2005 EAST vs. WEST ALL-STAR GAME:
The East vs. West All Star game started off the World Series weekend with a bang. All the players from both teams had their names announced and then they ran out onto the field in front of an estimated 400 people who were in attendance. A moment of silence was then given to all the police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty this year and to the NOPD police officers for their losses suffered due to Hurricane Katrina.

The East team was led by coaches Dennis Leonard of the Jacksonville PSC and Chris Moore of the Tri-County Lawmen. The West team was led by coaches Derwin Longmire of the California Quake and Jim Gomez of the DEA Combo.

The East team started off the game by blanking the West in the top of the first and then answered with 4 runs in their half of the inning. After that the East did not look back as their offense exploded for 35 runs. The East Offense was led by Brian Key who had two homeruns in the game. This 35 run total was more than enough behind the tight pitching of Dan Spinelli, Jeff Graus, Flip McGovern and Roland Marsh who kept the many of the West hitters off balance. The West offense did have one bright spot in Erik Grove who answered the East pitchers with two home runs. Besides the East vs. West team match ups in this game was the battle within the battle between Chris “Meat” Oliver vs. Dan “Huey” Spinelli. There had been talk on the message board between these two players on who could outduel who. Dan Spinelli won round one by inducing a pop tart by Chris but Chris responded in round 2 with a tape measure shot. Sadly there was not a third at bat to settle it so in the end this battle was declared a draw and gave everyone a great memory.

In between innings the music blared and it was a great time had by all. When the music was not blaring, the crowd was entertained by the witty commentary of our announcing crew made up of Anthony “Big Tone” Costanzo from SAC SO and Richie “Koko” Ware from the NYPD Blues. The event was covered by Softball Magazine.

Final Score East All Stars - 35. West All Stars - 14

2005 WORLD SERIES HOME RUN DERBY:
Like a fine wine, softball hitters can get better with age and this adage was proven once again this weekend at the Home Run Derby when 42 year old John “Wasabi” Birtcher of the Socal Alliance won the Derby in impressive fashion. John and the DEA’s Big Andy Williams were the last two men standing from the West but in the end it was John who won the West with the hot hand.

On the other side of the plate, Team Vegas’ Ron Peeler battled the Beasts from the East to be the last man standing to set up the East vs. West Showdown.

In the grand finale both men hit well but it was John Birtcher who ended up taking home the prize by hitting the façade of Wrigley more consistently than anyone else this night.

John Birtcher is not a big man but he has big game. John is a career .700 hitter for the Alliance who started off his Alliance career by going an amazing 21 for 21 in his first tourney. John played “A” level softball back in the 1980’s against powerhouse teams such as Steeles and as you can see by his HR Derby performance, John is still a great player.

Thanks to all the Derby players who swung it and congratulations to John “Wasabi” Birtcher for being the last man standing. For his effort John was awarded an Anderson Rocket Tech bat, an East vs. West hat, a 50.00 gift certificate to the Beer Hunter, an HR Derby Champion Medal and the title of PoliceSoftball.com HR Derby Champion

Ron Peeler was awarded with an Anderson Rocket Tech bat, an East vs. West hat and an HR Derby Champion Medal.

2005 WORLD SERIES TOURNAMENT: Many teams checked into the Doral Hotel on Thursday only to find perfect 90 degree weather and crystal blue skies. While some hit the area golf courses others chose to hang poolside and chit chat with players from across the nation. Thursday the local Indian Casino’s were a big hit as was the weekly Thursday Night street-fair in downtown Palm Springs.

Friday saw an active day poolside at the Doral. Those not playing in the All-Star Game or HR Derby consumed their share of cold beer and BBQ hamburgers at the pool. Most players headed to the ballpark early on Friday evening to watch the All-Star game and HR Derby only to find a line to the parking lot for entry into the BLD park. For those who had not been there, you could see stars in their eyes. The first time you step foot into the venue you are transformed into a 10 year-old with major league ambitions. Deep down inside…most 30 or 40 something-year-olds feel, “playing here is as close as I will ever get to playing in the big show that you had dreamed about since childhood.”

Saturday morning saw the highly critical round robin rounds. In Bracket A the favored Cal-Quake rose to the challenge by defeating the strong Delaware/DAP team in an 18-17 nail-biter. The Quake were still high from the victory when they met the cagey seniors team known as the Orange County (Ca.) Hitmen. The Hitmen lived up to their role as Giant Killers as they scored a huge upset over the Quake. The underestimated St. Louis Top Gun Squad also defeated the Quake and also the Hitmen but they fell to DAP. DAP was now focused and they posted 2 consecutive victories over St. Louis and the Hitmen. When the dust settled DAP was the #1 seed with a 2-1 record. St. Louis was in the 2 hole at 2-1 but lost the head to head vs. DAP. The Hitmen were 3rd and in a shocker the Quake were 4th.

Bracket B saw the LAPD Blue cut through everyone like butter. They posted a +49 run differential in route to a perfect 3-0 day. They were the only West team to even win a bracket. The other 3 teams in the bracket all beat each other and ended up 1-2. Due to run differential Team Vegas ended up in the 2 seed, US Secret Service in the 3 hole and the only non-combo team Sacramento SO in 4th.

Bracket C was everything we expected. The best game was Corcoran over the New Jersey G-Boys 11-10 in a thriller. Earlier Corcoran had been upended by RSO Black 22-13 and that run differential would play a big factor in the seeding. The NYPD Shields came up dry on Saturday but they vowed revenge on Sunday. The final placement saw the well rounded and highly athletic New Jersey G-Boys at #1, RSO Black #2, followed by Corcoran and then Shields.

Bracket D was another balanced bracket with the Minnesota Lawmen, Ohio Lawmen and Concord Combo all going 3-1. RSO Red was not firing on all cylinders and came up dry. Even though Minnesota bested Ohio, Concord had defeated Minnesota by enough runs to put Minnesota in the 2 hole behind Ohio. Concord was 3rd.

The host team SoCal Alliance could not overcome the late inning power surge by the NYPD Blues and lost 16-18. The Alliance still finished with a +24 run differential but set in the 2nd hole behind the Blues. El Dorado wound up in 3rd and narrowly missed upsetting the Blues who came back from 9 down in the bottom of the 7th to win it in the biggest comeback of the day. Chavez and the Oregon boys had their work cut out for them on Sunday in the 4 hole. Bracket E was set.

The very competitive F Bracket played out as predicted. Michigan ran the table and the DEA Combo finished second. West spoiler the CHP Choir Boys finished 3rd after a close one run defeat at the hands of the Combo. East spoiler the Tri-County Lawmen did not pull the rabbit out of their hats but pledged to do so on Sunday.

Bracket G was also balanced. The South Florida Lawmen led by pitcher Dennis “Rooster” Leonard earned the top spot and their only loss was a one run affair to the San Diego Heat. Senior squad the San Diego Gray won the battle of San Diego over the Heat to secure the 2 slot. Columbus finished 3rd despite a shortage of manpower but Wayne-Oakland legend Andy Wurm filled in admirably. The San Diego Heat looked strong by downing the Florida squad but they fell to the 4th spot due to losses against the Gray and Columbus.

Bracket H was conquered by NY Metro with a perfect record and tourney best +54 run differential. All of a sudden the Metro doubters went into seclusion because it was clear they were on a mission to silence the critics. A rejuvenated San Diego Excessive Force team finished second at 2-1 while Officers Only from Washington secured the third hole and LAPD Lawmen came up dry.

On Sunday everyone forgot about Saturday and focused on the task at hand. Teams placed in the 3-4 hole had a long rode ahead while top seeds needed only 4 wins. Round one saw the following: Cal-Quake over Officers Only in a close one. Corcoran over San Diego Heat 15-12…another close one. OCSD Hitmen bested their rivals in the senior class the RSO Red 23-17. NYPD Shields got on the board with a victory over the CHP Choir Boys 21-12. Tri-County also posted their first victory by defeating the higher seeded El Dorado club 18-17. Sac SO revenged their loss on Saturday against the Secret Service by winning 22-21…ANOTHER nail biter. LAPD Lawmen scored an upset over Columbus 31-25 in a football score. A very strong Concord team bested Oregon 28-11.

Round 2 got even more interesting. The Cal-Quake continued on their seemingly impossible quest by defeating the Minnesota Lawmen 22-18. Corcoran had overcame a determined DEA Combo 31-15. Team Vegas and their line-up of sluggers downed the OCSD Hitmen 29-27 in an offensive war. In a closely watched game that went into extra innings the SD Excessive Force team inched by the NYPD Shields 20-19. The SoCal Alliance was strong against Tri-County in a 32-14 win. RSO Black secured victory over the LAPD Lawmen 10-7. Finally the St. Louis Top Guns posted a convincing win over Concord 25-12.

Round 3 welcomed the top seeds into the mix. Cal-Quake continued to roll with an impressive 19-16 win over a very strong New Jersey G-Boys team. Corcoran also continued to roll from the bottom half with a 20-17 win over South Florida. The San Diego Force team scored a big upset over the NYPD Blues and things were looking bright for the West teams. Two friendly rivals from Cali squared off in an epic battle between the top seeded LAPD Blue and the SoCal Alliance. The Alliance squeaked by in an edge of the seat thriller 18-17. The Ohio Lawmen began their journey toward history by ousting Team Vegas 25-7. The tourney favorites Michigan took down San Diego Gray 23-11 while DAP overcame RSO Black. NY Metro suffered a scare at the hands of a very impressive St. Louis team but still managed to prevail 19-18.

Now only 8 remained. The Quake rattled Corcoran by posting a 29-17 victory. Ohio Lawmen and their offensive buzzsaw cut through the San Diego Force squad 31-12. The Michigan Lawmen came back from 4 down in the last inning to go up plus 2 against the SoCal Alliance. The Alliance did not answer and Michigan advanced by winning 21-19. Old Faithful the NY Metro overcame a powerful DAP squad to advance.

The final 4 were set. Ohio posted another 30 plus game by taking down the Cal-Quake. The Quake earned a lot of respect on the day by battling back from the 4th seed with their backs against the wall all day. NY Metro looked to be just getting warm as they downed Michigan 26-13.

It all came down to 2 teams. Arguably they were the nations best. A huge crowed was on hand and the peanut gallery was in full force. The majority was pulling for the NY Metro but players from coast to coast raised their beer mugs in a toast to what had boiled down to the best game in memory. The competition leading up to the game had been unprecedented and both teams clearly earned their shot at the title. Ohio looked very fresh early on and posted 10 in the top of the first. Metro did not answer and the tone had been set. Ohio continued to pound line drives, home runs and gappers while Metro tried to mix things up. Metro had earned so much respect from their peers in the crowd that nobody was counting them out. Some people were even betting…ahem “credits” on Metro in the top of the 5th when Metro was down by almost 20. Nobody and I mean nobody was ready to put a fork in the Metro just yet. Finally in the top of the 7th with Ohio up by a bunch, the crowd conceded and tipped their hats to Ohio. When the final out was recorded the Ohio Lawmen stood tall and proud as the first ever PS.Com World Series Champions with a convincing 39-12 win.

After the game both teams shared hugs and handshakes in a sign of mutual respect. Everyone out there knew that most of the top teams were so evenly matched that it all would come down to who had the hot hand at the time. On this day, no hand was hotter than that of the Ohio Lawmen. Softball Magazine took several photos of both teams and an article on the historic event will appear in the first issue of Softball Magazine in 2006. The Ohio Lawmen have all winter to relish in the role of the first ever World Series Champions. Their name will be the first ever engraved on the Obelisk stone trophy. They also won custom embroidered Easton pullover jackets and over $1000 dollars in nutritional supplements compliments of Mark Black’s Nutri-Shop. NY Metro also won pullover jackets and both teams will receive media coverage in Softball Magazine. The 2005 World Series drew national coverage as the event made the cover of Softball Magazine.

With the leadership and efforts of NYPD Shields player Scott Naztazio, PoliceSoftball.com and the entire Law Enforcement community was able to raise over 2500.00 to be donated to the New Orleans PD softball team to assist them in their recovery of the devastation Hurricane Katrina wrought on them.

2005 WORLD SERIES FINAL RESULTS
1. Ohio Lawmen
2. NY Metro
3T. California Quake
3T Michigan Lawmen
5T. Corcoran Hard-Cor
5T. San Diego Excessive Force
5T. SoCal Alliance/Easton
5T. Delaware Assoc. of Police

MVP for the 2005 World Series Champion Ohio Lawmen was:
Brian Key who went 22 for 27 .814 7 HR 's with 5 walks .843 OBP


All Tourney selections for the Ohio Lawmen were:

Chris House who went 16 for 20 .800 1 HR with 9 WALKS .862 OBP
Craig Singleton who went 23 for 29 .793 8 HR 's with 2 walks .806 OBP
Eddie Robinson who went 23 for 29 .793 4 HR 's with 4 walks .818 OBP
Sean Francis who went18 for 29 .620 7 HR 's (six in the semi-final and championship games)

Overall the Ohio Lawmen went 5-1 in the series with their only blemish coming at the hands of a strong Minnesota Lawmen team.

TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN THE 2005 WORLD SERIES:
California Quake, CHP Choir Boys, Columbus, Concord Police, Corcoran Hard-Cor
Delaware Assoc. of Police, DEA Combo, El Dorado Lawmen, LAPD Blue, LAPD Lawmen, Michigan Lawmen, Minnesota Lawmen, New Jersey G-Boys, NY Metro,
NYPD Blues, NYPD Shields, OCSD Hitmen, Ohio Lawmen, Officers Only, Oregon Disturbed, RSO Black, RSO RED, Sacramento County Sheriff, San Diego Excessive Force, San Diego Gray, San Diego Heat, SoCal Alliance, South Florida Lawmen,
St. Louis Top guns, Team Vegas, Tri County Ohio, and the US Secret Service.


FINAL 2005 POLICESOFTBALL.COM RANKINGS

WEST:

     1.    California Quake
     2.    SoCal Alliance/Easton
     3.    LAPD Blue/Easton
     4.    DEA Combo/Anderson Bat
     5.    Corcoran Hard-Cor
     6.    San Diego Excessive Force/Demarini
     7.    Concord Police Combo
     8.    CHP Choir Boys
     9.    San Diego Gray
    10.    Team Vegas/Miken
    11.    Riverside Sheriff Black
    12.    Officer’s Only
    13.    El Dorado Lawmen
    14.    OCSD Hitmen
    15.    Riverside Sheriff Red
    16.    San Diego Heat
    17.    Sacramento Sheriff Razorbacks
    18.    SBSD Hitmen
    19.    LAPD Lawmen
    20.    Oregon Disturbance
    21.    Cal Posse
    22.    Central Valley Kings
    23.    Newport Beach Bums
    24.    Inglewood Outlaws
    25.    South LA CHP


EAST:
     1.    NY Metro
     2.    Jacksonville PSC/3N2
     3.    Ohio Lawmen
     4.    Michigan Lawmen
     5.    NYPD Blues
     6.    New Jersey G-Boys
     7.    D.A.P.
     8.    South Florida Lawmen
     9.    St. Louis Top Guns
    10.    Minnesota Lawmen
    11.    Maryland State Police
    12.    TPS Lawmen
    13.    Tri-County Lawmen
    14.    Columbus Metro
    15.    NYPD Shields
    16.    HPOU
    17.    Secret Service
    18.    Bluegrass Lawmen
    19.    Detroit Metro
    20.    Cranston RI
    21.    Baltimore County
    22.    New Jersey Dirty Boyz
    23.    Wayne Oakland
    24.    Central Mass.
    25.    Tompkins County Choir Boys

FIRST WORLD SERIES SINGLE ELIMINATION PLAYOFF HISTORY

Round 1
Quake Over Officers Only
Hard-Cor over SD Heat
OC Hitmen over RSO Red
NY Shields over CHP Choir Boys
Tri-County Lawmen over El Do Cartel
Sac. Razorbacks over Secret Service
LAPD Lawmen over Columbus
Concord over Oregon

Round 2
Quake over Minnesota
Hard-Cor over DEA Combo
Team Vegas over OC Hitmen
SD Exc. Force over NY Shields
SoCal Alliance over Tri-County Lawmen
San Diego Gray over Sac. Razorbacks
RSO Black over LAPD Lawmen
St. Louis Top Guns over Concord

Round 3 (Sweet Sixteen)
Quake over G-Boys
Hard-Cor over So. Florida
Ohio Lawmen over Team Vegas
SD Exc. Force over NYPD Blues
SoCal Alliance over LAPD Blue
Michigan Lawmen over San Diego Gray
D.A.P. over RSO Black
NY Metro over St. Louis Top Guns

Round 4 (Elite Eight)
Quake over Hard-Cor
Ohio Lawmen over SD. Exc. Force
Michigan Lawmen over SoCal Alliance
NY Metro over D.A.P.

Round 5 (Final Four)
Ohio Lawmen over Quake
NY Metro over Michigan Lawmen

Round 6 (Championship)
Ohio Lawmen over NY Metro

2005 WORLD SERIES WON-LOSS RECORDS

NY Metro: 6-1
Ohio Lawmen: 6-1
Michigan Lawmen: 5-1
CDC Hard-Cor: 5-2
Calif. Quake: 5-3
SoCal Alliance/Easton: 4-2
San Diego Excessive Force: 4-2
NYPD Blues: 3-1
LAPD Blue/Easton: 3-1
DAP: 3-2
RSO Black: 3-2
San Diego Gray: 3-2
St. Louis Top Guns: 3-2
Concord Police: 3-2
New Jersey G-Boys: 2-2
South Florida Lawmen: 2-2
DEA Combo/Anderson: 2-2
Minnesota Lawmen: 2-2
Team Vegas/Miken: 2-3
Sac. SO Razorbacks: 2-3
OCSD Hitmen: 2-3
El Dorado Cartel/3056: 1-3
CHP Choir Boys: 1-3
Southwest Syndicate: 1-3
Columbus: 1-3
Officers Only (Washington): 1-3
United States Secret Service: 1-3
LAPD Lawmen: 1-4
NYPD Shields: 1-4
Tri-County Lawmen: 1-4
RSO Red: 0-4
Oregon Disturbed: 0-4

WORLD SERIES I SLIDESHOW

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