66 TEAMS COMPETE TO BE BEST OF BEST IN CALIFORNIA

Sept. 1, 2012 – Giovanni Crotti

PLACER COUNTY, CA – Senior Softball-USA returned to the Sacramento area for the California State Championships after a year away from the state capital. Sixty-six teams flocked to Placer County and looked for their shot at glory.

With temperatures near 100 degrees, the players braved the heat to get their chance to be called the best of the best in California.

The 40’s Masters Men’s Division was filled with hard hitters from all over the Golden State. After they lost their seeding games, the Nor-Cal Stars caught fire and rolled through the winner’s bracket. A familiar foe, Prime Lending/TPS, greeted them in the championship game and drew first blood, 24-9. The “If” game, though, told a different story as The Nor Cal Stars outlasted rival Prime Lending/TPS (26-19) to win the cup.

In the ultra competitive Men’s 50 AAA division, nine teams battled for the cup. The No. 5 seed SoCal Knights outgunned Twelve Gauge in the championship game by a score of 28-16. The SoCal Knights won by no less than five runs a game in bracket play on their road to victory.

Historically, the 60AAA division is the largest in most Senior Softball tournaments and the Cal Cup was no exception. Nine teams fought long and hard to advance through the bracket, but at the end of the day only two teams remained, North State Screen Printing and the Bay Supporters 60’s. The Bay Supporters lost their first bracket game and took the long road to make the championship game.

In the championship game, the Bay Supporters continued their hot streak as they beat North State Screen Printing, 16-14, in a furious battle. The thrill of victory would prove to be short lived though as North State Screen Printing won the “If” game handily 29-18 to take the top prize.

In the 65AAA division, five teams clashed in this ever growing division. The Mustangs off their impressive second place finish at the Rock ‘N Reno Challenge Cup fought hard and advanced through the loser’s bracket to face SoCal Crush for the championship. The Mustangs, new to the 65 age group this season, double dipped the SoCal Crush and won the “If” game in a back and forth one-run game, 21-20.

The Men’s 70/75 Silver Division was filled with many close games. The California Oaks fought through the stiff competition and upended Triple Play 70 in the championship game, 25-16.

For complete results, see seniorsoftball.com

CALIFORNIA-CUP ALL TOURNAMENT PLAYERS 2012

Men’s 40 Masters- Norcal Stars- Frank Montez, Billy Jolly, Saul Gevarter, Don Mackay, Howard Ritchie.

Men’s 50 Major- Calif.Barons- Paul Supat, Gary Hoffman, Ron Graves, Rich Navarro, Brian Crisp.Worth 50’s- Steve Loftis, Jim McFarlin.

Men’s 50AAA- SoCal Knights- Wayne Galer, Marlowe Santos, Charles Hopkins, Craig Matthews, Rusty Lee. 12 Gauge- Craig Nourie, Doug Dalton, Dean Devincenzi.

Men’s 55 Platinum- MTC 55- Dwayne Breckke, Gary Robertson, Wayne Doty, Roger Underwood, Ron Webb.

Men’s 55AAA- X-Factor- Bob Calhoun, Bill Eppinga, Phil Yacap. Timberworks Const.- Jim Burrows, Tim Kesner.

Men’s 60Platinum-Timberworks- Dennis Barrett, Larry Gies, Don Hayashida, Randy Faulkner, George Sylvia.

Men’s 60AAA- North State Screen Print- Phil Dicks, Gerry Filippi, Craig Sweeney, Steve Fox, Bill Mannel. Bay Supporters- Sandy Beall, Kevin Pringle, Ron Ward.Last Call- Steve Oxoby, Ray Moberg.

Men’s 60 AA- Base Hawgs- Ed Arroyo, Don Smith, Ray Smith, Hal Joyce, Bob Hulse. Islanders Gold- Dave Raydon, Bill McMahan, Lou Chavez. Lincoln Hills Coyotes Black- John Gho, JR Jackson.

Men’s 65/70 Platinum- Grumpy Old Men- Bill Davenport, John Hoffman.

Men’s 65AAA- Mustangs- Robert Salinas, Bob Covert, Ron Tatti, Bob Montalvo, John Vanderpool.So. Cal Crush- Bill Hughes,Dennis Nuibe, John Murillo.

Men’s 65AA- Physiomotion 65- Glenn Fitzgerald, Lou Sotello, Kent Grant, John Thompson, Will Chavarria. Sacramento Buds- Bob Riola, John Yoshikawa, Rich Del Chiaro.

Men’s 70 Major- Thousand Oaks Panthers- Ralph Bartlett, Herb Burstein, Mike Jauregui, Bob Rose, Dave Myers. Lincoln Hills Coyotes 70- Gym Mikaelsen, Pete Savoia, John Wible. RWC State Roofing- Carl Maryland, Tim Curtin.

Men’s 70/75 Silver- Calif. Oaks-Herb Epple, Freddie Miller, Elden Manthey, John Dyer, Merv Mill.Triple Play 70- Bill Svoboda, Russ Chandley, John Ventura, John Bass, Gary Nobriga.Sonoma fog- Don Nebiolini, Jay Stanphill.