POLK COUNTY, FL. — The Crown Jewel of Senior Softball entered its 17th year in 2023, pitting the best of the best on the softball diamonds. There simply is no other tournament in the sport that comes close to the SSUSA Original Tournament of Champions:
This year’s tournament was held February 1 – 5, and only winners of qualifying tournaments were invited. In short, it’s the tournament for champions, only. Second-place teams stay home. This is the original Tournament of Champions and it’s only for those teams that have been previously crowned king of the hill at a Senior Softball USA sanctioned tournament during the 2022 season. “The TOC offers the most elite event in the sport to celebrate winners of the top tournaments in the country,” said Terry Hennessy, chief executive officer of SSUSA. “No one offers a tournament that even comes close.” “It’s a battle of tournament champions taking on tournament champions to determine which team is truly the top team of the year,” he said. “There’s really nothing like it and that’s why teams go all out to come back each year.”
This year, a local team participated in the event after winning the 2022 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Team BAT ATTITUDE representing the 65+ AA Division ran the table in Vegas and received a bid invitation to compete in the 2023 Tournament of Champions played at the Aburndale Sports Complex in Polk County, Florida. After three days of high-level competition, the local team fought their way back out of the losers bracket and defeated the previously undefeated team from Michigan, not once, but twice. Bat Attitude was the only team from Utah in the entire tournament. Other teams in the 65+ AA Division were from Texas, New York, and Arizona as well as the team from Michigan.
Team Bat Attitude:
Larry Camp
Scott Griffin
Milton Kaha Tony Mosqueda Donn Nimmer
Chuck Schultz Bill Shepherd Keith Sorensen
Kirk Wolfsberger