2021 54+ American

Jacksonville Hops 6, Diamond Dream Mustangs 4

Submitted by Lou Hancock, Hops manager

The Jacksonville Hops, previously the Jacksonville Vikings, have played in every Holiday Classic and have never missed one. We’ve followed this event from Disney’s Wide World of Sports to Kissimmee and in the last two years to Viera, therefore becoming a tradition for our group. Our guys always look forward to getting on the field after a few months of being cooped up. Although we always compete, it has been a while since we’ve won a championship.

Our success was truly a team effort but our pitching staff deserves kudos. We played five complete games with four pitchers. Louis Tahernia pitched 15 innings and was selected our most valuable player. I believe tournament director Gary D’Ambrisi said it best at the awards presentation…’who would had thought that we would still be playing competitive hardball at our age and have the opportunity to build relationships with others that love the game from around the country.’

Thanks to the MSBL team for making it happen!