Aurora wins battle of favorites for title

There were few surprises as the 26th annual Kelso Klassic wrapped up Sunday.

The two squads ranked in the top 15 in the world battled it out for the title as expected.

Aurora (Ill.) Dolan & Murphy, ranked 15th by the International Softball Congress, capped an undefeated run through the 14-team men's fastpitch softball tournament with a 13-5, six-inning win over the Decatur (Ill.) Pride.

Decatur, the defending Kelso Klassic champion, is ranked ninth by the ISC.

"It came down to those two teams, like we thought it would," tournament media coordinator Jerry Wolsey said. "To be ranked top 15 in the world, they are both very talented.

"The cream always rises to the top. That's what happens in this tournament."

Earlier Sunday, in the key game of the three-day, double-elimination event, Aurora helped pave its way to the title by slipping past Decatur 7-6 in nine innings in the winners bracket final.

Decatur came back to beat the Topeka (Kan.) Toros 9-6 in the losers bracket final before falling again to Aurora, which went 5-0 in the tournament.

Topeka, the 2009 NAFA A-Major national champion, wound up in third place.

Nokomis (Ill.) Bud Light, last year's runner-up, finished fourth and Lee's Sports Falcons from Pinckneyville, Ill., claimed fifth place.

Chris Leaf of Topeka was named the tournament MVP after breaking his own tournament record with seven home runs in six games. He previously set the mark with six homers in 2008. Leaf batted .400 (8 for 20) with 12 RBIs.

Jeramie Holman of Aurora was the most valuable pitcher. He went 3-0 in the tournament and was the winner in the championship game. He worked a total of 16 innings, allowing three earned runs and 14 hits while striking out 26 and walking two.

The two local squads both went 1-2, winning their openers but losing their next two games.

Host Kelso Fastpitch run-ruled the Belleville (Ill.) Stallions 13-0 in four innings then lost to Topeka 7-0 in five innings and to Pinckneyville 7-0 in five innings.

West End Tavern of Frohna run-ruled Pinckneyville 10-2 in five innings then fell to Aurora 10-1 in five innings and Pete's Blues from Swansea, Ill., 8-6 in eight innings.

"We had a wonderful tournament," said Wolsey, who plays for Kelso Fastpitch. "It was hot, but we had no rain for the first time in years."