Another Early Bird in the books
Corky’s/Prime Garage Door shortstop Matt Seykora throws the ball to first to make a force out. Corky’s team finished 5-2 in the MSP E/Red Division to take ninth. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
The 45th annual Corky’s Early Bird Softball Classic took place in Owatonna over the weekend with 150 teams from across the country and Canada traveling to Steele County.
The warm weekend weather created an optimal environment for some spectacular softball games with four teams walking away as champions.
Wisconsin teams brought the heat with them this year, sweeping all four divisions.
The following is a breakdown from each bracket, as well as a local spotlight section.
Open Division
The reigning champions Comatose/S2N (Beloit, Wisconsin) defended their 2024 title in perfect fashion by finishing the tournament 5-0. Texas 5 Sports (Houston, Texas) gave the champs two tough games in the semifinals and title match but the offense of Comatose/S2N proved impossible to stop. Comatose/S2N went on to beat Texas 5 Sports 18-12 and 20-9 for the coveted Corky’s Open Division title.
MSP C-Division
Wisconsin came to play this year at Corky’s Early Bird Softball Classic, but it appears the state’s best players are all coming out of the same program. S2N (Beloit, Wisconsin) a team associated with Open Division champs Comatose/S2N was near-perfect in its road to the title as well. S2N finished 8-1 and beat Iconic Apparel (Rock Island, Illinois) 20-12 and 12-6 in the championship series for the title.
MSP D-Division
The MSP D-Division championship also came down to a two-game championship series with losers’ bracket finalists TC3/Hardline (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) taking down Silverbacks from South St. Paul. The Silverbacks entered the finals with a 6-0 record and actually beat Tc3/Hardline 14-10 to advance to the championship, but the latter won its losers’ bracket game and was able to get its revenge when it mattered most. TC3/Hardline won two close games at 10-5 and 13-8 to claim the title.
MSP E/Rec Division
The final backet of Corky’s Early Bird Softball Classic went to yet another Wisconsin team as Fond Du Lac’s LE/Herky Jerk Ranch finished 6-0 to win the championship. The title game came down to the wire with Fargo, North Dakota’s 1st Day Kicks showing some serious grit and determination, but LE/Herky Jerk Ranch got the job done in a 12-11 win.
Owatonna’s own
The Corky’s/Prime Garage Door team had a strong showing in the MSP E/Rec Division finishing 5-2 overall, but was cut down short in the losers’ bracket to take ninth. MN Chaos competed in the same division and found similar success finishing 4-2 overall for 13th place. The Average Joes batted .500 finishing 2-2 overall for 17th. Slowpitch Mafia also competed in the MSP E/Rec Division, but finished in 25th place at 1-2. Owatonna’s final three teams all competed in the MSP D-Division and struggled to find much momentum. Slowpitch Mafia and Ellingson/License Bureau/Reggie’s both ended with 1-2 records while RE/MAX Venture were shut out at 0-4 for last place.