Traveling from town to town, tournament to tournament, is a big part of the summer for the members of the D and D Towing slow-pitch softball team from Fredericktown, Mo.

The team plays in six or seven tournaments a summer, including three separate events in Rolla, Mo., this year. This weekend found the men from Fredericktown at the Shawnee Sports Complex in Cape Girardeau, playing for the World Amateur Sports Association (WASA) softball world series.

Despite a couple of close calls, D and D came away with a 6-0 record and the class E championship.

Deane Danback of Fredericktown said that despite the multitude of tournaments the team competes in each year, winning the WASA world series was a milestone.

"This is our first world championship," he said. "It's a big deal for us. It's something no one can take away from us."

For Bryan McMinn of Patton, the title of world champions is something that the team can take pride in.

"I'd say a world series is a pretty big deal," he said. "We're the best in the world, class E anyway."

What made the win even more special for D and D was the chance to take on the Starlite Drive-In team from Potosi, Mo., a team D and D was supposed to play in the WNSA state finals earlier this summer. That game was rained out.

For guys like Danback, who works for the sheriff's department, just trying to make it to every tournament and put together a team can be challenge.

"This is the first time this team has played together as a unit," Danback said.

Danback said that just to make this tournament he had to use some of his vacation time.

McMinn, who plays competitive baseball as well, said that he likes to stay involved with softball to keep him loose for when baseball season starts.

"We just do it for fun," he said.

D and D will have a week to celebrate their WASA championship before heading to St. Louis to compete in the NSA World Series.

This was the second time that Cape Girardeau has hosted the WASA world series tournament. This year's tournament was made up of Missouri and Illinois teams, including two from Cape Girardeau.

The two Cape Girardeau teams, S and S Roofing and Outcast, were eliminated in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Outcast finished the tournament with a 3-2 record and finished fourth on a coin toss. S and S Roofing finished the tournament 0-4.

Miller Masonry of St. Louis won the class D title of the Saturday's WASA event.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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