Del Pickney Memorial Single Agency World Series Championship
San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Win WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
In 1990 Officer Del Pickney of the Tustin Police Department created a police officer only team and enrolled the team in the Tustin Wednesday night recreational league. The team was bad, but they celebrated the victories (few) and losses (many) at the local pizza parlor that hosted all the teams post-game and counted how many pitchers of beer each team consumed. They kept a rolling count that was on display on the chalk board in the upstairs bar and although the team went 3-7 that year, the TUSTIN STICKTIME won the award for most pitchers consumed. The camaraderie was unmatched and all the talk around the water cooler at work was softball and who our opponents would be the upcoming week. That brotherhood led to www.policesoftball.com and the PSWS.
Flash forward 36 years and here we are at Sportsplex USA in Poway. It was our 2nd annual Del Pickney Memorial SINGLE AGENCY World Series. Del passed away in 2018, so to honor his contributions to our sport we created this event. This was designed after what police softball USED to be. One agency of brothers (and sisters if applicable) playing patch to patch against other agencies comprised of the same. No combo teams. Police Softball has evolved into a highly competitive circuit that features many “conference” players (essentially professional players) who happen to be cops. This event was not nearly of that caliber, BUT, it was clear each agency brought the BEST they had to offer.
Last year we had 8 teams, and although we only drew 10 teams this year, it is good to see this event growing (albeit in baby steps) rather than shrinking like we have seen with the entire West Coast softball scene. The WC used to feature at least 10 tournaments a year and each would draw 16-40 teams. This year, only a handful of WC tournaments have endured and none of them have over 16 teams. Tournaments such as the DEA Kickoff with a 20-year history was cancelled. Last year, the West Coast Championships with a 16 year history was cancelled due to lack of interest. The WCC will be BACK this year at the Perris Big League Dreams facility, but unless we can get 16+ teams, it is unlikely to rebook again next year simply due to financial considerations.
That said, what made this event a success was Jason Reeves and his Blue Line Productions business that was able to bring in a positive cashflow to both the host (PS.COM) and the co-host (Deputy Sheriff Association of San Diego County). Thanks to Jason, we were able to host the event despite a negative cash flow since we only had 10 teams. On a side note, if you manage a softball team and need to raise funds, consider reaching out to Jason as he has worked with TPD for over 20 years and his returns have always exceeded expectations with zero issues.
The opening ceremony was very touching as all the teams lined up on the field while the SDSO Honor Guard presented colors to a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. We observed a moment of silence for Del and then it was game on.
Each field was equipped with bats provided by Brett Helmer/MARUCCI that were red hot out of the wrapper. The WORTH Super Duper balls provided by Jason Kendrick were flying out of the park on all fields. Just like last year, every game was a coin toss. There were only a couple of run rule games, and EVERY team won at least one game over the course of the weekend. Teams were given a 5-game guarantee with most teams playing 6-8 games.
Overall, the games were very competitive and at any given time, the momentum swung from one team to another as the Vegas “odds on favorites.” The biggest swing was the Detroit PD vs San Diego County Sheriff Office game where Detroit PD was ahead by 1 run with the bases loaded with no outs in the 6th inning. The tide shifted with grounder to 3B where eventual MVP Kimo Cavaco stepped on 3rd for a force out and then threw the ball home for a tag out. The next batter popped out, and the inning was over with no damage. SDSO answered with 2 runs to secure the victory and send Detroit into the loser bracket.
The LAPD team was loaded with majors players and they were rolling until the met the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office team who essentially played possum for 6 innings. Watching the game, it felt like LAPD had the upper hand all game as RSO seemed content on a 3rd place finish. In a scenario similar to Ali vs. Foreman “ROPE A DOPE”, RSO took a pounding all game, but kept it close enough to stay in striking distance. LAPD seemed to let off the gas and was coasting from station to station instead of pushing for extra bases and keeping the pressure on. RSO did just as planned by rallying in the bottom of the 7th with a walk-off grand slam to win the game and eliminate LAPD.
In the championship game, SDSO (co-hosts) stepped up and followed the script by eliminating RSO and securing the Del Pickney Intra-Agency World Series championship. SDSO were able to defend their home turf (Sportsplex USA/Poway) and establish themselves as the best SINGLE AGENCY team in the nation.
1. San Diego County Sheriff Office
2. Riverside Sheriff Office
3. LAPD
4. LASD
5t. WC Lawmen CDCR
5t. United States Border Patrol
7t. Detroit PD
7t. Orange County Sheriff Department
9t. San Diego PD
9t. San Bernardino PD
RSO All Tournament: Carlos Vasquez, AJ Jimenez, Paul Salazar
SDSO Del Pickney MVP: Kimo Cavaco
SDSO Defensive MVP: Rayamond Campillo
SDSO All Tournament: Quinn Johnson, David Equiza, Shain Stoner
Special shout out to Jason Reeves and Blue Line Productions and all the advertisers he secured to make this tournament happen along with Jason Kendrick from Worth for providing balls and of course Brett Helmer from Marucci for providing the amazing bats that were very popular (and red hot) for our players. Special thanks to Sean Melvin the owner of Sportsplex USA for allowing us to use the facility despite only have 10 teams and USSSA as always for allowing us to partner with them for sanctioning purposes.