The weekend had an air of sadness, though, with the passing of Dwight "Dewey" Thompson, who suffered an apparent heart attack while playing third base for the So Cal Masters in a Saturday morning game against the Rounders.  For more, please see:  In Memory of Dewey Thompson

Donald Jewett provided the offensive firepower for the Rounders with two homers and two triples on Sunday, while the Rounder's "Lancaster Trio" of Donald Younger, Sean Lee and Danny Roberts played key roles in the Rounder's victory.  Younger caught all but one of his team's 7 games while providing the RBI punch from the 5-spot in the batting order, while Sean Lee seemed wreaked havoc on the basepaths and running down balls in centerfield. Roberts anchored the Rounder defense at shortstop with a number of outstanding plays to keep his team out of trouble.    Raymar reached the finals with a win over Valley Lyons of Fresno. 

An interesting side note: Fastpitchwest readers successfully predicted two of "Final 4" teams in the "Pick the Final Four" poll (at left on this page), tabbing the Rounders and San Diego.  The other two Final 4 teams, Raymar and Valley Lyons were not far behind, finishing in the top 6 of vote getters in the poll. 

Schedule of Games at Official So Cal ASA website. (If you need  Adobe Reader Click Here)

Earlier Reports Posted During Tournament (Below)

[PALM SPRINGS, CA 3/6/04-11pm] We have updated the Round robin scoreboard for today's games, and posted most of Sunday's single elimination bracket.  There were still a final round of games underway late Saturday night which will determine some of the bracket slots.  Click menu buttons for scoreboard and bracket at left. Raymar and Edge went 3-0 to win their respective pools.  Check back tomorrow for more information.

[PALM SPRINGS-3/6/04-8am]- Greetings from Palm Springs. It's about 8am, and this is a shot from the Shilo Inn where many of the players are staying. This photo was taken with my "camera phone".  While I don't expect that it will replace Maddy's Nikon anytime soon, it will do in a pinch. Weather reports earlier this week had the temperatures getting up to 82 degrees, but now the weather man says tomorrow could get up to 87.  Hard to believe it's the first week in March. Sixteen teams here, 4 pools of 4 teams today, playing 3 round robin games, followed by single elimination bracket with all 16 teams (seeded by today's results) tomorrow, with the championship and third place consolation game at 3pm Sunday. Looks to be a beautiful weekend in Palm Springs, California. Check back later as we'll be updating the coverage. With the "Pick the Final 4" poll less than an hour from closing, voters tabbed the Rounders, Edge, San Diego and Raymar as their picks.  Rumor at the Forum says Valley Lyons is loaded up with "A" players, so keep an eye on them as well.  Starting at 9am, you can toss the poll, 'cause it's all about the action on the field.

The first So Cal ASA Alliance tournament of the 2004 season will be held March 6-7, 2004 at De Muth Park in Palm Springs.  Always a favorite of So Cal players and fans alike, Palm Springs offers scenic backdrops like the one shown in the photo at left taken in 2003, with Tom Morton of the El Segundo Rounders facing Joe Edwards, then with the Kanakas. The two teams will square off against each other at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning, in the first games played in the 2004 season.  (Former Kanakas now "Edge" Fastpitch.)  Click photo to enlarge.

To view photo galleries from Last year's tournament, click camera at left. Last Year's tournament was won by San Diego Fastpitch, led by Dan Zupp.  (Click blue hyperlink for recap) Raymar won the 2002 Palm Springs Tournament (Click Blue hyperlink for recap)