90 Teams Compete in SSWC Northeast Circuit

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

CAPE MAY, N.J. – Four years ago the first ever New England sanctioned senior tournament was staged in Connecticut as eight teams played in is now the precursor for this year’s fully developed SSWC Northeast tournament circuit which will culminate with the SSWC Northeast Championships to be played Sept. 22-27 here.

The SSWC Northeast tournament circuit became a reality in 2009 offering a tournament a month, beginning in May and ending in August, for senior teams in this part of the country. Tournaments were played in three New England states plus New York

The circuit was bookended by two established SSWC qualifiers and filled in the middle with two new SSWC qualifiers. The established tournaments are the New England Classic, played in May in North Branford, Conn., and the Ocean State Classic, played in August in Warwick, R.I. The two new tournaments were the Salt City Classic in June in Syracuse, N.Y., and the Bay State Senior Shootout, played in July in Palmer, Mass.

The four tournaments attracted a total of 90 teams, a great showing considering the infancy of the program.

On the horizon for 2010 is a slightly expanded and revised SSWC Northeast Tournament Circuit. This is still tentative but plans for next year include the use of two weekends for the New England Classic, a flip-flop of tournament dates for the Salt City Classic and the Bay State Senior Shootout, and a later conclusion of the circuit with the Ocean State Classic.

Plans for the 2010 New England Classic call for the 50+ and 55+ teams to play Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, and call for the 60+, 65+, 70+ and 75+ teams to play Saturday through Monday, May 22-24, all in North Branford. It is hoped the Bay State Senior Shootout can secure June 17-20 in Palmer for next year’s tournament. The Salt City Classic has already set aside the 2010 dates of July 15-18, in Syracuse for the N.Y. SSWC qualifier. The Ocean State Classic is exploring the possibility of playing Aug. 20-25, in Warwick for the final stop on the 2010 SSWC Northeast tournament circuit.

Following are the results of the four tournaments played this year.

New England Classic

The 50’s, 55’s and 60’s kicked off this tournament with a full day of games on Saturday. Games started at 8 a.m. and didn’t finish until past 11 p.m. Most of the teams played four seeding games on Saturday and this turned out to be a blessing because Sunday’s games were rained out.

Tournament champions were determined based on the seeding games and four games gave a decent indication of who were representative champions. The 65’s and 70’s played a full tournament schedule.

Among the tournament highlights were:

Michael Boone’s Sweet Construction team derailed the CT Sportsplex squad 38-9 in the 50 Major division to break CT Sportsplex’s three year reign as the top team in this tournament.

Shark Sports extended their dominance of the 50 AAA division to three years with their third consecutive 50 AAA title. They clinched the title with a come-from-behind 17-16 victory over My Cousin Vinny’s. They rallied with seven runs in the final inning with Larry Sipfle delivering the game winning hit.

New York Motion and the Baystate Bombers both finished the 55 AAA seeding round undefeated. The New York Motion allowed an average of just 9.0 runs per game which was less than the Baystate Bombers and served as the tie-breaker and gave them the division championship.

50 Major

1. Sweet Construction (NJ)

2. Diamond Fever (VA)

3. East Coast Softball Club (NY)

50 AAA

1. Shark Sports (NY)

2. My Cousin Vinny’s (MA)

3. Interstate Transmission (MA)

55 Major

1. New Jersey Hitmen (NJ)

2. TNT Sports Club (PA)

55 AAA

1. New York Motion (NY)

2. Bay State Bombers (MA)

3. Kapitan Carpentry (CT)

60 Major

1. Baystate Bombers Plus (MA)

2. New York Statesmen (NY)

3. Monkey Joe’s Big Nut Co (NJ)

60 AAA

1. Jersey Masters (NJ)

2. Syracuse Cyclones 60’s (NY)

3. Ca$h-4-College 60’s (NJ)

60 AA

1. Commodity Haulers Express (RI)

2. Cape Cod Mariners (MA)

65 AAA

1. Jersey Jaguars (NJ)

2. New York Streaks 65’s (NY)

3. Cozy Grill (RI)

70 AAA

1. Back Office Associates (MA)

2. Ca$h-4-College 70’s (NJ)

3. Wanskuck Post 56 (RI)

Salt City Classic

The Salt City Classic attracted 14 teams to Hopkins Road Complex in Liverpool, N.Y. The teams could have experienced a total tournament washout because of heavy rain that hit the area the night before the tournament was to start. That is why the grounds crew was recognized as the MVP of the tournament. The grounds crew was headed by Gary Lopez (county parks director) and Al Guglielmo (on site director).

As it were, all games were cancelled for the first day of play on Thursday and teams had to play a revised schedule on Friday. The tournament became a one-day affair for teams in the 60+, 65+,and 70+ age levels.

Five teams played a round-robin competition in the 55/60 AAA division to determine a champion. The Syracuse Cyclones (60 AAA) met Rally Time / Bath Tub Billy’s (55 AAA) in the final game with both teams sporting a 3 & 0 record. In the game, Alan Dragomani, the Syracuse Cyclones’ first baseman, turned a triple play to help the Cyclones win 9-4.

In the 65/70 AA bracket four teams played a round-robin series and then the number one and two seeds played off to determine the winner. Western Mass and Shamrock Jacks met in the championship game with Western Mass winning 23-4.



50+

1. Shark Sports (NY)

2. Rochester 50’s (NY)

3. Gubiotti Insurance (NY)

55/60 AAA

1. Syracuse Cyclones 60’s (NY)

2. Rally Time / Bath Tub Billy’s (NY)

3. Bay State Bombers Plus (MA)

65 AAA

1. Cape Cod Whalers (MA)

2. MVP Health (NY)

65/70 AA

1. Western Mass (MA)

2. Shamrock Jacks (NY)

3. Syracuse Cyclones 65’s (NY)

3. Naturals (PA)

Bay State Senior Shootout

The Bay State Senior Shootout was a first-year tournament with 13 teams in attendance. Tom Marum, SSUSA New England Clubs & Leagues Area Director, worked hard to get this tournament off the ground. What distinguished this tournament from the other SSWC Northeast tournaments was the involvement of two 40-&-over women’s teams. Crossroads took first in the Women’s 40+ Division and Curty / Lo’s took second place. Following are how the teams finished:

50 AAA

1. Interstate Transmission (MA)

55 AAA

1. Rally Time / Bath Tub Billy’s (NY)

60 Major

1. Bay State Bombers Plus (MA)

60 AAA

1. Lefty’s / Edge Technology (CT)

2. Cape Cod Mariners (MA)

3. Rochester Classics (NY)

65 AAA

1. Taylor Aviary (RI)

2. Cape Cod Whalers (MA)

3. New York Barracuda’s (NY)

65 AA

1. Syracuse Cyclones (NY)

2. Western Mass (MA)

Women’s 40+

1. Crossroads (MA)

2. Curty / Lo’s (MA)

Ocean State Classic

Tournament Director Emilio Notarantonio, president of the Rhode Island Senior Softball League, reported that the tournament grew from 20 teams last year to 22 teams this year. Following are how the teams finished:

50 AAA

1. My Cousin Vinny’s (MA)

2. Intercity (RI)

3. Action Auto Parts (RI)

55 AAA

1. Bay State Bombers (MA)

2. Kapitan Carpentry (CT)

60 AAA

1. New York Streaks 60’s (NY)

2. Bay State Bombers Plus (MA)

3. Boston Commoners (MA)

65 AAA

1. New York Streaks 65’s (NY)

2. Cape Cod Whalers (MA)

3. Cozy Grill (RI)

70 AAA

1. Back Office Associates (MA)

2. SSL 70 Seahawks (NJ)

3. Wanskuck Post 56 (RI)