MONGAUP VALLEY – Over the weekend, the First Annual Dutch’s Men’s Modified Softball Tournament went down at Collins Field on Route 17B in Mongaup Valley. Seven teams participated in the tournament, with the final games being played on Sunday. 

The Brew Jays and the Darders played for the championship in the 12th and final  game of the tournament. The format was double elimination and the Brew Jays hadn’t lost a game to that point. 

It was a fairly easy road for the Brew Jays, only running into some trouble in their second game. After an 11-6 win over DVYSL in their first game, it took extra innings to defeat the Cervacervos, which they ulitmately did, 12-11. In the game which sent them to the championship, they demolished the Darders, 22-12.

So, all the Brew Jays had to do was defeat the Darders once more and they were the champions. The Darders got to the championship by defeating DVYSL, 12-8, which wasn’t as close as the final score makes it seem. 

DVYSL scored six runs over the final two innings to make it closer. Three of the final six runs were scored on a controversial home run that appeared to be a foul ball, but it ultimately didn’t matter as Darders was able to hold on for the win and punch a ticket to the championship.

The end result of the championship was really never in question, despite the best efforts of tournament MVP Mike Mills of the Darders, who hit five homers over the three-day tournament and posted a .687 average. Mills was 1-for-3 in the championship. 

For the Darders, the Brew Jays lineup was too much to handle, as they smashed across nine runs in the first three innings. The Brew Jays wound up 10-run ruling the Darders as they made it 13-3 in the sixth inning to finish their opponent off. Ronald Crover smacked a homer to essentially walk it off for the 10-run rule.