Mariachi Band Wows Chili Pepper Players

June 1, 2013 – Ross McCulligan

EL PASO, Tex. – The Chili Pepper Classic drew 21 teams from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in mid-April. The tournament nearly doubled in size from last year, after 11 teams had competed in 2012.

Although it was quite windy on the fields, the tournament was a huge success. All teams immensely enjoyed the tournament’s atmosphere as well as the friendly competitive nature on the diamond.

According to Don Brooks, tournament director, one of the highlights of the tournament was actually not at the ball fields at all.

Chase Suites, the tournament’s host hotel, provided a Mariachi band the initial evening of the tournament, which was an absolute hit among the players and families.

One of the players was even overheard stating that he loved the band so much last year, they were one of the main reasons his team decided to enter the tournament again this year.

As far as softball was concerned, the Men’s 50 division was won by San Antonio 50’s.

They showed tremendous offensive skills on their way to the championship by scoring no less than 20 runs in four consecutive wins. They eventually defeated the Spurs, 20-16, for the division title.

The 50/55AA division was decided by a round-robin format rather than the traditional bracket games. With a 4-2 record, El Paso Old School came out on top of the division with second and third places going to Old School Classics and High Mileage, respectively.

Top seeded Rio Grande 55 dominated the Men’s 55/60 division winning three consecutive games by an average of 16 runs. They made quick work of the Tucson Buds with a 19-3, victory in the championship.

The 60/65/75 division was comprised of four teams. The El Paso-Nine Elevens were able to slug their way to the championship by defeating Grant County, 29-17 in the finals.

Jazz dominated the Women’s division with three straight wins for the title. They defeated Las Amigas, Glory Daze and Senior Moments, scoring an average of 17 on their way to victory.