SPARKS, NV-Play four. Win four. Take home the trophy. Short and simple enough in terms of games played to win the Nevada ASA men’s D state slow pitch title. But maybe not so short in terms of time spent at the Don Mello Complex for Arsenal of Gardnerville, NV.

The team started its march to the championship at 9:10 in the morning July 8, and finished off Ben’s Floor Covering of Sparks, NV, at about 9:40 that night; and the Carson Valley team could have had to hang around even longer had BFC forced the "if" game. Ben’s finished with a 3-2 record

Arsenal doubled the score on Ben’s, 24-12, scoring six runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to put away the perennial local power. The game was called on the mercy rule with Arsenal batting in the bottom of the sixth.

And Arsenal didn’t treat BFC any kinder in their winner’s bracket finals match up, shutting them out 8-0. As a matter of fact, Arsenal didn’t treat it’s first two opponents very nicely, either. They thumped Wired X-Treme, 21-12, in the opening round, and Outkast, also from Sparks, 19-9, early in the afternoon.
Outkast finished third, also going 3-2, after losing to Ben’s, 21-9, in the loser’s bracket final. World Gym of Carson City, NV, took fourth with a 2-3 mark in the three-game guaranteed format. Eight teams participated.

Arsenal’s Paco Vasques was named the tournament’s Offensive MVP, and BFC’s Richie Moczkowski took the Defensive MVP trophy. All-tournament selections were: Kenny Nicoll, Brian Smithwick, Matt Jacobsen and Eddie Zinda of Arsenal; Angel Olivera, Billy Doyle and Dan Jarmen of BFC; and Trevor Ship, Jamell Anderson and Chris Gibson of Outkast .

Longshots of Fernley, NV, almost pulled off the opposite fete in the two-day E division, dropping its opening round game, 11-7, to Dirty Birds, and then lasted until the championship contest before falling to Greenwood of Gardnerville, NV, 14-13. Longshots took a10-9 lead in the top of the sixth with five runs, but Greenwood answered right back with five of its own in the bottom of the inning to take back the advantage, 14-10.

Greenwood scored 61 runs in its first four games before taking on Longshots in the championship, including a 22-5 beating of Team Nutz in the first round. The champions finished with a 5-0 record. Longshots wound up at 6-2.

Small Town Boys of Sparks finished third, and Full Court of Carson City took fourth. Both teams were 2-2 in the 12-team tournament.

Adam Johnson of Greenwood won Offensive MVP honors, while Longshots’ Chris Sparks took the Defensive MVP award. The all-tournament team was: Kevin Gwinn, Bo Watson, James Evans and Evan Berry of Greenwood; Juan Nevdeas, Jason Johnson and Jason Grabau of Longshots; and Dave Keller, Roger French and Mitch Jesse of Small Town Boys.

You might say that the four-team co-ed division championship game itself was anti-climactic. DSS Bats of Sparks overwhelmed 10 The Hard Way, 19-4, for the title. The game lasted only five innings. DSS finished with a 4-1 record, while 10 The Hard Way wound up at 3-2, in the round-robin, single elimination format.

High Standard of Sparks took third, and 57’s of Yerington, NV, finished fourth.

Roger Shanon of DSS was Offensive MVP, and Ashley Reese of 10 was the Defensive MVP. All-tournament recognition went to: Billy Ho, Dodge Ball, Jenny Drew and Adrian White, DSS; Tawny Lopez, Rich Diaz and Gina Prebble, 10; and Joe Green, Lisa Seeds and Matt Marner, High Standards.