AUBURN #- Whether it was the love of the game, or just a means to stave off cabin fever, more than 25 years ago, some local softball teams got together to create snow softball.

Over the past quarter century, Steve Pinchak, who along with Bill Brown served as coordinators of this year's tournament, said that the tournament has seen its ebbs and flows.

And for a few years there was no tournament at all.

But three years ago, Pinchak and others decided it was time to revive the long time tradition.

“There were a couple of different coordinators,” Pinchak said. “And it kind of dropped off for a few years and we all decided that it was time to pick it back up again. It's a lot of fun and we just thought it would be something fun to do in the winter.”

Since jump-starting the

tournament again, Pinchak has seen it grow steadily year after year.

And this year was no exception with eight teams gathering bright and early at Casey Park for the all-day tournament, which began at 8 a.m. and wrapped up around five in the evening.

“Three years ago we had six teams,” Pinchak said. “Last year we had seven, this year we had eight, it keeps growing and we pick up another team every year. I think we do a better job of getting the word out each year and advertising a little bit more and more people find out about this and have fun playing the game.”

Pinchak said that the tournament has also gained momentum with local businesses stepping up as sponsors.

This year Kohl's joined the ranks and along with sponsoring a team donated $500 toward the prize money for the first place team.

“We have some really great sponsors,” Pinchak said. “They help us out with sponsoring the teams and everything.”

While it may be difficult for some to imagine, the cold temperatures and the snow on the ground as being the perfect weather for a softball game, this year was one of the best in the recent history of the tournament.

“It was beautiful,” Pinchak said. “The weather was great, a little bit of snow on the ground, nice 30 degrees or so, this was a great year for us.”

At the end of the day, it was team Deorio that found itself at the top of the heap, after a long day of playing. Kevin Deorio said that his team, which was sponsored by Destiny Design of Owasco, have been regulars in the tournament the past three years.

“We love the game,” Deorio said. “We love the sport and this is a nice break from all the other winter sports.”

After battling their way through six other games through the course of the day, team Deorio found itself in the championship game, fighting it out to the last in a sudden death final inning that saw team Deorio win, 6-4.

Deorio said that the win was a complete team effort.

“Everybody contributed,” Deorio said. “I think by the last game everyone was tired and cold, but we managed to stay warm and we were able to keep playing like we did all day.”

After earning a third place finish last year and taking home the championship trophy this year, Deorio was more than pleased with the way his team played.

“It was a great,” Deorio said. “I think we played well and it feels great to get the win. This is a tradition for us and we'll definitely be back next year.”