Ambrosia Bar & Grill Wins USSSA Class E

Nine Teams Participated At Inwood Complex In Joliet On May 13th

Ambrosia Bar & Grill Champions of USSSA Class E In Joliet

JOLIET: Ambrosia Bar & Grill won the USSSA Men's Class E Great Lakes national Tournament qualifier played at the Inwood Sports Complex in Joliet on May 13th with a 5-1 record over a field of nine teams. The champions came back in the 'if necessary game to defeat Gendron's Landscape Construction (5-2) from Washington 12-8 to claim their title. The Wolverines (2-2) from Joliet finished in third place with Alpha's (3-2) from Joliet taking home forth place from this tournament.
Ambrosia Bar & Grill opened play with a play in or pigtail game defeating Kubinski Excavating from Joliet 13-12 to advance into the regular bracket. In their second game Ambrosia bar & Grill was paired up against Alfa's and came away with an 8-6 win in the first round of tournament action. In their semifinal round of the winner's bracket it was Ambrosia bar & Grill tangling with Seco from Aurora and the Joliet based ball club posted their third straight win onto the bracket board by a final score of 17-7 to advance into the winner's bracket championship game of this tournament. Seco had beaten Collins Street Auto Parts / 3rd Base from Joliet 12-9 in the first round of play to advance into this second round contest with Ambrosia Bar & Grill In the game that featured the last two remaining unbeaten teams in this tournament Ambrosia bar & Grill and the Wolverines went at one another with everything that they had. The game was back and forth and the score was close from the fist pitch to the last and when it was over Ambrosia Bar & Grill led on the scoreboard by a single run winning 18-17 to win the winner's bracket. The Wolverines made it to the winner's bracket championship game by opening play with a first round 17-7 win over High Voltage from Plainfield before stopping Gendron's Landscape Construction 9-6 I in their semifinal game of the winner's bracket. Now the Joliet based ball club had to sit and wait until the loser's bracket play was complete and when it was over they had a game with Gendron's Landscape Construction to play. The Washington based ball club showed their neighbors to the North how to play this game of softball as they used their team defense to hand Ambrosia Bar & Grill a 6-5 loss and with this win over Ambrosia Bar & Grill forced the need to play the 'if game between these two ball clubs in order to determine which of them would be the champion of this tournament and earn the berth to play at the 2006 USSSA Men's Class E Great Lakes National Tournament to be held in Rockford over Labor Day Weekend. In that extra game it was Ambrosia Bar & Grill outlasting Gendron's Landscape Construction 12-8 to claim the title and take the berth to play in Rockford on Labor Day Weekend at the 2006 USSSA Men's Class E Great Lakes National Tournament.
Gendron's Landscape Construction made it to the tournament's championship game by opening play with a 13-8 win over the Assassins from St Charles in the first round of tournament play. Game two was not kind to the men from Washington as they were defeated by the Wolverines 9-6 to drop them into the loser's bracket where they faced Collins Street Auto Parts / 3rd Base and quickly got back on the right track winning 18-8 to advance in the bracket. Next up for Gendron's Landscape Construction was a game with Alfa's and the Washington based ball club sent the local to the parking lot after defeating them in a close game 14-13. Now only the Wolverines, the team that had put Gendron's Landscape Construction into the loser's bracket earlier in the day stood between them and a shot at playing for the title. Gendron's Landscape Construction kept their eyes on the brass ring as they took a pound of flesh from the Wolverines by sending them home after beating the Wolverines 8-6 to earn the right to face Ambrosia Bar& Grill in the championship game while getting some revenge over the team that had beaten them earlier. Defense was the strong suit for Gendron's Landscape Construction all day long as they only once allowed ten runs to be scored on them in this tournament and they used that strong defensive effort by their entire team to upend unbeaten Ambrosia Bar & Grill 6-5 to even the tournament at one loss each and force the need to have the 'if necessary game' played between these two squads in order to determine which of them would earn the berth to play at the 2006 USSSA Men's Class E Great Lakes National Tournament over Labor Day Weekend. That second game between these two clubs went to Ambrosia Bar & Grill as Gendron's Landscape Construction was forced to accept second place from this tournament.