Cinco de Strato San Jose May was contested by 8 players who selected a format also used in the LA opener to enable a short, Saturday regular season, with nearly every team engaging in meaningful Sunday play. We had a first time player, Bret Sypniewski from Las Vegas, who is a great addition to our hobby. After the Friday night draft, we played a full round robin of 14 games divided into 2 game series, plus a two game power match-up. Saturday night saw an elimination game, dubbed Derby Days by Jason Johnson, in which the #8/#7 teams (both 5-11 in the regular season) matched up for 5 innings vs the Fodder card. Bret opened with a 5-6 Altuve shot, but would not score again. Mike Breithaupt's club was just a little less pathetic, mustering two runs off the Fodder card to win the 5 inning sprint. Greg Strite earned the bye, torching the field with a 12-4 regular season. The #2 seed, Toby Strite and #3 seed, Ed Daley were allowed to choose their quarter finals opponent. Toby, in his wisdom, selected Mike Breithaupt's sorry lot, and was promptly swept out of the tournament. Ed chose more wisely, eliminating Peter Waterstreet in 4 games. Bruce Lott and Sean Oakley dueled in the third match-up, Sean winning in 4 games. Greg repeated his father's mistake, selecting Breithaupt's club - 4 games later, Greg's tournament was over. Ed Daley took care of Oakley in 4 games, setting up the #7 @ #3 seed match-up - which went all 7 games, before Mike prevailed. While a 15-15 STPC champion is probably a first, and may irk some traditionalists, a great time was had by all, including our newbie, Bret who stuck around for Sunday's action. Mike's team is truly a unique championship side.