Parrilla & Horn in final of 2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout

For the first time in International Racquetball Tour (IRT) history a final will be contested by two players seeded outside of the top 8, when 9th seed Andree Parrilla and 11th seed David Horn meet in the final of the 2018 IRT Shamrock Shootout in Lombard, Illinois. Moreover, both Parrilla and Horn will be trying to win their first IRT title. Horn will be playing in his first IRT final, while Parrilla will be in just his second. He was in the Shamrock Shootout final last year, when he lost to Kane Waselenchuk.

Horn pulled off the bigger upset to reach the final, as he beat 2nd seed Daniel De La Rosa, but he won their semi-final in two straight games, 15-9, 15-8. Parrilla needed a tie-breaker to get past 5th seed Samuel Murray, 15-8, 11-15, 11-2.

Parrilla looked like he was going to win in two games, as he led 9-5 in game two. But in the middle of that game, he took issue with a hinder call by the referee, and that seemed to switch the momentum to Murray, who ran seven points to lead 12-9. Parrilla did get to within one at 12-11, but Murray was able to close it out, 15-11.

In the breaker, they were back and forth early with the score at 1-0 for Parrilla after nine rallies. But Parrilla took control from there, going up 4-0, and 7-1, as he went on to win it comfortably at 11-2.

A consolation for Murray is that he will be in the IRT Doubles final, as he and Alejandro Landa defeated Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa, 15-14, 15-4, in the semi-finals. They'll play 3) Sebastian Franco and Mario Mercado in the final, as Franco and Mercado defeated Jansen Allen and Felipe Camacho in the other semi, 13-15, 15-9, 11-5.

The singles final will be at noon Sunday, and can be seen on the IRT Network, and also check out the IRT FaceBook page. The doubles final will follow the singles final, and is scheduled for 1 PM Sunday. All times central.

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

Semi-finals - Saturday

Andree Parrilla d. 5) Samuel Murray, 15-8, 11-15, 11-2
David Horn d. 2) Daniel De La Rosa. 15-9, 15-8

Final - Sunday

Andree Parrilla v. David Horn - Noon

IRT Doubles - Semi-finals - Saturday

4) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray d. 1) Alvaro Beltran & Daniel De La Rosa, 15-14, 15-4
3) Sebastian Franco & Mario Mercado d. 2) Jansen Allen & Felipe Camacho, 13-15, 15-9, 11-5

IRT Doubles - Final - Sunday

3) Sebastian Franco & Mario Mercado v. 4) Alejandro Landa & Samuel Murray - 1 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….