Croft into 16s at 2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout

Ben Croft has reached the Round of 16 at an International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Tier 1 event for the first time in two and a half years, as he defeated Felipe Camacho, 15-4, 13-15, 11-0, in the Round of 32 at the Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois on Friday. The win gets Croft a showdown with Sebastian Franco, who is the most recent tournament winner on the IRT.

After winning game one, Croft was up 7-1 in game two, only to see Camacho come back and tie it at 13-13. Camacho then forced Croft into a couple of skipped shots that get him the last two points to win game two, 15-13. Camacho’s momentum was shortlived, however, as Croft took an early lead in the tie-breaker, and never left Camacho in the game, winning it 11-0.

There were no other upsets or surprises in the 32s Friday, but there will be some good matches in the 16s, including Alejandro Landa versus Charles Pratt in what will be a battle of two IRT event winners; also, Jansen Allen versus Andree Parrilla, and Mario Mercado versus David Horn.

Look for the action on the IRT Network with the Round of 16 from 5 PM Friday afternoon. The quarterfinals will be 10 and 11 AM Saturday morning. The semi-finals will be at 5 PM and 7 PM Saturday with the final at noon Sunday. All times central.

2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout, March 15-18, 2018
Lombard, Illinois

Qualifying Round 2 - Friday morning

Q8) Thomas Carter d. Nicholas Riffel, 15-8, 15-11
Q1) Andree Parrilla d. Geoff Goldblatt, 15-12, 15-7

Q4) Jose Diaz d. Mauricio Zelada, 15-12, 14-15, 11-2
Q5) Charles Pratt d. Peter Appel, 15-7, 15-2

Q6) Adam Manilla d. Set Cubillos, 15-6, 15-4
Q3) David Horn d. Fabrizio Mora, 15-6, 15-5

Q2) Ben Croft d. Felipe Camacho, 15-4, 13-15, 11-0
Q7) Robert Collins d. Gerardo Franco, forfeit

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Rocky Carson v. Thomas Carter - 6 PM
8) Jansen Allen v. Andree Parrilla - 6 PM

5) Samuel Murray v. Jose Diaz - 6 PM
4) Alejandro Landa v. Charles Pratt - 6 PM

3) Alvaro Beltran v. Adam Manilla - 5 PM
6) Mario Mercado v. David Horn - 5 PM

7) Sebastian Franco v. Ben Croft - 5 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa v. Robert Collins - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….