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HOUSTON SPORTS HOLDS OFF TEXAS/MIKEN TO WIN MEN'S B STATE TITLE LEAGUE CITY - Houston Sports went undefeated through four games to win first place in the Men's B division of the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. Houston Sports opened the tournament with a 13-6 win over LaCasa/Diesel from Ft. Worth. Their next opponent was the Gamblers from Lake Charles, Louisiana who upset number one-seed All-Out Sports in the opening round. Houston Sports handed the Gamblers an 18-5 loss to advance to the winner's bracket finals, where they knocked off Texas Miken, 16-4. Texas/Miken, who has been playing much better ball since combining with Texas Transco from Tyler mid-way through the season, dropped to the loser's bracket and faced Budweiser/Elite. Texas/Miken and Budweiser/Elite had a barnburner that ended with Texas/Miken claiming a 24-23 win. But Texas/Miken was out of gas for the championship game, which Houston Sports won, 26-9. Texas/Miken, based in Houston, settled for second place with a 3-2 record. Budweiser/Elite finished with a respectable third place finish by scoring wins over Dynamic Sports, LaCasa/Diesel and Rios/Pizzini from Corpus Christi, who finished fourth. The Gamblers and LaCasa/Diesel tied for fifth place, while All-Out and Dynamic Sports tied for seventh. Jorge Escobar of Houston Sports was named MVP of the Men's B division, while Marcus Thornton of Texas/Miken was the Gold Glove winner. Other members of the All-Tournament team were Jeremy Broussard, Scott Marquardt, Jonathan Lenz and Kevin Ballard, of Houston Sports; Kevin Bullington, Steve Hall and Nick Mitschke, of Texas/Miken; Zack Woods and Jeff Januse, of Budweiser/Elite; and George Guevara and Kevin Theiss, or Rios/Pizzini. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRUSH CULMINATES ROLLERCOASTER SEASON WITH MEN'S C STATE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE CITY - The 2008 softball season was a rollercoaster ride for Team Crush from Houston. The opened the year with a top 10 finish at the Snoball Classic in Denison, which is an open home run tournament that featured many Class A players and teams. Crush, which began the year classified as a B team, then suffered through some tough times. After a few player defections, manager Willie Whittington considered shutting the team down. But he was granted a reprieve with a reclassification to Class C and made the best of the second chance. A few high tournament finishes were just a precursor of the season highlight -- winning first place at the Lone Star Shootout Championship Finals. Team Crush posted wins over Tradewerkes, Team SSB, Lackland Warhawks and Team Steel to reach the championship game undefeated. Fighting Cocks/Elite emerged from the loser's bracket and then handed Team Crush their first loss of the tournament, 13-8, to force an "if necessary" game. Team Crush managed to get off the canvass and defeat Fighting Cocks/Elite, 10-7, to capture the crown with a 6-1 record. Fighting Cocks/Elite, also from Houston, settled for second place with a 5-2 record at the State Finals. Mares/AYS gave Houston a sweep of the top three places by finishing third with a 4-2 record. Team Steel from Corpus Christi scored several upset wins to capture fourth place with a 4-2 record. The Lackland Warhawks from San Antonio and UT-Brothers from Houston tied for fifth place, number one-seed Bud Crew from Dickinson and the Brokers from Houston tied for seventh, and Most Hated from Corpus Christi, Whut It Dew from San Marcos, FW Jokers from Ft. Worth and Team SSB from San Antonio tied for ninth. Bryan Rogge of Team Crush was named the MVP of the C division, while Thomas Melvin of the Fighting Cocks/Elite was the Gold Glove winner. The rest of the All-Tournament team included Kody Nail, Jody Higginbotham, Jason Guillory and Allen Sanders, of Team Crush; Jeff Smith, Jonathan Cole and Walter Schomberg, of Fighting Cocks/Elite; Mark Sanchez and Dustin Haas, of Mares/AYS; and Richard Salazar and Mikey Garibay, of Team Steel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WOMEN'S DIVISION BATTLES TO WIRE BEFORE RELOADED CLAIMS LSSO CROWN LEAGUE CITY - Reloaded from Spring and the Lookouts from Deer Park, both suburbs of Houston, waged same epic battles all season long and that trend continued at the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, although the teams took drastically different paths. Reloaded raced to the championship game undefeated by posting consecutive wins over Houston Blaze, Tacos Martinez Unknowns, SUP and MVP/Elite. The Lookouts, on the other hand, lost their first game of the tournament to Who Cares, 14-5. But the Lookouts dropped to the loser's bracket and posted wins over the TNA Outsiders, True Statement, Lady Brokers, SUP, Lady Canes II and MVP/Elite to make it to the championship game. Then, the Lookouts won their seventh game in a row by defeating Reloaded, 7-6, to force an "if necessary" game to see who would win the rings. Reloaded then regrouped to bounce back and score a 16-6 run-rule victory to claim the championship with a 5-1 record. The Lookouts were forced to settle for the runnerup trophy with a 7-2 slate. MVP/Elite, also from Houston, came in third place with a 3-2 record, while the best team from North Texas, Lady Canes II fro Fort Worth, finished fourth with a 3-2 mark. SUP from Houston and the Tacos Martinez Unknowns from San Antonio tied for seventh place, the Lady Brokers from Houston and Fun Bunch from Channelview tied for seventh, and Lady Top Dog from Beaumont, True Statement from Houston, Who Cares from Austin and Lady Undisputed Truth from Beaumont tied for ninth place. Brandi Clark of Reloaded was named MVP of the division, while Mya McRae of the Lookouts was the Gold Glove winner. Other member of the All-Tournament team were Melinda Estrada, Sara Fitzgerald, Angela Cruz and Kelly Blair, of Reloaded; Tasanee Wood, Gina Perez, Sarah Woodruff and Angie Todhunter, of the Lookouts; Melissa Moreno and Robin Shannon, of MVP/Elite; and Tina Green and Kyna McGruder, of Lady Canes II. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTH RISES AGAIN; CLAIMS TOP THREE PLACES IN MEN'S D STATE FINALS MANSFIELD - Verbal sparring between softball players from North Texas and South Texas on the Lone Star Softball Message Board is reminiscent of a Civil War. The North captured early bragging rights by dominating the top places in both men's divisions at the North vs. South Tournament back in February. But the tide turned at the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, as South Teams swept the top three places in the competitive 72-team Men's D division. To add insult to injury for the North, which hosted the event at Big League Dreams in Mansfield, a West Texas team captured fourth place. JJ/Platinum Sports from Houston started the season slow, finishing above .500 in only one of their first five tournaments. But manager John Aldridge's team came on strong late in the year, winning first place at the 52-team Hooters Shootout III and following that up by going 6-0 to win first place at the Bayou City Softball Classic. JJ/Platinum Sports rode that wave of momentum in to the Shootout State Finals and went 7-0 to capture the state championship. JJ/Platinum Sports scored victories over 5 Star from Tyler (7-0), Pinche Balazos from Dallas (15-4), Texas Soldiers from Alice (12-5), Woodpeckers from Galveston (10-2), Natural Disaster from Euless (18-10) to advance to the winner's bracket finals. In a low-scoring defensive struggle, JJ/Platinum Sports snuck past Barely Legal from Round Rock (6-3) to advance to the final. Bash Inc. from Houston emerged from the loser's bracket to make it an All-Houston championship game, and JJ/Platinum Sports captured the championship rings with a thrilling 13-12 victory. Justin Aldridge of JJ/Platinum Sports was named MVP of the division. He was joined on the All-State Tournament team by Chris Martinez, Chris Imwalle, Mike Mendez and John Aldridge, Jr. Other players contributing to the championship effort for JJ/Platinum Sports were Demond Carter, Daniel Castro, Jesse Hanson, Ramiro Cisneros, Kenneth Woodley, Nolan Liscano, Jay Duncan, Thomas Torres, Mike Walsh and Billy Perran. Bash Inc. settled for the state runnerup trophy with an excellent 7-2 record. Jeff Murphy of Bash Inc. was named Gold Glove winner for the division. Other Bash Inc. players named All-State were Ben Dunn, Greg Shivok, Jason Sandoval and Joey Goldstein. The South rounded out their sweep of the top three places, with Barely Legal finishing third with a 5-2 record. Barely Legal players named All-State were Chris Goodman and Ty Jenkins. Longhorn Softball from Midland won their first game of the tournament, before losing in the second round. The West Texas team then rattled off seven consecutive wins in the loser's bracket before finally running out of gas Sunday night against Bash Inc. and settled for fourth place with an 8-2 record. Gilbert Morales and Larry Serano were Longhorn players named All-State. The Mavericks from Longview went 6-2 and Natural Disaster from Euless went 5-2 to tie for fifth place. Mestizo from Odessa went 6-2 and Escobar Body Shop from DeSoto went 4-2 to tie for seventh place. The rest of the top 10 included AIA from Minton, Louisiana (5-2), Dirty Sox from Del Rio (3-2), Woodpeckers from Galveston (3-2) and Sagnasty from Euless (3-2) tied for ninth place. Other top finishers included Texas Fury from Dallas, Full Throttle from Longview, Texas Soldiers from Alice and Aztecas from Dallas tied for 13th place. The eight teams who tied for 17th place, out of 72 teams, were Norman Radiator from Fort Worth, Pinche Balazos from Dallas, Horsemen SBC from Arlington, STX Saints from San Antonio, Rayy Time Sports from Texarkana, Cool Arrows from Baytown, Unique from Harlingen and Cen-Tex Softball Club from Waco. Other players named to the All-State team were Chad Stewart from Natural Disaster, Rudy Rivera from Escobar Body Shop, Robert Strickland from Woodpeckers, Joe Ochoa from Dirty Sox, Doug Rogers from AIA, James Mathers from Texas Fury, Randy Blakely from Horsemen SBC, Mike Guzman from Cool Arrows, Rich Hernandez from STX Saints, Tyson Uhlig from Old School, Andy Sankowski from Norman Radiator, Al Ferreri from Texoma Titans, Tony Sanchez from Pasadena Angels, David Estrada from Bourbon & Blues, Terrin Dane Thrash from SWOK Outlaws, Raymond Davis, Jr. from Aftermath, Darren Dusza from Fierce Ultra, Kyle Merz from Don't Know, Keith Ryno from Showtime, Francisco Moreno from Team Puma, Rich Ricondo from Team Crew, Chad Ellinger from No Limit, Dan Diaz from Mani-AX, Leo Carranza from Down & Dirty, Paully Verver from Terror Squad, Larry Suarez from DC Outlaws, Mike Pagan from Killer Penguins, Keith Buchanan from HTM, Victor Garcia from Texas Connection and Justin Davidson from Crown Royal.
MANSFIELD - Famous Softball from Fort Worth saved their best ball of the season for the tournament that counted most. The crew from Funkytown finished fourth in the Jeff Hall Shootout back in April and did win a couple of tournaments in May; the 15th Annual Yard Dog Devastation and a USSSA E Invitational. They finished second behind the Drillers at the Last Chance Shootout in June. But Famous lived up to their name by going undefeated through six games to win the Shootout State Championship Finals in the Men's E division. Famous posted wins over the Batesville Bandits (15-6), B-N-B from Garland (16-10), Precision Resources from Monroe, Louisiana (13-11) and Did That from Gonzales (15-3) to advance to the winner's bracket finals, where they defeated Southern Attitude from Magnolia, Arkansas (14-7). Southern Attitude dropped to the loser's bracket and knocked off Did That to get another shot at Famous in the championship. But the Fort Worth team came out smoking and posted a 27-15 run-rule victory to claim the crown. Ryan Gonzales of Famous Softball was named the MVP of the division. He was joined on the All-State list by teammates David Ortiz, Wade Roye and Luis Hernandez. Other players contributing to the championship effort for manager Daniel Flores were Maxwell Boe, Andrew Wilkinson, Marcus Tamplen, Seth Robinson, David Jiminez, Andrew Hogan, Art Archuleta, Louis Trevino and Chris Cruz. Southern Attitude, who qualified for the Finals at the Ark-La-Tex Shootout, took the runnerup trophy back to Arkansas with their fine 5-2 record. The Arkansas team averaged 14.4 runs per game in the tournament, which was the most of any team. Joey Newton of Southern Attitude was named the Gold Glove winner and was joined on the All-State squad by Michael Hebert, James Bishop, Chris Cameron and Jeff White. Did That represented South Texas by coming in third place with a 5-2 record and were represented on the All-State team by David Vara and David Molina. Hometown favorite Texas Sawx from Mansfield had their finest Shootout showing of the year by capturing fourth place in the 32-team bracket with a 5-2 record. Texas Sawx players named All-State were Marvin Hazen and Michael Hazen. Urban Assault from Austin (4-2) and Texas Scorpions from Houston (3-2) tied for fifth place; the Brews Brothers from New Braunfels (4-2) and Alliance from Wichita Falls (3-2) tied for seventh place; and North Texas Hype from Grand Prairie (3-2), PH Bulldogs from Fort Worth (3-2), Fullhouse from Euless (3-2), and Precision Resources from Louisiana (2-2) tied for ninth place. Other members of the All-State team in the Men's E division were Martin Gutierrez from the SA Freaks, Eric Franklin from Getcha One, Steve Spradling from Balls Out, Brandon Broom from Diamond Rats, Amado Morales from the Braves, Earnest Gutierrez from Young Guns, Jeffrey Katzenheimer from Blue Devils, Richard Mendoza from No Regret, Gary Ziats from Solis Underpinning, James Drake from Ballz 2Da Wallz, Johnny Rodriguez from the Batesville Bandits, Jerry Martinez from Tejas Softball, Chris Paxton from Straight Up, Louis Caudillo from Godfather Crew, Blake Seed from Drillers, Josh Johnson from Precision Resources, JJ Martinez from PH Bulldogs, Joseph Morris from North Texas Hype, Barry Needle from the Brews Brothers, Derrick Spencer from Urban Assault and Chris Picon from LTX Softball.
MANSFIELD - 2008 has been a feast or famine year for the Conference Cafe co-ed softball team. The team opened the year with four consecutive first place finishes in Texas 250 Tater Tournament, before going 0-2 at the North vs. South Tournament in Waco. The talented team from Euless also won 1st place at the Jeff Hall Shootout and 8th Annual Pepsi Challenge, but they also struggled to a sub-par ninth place finish at the 23rd Annual Budweiser Festival and a 2-2 records at two other Shootout events at BLD Mansfield. But manager John Frederick's team was ready for the competition at the Shootout State Finals and by outscoring their opponents by an average of 18-10 to go undefeated through five games and claim the championship in the Mixed division. Conference Cafe posted wins over the Traders from Athens (27-11), Rated X from San Antonio (15-6), Drive from El Paso (18-13) and Bulldog Roofing from Fort Worth (10-9) to advance to the championship game. Bulldog Roofing defeated Powerhouse (9-2) in the loser's bracket finals to get another shot at their arch-rivals. But Conference Cafe held on for an 18-11 victory to capture the championship rings. Zac Stephens of Conference Cafe was named MVP of the division. Stephens was joined on the All-State squad by teammates Tawna Williams, Steffanye Keating, David Cremeans and Nathan Rodriguez. Other players contributing the the championship finish for Conference Cafe were Sandra Sanchez, Rachael Jackson, Monica Garza, Autumn Petrino, John Woods, Shawn Chastain, Jeremy Chancellor, Danny Cottle and Rome McNary. After an outstanding season, which included championships at the Budweiser Festival, North Texas Shootout and 15th Annual Armadillo Mixed Invitational and SBW Spring Qualifier, Bulldog Roofing settled for the runnerup trophy at the Shootout Finals with a 4-2 record. Jason Chancellor of Bulldog Roofing was named Gold Glove of the division, while teammates Kirk Swaim, Melinda Swaim, Michael Borah and Shelly Puente joined him on the All-State team. Powerhouse from Dallas came in third place with a 5-2 record and placed Stuart Therrian and Tammy Martinez on the All-State team, while the Saytownsports.com Hacks from San Antonio came in fourth place with a 4-2 record and placed Pam Peach and John Rodriguez on the All-State team. Driven from El Paso and PnH Connection from Allen tied for fifth place; Havoc from Euless and Team Pamper from San Antonio tied for seventh place; and Brand X from Round Rock, Team Maniac from San Antonio, Texas One from Wichita Falls and Rated X from San Antonio tied for ninth place. Other players named to the All-State team were Joseph Urbanek from Driven, Eddy Tucker from PnH Connection, Carl Weed from Team Pamper, Aaron Kinney from Havoc, Ernie Gutierrez from Team Maniac, Mac Sandoval from ratex X, Tracy Reyes from Fierce, Justin Kinder from Lock It Up, Jay Jackson from 1840, Jody Shue from Traders and Leslie Edwards from Accent Pools. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEAMS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 'LAST CHANCE' AT SHOOTOUT IN MANSFIELD MANSFIELD - The Drillers from Dallas had played in several Lone Star Shootout Series event earlier this year, with limited success. But the Drillers put it all together at the Last Chance Shootout on June 14-15 at Big League Dreams to go undefeated to win the Men's E Division. The Drillers defeated Texas Storm (19-9), B-N-B (6-4), Famous Softball (16-15), and WTX Gunz (12-3) to advance to the championships game, where they snuck past Famous again (13-12) to capture the title. Charles Elliott of the Drillers was named MVP of the division. Other Drillers named to the All-Tournament teams were J.W. Mastoupil, Lee Sage, Luke Higgins and T.J. Drake. Playing in their first Shootout of the year, Famous captured second place with a 5-2 record. Ryan Gonzales of Famous was named Gold Glove, while teammates Art Archuleta, David Jiminez and Louis Trevino joined him in making All-Tournament. WTX Gunz traveled in from Odessa for the event and made it to the championship game undefeated, before losing back-to-back games to settle for third place. Their players on the All-Tournament team were Arthur McGuire, Ruben Rodriguez and Rick Hernandez. B-N-B was also playing in their first Shootout of the season and captured fourth place with a 4-2 record. B-N-Bplayer named All-Tournament were Jimmy Wacket and Shane Spriggs. Texas Gators and Getcha One tied for fifth place. Each of the top 5 finishers qualified for the Men's E Division of the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, to be held July 5-6 at BLD Mansfield. The highest division offered at the Last Chance Shootout was Men's B/C and Escobar/Elite from DeSoto averaged 19.0 runs per game to go undefeated in winning first place. Escobar/Elite defeated Texas Drillers (31-7), Fury (26-11) and Athletic Warehouse (10-9) to get to the championship game, where they knocked off Diesel (9-6) to win it all. Mark James of Escobar was named MVP of the division. Other Escobar/Elite players named to the All-Tournament team were Mark Blair, David Cremeans, Tony Boop and Shawn Kincaid. Diesel from Ft. Worth cam in second place with a 4-2 record. Loy Rodriguez of Diesel was named Gold Glove, while teammates Raul Cardenas, Churon Thomas and Jason Hastings joined him in making All-Tournament. Athletic Warehouse from Dallas made it to the winner's bracket finals before losing back-to-back games to settle for an impressive third place finish. Trevor Packer, Brad McLaine and Andrew Nardelli from Athletic Warehouse each made the All-Tournament team. Fury made the long trip from Lubbock for the tournament and turned in a fine fourth place showing. Fury scored impressive wins over Texas Ice, Budweiser/Elite and Sierra Fine Custom Homes along the way. Fury players named All-Tournament were Maurice Martinez and Chuck Ewing. Budweiser/Elite from College Station and Sierra Fine Custom Homes from Dallas, tied for fifth place. Since three of the top five finishers already had their berths, seventh place finishers Oklahoma Crush and TJB/Worth joined the top five in earning berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. The Texoma Titans from Durant, Oklahoma have played most of the 2008 season as a C team with limited success. The team recently appealed to the Oklahoma USSSA State Director to drop to D and were approved. In their first tournament as a D team, the Texoma Titans went undefeated through six games to win the Men's D Division of the Last Chance Shootout. The Texoma Titans defeated Topps (12-10), Modern Taxidermy (9-3), Absolut Softball (11-7), Escobar Body Shop (11-10) and Sagnasty (11-5) to get to the championship game, where they knocked off Sagnasty again (18-3) to claim the title. Brad Northcott of the Texoma Titans was named MVP of the division. Other Titans named to the All-Tournament team were Matt Gurley, Dan Arterberry, Ray Gurley, Jr. and Stuart Love. Sagnasty from Ft. Worth posted a 5-2 record to finish with the runnerup trophy. Kyle Hatcher of Sagnasty was named the Gold Glove winner and he was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Sagnasty players Mark Daiker, Jason Allen and Scotty Donothan. Both of Danny Escobar's team made fine showings in the tournament. In addition to Escobar/Elite winning the Men's B/C division, Escobar Body Shop went 7-2 to capture third place out of 35 teams in the Men's D division. Ben Holt, Levi Lynch and Will Knight were EBS players named to the All-Tournament team. Absolut Softball made the trip from Oklahoma City for the Last Chance Shootout, and posted a 5-2 record to finish in fourth place and qualify for the Championship Finals. Tommy Jordan and Tony Gomez of Absolut were named to the All-Tournament team. Norman Radiator from Ft. Worth and 5 Star from Tyler tied for fifth place in the division; Pinche Balazos and the Color Station Bandits, both from Dallas, tied for seventh place; and Black Jack from Midland, Old Skool from Ft. Worth, Dirt Monkeys from Houston and Bad Intentions from Conroe all tied for ninth. Each of the top nine finishers qualified for the Shootout Finals. Bulldog Roofing has been the most dominant Mixed team in Texas during the season. But it was unheralded Texas Dynamite from Arlington that surprised the field by going undefeated to win first palce at the Last Chance Shootout. Texas Dynamite opened the tournament with an upset win over Conference Cafe (10-7), then snuck past Aftershock (18-17), before blasting Bulldog Roofing (14-4) to get to the championship game. To prove the first win was no fluke, Texas Dynamite defeated Bulldog Roofing again (21-12) to take the title. L.C. Watson of Texas Dynamite was named MVP of the Mixed division, while teammates Ashley Fabian, Michael hague, Kyle Wagner and Dawn Murray were also named All-Tournament. Bulldog Roofing settled for second place this time and will be chomping at the bit for redemption at the State Finals. Melinda Swaim of Bulldog Roofing was the Gold Glove winner at the Last Chance Shootout. Other Bulldog Roofing players named All-Tournament were Jason Chancellor, Jared Ridge and Jamie Reitman. Driven, which is no based out of El Paso, had their usual steady performance in capturing third place with a 4-2 record. Driven players named All-Tournament were Jennifer Brown, Jimmy Hooper and Robert Avalas. Fourth placed went to LPG from Oklahoma, and they placed Josh Bradford and Gerald Coker on the All-Tournament team. Conference Cafe from Euless and Aftershock from Oklahoma tied for fifth place, and joined the top four finishers in earning berths to the Shootout Finals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUD CREW CELEBRATES RETURN OF COACH WITH CHAMPIONSHIP AT HOOTERS III LEAGUE CITY - Bud Crew from Dickinson has been the most consistent Men's C team in the state this year. Their coach and sponsor, Dago Mendoza, was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in late April. Mendoza returned to the dugout for the Hooters Shootout III on May 31-June 1 at Big League Dreams and the team celebrated his return by winning first place. Bud Crew defeated the Joysticks, Olmito Heat, Fighting Cocks and All-Out Sports to reach the championship game of the Men's B/C Division undefeated. In the finals, Bud Crew met their arch-rival, Mares/AYS, and Dago's bunch held on for the title. The championship and bonus points give Bud Crew a commanding lead in the season points race for Men's C with 120. Charlie Rodriguez of Bud Crew was named MVP of the division. Other Bud Crew players named to the All-Tournament team were Gary Schultz, Rick Cantu, Nick Mitschke and Ivan Dehoyos. Mares/AYS, which has won their fair share of championships this year and is almost always near the top of the standings, settled for the second place trophy this time with a 4-2 record. All-Out Sports was the only B team entered in the tournament, and their third place finish moved them past DaBomb to the top of the point standings for the season in Men's B. All-Out players named to the All-Tournament team were Gil Carbajal, Troy Henson and Matt Pavlich. The Fighting Cocks/Elite came in fourth place and were represented on the All-Tournament team by Kris Barras and Israel Rodarte. The Houston Jokers and Olmito Heat from the Rio Grande Valley tied for fifth place, while the BTX Outsiders from Beaumont and Lufkin Tornadoes tied for seventh. While the Men's D bracket was stacked with 52 teams from across Texas, many of them state-ranked, there were some virtual unknowns hanging around at the end. First place went to Platinum Sports, who began the season as Houston Sports II, then changed to JJ Sports and finally Platinum Sports. The Katy-based team had previously played in three Lone Star Shootouts, but didn't place near the top in any of them. But Platinum Sports posted consecutive wins over 2Fast 2Furious (13-2), Swamp Room (17-12), DS 59 (16-2), Don't Know (13-11), Chopstix (11-5) and DC Outlaws to get to the championship game, where they defeated Barely Legal (8-6) to surprisingly win the title. John Aldridge of Platinum Sports was named MVP of the division. Other Platinum Sports players named to the All-Tournament team were Justin Aldridge, Nolan Liscano, Chris Martinez and Tomas Torres. Barely Legal from Round Rock was one of many well-known teams heading into the tournament. Fresh off a first place finish at the Crawfish, they won their first two games, before losing to Budfest D champion Chopstix (11-9). But Barely Legal bounced back with wins over T-Baggers, Don't Know, Hard-n-Early, Chopstix and DC Outlaws, before running out of gas against JJ Sports and settling for second place with a 7-2 record. Ty Jenkins of Barely Legal was named the Gold Glove winner and was joined on the All-Tournament team by BL teammates Marcus Escalante, James Hamilton and Zack Marlow. The DC Outlaws from Houston is another team that had played in three Shootouts in '08 with little-to-no success. But the scrappy bunch posted impressive wins over Aftermath, Bash Inc., Salty Dawgs and Hard-n-Early to reach the finals of the winner's bracket, before losing two straight to settle for third place. All-Tournament players from the DC Outlaws were Brian Hines, Jason White and David Delgado. Chopstix were a virtually-unheard-of team until coming to the Budweiser Festival and going 8-0 to win first place in the gigantic 128-team bracket. The college boys from Huntsville proved that was no fluke as they represented again by placing fourth in this loaded bracket with a 5-2 record. Their All-Tournament players were Joe Lievas and Robbie Yanowski. Aftermath and Hard-n-Early, a pair of steady-but-not-spectacular Houston teams, gave steady performances to tied for fifth place ahead of many much-more-heralded teams. Don't Know, another unheralded team from Bryan, tied with the highly-ranked Salty Dawgs from San Antonio for seventh place. Just to give an idea of how loaded the bracket was, other teams in the field in addition to those finishing in the top eight, were number-one-ranked LF Classics from Houston; Budfest third place finisher Guess Who from Spring; Hooters Shootout I champion Swamp Room from New Orleans; Budweiser Warmup champion Take Over from College Station; three other strong teams from Louisiana (Who Dat, No Doubt, Twisted); two tough teams from the Rio Grande Valley (For Sale and Dirty Habit); Los Lobos from Ft. Worth; and Greater Houston powerhouses such as Bash Inc., Line Drive, Bad Influence, Pasadena Angels, Pasadena Slackers, PTX Touch Em All, B-Town, Dainger, Woodpeckers, T-Baggers, Cool Arrows, Brewskies, D&D Moving and Killer Penguins. The Women's Division also had one of the best turnouts of the season with 12 teams, and all of them were Class D which made for a competitive bracket. After receiving a bye, MVP/Elite from Houston won their first two games to advance to the winner's bracket finals, before losing to True Statement (11-4). MVP/Elite dropped to the loser's bracket and knocked off the Snipers, then proceeded to double-dip True Statement by scores of 6-2 and a whopping 25-4 to capture the championship. Jamie Jensen of MVP/Elite was named MVP of the division and she was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Heather Miller, Angel Turney, Robin Shannon and Kerry Cernoch. After winning their first three games, True Statement from Houston was forced to settle for second place which is still a fine finish. The Snipers from Santa Fe won their first game, before losing to Mas-y-Mas Devastation. But manager Diana Holub's squad bounced back to win four straight games in the loser's bracket to capture third place. Snipers named to the All-Tournament team were Tiffany Trahan, Leslie Pierce and Anabell Pinedo. TCF from Spring also used a nice run in the loser's bracket to earn a fourth place finish. TCF players named to the All-Tournament team were Becky Martinez and Amanda Trailer. High Frequency from Houston and Mas-y-Mas Devastation from Navasota tied for fifth place, while JFF from Humble and FB from Galena Park tied for seventh. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SALTY DAWGS WIN SECOND SHOOTOUT TITLE OF SEASON AT MEMORIAL DAY EVENT SAN ANTONIO - The Salty Dawgs have been fixtures at the 2008 Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series as the Bud Light Memorial Day Shootout, held on May 24-25 at Time Warner Park, marked the eighth qualifier of the season for the scrappy D team from San Antonio. The Salty Dawgs have played in all three tournaments in San Antonio, three at Big League Dreams in League City, one in Austin and of course the Budweiser Festival in Bryan-College Station. Consistency in all eight events, plus lots of bonus points for participation, have racked up 76 points for the Salty Dawgs to give them a big lead in the race for the season points championship which would earn them a team set of pants from Rover Plus Nine. At the Bud Light Memorial Day Shootout, the Salty Dawgs started out with victories over Hellrazors (16-1), Platinum Sports (12-5) and STX Saints (20-5), before losing to the Aztecas (22-16) in the semi-finals of the winner's bracket. After dropping to the loser's bracket, the Salty Dawgs knnocked off the Mani-AX (15-4), STX Saints (14-10) and the Aztecas in a rematch (17-5) to make it to the championship game, where they double-dipped Unique to win the championship with an 8-1 record. It marked the second Shootout championship of the year for the Salty Dawgs, with the first one being the Capital City Shootout in Austin back in March. Jason Oliva of Salty Dawgs was the MVP of the division, while teammate Josh Hernandez was the Gold Glove winner. Other Salty Dawgs named to the All-Tournament team were James Hamilton, John Ruebsahn, Brian Wagner and Luke LeGrand. Unique made the trip up from San Benito in the Rio Grande Valley and finished second with a 4-2 record, matching their runnerup finish at the huge Budweiser Festival. All-Tournament players from Unique were Sal Quiroz, Jr., Lou DeLosSantos and Bobby Almaraz. The Aztecas traveled in from Dallas for the Memorial Day event and took home third place. Aztecas named to the All-Tournament team were Jason Borroel, Lee Morales and Jacob Borroel. The STX Saints from San Antonio came in fourth place and were represented on the All-Tournament team by Brian Tharpe and Nando Cervera. The Mani-AX from McAllen and Injured Reserve from San Antonio tied for fifth place, while Buzz from Harlingen and Don't Panic from San Antonio tied for seventh place. Since the top three finishers already had their berths, each of the top seven finishers received berths to the Lone Star Shootout Championship Finals. In the Men's B/C Division, Team SSB from San Antonio went undefeated through four games to claim the championship. Teaam SSB defeated Team Steel (17-11), Coors Light Wizards (19-13) and All-Out Sports (29-20) to advance to the championship game, where they beat All-Out again to take the title. Matt Wyatt of Team SSB was named MVP of the division. Other SSB players named to the All-Tournament team were Trey Roberts, Chris Ricondo, Joe Antu and Will O'Neal. All-Out Sports from Houston came in second place with a 3-2 record. Matt Kainer from All-Out was named the Gold Glove winner, while Chris Guymon, Conway Waddy and Bubba Blake were named All-Tournament. The DPS/FNS Choppers finished third, the Fort Worth Jokers came in fourth, and Sandoval Trucking and the Coors Light Wizards tied for fifth place. L.C. Watson and Victor Guadelupe from the FW Jokers were others named to the All-Tournament team. The Men's E Division was the largest of the tournament, and B&N Blast from San Antonio made their Shootout season debut a memorable one by going undefeated through six games to take the title. B&N Blast defeated the Untouchables (12-2), Masters (25-6), Young Guns (18-3), A&A Energy (10-4), SA Freaks (16-7) and No Regret (15-6) to get to the championship game, where the defeated the Brews Brothers (25-9) to win the crown. Mark Garcia of B&N Blast was named MVP of the division, while teammates Rene Garza, Leo Gomez, Kenneth Williams and Mahro Gonzales were named All-Tournament. The Brews Brothers from New Braunfels posted an impressive record 8-2 in the tournament to capture second place. Oscar Barrero of the Brews Brothers was the Gold Glove winner, while All-Tournament selections from their team were Rodney Goings, Ronnie Arredondo and Russell Hansmann. No Regret from San Antonio won their first four games to advance to the finals of the winner's bracket, before losing back-to-back games to settle for third place. No Regret players named All-Tournament were Billy Musquiz, Roy Cruz and George Vesia. Texas Jam from San Antonio went 4-2 to come in fourth place and was represented on the All-Tournament team by Danny Olivarez and Albert Olivarez. The Batesville Bandits and SA Freaks tied for fifth place, while Solis Underpinning from Round Rock and Wolfpac from San Antonio tied for seventh. Each of the top seven finishers qualified for the Lone Star Shootout Championship Finals. The Villafranca Sun Devils from Austin proved to be the best team in the 20-team Co-ed Division by winning first place. The Sun Devils defeated The Other Team (13-1), Charlie Brown's (24-4), Choppers (15-5) and Don't Know (7-0) to advance to the championship game, while they defeated Whut It Dew to win the title. Bryan Van Vlerah of the Sun Devils was named MVP, while teammates Matt Driscoll, Eric Luna, Kristi Luna and Donna Vandergriff joined him on the All-Tournament team. Whut It Dew from San Marcos came in second place with a 6-2 record. Marilyn Juarez of Whut It Dew was named the Gold Glove winner, while Simone Calzoncit and Luke Evans joined her on the All-Tournament team. Don't Know from San Antonio came in third place and put Tracy Bourgere, Jessica Sanchez and Maxine Martinez on the All-Tournament team. Tacos Martinez Longhorns finished fourth and placed Santa Castro and Nunu Cervantes on the All-Tournament team. The Choppers and What Happened from Austin tied for fifth place, while That's Them and 1840, both from San Antonio, tied for seventh. In the Women's Division, what the tournament lacked in quantity was made up in quality. The five teams played two pool games apiece, which seeded them into a double-elimination bracket. The Unknowns from San Antonio was the only team to win both pool games to earn the number-one seed. The Unknowns then advanced to the winner's bracket finals of the double-elimination bracket, before being knocked off by Who Cares from Austin (11-10). The Unknowns dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated Crush to advance to the championship game, but lost to Who Cares again as the Austin ladies took home the championship trophy. The Unknowns settled for second place, Crush from Austin came in third, and the Lady Bluejays were fourth. The MVP of the division was Alissa Villegas of Who Cares. Other players from Who Cares named to the All-Tournament team were Nina Trevino, Krystle Miller, Yolanda Castro and Jessica Gonzales. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOWAT, LADY CANES II FARE BETTER SECOND TIME AROUND AT BLD MANSFIELD MANSFIELD - Big League Dreams in Mansfield can be an intimidating place to play. When some teams enter the gigantic facility located between Dallas and Fort Worth for the first time, the towering outfield walls, impeccable playing fields and other fine features can easily divert a person's attention. A couple of teams who struggled in their first visit to BLD Mansfield earlier this year were better prepared on their second visit and wound up capturing championships at the North Texas Shootout, held the weekend of May 17-18. In their first trip to BLD Mansfield, LoWat went 0-2 back in March. But the team that is registered out of Wichita Falls and has players from both North Texas and Oklahoma had a much better showing this time. LoWat went undefeated through five game to claim the championship of the Men's C Division. LoWat posted wins over the FW Jokers (17-15), SRS/Broncos (15-9), Escobar/Elite (16-12) and Overrated (21-6) to advance to the championship game where they defeated Overrated again (14-13) to take the title. Theron Housemann over LoWat was named MVP of the division. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Michael Whitfill, Brandon Goodwin and Rusty Harris. Overrated made the trip to Mansfield from Oklahoma City and captured the runnerup trophy by posting wins over the Bud Smurfs, Coors and Escobar. Jimmy Wilson of Overrated was named Gold Glove of the division. Other Overrate players named All-Tournament were Craig McCarthy, Tim Sprague and Joe Townley. Third place in the division went to Escobar/Elite and their players named All-Tournament were Shawn Kincaid, Mark Blair and Joey Urbanek. Coors from Ft. Worth finished fourth in their 2008 Shootout debut, while the SRS/Broncos and Bud Smurfs tied for fifth place. All of the top 5 finishes qualified for the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. In the Men's D Division, Bourbon & Blues traveled in from West Texas and went undefeated through five claim to capture first place. The team from Lubbock defeated the JC Ballers (6-5), Down & Dirty (14-13), Mavericks (7-6) and Aztecas (21-15) to get to the championship game, where they defeated the Aztecas again (14-8). Louis Cazarez was named MVP of the division, while B&B teammates Larry Adams, Clint Yocom, Tony Ortiz and Eric Von Berg joined him on the All-Tournament team. The Aztecas from Dallas settled for second place with a 4-2 record. Henry Hernandez of the Aztecas was named Gold Glove of the division and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Lee Morales, Luciano Castaneda and Angel Castillo. The Mavericks from Longview came in third place and were represented on the All-Tournament team by Kerry Williamson, Chris Hughes and Kris Walker. Texas Fury from Dallas went 5-2 to come in fourth place. Their players on the All-Tournament team were Johnny Reyes and John Baker. The Texas Kings from Dallas and 5 Star from Tyler tied for fifth place, while Down & Dirty from Irving and Freak Nasty from Mansfield tied for seventh place. Each of the top seven teams qualified for the Shootout Championships, to be held July 5-6. The PH Bulldogs won the Jeff Hall Shootout at BLD Mansfield back in April the hard way -- they lost their very first game then came all the way back through the loser's bracket. This time, the Ft. Worth team took an easier path -- going undefeated through five games. The PH Bulldogs defeated Bad Company (17-2), the Drillers (10-7), Dallas Ambush (14-8) and the Braves (15-1) to get to the championship games, where they knocked off The Executioners (10-5) to take the title. Robert Bravo was named MVP of the division. Other PH Bulldogs named to the All-Tournament team were Eric Riojas, Carlos Franco, Tim Martinez and Ernest Flores. The Executioners were awarded an opening round victory by forfeit, then lost by run-rule in the first game they played against the Godfather Crew (11-1). But the Dallas team bounced back in the loser's bracket to defeat the Avengers (18-2), Diamond Kings (17-2), Dallas Ambush (14-4), Drillers (19-9) and Braves (7-5) to make it all the way to the championship game, where they ran out of gas against the PH Bulldogs. Tony Roberts of the Executioners was named Gold Glove of the division and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Executioner teammates Mike Jones, Chuck Bell and Butch Ward. The Braves fro Plainview were making their third Shootout appearance of the season and had by far their best showing by capturing third place. Braves named to the All-Tournament team were Ronnie Ramirez, Mark Puente and Ismael Salazar. Fourth place went to the Drillers from Dallas and their All-Tournament players were Chuck Elliott and Blane Rogers. Dallas Ambush and Godfather Crew tied for fifth place, while the Diamond Kings from West Texas and Hat Trick tied for seventh. Since the PH Bulldogs and Drillers already had their berths, each of the top seven finishers qualified for the Shootout State Finals. Like LoWat from the Men's C Division, the Lady Canes II from Ft. Worth struggled in their first Shootout appearance of the season back in March. But this time the Lady Canes II proved to be the best in the field by winning first place i the Women's Division. The Ft. Worth ladies defeated All That Matters (20-4), Quiet Storm (16-11) and their arch-rivals Team Dallas (11-6) to advance to the championship game. After losing their first game of the tournament, Adrenaline rallied all the way back through the loser's bracket to reach the championship game. Adrenaline even beat the Lady Canes II once (8-6) to force an "if" game, which the Lady Canes II won (15-4). Elisha Williams of the Lady Canes II was named MVP of the division and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Aeshia Waites, Anita Cox, Kim Warren and Zenna Smith. Adrenaline settled for second place with a 5-2 record. Heather Anderson of Adrenaline was named the Gold Glove winner, while other Adrenaline players named All-Tournament were Mindi Ramon, Autumn Petrino and Shannon Stewart. Team Dallas, who won first place at the Grand Opening Shootout at BLD Mansfield back in March, settled for third place this time. Team Dallas players named All-Tournament were Sophia Flemings, Angela Smith and Tracy Gulley. All That Matters from Dallas rallied from a first round loss to capture fourth place. Their All-Tournament players were Ashley Price and Tammy Gilbert. Finally, Bulldog Roofing proved they are the toughest Mixed team in Texas by winning first place yet again. Two weeks after run-ruling all seven opponents at the Budweiser Festival, Bulldog Roofing went undefeated again. The Ft. Worth squad defeated Bourbon & Babes (19-11), Driven (13-12) and Conference Cafe (14-4) to get to the championship game, where they defeated Drive again (16-9). Blake Doolan of Bulldog Roofing was named MVP of the division and was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Bulldog Roofing players Jaimie Reitman, Shelly Puente, Michael Borah and Joey Gillaspy. Driven from Dallas came i second palce with a 5-2 record. Angie Castillo of Driven was the Gold Glove winner, while Luke Evans, Jimmy Hooper and Jack Black were named to the All-Tournament team. Conference Cafe from Euless came in third place and was represented o the All-Tournament team by Tawana Williams, Monica Garza and John Woods. Fourth place went to Smack That from Dallas and their All-Tournament players were Jose Sosa and Tonya Walker. Texas One from Wichita Falls and Oklahoma Fuel from Oklahoma City tied for fifth place, while Lock It Up from Dallas and Bourbon & Babes from Lubbock tied for seventh. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BUDWEISER FESTIVAL LIVES UP TO BILLING AS 'TOP TOURNAMENT IN TEXAS' BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION - Everything is bigger in Texas, and when it comes to softball tournaments in the Lone Star State nothing tops the annual Budweiser Softball Festival. The 23rd Annual version of the popular gathering of top teams from across the state was held May 2-4 at five complexes throughout Bryan-College Station and attracted a record 254 teams. While inclement weather has been a problem for the Budfest occasionally in the past, this year sunny skies and pleasant temperatures were abundant throughout the weekend. Festivities got underway Friday night with the Home Run Derby. A capacity crowd filled the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex to watch contestants battle in a head-to-head bracketed format on two fields. DJ Pete Criaco played tunes and Shotgun Rex grilled brisket, shrimp, crawfish and wild hog to the delight of the crowd. After a couple of hours of long bombs sailing deep into the night, the field of 64 was whittled down to the final four. On Big Bend Field, Budweiser/Elite teammates Jeff Hughes and Kevin Ballard faced off with Hughes winning the battle. On Yellowstone Field, A.D. Cottle of the Silver Eagle Sluggers and 52-year-old John Roach of the Coors Light Wizards were the finals, with Cottle winning. Then, Hughes and Cottle squared off for the $1,000 first prize and the hometown favorite Hughes captured the crown. The other highlight of Friday night was a special guest appearance by Pee Wee-Too, who does incredible impersonations of film and TV star Pee Wee Herrman. Pee Wee-Too danced, performed, posed for pictures and chatted with fans throughout the night. Action got underway bright and early Saturday morning on 17 fields at five complexes and continued virtually around-the-clock through the championship games Sunday night. Highlights from the tournament will be televised nationwide on a future episode of the program "Softball 360" which is produced by the World Softball League. For a list of show times in your area, visit the Internet at www.softball360.com In the Men's A/B Division at Veterans Park, defending champion Da Bomb from Houston went undefeated to capture the championship for the second straight year. In addition to winning berths to the ASA Men's B West National Championships in San Antonio and World Softball League North American Championships in Florida, Da Bomb also won a $2,000 voucher to spend at the ASA/Hooters Men's Class A National Championships in Oklahoma City, as the Budfest was one of eight tournaments nationally to be selected as part of the new ASA 2K Series. Marcello Gonzales of Da Bomb was named Most Valuable Player of the division, while teammate Doug Terry was the Gold Glove winner. Other players from Da Bomb named to the All-Tournament team were Troy Hinson, Steve Graves, Jerry Mahan, Kenny Hutchison, Robby Clarkson and Timmy McClendon. After winning back-to-back ASA Class C State Championships, Budweiser/Elite was moved to Class B for 2008 and had been havig a mediocre season at best. But playing in front of their home crowd, the inspired Bud Men had their best tournament of the year with a second place finish at 4-2. Budweiser/Elite players named to the All-Tournament team were Kevin Ballard, Carl Randle, Travis Welch, Adam Jatzlau and Kevin Johnson. South Texas powerhouse Rios/Pizzini from Corpus Christi made their season debut as a team at Budfest and finished third with a 3-2 record, which included wins over Houston Sports, the DPS Choppers and ATX/Pirates. Rios/Pizzini players named to the All-Tournament team were Pauley Maldonado and Cesar Garza. ATX Express from Austin was the runnerup at the 2007 Budfest, but had been struggling in '08. So manager Q.T. Hicks combined forces with the Pirate Family from Fort Worth, and the new ATX/Pirates were impressive in taking fourth place at 3-2. ATX/Pirates scored impressive wins over Dynamic Sports, Abbey/Corbell Spurs and Houston Sports along the way. ATX/Pirates players named to the All-Tournament team were John Hill and Maxie James. The DPS Choppers from Central Texas and Houston Sports tied for 5th place in the division, while Dynamic Sports from Houston and the Abbey/Corbell Spurs from Austin tied for 7th place. In the Men's C Division, there were teams entered from all corners of Texas, and even one from Arkansas, but when the dust settled Sunday night, the two teams left standing were a pair of Houston rivals who have taken turns beating each other all season. Mares/AYS from Houston and Bud Crew from the Houston suburb of Dickinson met in the winner's bracket finals, with Mares/AYS taking the "King Seat" game. Bud Crew, who was playing the tournament in dedication to their coach/sponsor Dago Mendoza who was severely injured a motorcycle accident earlier in the week, dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated Thunder to advance to the championship game. Bud Crew then run-ruled Mares/AYS to set up a winner-take-all "if necessary" game. But manager George Tanguma's Mares/AYS squad rallied to win the final game to take the title with 6-1 record. With the victory, Mares/AYS earned a trip to he ASA C West Nationals to be played on the same Veterans Park field in College Station, as well as the WSL North American Championships in Panama City Beach, Florida. George Escobar of Mares/AYS was named MVP of the division, while teammate Pat Guajardo was named the Gold Glove winner. Other Mares/AYS players named to the All-Tournament team were Jason Juarez, Kip Todhunter, Lalo Lerma, Mark Sanchez, Sergio Martinez and Floyd Mendoza. Bud Crew settled for second place with a 5-2 record. Bud Crew players named to the All-Tournament team were Willie Rocha, Gary Schulz, Phillip Jones, Fabian Dehoyes and Guero Villarreal. Thunder from Houston had been having a sub-par year, by their lofty standards, in the early part of 2008. But manager Curtis Day rallied his troops to an impressive third place showing at Budfest with a 5-2 record. Thunder players named All-Tournament were Keith Palmer and J.D. Chandler. Fourth place in the C Division went to the old Lufkin Texans, who got back together to play in Budfest for their first tournament of the year and finished with a solid 4-2 record. Texans named to the All-Tournament team were Chris Weiblinger and Casey Bowers. Team SSB from San Antonio lost their first game of the tournament, then rallied to win six games in a row in the loser's bracket before finally running out of gas to finish with a 6-2 record, which tied them for 5th place with Whut It Dew from San Marcos who went 4-2. The Brokers from Houston and Slapaho from Dickinson each went 5-2 to tie for 7th place, while the rest of the Top 10 included Sandoval Trucking from San Benito, BTX Outsiders from Beaumont, Coors Light Wizards from San Antonio and Lackland Warhawks also from San Antonio all tied for 9th place. Men's Class D was the biggest division of the tournament with a whopping 128 teams, and it also supplied the biggest surprise of the weekend. With all of the top Men's D teams from Texas in the field, the Chopstix, a virtually unheard of, intramural team from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville went 8-0 to capture the championship. The Chopstix sent notice early on, when they defeated a pretty darn good Super Chango team 22-0 in their first game. The scrappy squad then went on to defeat Cool Arrows (14-9), DPS Rebels (10-8), Essex (15-5), Texas Fury (16-10), Guess Who (9-8) and Unique (13-7) to advance to the championship game. The Chopstix met Unique again for the title and came away with an exciting 16-15 win in a game that ended at about midnight Sunday night at BRAC. With the victory, the Chopstix earned berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, ASA Class D West Nationals in Columbus, Georgia and the WSL North American Championships in Florida. Preston Prado of the Chopstix was named MVP of the division, while Chopstix pitcher Mark Zaruba was the Gold Glove winner. Coy Schneider and Phillip Williams were other players from the Chopstix named to the All-Tournament team. Unique made the long trip from Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley and played their finest tournament of the season to take second place with a 7-2 record. Players from manager Martin Ordaz's squad named to the All-Tournament team were Josh Trevino, Matt Molina, Carlos Alaniz and Sal Quiroz. Guess Who from Spring was playing their first tournament since dropping from Class C back down to Class D and posted a 7-2 record to finish in third place. Guess Who players named to the All-Tournament team were Joey Ficarra, Jeremy Collins and Hito Bazan. Texas Fury is the top D team in the D-FW Metroplex and, despite being more familiar with USSSA pitching and rules, proved they could hang with the best ASA has to offer by finishing in fourth place with a 7-2 record. Texas Fury players named to the All-Tournament team were Corey Johnson and Harvey Bass. The geezers from Old School in Houston had the honor of playing the most games of any team in the tournament. After winning their first game over 64 Bulls (17-4), Old School lost to the Donkey Punchers (16-6). Then, Old School dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated Hydra Logistics (15-12) at 2 a.m., D&D Moving (20-19) at 4 a.m., OTC (18-7) at 11 a.m., Five Star (12-2) at 1 p.m., Blade (14-13) at 2 p.m., Injured Reserve (15-5) at 4 p.m., T-Baggers (10-0) at 5 p.m., and Barely Legal (14-10) at 6 p.m., before finally being eliminated by Guess Who (8-6) at 7 p.m. Old School finished with a 9-2 record, which was good for a 5th place tie with the Woodpeckers from Galveston, who took a less-strenuous route by going 5-2. Derrick McCanes from Old Scool and Justin Ainsworth from the Woodpeckers were both named to the All-Tournament team. Ruthless from Dallas and Barely Legal from Round Rock each went 5-2 to tie for 7th place, while the rest of the Top 10 included Dream Street from Beaumont at 7-2, Salty Dawgs from San Antonio at 6-2, Pasadena Angels at 6-2 and T-Baggers from Houston at 4-2 all tied for 9th place. Last year, Reloaded went undefeated to win first place in the Women's D Division of Budfest, so the lovely ladies from Spring were bumped up to the B/C Division which is full of super-talented teams. Guess What? Reloaded proved up to the challenge as they went 4-1 to capture the B/C championship this year. With the victory, Reloaded earned berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals, ASA C West Nationals and WSL North American Championships. Brandi Clark of Reloaded was named MVP of the division, while Sara Fitzgerald was named the Gold Glove winner. Reloaded players named to the All-Tournament team were Melinda Estrada, Angela Cruz, Valerie Martinez and Tamara Nichols. The Lookouts from Houston settled for second place with a 4-2 record. The Lookouts lost to Reloaded in the winner's bracket finals, but bounced back to knock off the Unknowns and even beat Reloaded in the first championship game before losing in the "if necessary" game. Lookouts named to the All-Tournament team were Lisa King, Becky Zalesnik, Tania Gutierrez and Gina Perez. The Unknowns from San Antonio will not be anonymous any longer, as they defeated the top-ranked Lady Brokers/DeMarini not once, but twice en route to a third place finish. Unknowns named to the All-Tournament team were Santa Castro and Jennifer Kelley. The Lady Brokers/DeMarini from Houston had been winning every tournament they entered in 2008, but the two losses to the Unknowns forced them to settle for fifth place in he Budfest. Lady Brokers named to the All-Tournament team were Nikki Hall and Tamara Wagner. Nitro from Austin and Lady Top Dog from Beaumont tied for 5th place in the division. In the Women's D Division, SUP from Houston breezed through the tournament undefeated in six game to capture first place. SUP earned berths to the Shootout State Finals, ASA D West Nationals, and WSL North American Championships. Maxine Martinez of SUP was named MVP of the division and teammate Angie Ewald-Todhunter was named Gold Glove winner. Other SUP players named to the All-Tournament team were Sandra Helms, Mary Pendley, Bobbi Russell and Graci Parris. Houston Blaze battled hard all weekend and was rewarded with a runnerup finish at 6-2. Blaze players named All-Tournament were Stephanie Miller, Stephanie Boles, Cammie Brown and Erin Henry. Mas y Mas from nearby Navasota gave local fans a reason to cheer, as the unheralded squad won their first four games to advance all the way to the finals of the winner's bracket. But back-to-back losses left the local gals with a third place finish. Mas y Mas players named All-Tournament were Jacque Thornton and Chelsea Schultz. Fourth place went to Crush from Austin, who also finished with a 4-2 record. Crush players named All-Tournament were Simona Calzoncit and Debra Martinez. Thunderstruck from Waco went 5-2 to tie for 5th place along with the Lady Bluejays from San Antonio, who went 4-2. TCF from Houston and Lady Undisputed Truth from Beaumont each went 3-2 to tie for 7th place, while JFF, True Statement, Flava and MVP/Elite, all from Houston, finished tied for 9th place. Bulldog Roofing from Fort Worth was by far the most dominant team in the tournament, as they went undefeated with all six wins coming by run-rule to capture the championship of the Co-ed Division. Like all other champions at Budfest, Bulldog Roofing earned a berth to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals, ASA Nationals and WSL North American Championship. Charlie Russell of Bulldog Roofing was named the MVP of the Co-ed division, while teammate Shelly Puente was the Gold Glove winner. Other Bulldog Roofing players named to the All-Tournament team were Michael Borah, Joey Gillaspie, Kirk Swaim, Melinda Swaim, Amanda Bull and Jaime Wrightman. Team 1840 from San Antonio posted a 5-2 record to finish runnerup in the division. Players from 1840 named to the All-Tournament team were Marcus Griffin-Hamilton, Bruce Tarpey, Roger Ramirez, Monika Johncour and Stacy Robinson. Kings & Queens from Taylor captured third place with a 5-2 record and placed Ashley Verver and Braeden Rodriguez on the All-Tournament team. Powerhouse from Dallas finished fourth at 4-2 and placed Shawn Burris and Mindi Ramon on the All-Tournament team. Take it EC from Austin and Ridin' Dirty from nearby Caldwell tied for 5th place; Texas Steele from Austin and Soldiers of Real Estate from Killeeen tied for 7th; and Conference Cafe from Dallas, Team Maniac from San Antonio, Brand X from Round Rock and Saytownsports.com Hacks from San Antonio all tied for 9th. A tournament of this size cannot be a success without herculean efforts of many workers. The Tournament Directors at the various parks were Roy Dean and Cody Junek at Veterans Park; Scott Duffy and David Ramirez at BRAC; Ricky Tubbs and Johnny Havel at Central Park; Jason Fort at Bee Creek and Benny Scott and Mickel Knight at Haswell/Lyons. Umpiring is also crucial to the success of a tournament and Head UIC Alfred Macias coordinated a crew of almost 70 "blues" to officiate the games. Other park UICs were James Brau and Mike Cranford at Veterans; Leray Novacek and B.J. Mendez at BRAC; and Pilar Torres and Domingo Fonseca at Central. A special notice goes to umpires Ray Butler and Gino Wermes who pulled long shifts at Bee Creek Park. The Parks and Recreation Departments of both Bryan and College Station had the playing fields in excellent condition throughout the weekend, and members of the local law enforcement community provided event security. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPER SLUGGER JEFF HALL MAKES APPEARANCE AT NAMESAKE SHOOTOUT MANSFIELD - Jeff Hall is the biggest name is the sport of slow-pitch softball. He is a multiple-time World Champion, National Home Run King and All-World selection. He once hit 14 out 15 pitches out of Minute Maid Park in Houston, including several that cleared the locomotive that sites atop the huge concrete wall on the northern side of the stadium. He has been called the "Ambassador of Softball" by a leading publication and even has two bats named after him -- the Jeff Hall Mutant and Jeff Hall Mayhem, both made by WORTH. But the friendly slugger made time on April 12-13 to travel from his home in Gastonia, North Carolina to Mansfield, Texas for the 1st Annual Jeff Hall Shootout at Big League Dreams. Hall put on a hitting exhibition, talked with the crowd and invited players to join him on the field for personal instruction. When a Home Run Derby on an adjoining field was complete, Hall took on the winner Trey Palacol in a head-to-head battle for a new Jeff Hall Mayhem bat. Hitting directly into the teeth of a strong wind, Palacol swatted an impressive four balls out of 10 out of Sportsman Park. When it was Hall's turn, he hit the first four balls pitched to him out then lined a few singles around the field to add to the drama, then blasted his final pitch out to win the competition. But being the good sport he is, Hall awarded Palacol the WORTH bat anyway. Many expected Hall to exit stage left, but instead he hung around for several more hours o sign autograph for kids, share stories with players and pose for pictures with fans. Jeff Hall forever changed the perception of Major Open superstars being arrogant and egotistical with his generosity during the weekend. On to the action. In the Men's B/C Division, Diesel from Fort Worth made up for their third place showing at the Mansfield Grand Opening by going undefeated to win first place. Manager Ronnie Cardenas' squad defeated Ball Till We Fall, 25-6; Corbell, 14-3; All-Out Sports, 18-12; to advance to the championship game, where they defeated All-Out Sports again, 16-15. Raul Cardenas of Diesel was named the MVP, while teammates Rusty Graves, Churon Thomas, Brandon Young and Rene Basaldu joined him on the All-Tournament team. All-Out Sports and Corbell made the journey up I-45 from Houston for the event and finish a solid second and third respectively. All-Out Sports pitcher Gilbert Carbajal won the Gold Glove award, while Houston players named to the All-Tournament team were Matt Kainer, Steven Barrientos ad Mathew Pavlich of AllOut Sports, and Jason McRae, Andy Yount and Scott Lucas of Corbell. Fourth place in the division went to Vivid, while The Core and the Fort Worth Jokers tied for 5th place. Since several of the top five already had their berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, 7th place finishers CSI form Pano and D.T. Solo's from Durant, Oklahoma were also extended berths. In the Men's D Division, AIA became the second team from Louisiana to cross the Sabine River and win first place in a Shootout Qualifier this year. Previously, Swamproom from New Orleans won the Hooters Shootout I in League City. AIA defeated the Texas Playboys, 22-4; Deception, 15-14; Freestyle/Crown Trophy, 24-8; and Crown Royal, 12-2; to advance to the championship, where they knocked off Five-Star from Tyler, 10-5. Tanner Litton of AIA was selected the MVP of the division, while fellow AIA players Kyle Davis, Chris Robley, Johnny Cunningham and Travis Harrell were named All-Tournament. Dustin Hanson of Five-Star was one of many players who befriended Jeff Hall during the weekend and even convinced the famous slugger to postpone his dinner reservations to come watch him play Saturday night so Hanson could hit a home run for him. With his fiancee' cheering him on, Hanson corned to centerfield in his first at-bat before tripling off the centerfield wall in his second plate appearance. After one of Hanson's teammates used their only allotted home run for the game, Hall gave up and waved to Hanson as he headed off for a Texas t-bone steak. Inspired by Hall's support, Hanson and his teammates won five games in the loser's bracket to make it to the championship game and earn the runnerup trophy. Guy Jiminez of Five-Star was the Gold Glove winner, while Hanson joined Travis Lancaster and Jason Zemer on the All-Tournament team. Crown Royal came in third place with a 4-2 record and was represented on the All-Tournament team by Jake Dillard, Johnny Dillard ad Todd Tatge. Deception finished fourth in the 19-team bracket with a 5-2 record and placed Heath Wigley and Kyle Mahaffey on the All-Tournament team. Freestyle/Crown Trophy and Los Unicos tied for 5th place and joined the top four teams in earning berths to the Shootout State Finals. In their opening game in the E Division, PH Bulldogs from Fort Worth lost to Ballz 2 Da Wallz, 8-5. The Bulldogs dropped to the loser's bracket and proceeded to score consecutive wins over Balls Out, 11-6; Disruption, 7-6; Drillers, 18-5; LTX Softball, 17-3; Famous Softball, 23-17; and Full House, 19-7; to make it to the championship where they double-dipped NTX Hype by scores of 14-9 and 13-11 in extra innings to claim the crown with an 8-1 record. Tim Basaldu of PH Bulldogs was named MVP and teammates David Rios, Zack Durham, David Martinez and Robert Bravo were named to the All-Tournament team. After making it to the championship game undefeated, NTX had to settle for second place with a 4-2 record. Slick-fielding shortstop Jay Ylda was rightfully named the Gold Glove winner, while NTX Hype was represented on the All-Tournament team by Tyler Ramirez, Dustin Ogle and Corey Hall. Full House earned the third place trophy and places Cody Summers, Jason Southers and Michael Southers on the All-Tournament team. Famous Softball came in fourth place and were represented on the All-Tournament team by Ryan Gonzales and Seth Robinson. LTX Softball and the Diamond Rats tied for 5th place, the Drillers and Ballz 2 Da Wallz tied for 7th, as each of the top seven finishers earned berths to the Shootout State Finals. Conference Cafe rolled through the Mixed Division easily to win the championship. Cafe defeated Diamond Liners, 12-11; Team Krush, 22-15; and Accent Pools, 20-0; to get to the finals where they again defeated Accent Pools, 21-8. John Frederick was named MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Conference Cafe teammates Monica Garza, Jon Woods, Rachael Jackson and David Cremeans. Accent Pools came in second place with a 3-2 record and their John Johnson was the Gold Glove winner. Adam Armstrong, Julie Therminy and Mike Monahan were other Accent Pools players named All-Tournament. Team Krush came in third place and Texas One finished fourth. Rounding out the All-Tournament team was Sam Thomason, Monica Williams and Chris Brooks of Team Krush, and Kelly Harvey and Martin Valverde of Texas One. Turn Two and the Traders tied for 5th place and joined the top four finishers in qualifying for the Shootout State Finals. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AYS GETS SERIOUS AFTER OPENING ROUND LOSS AT HOOTERS SHOOTOUT II LEAGUE CITY - Mares/AYS has been one of the top Men's C teams in Texas this year. That's why it was so shocking when they lost their first game of the Hooters Shootout II on April 5-6 at Big League Dreams in League City. But manager George Tanguma did not let his troops fold after the 16-7 loss to Joysticks from Spring. Mares/AYS dropped to the loser's bracket and proceeded to reel off consecutive victories over the Freaks from Austin, Audibel from Louisiana, Guess Who from Spring, Quick Draw from The Woodlands, Joysticks in a rematch, and CRAM from Katy to make it all the way to the championship, where they proceeded to double-dip the Fighting Cocks/Elite to win the Men's C Division crown with an 8-1 record. Steven Diaz of Mares/AYS was named MVP of the division, while teammates Floyd Mendoza, Patrick Guajardo, Robert Orozco and Rick "Shiner" Pena joined him on the All-Tournament team. After advancing to the championship game, the Fighting Cocks/Elite were forced to settle for the runnerup trophy with a 4-2 record. Walter Schomberg of the Fighting Cocks was named the Gold Glove winner. Other players from manager Elias Wallace's sqad named All-Tournament were Marty Davis, Israel Rodarte and James Hyden. In season season debut, the old fella's from CRAM made an impressive third place showing. CRAM shocked everyone with an easy 11-3 opening round win over number one-ranked Bud Crew. They followed that up with wins over Guess Who and the Coors Light Wizards to advance to the winner's bracket finals undefeated. But CRAM lost to the Fighting Cocks, then dropped to the loser's bracket and got eliminated by Mares/AYS. CRAM players named to the All-Tournament team were Mike Tisdel, Todd Weigand and Gordon Boswell. Fourth place went to the Joysticks with a 4-2 record. Joystick players named All-Tournament were Curtis Bailey and Brian Calvert. Coors Light and Quick Draw tied for 5th place to join to the top five finishers in qualifying for the Shootout State Finals. Rounding out the top 10 was Slapaho and Gues Who tied for 7th place, and H-Town Boyz/DPS, Traderwerkes, Audibel and Team SSB from San Antonio tied for 9th place. As is the case in most Lone Star Shootouts in League City, Men's B was a completely separate bracketfrom Men's C and drew 10 high-quality teams. Houston Sports is looking more and more like the team to beat in Texas this year, as they went undefeated to capture the championship. Houston Sports scored consecutive wins over Corbell, Texas Miken, Da Bomb and All-Out Sports who are the top B teams in Houston, if not the state. New addition James "Spooby" Devault was named MVP for Houston Sports, and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Ram Cisneros, Rooter Chandler, Kerry Doan and Jonathan Lenz. All-Out Sports lost their first game of the tournament to Dynamic Sports, 10-9. But dropped to the loser's bracket and posted consecutive wins over Crush, Budweiser/Elite, Texas Miken, the Lake Charles Gambles and Da Bomb to make it all the way to the championship game, where they were defeated Houston Sports. All-Out Sports was so exhausted after playing six straight games, they left the park without turning in their All-Tournament selections. Da Bomb, which won all of the top B tournaments in Texas last year, was forced to settle for third place in this one. Their players on the All-Tournament team were Marcello Gonzales, Doug Terry and Troy Hinson. The Gamblers made their Shootout debut for 2008 and earned the fourth place trophy. Gamblers named All-Tournament were Julius Chretien and Dentrick Chretien. Texas Miken and Dynamic Sports tied for 5th place, Budweiser/Elite and Corbell tied for 7th, and the Houston Cardinals and Crush tied for 9th. In the Men's D Division, the LF Classics made in three-for-three in tournament championship this year. First, the team formerly known as La Familia won the Shootout Kikcoff Classic, then they won the Jokers Spring Fling, and in the Hooters Shootout II they went 6-0to claim their third title. But it was a far-from-dominant performance, as LF Classic beat the H-Town Outlaws, 6-3; Pasadena Angels, 10-9; Galveston Woodpeckers, 9-8; Salty Dawgs from San Antonio, 14-12; and Team Mo, 8-7, to get to the championship game. That's five wins by a combined total of 8 runs (1.6 average winning margin per game). But in the finals, LF Classics pounded Team Mo, 20-9, for the crown. Tommy Euresti of LF Classic was named MVP of the division, while teammates Kevin Perez, Rick Rivera, Mike Trevino and Manuel Camposano were named to the All-Tournament team. After struggling in their first two Shootouts of the season, Team Mo made a fine showing by taking second place with a 6-2 record. Rob Dixon of Team Mo was named Gold Glove winner, ad he was jined on the All-Tournament team by Bobby Pierce and Eric Robinson. Injured Reserve made the trip from San Antonio and captured third place with a 7-2 record. Injured Reserve players on the All-Tournament team were Tim Armstrong, Cameron San Miguel and Ronnie McGinnis. Bad Intentions from Conroe had another strong showing and finished fourth out of the 37 teams in the division. Bad Intentions as represented on the All-Tournament team by Jeff Barton and Jake Galloway. The Cool Arrows from Baytown also made their strongest showing of the season and tied for 5th place with the Salty Dawgs, while Team Puma/DPS and the Woodpeckers tied for 7th. Finally, the Women's Division featured an impressive 12-team bracket, making it the largest turnout of the season to date. The Lookouts from Houston were the class of the field as they went undefeated to capture the championship, although the final game was a close 8-7 decision over Reloaded. Becky Zalenski of the Lookouts was named the MVP. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Lookout players Gina Perez, Lilly Hayes, Lisa King and Mya McRae. Reloaded, who won FIRst place at the Shootout Kickoff Classic, settle for second place in this one with a 4-2 record. Angela Cruz of Reloaded was the Gold Glove winner and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Kim Kuger and Melinda Estrada. After finishing second in the first two Shootouts of the year, Lady Top Dog from Beaumont went to the winner's bracket finals undefeate before losing back-to-back games to the Lookouts and Reloaded to finish in third place. Lady Top Dog players on the All-Tournament team were Shon Witherspoon, Lilian Rivera and LaShonda Mills. Fourth place went to SUP from Houston with a 4-2 record. SUP players on the All-Tournament team were Stacy Kindles and Maxine Martinez. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHOPPERS SLICE UP COMPETITION AT CAPITAL CITY SHOOTOUT AUSTIN - Their slogan is "Can't Stop The Chop" and that was certainly true on March 29-30 when the DPS Choppers won first place in both the Men's Upper and Co-ed Divisions of the Capital City Shootout held at the Kreig Complex in Austin. The Men's Upper Division was for B and C teams, although the Choppers were the only B team in the bracket. They went undefeated through four games to capture the championship, although they had a close call in a 5-3 win over the Austin Hustlers in the winner's bracket finals. Richard "Flaco" Salazar was named MVP of the division, while Chopper teammates Eddie Collazo, John Eric Villegas and Rick Luna were named to the All-Tournament team. Aw Ready from Austin beat the Texas Soldiers from Alice in the opening round, before losing to the Choppers. Aw Ready then bounced back to defeat the Sun Devils, Freaks and Hustlers to make it to the championship game, where they lost to the Choppers for the second time to settle for second place. J.P. Calderon of Aw Ready was named the Gold Glove winner. Other Aw Ready players named to the All-Tournament team were Jason Chagoya and Ruben Hernandez. The Austin Hustlers finished in third place and their All-Tournament players were Ray Faz, Tony Guerrero and Rudy Gomez. Fourth place went to the Freaks, who placed Saul Delabra and Kyle Staff on the All-Tournament team. The Austin Sun Devils and TJD from Seguin tied for 5th and joined the top four finishers in qualifying for the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. The DPS Choppers also went undefeated in winning first place in the Co-ed Division. They defeated 1840, the Ratz and Whut It Dew to get to the finals where they defeated the Ratz again for the crown. Rick Luna was named MVP of the Co-ed Division, while Pam Peach, Greg Jones, Leslie Cabsos and Richard Salazar were named All-Tournament. The Ratz had an excellent tournament to capture second place. They defeated two fine teams in the Hacks and Turtles 2, before losing to the Choppers. They came back in the loser's bracket and defeated both the Hacks and Turtles 2 for the second time each and then beat Whut It Dew to make it to the finals against the Choppers. Yolanda Castro of the Ratz was named the Gold Glove winner. Other Ratz named to the All-Tournament team were Reuben Gonzales, Rachel Romero and Tim McKellop. Whut It Dew came in third place and their All-Tournament players were Javy Lozano, Kevin Martinez and Rachel Beavers. Fourth place went to Turtles 2 and their All-Tournament players were Lonne Reed and Ashley Self. The Saytownsports.com Hacks and Rated X tied for 5th place and joined the top four finishers in qualifying for the State Finals. The Salty Dawgs have been one of the most active teams in Lone Star Shootouts this year, playing twice at Big League Dreams in League City, and twice at Time Warner Park in San Antonio. But the scrappy bunch from the Alamo City finally struck gold at the Capital City Shootout by going undefeated through five games to win first place in the Lower Division (for D and E teams). The Salty Dawgs defeated Solis Underpinning, Speed, Donkey Punchers and Barely Legal to make it to the finals, where they defeated Barely Legal again for the title. Luke Legrand of the Salty Dawgs was named MVP of the division, while teammates Adam Storrie, Pete Davis, Corey Rayburn and Link Legrand joined him on the All-Tournament team. Barely Legal is having an outstanding season as well, and they came in second place in this tournament. Bobby Ray was namedthe Gold Glove winner, while Barely Legal also place Colt Slayden, James Hamilton and Marty Jenkins on the All-Tournament team. Team Solid lived up to their name by finishing third with a 5-2 record. They placed Jeremiah Sanchez, Pete Garcia and Andrew Lopez on the All-Tournament team. D&D Moving made the trip from Aggieland (College Station) to enemy territory (Austin) for the tournament and snuck out with fourth place. D&D players on the All-Tournament team were Quinton Shutt and Travis Haveman. Who's Next from Hutto and the Donkey Punchers from San Antonio tied for 5th place and joined the top four finishers in qualifying for the Shootout State Finals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GRAND OPENING OF BIG LEAGUE DREAMS IN MANSFIELD LIVES UP TO BILLING MANSFIELD - The curtain was finally lifted at the brand new Big League Dreams in Mansfield and the Grand Opening Shootout lived up to its advance billing on the weekend of March 15-16. The complex is located in the booming Metroplex community located about mid-way between Dallas and Fort Worth, and just south of Arlington. The fields are replicas of current Major League parks Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and, of course, the Rangers Ballpark in nearby Arlington, as well as former Major League parks Ebbets Field, Sportsmans Park, the Polo Grounds and Crosley Field. Teams who had never experienced a Big League Dreams complex enjoyed the many features of the exceptional facility. The Men's B/C Division consisted of many of the best teams from North Texas, South Texas, West Texas and Oklahoma. The Texas Regulators from Dallas proved their first place finish at the North vs. South Tournament was no fluke, as they rolled undefeated through five games to capture the championship. The Regulators defeated Diesel (25-14), Sandoval Trucking (23-11), Bullets/Vic's (21-14) and the DPS Choppers (20-6) to advance to the championship game, where they defeated the DPS Choppers again (22-21) in a thrilling finish to the tournament. Creighton Bryant of the Texas Regulators was named Most Valuable Player of the division and he was joined on the Men's B/C All-Tournament team by teammates Shawn Burris, Chriss Cross, Chuck LeCroix and Loyd Watson. Second place in the division went to the DPS Choppers, who hail from the Austin-San Antonio corridor. The Choppers had a tough path to their high finish, defeating RCM of Dallas (22-5) before taking on and beating heralded Wood Law/Cash Plus Pawn (16-12). Wood Law/Cash Plus Pawn plays a tough schedule against Major and Class A teams in Conference USSSA and even qualified for the Major World Series themselves in 2007. After chopping down the big boys, the DPS Choppers knocked off the best team from West Texas, Fury/RBI, (26-18) then defeated Dallas powerhouse Escobar/Elite (21-3) to advance to the winner's bracket finals. After losing to the Texas Regulators, then DPS Choppers dropped to the loser's bracket finals and knocked off Diesel from Fort Worth (26-8) in a heated contest, before settling for second place in the division. Eric Salazar of the DPS Choppers was named the Gold Glove winner, while teammates J.D. Black, John Eric Villegas and Richard Salazar joined him on the All-Tournament team. Third place finisher Diesel also had an outstanding tournament. Diesel defeated ATX Express (17-10) in their opener, before losing to the Texas Regulators in their second game. But Diesel bounced back to win six games in a row in the loser's bracket before finally being eliminated by the DPS Choppers to settle for third place with a 7-2 record. Diesel players named to the All-Tournament team were Rusty Graves, Brandon Young and Roy Rodriguez. Fourth place went to Escobar/Elite with a 4-2 record. Escobar/Elite players named to the All-Tournament team were Nathan Rodriguez and Marty Schillmoeller. Sandoval Trucking from the Rio Grande Valley and Bullets/Vic's/Ronoco from Dallas tied for 5th place. And since the DPS Choppers and Sandoval Trucking already had their berths before this tournament, 7th place finishers Athletic Warehouse and RCM, both from Dallas, joined the top five finishers in qualifying for the prestigious Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. The Men's D Division was the biggest of the tournament and featured 40 of the top teams from across North Texas. Sagnasty from Euless posted five straight wins (Showtime, 15-10; Ennis Shockers, 18-6; H-Town Boyz, 11-6; Ruthless, 14-13; and Mutiny, 16-13) to get to the championship game undefeated. Ruthless battled back through the loser's bracket to get another shot at Sagnasty, then avenged the earlier one-run loss by beating Sagnasty by one run, 10-9, to set up a winner-take-all "if" game. Sagnasty was not to be denied, as they rebounded from the loss to post a 17-5 championship win. Kyle Hatcher of Sagnasty was named MVP of the division. Teammates joining him on the All-Tournament team were Tim Casbolt, Cody Kagiorgis, Charles Walton and Mark Daiker. Ruthless from Plano settled for second place with a 6-2 record. Eric Pecina of Ruthless was named the Gold Glove winner, while their All-Tournament selections were Tommy Wade, Shawn Lynch and Eddie Zansler. Mutiny made the long trip from Odessa in West Texas and captured third place with a 4-2 record. Mutiny players named to the All-Tournament team were Tony Ortiz, John Armendarez and Adin Villa. Line Drive traveled up Interstate 45 from their home in Houston and finished in fourth place with a 4-2 record. Line Drive players on the All-Tournament team were Troy Caesar and Armando Soto. Natural Disaster and Horsemen SBC tied for 5th place and joined Sagnasty, Ruthless, Mutiny and Line Drive in qualifying for the Lone Star Shootout State Finals. Texas Ice from Waco and Turn 2 from Edgebrook tied for 7th place in the division, while Modern Taxidermy, By 1, Texas Scorpions and H-Town tied for 9th place. In the Men's E Division, LTX Softball made the journey from Lubbock and went undefeated through five game to captured the championship. LTX Softball defeated the Aguilas, 20-3; NTX Hype, 16-12; Precision Resources Orioles, 11-10; and Full Throttle, 15-5; to get to the championship game, where they knocked off Full House, 21-7, for the crown. Mike Cordez of LTX Softball was named MVP of the E Division, while other LTX players named to the All-Tournament team were Bruce Gilliam, Scotty Davis and Ryan Perez. Full House won their opener over ETX Crush, 13-7, then lost to Precision Resources, 10-9. But Full House battled back to win five games in the loser's bracket to make it all the way to the championship game, before running out of gas against LTX Softball. Cody Summers of Full House was named the Gold Glove winner, while teammates named to the All-Tournament team were Brian Anderson, Bo Sullivan and Jose De La Rosa. Full Throttle from the Tyler area came in third place with a 4-2 record. Their players named All-Tournament were B.J. Burns, Heath Sanders and Rodney Pleasant. The fourth place trophy went to the Precision Resources Orioles from Louisiana. Orioles named to the All-Tournament team were Darren Griggs and Josh Johnson. Wasted Weekend and the Blue Devils tied for fifth place and joined the top four finishers in qualifying for the Shootout State Finals. There were several C teams entered in the Women's Division, but it was a USSSA registered D team -- Team Dallas -- that was the class of the field, going undefeated through five games to win the championship. Team Dallas defeated Lady Texans, 12-8; Lady Ballers, 25-16; Addiction, 12-11; and Don't Blink, 22-16; to advance to the championship game, where they defeated Don't Blink again, 15-7. Lakreece Allen of Team Dallas was named MVP, while teammates named to the All-Tournament team were Michelle Cox, Leslie Carey, Kennisha Henderson and Shun Epps. Don't Blink settled for second place with a 4-2 record. Karrie Wyatt of Don't Blink was named the Gold Glove winner and Rachael Leviner, Kathe Butler and Audra Waldon were named All-Tournament. Team Texas Blast traveled from Lubbock for the event and lost their first game to Don't Blink, then won four straight in the loser's bracket before losing to Don't Blink again to come in third place. Team Texas Blast players named All-Tournament were Tawna Williams, Sjanna Drum and Tiffani Morse Gardener. Addiction captured fourth place in the bracket. Their players named to the All-Tournament team were Ami Gresham and Jennifer Brown. Lady Canes II and Adrenaline tied for 5th place, while Showstoppers and AIA tied for 7th. The Mixed bracket featured 16 teams ranging from B down to E. The New Texas Drillers went undefeated through five games to capture the crown. New Texas Drillers defeated the Boneheads, 11-3; Double Shot, 15-0; DPS Choppers, 20-19; and Drive, 19-9; to advance to the championship, where they defeated Driven again, 17-11, for the title. John Hill of New Texas Drillers was named MVP of the division. Other players from the championship team named All-Tournament were Reponzia Alford, Kevin Hamilton, Patsy Wills and Tyrone O'Brien. The Gold Glove went to Luke Evans of runnerup Driven and he was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Chris Cross, Jimmy Hooper and Tennille Bass. Many of the DPS Choppers were pulling double duty by playing in both the Men's B/C and Mixed divisions ad it caught up with them at the end, as they ran out of gas and settled for third place in Mixed. Their players named All-Tournament were Richard Salazar, Pam Peach and Tina Cooper. Fourth place went to Double Shots, who rallied for three big wins in the loser's bracket after being blanked by the New Texas Drillers. Double Shot players on the All-Tournament team were Jason Allen and Mike Babb. PnH Connection and Protested tied for 5th place, Nor-Tex and Evolution tied for 7th, and Duck Softball, Texas One, Muckdogs and Powerhouse tied for 9th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'IF' GAME DRAMA RULES THE WEEKEND AT THE HOOTERS SHOOTOUT I LEAGUE CITY - Yogi Berra coined the phrase, "It's ain't over till it's over" and that slogan was appropriate for the Hooters Shootout I held March 1-2 at beautiful Big League Dreams. Three of the four divisions needed an "if" game to settle the champion and in two of those three divisions the team emerging from the loser's bracket double-dipped the undefeated team to capture first place. In the Men's B Division, Da Bomb from Houston picked up where they left off in 2007 by winning their first tournament of the season. Da Bomb won all the top B tournaments in Texas last year - Budweiser, Crawfish, Shootout Finals, etc. - and even placed 3rd at the World Softball League North American Championships in Panama City Beach, Fla. In their 2008 debut, Da Bomb defeated Guess Who, Crush and Houston Sports to advance to the championship game. Houston Sports emerged from the loser's bracket and even handed Da Bomb a loss to for an "if necessary" game, but Da Bomb rallied to win the championship as well as the automatic berth to the WSL Nationals. Houston Sports, which is a combination of former Texas Storm and Miken Hold Em players, made a fine second place showing in their Shootout debut. Dynamic Sports came in third place and live up to their name in one game by posting an incredible 50 runs in one game against Crush. Dynamic Sports is a combination of Texas Rampage and Sporting Wood players. Budweiser from College Station rebounded from an 0-2 showing in their first tournament of the year to capture fourth place in this solid bracket. Crush and Guess Who tied for fifth place. All of the top five finishers earned berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. Robby Clarkson of Da Bomb was named Most Valuable Player of the B Division, while Jonathan Lenz of Houston Sports was the Gold Glove winner. The rest of the All-Tournament consisted of Marcello Gonzales, Johnny Davis, Ruben Segura and Conway Waddy, Da Bomb; Scott Marquardt and Kerry Doan, of Houston Sports; Tony Washington, Mike Tepera and Mark Cerny, of Dynamic Sports; and Jon Meyers and Jeff Hughes, of Budweiser. Based on their excellent performance in 2007, Bud Crew and Mares/AYS were among the many teams bumped from Class D to Class C for the 2008 season. Those two teams proved the move was warranted with excellent showings in the Hooters Shootout. Each team won four games to advance to the winner's bracket finals, where Mares/AYS won a close one-run decision in extra innings. Bud Crew had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the last inning with the score tied and bases loaded and only one out. But a foul out made the second out of the inning and the next batter popped up to end the frame. Bud Crew dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated the BTX Outsiders to get another shot at Mares/AYS. Bud Crew won the second matchup to force an "if necessary" game and then won that contest, 9-6, to claim first place. With the championship, Bud Crew earned a direct berth to the WSL Nationals in Panama City Beach. Mares/AYS had to settle for second place, while the BTX Outsiders from Beaumont came in third and the UT Rocstars from Houston finished fourth. The Fighting Cocks/Elite and Texas Connection, both from Houston, tied for fifth place and joined Bud Crew, Mares/AYS, BTX Outsiders and UT Rocstars in earning berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. Phillips Jones of Bud Crew was named Most Valuable Player of the C Division, while Robert Orosco of Mares/AYS was named the Gold Glove winner. Bud Crew players named to the All-Tournament team were Frank Alexander, Ivan Dehoyos, Jose Jiminez and Brent Biscamp. Other members of the All-Tournament team were Nolan Liscano, Mike Mendez and Keita Albert, of Mares/AYS; Robert Merritt, Dean Smith and Steve Moore, of the BTX Outsiders; and Mike Smith and Andre Benton, of UT Rocstars. The LA Freaks from Louisiana won the Men's D Division of the 2007 Lone Star Shootout State Finals and were moved to Class C for 2008. But another teams from Louisiana, Swamproom/Worth from New Orleans, went undefeated through six games to win first place in the D Division of the Hooters Shootout I. Many of their games were close scores, but the team from the Big Easy found a way to pull out victories and earn the direct berth to the WSL Nationals. The Woodpeckers from nearby Galveston posted a fine 8-2 record, including five wins in the loser's bracket, to capture second place in the division. Team Puma/DPS from Houston advanced to the winner's bracket finals undefeated, but lost to Swamproom/Worth then dropped to the loser's bracket and lost to the Woodpeckers to settle for third place. Old School from Houston was three games in the winner's bracket then three more in the loser's bracket to finish in fourth place with a 6-2 record. Don't Know from Bryan and the Salty Dawgs from San Antonio also had fine showings and tied for fifth place. Each of the top five finishers qualified for the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals. Rounding out the top 10 was Line Drive from Houston and Cool Arrows from Baytown tied for seventh place; and the Slackers from Pasadena, Who Dat from Louisiana; the T-Baggers and Hard Shots from Houston all tied for ninth place. Jarrod Farrell of Swamproom/Worth was named Most Valuable Player of the D Division. Teammates joining him on the All-Tournament team were Ricky Valenti, Jeff Nuss, Mark Martinez and Scott Fletcher. The Gold Glover Award went to Robert Strickland of the Woodpeckers. Other Woodpeckers named to the All-Tournament team were Kirk Mitchell and Justin Leal. The rest of the All-Tournament team consisted of Juan Lopez, Malo Alba and Hector Martinez, of Team Puma/DPS; and Tyson Uhlig and Steve Lyons, of Old School. MVP Elite Softball advance to the winner's bracket finals of the Women's Division, where they lost to Lady Top Dog. But MVP Elite from Houston dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated Dirty Deeds, then double-dipped Lady Top Dog to capture the championship. With the victory also came the direct berth to the WSL Nationals. Lady Top Dog, from Beaumont, was forced to settle for second place. Dirty Deeds finished third, JFF came in fourth and the Fun Bunch and True Statement tied for fifth. All of the top five finishers earned berths to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals, which will also be held in League City. Gina Davis of MVP Elite was named Most Valuable Player of the division, while Jenny Belknap of Lady Top Dog was the Gold Glove winner. The rest of the All-Tournament team consisted of April McDaniel, Jamie Jensen, Angel Turney and Shawna Tucker, of MVP Elite; Rene Reynolds, Lashanda Mills and Von Dupre, of Lady Top Dog; Amy Statler, Nicole Meza and Janina Carpenter, of Dirty Deeds; and Jeri Steller and Krystal Gary, of JFF. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEAMS DODGE BULLET FROM MOTHER NATURE AT ALAMO CITY SHOOTOUT SAN ANTONIO - The weather forecast for Saturday, Feb. 16, was 90% chance of thunderstorms, possibly freezing temperatures, with large hail thrown in for good measure. The weatherman isn't always right. Despite a light drizzle in the morning hours and temperatures in the mid-40's at night, the near-imminent rain never made it to Time Warner Park in San Antonio and the Alamo City Shootout went on as scheduled. Teams that made it to Sunday were rewarded with clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70's for the concluding rounds of the tournament. The Men's C Division is the only one which finished Saturday night and Sandoval Trucking from the Rio Grande Valley went undefeated to capture the championship. Sandoval defeated the Texas Soldiers from Alice, Intocable from Laredo and Most Hated from Corpus Christi to advance to the championship game, where they knocked off Yurmamrocks/FNS from San Antonio. With the title, Sandoval Trucking earned a berth to the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals, as well as berth to the World Softball League Nationals. Yurmamarocks settled for second place in the C division, while Most Hated came in third, American Body & Paint/Team Crew finished fourth, and Intocable and the DPS/Choppers tied for fifth. The second through fifth place finishers joined Sandoval Trucking in receiving a berth to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals. Eric Cervantes from Sandoval Trucking was named Most Valuable Player of the division, while Richard "Flaco" Salazar of Yurmamarocks was named the Gold Glove winner. Members of the All-Tournament team included Rick Pena, Ronnie Lopez, Anthony Salinas and Mike Aguirre of Sandoval Trucking; Chris Viesca, Leo Medina and Felix Santos or Yurmamarocks; Jason Villarreal, Chris Bearden and E.J. Gonzales of Most Hated; and Ricky Cruz and Joey Antu or American Body & Paint/Team Crew. There is controversy in the Men's D Division. The team that played under the name the Bullets and went undefeated to win first place was discovered AFTER the tournament to have had 9 players from a team classified as a C team. Unfortunately, nobody protested this team during the tournament so the fact was not discovered until after the tournament was over. The Bullets will not receive any of the berths or Shootout points that they would have received if they had been a legitimate D team. Instead, the first place points along with the Lone Star Shootout and WSL National berths will be awarded to runnerup Fierce Who? from San Antonio. The Salty Dawgs from San Antonio will get the second place points, the STX Saints also from San Antonio will get the third place points, and Dirty Sox from Del Rio and SA Titans will each be awarded fourth place points. Each of the top five teams received a berth to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals. Darren Dusza of Fierce Who? was named the Gold Glove winner of the division. Members of the All-Tournament team were David Sorola, Ruben Rios and Adrian Molina of Fierce Who?; Fernando Quinones, Luke Legrand and Brian Wagner of Salty Dawgs; and Jacob Perez and Chris Serna of the STX Saints. The Men's E Division had an exciting finish. The Brews Brothers and SA Freaks, pair of teams from San Antonio, met in the finals of the winner's bracket with the SA Freaks scoring an important victory. The Brews Brothers dropped to the loser's bracket and defeated the Young Guns to get another shot at the SA Freaks. This time, the Brews Brothers came out on top to set up a rubber match "if necessary" game for the championship. The Brews Brothers got an early lead, but the SA Freaks rallied for the win and the crown. They will get a berth to the Lone Star Shootout State Finals as well as the WSL Nationals. The Young Guns from San Antonio came in third place, the PH Bulldogs from Fort Worth finished fourth, and A&A Energy from San Antonio and T-baggers from Houston tied for fifth, and those teams also received berths to the Shootout State Finals. Peter Aguirre of the SA Freaks was named Most Valuable Player of the division, while Jay Wood of the Brews Brothers was named the Gold Glove winner. Members of the All-Tournament team were Rene Ibarra, Peter Aguirre, Eric Shafer and Angel Aleman from the SA Freaks; Rodney Goings, Russell Hansmann and Ronnie Arredondo from the Brews Brothers; John Tracy, Glen Johnson and Henry Leal from the Young Guns; and Carlos Franco and Joseph Urrutia from the PH Bulldogs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 LONE STAR SHOOTOUT SERIES 'KICKS OFF' AT BIG LEAGUE DREAMS LEAGUE CITY - The 2008 Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series got underway with the Kickoff Classic on Feb. 2-3 at Big League Dreams. More than 20 qualifying tournaments will be held around the state, culminating with the prestigious State Finals on July 4-6 weekend. Outstanding prize packages from Worth Sports, Hooters and Rover Plus Nine will be awarded at every Shootout qualifier and the first place teams at the State Finals win individual Worth bats and Super Bowl-style rings. In the Men's Upper Division at the Kickoff Classic, All-Out
Sports from Houston went undefeated through five
In the Men's D/E Division, the LF Classics from Houston
surprised a lot of people by going undefeated through
There were only seven teams in the Women's Division, but the
competition was good. Reloaded from Spring
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