2010 ISSUES October Issue 2010 October Feature - Gay Softball World Series Round-up
Columbus Discovered
Record Number of Teams Hit the Diamonds for Gay Softball World Series
Ohio’s capital city proved it could hang with the big boys when it comes to hosting major international sporting competitions. It may not be as big or as cosmopolitan as, say, Chicago, Seattle or Dallas; but it more than made up for it by hosting a well-run, convenient and (mostly) drama-free gay softball championships. It took five days and 566 games, but at the end
the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance had champions in four divisions of its Gay Softball World Series. And they were able to do it all at one location.
Berliner Fields in Columbus, Ohio, was the site for the 34th annual event, August 17-21. With 31 softball diamonds on its grounds, it is the only such park in the U.S. that can accommodate a tournament the size of NAGAAA’s yearly slugfest. There was no need to caravan around town in order to play a morning game at one location and an evening game at another. Tournament organizers didn’t have to shuttle back and forth between five or six facilities located miles apart. Players wanting to know how their friends in another bracket were doing didn’t have to wait for that information to be relayed – all the results were readily accessible.
After round robin play Tuesday and Wednesday, 146 teams were seeded and began double-elimination play Thursday morning. Barely 24 hours later, half those teams had been knocked out. But the teams that continued playing provided enough excitement to keep everyone entertained through Saturday. Despite a two-hour rainstorm that threatened to ruin Championship Saturday, all the divisions except one were able to get through the entire bracket. (Division A settled for co-champions.)
At the closing ceremonies, 11 individuals were enshrined in the NAGAAA Hall of Fame: George Biagi, San Diego; Gary Castro, Los Angeles; Paul Falcone, Ft. Lauderdale; Mark Hughes, Phoenix; Mark McGrath, Boston; Peter Meyer, Chicago; Jack Brannigan, Toronto; Mike Hughes, Milwaukee/Las Vegas; Herb Muenchow, Houston; Chet St. Clair, Columbus; and Tommy Lee Sherck, San Francisco.
The 2011 GSWS will be hosted by Chicago, Aug. 29-Sept. 3, at the East Side Sports Complex in St. Charles, Olympic Park in Schaumburg and Helmut Berens Park in Elmhurst.
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| A Division With the Saturday afternoon rainstorm making it impossible to play the “if necessary” game, the Los Angeles Vipers and the Orlando Force ended up sharing the title in the most competitive division. The Vipers had won three of the previous five A Division titles, while the Orlando Force were hoping to capitalize on last year’s second-place finish. The Phoenix Toros, last year’s victors, finished third. |
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B Division The TKO of Dallas led that city’s teams to the most successful showing of any city. The Pegasus Slowpitch Softball Association had three teams play in the championship games of their respective divisions, led by the TKO, which will be bumped up to the A Division for next year’s Series. The LA Killer B’s, frequent visitors to Championship Saturday, managed to grab fourth place. |
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C Division After a third place finish at the GSWS last year in Milwaukee, the Austin Shady Ladies made it to the top of the podium in Columbus. Their championship is the first for a team from Austin in the 34-year history of the tournament. To win the title, they had to beat an in-state rival, the Dallas Fuse. The Fuse and Ladies were seeded 1-2 going into tournament play; this time, the underdog came out on top. |
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D Division For the first time since 2000 a team from Beantown has claimed a GSWS title. The Boston Ramrod Machine never left the winner’s bracket after losing only one game in pool play. They played three consecutive games against the Dallas Thunder – winning the first to send that team to the loser’s bracket, losing the second to force an “if necessary” game, then coming back to win the final game, 10-6. |
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Gay Softball World Series Results
A Division
Co-Champions (tie): Los Angeles Vipers/Orlando Force
3rd Place: Phoenix Roscoes Coors Light HP2 Toros (Phoenix)
4th Place: San Francisco Club Hitmen
B Division
Champions: Dallas TKO
2nd Place: Long Beach Rounders
3rd Place: Orlando Broadway Crush
4th Place: Los Angeles Killer B’s
C Division
Champions: Austin Shady Ladies
2nd Place: Dallas Round Up Fuse
3rd Place: Orlando Gaypages Shock
4th Place: Boston 5 Star Diablos
D Division
Champions: Boston Ramrod Machine
2nd Place: Dallas Thunder
3rd Place: Columbus XXX Threat
4th Place: Ft. Lauderdale Matty’s Marauders
Check out the the Galleries page for larger team photos and more pics from the 2010 Gay Softball World Series in Columbus, OH.
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