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December 20, 2022 Games at Stagecoach Park
Can the 4th seed win again? NO! THE STREAK HAS BEEN BROKEN!
Tom Martinez's Team 3 has run the table for the first time ever.
In the first round games, 2nd seed Team 3 (Gershkoff) edged 3rd seed Team 2 (Miller) for a shot at the one-day tournament championship. Same with 1st seed Team 3 (Martinez), who came back in the bottom of the 7th down 4 runs for a 14-13 win over the scrappy 4th seed Team 5 (Chandler). In the championship match, Team 1 didn't wake up offensively until the 5th inning, handing Team 3 the game 13-5.
The 4th seed curse has been broken.
Fresh made pizza from John Gonzales was fantastic. He outdid himself with new toppings as well as the original stand-bys. A potent variety of drinks was also included to the delight of the crowd.
Thanks to our volunteer umpires: Nick Basta, Ron Bryan, Pat Steele and Doug Tomlinson
Break up Team 3 ...
Team x Champs: Top row l-r: Don Knox, Mark O'Donnell, Mark Hiltbrand, Jim Nunnery, Rob Holzman, Jean-Marc Murphy, and Don Ludwig. Bottom row: Louie Gonzales, Jim Teeter, Don Crenshaw and Ron Devincenzo. Not pictured: Dennis Eller, Bob Klotz, Mike Martelli and manager Tom Martinez
April 26, 2022 Games at Stagecoach Park
Well, I guess team 1 answered the question everybody had. Can the 4th seed win again? Read on.
In the first game, 4th seed Team 1 (Gershkoff) battled the season champion and 1st seed Team 4 (Chandler). In a stellar defensive effort, Team 1 took down the season champs 11-5.
In the battle of seed 3 (Team 2-Miller) vs seed 2 (Team 5-Allen) the teams came out swinging. Team 5 finally prevailed by a score of 17-14.
In the championship game, Team 1 held off Team 5 in a great defensive battle 11-8.
So, once again, as always, the 4th seed continues the tradition and takes the season-ending playoff.
Playoffs July 15, 2021 at Stagecoach Park ... and the winner is ...
Playoffs are back!
In the Semi-final games, 4th seed (team 3-Blakeman) took it to the league champion (team 1-Chandler) on field #3. While over on field #2 the "rec league" team 5-Dionne surprised team 6-Ellingson. That set up the playoff championship on field #3.
Team 4 still takes the coveted league championship and player awards, but Team 3 gets this recognition on the web site with their 22-15 victory over a scrappy team 5.
Team 3 Playoff winners top row L-R: Karl Burk, Joel Glassman, John Champ, Jean-Marc Murphy, Chuck Blomberg, Dale Dickey, manager Jeff Blakeman. Bottom row L-R: Jimmy Day, Milo Milakovich, Asst Mgr Andy Sybrandy, Johnny Brand, Brad Coutin.
The rest of the story
For my team and all the rest, wait 'til next season!
But the biggest hit for most was the parking lot pizza from Bottaro Wood-Fired Pizza by the John Gonzales family.
2021 Ken Perez Tournament
A Message From the Perez Family:
I want to thank the Tournament Directors; Jim Dionne and Jim Teeter for honoring Ken by naming a tournament after him. He would have loved it.
Sports were such a huge part of Ken’s life and as with all of you, Senior Softball had a special place in his heart. When he would come home after playing, I would ask “how was softball?” His reply was always a play-by-play of every game he played. I don’t know how he remembered every play! I guess that really was a testament to his love of the game. I’ll be honest, after about the first 30 minutes my eyes would be rolling back in my head! But I knew how much he loved it and it made me happy that he was doing something he loved so much.
One of the things that exemplified Ken that the kids and I will carry with us, is that he lived his life fully. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and on his terms. Being his wife, I didn’t always appreciate that! Only now do I realize it was a blessing that he didn’t waste any of his limited time on this earth.
If Ken had been able to choose the way he was going to leave this life, he would have chosen the way he left it; playing a game he loved, surrounded by like-minded friends and most likely verbal jousting with each other. We find great comfort in that.
Again, our family wants to thank you for honoring Ken in this way. He was an only child and I know he thought of you all as his brothers.
Be safe and PLAY BALL!
SSUSA Western Nationals (August 11-16, 2020)
Congratulations to Milo.
Theraldson's Major 75 won the 75+ category over Omen's Major+ team at the Western Nationals played this year in St. George, Utah. Milo Milakovich played for Theraldson's and had another great series, batting over .800 for the tournament. His team beat Omen 32-15 and 33-16.
Theraldson's will now play one game against Venom, the East Coast Champion, for the National Championship in St. George, immediately preceding the World Masters Tournament in September.
Good luck, Milo!
Palm Springs Invitational Results (1/26-1/28/2020)
The Weakend Warriors 65 won the Palm Springs tourney and did it the hard way, losing their first game in double elimination bracket play and then coming all the way through the loser's bracket, 5 wins in a row, including beating each of the 2 teams that had beaten them earlier in the tourney. At the end of the final game salute, where teams normally yell first the other team's name, and then their team name, they added "KENNY" at the end! Kenny would have been proud of his team he brought together as manager. See winners photos at Tournament Champions page.
JSquared 75’s AAA team managed by Tom Harwood and Bob Storm won the AA division. Other NCSS participating players were Ron Elson, Jim Konrath, Glenn Miller, Jon Reynolds, Marc Rudich and Walt Webber.
Omen and Strommen (Steve Strommen) won the 75 Major Plus division.
Jim Dionne’s Mitt-Fits 75 AAA took 2nd place in their division. They beat Top Gun 6 Bits and Git R Done, but lost two to Champions California Crush 75 AAA. Jim Dionne went 19-23 over 8 games, a torrid .826 average.
Other teams that participated were: D&K (Chuck Blomberg, Don Crenshaw, Kirk Dunning, Pat Steele), OTE (Nick Basta), Top Gun Patriots (Bob Ramming and manager Al McGhee) and Top Gun Diamonds (Rico Coronado, Billy Gaynor and Dave Buck).
NCSS 29 Year Anniversary
A few years ago, we posted notice that Max Gritzmaker had passed away. With so many new players, there are many of us that didn't have the pleasure of knowing and playing with Max. He was a fabulous person and a man instrumental in founding the league and the parity model we use to guide our play.
Among the things Max contributed to the league was to author a 25th Anniverary Booklet. For those players interested in the history of our league and want to see who some of the key men have been along the way, enjoy the reading. We still have a few "founding fathers" around who might have some stories to tell. Fortunately, Al McGee was able to create a booklet with the pages he received to work with. Images were scanned and uploaded to a PDF file and we were not able to rotate some of the images.
The content is amazing and speaks to the long and rich heritage of our league. Thank you Max for documenting your NCSS experience and for leaving such a great example of valuing this wonderful game and enjoying the camaraderie of our players. Please click link below to view.
