BRYAN, TX – The WORTH Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series is the premier adult slow-pitch soft¬ball event in Texas. It begins in early January and continues through mid- August, and includes dozens of tour¬naments throughout the state. Some of the events in the series are: North Texas Winter World, South Texas Winter World, the 300-team Budweiser Softball Festival, Space City Classic, three multi-division USSSA NIT’s and more.
Qualifiers were held as far east as Texarkana on the Texas/Arkansas/ Louisiana border; as far west as Midland in West Texas; as far south as Harlingen near the Texas/Mexico border; and as far north as the D-FW Metroplex; as well as many other parks in-between. Qualifiers were also held once a month at both Big League Dreams complexes in Texas – one in League City (near Houston) and the other in Mansfield (near Fort Worth).
Teams could qualify for the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Finals by placing in the top four of their respec¬tive division in one of these qualifiers, or by accruing enough points to earn at at-large berth. At the end of the series, two State Championship Finals were held: the North Texas State Finals at Big League Dreams in Mansfield and the South Texas State Finals at Big League Dreams in League City.
Then, the champions in each division of the two State Finals were invited to come to the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex in September, where each division held a best-of-three-game-series called the “Battle for the Rings.” Member of the winning teams in each division received a customized Super Bowl-style Lone Star State Championship ring.
In the Men’s B Division, South Texas state champion AYS/Tanguma Sports from Houston defeated North Texas representative Crush from Spring. Crush won the first game in the best-of-three series, but AYS/Tanguma Sports rallied to win the second and third games. AYS is sponsored by George Tanguma and managed by Manuel Bijarro.
In the Men’s C Division, Steel Softball from Corpus Christi won the rings without even having to battle on the field. Steel won the South Texas State Finals in League City, then traveled to Mansfield for the North Texas State Finals and finished runnerup to the Texas Regulators. But after going 0-2 in each of the two previous weekends – at USSSA Men’s C Nationals and ASA men’s B Nationals – the Texas Regulators decided to not even make the trip to Bryan. That made Steel Softball the undisputed winner of the rings. Steel Softball is sponsored by Texas Steel and managed by Mark Holsonback.
In the Men’s D Division, North Texas state champion MauiBuilt/Sagnasty/ Breakaway Sports from Saginaw swept South Texas champion Apaches Softball from San Antonio in a pair of close games, 8-7 and 10-8, to win the rings. MauiBuilt is sponsored and managed by John Heath.
In the Men’s E Division, a pair of Rio Grande Valley teams battled it out. Tribe Del Rio from Del Rio earned their berth by winning the North Texas State Finals over a team from Louisiana. T-Fame from Harlingen won the South Texas State Finals. In the “Battle for the Rings,” Tribe Del Rio swept T-Fame, 5-1 and 9-3. Tribe Del Rio is sponsored and managed by Judge Sergio Gonzalez.
In the Women’s Division, South Texas state champion Lookouts/Mizuno from Deer Park won the rings when North Texas state champion Jolt from Euless did not have enough ladies avail¬able to make the trip to Bryan. The Lookouts, who placed third at the 2009 USSSA Women’s C World Tournament, are sponsored by Mizuno Sports and managed by Kenny Scobee and player/ coach Mya McRae.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World's Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!
