TUCSON, AZ – Congratulations to ATM, winners of the Southern Arizona Mizuno Classic held at Sportspark in Tucson, Arizona on January 25th. ATM took home $500.00 worth of Mizuno merchandise as the first place prize.

The weather was outstanding for the tournament with temperatures in the 60s, but you could still hear the occasional player complaining about the sun...what do you expect?...this is Arizona.

In the upper division, or Red pool, were 915 Hitmen from El Paso, the Leaguers, ATM and the CT Liners/Hooters team. The Leaguers were eliminated and the other three moved on to single elimination. ATM finished 1st, and the CT Liners/Hooters finished 3rd in the single elimination event, with ATM winning the championship.

In the Blue pool, also in the upper division, were Drama, Impact, Intensity and Stay Faded. Intensity was eliminated and the other three moved onto single elimination. Drama and Impact finished tied for 5th (Drama) and tied for 4th (Impact) in the single elimination.

In the lower division, the white pool play teams were Salty Dawgs II, X-Men and Ru Ru Diablos from Nogales. The other lower division was the gray pool with three teams competing, the K & E team, MSI and the T-Town Bombers. All six teams advanced to the single elimination. The Salty Dawgs II finished a strong 3rd place with Ru Ru Diablos the overall runners-up in the single elimination tourney when they lost a close game to ATM.

Each team in the tournament was guaranteed three games. Ken Moroney of Small Town Softball said via e-mail that “the new three game guarantee concept allows lower division E and D teams to play games versus opponents in those same divisions.

The same is true for upper D and C teams. By creating a single elimination event that guarantees a lower division D or E team making it to the final championship game, teams of all levels can compete in the same event and all have a chance to win a substantial prize. In this event, the 2nd place overall winner (RuRu Diablos) won a $300 Mizuno Gift Certificate. All teams played three games in pool play and the top three in each color group advanced on to the single elimination.”

The next tournament put on by Small Town Softball will be at Sportspark Feb. 16.