April Fools Frenzy Dodges the Rain and Delivers Fast & Furious Action

The annual "April Fools Frenzy" almost became a rain out due to the heavy down pours 2 days earlier. The tournament, originally scheduled to be played on fields 1-4 at HB Sports Complex, had to be relocated to the upper fields due to standing water and field saturation on the lower level fields. But since God is a huge fan of Guns & Hoses he blessed us with sunny and windy weather on Saturday that helped dry the fields making ball play possible on Sunday. Once the games got underway there was nothing but blue skies, sunshine and cool coastal breezes making for a perfect Softball Sunday for players and fans alike.

With 24 teams and 3 divisions from a wide variety of the public safety sectors, there was plenty of action, camaraderie and competition throughout the all-day tournament. On the fields, the action was hot and the scores close, while off the fields, the girls from the Massage Zone provided muscle relief with sports massage helping athletes elevate their performance and reduce risk of injury. Archie from Worth and Rated Athletics were out of town this past weekend but will be returning for the Drinko de Mayo Tournament next month.

Teams battled for Worth Bat Back Packs as well as the prized and coveted Guns & Hoses Glory. The Guns were very well represented with a larger than usual presence of police and military teams for this year's "April Fools Frenzy" tourney. Round Robin / Pool Play went something like this...

DIVISION 1 POOL PLAY

POOL A
Navy Milspec: 2-0
SoCal Lockdown: 2-0
LAPD Blue: 0-2
CHP Pound Da Gap: 0-2

POOL B
Ventura SO Outlaws: 2-0
Edwards AFB Rattlers: 1-1
CDC Excessive Force: 1-1
OC Enforcers: 0-2

DIVISION 2 POOL PLAY

POOL C
Mixed Nuts: 2-0
LAPD Lawmen: 1-1
Camp Pendleton NGE: 1-1
Springs CHP: 0-2

POOL D
LASD MCJ Red: 2-0
LAPD Flashbang: 1-1
CDC 25-2-Lyfe: 1-1
HBPD Blues: 0-2

DIVISION 3 POOL PLAY

POOL E
East LA CHP Pistolero's: 2-0
USBP Brushouts: 1-1
Los Bandits: 1-1
Santa Monica PD One Time: 0-2

POOL F
LADA Gold: 2-0
DMV/DOI: 2-0
LA Probation SEO: 0-2
Fullerton Fire: 0-2

DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The semi-final rounds saw Navy's Milspec slither past the Edwards Rattlers in a double overtime nail bitter that ended with an 18-17 final score, while SoCal Lockdown took a decisive victory over the sheriff's from Ventura to clinch a spot in the final D1 round. The Championship battle between Navy Milspec and SoCal Lockdown saw Lockdown secure a solid advantage after a 5 innings but it's not over until it's over in softball. In the final inning Milspec gunned in a load of runs to close the gap. With the go-ahead winning run on base, a pop fly to center ended the game allowing SoCal to Lockdown the division 1 championship crown with a final score of 21-18.