Orange County Crush second baseman Armando Vidaurri can't reach a line drive. Siri photos.

SPARKS, NV - Scrap Iron, playing in its fifth Rock-N-Reno Senior Softball World Championship (SSWC) qualifier, had come in second place in its division last year and had won it two years ago. Still, the team wasn’t the one that many thought would win this year’s 55+ Silver Division, which was played June 4-6 at the Don Mello Complex. The entire event took up the whole first week of June, and was played at three complexes in Reno-Sparks. The distinction of favorite, at least with some, belonged to the Arizona 55’s.

"That’s right," confirmed Arizona’s Bob Darby late Saturday morning. The team was 3-0 at that point.

"We’re a good-hitting team. That’s what it’s all about," he added. Indeed, the team with the good hitting in the title-deciding game of that division did win. However, it was Scrap Iron that took home the top prize with a 30-11 pounding of Arizona.

Scrap Iron wasted little time in the championship match-up. By the end of the second inning, it had a 9-2 lead, and was never threatened. The winner got five in the top of the third, and three more in the fourth, for a 17-5 advantage.

Arizona did have a couple of chances to get back into it, but just couldn’t break through. A rally in the bottom of the fourth that had produced two runs was cut short when a runner was thrown out at the plate. The Phoenix team had another rally going in the fifth, but one run was all it could manage. This time, the inning ended on a 4-6-3 double play. A third chance, this time in the seventh inning, couldn’t get the job done either. Another double play with runners on first and second ended that rally, and the game.

Still, Arizona manager Tony Jensen was philosophical about his team falling short of the title.

"We had five good ones," he said, referring to the team’s 5-0 record going into the championship. "This was the team’s sixth time in the tournament, and even though it didn’t win the title, this year’s second place was its best finish," Jensen said.

"Both teams are pretty equal, but the best team showed up today," commented Scrap Iron manager Bob Martinez. His team was 4-1 going into the title game. Its only loss that counted was a 14-8 defeat to the Animals, who finished 3-2. It was the only loss that counted because Arizona did beat Scrap Iron once earlier in the tournament, but that was an exhibition game, and didn’t count.

There was one team that did win its division with a perfect record. Aches and Pains from Central California won the women’s 50+ division with a 5-0 mark. Aches’ biggest threat to perfection came during its first game, a 12-11 win over Class Act. Class Act had taken the lead with five runs in the top of the fourth, but Aches came back with five in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead by one before the game ended due to the time limit.

Before overwhelming Kids At Heart of Olivehurst, CA, 24-9, in its final game, Aches also dismantled the Santa Cruz Blues, 33-10, and the Cal Express 55’s, 21-13. Cal’s performance in the tournament was impressive, though. The 55+ team took second in the 50+ division.

Aches and Pains has literally dominated the competition in its age division of this tournament. It has played here three times, and has gone home with the first-place trophy from all three trips.

Grimes Trucking won the men’s 55+ Gold Division with a 4-1 record. The men’s 50+ Bronze division was won by Class Act with a 5-0 mark

The 17th annual tournament, according to co-director John Knox, is the longest continuous-running SSWC qualifying tournament in the country. The event enabled all teams that entered to compete in either the Western National to be played in Kent, WA, July 23-27, or the World Tournament, scheduled for Sept. 23-Oct. 3 in Las Vegas, NV.

The tournament also featured Showtime, which went 3-0, and Bad Catz in the women’s 40+ division. Showtime is the defending SSWC World Tournament champion of the 40+ division.

The tournament again this year set a record with over 140 teams playing in several age divisions. For more information and results on other divisions go to http://www. seniorsoftball.com.