
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 26, 1993                   TAG: 9307260096
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TOP-RANKED TEAM CLAIMS SOFTBALL TITLE

Ritch's/Superior, the No. 1-ranked team, won the championship Sunday at the USSSA Men's Masters national slow-pitch softball tournament at the Moyer Complex in Salem.

Ritch's, the three-time defending national champion, defeated Bell Corp. 36-32 in the title game to complete the tournament with a 5-0 record and run its season record to 60-2.

Outfielder Doug Roberson of Ritch's was selected the tournament's most valuable player after finishing 21-for-28 with 14 home runs. Third baseman Darrell Beeler went 22-for-28 with 18 homers. Ritch's/Superior, of Windsor Locks, Conn., slugged 135 homers in its five victories.

Dan Schuck of Bell Corp. belted 21 homers in seven games and finished the tournament with a .914 batting average (32-for-35).

Ritch's/Superior defeated Steele's/Sunbelt 55-32 in the winner's bracket final. Steele's led Ritch's 27-23 at one point before being outscored 33-1 over the next three innings.

Bell Corp., which had 147 homers in seven games, eliminated Steele's 38-14 and eliminated Taylor Brothers 39-23 to make the championship game.

by CNB