Teams Try New Rosters at Winter Nationals

Dec. 1, 2012 – Ross McCulligan

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Winter Nationals officially kicked off the 2013 season here, giving teams a chance to try out their rosters for the new season.

The Winter Nationals, one of the largest senior softball tournaments east of the Mississippi River, attracted 145 teams from 21 states and Canada. Teams played in four complexes throughout Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples.

The November tournament is expanding in popularity with more than two-thirds of teams migrating from outside Florida.

While players enjoyed the large divisions on some of the best fields in the South, the main attraction for most players was escaping the frigid November winter for a few days to enjoy the Sunshine State.

Unfortunately, a storm greeted players on the first day of the tournament forcing seeding games to be washed out at three of the four complexes. The weather began to cooperate on Wednesday, however, and the rest of the tournament went off without a hitch.

Tournament director Jerry Jackson cited “good sportsmanship by all, that overall helped make it a great tournament.”

The Lee County Sports Organizing Committee, Florida ISA and Florida Half Century Club also put forth a great effort to make a tournament of this size possible.

Competition on the fields was intense as usual with Team 1 Sports Softball winning an offensive classic “IF” game 39-38 over AMR 50 #1 to claim the 50 Major Plus division.

Second-seeded Blast defeated Miami Power, 25-17, to claim the 50 Major division.

The 50 AAA division was full of offense. Team Clutch didn’t’ score less than 17 runs in any game on their way to the championship eventually defeating Action Auto Parts, 23-13 for the title.

The 50 AA division was claimed by Grey Geese Softball out of Florida as they beat the Tulsa Hawaiians, 24-16.

The 55 Major Plus division, comprised of two teams, was claimed by Connecticut Sportsplex which won their opener, 25-10, over Hollis Appraisals 55. Hollis Appraisails later forfeited the championship game to Connecticut Sportsplex.

The 55 AAA division was won by the Silver Rays out of Florida as the No. 1 seed. They beat Sneaky Pete Sports 10-1 for the championship.

In a combined bracket, Fat Nancy’s/Gubiotti was awarded the 55 Major championship and Hollis Apprasials 60 won 60 Major Plus championship.

The 60 Major division was comprised of 12 teams with the High Street Bucs out Maryland taking the division 31 to 27 over Memphis Invest/Edge.

In the 60 AAA division, teams faced a 15-team draw. Slug-A-Bug forced an “IF” game against Florida Hitmen but fall 25-17 in the championship. Also in the 60 bracket, Action Auto Parts cruised as the second seed eventually defeating the New York Capitals, 20-19 to claim the AA division.

The 65 Platinum division was won by Rose Enterprises, 27-26 over Florida Thunder. Florida Thunder was awarded the Major championship in the combined bracket.

In the 15-team 65 AAA division, No. 5 seed Spicer Properties slugged their way to a championship. They scored 32 runs against Jersey Masters 25 in a championship “IF” game.

The 65 AA division was won by Anaconda Sports which defeated U.S. Jobs/Indy, 22-13.

The 70 Major Plus division played a true round-robin format for the championship due to a rain out during the seeding round. In the end, Florida Legends/Human Kinetics would prove victorious over Premium Seats USA.

Three teams comprised the 70 Major division. Libby’s out of Wisconsin took the division, 19-14, over the Astros.

The 70 AAA division was captured by Monkey Joe’s Big Nut Co. defeating Hannigton’s of Massachsuettes 18-12 in the championship game. In the 70 AA division, CAM/HVAC emerged as the division winner with a 24-22 win over the Oshkosh Ambassadors.

Joseph Chevrolet ran off two straight wins over the Syracuse Cyclones to win the two-team 75 Major division.

The eighth-seeded Indy Crowns had an excellent tournament winning five games in a row to claim the 75 AAA title over Osprey’s 15-12.

Florida Investment Properties squeaked past Center for Sight, 14 to 9, in a “IF” game for the 80 Major division.

The Women’s divisions combined seeding play and then extended into individual divisions for bracket play. Kryptonite took home the trophy in the 40 division, 19-16, over Lew’s Crew. Sunny Beaches 50 defeated Rockin’ Ribbies, 8-4, in the Women’s 50 division.

Likewise, Sunny Beaches 60 won their respective division, 18-10, over New York Metro Double Play 55’s.

Winter Nationals All Tournament Players 2012

Men’s 50 Maj+- Team 1 Sports- Chris Barganier, Craig Knowles, Lino Alvarez, Richard Bokinsky, Rick Anderson.A.M.R.- Paul Stanley, Bob Woldyk, Greg Copeland, Jake Negray, Kevin Lutz.

Mens’s 50 Maj-Miami Power- Tyrone Hilton, Kevin Gordon, Bernie Gonzalez.DeClaire Insurance- Ted Weingartner, Dale Constable.

Men’s 50AAA- Clutch-Don Lloyd, Brett Porche, Roy Smith, Russell Robinson, Bob Kopperud. Action Auto Parts- Jimmy Rock, Tom DeAngelis, David Anderson.Steve Levin Levin Fin.Pl-Phillip Mauri, David Leon.

Men’s 50AA- Grey Geese-Gary Hatmaker, John Vaughn, Ed Tepper, Bob Thompson, Kelly Goswick.Tulsa Hawaiians- Phil Shaffer, Emil Murano, Frank Klavon.

Men’s 55AAA-Sneaky Pete’s- Mike Russell, Gerry George, Bruce Monteith.Houston Fire- Brian McLeroy.

Men’s 55/60Plat.- Hollis- Dave Motta, Pat McLellan, Bob Davis, John Klein, Eddie Carrington.

Men’s 60Maj- High Street Bucs-Ricky Grimm, Bobby Lehman, Steve Pope, Mike Rohleder, Mike Wingard.Edge Softball/Memphis Invest.-Ronald Ingram, Ben Sheffield, Tarrell Stokes.

Men’s 60AAA- Florida Hitmen 60’s- Dan Martin, Perry Koslowski, Dick Paul, Charles DeTore, Ron Scott.Jersey Masters- Ed Kushner, Tom Straniero.

Men’s 60AA-Action Auto Parts- Jim Dean, Tom Mooney,Wayne Medeiros, Jim Gemma, Steve Aldrich, Tom Purvis.Badger Classics- Dick Paul, Al Jorgenson.

Men’s 65Maj- Rose Ent.- John Klein, Gary Morgan, Tasso Rumelotis, Ken Young, Terry O’Donnell.Florida Thunder- Dave Weber, Dennis Schroeder, Don Lesher, Gary Nicolay, Marvin Swosinski.MN Masters White- Dave Slack, Lud Nordahl.

Men’s 65Platinum- Marian Maitland/Boys of Summer- Gordy Ferguson, Jim Erickson.

Men’s 65AAA-Spicer Properties- Ronald Miller, William Walsh, Linwood Manning, Joe Fry, Jim Presley. Jersey Masters- Karl Eymold, Dick Lillich, Stan Robinson.Doc Marten’s- Wilbur Uhl, Jim Bellinger.

Men’s 65AA- Anaconda Sports- Joe DiFabio, Bill Kloc, Doug Delle Cave, Lou Lussi, Alex Shue.Indiana Legends- Jerry Owens, Dan Londeree.

Men’s 70Maj+- Florida Legends/Human Kinetics- Zeb Carter, Bob Conrad, Roy Hern, Steve Papalas,Ramon Valdes. Premium Seats- Evelio Bacallao, Steve Almes, Bob Fulcher.

Men’s 70Maj- Libbys- Harry Nelezen, Bruce Anderson, Mike Haney, Dee Davis, Jack Simons. Direct Emp.In- Bill Hansel,Don Woods.

Men’s 70AAA- Monkey Joe’s Big Nut- Frank Truitt, Jim Harris, Bob Thomas, Evan Lloyd, Calvin Freedman.Hannington’s of Mass.- Charlie Howe, Art Robichaud, Joe DeFelice. Indianapolis Classics- Bob Marshall,Chuck Federle.

Men’s 70AA- CAM-HVAC-Norman O’Brien, Dexter Patterson, Thomas Dorgan, Fred Cronin, Felix DeCesare. OshKosh Ambassadors- Howard Patz, John Crha, Norm Bock.Collier Classics- Tim Bavis, Bob Nelsen.

Men’s 75Maj- Joseph Chevrolet- Tom Sides, Mel Eubank,Norm Ellis, Hansel Faulkner, Jim Spelbrink.Syracuse Cyclones- Charlie Foote, Doug Hammond, Herb Pfuhl.

Men’s 75AAA- Indy Crowns- Tom Kloenne, Irwin Bollinger, Domenick Fiorda, Jim Wheeler, Jerry Fritz. Ospreys- Tom Ciampoli, Carl Crews, Lloyd Boyer, Al Diaco,Charlie Hofer. Delaware Diamonds- James Warfield, Marvin Kravitz.

Men’s 80Maj- Florida Investment Prop- Al Dewerth, Bernie Miller, Ted Battistone, Ray Bosetti, Warren Watson. Center 4 Sight- David Bush, John Lewis, Jerry Jones.

Women’s 40- Kryptonite- Sara Payne, Rhonda Cline, Colleen Smith, Lisa Thompson, Coleen Dague,Miriam Shields.Lew’s Crew- Alethea Bageant, Kendra Weikel, Kim Adams, Beda King.

Women’s 50- Sunny Beaches- Trish DeLeo, Denise Edwards, Sandy Minor, Marilyn Zimmerman, Mary Manning, ET Ulman. Rockin Ribbies- Paula Lipski, Alma Pietroforte, JoAnn Dunsmore, Janet Clark.

Women’s 55/60- Sunny Beaches- CJ Taylor, Carol Barley, Penny Zielinski, Janice Gagne, Pam Napoletano, Joann Owens. NY Metro’s DoublePlay- Maryann Bubelnik, Arleen King, JoAnn Brown, Barbara Markelz.

For a complete list of results, see www.seniorsoftball.com, click on Tournaments, and click on Winter Natrionals.