Editor’s note: Finally a tournament that I’m too young for 😉
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT – Fall has begun, but the City of Prescott’s 2013 summer softball season won’t officially end until this weekend’s ASA Men’s ages 60-and-Over Fastpitch National Championship at Ken Lindley Field.
Arizona Amateur Softball Association (ASA) commissioner Don Fishel said the tournament, which kicks off Friday night, will feature a handful of teams, including the local Prescott Patriots.
“All five of them should be competitive with each other,” he said. “Any one of the five can win it. We hope people will come out and support it, and see how well these guys still play.”
Earlier this month, the Patriots won a national title in their ages 50-and-Over Silver category at the North American Fastpitch Association Master World Series in Carson City, Nev.
Leading the Patriots under manager Tim Yarbrough are standout pitcher Lonnie Brooks and catcher Gerald Mendibles, as well as Kenny VanKeuren, John Hurtado and Mark Miller.
While the Patriots should contend for a crown, the Si Senior/Texas Stars remain the favorite to win this weekend’s tournament, Fishel said. The Stars are the tourney’s defending champions based in the unincorporated Arizona community of Tumacacori in Santa Cruz County near the Arizona-Mexico border.
Airtronics of Galt, Calif., Frank Rogers Masters of Colorado Springs, Colo., and the Northwest All-Stars of Seattle round out the ASA three-game bracket tourney’s field.
Play gets under way on Friday with two games at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, action resumes at 9 a.m. with a winners’ bracket contest, followed by three losers’ bracket games at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The day concludes with the winners’ bracket final at 5 p.m. and the losers’ bracket semifinal at 7 p.m.
The tournament ends with at least two games on Sunday, including the losers’ bracket final at 9 a.m. and the championship at 11 a.m. If the team that advances out of the losers’ bracket defeats the winners’ bracket finalist in the championship, an if-necessary title contest would follow at 1 p.m.
However, the matchups for tonight’s opening games won’t be determined until the pre-tournament draw and managers’ meeting/luncheon held Friday at noon at the Best Western Prescottonian, 1317 E. Gurley St. Opening ceremonies will follow at Ken Lindley Field at 3:30 p.m.
Closing ceremonies will take place after the championship is over on Sunday afternoon. The winning squad will receive jackets, medallions and a team trophy, Fishel added.