BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Brian May plays SS for Watanabe
(Craig Ruttle photo)
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Tonight, it really starts getting interesting in the Majors Division of the 46th Annual Metro Softball Tournament at Rumpke Park in Crosby Township.
In the late game, scheduled for 9:30 p.m. -- although it probably won't actually start until 11 p.m. -- one of the tournament favorites (Watanabe) faces a good team primed for an upset (DAPS).
One thing Watanabe wants to avoid is an early loss in this two-and-out tournament.
"The history of the Metro is that it's awfully hard to come out of the losers' bracket to win the thing," Watanabe manager Dave Watanabe said. "We've never able to do it, that's for sure. We've been among the favorites for five years and have zero Metro championships to show for it."
Watanabe is ranked first in the city, second in the state and 24th nationally.
That's a high ranking for a team consisting entirely of players from Greater Cincinnati, none of whom are receiving a salary from Watanabe to play softball.
"Ninety percent of the teams we play in tournaments on the road are teams that basically recruit and have players from throughout the country," Watanabe said. "My philosophy is just from a plain dollars-and-cents concern. It's simpler to do it locally, and we have enough local talent to compete at the national level."
The players include outfielder Brian May, 27, and shortstop Bill Burdine, 28, who also played those positions for the Fairfield High School baseball team that made it to the state semifinals in 1988.
Another Fairfield grad is Mark Smith, 36, who played for eight years in the Detroit Tigers organization as an outfielder and first baseman.
In its tournament opener Saturday, Watanabe beat Township Fields and Tavern, 17-1.
Watanabe's overall record is 62-25. The team has played in the Twitty Classic in Nashville, the Smoky Mountain Classic in Maryville, Tenn., the Far West Classic in Las Vegas and the Super Slam in Richmond, Ky.
"Our objective is always to win the national title," Watanabe said. "On the way, if we can a Metro, that's an accomplishment on a par with a national title."
SOFTBALL
