5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH Wins USSSA Class E

Six Teams Participate In One Day Event AT Byron On April 29th

BYRON: 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH (3-1) from Byron came back in the 'if necessary game' to defeat Attitude Softball (5-2) from De Kalb 13-8 to win the six team USSSA Men's Class E season opening tournament played at the Byron Sports Complex in Byron on April 29th. The champions earned a berth to play at the 2006 USSSA Men's Class E Great Lakes national Tournament to be held in Rockford over Labor Day Weekend. Booze Brothers / Meridian Implement (1-2) from Winnebago finished in third place with TR Excavating (2-2) from Rockford taking home fourth place from this tournament.
5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH received a first round bye before taking on and defeating Attitude Softball 10-9 in a second round game of this team event. In the game between the tournaments last two remaining unbeaten teams it was 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH over the Booze Brothers / Meridian Implement 13-5 to give them the title to the winner's bracket and assuring them of a spot in the tournaments championship game, against whichever team that would emerge from the loser's bracket as their challenger. That team turned out to be Attitude Softball and 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH had a rematch on their hands. Attitude Softball came into this game with fire in their eyes looking to gain a measure of revenge over the unbeaten 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH ball club and they did just that winning 11-1 to force the need to have the 'if necessary game, played between these two ball clubs in order to determine which of them would be the champions of this tournament. 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH rose to the occasion in that extra game reaching down inside to find that something extra too win with their backs against the wall as they defeated Attitude Softball 13-8 to claim the title to this tournament.
Attitude Softball opened play with a first round win over Tony's Oyster Bar from Freeport 4-1 to advance into the second round where they were defeated by the 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH ball club 10-9. Now playing in the loser's bracket Attitude Softball showed where they got their name as they defeated pain Management & Rehab Center from Rockford 14-5 to advance in the bracket. Next up was a date with TR Excavating with Attitude Softball winning again by a final score of 12-2 to put them into the loser's bracket championship game where only the Booze Brothers / Meridian ball club stood between Attitude Softball getting a rematch with unbeaten 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH. Attitude Softball earned that rematch by defeating the Booze Brothers / Meridian Implement 14-6. Attitude took that pound of flesh from 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH by hammering them 11-1 to even the tournament at one loss each. But this was as close as Attitude Softball would get on this Saturday as 5th Alarm / Maplehurst / AHH bounced back to defeat them 13-8 in the extra game to send Attitude Softball back to De Kalb with a second pale finish from this tournament.