Skill Contest Winners Celebrated at 2026 TOC

Feb. 1, 2026

Softball News Report

     POLK COUNTY, FL. – Skill Contests were conducted at the 2026 original Tournament of Champions on January 21 at Auburndale Sports Complex in Winter Haven. Hosted each year, the event consists of four contests across five different gender and age groups: Precision Hitting, Power Hitting, Speed and Pitching.

The Pitching Contest measured how many strikes a player was able to throw hitting the mat, out of 10 tosses.

     All contests except for the Speed contest had ties that led to run-offs as competition was tight. Highlights include Bruce Fairchild’s (Venom 75s – FL) 6 out of 10 homeruns in the Men’s 75+ category of the Power Hitting contest and Jonathon Robertson’s (Warpath 50s – MD) 11.9 second run to win the Men’s 40-54 category. The Men’s 55-64 category of the Pitching contest saw a tie with 8 out of 10 strikes; Brian Lohman of Road Warriors 60 (AZ) won the pitch-off with another 6 out of 10 strikes hitting the mat.

     Winners of the Precision and Power Hitting contests won new bats, provided by Short Porch Baseball Company; while the Speed contest winners won new shoes, provided by Beebe Sports and Pitching winners won new gloves from SSUSA.

Skill contest winners were invited up on stage to receive their awards during the TOC Reception.

Skill Contest Winners:

Precision Hitting
Women: Jessica Flores, Lady Bandits (5)
Men’s 75+: Michael Breitenstein, Center for Sight 85 (6)
Men’s 65-74: Joe Kaso, Long Island Jags (6)
Men’s 55-64: Garrick Yokoe, NV Drifters 60s (5/ 5)
Men’s 40-54: Jeremy Baker, Markham Canadians (6)

Power Hitting
Women: Jessica Flores, Lady Bandits (3)
Men’s 75+: Bruce Fairchild, Venom 75s (6)
Men’s 65-74: Mike Dozier, Smash 60s (1)
Men’s 55-64: Bob Greene, Hard Hat/Latella’s/ Caterbone Realty (2/3)
Men’s 40-54: Jeremy Baker, Markham Canadians (3)

Speed
Women: Keri Sulonen, Mood Swings (12.78)
Men’s 75+: Ron Christian, Long Island Jaguars (16.47)
Men’s 65-74: Jim Crowl, Venom 75s (13.82)
Men’s 55-64: Jeff Smith, Nevada Drifters (13.5)
Men’s 40-54: Jonathon Robertson, Warpath 50s (11.9)

Pitching
Women: Julia Thrash, Lady Bandits (7)
Men’s 75+: Eric Hoff, Sacramento Islanders (7)
Men’s 65-74: Charles Pickett, Wongs 60s (6)
Men’s 55-64: Brian Lohman, Road Warriors (8/6) pitch-off
Men’s 40-54: Dominic Martinez, Viejos SoCal (6)