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Softball tourneys bat home good times |
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007 |
July Men's and August Co-Ed round the bases for slamming summer action
By Dennis Wiley
Special to the Mammoth Times
 Ashley Boyd from team "Wax It" and Jason Griffin from team "Free Agents" took home the tourney's MVP trophies. Boyd, centerfield, rocked the tournament with a .750 batting average; Griffin turned in a whopping .833 batting average that included six home runs.
When Tourism and Recreation puts on a softball tournament, they don't hold anything back, and the Aug. 18-19 Co-Ed event was no exception. Shady Rest park once again was the place to be, as 18 teams from Santa Maria, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., each played at least five games throughout the weekend.
Following the 45 game round robin portion, playoffs began Sunday at noon, with six teams making it to the single elimination round. "Los Amigos" from La Puente beat out "High Risk" from San Dimas 14-3. Victorville's "Free Agents" took out Bishop's "Yeager Concrete" 30-16 and "Wax It" from Minden, Nev., sent their home state compadres "Rampage" back to Las Vegas.
The semi-final game was a nail biter, with "Wax It" throwing out a Los Amigos runner at the plate in the last inning to hang on to a 22-21 squeaker of a win, meaning "Wax It" advanced for the last time to the final against the "Free Agents."
And what a final it was, too, as "Wax It" came up to bat in the last inning, down by four runs, and hammered home those four, sending the game into extra innings. "Free Agents" picked up a run in overtime, but "Wax It" put up two to clinch the championship 20-19.
Ashley Boyd from team "Wax It" and Jason Griffin from team "Free Agents" took home the tourney's MVP trophies. Boyd, centerfield, rocked the tournament with a .750 batting average; Griffin turned in a whopping .833 batting average that included six home runs.
"Smuggled Onions" make off with July Men's tournament trophy
It was a scorcher the weekend of July 21-22, and that's not even factoring in the hot weather, as 14 teams from Southern California to Nevada made the trek to Mammoth Lakes for the 7th Annual Tourism and Recreation Men's Softball Tournament at Shady Rest Park.
The bats were blasting away during the six game, round robin format, with the top four teams ending up in the playoffs.
Fierce competition was the order of the day by the time the two semi-final games took the field. The first featured "Crash and Burn" from Thousand Oaks, Calif., taking on "Give It a Ride" from Victorville, Calif., in what end up as a real barn burner. As the teams went into the final inning, "Crash and Burn," down 14 runs, battled back with 12 runs, ultimately losing to "Give It a Ride" 19-17, but not going down without a fight.
In the other semi-final game, "Smuggled Onions" from Santa Maria, Calif., took on Bishop's "Eastern Sierra Pest Control. The Onions had their hand full, but managed to handle ESPC, eliminating them 18-7 to take on the "Give It a Ride" in the final. The Sunday afternoon championship round made for great softball, with the Onions enduring a rough Ride, but hanging on to clinch a 14-7 win.
James Schooler, Onion's 3rd baseman, took the MVP award. Through eight games, he logged a .875 batting average, going 28 for 32 at the plate, including 10 home runs.
Paul Durham, Ride's pitcher, also earned an MVP honor, hanging his pitches at the 15-foot maximum height and consistently dropping them in for strikes. Batting .724, he also knocked seven home runs out of the park.
A lower division Co-Ed Tournament is slated for Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-2. Thanks to John Connolly and everyone at Tourism and Recreation for their help sponsoring the tourneys for the past seven years.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 September 2007 )
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