In-state rivals Tampa and Orlando squared off in two of three division championship games on July 4 at the Big Peach Softball Tournament in Atlanta, with each city taking home one first-place trophy.
The Tampa Crocs D division team bested an injury-depleted Orlando Smokey Bones Sliders to claim victory in the weekend-long tournament. Playing with only nine players, the valiant Sliders could not match the Crocs potent offense in the final game. Atlanta’s Pink Cadets placed third.
In the C division, the Tampa Crocs team fought their way back to the final against Orlando’s Loch Haven Veterinary Hospital Scrappers after a controversial first-day protest forced the top-seeded Crocs into the losers’ bracket. Needing two wins for the title, the Crocs destroyed the Scrappers in the first game, but the Scrappers rebounded to take the championship. Third place belonged to Fort Lauderdale Bill’s Blue Crush.
Orlando Broadway Crush nearly snatched the B division title by beating the previously undefeated Atlanta Crew in the first of two must-win games, but ended up in second place. The New York GYM Mavericks finished third.
