The Deep River Horseshoe League began tournament play on Aug. 21, with the league champion Cardinals looking to repeat as the tournament champions.

The No. 1 seeded Cardinals faced the Mets, the eight seed, in the quarterfinals in Round One. The first round was a best-of-five series.

When the Mets and Cardinals played against each other during the season, the Cards were fighting for first place and defeated the Mets 3.5 – 2.5. Cardinals’ Kris Toohey tossed eight ringers in the first seven boxes for an easy win. In Game 2, Cards’ Dennis Goodrich recorded 34 points, which led to the team’s second win. Mets’ Damin Roberts and Howie Fisher combined to score 65 points for a convincing 33-point win in Game 3. Game 4 came down to the last box, as Cards’ Toohey and Mike Beckwith gave them a 2-point win in the 12th. The Cardinals won 3-1.

In the second matchup, No. 2 White Sox faced No. 7 Rockies. Mike Didomizio’s 38 points led the Rockies to a win in Game 1. The White Sox won Game 2 on Frank Rausch’s ringer in the 12th, while Rockies’ Matt Valentin’s ringer in the 12th of Game 3 gave them their second win. Down 2-1, White Sox’s Bob Beckwith took charge, and his 32-point game carried them to the win. In Game 5, the White Sox never had a chance, as Didomizio had his best game of the season. He had ringers in 11 of the 12 boxes, and his stat line for the game was 52 points, 15 ringers, and 4 doubles. The Rockies claimed a 3-2 victory.

The third-seeded Giants took on No. 6 Braves in the quarterfinal round. This match featured Giants’ Mike Zanelli Sr. vs. Braves’ Mike Zanelli Jr. In the two previous matches they played, the teams split — but there would be no split this time. It was Zanelli Jr.’s two doubles in the last two boxes to give the Braves the win in the opening contest. Game 2 was tied in the seventh when Zanelli Sr. closed out the match with 6 ringers for the win. Giants’ Mike Mercier and Gary Stevens combined for a 10-point win in game 3. In Game 4, Zanelli Sr. gave another lesson to his son as he tossed a 51-point, 15-ringer, 5-doubles game. The Giants grabbed a 3-1 win.

The Yankees, who were the four seed, took on the fifth-seeded Tigers in the final quarterfinal matchup. Tigers’ Sheryl Serviss and Susan Feaster both scored in every box, leading to a 12-point win. Yankees’ Todd Nuhn and Frank Jolly combined for 53 points for the victory in Game 2. Tigers’ Bill Black and Feaster both scored in every box to grab another 12-point win in Game 3. The Tigers grabbed the lead early and continued to build on it, earning them a 3-1 victory.

On Aug. 24, four teams remained, and the best-of-five semifinal matchups were played.

The night was cool and damp, and as light rain began to fall, there were thoughts that the matches would be postponed. Despite the off-and-on light rain showers, play continued with the scorekeepers huddled under an umbrella to keep the scoresheets dry.

The top-seeded Cardinals went up against No. 4 Tigers. The Cardinals would be without their leading scorer, Kris Toohey, for this match, so John Sciacca filled in as a substitute, who has a comparable average to Toohey. Game 1 was very close, as the lead went back and forth, and it was tied in the sixth box and again in the eighth box before the Tigers took the lead. Sciacca’s ringer in the 12th gave the Cardinals a one-point win, thanks to three points of handicap. Once again, Cards’ Goodrich came through in Game 2. His 30-point game put the Cardinals up 2-0.

In Game 3, Tigers’ Feaster scored in every box as she combined with Black for an easy 12-point win. As they have done many times during the season, Tigers’ Serviss and Feaster made a habit of scoring in every box, and in Game 4 they only missed in one of the 24 boxes. Sciacca and Serviss both had 34-point games, and it was Feaster’s 29 points that tied the match at 2-2. In Game 5, the Tigers had a three-point handicap in their favor. They took the lead from the start and led by as much as nine points, but they saw the lead vanish by the 11th box, as the Cardinals took a one-point lead going into the last box.

Serviss scored four in the top of the 12th, but Sciacca opened, so it was up to Cardinals’ Goodrich and Tigers’ Black. Goodrich tossed first and scored two points, which had the scratch score at Cardinals 52 and Tigers 50, so Black didn’t need to score at all. Despite that, he tossed two points, tying the scratch score at 52, and the Tigers took advantage of the handicap for the three-point win. With the 3-2 victory, they advanced to the Championship match.

In the second semifinal matchup, it was No. 3 Giants vs. No. 7 Rockies. The Rockies had three points of handicap in their favor, and it played into their game all the way to the 12th box when Zanelli Sr.’s double tied the score to force the match to go into overtime. The Rockies then won 7-4. The Giants rebounded in Game 2 behind Zanelli Sr.’s 37 points for a 15-point win. Rockies’ Valentin and Warren Bellows took the lead in the sixth box and held on for a six-point win. Games 4 and 5 were all Mike Z., as he tossed 40 points in Game 4, followed by 45 points in Game 5, and in both games, he had no open boxes. He finished the night with 157 points, 42 ringers, and 8 doubles. Rockies’ Mike Didomizio was a non-factor, as he was unable to generate any of the scoring he had in the quarterfinals.

The Championship was an intense contest between No. 3 Giants (Zanelli Sr., Stevens, Mercier) and No. 5 Tigers (Serviss, Black, Feaster).

It is only fitting that the league’s two players with the highest scoring averages would face off against each other in a best-of-seven match.

Serviss and Feister set the tone for the match as they both tossed a double in the first box, and it was a lead they would not relinquish on their way to an easy win. In Game 2, they waited until the third box before they took the lead, as Black and Serviss combined for 61 points and cruised to a 23-point win. Game 3 was a nail-biter, as it ended in a tie, thanks to the Giants’ 3 points of handicap. Stevens’s ringer in overtime gave the Giants the win, as they outscored the Tigers 4-2.

In Game 4, it was Zanelli Sr.’s turn, as his 36 points led to the Giants’ second win. Game 5 came down to the handicap to decide the winner. The Tigers’ four points of handicap gave them a one-point victory. Both teams had trouble scoring in Game 6. Black and Mercier matched scores at 15 points, and Stevens bested Feister 19-16 for the win. After six games, the contest was tied at 3-3. It was nip and tuck up to the seventh box when the Tigers tied the score. They outscored the Giants 19-14 over the last five boxes for the victory, claiming the title of Tournament Champions.