Tournament wrapup

Teams from 5 States Vie in Cal Cup

Oct. 1, 2008 – Senior Softball-USA

Great weather, extremely close competition and a first-class “dinner and dance” event made the 2008 California State Championships a memorable tournament.

The 5th annual California State Championships, otherwise know as the “Cal Cup,” took place Aug. 12-17 at two complexes, one in Lincoln and the other in Sacramento. All division winners at the Cal Cup earned an invitation to the 2009 Tournament of Champions in Polk County, Florida.

Even though the tournament is labeled the California State Championships, teams from all states are welcome to participate. This year’s event attracted groups from Oregon, Washington State, Arizona and Nevada, in addition to California.

On Friday evening, players, managers, and their families congregated at the Horseman’s Club to socialize, eat, and dance the night away at the second annual “Let’s Get It Started” Dinner and Oldies Dance sponsored by the Wilson Trophy Men’s 50 and 55 teams. The event included a barbeque buffet from Texas Roadhouse and a raffle drawing with a multitude of prizes. Perfect weather made way for an enjoyable tournament as 63 teams competed in 16 different divisions.

On the field, the largest division – 50 AAA – produced one of the most exciting finishes. A scrappy Wilson 50 team plowed through 6 straight games in the losers bracket to challenge Mountain Mike's NorCal Legends in the championships. Wilson beat Mountain Mike’s 24-13, forcing an if game. But the 8th game proved too much and Mountain Mike’s beat Wilson 18-17 to win the title.

Officials said the tournament produced some of the closest games of the year, with 9 of the 16 divisions being decided by one run, or being forced into IF games.

In the Men’s 40 Masters, J&E Construction beat 12 Angry Men 21-20 in the finals, while MTC Softball double-dipped East Bay forcing an IF game with a 20-19 victory, then winning again 25-18 to take the championships.

In the 55 Majors, the Old Dawgs beat J. Chubb Insurance 15-14 and 12-11 to win the division. And in the 55AAA, the Mustangs beat Wilson 55s by a slim 19-18, forcing an IF game. Wilson 55s came back to win the 55AAA championships 27-23.

In the 55AA, No Limit emerged from the loser’s bracket to beat the Sacramento Islanders 23-19, forcing an IF game, then beat the Islanders again, 25-21, to win the division.

In the 60 Major Division, WE Ruth Realty 60s came out of the loser’s bracket to beat Diamond Dawgs 27-23, but lost the IF game 26-24. And in the 70AAA division, the Lincoln Hills Coyotes came up with a late rally to beat the Sacramento Blues 17-16 and win the championships.

For expanded coverage of the California Championships and individual division play, go to www.seniorsoftball.com/news and SEARCH: Cal Cup.

Here are the complete results from the 2007 California State Championships (“TOC” designates teams that have received an invite to the 2008 Tournament of Champions):