After breezing through the round-robin portion of the tournament and earning a number-two seed in the Women’s Alternative Division, Fit 2B Tyed faced an uphill battle after suffering a close 3-2 loss against the Long Beach Lady Sharks on Aug. 18 during the 29th annual Gay Softball World Series, which took place in San Diego Aug. 14-20.

Fighting for life in the losers’ bracket, Fit 2B Tyed, a member of the America’s Finest City Softball League, needed to win six games the following day. Not only did they win those games, the San Diego team went on to win three additional contests the following day, upsetting the number-one seed in the process to capture the Women’s Alternative Division World Series Championship on Aug. 20.

Fit 2B Tyed started things off in the Series in round-robin play with three solid wins. They beat Minnesota One of Them 9-4, the Phoenix Moxie 8-5 and the San Francisco Basters 20-2.

On Aug. 17 they beat the San Jose Sidewinders 8-4 before falling to the Long Beach Lady Sharks to enter into the losers’ bracket, facing what seemed like an insurmountable task at hand – play and win six consecutive games in one day.

“We came into Friday with nothing to lose,” said Fit 2B Tyed coach Tina Prato. “I said consistency is going to be the key to winning the Series. Consistency for every single game we step on the field for, and don’t let up.”

Fit 2B Tyed never let up again for the remainder of the tournament.

They got off to a shaky start against Chicago Spin Fusion in their first game on Aug. 19, but held on for a very slim 10-9 win.

Two hours later, Fit 2B Tyed faced San Diego nemesis On the Run, who got out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. Their luck ended as Fit 2B Tyed put together some solid hits and defense to shut them down, only allowing them to score one more run in a 12-6 come-from-behind victory.

Against the Los Angeles Storm, Fit 2B Tyed exchanged hits the entire game and escaped with a 7-5 win.

“With three wins under our belts and the sun beating down on us, we were starting to feel the momentum that this was our day to shine,” said Prato. “Our bats were coming alive and we were a freight train going after anyone that stood in our way.”

Fit 2B Tyed next faced Phoenix Face First. They continued to use their bats as ammunition, getting in some stellar plays for an easy 14-3 win.

With four wins under their belt, they next faced the number-one seed, Karen Garvin & Associates from Tucson, Ariz., and completely dominated the game, not allowing a single run in a six-inning 11-0 thrashing. Karen Garvin & Associates could not put any offense together the entire game, stranding runners at third based on two separate occasions.

When it came time for the sixth inning, the team simply ran on pure adrenaline against the Kansas City Crush.

“We were so happy to see the end in sight that we came out punishing them right away and never looked back,” said Prato.

Fit 2B Tyed took base hits away and turned a few double plays around for an easy 14-2 win.

Last Saturday, Aug. 20, was the day of truth for Fit 2B Tyed. The first game against Dallas-Get Ripped was another easy one for them as their offense continued to flow like honey in an 11-3 win.

In the championship, Fit 2B Tyed faced the only team who had beaten them in this tournament – the Long Beach Lady Sharks. They slipped by with an 8-4 win, but it wasn’t over yet. Since this was a double-elimination tournament, the Long Beach Lady Sharks needed to lose another game in order for Fit 2B Tyed to be crowned the champions.

The pressure was on and Fit 2B Tyed came through with solid plays and offensive runs in another close 7-5 championship win.

Fit 2B Tyed first base player Missile Johnson made some key plays to stop the Lady Shark attack. After a few costly errors in the third and fourth innings that resulted in runs, Fit 2B Tyed remained calm and continued to take base hits away from the Lady Sharks.

Second-base player Pam Castanon and short-stop Rachell Gary contributed some key double plays to shut down the Lady Sharks’ offense.

Marge Mongolo pitched solidly, forcing the Lady Sharks to pop balls up in the last inning. Prato said outfielders Diana Emerson, Chasm Bone, Liz Apodaca and Carmen Soikowski did an exceptional job. She added Tera Longest was a “brick wall at home plate” and Laurie Jancsek, Krista Kilpatrick, Mel Stevenson, Christa McDermont, Amber Smith and Kari Rocco added to Fit 2B Tyed’s depth on the field and base running.

“Consistency was the key to our success,” Prato said. “When one of us wasn’t getting the job done, the next one would. I believed every single day that we were the team to beat this year – since the start of the season.”