News story

Reno Sets Record with 125 Teams in 21 Divisions

Sept. 1, 2003 – Senior Softball-USA

RENO ˆ The oldest qualifier in senior softball burst another record in 2003, attracting 125 teams here in June ˆ and putting it on track to become the fourth largest senior tournament in the country.

Based on 2002 numbers, the top tournament is the Senior Softball World Championships, then the SPA North American Championships, and third is the Huntsman Games. The SSWC Reno Qualifier edged ahead of the Senior Softball World Series in number of teams attending.

"The Reno Qualifier is no longer a simple tournament," said Rick Seifman, SSWC executive tournament director, "it has become one of the premier softball events in America."

In its 17th year, the Rock Œn' Reno SSWC National Qualifier, sponsored by Tanel 360 shoes, drew teams from nine states west of the Mississippi River. The winning team in each of the 21 different divisions competing in Reno received a new Miken II bat.

"The competition was sharp and plentiful," said Seifman. "The large number of teams made for big divisions ˆ giving teams a chance to play several different teams in the same skill bracket."

Aches & Pains swept the Women's 50 Gold Division (See story on page 22A), and Mac's Solar Sunsets from California took first in the 50 Silver Division by beating the Bad Catz 13-10. In the 40 Masters Division, MA Clary Construction dominated the competition with 6 victories and a strong California Rebels team beat the Las Vegas Stars in the championships 18-11 to claim the 50 Platinum Division title.

In the 50 Gold Division, scrappy Grimes Trucking of Arizona forced an IF game by defeating Master Collision of Colorado 12-10 in the finals. Grimes continued to roll, beating Master Collision a second time, 28-24, to take the 50 Gold championships.

Fast Trac of Northern California topped the large, 11-team 50 Silver Division. Fast Trac emerged from fourth-seed in the double elimination, beating Kansas City Masters 27-8, then defeating Kansas City WOV 34-25 and finally beating fellow Californians Stixx twice ˆ 15-14 and 29-6 ˆ to take the championships. The 50 Bronze Division was split into two, with Four Seasons of Oregon defeating Doc's Jox of Idaho for the Bronze #1 championship, and Phaze II edging Out of Storage to win the Bronze #2 Championships.

In the top 55 Platinum Division, the perennial strong Old A's dominated the finals, beating Nor Cal Merchants 26-21, then Las Vegas Sting twice, 23-11 and 23-18 to win the championships.

Tharaldson's of Nevada made a gutsy comeback in the 55 Gold Division to beat the Nor Cal Bluejays, a 60 Major-Plus team playing in the 55 Gold Division. Tharaldson's looked like it was on its way to an easy sweep, coming into the double-elimination finals as top seed with a perfect 4-0 record. Tharaldson's started out beating Nightmare Collection Agency of California 19-15, and then beat the Bluejays 22-17 to advance to the finals. But the Bluejays hammered Tharaldson's 24-9 to force an IF game for the championships. Tharaldson's held off a bottom-of-the seventh inning 5-run rally by the Bluejays to hold onto a slim 19-18 margin for the victory.

In the 55 Silver Division, Top Gun II fought it's way out of the double-elimination loser's bracket, with six straight victories to beat the Las Vegas Heat twice, 16-10 and 15-11, and take the championship. And in the 55 Bronze, an underdog that hadn't won any national or regional championships won the tournament of a lifetime. The Silver Streaks of Sacramento dominated the 13-team 55 Bronze Division. The Silver Streaks came into the double elimination as top seed with a perfect 3-0 record and continued their flawless performance, beating O'Healy's of Oregon 26-23, then McU Sports of Idaho 15-12, before polishing off the Thousand Oaks Panthers and Prime Time 15-14 to win the 55 Bronze title.

Not So Young knocked off the Heat to take the 60 Gold #1 Division and Portland Disposal won the 60 Gold #2 Division with a strong performance. Portland Disposal of Oregon came into the single elimination finals with a flawless 4-0 record, before beating the Emerald City 60s of Washington 17-10 and Scrap Iron of Colorado 13-11 in the championship game.

The California Olden Bears marched to the 60 Silver Division championships, losing only one game in round-robin play.

In the 65 Gold #1 Division, the San Francisco Seals beat their perennial competitors Fairway Ford for the championships, while TNT of California turned in an explosive performance to beat Summit Steel 24-23 and win the 65 Gold #2 Division title.

Redwood City State Roofing Royals won the 65 Silver championships, beating Bane, Barham and Holloway of Oregon 35-20 in the final game.

The Scrap Iron 65s of Colorado dominated a huge 14-team 65 Bronze Division. Scrap Iron lost the first finals game to the Arizona Aeros 20-9, and then came back in the championships to win a slugfest with the Aeros 22-17.

California Gold Rush won the top 70 Division championships, beating the Elk Grove Renegades of California 24-11 in the finals, and the Golden Eagles of California took the title in the 70/75 Division.