USSSA A

Ice cream was the order of the day at the Class A Worlds on Sunday, and Jean Shoppe got themselves a double-dip. The Shoppe boys who had got beaten early on by Suncoast/RBK and then set sail through the losers bracket to get to the finals. GTL/Creative Stucco/Worth who ran through the winners bracket was waiting to see who would be their opponent in the finals needing to only win one to be the #1 team in Class A. The Shoppe boys had other ideas and went on to get back to the finals and double-dipped GTL. I know this for sure, these two teams were the two best Class A teams in the country in 2008 and it all came down to these two in the “if” game. I want to commend Greg Blackburn, Larry Q., Eddie and the whole team on a tremendous tournament and now have made it back to back Class A Championships.

Suncoast/RBK who I kept in the top 10 all season long finished in third place and I’m not surprised. I have said throughout the season that this was Lee Trotters best Suncoast team ever and they proved me right the way they played in this one. Congratulations to Lee and all his players on a great finish and good luck in the Worlds at Disney.

Combat/USA/Elite who has been playing awfully good the last few tournaments, played extremely well in the Class A Worlds. This bunch has some very good players who have been around for awhile and they sure have done a great job. Congratulations on a great tournament and good luck the rest of the way.

Congratulations to Don Dedonatis Sr. and his USSSA staff on another terrific Class A Worlds. You guys sure do it right. I would also like to say good luck in the Conference Championship and the grand daddy of them all the USSSA Worlds.