July 30--The tournament concluded with the Rochester Eagles 16-under softball team plunging into a pool, uniforms and all.

Things definitely heated up in Tulsa, Okla., last week. There were the upper-90s temperatures, with heat indexes rising as high as 112.

But that wasn't all. There was also this bunch of Eagles softball players' games rising like the temperatures, which in the end led to that celebratory leap into the Comfort Suites Hotel swimming pool.

On Sunday afternoon, the Eagles finished with a 4-3 win over the Wichita (Kan.) Jitterbugs, making them champions of the 16UB USSSA World Series.

"For us to go there and win this tournament, it is so rewarding," said Becky Macken, who along with husband Mike co-coached the team. "The percentage chance of us winning the national title was very slim. Really, I was hoping for a top-10 finish. So this is so rewarding. We fought and scrapped for every win we got."

As Eagles third baseman Nicole Nelson explained the emotions of it two days later over the phone, she found herself unable to sit down.

"I'm still so excited that I'm pacing the floor," Nelson said.

Adding satisfaction to it all was that when Becky and Mike first got a hold of these girls, six years ago, they didn't see much there.

"They were a bunch of rag-tag kids who couldn't even catch and throw," she said. "How cliche, but they are poster children for what hard work and determination can get you."

The team is 12 players strong, all from Rochester Lourdes, and with some obvious stars. Becky and Mike's daughter Sam leads the way. Playing shortstop and batting .580 in the tournament, Sam was named the event's Most Valuable Player. Then there were the Nelson triplets. Nicole Nelson played third base and batted .514, Hannah Nelson played a flawless catcher, and Alyssa Nelson was named the tournament's defensive MVP for her work in center field. Finally, there were pitchers Morgan Maiers and Kelly Bier taking turns finessing their opponents and allowing their team's stout defense to do the rest.

But what grabbed Becky Macken and her Eagles players most was just what a "team" this evolved into.

"Our teamwork was outstanding," said Nicole Nelson, whose Eagles won five of their nine games by one run. "You take away any one of our girls from this team, and we wouldn't have been champions. Every girl had a part. Everyone played their best and everyone was excited to be there."

It wasn't just the softball that made for a dazzling week for the Eagles. There was also the obvious stuff, starting with simply being together day and night for that stretch.

But there were some off-field highlights, such as getting tickets to see a Tulsa Shock women's professional basketball game. Better still was taking in a concert put on by country western sensation "Rascal Flatts." The team is loaded with country music fans, so the opportunity to hear "Rascal Flatts" during their stay in Tulsa put them in a frenzy.

But what led to that final celebratory uniforms-on plunge into the pool is what they know will stick with them longest.

It was them having played the best softball of their lives, then hauling the 10 hours home with that championship trophy.

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