Bonanza Air, A-1 Tank, Nielsen Gamblers and West Coast Cardinals Nail Down ASA “C” National Berths

SONORA, CA-[By Herb Dower]-Bonanza Air (Hayward, CA) defeated the Oroville Braves in the championship game of the Sonora II Tournament here July 9-10 to wind up as the No. 1 team in the Pacific Coast Tournament Series. Tournament director Bob Chapel stated, “I would like to congratulate Bonanza Air for winning the tournament series with 96 points.

“The top four teams in the point standings qualified for the Amateur Softball Association’s Class C National Tournament to be held in Stockton, CA over the Labor Day Weekend. A-1 Tank (Stockton) finished second with 89 points, Neilsen Gamblers (Sacramento) placed third with 83 points and the final berth went to West Coast Cardinals (Sacramento) with 81 points.

Another team in the tournament series, McLaughlin Air (Stockton) also received a berth in the National Tournament by winning the NationalQualifier held in Stockton. McLaughlin Air finished the tournament seasonwith 69 points. All of the other teams must now compete in the Association ChampionshipTournament in Hayward on July 23-24 in order to qualify for the NationalTournament.

Unofficially, the Oroville Braves finished four points shy of gaining a berth in the nationals, winding up with 77 points to place fifth followed by the Italian Athletic Club (75), King Real Estate (70), Santa Rosa Storm(65), Elk Grove (49), Pride of San Juan (48), Mission II (47) and Bay AreaHigh Reach (47). In a pivotal game, Oroville scored a great come-from-behind 8-7 victory overthe West Coast Cardinals Sunday morning to keep their national tournament hopes alive. Official results have not been posted, but here are the unofficial results from Sonora: (more…)