Rochester Recreational Tournament Wraps up Circuit

Sept. 1, 2009 – Steve Simmons New England & North Regional Director, Clubs & Leagues

ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Rochester Senior Softball League entered three teams in the 11 team SSUSA North Region One-Day Recreational Tournament held at their home park, McQuillan Field here on Sept. 8.

Two of the three teams lost their first-round games and dropped into the Lower Division but one team that combined players from the Adlers / Rich’s league team and the Edward Jones league team ended up the champion of the Upper Division.

The Rochester league, a two-year old organization, has fashioned their program along the lines of the West Metro Senior Softball League from the Twin Cities area. The West Metro League is an established program that has been in place for years. Ironically the Adlers-Rich’s / Edwards Jones team won three straight games, all against West Metro league teams, to earn their championship.

Their first game was a convincing 15-8 victory but their next two were nail biters. Ben Borgen’s squad came from six runs behind in their second game, with an eight-run seventh inning, to win 15-13. Then in the championship game they had to hold on, recording the final out in the bottom of the seventh with the tying run on third and the winning run on second, to edge out the West Metro challenger 12-11.

West Metro had four teams entered. The Minnesota Lumberjacks Softball Club of Bemidji, West Des Moines, Mason City and the Roseville league all had one team involved. Roseville’s team had to play exhibition games because the skill level of their team was much stronger than the rest of the recreation level teams.

This tournament marked the end of a successful run of SSUSA North region recreational tournaments. One was held in each of the last three months (July, August and September). The next SSUSA North region recreational tournament will be the Minnesota dome tournament to be held in December.

These, however, aren’t the only senior recreational tournaments being played in the area. The concept of the recreational tournament has been spreading throughout the North region. There was a 10-team independent tournament played in Mason City, Iowa, on July 25-26. Mike Coulter put on an independent senior tournament in Waterloo, Iowa, on Aug. 22-23 and Jerry Otto and Dave Weber, from the Roseville senior league, plan to hold a six-team, AAA skill level tournament on Sept. 26-27 in White Bear Lake, Minn.

The recreational tournament has definitely become an attractive alternative to the sanctioned tournaments (qualifiers, regionals, etc). Tournament teams still want to participate in the sanctioned senior tournaments but tournament team players and recreation players alike enjoy the recreation tournaments as well. They use them as a low cost, minimum travel, local alternative to stay ready for sanctioned tournament play or just to experience tournament ball.

If you would like to learn more about recreational senior tournaments, contact Steve Simmons – SSUSA Clubs & Leagues National Director, (H) 952-470-9250, (C) 952-239-7674, (E) stnlsimmons@aol.com.