Croft wins first match at 2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout

Ben Croft won his first match at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois, defeating Kevin Vazquez, 15-10, 15-1. Croft will play Felipe Camacho in the Round of 32 Friday morning with winner to face Sebastian Franco, who is the most recent tournament winner on the IRT.

No surprises in the other Thursday matches, although there were some close games, including a tie-breaker, as Fabrizio Mora edged out Ward Myers, 12-15, 15-10, 11-9. Also, Geoff Goldblatt narrowly defeated Alok Mehta, 15-14, 15-12.

Finally, Mauricio Zelada beat Troy Warigon, 15-11, 15-9, and Peter Appel defeated John Wolfe, 15-7, 15-7.

Look for the action on the IRT Network from the 2nd Round of Qualifying on Friday morning at 10 AM 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 1 - Thursday evening

Geoff Goldblatt d. Alok Mehta, 15-14, 15-12
Mauricio Zelada d. Troy Warigon, 15-11, 15-9

Peter Appel d. John Wolfe, 15-7, 15-7
Fabrizio Mora d. Ward Myers, 12-15, 15-10, 11-9

Ben Croft d. Kevin Vazquez, 15-10, 15-1

Qualifying Round 2 - Friday morning

Q8) Thomas Carter v. Nicholas Riffel - 11 AM
Q1) Andree Parrilla v. Geoff Goldblatt - 11 AM

Q4) Jose Diaz v. Mauricio Zelada - 11 AM
Q5) Charles Pratt v. Peter Appel - 11 AM

Q6) Adam Manilla v. Set Cubillos - 10 AM
Q3) David Horn v. Fabrizio Mora - 10 AM

Q2) Felipe Camacho v. Ben Croft - 10 AM
Q7) Robert Collins v. Gerardo Franco - 10 AM

Round of 16 - Friday

1) Rocky Carson v. Q8 - 6 PM
8) Jansen Allen v. Q1 - 6 PM

5) Samuel Murray v. Q4 - 6 PM
4) Alejandro Landa v. Q5 - 6 PM

3) Alvaro Beltran v. Q6 - 5 PM
6) Mario Mercado v. Q3 - 5 PM

7) Sebastian Franco v. Q2 - 5 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa v. Q7 - 5 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….