The 22nd annual Autumn Classic kicked off in San Diego this past weekend, where several teams from Los Angeles and Long Beach captured Open Division tournament titles and San Diego teams dominated the Women’s Recreational Division. A whopping 55 California and Arizona teams competed in the tournament, which was broken down into Open Division B, C and D, and Women’s Alternative and Recreational divisions.

In the Open Division, the format was a two-game round-robin followed by a double-elimination bracket. Teams were placed in initial pools by a blind draw and were seeded in the double-elimination bracket based upon their win/loss record.

San Diego fielded 23 teams overall between the two divisions. The Open Division B included Brians’ Bears, The Loft, Notarize This!, Rego Law Diegans, Renegades, Results Fitness and Team Pecs. Open C featured the Bourbon Street Gators, Martinis Above Fourth, Starz, Mission Hills Bistro Boyz, Ortega’s/Hairspray, Shameless and Viejas Bling Bling. Open D had Live and Let Live Alano Club/Gay & Lesbian Times and El Dorado Knights. The Women’s Alternative Division included Aberration and the DynaSluggers, while the Women’s Recreational Division featured Bring It On, Happy Hour, One Shot/Peacemakers, Powerhouse Gym, Six Degrees and Slammers.

Play in each of the divisions relied on the basics: defense and steady determination. This was a distinct departure from the style of play seen in the Gay World Series, where monster hits and homeruns were more common. Scores were generally lower throughout the Autumn Classic, with no runaway victories on the part of any team. All teams were fairly well matched, and the majority of the games could have gone in either direction.

The West Hollywood Killer B’s moved through the Open B rankings early on, winning their first three games against Pecs, San Francisco’s The Club Hitmen and Rego Law Diegans. The Killer B’s were seeded at the top of the winner’s bracket early on in the competition.

Pecs lost their first game against the Killer B’s, but defeated the Los Angeles Faultline before falling to the Long Beach Rebels. Results Fitness recorded two wins against Notarize This! and Faultline before falling to the Rebels to take third place overall, becoming the only San Diego Open Division team to place in the tournament.

The Rebels were a force to be reckoned with throughout the tournament. Coming up from the loser’s bracket, they beat the Rego Law Diegans, The Club Hitmen, and Results Fitness to face the Killer B’s in the finals.

The Rebels jumped to an early lead against the Killer B’s with several strong base hits and a powerhouse homerun hitter. The Rebels played exceptionally well on defense, keeping the Killer B’s to base hits and stopping them from gaining any momentum, and the Killer B’s were unable to overcome that strong defense. The Rebels won the game, forcing an “if” game for the final decision of the tournament. Since play was double-elimination and the Killer B’s only had one loss up to that point, another game had to be played to determine the champion.

Defensive play was still the modus operandi for the Rebels, and they kept the Killer B’s from scoring runs in the first couple of innings. However, the Killer B’s, while stepping up their defensive game and making the Rebels work for every offensive output, still managed to give up two runs, thanks to their homerun powerhouse. Going into the top of the last inning, the Rebels led 9-2. Things were beginning to look good for the Killer B’s, who after an early out, hit back-to-back base hits and brought up one of their power hitters. An impressive double-play ended the game, with the Rebels coming up from the loser’s bracket to win six games back-to-back to capture the title.

The San Francisco Pilsner Panthers defeated the SoCal Tribe 13-6, and then 13-0 in the “if” game to capture the Women’s Alternative Division. San Diego’s Aberration came in third.

San Diego teams swept through the women’s Recreational Division. Powerhouse 2 beat out Happy Hour for the first-place trophy in a 10-2 win, and Bring It On came in third.

1. Rebels (Long Beach)

2. Killer B’s (Los Angeles)

3. Results Fitness (San Diego)

1. IM Batboys (Los Angeles)

2. Bandits (Los Angeles)

3. Zephyrs (Los Angeles)

1. Enervators (Long Beach)

2. Rebels (San Jose)

3. Baby Outlaws (Long Beach)

1. Pilsner Panthers (San Francisco)

2. So Cal Tribe (Long Beach)

3. Aberration (San Diego)

1. Powerhouse 2 (San Diego)

2. Happy Hour (San Diego)

3. Bring It On (San Diego)