Tournament wrapup

USA Team Captures Japan Championships Title

Jan. 1, 2001 – Senior Softball-USA

FUJINOMIYA, Japan ˆ A team representing the United States swept the All Japan Senior Softball Games to become the first international senior softball champions in history here in November.

Although US teams have played exhibition games around the world for the past 13 years, this was the first competitive international tournament. Twelve Japanese teams, a German team and the USA Legends competed in the 60+ international contest in Fujinomiya Stadium. (Two players 55 and older were permitted to play on each team.)

"This marks the start of true International Senior Softball Tournaments," said Bob Mitchell SSWC president and founder. "We are proud to represent the United States ˆ the birthplace of softball ˆ and are overjoyed with the victory," said Mitchell, who co-managed the team and played first base.

In their firest contest of the Japan Games, the USA Legends beat a Japanese team 8-1 to advance to the semi-finals against the German National team the next day.

That night, in a dinner for the teams, each of the teams was introduced and the USA Legends proved their prowess on stage as well as the field, belting out a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to a standing ovation.

Laughter and applause followed the Higashiyodogawa team, the Japan National Champions, when they announced they were going to beat the Americans the next day. (They were assuming that the USA team would first beat Germany)

The USA Legends didn't disappoint the following morning, defeating the German National team 14-4 to advance to the finals against the defending Japanese National champions, who also won their semi-final game.

The Championship game was tight.

There was no score going into the top of the third inning when the USA Legends scored a single run, then came back in the top of the fifth inning with one more run, eking out a 2-0 lead.

In both the third and fifth inning, a US player was thrown out by a step at home plate to end the inning, keeping the game close ˆ and anxious. In the bottom of the sixth, the Japan team had runners on first and second base and no outs when the USA team took a line drive and turned it into what many spectators thought was a triple play.

US shortstop Leroy Gallardo caught a line drive for the first out and threw to first where the runner was diving back. Mitchell tagged the runner as he was diving back and then threw to Sal Salorenzo who tagged the runner out at second. The umpire called the player returning to first safe, keeping the Japan National team alive, but the next player hit a high fly to end the inning without a score.

The USA team pulled a double play to end the game in the seventh and win the 2nd All Japan Senior Softball Championship 2-0.

Gallardo was named overall MVP for the tournament and third baseman John Chacon was named MVP for the Championship game.

In addition to playing the international competition, the USA Legends played a number of exhibition games in Japan.

The Legends beat the Tokyo team 15-3 in the first game in the domed stadium in Nagahama City, about 60 miles from Osaka. In the first game, Dan Pfister, formerly with the Kansas City Athletics, hit two home runs over the 300-foot fence. After that game, the groundskeepers moved the fences back 25 feet.

In the second game, against the Fujinomiya team, Pfister hit a booming home run that not only cleared the fence, but looked like it would hit the dome. The Legends went on to win impressively, 18-4.

The next softball engagement was at the US Naval Base in Yokosuka, where the USA Legends played a team from the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier that had arrived two days earlier.

The Legends split a doubleheader against a determined Navy team in spite of the 20-year age difference.

Here are the USA Legends team members:

Pete Calabrese (60), St. Petersburg, FL, pitcher, catcher

John Chacon (66) Fremont, CA, third base (assistant manager)

Leroy Gallardo (60), Fremont, CA, shortstop

Paul Herrmann, (65), Sarasota, FL, pitcher, infield

Earl Kornbrekke, (58), Fremont, CA, left field

Tom Morgan, (59), Middlelburg, FL, left center field

Bob Mitchell, (70), Sacramento, CA, first base (manager)

Wendell Mourning, (60), Scottsdale, AZ, right center field

Dan Pfister, (65), Dania, FL, infield

Sal Salorenzo, (64), Venice, FL, second base

Mike Sisavic (61), Portland, OR, right field, catcher

Glenn Tollerene, (67) Houston, TX, outfield, catcher

Tracy Williams, (65), Ventura, CA, pitcher, outfield

Pat Mullin was selected on the team but was unable to go due to illness in the family. Encon Electronics, owned by his wife, Betty, sponsored the USA Legends uniforms.