ASA 14u Class 'A' Western Nationals, by the numbers

The ASA 14u Class 'A' Western Nationals girls fastpitch softball tournament, put on by the Greater Sacramento Softball Association, concluded Sunday with All American Sports Academy of Tracy defeating San Diego Power Surge 4-2 in the championship game at Maidu Park.The week began with 98 teams invading Roseville and Lincoln, and the seven-day event gave the area an estimated $4 million economic boost between hotel nights, restaurants and entertainment."The comments that we heard from people were virtually all outstanding," GSSA Commissioner Jeff Dubchansky said Tuesday. "They loved the facilities. They raved about the quality of the maintenance of the facilities and the friendliness of the volunteers and staff and the attractiveness of all the cities and the amenities the cities had to offer."Here are some numbers and facts from the tournament:* A crowd of at least 3,500 attended the opening ceremony at Woodcreek High School.* All 98 team signs carried into the opening ceremony were made by Roxanne Marderos, the mother of Roseville Heat player Kayla Marderos.Roxanne Marderos designed each sign in the shape of a rose, painted them in each team's colors, did the scrolling and decoupage and wrote out each team name."From July 1 to July 31, my whole life pretty much revolved around making those signs," she said. "I did it for fun. I did it because I want people to enjoy something, to take something home to remember."Marderos made the team signs for last year's 'B' Western Nationals in Roseville, and she's been asked to resume the task for next year's 10u and 12u 'A' Western Nationals.* It took more than 40 volunteers and 40 umpires to run the event.* All hotels in Roseville and Lincoln were sold out for the week.* Over six days, 292 pool and double-elimination games were played at Maidu and Mahany parks in Roseville and Foskett Park in Lincoln.* There were 10 teams eliminated Thursday.* There were 56 teams sent home Friday, on a day 70 games were played.* At the start of play Saturday, there were six teams left, including squads from Nevada and Oregon.* All American Softball Academy had a record of 7-0 in double elimination and 9-0 counting pool play. It qualified for the USA/ASA National next year in Sioux Falls, S.D.* GSSA will be the host for the 10u and 12u 'A' Western Nationals next year.