5th Annual States of the Big XII Softball Tournament Co-Chairs: Pete Berlowitz, Joe Britton and Cory J. Colhouer About 200 participants and guests enjoyed the 5th Annual States of the Big XII Softball Tournament on July 22, 2006, at Bolling Air Force Base (and of course, our traditional Red, Hot and Blue BBQ). Ten teams competed in this year’s tournament, representing Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Nebraska again fielded two teams, the Bugeaters and the Cornhuskers. The Cornhuskers hung in for three games, eliminating the Bugeaters, but losing to the Texas Republics and the RBI’s of Texas. Another Texas team, the Lawn Wrangler’s, seemed poised to maintain their state’s domination of the tournament. At the end of the day, it came down to the undefeated Lawn Wrangler’s and the one-loss Iowa Chairmen: to win it, the Chairmen would have to beat the Lawn Wrangler’s twice…but the championship would have to wait. The weather had been clear and sunny all day, and much cooler than last year’s scorcher. But as evening neared, a light wind grew into a gale, and summer storm clouds moved in, bringing bolts of lightning, claps of thunder and a torrential downpour just as the final series was about to begin. The suddenness and ferocity of the storm sent the remaining spectators and competitors alike running for cover. On September 17, the Iowa Chairmen finally returned to Bolling Air Force Base to face off against the Texas Lawn Wrangler’s, and in an unprecedented two-game championship series, became the first non-Texas team to earn the right to emblazon their name on the States of the Big XII Softball Tournament trophy. The Society would again like to thank Colonel Anthony ‘Lazer’ Lazarski for his help in supporting the tournament. We’d also like to acknowledge the generous contribution of beverages by the Coca-Cola Company.

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