Special Events and Rigorous Competition Define Session 2 of 2025 Worlds

Sept. 1, 2025

Service members from Nellis AFB's Color Guard showcase our country's flags during session two's opening ceremony along with Kat Ray (center). Kat is the found of the Senior Miss Universe organization which recognizes the achievements of senior women in America and around the world.

By Donna McGuire
Softball News Report

Eighteen teams secured bragging rights, free championship rings and golden trophies by winning their divisions during the second session of the Senior Softball USA World Championships being played in the Las Vegas area.

The session also included the heavily attended Men’s 90+ game along with Hall of Fame inductions and special awards.

Carroll Shook (left), a National Hall of Famer, and Ronnie Guest, a SSUSA umpire, both from Washington, celebrate a suceessful play for the 90s West team in the fourth annual 90s Game.

“For the first time in the four years of 90s Games, the West beat the East team,” said Terry Hennessy, SSUSA’s chief executive officer. “In addition, two players and a manager were inducted into the Senior Softball USA Hall of Fame and four players were inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame.”

Overall, 184 teams ranging from the 65+ to 90+ age divisions participated in Session 2, which involved nearly 600 games played at seven ballparks Sept. 22-25. 

Session two of the 2025 World Championships honors the return of the elders in the sport.

The competition included 16 teams in the 80+ divisions, five teams in the 85+ divisions, and two 90+ teams — a testament to how long senior softball players can continue to compete.

Those teams were part of a record 666-team World Championship tournament that will conclude Oct. 5 with the Men’s 50+ and International Co-Ed divisions.

Two Session 2 teams claimed Triple Grand Slam titles: Omen of Florida in the 75+ Major Plus division and Center For Sight of Florida in the 85+ Major division.

In a tragic event during the first day of play at Cheyenne Softball Complex, a player collapsed and died in the dugout. Gary Kearney (photo below), a well-known player from Washington who was on the Enviro-Vac Marauders 70 Major team from British Columbia, collapsed in the 2pm game against Timberworks/Suncoast. Efforts by SSUSA directors, nurses on site and paramedics were unsuccessful.

Gary Kearney

Results:

Men's 65+ Major Plus: The fourth-seeded Minnesota Merchants went 5-1 overall and averaged 24 runs a game in bracket play, including a narrow 21-20 championship triumph over top-seeded Cal Energy 65 of California. It marked the second consecutive year that Cal Energy finished second by one run. Texas Crush Sixty Fives nabbed third place in the eight-team bracket. Omega IT Services LLC of Virginia placed fourth. USA National Game: Cal Energy 22, TRT of Florida 18.

Men's 65+ Major: Eighth-seeded Midwest Driving School/Dudley/KPI of Missouri went 6-1 overall and outscored its opposition in bracket play 109-46 while capturing the 18-team division. It held runner-up and sixth-seeded Samurai 65 of California scoreless in three of the last four innings in a 17-6 championship victory. Ninth-seeded Auction Auto Parts of Rhode Island took third. Tenth-seeded Houston Fire finished fourth. USA National Game: NW Elite Hitmen of Washington 18, The Ockers Company of Massachusetts 16.

Men's 65+ AAA: Twelfth-seeded Arizona Monsoon (photo below) won all six of its bracket games, including a 12-3 championship victory over 20th-seeded Albuquerque Asphalt of New Mexico. Albuquerque won five elimination games to reach the finals. The seventh-seeded Texas Legends placed third in the 30-team division. The 11th-seeded Texas Tornadoes finished fourth. USA National Game: Hustlers of California 15, Northern Virginia Force 6.

Men's 65+ AA: Second-seeded East/West Aircraft 65s of Idaho (photo below) compiled an undefeated run through seeding and bracket play, capped by a 22-7 championship victory in five innings over fifth-seeded Scrap Iron 65+ Rockies of Colorado, which won five elimination games to reach the finals. Fourth-seeded Pastimers of Washington took fourth in the nine-team division. Northwest Force of Washington finished fifth. 

Men's 70+ Major Plus: Playing a best-of five seres, Timberworks/Suncoast of California (photo below) needed four games to subdue the Minnesota River Bats 17-20, 31-10, 29-28 and 27-12. 

Timberworks/Suncoast, 70+ Major Plus Champions, place their trophy on home plate to honor their late manager and SSUSA National Director, Doug Robbins, who passed away July 26.

Men's 70+ Major: Fourth-seeded R&R won its five bracket games by an average of eight runs a game, including a 15-7 title game triumph over third-seeded Steel Etc/Anarchy of North Dakota. Scrap Iron High Octane of Colorado snagged third place in the 17-team division. REI 70s of North Carolina finished fourth. USA National Game: REI 70s 24, Scrap Iron High Octane 23.

Men's 70+ AAA: Third-seeded Second Wind of Washington defeated its bracket opponents by an average of eight runs a game with only its final game coming down to the wire. In that game, Second Wind nipped second-seeded Spring Ford of Pennsylvania 13-12 to win the 31-team division. Top-seeded Excessive Force of California finished third. Sixth-seeded Scrap Iron 5280’ of Colorado took fourth. USA National Game: Excessive Force 25 (photo below), Spring Ford 13.

Excessive Force, 70+ AAA USA National Champions, compete in honor of manager Ernest Lopez's son, who was killed in action while serving in Afghanistan.

Men's 70+ AA: The top-seeded Utah Coyotes raced through seeding and bracket play unbeaten with mostly easy victories. The Coyotes capped their dominating run by defeating sixth-seeded KC Rally Dawgs of Missouri 17-2 in five innings in the title game. Second-seeded Region 70s of Indiana earned third in the 17-team division. Seventh-seeded Cascade Thunder of Oregon took fourth. 

Men's 75+ Major Plus: Playing a best-of-five series, undefeated Omen 75 of California (photo below) swept Venom 75s of Florida 18-15, 22-21 and 19-13. In the process, Omen captured the Triple Grand Slam title — an honor Venom had won three years in a row. USA National Game: Omen 18, Venom 15.

Men's 75+ Major: Fifth-seeded Enviro-Vac Marauders of British Columbia, Canada, (photo below) won nearly everything it played, losing only a seeding game to the 75+ Major Plus champion. In the 75+ Major title game, Enviro-Vac lead after every full inning while defeating top-seeded Animals of California 16-13. Third-seeded Ancient 75s of Arizona finished third in the 14-team division. R&R 75s of California nabbed fourth. USA National Champion: Last Call of Nevada. (No opponent.)

Men's 75+ AAA: The third-seeded Sacramento Islanders of California (photo below) suffered its first tournament loss, 25-10, in the first championship game before dispatching the fifth-seeded Scrap Iron Diamonds of Colorado 17-8 in the “if needed” game. The Islanders finished 6-1 overall. The ninth-seeded ZIA 75s of New Mexico finished third in the 12-team division. The sixth-seeded USA Patriots of Oklahoma captured fourth. USA National Champion: Cut Loose 75s of Nevada. (No opponent.)

Men's 75+ AA: The second-seeded Minnesota Lumberjacks 75s sustained a 18-7 loss in the first championship game before rebounding with a 17-12 title-claiming victory against third-seeded Northwest Sage of Washington. The top-seeded Chicago Hitmen 75s placed third in the three-team division.

Men's 80+ Major Plus: Top-seeded Maverick Construction of Texas capped a 5-0 tournament with a 16-5 championship victory over second-seeded Omen 80 of California. The Sidewinders 80 of Arizona finished third in the three-team bracket. USA National Champion: Omen 80 of California. (No opponent.)

Men's 80+ Major: Top-seeded Vecter of Vero, Florida, started 4-1 before losing the first title game 25-10 to third-seeded Top Gun Gold of California. Vecter’s offense revived in the second game, which it won 20-5 to claim the four-team division. The fourth-seeded B.C. Seniors of British Columbia, Canada, took third. Gold Rush of California finished fourth. USA National Champion: Gold Rush. (No opponent.)

Men's 80+ AAA: This nine-team division played a full round robin to determine a champion. Entering the final day, two teams remained undefeated. Shortly after their game started, heavy rains inundated the fields. Tie-breaker rules gave the Worlds title and Triple Grand Slam honors to The Enforcers of California, which allowed four fewer runs than the runner-up Minnesota Masters 80s across tournament play, not including games against a winless team that dropped out after the third day of play. (All results involving the winless team were removed from the standings.) KC Kids/Bale Chevrolet of Missouri finished 5-2 to capture third. Fourth place went to Dunns/Studz of Wisconsin on a head-to-head tie-breaker over 80 Ho’oikaika of Hawaii. USA National Champion: Enforcers of California. (No opponent.)

Men's 85+ Major: Center For Sight of Florida (photo below), which finished 4-1 overall, defended its 2024 Triple Grand Slam and Worlds titles by sweeping the Top Gun Blue Angels 85 of California 20-5 and 14-11 in a best-of-three format to win the two-team division. USA National Game: Center For Sight 20, Top Gun Blue Angels 5.

Men's 85+ AAA: The top-seeded Scrap Iron Legends of Colorado (photo below) went 5-1 overall, including 2-0 in bracket play. In the title game, the Legends dispatched the second-seeded Minnesota Mavericks 14-9. Team Rehab of Minnesota finished third in the three-team division.

Men’s 90+ division: For the first time in this game’s four-year history, the West team triumphed over the East team. Final score: 19-12. (90s West Team (blue) with the 90s East Team (red) photographed together below after the game).