World Series XIX Recap
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Police Softball WORLD SERIES XIX was held the second weekend of October as always and the event was completely sold out with 70 teams participating. Hurricane Milton was on the verge of pounding the Florida coasts but somehow, 5 of the Florida teams still managed to find a way to make it to Las Vegas. There were stories of players driving all the way to Chicago and flying from there or redirecting their flights to airports hours from their initial departure location. To accommodate the late arrivals the schedule was adjusted just days prior and PS.COM would like to thank all those teams who made those adjustments. Although we are all members of the Thin Blue Line Family, the PS circuit is an inner circle that few would ever understand unless they experience it.
During the opening ceremony the Las Vegas Metro Honor Guard teamed with members of the Northern Lawmen to honor both the United States and Canada. Garrett Metal Detectors sponsored the player party which was well attended despite competing against the Vegas nightlife. The following members were inducted into the Police Softball Hall of Fame:
EAST
1. Anthony Buonadonna - Chicago Metro
2. Jake Negray - Ohio Lawmen
3. Grant Johnson - Minnesota Lawmen
4. Warren Rivell – New York Empire
5. Chris Jones - Kentucky Blue
6.Damian Hull - Metro Detroit's Finest
7. John Najdak - NYPD Blues
WEST
1. Jeff Regino- NorCal Quake
2. Chad Martinka- Team Texas
3. Perry Gallow- Team Louisiana
4. Ray Sua- LAPD Blue
5. Kris Ulibarri-SoCal Alliance
6. Norm Coe-Police Softball
All of the members were voted in by the Hall of Fame committee with the exception of Norm Coe, who is a civilian and was a special appointment made by the committee chairs.
The annual season end award winners were as follows:
Dan Spinelli Spirt Award
Terry Dugan-Mid Atlantic
Del Pickney Lifetime Achievement Award
Dickie Malek-New York Metro
Vaughan Garrett Sponsor of the Year
Gary McClaflin- Sacramento Razorbacks
Shevy Wright Sportsman of the Year
Kevin Shoch- Police Softball
Walt Conry Manager of the Year
Denio Rodriguez-Center Mass Florida.
Defensive Player of the Year
Daulton Cabacungan-LAPD Blue.
Player of the Year
Travis Perkola-Great Lakes.
The home run derby was a true David vs. Goliath battle as LAPD Blue’s Danny Higa who weighs no more than 180 lbs. faced the hulking Joe Saunders of Great Lakes. Both players were dialed in as each hit 20 home runs within 2 minutes of regulation time which forced an overtime round. In that round Higa leveled up by blasting his first 13 swings out of the park. Although Saunders had some mammoth shots and displayed true stadium power, Higa’s consistency was too much to overcome. Incumbent back to back HR Derby King Marieo Foster stepped down from the competition this year and instead served as Higa’s pitcher. Marieo was the official title sponsor RAWLINGS representative and he proudly presented Higa with the crown and heavyweight championship belt afterward. Higa won an AR-15 rifle courtesy of Bud’s Gun Shop who have been supporting police softball for several years.
GOLD DIVISION
40 teams competed for 16 Gold Division berths. Even cracking the sweet 16 was an accomplishment and although there were some “upsets”, generally speaking the teams ranked higher on the totem pole handled business and secured a sweet 16 spot. Teams that were predicted by the Vegas oddsmakers (aka The Swami) to crack the top 5 were: Lonestar, NorCal Reloaded, I80 Cartel, NYPD Finest, South Texas Gunslingers and 305 Elite made the Swami look like a genius because out of 40 teams, he predicted 5 of the 6 top finishers (missed on NYPD Finest who were replaced by Connecticut Lawmen). The other 5 teams understood the mission and delivered the goods.
In the undefeated game 305 Elite (Miami) defeated the South Texas Gunslingers to advance to the championship game. Meanwhile, NorCal Reloaded decided to take the scenic route by losing early and then sending teams packing in the loser bracket. Reloaded continued their march to the ‘ship by shocking the South Texas team and handing them back to back losses after they had steamrolled all the competition prior to these 2 games. The stage was set for a battle of the coasts. In game one, NorCal Reloaded prevailed which forced an “IF” game. The break might have caused some rust to set in on 305 Elite, but in the IF game they came back firing but it was too little too late and the NorCal Reloaded march to the championship was complete. Reloaded celebrated in a champagne shower and were awarded a pirates booty of prizes courtesy of Rawlings sports, Elite, and PS.COM. They proudly wore their championship rings and earned their promotion to the Majors division for 2025.
All World South Texas Gunslingers: Adrian Castillo & Francisco Rivas III
All World 305 Elite: Soni Castellanos, Danny Delgado, Brandon Vicens
All World Reloaded: Jordan Franks, Luis Duran, Brad Perry
Defensive MVP Reloaded: Alex Denobriga
Pat Hill Inspirational: Joel Chavez
Del Pickney MVP: Chris Maxey
1. NorCal Reloaded *Champions
2. 305 Elite
3. South Texas Gunslingers
4. Lonestar
5t. Connecticut Lawmen
5t. I80 Cartel
7t. Arizona Blue Heat
7t. Sin City Saints
9t. Midwest Heat
9t. WC Lawmen
9t. Utah Metro
9t. NYPD Finest
13t. San Diego Lockdown
13t. Kansas City Guns
13t. Northwest Shakedown
13t. San Bernardino Hit Squad
SILVER DIVISION
Silver was the BIGGEST division featuring 26 teams. Although there were no heavyweights in the Silver Division, winning it still meant going through 25 other opponents so it would prove to be a long road to the title.
The newly formed alliance between Metro Detroit/MDF and Dayton proved to be a huge success despite a very slow start to the season. After finishing runners up in the Gold Division last year, MDF lost key players due to retirement from the sport and recruitment from Majors teams. In order to field a team they merged with Dayton Metro and things were not going as planned early in the year, but they got hot at the right time. They finished runners up to Minnesota Lawmen (Majors team) at the Keepers of the Peace tournament and ended up winning the title in Vegas by defeating a determined Maryland’s Finest team in a hard fought battle. MDF is no stranger to celebrating championships in Vegas as they are previous Gold Division winners and some of their players have rings from championships with other teams. Dayton too has a previous Gold Division title but many of those players have since retired so it was a new experience for many.
Maryland’s Finest was making their World Series debut and they did not disappoint. We suspect their amazing performance might propel them to play more often next season and we hope to see them back next year in a quest to win the title. To get that close and fall just short stings, but along with that sting comes motivation. Houston Hustle looked like the team to beat in the early playoff rounds and although they played solid softball the entire weekend they fell just short of advancing to the final dance. Mandy Day and the boys will likely come back more invigorated than ever next season.
Special mention to MDF/Dayton veteran Damian Hull who had a banner weekend. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame and won his 3rd championship ring which could be the most of any player not from a California team in PS history (not fact checked).
All World Houston Hustle: Ty Bratton and Zach Gagner.
All World Maryland’s Finest: Mike Powers, Mike Cornbrooks, David Staigerwald
All World MDF/Dayton: Lloyd Alexander, Zac Banks, Micah Hull
Defensive MVP: Alan Reichenbach
Pat Hill Inspirational: Jason Collins
Del Pickney MVP: Harrison Merrill
1. MDF/Dayton
2. Maryland's Finest
3. Houston Hustle
4. LASD Slaps
5t. Team Louisiana
5t. PAPD Twins
7t. Port Runners
7t. Norsemen PSC
9t. Oakland PD
9t. Nitro 2 Go
9t. NY Necessary Force
9t. Lock and Load TX
13t. Toronto Takedown
13t. OMERTA
13t. NorCal JCATS
13t. Honolulu's Finest
17t. Aftermath
17t. Degenerates
17t. San Francisco Seals
17t. PA. Enforcers
17t. Razorbacks Gold
17t. Texas Fugitives
17t. Riverside Sheriff
17t. Mixed Nutz
25t. Guard Dawgz
25t. Darkside Canada
MID MAJORS DIVISION
It was a brutal round robin format that only allowed 16 teams to advance to Majors. That meant some top caliber teams would be competing in Mid Majors if they didn’t go at least 2-1 during pool play. When you are facing the top competition in the nation, 3-0 or 2-1 is a tall order so you had to be on top of your game from the first pitch. A couple teams in particular, the Minnesota Lawmen who have been a perineal top 5 Majors finisher for 2 decades found themselves in Mids along with the Sacramento Razorbacks who had a zero run differential after losing 2 games by one run and winning one by 2 runs. That is a razor thin margin of error, but every team faced the same challenges so regardless of round robin results, teams strapped on their boots and went to work.
Early favorites Miami 5.0. steamrolled through the Northern Lawmen, Sacramento Razorbacks and TBL Outlaws (all Majors teams) enroute to the championship game against former Mid Majors and Gold champions, Angel Armor from Colorado. Angel Armor earned a first round bye before defeating last years Gold champions Chicago Metro and 2-time former Mid Majors Champions, Stanislaus to meet Miami in the king seat game. Angel Armor won that game and earned a ticket to the dance. The red hot 5.0. team was cooled off by Angel Armor and dropped to the loser bracket but they got rolling once again with a solid victory over Stanislaus. In the ‘ship, Miami 5.0. would need to double dip Angel Armor and going into the final inning Angel Armor was behind, but a walk off home run by eventual MVP Matt Green ended the game and Angel Armor secured their 2nd Mid Majors championship.
All World Stanislaus: KJ Vandagriff and Jon Quiro
All World Miami 5.0.: Roger Fernandez, Ruben Munoz, Eddy Nodarse
All World Angel Armor: Chance Ward, Dan Millard, Joshua Padilla
Defensive MVP: Wesley Keelan
Pat Hill Inspirational: Steven Garcia
Del Pickney MVP: Matt Green
1. Angel Armor Colorado
2. Miami 5.0.
3. Stanislaus Combo
4. Houston Heat
5t. Sac Razorbacks
5t. TBL Outlaws
7t. Minnesota Lawmen
7t. Northern Lawmen
9t. San Antonio Lawmen
9t. Chicago Metro
MAJORS DIVISION
This is police softball’s top division and several teams have USSSA conference players on their roster. Several teams earned “ELITE 8” berths to Majors by winning tournaments earlier in the year. Those teams included: LAPD Blue, Suffolk Lawmen, The Connection, Great Lakes, Kentucky Blue, LA Empire and North Florida Lawmen. That left nine spots “at large” that had to be won by going 3-0 or 2-1 in round robin play. Finishing anything below 2-1 guaranteed you would end up in Mid Majors and for some teams, that is where they would be most competitive. For others, the thought of playing against anything other than the elite of the police softball circuit would be a disappointment.
Former World Champions, The Connection earned the #1 overall seed by run ruling their pool play competition. Things did not go as planned for two other top ranked teams, the defending champs the LAPD Blue and last year’s runners up Great Lakes. Both teams dropped a round robin game. LAPD Blue fell short to the Max Elite Blues and Great Lakes lost to the underdog 172 Combo out of SoCal. This was a revenge game for 172 Combo because last year Great Lakes eliminated them in the late rounds and held them to a goose egg on offense. This year was much different as 172 Combo got in front and kept their foot on the gas. These two “upsets” set up an awkward first round playoff game between last years champs and the runners up. A huge crowd gathered to watch which super heavyweight would send the other into the first round loser bracket and the game was a see-saw affair which did not disappoint the crowd. When the dust settled, the defending champs were standing tall and the challengers, Great Lakes had their work cut out for them and a long road to get back to the ‘ship.
If there was a theme to the upper division (Majors/MM), it was the emergence of up and coming teams. Teams from the Miami area in particular were stealing headlines along with SoCal based teams such as LA Empire and 172 Combo. LA Empire made a huge statement by eliminating the heavily favored Great Lakes team. The last team to win a world championship not named LAPD Blue was The Connection and early on, they appeared to be the team to beat. In perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament, the juggernaut known as the Miami Metro Dawgz defeated The Connection to advance to the undefeated game against LAPD Blue.
LAPD Blue bested Miami Dawgz in a well contested game and in doing so, punched their ticket to yet another championship game. Whoever were to come out of the loser bracket would need to beat them twice which would prove to be a huge undertaking. Another up & coming team, Kentucky Blue caught fire and eliminated both The Connection and Miami Dawgz to advance to their first ever World Series championship game. Kentucky Blue had the firepower to compete with the LAPD Blue, but working their way through the loser bracket took a toll physically. Kentucky Blue gave it a valiant effort but the LAPD Blue was fresh and motivated to earn another ring to their team resume. LAPD Blue’s win was somewhat anti-climatic as it was a one-side affair and they had already won 3 of the past 4 world championships. As manager Dave Braun said to his team, “winning never gets old,” as he popped a champagne bottle and sprayed his teammates with liquid victory. LAPD Blue became back-to back champions for the 2nd time in 5 years!
All World Miami Metro Dawgz: Antonio Gomez and Jose Luis Gutierrez
All World Kentucky Blue: John Franklin, Bryan Dawson and Sean Smith
All World LAPD Blue: Buddy Lundy, Daniel McClement, and Cruz Duke
Defensive MVP: Kimo Cavaco
Pat Hill Inspirational: George Reyes/Mike Snyder
Del Pickney MVP: Danny Higa
*Note about MVP Danny Higa. Higa pulled the PS hattrick: HR derby king, Team won the world series, and tournament MVP. The last player to do this was Mid-Atlantic’s Cory Roggerson who was also named PS.COM player of the year in 2017.
1. LAPD Blue
2. Kentucky Blue
3. Miami Metro Dawgz
4. The Connection
5t. LA Empire
5t. Max Elite Blues
7t. New York Empire
7t. Missouri Lawmen
9t. State 48
9t. 172 Combo
9t. The Brotherhood
9t. DEA Combo
13t. North Florida
13t. Suffolk
13t. Center Mass
13t. Great Lakes
On behalf of policesoftball.com we want to thank all those who assisted us over the weekend and all the teams that attended. Thanks goes out to Kevin Schoch and Garrett Metal Detectors for sponsoring the player party, Carlos Vega and Elite Sports, Dan Potter and his umpire crew, Anthony Costanzo, Dennis Leonard, Nate Seger of The Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff’s association, Bud’s Gun Shop and their representative Justin Witt, and T.J. and Chris and their Big League Dreams staff. We want to send a special thank you to Brett Helmer of Rawlings Sports and his representative Marieo Foster who has been an unwavering supporter of police softball for 20 years! We put a lot of pride into making the event the BEST softball experience possible and we hope you all make it a priority to attend next year. As always, we will be in Las Vegas the 2nd weekend of October! Stay safe and enjoy the off-season.