- November 23, 2024
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Team Flagler, a senior softball team which is comprised of players from the league playing at the fairgrounds in Bunnell, has regained the 60AA championship for the second time in three seasons – the first in 2014 -- with a win at the 2016 ISSA Tournament of Champions in January, in Plant City.
The team began the weekend on Friday by beating Spring Ford from Pennsylvania and Flip Dow Bonding from North Carolina 15-14 and 22-14, respectively. Bryant Thorpe John Jones led Flagler with six hits each. These wins placed Team Flagler into the top seed in one of the two four-team brackets, going into Saturday’s double elimination tournament.
Saturday began with a matchup against Charlotte Senior Sports also from North Carolina. Flagler led throughout the game, but Charlotte made it close with a 9 run seventh inning before falling 16-14. Steve Bolter, Dave Stoverink and Thorpe each had three hits for Flagler.
Game two was a rematch against Spring Ford, and Flagler, led by Billy Martin and Tom Knott with four hits apiece, won 14-9.
The final game for Flagler on Saturday pitted the only two unbeaten teams left, with the winner earning a championship bid. The game went back and forth between Flagler and the Chesapeake 60s from Maryland, and Flagler came from behind and scored 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game 14-14. In the eighth inning Flagler was able to hold Chesapeake scoreless and then score in the bottom of the inning, finishing a nice comeback win 15-14.
Sunday’s championship game ended up being a fitting rematch with the Chesapeake team. Flagler began the game with a first-inning 3-run homerun by Bill Collum, Flagler finally broke open the game with 10 runs in the last two innings, defeating Chesapeake 22-9, and winning the ISSA 60AA Tournament of Champions. Dave Stoverink, who led Team Flagler with a .714 batting average, was awarded the 60AA Tournament Most Valuable Player, and three others who were named to the 60AA All-Tournament Team: 2B-Billy Martin .667 BA and 10 RBI, Bill Collum .600 BA and 14 RBI and pitcher Steve Bolter with six wins and a .625 BA.
