By Lance McCall

    Glendale, AZ. --- West Coast Doerflinger/Easton from Los Angeles, CA. won the Conference USSSA Cactus Classic held on April 27-29 by defeating Team Combat/Pacific Headwear of Kent WA. in the 'If' Game. 
    West Coast and Team Combat ended out battling each other three straight games at the end of the tournament before a winner was declared.
    West Coast went 5-1 on the tournament and they certainly started the tournament off on the right foot as they won a lopsided 20-0 victory against Darksyde from Phoenix, AZ. West Coast followed up that victory with another convincing win over The Fallen/Easton/3n2  by the score of 23-8. West Coast got some great play from their All Tournament players Cal Ford and Johnny Bailey.
    Against Class Glass/Easton/DSS of San Jose, CA. West Coast would have its toughest game of the tournament thus far as both teams battled to the final out. However, West Coast got some outstanding play from Tournament MVP Steven Lopez and some great defensive play from Defensive Tournament MVP    Mario Granados to pull out a narrow 26-23 victory.
    The undefeated game would be the first of three straight match-ups against Team Combat/Pacific Headwear from Kent, WA. The two heavy weights battled it out throughout the game. However West Coast a conference 'B' team more then held their own against the men's 'Major' Team Combat.
    The conditions were just right as the ball carried very well throughout this contest. Each team had their share of 8 to 10 run leads throughout the game. By the seventh inning West Coast was holding on to a 50-40 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Combat nearly battled their way back into the game as they pushed 6 more runs across the plate. However West Coast defense shined bright at the end of the game to hold Combat off by a score of 50-46.
    In the losers bracket Combat went on to beat Sonny's/Louisville Slugger by the score of 29-27. This victory earned them the right to play West Coast in the Championship game and they made the best of their opportunity as they downed a flat West Coast team 25-9.
    In the winner take all 'If' game the two heavy weights went toe to toe throughout the game. Both teams rallied with a barrage of base hits and the usual long ball. However when the final out was called West Coast stood victorious with a close 35-32 victory.