25-19 to advance to the championship game.

After going 0-2 in seeding play, California Energy bounced back with a 3-2 record in bracket play, en route to its third-place finish.

In the four-team Men’s 60 AAA Division, top seed Weakend Warriors (CA) polished off a flawless weekend, going 2-0 in seeding and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 30-16 win over Cascade Thunder (OR) in the championship.

After dropping their opening bracket game 16-7 against the Weakend Warriors, Cascade Thunder dropped down into the elimination side of the bracket, where the team posted back-to-back wins en route to their runner-up finish.

Baker Boyz (CA) finished in third place.

In the three-team Men’s 55/60 AA Division, Scrap Iron Rockies 60 (CO) defeated Spin Tees 55 (WA), 19-16, in the championship game, forcing an “if” game. The “if” game was forfeited by Scrap Iron, giving Spin Tees the division.

Spin Tees will represent the West in the U.S. National Game in the Men’s 55 AA Division; while Scrap Iron Rockies will represent the West in the U.S. National Game in the Men’s 60 AA Division.

Northwest Silver 60 (WA) finished in third place.

In the five-team Women’s 40 Major Division, TKP (CA) won five straight games to win the division, following a 17-11 loss to begin bracket play against TABU (CA). TKP scored wins over All Out (CA), Fun Bunch (CA), and Colorado Ohana in the third-place game, to reach the championship game.

TKP continued its run by avenging its earlier loss with a double-dip of TABU by scores of 10-6 and 13-9 in the championship and “if” game, respectively.

In the seven-team Women’s 40 AAA Division, top seed UT-Relics completed a perfect weekend, going 2-0 in seeding play and 3-0 in bracket play, including a 24-16 win over CCS Fireballerz (CA) in the championship game.

Idaho Spirit finished in third place.

Continuing with the Women’s Division, the Women 50 began play on Aug. 3 at Hal Bartholomew Sports Park in Elk Grove.

In the four-team Women’s 50 Gold Division, OnFire/Afoa Insurance (CA) went 3-0 in bracket play, including a thrilling 10-9 nail-biter win over Old School (CA) in the championship game.

OnFire/Afoa Insurance (CA) - Women's 50 Gold Champions

OnFire/Afoa Insurance will represent the West in the Women’s 50 AAA Division, while Old School, the highest finishing 50 Major team, will represent the West in the U.S. National Championship game.

B.O.O.B.S (CA) finished in third place.