TIGHT FINISHES HALLMARK OF SPRING WORLDS

June 1, 2010 – Senior Softball-USA

MESQUITE, NV. – The first Regional Championships of the year kicked off here with 101 teams from March 23-28, making it one of the 10 largest senior tournaments in the country.

The turnout ensured some solid divisions and good competition.

Of the 21 divisions competing, two of the largest divisions – the 10-team 50 Major and the 8-team 65 Platinum – were decided by close “IF” games. And four other divisions also were forced to “IF” games in the 50 and 55 AA divisions, the 70 Major-Plus and the Women’s 40 Masters divisions.

The Spring Worlds was played in two sessions to accommodate the large number of teams.

The Tuesday through Thursday session, for Men’s 65+ and older age groups, was played at the Pioneer Park softball complex and the new, all artificial turf, Hunter Park softball complex. For the weekend, play expanded to the Old Mill Fields and into St. George, Utah, at The Canyon’s Complex.

“We are looking forward to making Mesquite home to more major events as the new 20-field Desert Falls International Sports Resort becomes a reality in the fall of 2011,” said Terry Hennessy, SSUSA chief executive officer. “Desert Falls represents the future; it will easily be the best single softball complex in the world, and we look forward to making it the home to top senior softball events,” said Hennessy.

In one of the closest series in the first session, Rusty’s of Arizona emerged from the loser’s bracket to defeat Tharaldson’s 65s from Nevada 19-18 in the championship game and force an “IF” game. Tharaldson’s came back in the “IF” to edge Rusty’s 27-25 and win the division.

In another close contest in the 70 Major-Plus division, the San Francisco Seals were knocked into an “IF” game after losing to the Sidewinders of Arizona 30-20. The Seals came back in the “IF” game to defeat the Sidewinders 16-11.

In the 65 AAA division, the High Desert Roadrunners of New Mexico ran the 6-team bracket, defeating Rise & Shine of Utah 25-10, then beating the Silver Sox of California twice – 18-6 and 18-8 – to win the division title.

In the 65 AA Division, two California teams battled, with the Palm Springs Diamonds beating Top Gun Silver 17-13 in the finals to win the division.

In the 70 Major, Mesa Cardinals of Arizona defeated Thousand Oaks of California 28-9 to win. In the 70/75 Gold division, Robson Ranch of Arizona beat Fairway Ford of California 17-13 to win the title and in the 70/75 Silver division, Gold Coast defeated Top Gun 18-12 (both teams are from California) in the championship game.

The second session expanded to St. George, where two Arizona teams fought it out in the largest bracket of the tournament. The Tucson Bandits came out of the loser’s bracket to beat the Fangrabbers / Tow Time 23-19 in the championships and force an “IF” game. In a second tough game, Fangrabbers came back to win 22-21 and claim the title.

Twelve Angry Men defeated Nor-Cal Stars in the Men’s 40 Masters division championships 30-23, and in the Women’s 40 Masters division, Old School double-dipped Tharaldson, winning 5-4 in the championship game and 25-20 in the “IF” game to take the title.

In the Women’s 50 division, California Spirit beat Bottom of the Fifth 17-11 to win and the Tucson Classics defeated the California Spirits 55 to win one of the largest divisions of the tournament: the 8-team Women’s 55s.

In the Men’s 50 AAA division, SoCal Knights were perfect in the tournament, winning all five games.

Both the 50 and 55 AA divisions were forced into “IF” games, with Four Corners of New Mexico defeating Scrap Iron of Colorado 24-23 to win the 50 AA and Git-R-Done of California beating the Highland Boys of Utah 21-20 to take the 55AA.

In the 60 Major division, Master Collision of Colorado beat Runner Blue of Utah in the finals 24-12 and in the 60 AAA division, the OC Mustangs of California defeated Last Call of Nevada 14-10 to win the championship.

In the 60 AA, the Sidewinders of Arizona had a perfect tournament, ending by beating Showtime of California

Click seniorsoftball.com/?event=452" target="_blank">HERE for complete game scores and bracket results.