News story

Raleigh Rolls Out Southern Charm in Easterns

Oct. 1, 2008 – Dave Dowell National Director

By Dave Dowell, Senior Softball News

RALEIGH, NC – One of the oldest cities of the South played host to a new game in late July 2008 and early August: National level Senior Softball.

SSUSA moved its Eastern National Championships to Raleigh for the first year of a multi-year agreement this year. Sixty teams played for six days at the state of the art, nine-diamond Walnut Creek Softball Complex under sunny skies and warm temperatures, vying for Eastern National Championships.

The tournament was the first step in the Triple Grand Slam, and included a berth in the USA National Championship games at the World Championships in Phoenix in October. Additionally, all winners earned berths in the 2009 Tournament of Champions in Polk County, FL, in January.

“Bringing the Eastern Nationals to a place like Raleigh is a perfect fir for us. The playing facilities are first-rate, and there’s a never-ending supply of that famous Southern Hospitality. Everything needed for an enjoyable and competitive event is right here, which is why we are so excited to come back in future years” said Fran Dowell, SSUSA’s Executive Director, who was on site as the Tournament Director.

The Men’s 65’s and 70’s began play on Tuesday with bracket play commencing on Wednesday. In the Men’s 65-Major, Dirt’s All Stars/Old South (GA) swept their best two of three by impressive margins over West Michigan/Bob Evans to complete an unbeaten week. The four-team Men’s 65-AAA was won by the Carolina Cardinals with their 22-11 victory over the Richmond Classics, and the Ca$h 4 College 65’s eventually prevailed in the 65-AA division “If” game with an exciting 13-12 win.

In the Men’s 70’s division, close games were the trademark, with none of the 14 teams escaping the week unbeaten. The 70-Major division was won by the Pompano Beach Bums (FL) with an 18-11 victory over Joseph Chevrolet (OH) in the “If” game. Hamel’s 70’s (MD) took two straight from Dan Pfeiffer Auto (MI), 9-8 and 21-14 for the 70-Major Championship.

The Men’s 70-AA title went to the Delaware Naturals, defeating Back Office Assoc. of Cape Cod (MA) in the Championship game, 13-8. The Men’s 70-AAA division never did have a sole champion. The Chicago Geezers and Cornwall Plumbing played twice in the bracket, with Cornwall winning the winner’s bracket final, and the Geezers returning the favor in the Championship game. Temperatures were in the all-time high range when the “If” game would have been played, and the teams, with the approval of tournament officials, agreed that a tie would be a fair result and a healthy decision. Cornwall received the berth in the USA National Championship game in Phoenix by virtue of being unbeaten longer in the bracket, and both teams received first place awards and a berth in the TOC.

The second tournament session began with a near tragedy on Friday but resulted in what ultimately became the best news of the week and likely the year. Charlie Williams of Mike Pruitt Auto was stricken with a heart attack during an early seeding game, but the intervention of other players, spectators and tournament personnel made for a happy ending as Charlie was revived and will live to play again (see related story on this page).

On the softball side, the Men’s 50’s division was highly competitive, with none of the nine teams going unbeaten for the week.

In the 50-Platinum division, Al Estes Bail Bonds (FL) defeated Roberts Construction (WI) in the Championship game, 19-8. Carpenters Legends (NC) won the 50-AAA with their victory over Diamond Fever Gold (VA) by a 25-9 score in their Championship.

In the 55-Major division, Turn 2/Haynes 60’s played down an age group and showed the younger teams that with age comes experience, defeating Schones/AMR for the title. Both teams earned berths in their respective age groups for the USA game and the TOC. The 55-AAA Division was won by the Syracuse Merchants (22-19) over the Bay State Bombers and the 55-AA crown went to Motion (NY) in a closely contested 8-6 win over the Ohio Silverados.

In the Men’s 60’s division, AMR won the 60-Majors over Monkey Joe’s Big Nut Co. in the Championship game. AMR started as the #2 seed and fought back through the elimination bracket after suffering a first-round upset loss. The 60-AA Championship went to the Syracuse Cyclones as they completed an unbeaten bracket run with a 16-8 win over Ca$h 4 College.

In a fitting finale to the memorable Eastern Nationals, Charlie Williams’ Mike Pruitt Auto team rallied in honor of their fallen teammate to return to action in the 60-AAA brackets after foregoing (with tournament officials’ approval) their remaining seeding games. Their valiant effort fell short against a classy, but superior, Doc Martens team, but not before forcing an “If” game to make things interesting. Doc Martens prevailed 10-3 over an emotionally spent Mike Pruit Auto in a very touching game, the type of game that defines the true essence of sportsmanship.