After the dust settled, the SoCal Alliance, Quake, Sin City and LAPD Blue were the top seeds in the Platinum division as they all went 2-0. In the Gold division, the Southbay Outlaws, Nitro2Go and Team Vargas all took the top seeds with a 2-0 record.

After the opening games were over, the tournament took a quick break to conduct the Easton provided bat HR Derby. 20 players literally and figuratively stepped up to the plate to see if they could win a new Easton bat and have their photo posted on the home page of PoliceSoftball.com for a year. This HR Derby included some heavy hitters from the West Coast. Hitting in the derby were: Former World Series Derby winners George Reyes, Robert Mason and Jeff Von Lutzow. Returning Easton Summer Classic Derby winner Tommy Hayes was back to defend his crown as well as 2011 Bacon Ball Vegas Derby Winner Kevin Burger. Although the field was only 20 hitters, it was quality over quantity on this day.

When the field narrowed, the last two standing were Robert Mason and Brandon St. Aubin. Robert’s power is well known as he is the World Series defending HR Derby Champion. Brandon is someone who may not be as well known but he has quietly became one of the top power hitters in the West. The two battled back and forth but when it was over, it was Robert Mason who will be gracing the PoliceSoftball.com home page in two different areas. Robert needed a home run on his last swing to be the champ and his shot to top of the right field wall of Forbes Field was just long enough to give him another well deserved title.

After the derby was over, the playoffs started. In round one of Platinum, Red Republic had an exciting and tight win over the Choir Boys 10-8.

After Sin City knocked the Republic into the losers bracket, the Republic had another exciting game with Lockdown that ended up 17-14. Once again this game went to the Republic. In the semi finals of the undefeated bracket, two powerhouses, the Quake and Sin City, played on the Polo Grounds with the wind blowing in. As expected, the wind kept the score down and these two teams fought a close game that would come down to the last at bat. In the end, the wind wasnt enough to keep Sin City’s Keith Habig in the park as he won the game for Sin City with a walk off homerun to give Sin City a 13-12 win.

In the other side of the undefeated bracket, the Alliance and LAPD Blue took care of business by getting past Concord and Aftershock respectively which set up an Alliance vs. LAPD Blue game. This game was interesting as both teams were without starting pitchers Robert Roque who just had a baby (Congrats Rock) and Ryan Coe who got called to work in the middle of the game before on a possible homicide. With Good friends Nate Baez and David Braun pitching against each other, it was hard not to see the smiles cracking at times. When the game began, it was obvious both offenses came to play this game as 16 runs were plated in the first inning. With the wind at their backs, the Alliance plated 37 runs by the time the game was over. The Blue also had their offense going as was evidenced by Jeff Von Lutzow’s three homeruns. In the end, the Alliance was able to stay hot move on to the undefeated bracket finals game.

The Platinum Division stage was now set for the Sin City and Alliance undefeated game set for Sunday morning.

In the Gold Division, Vegas heat had gone 1-1 in round robin but had now ran off two wins in a row to set up an undefeated game vs. the SouthBay Outlaws who were 4-0 on the day and making an outstanding run. This game was set for Sunday morning and it was much anticipated by both teams. The Vegas Heat are always a dangerous team with some very experienced veteran players and the SouthBay Outlaws have been a team on the rise this year and will make some serious noise in the World Series Gold Division.

16 of the 20 teams were still alive come Sunday but the players awoke to a freak summer rain storm which hit during the night. This caught the BLD Staff and everyone else by surprise. The rain coupled with the sprinklers on during the night made BLD Staff declare the fields unplayable and a safety issue. Sadly some very good games were not allowed to go forward and this was the third rainout of the year for the West. The is the first PoliceSoftball.com event that has ever been rained out but we are glad every team got at least four game in.

In the end, some money was raised for the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team from the sales of batting gloves and some very good softball was played.

Now that this tournament is over and the numbers are computed, every team that played in the Summer Classic is eligible for the World Series based either on finish or total points. (More on that soon in another article)

These teams will have their spot held until August 15. If World Series payment isn’t received by that date, any unpaid berths may be opened up to any team that confirms the spot with payment. If you are looking to come to World Series VII, be sure to communicate with us.

PLATINUM RESULTS

T1. SoCal Alliance and Sin City
T3. Quake and LAPD Blue
T5. Concord, Aftershock, West Coast PSC and Red Republic
T9. Lockdown and Choir Boys

GOLD RESULTS

T1. Vegas Heat and South Bay Outlaws
T.3 SoCal Riot and Valley of Syn
T5. NorCal Shockers, Team Vargas, Fontana Gunslingers and CenCal Syndicate
T9. LADA Gold and Nitro2Go

The four teams making it to the undefeated finals will be receiving a prize package. We will be contacting you ASAP regarding the prize package.

PoliceSoftball.com would like to thank everyone who came and supported our tournament and the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. We will see everyone at the World Series very soon.