GARDNERVILLE, NV – Twenty teams gathered June 14 and 15 for a slowpitch softball tournament, and when it came down to the Sunday afternoon championship two familiar names battled for the title.

Buck’s survived a late inning rally by BFC to take a 19-15 win and the title of this year’s edition of the Carson Valley Days C-D event. This was the fourth time Bucks has won the event in the 10 years they’ve participated. Buck’s coach, Matt Vestbie said that this year’s win was a little easier because the competition wasn’t as tough, but that’s probably because the team is improving.

This tournament is unique because it’s not a stand-alone event. It’s just part of a weekend-long, community-wide event, complete with carnival rides. And the fields themselves are throwbacks; nothing fancy, real grass, and grassy spectator areas under big shade trees. Vestbie said, “We like the family atmosphere. We always look forward to playing in this tournament every year.”

Ben’s trailed, 17-8, going into the bottom of the sixth. Six runs brought the score to 17-14, but that was as close as they came; Buck’s two runs in the top of the seventh, and BFC’s lone run in the bottom of the inning ended the scoring.

Buck’s was in control from practically the first pitch, stringing together three straight hits, and scoring six time in the top of the first. By the end of the third inning, Buck’s held a 14-4 advantage.

BFC got knocked into the loser’s bracket about midway through the tournament. Meanwhile, Buck’s and SCH were heading to a winner’s bracket showdown with identical 3-0 records. Buck’s got there by beating Taylor Made, SCH by outscoring BFC. Buck’s came out on top, and SCH couldn’t recover, losing the elimination game to BFC, 12-0.

Ben’s also knocked Taylor Made in the fourth-place game, 14-7. Ben’s never let Taylor Made have much of a chance, before running into the same fate in the title game. A 13-4 lead by the end of the third inning all but put the game away.

All Tourneys for Buck’s were Ben White as MVP and Scott Dangel, Chad Cowin, Clayton Milsap and Keegan Clancy named to the All-tournament team.