First Church of God from St. James placed second in the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Missouri Men’s Slow-Pitch Softball Church State Tournament, held on a steamy-hot Saturday at Ber Juan Park.
Bethel Assembly of Gape Girardeau battled back from the losers bracket to defeat First Church of Gold in the finals.
Placing third in the 10-team, double-elimination tournament was Evangel Temple of Springfield.
First Church of God-St. James finished 4-2 in the tournament.
In the first round First Church of God whipped Central Assembly of God from Springfield 18-7 and then topped Mt. Calvary of Poplar Bluff 17-7. In the third round the St. James squad handled Bethel Assembly 23-12 to advance to the finals of the winners bracket.
In the winners bracket finals First Church of God knocked off Evangel Temple 13-7 to move on to the championship round.
In the finals of the losers bracket Bethel Assembly came charging back, hammering Evangel Temple 21-1 to set up a rematch with First Church of God.
Bethel Assembly clipped First Church of God 24-20, giving each team a loss and setting up the “if” game for the tourney championship.
In the finals the Bethel Assembly offensive attack kept rolling on, outscoring First Church of God 28-20 for the title.
Bethel Assembly opened the tournament by beating Grace Community of Salem 18-3 before falling to First Church of God in the second round. The champions then reeled off five straight victories for the crown.
Two other area teams in the field were Spring Creek Baptist of Rolla and Grace Community of Salem.
Spring Creek Baptist lost a tough, 9-8 game to Calvary Legends of Joplin in the first round. In the losers bracket Spring Creek Baptist beat Grace Community and then topped Palace of Praise of Poplar Bluff 10-4 before falling to Mt. Calvary of Poplar Bluff 22-12.
For winning the state title Bethel Assembly receives an automatic berth to the ASA National Church Tournament, to be held next month in Auburn, Ala.
