2023 was the 15th anniversary of the WCC and the event was seamless. There was a LOT of softball played that was compressed into a short 2 days. All teams played at least 5 games, but most teams played 6-7 or more!

The players party was hosted by the San Diego Sheriff Association/DSA along with Jason Reeves and Blue Line Productions. Free food, beer and cocktails were available to players as well as a cornhole tournament organized by King George Reyes. Although attendance was sparse, those who did attend appreciated the effort of the organizers.

GOLD DIVISION

The Gold Round Robin games were played in Santee and the top teams after pool play were: 1. Reloaded. 2. Arizona Heat. 3. Sin City Saints. No big surprises here as all of these teams were in the “Swami” projections to finish in the money come Sunday.

As typical with softball, things did not go exactly as planned. Reloaded dropped their first playoff game to Northwest Shakedown and Arizona lost to Nitro2Go. Other “upsets” included New York Necessary Force upending previous Majors competitors, WC Lawmen and the newbies, SD Lockdown/Laced Up defeating SoCal Riot. This is living proof that once the round robin is over, the real tournament begins.

As the playoffs advanced some of the more entertaining games in Gold included a last inning out at home plate that eliminated the powerhouse Arizona Heat at the hands of the only EC team to make the WC trek, Necessary Force. WC Lawmen lost all their games by only a couple runs and ended up in silver. Sin City was smashing everyone including a run rule victory over Nitro and sound win over the defending champs Utah Metro. But there is a reason we call it “DOUBLE” elimination and Utah was still alive.

Utah managed to get rolling and started sending teams home as they seemed to be on a quest to win yet another WCC. The Gold division culminated with a rematch of last years championship game between Utah and Sin City. Last year, Sin City forced and IF game before falling to Utah. This year, Sin City was in the undefeated (drivers seat) but Utah did what Utah does, and that is win championships. Utah double dipped Sin City to secure their unprecedented FOURTH WCC Gold Division championship. The back to back champs celebrated with a champagne shower and in a show of sportsmanship took a combined team pick with their friendly rivals, Sin City. Although Sin City was disappointed to come so close and not win the ship, you can bet come World Series time these guys will have laser like focus in their own hometown.

Gold results

1. Utah Metro
2. Sin City Saints
3. Nitro 2 Go
4. Reloaded
5t. Northwest Shakedown
5t. NY Necessary Force
7t. Aftermath
7t. Arizona Heat
9t. SoCal Riot
9t. SD Lockdown/Laced Up
9t. Slaps
9t. WC Lawmen
13. SD Hit Squad

MVP: JB Kent- Utah Metro
All Tourney: Brandeis Truman, Zack Adams, Austin Rowberry- Utah Metro
All Tourney: Keanu Van Kuren, Ryan Larson, Allan Svet- Sin City Saints

In Silver the WC Lawmen were dealt a box of lemons and turned it into lemonade by winning their final 3 games to win Silver. One team that stood out as a team on the rise was SLAPS. They are a single agency team from LASD and all work at the same facility. They have a lockdown defender at 3B and plenty of guys who can put the ball in the trees. They are going to be a force in Vegas this year.

Silver results

1. WC Lawmen
2. Slaps
3t. SD Lockdown/Laced Up
3t. SoCal Riot
5. SD Hit Squad

All Tourney: Brandon Pizzo, Cody Hazel, Matthew Flores- WC Lawmen

MAJORS DIVISION

In the heavyweight division, once again there were no big surprises after round robin. The 3 highest ranked teams secured the top 3 seeds. DEA Combo finished as top dogs after 2 run rule victories, LAPD Blue was the 2 seed and the defending Mid Majors champs, Angel Armor secured the 3 seed. So all was going as planned…until, just like Gold, things got crazy.

DEA Combo dropped their first playoff game to RSO Force with the most exciting play of the tournament ending the game. DEA was the home team and had the tying run on 2B with one out. The batter hit a deep fly to the fence that was caught (2nd out) and the runner tried to score from second. It was a text book throw to the cut-off man and a text book throw from the cut-off man to home plate where the runner was cut down for the 3rd and final out. Game over…RSO Force secured a huge underdog victory and sent the top seed into the loser bracket early. The upsets didn’t stop there. Last years WCC runners-up, reigning Mid-Majors champions and 2023 @Elite8 team Angel Armor dropped their playoff opener to the up & comers, CA Classick Sports. The only top seed that handled business the first round was the defending WCC champs, LAPD Blue.

The Cinderella story of the weekend was the Sacramento Razorbacks. They secured big wins over some big dogs such as BP Arsenal, State 48 and RSO Force before finally dropping the undefeated game to the LAPD Blue. That seemed to deflate the wind from their sales as they dropped the next game to State 48, but they still opened eyes by finishing in 3rd place in a tournament that featured most of the top teams from the WC.

One of the top heavyweights, State 48 also lost their first playoff game and would have to face DEA Combo in an early elimination game. These 2 teams are evenly matched and highly ranked, but one of them would end up in the Mid Majors, and that team was DEA Combo. State 48 put together a very nice run in the loser bracket by eliminating: DEA Combo, CA Clsk, RSO Force and the Sac Razorbacks to earn a ticket to the prom with their date being the LAPD Blue. As predicted, the LAPD Blue was on a mission to earn an Elite 8 berth because their leaders Dave Braun and Ricky Delgado are focused on winning their third World Championship. Being guaranteed a Majors berth in Vegas allows teams to strategically rest starters in the round robin whereas teams vying for a seat at the table in the heavyweight division don’t have that luxury. LAPD Blue handled business in the ship and rightfully claimed their Elite 8 designation. They were crowned WCC champions once again.

Majors results

1. LAPD Blue @elite8
2. State 48 Syndicate
3. Sacramento Razorbacks
4. RSO Force
5t. 172 Combo
5t. CA Clsk Sports
7t. Angel Armor
7t. DEA Combo
9. BP Arsenal

MVP: Danny Higa- LAPD Blue
All Tourney: Daniel McClement, Buddy Lundy, Charlie Hinojosa- LAPD Blue
All Tourney: Tate Headley, Jason Brennan, Bo Cuthbertson- State 48

Mid Majors saw several Majors teams drop down including two teams inside the national top 10. DEA Combo and Angel Armor are both national top 10 ranked teams and AA is already in the Elite 8. As fate would have it, they matched up game 1 with DEA Combo prevailing. DEA would then win 2 more in a row ultimately defeating 172 Combo in the ship.

Mid Majors

1. DEA Combo
2. 172 Combo
3t. CA Clask Sports
3t. Angel Armor
5. BP Arsenal

All Tourney:
Robert Mason, Jon Toailoa, Shane Ampe- DEA Combo

Winning teams received a prize package that included the 2023 Elite turf shoes, custom champions hats, and custom pullovers. Policesoftball.com would like to thank event sponsors, Brett Helmer from Rawlings Sports, Jason Reeves from Blue Line Productions and Carlos & Ryan Vega from Elite. If all goes as expected you can ink the first weekend of June at the same venue next year for the WCC. Please consider putting it on your team schedule because you will get a LOT of quality softball games at a fun venue.