ASA “A” West National
It was around 1:25 a.m. Sunday when the final pitch and last out were recorded at the 2001 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Men’s West National Class A Slow pitch Tournament at Westside Softball Complex in McAllen, Texas as a handful of spectators remained to see who would capture the day-long, double-elimination tournament.
In the end, T’S 13 of Omaha, Neb., defeated Quick Roofing/Advanced/NIKE of Texarkana in a 38-30 slugfest for the title. The championship game started at 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the 20th contest of the tournament that attracted 11 teams.
“We saw some big guns who came down to McAllen for this tournament,” McAllen Parks and Recreation director Larry Pressler said. “We’ve never seen so many home runs hit at our ballpark. For the fans who came out, they can appreciate how softball is played at a higher level.”
T’S 13 built a 21-9 lead through five innings before Quick Roofing battled back, scoring 15 runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 24-21 advantage. T’S 13 added nine runs in the sixth inning and eight in the seventh to pull out the victory.
Quick Roofing knocked off PhoneMasters/TPS of St. Louis Mo., 50-40, in the semifinals and had lost to T’S 13, 40-38, earlier in the evening. Hooters/Easton/B&B of Kansas City, Kan., placed fourth, losing to PhoneMasters, 26-24.
The Diablo’s/Lopez Tires of McAllen finished fifth after dropping a 14-10 decision to Hooters. The Diablo’s went 2-2 during the tournament, losing to Quick Roofing, 32-14, in the first round and coming back with an 18-14 victory over The Mob of Angleton and posting a 22-21 win over TPS NW of Everett, Wash.
“We had a chance to win that first game, but let it go,” Diablo’s manager Julio Montenegro said. “We came out and hit a lot better in our other games. It was tough having to come up through the losers bracket.”
Tuffy Martinez and Hilberto Valenzuela were selected on the ASA All-American second team by tournament officials. Martinez hit .714 with 10 RBIs while Valenzuela hit .800 and had six RBIs.
RIPP/Knock On Wood, also representing McAllen, finished tied for seventh. RIPP/Knock On Wood dropped its initial game, 30-9, to T’S 13 before coming back to beat 10 Bear Construction/Community Access of Lawton, Okla., 17-5. RIPP/Knock On Wood also lost to Deery Brothers/Gold’s Gym/Easton of Waterloo, Iowa, 17-5.
“In that first game, we needed a wake-up call and got it,” Knock On Wood manager Joe Solis said. “In our other games, our bats finally woke up and we played better defense.”
Pressler said things went well even though a storm blew through the Valley Friday night and threatened to alter Saturday’s day-long schedule of games.
“Tournaments like this are great for McAllen and the surrounding area,” Pressler added. “Many of these people who come down are visiting the area for the first time. It helps market McAllen. We look forward to hosting other national tournaments in the future.”
| Place | M/R | Team Name | Hometown | Record |
| 1st | R | T’S 13 | Omaha., NE | 5-0 |
| 2nd | R | QUICK ROOFING/ADVANCED/NIKE | Texarkana., TX | 4-2 |
| 3rd | R | PHONEMASTERS/TPS | St. Louis., MO | 3-2 |
| 4th | R | HOOTERS/EASTON/B & B | Kansas City., KS | 3-2 |
| 5th | R | MCALLEN DIABLOS/LOPEZ TIRES | McAllen., TX | 2-2 |
| 5th | DEERY BROTHERS/GOLD’S GYM/EASTON | Waterloo., IA | 1-2 | |
| 7th | TEAM RIPP | McAllen., TX | 1-2 | |
| 7th | TPS NW | Everett., WA | 1-2 | |
| 9th | THE MOB | Angleton., TX | 0-2 | |
| 9th | REDS/J & J/FAIRWEATHER/WORTH | Kent., WA | 0-2 | |
| 9th | TEN BEAR CONSTRUCTION/COMMUNITY ACESS | Lawton., OK | 0-2 |
Thank You Pikey Rodriguez for this story