The 34th Annual SAE World Series, SAE’s member-only double elimination softball tournament, was held in New Orleans on June 28-29, 2019. High winds blew the rooftop off the dugout of the host committee’s team, The Rejects, as they shocked the South Florida Alums 21-0. The host committee’s second team, The Rejects 2, did not get anyone on base in their opening game against Nicholls State and lost 26-0. A grudge match between the University of Houston Undergraduates and Alumni turned out with the University of Houston Alumni prevailing 4-0.
Top-seeded Southern Mississippi easily defeated The Rejects 14-3. Second-seeded Louisiana State University (LSU) disposed of a tough Nicholls State team 6-2. The University of Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL) Alumni beat the University of Houston Alumni 11-3. The Southern Mississippi squad then hammered the ULL Alumni 18-3 to win their second game.
In the consolation rounds, The Houston Alums defeated The Rejects 11-7 and Millsaps 4-0. The Rejects eliminated The Rejects 2 by a score of 14-5. After losing to LSU 6-2, eventual 3rd place finisher Nicholls State eliminated South Florida 21-7, University of Housing Undergraduates 17-1, the ULL Alumni 8-4, then the Houston Alumni 13-1.
Play continued on Saturday, with the only two unbeaten teams (LSU and Southern Mississippi) facing off for a berth in the finals. Both teams played flawless defense and were tied 0-0 until LSU squeaked in one run in the 5th inning and held onto win 1-0. After the loss, Southern Mississippi responded with a solid 8-1 victory over Nicholls State and earned a rematch against LSU in the finals. Since the tournament is double-elimination format, Southern Mississippi would have to beat undefeated LSU twice to win the championship.
Southern Mississippi dominated the entire first game over LSU, winning 8-4. In the second/championship game, LSU scored two runs in each of the first, second and third innings to lead 6-0. The fun-loving LSU team prevailed 13-2 to earn their first title after participating consistently for 34 years.
After the softball tournament, everyone ventured to New Orleans’ historic warehouse district for the awards banquet and more SAE comradery. We hope to see you and your SAE team at next year’s World Series in New Orleans. Full details on this great event are at www.saeworldseries.net and on social media.
Top Teams
1st – LSU
2nd – Southern Mississippi
3rd – Nicholls State
4th – University of Houston Alumni
Awards & Accolades
Most Improved – LSU
Farthest Distance Traveled – South Florida
SAE Spirit Award – Millsaps
Best Dressed – Houston Alumni
Last Place – South Florida
Bourbon Street Award – Houston Alumni
Old Timer’s Award –Steve Birk (South Florida ’92)
SAE Queen – Donna D’Elia
Steve Birk Dedication Award – Vaughn Cimini (Louisiana State ’83)
Young Gun Award – Taka Kaieda (Houston ’15)
MVP – Justin Untereiner (Louisiana State undergraduate)
