Wins in the America’s Finest City Softball League (AFCSL) are becoming a necessity – some teams have just a few weeks left in the regular season. Next weekend some AFCSL teams are headed up to San Jose for the Golden Bear Classic, a qualifying tournament for the North America Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) World Series, which will be held in San Diego August 15-20. Only those teams in first or second place in each AFCSL division can compete in the World Series.

In Women’s Alt Division action, Aberration handed Fit 2B Tyed their first loss of the season, a 10-3 setback, at Mira Mesa’s Hourglass Park on May 22. Adding another win due to a forfeit win over On the Run, Aberration now stands in third place in the Alt Division, with a 12-6 record.

As a team Aberration went on a hitting rampage. They more than doubled Fit 2B Tyed’s hit total, pounding out 27 hits compared to Fit 2B Tyed’s 13.

“It was a great win for us,” said Aberration Coach Leean Couch. “We had consistent, solid defense all around, and a team effort on offense. This will be a nice confidence builder for us heading into the San Jose tournament.”

Fit 2B Tyed (17-1) was able to rebound from the loss with a 5-2 win over South Bark Dog Wash to clinch first place in the Women’s Alt Division and a spot in the NAGAAA World Series. South Bark remains in second place in the Women’s Alt Division with a 13-5 record, one game ahead of Aberration.

Fit 2B Tyed led 5-0 by the third inning, but were still not hitting well.

“Again our hitting was off kilter,” said Fit 2B Tyed Coach Tina Prato of the 14 hits they produced. “We struggled and worked through it.”

Pitcher Tera Longest gave up nine base hits and got South Bark to fly out 16 of 30 at bats.

“They [South Bark] are big hitters and our defense did a great job of knocking them down,” Prato said.

The Women’s Division has one more weekend of league play at Hourglass Park on June 5. The awards banquet will be held at Six Degrees that evening from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

In Open D Division action on May 22, the first-place Moby Dick’s Blowholes came from behind to overcome the second-place Bourbon Street Gamecocks, 11-6. Seeking a win to remain in second place, the Gamecocks came on to the field fired up and led 6-0 after just two innings.

After a shaky start, Blowholes pitcher Mike McCarthy helped to shut down the Gamecocks for the rest of the game, along with strong defensive work by outfielder Frank Aguirre. The Blowholes’ offense began to get out of its slump in the third inning and scored 11 unanswered runs during the remainder of the game for the comeback win.

The Gamecocks, who barely slipped past Rough Riders 6-5 in the other game, remained tied with Bandits ROK for second place in the D Division with identical 12-6 records. Bandits ROK held their own to beat Gay & Lesbian Times/Alano Club 8-5 and Baja Betty’s 17-5.

In their second game, the Blowholes didn’t have as much pressure facing the last-place Rough Riders, so manager Brian Schultz switched several players’ field positions and it proved successful in a 17-14 win.

Dino Danner pitched this game, and McCarthy switched to outfield from pitcher. Larry Tow played catcher and contributed a tag-out at home plate.

Eric Maitland moved from second base to first, Carlos Ramón played outfield and Neerav “Neeto” Mistry tried his hand at shortstop.

The Blowholes started out strong, leading 17-7 going into the final at-bat for the Rough Riders. Strong hitting by the Rough Riders, however, allowed them to get back into the game and score an additional seven runs before the Blowholes were able to secure the final outs to hold on for the win.

The Blowholes remained in first place in D Division with a 17-1 record. The Rough Riders, showing promise as an emerging team, fell to 1-17 after their losses this week.

The Open Division is off this weekend, but will continue to play games at Poway Sportsplex each Sunday until June 12.

The San Diego Tennis Federation (SDTF) fielded several teams at the Long Beach Pride 3 Doubles Tournament, May 20-22. In the Men’s A Doubles final, two SDTF teams made it to the championship match after upsetting the top seeds in the tournament.

After an easy 6-1, 6-1 first-round win, unseeded Leonard Trinh and Fred Victoria did not have a fast match the rest of the day. They upset the fourth-seeded team, Ray Dallago and Reason Ford, in a grueling three-set quarterfinal match, prevailing 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). With the tiebreaker in the final set tied at 7-7, the match could have gone either way, but they won two points in a row to win it.

In the semifinals, Trinh and Victoria pulled off yet another three-set upset to get to the finals, beating second-seeded Philip Brooks and Chris Willis, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

On the other side of the draw the unseeded SDTF tandem of George Byrd and Frank January breezed past their opponents 7-5, 6-1 in their opening round match. In the quarterfinals, Byrd and January upset top-seeded Anthony Peterson and Ted Romero 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Byrd and January pulled out another upset to get past third-seeded Nick Cerabona and Johan Chilik, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the semifinals.

SDTF was guaranteed a trophy in the finals. After trading a set apiece it was down to a close third set to determine the champion. Trinh and Victoria got past Byrd and January, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to capture the championship.

Other results from the tournament included Todd Nguyen and Allen Sanchez defeating Bill Austin Jim Phillips in the C Consolation final. In the D Consolation final, Marc Hare and Peter Mayers beat third-seeded Bob Love and Stacy McCay 6-3, 6-2.

The San Diego American Flag Football League (SDAFFL) is hosting a player auction at Bourbon Street on Sunday, June 5, starting at 5:00 p.m. Bid for a date with some of the hottest men in all of San Diego. There will be a “beefed up” barbeque with $3 pitchers and $2 domestic drafts beers all day long. All proceeds from the auction will fund Gaybowl V, the national flag football championship being held in San Diego this year. The SDAFFL will host the three-day tournament for the first time, Oct. 7-9 in Tidelands Park in Coronado. For more information about the auction or the SDAFFL call (619) 804-9000 or visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the SDAFFL Web site.

The Different Strokes Swim Team invites the community to a free stroke clinic, open to the public, on Saturday, June 4, at the Bud Kearns municipal pool in Morley Field. The clinic will begin at 12:00 p.m.

The DSST welcomes swimmers of all ages and skill levels and is committed to bringing a healthy and fun alternative to GLBT and GLBT-friendly communities through its workouts, coaching and social activities. For information about DSST, visit www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the DSST Web site.