SATURDAY 11/17/07 Our day started in the Twin Creeks parking lot where I met the manager of J. Chubb Insurance Softball Team, our first opponent. When he found out this was our first tournament, we heard for the first time �What are you doing in the upper bracket?� He then said they were a very good team and they would probably beat us. Great! We had to learn a few new rules for senior softball: no sliding, 5 runs per inning mercy rule (we loved that one), and the strike zone. Anything that touches the mat behind home plate and anything that touches any part of home plate is a strike. So we were all pretty nervous and wondering who would be the first person to do something embarrassing in front of all those veteran teams. Thanks Mike for being the first. He was taking a few swings in the on-deck circle and lost his bat sending it flying into the stands hitting a player from another team. I think he got his bat back. Back to the game: the Bugs lost 25-3 in 5 innings. We finished the game with 7 hits and 2 looking strikeouts (on the plate).Vince made a great play at 3rd base when he took a line drive off his knee and still managed to make the put out. Our next game was against the Old A�s-Miken team. We felt pretty good when we found out they were an over 60 team, then we found out they are ranked number 1 in the United States in the super-major division. Rumor has it that they flew 3 players in for this tournament (they must have heard about the awe-inspiring Bugbusters), before the start of the game one of our guys was looking at the A�s players and made the comment �I thought once you were over 60 you started to shrink�. All kidding aside, even though we lost the game 18-8, we did pretty well as a team. Treacy, Chuck, Tom, and Lou each had 3 hits. We had 20 hits as a team (the A�s had 23). Treacy pitched a great game and handled 3 shots up the middle and Greg made 2 great catches in the outfield. The only negatives, besides losing the game, were Vince pulling a hamstring and 3 more strikeouts (1 on the plate). Our last game of the day was against The Stanislaus 50 team. We seemed to be getting better each game. We lost 15-6 but the scores were getting closer. Chuck, Bob, Bill, and Tom got 9 of our 15 hits with Chuck and Tom hitting doubles. Off to Pizza Depot to discuss our strategy for the next day and to discuss our sore muscles.

SUNDAY 11/18/07 We began the second day of the tournament losing two players. Vince Manriquez who pulled a hamstring on Saturday and Greg Biedma who said he had to work (hmmmm-football), and getting one back when Ed (Juan)Sermone showed up one day late. Our first game was against the 50 Caliber team who greeted us with the often heard question, �What are you doing in the upper bracket?� They quickly dispatched us 23-7. Chuck and Hugo each had triples. Scott had a double and for defense I finally got a shot up the middle that I caught. During the break before our next game, we discovered Scott Davis was missing. After a thorough search of the grounds and the sports bar upstairs, we decided that he must have thought he had only one game today or he had a senior moment and is wandering around the bay lands outside the sports complex. If we don�t hear from him in a week we might call somebody. Before the start of our last game, we took a look at our team. We were down to 11 players, everybody was hurting and we would be playing Stixx, the only team to beat the Old A�s/Miken team. After watching Stixx hit about ten balls up the middle in the game before ours, I decided I was done pitching for the afternoon. I asked Lou Martinez if he wanted to pitch and got a quick �hell no!�. From the back of the dugout someone said give me the ball. It was Big �Juan� his next words were �Its time to play Bugball�. For the next 6 innings, Juan pitched great and the Bugs out hit Stixx 16-11 but we were still behind 7-6. In the top of the 7th inning, with 2 out and runners on first and third, guess who is up? This could have been a great movie with a great ending (but remember what I said about the strike zone?). The count is one ball, two strikes and the last pitch I had hit past the left fielder - just foul. It was the best ball I hit the entire tourney. The next pitch is on the way, it looks short, its dropping� dropping�. dropping�. dropping�. it hits the 1/8 inch wide black strip in front of home plate! #@%$##SHI*#@$!#T#@*+!!! Leading the Bug offense were: Scott .750, Chuck .692, Lou .636, Tom .615, Bob .571, and Jim .538