The 68th annual Bloomington Firemen's Softball Tournament finished its July run with 66 teams in 6 divisions. Games were spread across Valley View Playfields and Red Haddox Field at the Toro Grandstand. The tournament's biggest headline came out of the Men's Open bracket, where T's 13, ranked No. 1 nationally in slow-pitch softball, beat All American 28-25 for the title.
The rest of the brackets went like this: Royalty/Fix Em All beat TAT/Aspire in Men's D, and TOTT won the Men's E/Rec title over MN Swingerz. CRS/Nanner Apparel edged JLS/DSA in the 40-and-over division. Hunter Home Renovations took Co-Ed over Ohana, and CSE won the women's championship.
The weekend opened with Bloomington Fire against Bloomington Police. The firefighters won this year's game 5-0. Next came the 40th edition of the tournament's all-star game, and then bracket play started in earnest.
The event's official name is the Virg Ellrich Memorial Firemen's Softball Tournament. Before the first pitch, organizers laid out a schedule that started Thursday, July 16, with a first responders game, followed by a home run derby on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were for bracket play and the championship rounds on multiple fields. For a lot of the city, it's the unofficial summer get-together.
The weekend was also a fundraiser. Concessions were run by the Kennedy High School choir and wrestling programs, the Bloomington Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus, and the proceeds go back to those local groups.
