Third annual Villages Masters Athlete Softball Championships attracts 22 teams

The Chattanooga Chargers almost didn't make the third annual Villages Masters Athlete Softball Championships, which were held Oct. 24-26 in The Villages, Fla., an active adult community of 70,000 in central Florida.

The Chargers, who hail from Tennessee and played in the 60+ women's division, lost teammate Ann "Pineapple" Lusk a few days before the tournament. The 69-year-old died several days after having an aneurysm.

"We almost didn't come," said the Chargers' Billie Dempsey. The team debated not traveling to the championships, but Lusk, during some of the good moments she had after the aneurysm but before taking a turn for the worse, told her teammates, "Win for me. Y'all go on," according to Inez Hartline, a member of the Chargers.

Wearing black armbands and observing a moment of silence before their games, the Chargers almost one won for Pineapple, but were derailed by the Cebert Wealth Management  Vixens from The Villages.

The final game was a scoreless affair through the first four innings. The Chargers broke through first to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, but the Vixens answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

The key blow was Barb Wheeles' home run to left which led off the inning for the Vixens.  "The lead-off home run, that kind of relaxed the whole team," said Al Mahar, who coached the Vixens.

By the top of the seventh inning, the Vixens led 6-1, but the Chargers, perhaps calling on the woman they called their "angel in the outfield," had trimmed the lead to 6-3. The team from Chattanooga had the bases loaded and two outs with the go-ahead run at the plate. But the last out was made on a fielder's choice at second base, and the Vixens celebrated their championship.

For their part, the Chargers questioned the Vixens' strategy, which included intentionally walking the team's best hitter, Robert Ann Lewis, even with the bases loaded. "Chickens*%t," muttered Chargers player Sue Goldston after the game was over and the team prepped for a long ride home.

In the other 60+ bracket two teams from The Villages played in the finals. Brix & Stix won the title with a 22-8 win over Ace Hardware. Pete Valez, 62, the coach of Brix & Stix, said that the team's depth was the difference. "On other teams, their one through six hitters we had to worry about," Valez said. "Our lineup had power at the bottom of the order, too."

Brix & Stix went 5-0 in the tournament, and Valez said Bob Falzone was the team's most valuable player. "I think he made two outs in the whole tournament," Valez said.

Falzone celebrated after the final out with a cup of Miller Lite and a victory cigar.  

The Southern Trace Chiropractic Silver Bullets also celebrated with a few cold ones after the team won its third straight championship in the women's 50+ bracket. But this time around it was closer than in the past. The Silver Bullets squeaked by the Salon 5th Vixens with a 12-11 win. In the top of the seventh inning, the Silver Bullets turned a double play to seal the win.

Penny Zielinski said she wasn't concerned about the close call. "We still had another [at bat], and then we had an if game," she said.

The men's 50+ game was over almost before it started. Deerfield Storage from Deerfield Beach, Fla., was up over Mixed Bag, a team from northern Florida and Georgia, 30-2 after two innings. Mixed Bag improved on last year's third-place performance by taking second this year.