SUMMER 2009 - USSSA - United States Specialty Sports Association

Transcription

SUMMER
2009
Resmondo/Worth’s
Bryson Baker
Two Time MVP in Conference USSSA Play
Resmondo Leads In Conference Points
at Midpoint of Season
USSSA Pride
of the National Pro Fastpitch
Announces 2009 Schedule
Appearing at the 10, 12 and 14 Fast Pitch World Series Opening Ceremonies
USSSA and Mizuno is proud to announce that
two-time Olympian Jennie Finch will be appearing
at the 10, 12 and 14 Fast Pitch World Series
Opening Ceremonies at the Disney Wide
World of Sports Complex on
Sunday, July 26, 2009.
Jennie Finch
Two Time Olympic Medalist
UNITED STATES SPECIALTY
SPORTS ASSOCIATION
Message from Headquarters
The 2009 season is well underway
and everyone is excited about
what’s going on in the USSSA this
season. I would like to mention just
a few of the things that are new
for 2009.
The USSSA All-American Games
are attracting the finest 14-16 year old baseball players
in the nation. Our goal is to identify and select USSSA
All-American players in each division, providing them
with both the recognition and exposure that they
will need to advance to the next level of their careers.
Additionally, the games will serve as the selection process
of Team USSSA at the 16U division which will compete
nationally in 2010 in Japan. For more information on
how to participate in the selection process go to www.
USSSA.com and select the Baseball tab.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the USSSA Pride
to our membership. In cooperation and partnership
with National Pro Fastpitch, the Pride is the newest
addition to the organization’s fastpitch program. USSSA
is continuing our efforts to promote the game of fastpitch softball and we are taking the step of building our
program around what will become the center piece of
USSSA Fastpitch. The Pride opens their season June 10th
in Chicago vs. the Bandits and will play their home opener
in Kissimmee, Fl on June 24th.
The USSSA Pride roster includes 2008 Olympic Silver
Medalists pitcher Monica Abbott (Tennessee), 2nd
Baseman Kelly Kretschman (Alabama) and outfielder
4 USSSA TODAY
Caitlin Lowe (Arizona). Courtney Bures (Mississippi
State), LaDonia Hughes (LSU), Amber Jackson
(Maryland), Sara Pauly (Texas A&M), Sara Larquier
(Virgina), Callie Piper (Florida Atlantic), Desiree
Serrano (Arizona State), Oli Keohohou (Cal. State,
Long Beach), Jessica Dignon (Pittsburgh). In addition
to the current team members the Pride has also added
University of Florida standouts, pitcher Stacey Nelson
and outfielder Kim Walezonia through the Senior
Draft in early February. Stanford SS Maddy Coon was
also selected via the Draft and contract discussions are
ongoing.
It is our sincere hope that the entire USSSA fastpitch
membership will rally around the Pride and become loyal
fans and supporters of the team, nationwide. USSSA will
also be working with our directors around the country
and scheduling camps and clinics that will be very beneficial to our young female athletes. More information on
the Pride will be available at USSSAPride.Com.
SLUGFest 2009 is shaping up nicely. The final dates
for the events are: Elite Baseball (10, 12 14U) – July
15-17, 2009. Girl’s 14U A&B, 12U A&B and 10U – July
26-31, 2009. Elite Baseball (9, 11 & 13U) - August 5-7,
2009. Men’s Slow Pitch - Sept. 17-19 and Sept. 24-26,
2009. We are pleased to announce that Lisa Fernandez,
Jennie Finch and Stacey Nuveman will be attending
the Girl’s Fastpitch SLUGFest along with members of
the USSSA Pride. It should be an exciting and enjoyable experience for everyone one in attendance. Good
luck to everyone and we hope to see you all this summer
between the lines!
CONTENTS
M A G A Z I N E
6028 Rayburn Dr. • Fort Worth,TX 76133
(817) 944-7484 • [email protected]
6
Executive Director, CEO USSSA
Don DeDonatis
USSSA & NPF Form
Cooperative Partnership
Publisher, USSSA Today
Stafford Connor
Communications Director, USSSA
Tom O’Hara
Design / Printing
REEDESIGN
Lebco Graphics
Contributing Writers
Robert Boudreaux
Scott Cameron
Rick Fortura
Van Galeon
Gary Godden
Brett Helmer
Art Hernandez
Greg Huchingson
Scott Kuhnen
Chris Laurence
Jeremy McDowell
Luis Mejia
Rick Robertson
Toni Ramsey
Paul Rose
Fred Ruggles
Bryan Sage
Joan Simpson
Jared Swan
Kirk Tarabokia
Tammy Totland
Matt Trebuchon
Lisa Walt
Dale Weiser
Photographers
Roy Dean
Scott Duffy
Michael McNutt
USSSA Today is published quarterly. Publishing
offices are located at 6028 Rayburn Dr., Fort
Worth, TX 76133. One year subscription is $25;
two year is $40. Reproduction or use of the
contents in whole or in part without prior written
permission of the publisher is prohibited.
USSSA Today welcomes unsolicited articles or
photographs, but must be accompanied with a
self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of
unsolicited material.
14 2009 Men’s Slow Pitch
6424th Annual Budweiser
19 Shuckers/Worth Major NIT
52 Slowpitch / Big Brothers & Sisters
22 Gateway City Classic
54 Wilsey’s / Omaha Tournament
24 8th Annual Texas Legends
56 Centennial State Classic NIT
26 Columbus Major NIT
58 Mansfield NIT
30Michigan Hall of Fame
60Jeff Hall Shoot Out
32 6th Annual New York State USSSA
70New Jersey Hit the Roof NIT
Festival is ‘King of Softball’ in
Texas with 275 teams
USSSA Conference
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
34 Play Up / Sportsmanship / Umpires
72 Albuquerque / Sate Fe “Pay it
Forward”
37 Softball Is My Game
74 Ohio Memorial Day Tournament
38 Easton Announces Tri-Zone Bat
39 Mizuno Introduces Frenzy Bats
76 USSSA/DeMarini Jimmy V Benefit
77 Baseball / Que’In on the Red
40FastPitch / Kansas City World Series 79 Baseball / Baton Rouge Complex /
42 FastPitch / Kansas World Series
44Pig Gig
Cypress Mounds “Dreams”
81 Baseball / Houston South Texas
Super NIT
46Midwest Showdown
82 Baseball / Kansas City NIT
48FastPitch / Texas Style
83 Baseball / Atlanta Super NIT
USSSA TODAY
5
USSSA & NPF Form Cooperative Partnership
Denver, CO – The National
Pro Fastpitch League,
is proud to announce
a cooperative partnership with the United
States Specialty Sports
Association
(USSSA),
which
will
immediately place USSSA in a Team
Management position for the roster
of players formerly under contract for
the Washington Glory, which recently
folded due to financial reasons.
This move will position women’s professional fastpitch in Central Florida
(Osceola County) at the home of USSSA’s
National Headquarters where thousands
of young athletes will visit annually to
participate in USSSA Tournaments and
events.
The new team will be known as the
USSSA Pride and will include 10 members
of the 2007 NPF Regular Season and
Championship Series Champions for
the Glory, including 2007 NPF Pitcher
of the Year, Desiree Serrano and 2007
NPF Player of the Year, Amber Jackson.
The roster also includes Olympic gold
and silver medalist, Kelly Kretschman
(a Florida native), along with 2008
Olympians, Monica Abbott and Caitlin
Lowe. The Pride also inherited the Glory
draft choices of pitcher, Stacey Nelson
and outfielder Kim Waleszonia of the
University of Florida and shortstop
Maddy Coon from Stanford.
6 USSSA TODAY
“This is another excellent opportunity
of growth for National Pro Fastpitch.
The situation with the Washington
Glory team placed a group of extremely
talented, dedicated and accomplished
women into a very undeserving position
of uncertainty in regard to their future
as professional athletes. I am thrilled
with this outcome and I am proud to
announce that this group of players will
not only play in 2009, but will be treated
in a first-class fashion by a top quality
organization,” said Cheri Kempf, NPF
Commissioner. “USSSA has stepped up
in a big way for professional fastpitch
by taking on team management of
this roster, and we are looking forward
to sharing our talented athletes with
Florida, as well as the eager, up-andcoming athletes that are involved with
USSSA softball.”
“We are very excited and are looking
forward to introducing the USSSA Pride
to the Central Florida market and to the
association’s membership nationwide”
stated Don DeDonatis, Chairman of the
board and CEO. “In keeping with our
current goal of becoming the nation’s
premier fastpitch organization, partnering with the NPF and the acquisition of a professional team are important steps in that growth process,”
continued DeDonatis. “By becoming
involved at the very highest level of
women’s fastpitch softball, utilizing our
resources and the exceptional ability of
the athletes playing the game, USSSA
will be provided with a unique opportunity to promote fastpitch softball at the
grassroots level.”
The Pride will replace the Washington
Glory in all published schedules and
the roster will be finalized within the
next few days. The USSSA Pride will be
coached by J.Y. Davis, an accomplished
Women’s Majors Coach and former
Men’s Division player, and Margaret
Davis, a former Women’s Majors player
with 22 years of top level experience.
The Pride will begin training camp on
June 5th and will open their season on
June 10th in Chicago versus the Chicago
Bandits.
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The League,
created to give elite female fastpitch
players the opportunity to pursue a
professional career in their chosen
sport, has operated since 1997 under
the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch
(WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League
(WPSL).
The USSSA’s headquarters is located
in Osceola Heritage Park as a part of
the Osceola County Stadium Complex.
Facilities within the Osceola Heritage
Park are the climate-controlled 8300seat Silver Spurs Arena and the Osceola
County Stadium that serves as the spring
training base for the Houston Astros.
guaranteed to shut down the competition.
Fueled by our newest Multi-layer Biaxial
Technologytm and MPa7tm Resin to maximize sweetspot
and push performance to the limits.
100% R900 tm Aerospace Grade Carbon Fiber.
Available in –9, -10 and –12.
Photo courtesy of Rob Campbell & Softball Today Magazine
at Chicago
June 17- June 21
at Rockford
June 24- June 28
Home vs. Chicago
July 15- July 19
Home vs. Akron
July 22- July 26
Home vs. Philadelphia
July 29- Aug 2
at Akron
Aug 5- Aug 9
Home vs. Rockford
Aug 12- Aug 16
at Philadelphia
Aug 20- Aug 23
NPF Championship Series
in Akron, OH
photos by Robert Campbell/Softball Today
8 USSSA TODAY
June 10- June 14
Game Schedule
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IntImIdatIon
©2009 Mizuno USA, Inc.,
, and Mizuno are registered trademarks of Mizuno Corporation. Never Settle is a registered trademark of Mizuno USA. All rights reserved.
IS moRE tHan a StaRE doWn.
Courtney Bures
Hometown: Haymarket, VA
Position: 2nd Base #3
Bats: Right Throws: Right
College: Mississippi State
Years Pro: 1
Favorite Food: Nachos
Favorite Player: Cal Ripken Jr.
AS A JUNIOR (2007):
• Earned First Team all-SEC
honors and was named to
the SEC Academic Honor
Roll
• Earned the team’s Most
Valuable Player and Gold
Glove awards
• Also selected to the
Bulldog Round Robin allTournament team
• Played in 61 games for the
year, starting all of those
at shortstop .
• Established the school’s
third-best, single-season
RBI total with a teamleading 56 for the season,
a number that ranked fifth
best in the conference and
36th nationally
• Finished second in the
league with 26 RBI in SEC
games
• Posted a team-high .514
slugging percentage
while boasting a .452
on-base percentage which
matched the team lead
• Concluded the year rated
second on the team in
batting average with a
.354 mark
• Tied for the second-most
home runs on the year
with four
• Hit for a team-high 13
doubles while drawing 20
walks in 225 plate appearances
10 USSSA TODAY
Monica Abbott
2004
Height: 6’-3”
Position: Pitcher - L/L
Hometown: Salinas, Calif.
School: University of Tennessee
Graduation: 2008
• Gold medalist at 1st
World University Softball
Championships
• Member of USA Schutt
Elite Team at Canada Cup
and Champions Cup
A Few Accomplishments
• Pan American Gold
medalist (2007)
• Two-time World Cup
Champion (2006 & 2007)
• World Champion (2006)
• Winner of Women’s Sports
Foundation’s “Team Sport
Athlete of the Year”
award (2007)
• Olympic Silver medalist
(2008)
National Team Experience
2008
• Silver Medalist at 2008
Olympic Games in Beijing,
China
• Tossed the first ever
perfect game for a U.S.
pitcher in Olympic play
on August 18, 2008 with
an 8-0 victory over the
Netherlands
2007
• Gold medalist at Pan
American Games
Posted a 2-0 record, led
team with 10.0 innings
pitched with a team-high
20 strikeouts
• World Cup Champion
2006
Posted a 2-0 record with a
0.00 ERA.
Struck out 10 batters in
6.0 innings pitched while
allowing one hit
• Gold medalist at ISF World
Championships
2005
• Made first appearance
with the U.S. National
Team at the World Cup of
Softball
2003
• Silver medalist at the ISF
Junior Women’s World
Championships in Nanjing,
China
• Canada Cup 18-Under
MVP- All-Star Pitcher
Kelly Kretschman
Position: Outfield - L/R
Hometown: Indian Harbour Beach, FL
School: University of Alabama
Graduation: 2001
(2008)
American Games (2007)
(2007)
• Olympic Gold medalist
(2004)
• Alternate on 2000 Olympic
Gold Medal Team
2008
China
• Retired from USA Softball
after Gold Medal game,
leaving behind cleats and
a great USA Softball career
2007
• Hit .474 (18-for-38) during
the summer with 13 RBI,
two homeruns, a triple
and three doubles and 15
runs scored
American Games
Hit .346 (4-for-11) at the
World Cup with two RBI
and one homerun
• Second on the team at
the Canada Cup with a
.632 average and 12 hits;
scored 10 runs with 11 RBI
2005
• World Cup Runner-up
Third on the team with a
.429 (3-for-7) average with
one RBI
2004
• Gold medalist at Olympic
Games in Athens, Greece
2003
• Led USA Softball Elite
Team to Canada Cup gold
medal
Hit team high at Canada
Cup at .355 with 11 hits
and six RBI
Caitlin Lowe
Height: 5’-5”
Position: OF - L/R
Items For Sale
Hometown: Tustin, CA
School: University of Arizona
Graduation: 2007
• Gold medalist at the Pan
American Games (2007)
• Two-time World Cup
Champion (2006 & 2007)
• World Champion (2006)
(2008)
2008
China
• Recorded the first ever
inside the park home run
in Olympic history, August
12, 2008, USA wins 11-0
over Venezuela
2007
• Along with Natasha
Watley, led team over the
summer with 27 hits; tied
a team-high with two
triples and a second- best
21 runs scored and was
perfect on the base paths
with nine stolen bases
American Games
Hit .500 (8-for-16) with
six runs scored and four
stolen bases
Posted a team-high six hits
with three runs scored for
a .462 average
• At Canada Cup, scored 12
runs with a .448 average
(13-for-29); had a teamhigh two triples with eight
RBI
2006
• One of the youngest
members of the 2006
World Championship team
Hit .314 (11-for-35) with
a team-tying high 14 runs
scored; was a perfect 6-6
in stolen bases; Started in
all 11 games in outfield
Hit .524 (11-for-21)
and had an on-basepercentage of .545 with
three stolen bases
LaDonia Hughes
Hometown: Farmville, VA
Position: Outfield
#22
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
College: Louisiana State University
Years Pro: 6
Likes: Laughing, Telling Jokes, and
having fun
Favorite Food: Lasagna, Spaghetti,
Bananas, Laffy Taffy
Favorite Player: Dwayne Wade
• LaDonia Hughes enters
her third season with the
Western Illinois softball
program after assisting the
Westerwinds to their first
NCAA Tournament win in
2008.
• Hughes spends most of her
time teaching and training
the Western Illinois
12 USSSA TODAY
outfielders, and hitters. In
2008, she coached Colleen
Biebel to all-league
second team honors after
recording the team’s
second highest batting
average of .308 with 45
hits, two doubles, a triple
and 10 RBIs.
• In 2007, the Westerwinds
led the league with a
.329 conference batting
average and four Western
Illinois players ranked in
the top 10 for highest
Mid-Con batting average.
In the outfield, left fielder
Britt Mason was named
first-team all-conference.
• As center fielder for the
Heat, Hughes was named
the 2006 Arizona Heat
Defensive Player of the
Year. She started 46 of the
team’s 48 games in center
field, committing only
one error and adding six
outfield assists.
Amber Jackson
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Position: Shortstop #33
Bats: Left Throws: Right
College: Bethune Cookman
University(3yrs), University of MD
(1yr)
Years Pro: 2
Favorite Song: Don’t Stop Till You Get
Enough by Michael Jackson
Favorite Food: Steak, Mexican,
Japanese Steakhouse
Favorite Player: Michael Jordan and
Cal Ripken
Watten On Jackson:
“Amber is one of the best
all-around players in the
country, and will definitely
have an enormous impact on
the positive growth of the
Terrapin softball program
this year. Graduating and
transferring from BethuneCookman College, to spend
her senior year of eligibility
competing for the Terps and
working on her master’s
degree at Maryland, Amber
has proven to be a great
role model for her teammates as she has been faced
with many challenges in
her adjustment between
schools
and
programs.
Amber is as demanding of
herself on the field as she is
in the classroom, which, as
a result, has enabled her to
further herself academically
as well as athletically. She is
a player with great strength
and speed on offense, while
possessing amazing range
and game sense on defense.
Amber is truly a leader by
example, and is a player who
has stepped in and provided
immediate positive energy
and unity for the team.”
Sarah Pauly
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Position: Pitcher
#23
Bats: N/A Throws: Right
College: Texas A&M University
Corpus- Christi
Years Pro: 4
Likes: Shopping, The Outdoors, My
Doggie, The Beach, Movies, Soy Chai
Tea Lattes, Dark Chocolate
Favorite Player: My Teammates (All
of them)
Collegiate PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE: NATIONAL
PRO FASTPITCH
Following the completion of
her college career in 2005,
the Phoenix, Arizona native
joined
the
Connecticut
Brakettes of National Pro
Fastpitch and was named
an
American
Softball
Association Women’s Open
First-Team
All-American
in her first season. Pauly
followed that performance
with a 2006 season that saw
her earn Most Outstanding
Pitcher honors in the NPF
with a league leading 1.24
ERA and league-high tying 15
wins and 138 strikeouts. She
was also named an All-NPF
selection as she helped lead
the Brakettes to a runnerup finish in the league. That
same year, she was chosen as
a member of the Team USA
Softball National Training
Team.
This past season she teamed
with former All-Americans
Monica Abbott (Tennessee)
and Taryne Mowatt (Arizona)
as well as former Arizona
State
standout
Desiree
Serrano as the Glory reached
the NPF finals for a second
consecutive season. Even
with the quality of her own
pitching staff, Pauly led the
league in ERA from start to
finish and struck out 112 to
hit triple-digits in strikeouts
for the third straight season.
Pauly continues to pitch for
the Washington Glory with
the NPF season running from
the end of May through
August.
Sara Larquier
Hometown: Burbank, CA
Position: 3rd/Infield #21
College: University of VA
Years Pro: 4
Likes: The Beach, My Dogs, Skinny
Caramel Macchiato
Favorite Food: Mexican and Italian
Favorite Player: My Teammates
Callie Piper
Hometown: Wichita, KS
Position: Catcher #11
College: Florida Atlantic
University
Years Pro: 4
Likes:
Favorite Player: Ben Leber
Junior (2003):
•Started all 72 games
• Hit .276 with one homer
and 17 RBIs
• Second on the team in
batting average
• Scored 21 runs
• Seven doubles
• Third on the team with 12
sacrifices
• Named A-Sun Player-ofthe-Week on March 17
• Nine-game hitting streak
with a .600 batting
average from March 11
through March 20
• Went 7-for-7 in a threegame stretch against
Texas A&M, Syracuse, and
Manhattan
Sophomore (2002):
• Played in 73 games and
started 71
• Batted .255 with three
homers and 22 RBIs
• Totaled 52 hits with five
doubles and scored 15
runs
• Threw out 44 percent of
those attempting to steal
(20-of-45)
• Caught four no-hitters and
a perfect game by Nikki
Myers
• Also caught a perfect
game for Candice Freel
• tied for team-high 11
sacrifices
• Led the team with 537
putouts and a .995 fielding
percentage
• Named to the
All-Tournament team at
the A-Sun Championship
Desiree Serrano
Hometown: Colton, CA
Position: Pitcher
#99
Bats: N/A Throws: Right
College: Arizona State
Years Pro: 4
Likes: Beaches, Shopping, and
Movies
Favorite Food: Mexican
Arizona State: Enters the
2006 season third all-time in
career strikeouts with 563.
(2005): Tied for team lead
with 12 wins...Made 16 starts
in 33 appearances...Posted a
2.45 ERA in 128.2 innings.
(2004): Led the pitching
staff with 2.21 ERA in 200
innings ... made 28 starts in
41 appearances ... recorded
a team-high 16 wins with
eight shutouts ... struck out
208 batters, eighth all-time
in a single-season ... posted
five double digit strikeout
games, including a seasonhigh 13 against Illinois
State ... pitched a two-hit,
10 strikeout game against
Wisconsin and a one-hit,
11 strikeout game against
Princeton ... tallied one
save against Iowa ... averaged over seven strikeouts
per contest ... pitched a
nine inning complete game
shutout with seven strikeouts against Oregon.
Panthers. Dignon joins Holly
Aprile’s staff alongside Gina
Bianchini.
(2003): Honorable mention
All-Pac-10 selection ... made
49 appearances, second in
the Pac-10 ... recorded 21
complete games ... tallied
18 wins with a 1.68 ERA ...
posted nine saves, second
all-time in the Pac-10 for a
single-season ... twice named
Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week
(2/18 & 4/15) ... threw her first
career no-hitter against Iowa
with five strikeouts ... fifth
all-time in a single-season
at ASU with 226 strikeouts,
good for fourth in the Pac-10
Just before joining the Glory,
Dignon was named to the
ECAC Softball All-Star second
team, making her one of the
first two Panthers to earn
that distinction.
Oli Keohohou
Hometown: Newbury Park, CA
Position: First Base #20
College: BYU, and CSULB
Years Pro: 4
Favorite Music Artist: Bob Marley &
The Wailers
Favorite Song: Soul Rebel
Jessica Dignon
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
College: BYU, and CSULB
Years Pro: 4
Favorite Music Artist: Bob Marley &
The Wailers
Favorite Song: Soul Rebel
As Pitt’s first-ever softball
player to compete on the
professional level, Jessica
Dignon returns to her alma
mater this season as an assistant softball coach for the
Dignon led Pitt to each of its
three Big East Championship
berths, prior to continuing
her softball career professionally with the Washington
Glory as a utility player. As a
member of the Glory, Dignon
aided the team’s 30-win
season with a game against
the New England RipTide,
where she scored three runs
and hit a three-run homer
for an 11-2 victory.
Stacey Nelson
Career Honors:
• NFCA/Louisville Slugger
All-American first team in
2008 and second team in
2007
• First-Team Easton
All-American Pitcher in
2007 and 2008
• NFCA All-Southeast Region
in 2007 and 2008
• Women’s College World
Series All-Tournament
Team in 2008
• 2008 SEC Pitcher of the
Year
• All-SEC first team in 2008
and second team in 2007
• SEC All-Defensive Team in
2008
• 2008 SEC Tournament MVP
• SEC All-Tournament Team
in 2007 and 2008
• Top-10 finalist for USA
Softball National Player of
the Year in 2008
• ESPN The Magazine
Academic First-Team
All-American in 2008
• SEC Academic Honor Roll
in 2007 and 2008
• SEC All-Freshman Team in
2006
• USA Softball National
Player of the Week on
March 31, 2008
• SEC Player of the Week on
Feb. 18, 2008 and Feb. 25,
2008
• SEC Freshman of the Week
on March 30, 2006.
Kim Waleszonia
Career Honors:
• NFCA/Louisville Slugger
All-American third team in
2007 and 2008
• Easton All-American
second team in 2007 and
first team in 2008
• NFCA All-Southeast Region
second team in 2007 and
2008
• All-SEC first team in 2007
and 2008
• All-SEC second team in
2006
• SEC All-Defensive Team in
2007
• SEC All-Tournament team
in 2007
• SEC All-Freshman team in
2006
• SEC Academic Honor Roll
in 2007 and 2008
Maddy Coon
As a Junior in 2008:
• The Pacific Region First
team shortstop
• Named to the all-pac-10
second team
• Started all 64 games at
shortstop for stanford
• Hit .285 With 49 hits
• Second on the team with
14 doubles, one of the ten
best totals in the conference
• Also second on the team
with 10 homeruns
• Led the team and ranked
third in the conference
with a school-record 47
walks
• Also was among one of
the top 15 players nationally in walks per game
USSSA TODAY 13
KISSIMMEE, FL
2009 Conference USSSA Kicks Off Its Season with the
Hall of Fame Classic
Recaps by Dale Weiser (DW)
Dan Smith/Menossee/Benfield/Combat- Hall of Fame NITs Champions
The 2009 Conference USSSA Men’s Major Slow Pitch Softball Program kicked of its season
with the “Hall of Fame Classic” tournament in Kissimmee, Florida April 16-19. This year’s
version of the Conference features 38 teams from 23 states.
MAJOR CONFERENCE TEAM
Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat
Long Haul/Miken/Phonemasters
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth
CITY
STATE
San Jose
California
Albertville
Minnesota
Winter Haven Florida
CLASS “A” CONFERENCE TEAM
24/7 Softball
Bud Light/TPS/LineDrive/Sports55
GTL Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite
JeanShoppe/Chaneys/Easton/Sports55
PIPAC/TPS
Suncoast/RBK
T&R Stucco/Worth
TaylorMade / Titan / PAS / Mizuno
CITY
Jackson
Plymouth
Othello
McKenzie
Waterloo
Sarasota
Polk City
Spotsylvania
STATE
Mississippi
Michigan
Washington
Tennessee
Iowa
Florida
Florida
Virginia
CLASS “B” CONFERENCE TEAM
A.J.S./Easton/3N2
ATS/COMBAT
Blitz/Watanabe/Weller/Minges/Easton
Classic Glass/Easton/DSS Bats
Combat USA/Elite
Diamondblade/Angle Inn Easton
Eagle Bonding/Easton
CITY
Fort Myers
Phoenix
Cincinnati
San Jose
Seattle
Baltimore
Marietta
STATE
Florida
Arizona
Ohio
California
Washington
Maryland
Georgia
14 USSSA TODAY
Fence Brokers/Illustrated Sportswear
Johnny Blaze/Combat/Elite
LineDrive/TripleSSS/Pipe/Easton
Logo Express/Bass Gloves
Magic/S&S/Sports55/Easton
Mobile 1/Royal Roofing/Themshirts.com
Northwest Combat / Trojans
O&S/Povs/Hoffman/combat
Peak/Capital Mortgage/TLG/PM
Pole Position/Line Drive Sports
Pure Romance/Mike Foulks
Rochester Athletic/National Gold
Showcase/All American Restoration
TCP/ICE/EASTON
WCS / LCV
WISCONSIN WORTH
Wood Law
Conway
Arkansas
Las Vegas
Nevada
Shelby Twnp Michigan
Byron
Georgia
Plymouth
Massachusetts
Sterling Hghts Michigan
Seattle
Washington
St. Paul
Minnesota
Colorado Sprg Colorado
Sterling Hghts Michigan
Union
Kentucky
Providence
Rhode Island
Plymouth
Minnesota
Burlington
Iowa
Vista
California
Weyerhaeuser Wisconsin
Euless
Texas
CLASS “C” CONFERENCE TEAM NAME CITY
Darkside/Tyja Sports
Hubs Pub/Combat/Elite
Sports55/Easton/3n2
Great Neck
Bonne Terre
Severna Park
STATE
New York
Missouri
Maryland
Results from Conference Tournament #1:
Included in the 2009 Hall of Fame inductees include (l to r) Andy Purcell,
Dennis Rulli and John Rector.
The tournament is called the “Hall of Fame Classic” because
it is played at the Osceola County Stadium at Heritage Park
which is the spring training home of the Houston Astros of
Major League Baseball. This is also the home of the USSSA
headquarters and USSSA Hall of Fame. The stadium field had 8
foot high fences all the way around. The dimensions were 330
390 410 410 390 330. Easily the largest fields in softball.
The format for the opener was to play two separate double
elimination tournaments! The first tournament started on
Thursday afternoon at 3:30 PM and finished at midnight
Friday with Dan Smith/Menosse/Benfield/Combat going 5-0 to
win the tournament. Dan Smith defeated Long Haul 21-20 on
a walk off homer by Jason Kendrick in the winner’s bracket
semi-finals. Then they beat Resmondo by one run in both
the winner’s final and the championship. Both games with
Resmondo ended with Resmondo hitting deep fly balls to the
fence that could have decided the game. Dan Smith was led by
MVP Scott Brown who was on base 15-22 plate appearances
and Defensive MVP Jeff McGavin. They also played the whole
weekend without starting pitcher Scott Nastally who injured
an ankle in pre-tournament batting practice.
T&R Stucco/Worth finished 3rd with a record of 6-2 and was led
by the hitting of Conference newcomer Brent Griffin who was
37-51 with 9 HR’s for the weekend.
Johnny Blaze/Combat/Elite a class “B” team finished a surprising
4th and were led by the pitching of Dan “Dirty” Sanchez and
power of Dan “Horse” Norquist.
16 USSSA TODAY
1
CA 5-0
2
FL 4-2
3
T&R Stucco/Worth
FL 6-2
4
NV 4-2
5
Taylormade / Titan / Pas / Mizuno
VA 3-2
5
MN 2-2
7
Wood Law
7
Combat USA/Elite
WA 3-2
9
GA 2-2
9
Gtl Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite
WA 2-2
9
Suncoast/RBK
9
WA 1-2
13
MA 1-2
13
MD 1-2
13
GA 1-2
13
O&S/Povs/Hoffman/combat
MN 0-2
17
Sports55/Easton/3n2
MD 1-2
17
A.J.S./Easton/3N2
FL 1-2
17
Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55
MI 0-2
17
MI 0-2
17
24/7 Softball
MS 0-2
17
PIPAC/TPS
TX 4-2
FL 1-2
IA 0-2
The second “Hall Of Fame” Conference Tournament started at
8 AM Saturday morning and ended in the late afternoon on
Sunday. Dan Smith/Menosse/Benfield/Combat went 5-1 and
defeated Long Haul/Miken/Phonemasters in the forced “If”
game of the Championship. Long Haul had made it to the
finals by defeating Resmondo twice during the tournament.
Long Haul’s 34-31 win in the first game of the Championship
gave Dan Smith their only loss of the week. In the “If” game
Dan Smith ended Long Haul’s run with a 10 run first inning and
went on to win 30-7. Dan Smith was led by Brian Wegman who
went 4-4 with 2 HR, a triple, and 7 RBI in the final game. Brett
Helmer, Rusty Bumgardner, Brian Justice, and Jeff McGavin
were also perfect in the game. Brett Helmer won the tournament MVP and Rick Baker won the Defensive MVP playing for
Dan Smith. Scott Striebel won the Offensive MVP playing for
Long Haul.
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth finished 3rd in the second
tournament and was led by shortstop Don Dedonatis Jr. who
reached base safely 21 of 28 times.
The surprise team of this tournament was A.J.S./Easton/3N2
out of Florida who went 3-2 to capture 4th place. A.J.S. was
Results from Conference Tournament #2:
Dan Smith’s Brett Helmer- Hall of Fame #2 MVP
1
CA 5-1
2
3
FL 4-2
4
A.J.S./Easton/3N2
FL 3-2
5
Wood Law
TX 4-2
5
Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55
MI 4-2
7
Gtl Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite
WA 3-2
7
O&S/Povs/Hoffman/Combat
MN 3-2
9
MD 2-2
9
MI 2-2
9
VA 1-2
9
NV 1-2
13
GA 2-2
13
Combat USA/Elite
WA 1-2
13
GA 1-2
13
Sports55/Easton/3n2
MD 1-2
17
T&R Stucco/Worth
FL 1-2
17
Suncoast/RBK
FL 0-2
17
MA 0-2
17
WA 0-2
17 24/7 Softball
MS 0-2
17
PIPAC/TPS
MN 5-2
IA 0-2
led by veteran pitcher Jose Santiago who was 14-20 with 3 HR
and 12 RBI. A.J.S. nearly pulled the upset of the year when
they lost 28-25 to Dan Smith in the winner’s bracket semi-final
after leading the game going into the 7th inning.
Dan Smith’s Scott Brown- Hall of Fame #1 MVP
18 USSSA TODAY
The four LONG days of softball were played at a very high
level under perfect weather conditions. All 22 teams were
Conference teams and for the most part the class “A” through
“C” teams all competed very well. This year’s Conference
USSSA looks to be the strongest yet and the teams will travel
to 21 tournaments across the USA to earn points and qualify
for the Championship. The Conference Championship is also
held at the Osceola County Stadium over Labor Day Weekend.
Good luck to all teams and we will see you in September!
GLEN BURNIE, MD
Shuckers / Worth
Major NIT
TaylorMade/Titan/PAS/Mizuno- Shuckers/Worth NIT Runner Up
The third tournament on the . schedule was in Glen Burnie,
Maryland. This Major NIT was sponsored by Shucker’s and
Worth and was directed by Bob Holland. 30 teams from 12
different states met in a double elimination tournament at
Bachman Sports Complex under near perfect weather conditions. The tournament was played on 6 identically symmetrical
300 foot fenced softball fields starting on Saturday morning at
8 AM and finishing early afternoon on Sunday.
JeanShoppe/Chaneys/Easton/Sports55 one of the top ranked
“A” teams in the country won 5 straight and came out of the
loser’s bracket to “double dip” Taylormade/Titan/Pas/Mizuno
to win the tournament. The second game of the championship
was a close one as the Jean Shoppe defense tightened to pull
out the game 27-25. Jean Shoppe was 8-1 for the weekend and
outscored their opponents 253-118. Shoppe was led by MVP
pitcher Dan Bean who hit a blistering .909 (30-33) in the tournament with 9 HR’s and 29 RBI. Veteran slugger Hank Garris
chipped in with a .911 batting average (31-34) with 5 HR’s and
30 runs scored from the leadoff position in the lineup.
Second Place Taylormade/Titan/Pas/Mizuno who is also one
of the top “A” teams in the country let this one slip away,
however they have established themselves as a legitimate
contender for the USSSA “A” World Title come August in
Orlando. Taylormade was led by Defensive MVP infielder
Kevin Rye who’s contagious hustle and body sacrificing ground
ball defense helped his team to big wins over Bud Light/Tps/
Linedrive/Sports55 and hometown tournament favorite
Diamondblade/Angle Inn Easton.
Third Place went to Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55 who sent
Jean Shoppe to the loser’s bracket with a 24-21 victory. Bud
Light was led by the defensive play of pitcher Rick Sills and
center fielder Nick Musselman.
Fourth Place went to Diamondblade/Angle Inn whose roster
has mostly players from the Maryland area. DBlade was led
by outfielder John Robinson who was 11-12 with 8 HR’s and
10 walks!
Finally a quick note about JYD/Elite a “C” level team from
Maryland. They finished 4-2 in 6th place in this tournament
and had wins over Conference teams Peak/Capital Mortgage
30-28 and Linedrive/Easton 26-25. They also had a near win
when they lost to Diamondblade 34-33 late in the game. This
was a great run for a team that should be a favorite at the “C”
Worlds come September.
USSSA TODAY 19
Results from Conference Tournament #3 in Glen Burnie, Maryland:
Jean Shoppe’s Dan Bean- MVP
Jean Shoppe/Chaney’s/Easton’s Hank Garris- Offensive MVP
20 USSSA TODAY
1
Jeanshoppe/Chaneys/Easton/Sports55
TN 8-1
2
VA 4-2
3
Bud light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55
MI 3-2
4
MD 4-2
5
JYD/ELITE
MD 4-2
5
Rochester Athletic/National Gold
7
Linedrive/Triplesss/Pipe/Easton
MI 4-2
7
Shuckers Softball/Team Miken
MD 3-2
9
Turano Construction Softball
NJ 3-2
9
Bestrans
9
Team Hertrich
9
MA 2-2
13
Cgr Softball/The Auto Barn Inc.
MD 2-2
13
CLYDE’S
MD 2-2
13
PTI Frozen
13
Platinum Sports
MD 1-2
17
Powerup/Angle Inn /Sports55
MD 1-2
17
Team Moose
MD 1-2
17
NOVA Softball
VA 1-2
17
Peak/Capital Mortgage/Tlg/Pm
CO 1-2
17
Sports55/Easton/3n2
MD 1-2
17
ChecKing/Worth
17
Bio Hazardous Customs
MD 1-2
17
Angle Inn Lite’s Out
MD 0-2
25
Darkside/Tyja Sports
NY 0-2
25
Angle Inn/Sports 55/Lost Boys
MD 0-2
25
DELAWARE HITMEN/ELITE
25
Angle Inn Arsenal/Softball Show
MD 0-2
25
Sudden Impact
MD 0-2
25
AFFLICTION
MD 0-2
RI 4-2
MD 3-2
DE 3-2
VA 2-2
CT 1-2
DE 0-2
ST. LOUIS, MO
Gateway City Classic
Benefits the Mike Turney Cancer Charity
Resmondo/Specialty Tank/Worth- Gateway City Classic Champions
The balls were flying at the fourth tournament on the USSSA
Conference schedule in St. Louis, Missouri! This Major NIT was
called the “Gateway City Classic” and was also a cancer benefit
tournament for the late Mike Turney. The top two ranked
teams Resmondo and Dan Smith both wore pink colored
jersey’s which they then autographed and sold on Ebay to
raise over $1,000 for charity. The Bridgeton Municipal Athletic
Complex where the tournament was played had 5 diamonds
with 310 foot fences. The tournament was delayed Saturday
morning by rain and finished in the late afternoon on Sunday.
There were 18 teams representing 9 states.
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth won 3 straight games on
Sunday including 2 wins over Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55
in the finals to take the tournament championship. After
losing to Bud Light 45-40 on Saturday night in the winner’s
bracket finals, Resmondo went on to beat arch rival Dan
Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat 37-26 and then Bud Light
41-23 and 37-15. Resmondo notched their first tournament
win of the season and were led by MVP Bryson Baker who
went 30-35 .857 with 4 HR’s and 30 runs scored. Bryson also
did some relief pitching in addition to his normal middle
infield responsibilities. Slugger Jeff Wallace led the tournament in HR’s with 16. Defensive MVP also went to Resmondo
22 USSSA TODAY
shortstop Don Dedonatis Jr. who may be the best in softball
history at popping up after making a diving stop and throwing
a runner out.
Second Place went to class “A” Conference team Bud Light/
Tps/Linedrive/Sports55 who did the unthinkable - they beat
perennial Major powers Dan Smith 38-35 and Resmondo 45-30
in back to back games! Bud Light was led by the 10th batter
in their lineup, offensive MVP Jason Crain. Crain was 15-18
.833 with 9 walks. In the winner’s final against Resmondo,
Jason was 4-4 with a HR and 2 walks. Bud Light newcomer’s
Joe Gordon and Tyler Beurlein were offensive machines in this
tournament as well.
Third Place went to Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat who
scored a lot of runs and lost some close games. Dan Smith was
led by centerfielder Rick Baker, leadoff hitter Brian Wegman,
and left handed power hitter Brett Helmer.
The Fourth Place finisher was a “B” team out of Arkansas
called Fence Brokers/Illustrated Sportswear who scored some
nice wins over TCP, EWS, and Classic Glass after losing to hometown Conference team Hubs Pub in their first game. Veteran
upper level player Brent Gigerich and hard hitting Tim Bowser
made the all tournament team.
Results from Conference Tournament #4 in St. Louis, Missouri:
The late Mike Turney flanked by Jeff Hall and BJ Fulk.
Resmondo’s Don DeDonatis III- Gateway City Classic Defensive MVP
1
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth FL 6-1
2
Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55 MI 4-2
3
Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat CA 4-2
4
Fence Brokers/Illustrated Sportswear
AR 4-2
5
Blitz/Watanabe/Weller/Minges/Easton OH 3-2
5
Classic Glass/Easton/Dss Bats CA 2-2
7
EWS/Boombah/Sport PT/DLB IL 2-2
7
PIPAC/TPS IA 2-2
9
TCP/ICE/EASTON IA 1-2
9
PRI/MFAB/Insanity OH 1-2
9
Hubs Pub/Combat/Elite MO 1-2
9
Syndicate berth
MO 1-2
13 The Show MO 1-2
13 Stl Swing MO 1-2
13 Gorillas MO 1-2
13 WISCONSIN WORTH 17 Onslaught MO 0-2
17 Throwdown MO 0-2
WI 1-2
Resmondo’s Bryson Baker- Gateway City Classic MVP
USSSA TODAY 23
Euless, TX
The 8th Annual Texas Legends
The surprise team
of the Legends
was hometown
representative,
Wood Law.
The 8th Annual Texas Legends Men’s Major was the 5th
tournament on the USSSA Conference schedule and
was played at Softball World in Euless, Texas!
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth continued their
winning ways, taking their second Conference tournament in a row. They went 5-0 and now have an 8 game
winning streak dating back to the St Louis tournament.
Resmondo beat Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat
in the championship game 44-43! In Resmondo’s last 12
games their lowest score is 32 runs and that was a game
that was cut short by the mercy rule. Resmondo was
led by tournament MVP Bryson Baker who was on base
in 26 out of 27 plate appearances, hit 8 homeruns and
drove in 21. Don Dedonatis Jr. won his second straight
defensive MVP.
Second Place went to Dan Smith-Menosse-BenfieldCombat who was led by third baseman Brian Justice.
Brian was tabbed tournament Offensive MVP as he was
on base 24-28 with 9 HR’s and 30 RBI.
Results from Conference Tournament #5 in Euless, Texas:
1 Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth FL 5-0
2 Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat CA 4-2
3 Wood Law TX 4-2
4 Gtl Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite 5 A.J.S./Easton/3N2/Dssbats WA 4-2
FL 3-2
5 Fence Brokers/Illustrated Sportswear
AR 2-2
7 Showcase/All American Restoration MN 4-2
7 WCS / LCV CA 2-2
9 Color Station TX 3-2
9 MAFIA/House of Pain TX 3-2
9 Savesecond.com TX 2-2
9 Combat USA/Elite WA 1-2
13 Gametime Supply/Bonecrushers/Worth AR 2-2
13 Miken Express frozen
TX 2-2
13 Coors TX 1-2
Third Place finisher was Wood Law who was the host
cities top “B” team. Wood Law beat GTL (an “A” team)
twice in the tournament and lost both of their games to
Dan Smith. Wood Law has a nice mix of veteran players
like shortstop Dennis Shrum and middle infielder Jebbie
King and some young upstarts like Steve Whaley and
Kevin Ballard. Wood Law is positioning themselves as
one of the top “B” teams in the country.
13 Tri-c/Premier Fitness AR 1-2
17 TJB TX 1-2
17 Lethal Assault TX 1-2
17 Allstar Plumbing/Aps/Lawn Choppers OK 1-2
17 Ruthless Ink TX 0-2
17 FNS/DPS TX 0-2
17 FIGHTING COCKS TX 0-2
Fourth Place went to Gtl Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite who
defeated fellow Conference teams FBI and WCS. They lost
both of their games to the hot hitting Wood Law team.
17 Athletic Warehouse TX 0-2
17 SRS/Broncos TX 0-2
24 USSSA TODAY
COLUMBUS,IN
Columbus Major NIT
The Columbus, Indiana Conference
Tournament #6 was played under overcast and rainy skies most of Saturday,
May 16th. The tournament was delayed
3 hours Saturday morning because of
a large amount of overnight rain. The
delay forced the majority of the loser’s
bracket to be played with games shortened to 5 innings or a 1 hour time limit
until they caught back up.
This tournament was dominated by
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth who
run ruled all 5 of their opponents en
route to their 3rd consecutive tournament championship of 2009. Since
Resmondo’s epic 45-40 loss to Bud Light
in the winner’s final back in St. Louis two
weeks earlier, they have won 13 consecutive games by an average score of
37-18 (10 of which were mercy rules). 11
of the 13 wins were against Conference
teams. That is quite an impressive run!
Resmondo clinched the tournament win
in Indiana with a 39-17 win over Long
Haul in the finals.
Long Haul came through the loser’s
bracket late in the tournament to
beat Jean Shoppe, Linedrive, and Blitz
to finish runner-up and were led by
Tournament Offensive MVP pitcher
Mike Rhines (26-29 .897 10 HR’s 28 RBI).
While Resmondo was cruising through
the field of 29 teams, the rest of the
tournament provided some great
games, some close finishes, and some
huge upsets. The upset parade was
led by Blitz/Watanabe/Weller/Minges/
Easton from Cincinnati, Ohio. Blitz, a
“B” team, knocked off Bud Light/TPS/
LineDrive (22-21) and Long Haul/Miken/
Phonemasters (28-15) in back to back
games to make it to the winner’s bracket
final where they lost to Resmondo. Blitz
wound up with a 3rd place finish.
4th place went to Linedrive/Triplesss/
Big swing by BJ Fulk,Resmondo/Worth
26 USSSA TODAY
Long Haul/Miken/Phonemasters- Columbus Major NIT Runner Up
Louisville umpires Walter Payton (left) and Larry
Loftin added to the professionalism of the NIT’s
crew.
Pipe/Easton out of Michigan who went
5-2 on the weekend and placed shortstop Steve Edwards (25-31 .806 10 HR’s
and 33 RBI) and third baseman Scott
Zaciewski (22-27 .815 10 HR’s 23 RBI) on
the all tournament team.
Some of the other big upsets of the tournament were Linedrive over Bud Light
25-10. Also Pipac upset Jean Shoppe
21-15 and Hubs Pub shocked TCP 27-26.
Detroit’s Own has been holding its “own” in Conference play.
USSSA TODAY 27
Results from Conference Tournament #6 in Columbus, Indiana:
1
Resmondo-Specialty Tank-Worth FL 5-0
2
Long Haul/Miken/Phonemasters MN 5-2
3
Blitz/Watanabe/Weller/Minges OH 4-2
4
Linedrive/Triplesss/Pipe/Easton MI 5-2
5
Jeanshoppe/Chaneys/Easton/Sports55 TN 4-2
5
PIPAC/TPS IA 3-2
7
Hubs Pub/Combat/Elite 7
Bud Light/Tps/Linedrive/Sports55 MI 2-2
9
Pole Position/Line Drive Sportz MI 3-2
9
PRI/MFAB/Insanity OH 3-2
9
Player’s Warehouse/Berties/Miken KY 3-2
9
Detroit’s Own / Tireshop MI 3-2
13 Mobile 1/Royal Roofing/Themshirts MI 2-2
13 Softball Times/Worth/Tanel KY 2-2
13 Sports55/Easton/3n2 13 John Staples/It’s all good IN 2-2
17 EWS/BOOMBAH/SPORT PT/DLB IL 1-2
17 Nolans / Classic Title IN 1-2
17 TCP/ICE/EASTON IA 1-2
17 Showcase/All American Restoration 17 Champions Locker Room IN 1-2
17 DMB SOFTBALL IN 0-2
17 Last Call IN 0-2
17 Brooks Sports / Miken / Riverside KY 0-2
25 Dizzy Roosters/Wicks Pizza KY 0-2
25 Paul Davis Restoration 25 Zanesville Eagles Aerie 302 OH 0-2
25 LYNN’S A.C. KY 0-2
25 2nd String Softball MO 3-2
USSSA welcomes Busch Light as a new sponsor of Conference USSSA.
MD 2-2
Good group of guys (l to r) Long Haul’s John Daniels(JD), Gary Jost,
Resmondo’s John Rector and Long Haul’s Teddy Larsen
MN 1-2
IL 0-2
IN 0-2
Boombah’s Rick Jackson added to the festival- type atmosphere.
28 USSSA TODAY
Columbus Visitors Center Named
Member Of The Year By NASC
Columbus Visitors Bureau’s
Lynn Lucas and Jim Dietz.
Jean Shoppe’s Eric Thompson.
The National Association of Sports
Commissions named the Columbus
Visitors Center its 2008 “Member
of the Year” in recognition of the
tremendous growth of its sports
tourism efforts. Since 2003, the
number of major amateur sporting
events in Columbus has grown from
29 to 53 events. Community officials anticipate a 2008 economic
impact of $16 million with more
than 50,000 athletes and spectators
expected to visit the community.
“This award is a fitting tribute to the spirit of collaboration that
exists in Columbus,” according to executive director Lynn Lucas.
“The Columbus Department of Parks and Recreation takes great
pride in maintaining first-class sports facilities; our volunteers make
visitors want to return again and again; and, the Visitors Center
markets these assets to event organizers and hosts the participants
and spectators.”
The National Association of Sports Commissions has 500 members.
Its membership includes sports commissions, convention and
visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce and event rights holders.
The Member of the Year award is given to the active NASC member
that has had the most outstanding impact on its local community
through sporting events, community activities, charitable giving,
and economic impact. Entries were reviewed by a panel of association members.
Resmondo’s pitcher,Andy Purcell- “WOW, we aren’t too old to be champions
again.”
The award was presented at its national conference in Omaha,
Nebraska in May. Jim Dietz, director of sports tourism, accepted the
award on behalf of the Columbus Visitors Center.
Visitors Center Receives
Distinguished Service Award
The Columbus Area Visitors Center received the “Distinguished
Service Award” from the United States Specialty Sports Association
(USSSA) at their national meeting held November 2008 in
Kissimmee, Florida. Don DeDonatis, CEO of USSSA presented
the award to Lynn Lucas, Executive Director of the Columbus
Area Visitors Center. The award was presented in recognition of
the Visitors Center’s “Outstanding and Continuous Support to the
USSSA Program” during the past five years. Columbus was the only
visitor bureau recognized by USSSA during the annual meeting.
National UIC, Rick Robertson, gives his explanation of a rule interpretation.
Lynn Lucas, commenting about the award said “we are most appreciative of this recognition and are excited about the strong relationship Columbus has developed with USSSA during the past five
years.We are proud to be associated with the premiere multi-sport
organization in the country.”
USSSA TODAY 29
Michigan Hall of Fame
Always a Big Event
photos by Michael McNutt
30 USSSA TODAY
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6th Annual New York State USSSA Hall
of Fame Induction Ceremony
by Gary Godden
New York State USSSA Hall of Fame
celebrated its 6th annual induction ceremony on March 28th on Long Island,
New York. This evening was a great
event for the New York USSSA and our
Long Island hosts as we witnessed not
only an induction ceremony but also
unforgettable reunions of players and
friends that will be treasured for years
to come. To see the faces of attendees
as they walked around the banquet hall
renewing old acquaintances made the
night magical, and the evenings activities had not yet begun.
The evenings started with Mr.
John Hart, Assistant National Slow
Pitch Umpire-In-Chief, saying grace,
followed by a very nice dinner. Dinner
was followed by Mr. Mark Linnemann,
USSSA Executive Vice President, who
was the guest speaker. With Mark’s close
relationship with Al and Frank Ciaccia,
he was well aware of the role that New
York State played in the development
of the USSSA. Mark expressed his gratitude to Al and Frank for the guidance
they gave him when he started out as a
State Director in Ohio, and how the new
generation of New York State Directors
is continuing to build on the foundation
that these early leaders created in New
York.
In addition to Mark and John, the
event was also attended by other
honored guests; Mr. John Pond, Division
Vice President of the Northeast, Mr. Jon
Brant, State Director of Connecticut,
32 USSSA TODAY
Mr. Dale McGregor, National Slow
Pitch Umpire-In-Chief from the State
of Washington, Assemblyman Mike
Fitzpatrick and former New York Mets
Player, Buddy Harrelson.
The actual the Hall of Fame inductions ceremonies were filling with a lot
of emotions. There were twelve new
members inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 2009 and two teams were recognized
as “Teams of Distinction.” The 2009
inductions started with the induction of
Deborah Ann Brajevich, who thanked
her family, friends and teammates.
Deborah stated that she did not know
how much being inducted in the Hall
of Fame meant until she was actually at
the event with all the people that were
being honored.
The second induction was one of the
most emotional of the evening as Rick
Marz, the Downstate New York Director
spoke on behave of Richard “Dick”
Germain. Dick was Rick’s mentor and
one of his best friends. Dick passed away
in 1989, but was remembered as the
person who led the way for the USSSA
on Long Island. As the night went on all
the inductees and presenters mentioned
that if it had not been for Dick, they
would never have been able to experience the great game of USSSA slow
pitch. Dick was represented by one of
his sons and wife, who expressed how
much the entire family appreciated that
the USSSA would remember father and
husband.
The evening also had many fun
moments as presenters remembered
not only the great accomplishments
but also the stories and experiences
that they shared with the inductees.
One such presenter was Sandy Brown
who spoke for both Jim Kennedy and
Tony Musso. When he was introduced
as the presenter for Tony, his second
trip to the podium, he got a big laugh
with his comment about both Jim and
Tony being great players, but not having
many friends which is why he was
presenting both.
Another special moment came when
Peter Eaton was introduced. Peter is
very much appreciated - much like Dick
Germain before him - for his commitment to USSSA and the teams and
players on Long Island. Peter is the
Director of Adult Softball for the Town
of Brookhaven, and the main reason
that Long Island has been able the
host, local, national and world tournaments. As Peter walked to the podium,
he received a tremendous amount of
applause as the attendees expressed
their appreciation. Peter expressed his
appreciation to his staff by stating that
he was just the captain and he was
being rewarded because of his great
team that he worked with at the Town
of Brookhaven. One of this crew, Al
Gordon, was honored with the “Joe
Nucci Dedication to Excellence Award.”
Al has been a scorekeeper for the
town and would help Peter in any way
possible to make the Town of Brookhaven softball program a
success.
Two umpires were inducted from Upstate New York, Tom
DeLitta and Paul “Skip” Grieco both of whom expressed
thanks to the people that helped them reach this pinnacle in
their umpiring career, foremost for both was the thanks for
the support from their families. Tom surprised his wife with a
dozen roses, which he had his grand children present, while
at the same time his family returned the surprise by having
the grand children present Tom with an engraved bat with his
name and the date of his induction.
Don Brown, an inductee in the Male Player category, the
story about his trip to the Hall of Fame banquet during his
acceptance remarks. Don had traveled to the event by car with
members of the Hall of Fame Committee from Rochester to
Long Island. Being a player and coach, he never really understood the time and dedication that directors put into getting
leagues, tournaments and an event such as the Hall of Fame set
so that players could play or be honored. When he witnessed
the number of phone calls and the amount of time that was
spent working on USSSA affairs during the ride, Don developed a new understanding of what it takes for an organization such as the USSSA to exist.
One inductee that will not be forgotten was also the person
that we saw the least of during the event. Kim (Perkins) Wydra
arrived shortly before the event started. After her introduction
by her former coach and New York State and USSSA National
Hall Famer Duane McCoy, Kim spent just a minute to say thanks
and was gone from the podium. After her quick acceptance and
thanks, she received a big round of applause. We need to note
that Kim traveled all the way from Florida to be at the event.
The Sponsorship inductee was Don Spence, owner of
Hawkins & Spence Asphalt and Paving. Don did not attend
the diner, but was represented by his daughter Arlene. Arlene
recounted stories about her father, including one about the
time that she asked him to play catch with her. As the ball
was thrown, she moved to her mitt and was hit in the mouth
and had to have stitches. Years later, her father built a field at
the site of his business and when the story got out about how
nice it was that Don had a field for his daughter, her comment
was “if it were only true.” The USSSA does not exist without
places to play and great sponsors. Don’s commitment to the
teams and players on Long Island was appreciated by many in
attendance.
One of the last inductees was Rudy Massa, the manager
and sponsor of the Gasoline Heaven team. Rudy thanked his
players and family for everything that he was able to accomplish over the years. But the biggest thanks he gave were to
the County Sports men’s team that was being honored as the
male “Team of Distinction.” Rudy addressed the members of
the team saying that he hoped that Gasoline Heaven teams
had continued in the footsteps of the County Sports teams,
which he believes was the best team he had every seen play.
The evening ended with the recognition of the County Sport
Mice / Long Island Tide women’s and County Sports men’s
teams, as players received certificates acknowledging their
accomplishments. The pride and happiness that was expressed
in the faces as each player was called to the podium was one of
the highlights of the night. The last member to be called was
Jim Galloway, who too most in attendance was credited with
being the best softball player that they had ever seen.
“The event continues to be a great success” stated Dave
Kasouf, Upstate New York Director., “We are blessed with a
great committee that has put in a tremendous amount of time
into everything from the awards, program booklet, tickets,
dinner, etc.”
The 2010 Hall of Fame will be held in Rochester. At the 2009
event, the following individuals, teams and sponsors were
elected for induction into the NYS USSSA Hall of Fame:
Female Category
Jenny Bellivia
Vivian Case
Male Category
Robert Fortier
Earl Blackmon
Rich Kometz
Umpire Category
Mike Fonak Jr.
Robert Reed
Gary Godden
Director Category
Gerald Waldon
Hank Manderia
Sponsor/Special Category
Jim Ferra
Team of Distinction
Pace Black American – World
Champions Teams
Al and Frank Ciaccia
Lifetime Achievement
Award
Sid Lovell
Joe Nucci Dedication to
Excellence Award
Bo Bertino
USSSA TODAY 33
Play Up...
You
Might
Like It
by Robert Boudreaux
I had the opportunity to attend the
8th Annual Texas Legend Major
NIT at Softball World, Euless, Texas.
Chris Thames and his staff are to
be commended for conducting an
outstanding USSSA event. Twenty four
(24) teams from across the country
offered the competition, and when the
dust settled, Resmondo captured the
Conference USSSA event undefeated.
In my 28 years service as a USSSA director,
the major division of play has offered
the top level of play, and that continues
today, as it did back in 1981. Campbell’s
Carpets. Howards. Jerry’s Catering. Elite
Coatings. Steele Sports. Skoal Bandits.
Larry’s Used Cars. Cable TV. Smythe Sox.
Ritch’s Superior. Williams Worth. Dan
Smith. Resmondo.
Robert Boudreaux
line up to take on the softball giants.
Players would take pride in playing
Ritch’s Superior. It became a bragging
right to be out slugged by Steele Silver
Bullets.
Today, very few teams see the opportunity, nor accept the challenge, by stepping up to the plate to take on the Dan
Smiths and Resmondos of the world,
much less play teams of a comparable
classification.
The names and faces change, but the level
of competition does not. It continues to
be the greatest show on dirt.
In place of a desire to play the best,
USSSA directors are showered with the
constant down play of “how bad we
are”, and “we are a new team”, and
“we don’t have the budget to play at
that level”, and on, and on, and on. It
has become a constant cycle of belly
aching and “sandbagging”. Then when
you factor in the roster policemen,
you question what is the future of this
simple game we cherish to play.
The sponsors and players all possess the
desire to participate in this great game,
at the highest level possible. Their dedication and work ethic make their labor
of love, poetry in motion, and a pleasure
to witness.
I applaud the Men’s “B”, “C” and “D”
teams who signed up to participate in
Conference USSSA, as it reminds me
of the those “C” and “D” teams of 20
years ago, who wanted to play the best.
Kudos!
Unfortunately, my discussion is not
directed at the major level, but rather
at the lower classes, and the continued
domino effect of teams attempting to
play down in classification.
And to those teams who play at the
correct classification, my heartfelt
appreciation goes out to you as you
have accepted the challenge to make
this game honorable.
Twenty years ago, sponsors and players
were committed to playing the best
possible competition, and if that meant
playing Elite Coatings, teams would
Just think, at the current rate of digression, we should have a Class “S” in the
very near future.
The Nature Of Sports Is Sportsmanship
by Scott Kuhnen
In the last issue of USSSA Today, we
discussed respecting the game and your
opponents by not using altered or illegal
equipment. Most especially this involves
so-called “juiced” bats. However, there
are additional ways that teams and
participants can respect the game and
their opponents.
Another way players can respect the
game is by abiding by the rules, regulations, and by-laws of the association.
34 USSSA TODAY
One such regulation is the commitment
that players make to teams and teams
make to players. It’s the issue of being
on one roster only, and being committed
to a single team, especially for championship play which is why roster rules
exist.
While some people might argue that
there are too many rules, regulations,
and by-laws to keep up with, the rules
and procedures associated with rosters
are fundamentally straightforward. A
basic foundation of roster management
is that players are permitted to be on
only one roster at a time.
Some years ago, USSSA started helping
team managers, league and tournament directors, and other participants
by launching a roster management
section to the USSSA.com website. With
such a feature, everyone with a stake
in the USSSA game is able to see what
participants are on any given team,; not
just their own, but also the participants
of their opponents.
This on-line feature is designed to allow
everyone in the game to operate with
a standard set of roster guidelines and
bring some needed structure to the
self-policing aspects of team eligibility.
However, like so many rules and regulations which have been provided to help
the game, players and team managers
who prefer to take advantage of their
opponents and put themselves above
the rules can always find a way to get
around the rules if they want.
In the case of roster management,
one way that teams have found to get
around the intent of the rules is to make
slight changes to how their players are
entered on their on-line rosters. For
example, a team which contains a player
named William E. Smith, might or might
know that another team has the same
player on their roster, but as Bill Smith.
Umpires
A third team might have the same player
as Will Smith, and a fourth team might
have a player shown as W. E. Smith.
USSSA recognized this flaw in the
system in 2007 and changed by-laws to
require that player’s names be shown as
full given name and as shown on driver’s
license or other approved form of identification. Failure to do so will lead to
disqualification.
Yet, like so many rules and regulations
which may be considered obscure or only
the responsibility of the team manager
or the local USSSA director, the practice
of players being carried on multiple
rosters via the “tricks” mentioned above
still persists. It is likely that the urge to
win at all cost and/or the desire on the
part of certain players to play as much
as possible, even if on different teams,
causes players or team managers to
abuse the intent and spirit of the rule.
It is my contention that many teams
choose not to protest the lone player
Ours is the only profession where we are
to be perfect on opening day and get
better as the season progresses. Weber
also said, “an umpire can fail once in
a high stakes moment and be remembered forever; however, it is amazing
how rarely they fail as they strive not
to be noticed in their pursuit of perfection.” As the USSSA National Umpire-InChief, I see hundreds, if not thousands
of games per year and I am amazed at
the job our umpires do for all of the
sports. In Weber’s words, “It is a necessary unbelievably demanding and insufficiently appreciated craft.” Those of
us that have umpired know how true
those words are. If you are looking to
be appreciated for a job well done, you
just might be in the wrong profession.
We all know it takes a special person to
36 USSSA TODAY
Just as USSSA Directors can’t know all
the players within their jurisdictions,
and the game of softball has been very
much a self-policing game - counting on
teams to point out and protest illegal
involvement - we would also appreciate
hearing about cases of players being
shown on multiple rosters.
Sportsmanship is everyone’s responsibility and all our players and team
managers can help their local directors to prevent some selfish players
or greedy team managers from disrespecting the game and their opponents
by using players only players who are
legitimately on their roster and only
their roster.
by Rick Roberton
Author, Bruce Weber, says “you are
neither inside the game as players are,
nor outside it among the fans, but the
game passes through you like rainwater
through a filter and your job is to influence it for the better, to strain out the
impurities.”
Rick Robertson- National Umpire in Chief
who is taking advantage of this
perceived loophole in the system.
Yet, using players who not eligible to
play with a team amounts to a fraud
committed on their opponents. It’s as
much a matter of lack of sportsmanship
as anything they do.
subject themselves to the demands of
the game, the insults from the players
and fans, and the ridicule from those
who think it is far easier than it is. It
takes an even better person to tune
out all of the distractions and focus on
the task at hand, umpiring the game.
You see; the game is more important
than any one of us as directors, players,
coaches, managers, sponsors or umpires.
Our job as umpires is to treat the game
with the utmost respect and make
sure those that participate respect the
game as well. As Weber so eloquently
stated, “Umpires still are custodians of
decorum.”
We have averaged registering over
11,000 USSSA umpires over the last
ten years. I appreciate what each has
done and understand what it takes to
complete the task. In USSSA we cannot
rest on our past laurels but need to
strive to be better when we make our
next call in our next game.
Remember, our craft demands perfection. Work on it!
SOFTBALL IS MY GAME
Softballers, lots to get to this month on and off the field.
But before we start talking softball, I wanted to quickly give a tip of the cap to all of the Easton-sponsored schools in the College
World Series. Easton has been the exclusive bat of 20 of the last 29 National Champs, including an incredible Fresno State squad
last year and we’re hoping to duplicate that feat in 2009. At the beginning of May, 10 of the Top-25 teams in college baseball were
swinging Easton bats, as were the nation’s top two home-run hitters.
Back on the softball field, the season is in full swing. We kicked things off nicely last month with
to-back USSSA NIT tournaments in one weekend at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.
There’s really no better way to get back into the swing of things than playing 11 games in four days,
especially when you take home both tournament titles thanks to Dan Smith. That stadium is pretty
incredibly – it’s home to the Houston Astros in the spring and right around the corner from the USSSA
corporate offices – I really couldn’t think of a better place to tee off 2009.
back-
I know we’re only halfway into 2009, but my hat goes off to the USSSA for what they’ve done in just
five short months. Just looking at the April double-NIT – they created a really cost-effective
weekend and with the economy being as it is, a softball tournament two-fer really
makes a difference, especially for all of the sponsors out there. They’ve helped make
it possible for Easton and others to continue to put quality teams on the field and
keep everything going even during this economic downturn.
And from the looks of things, this won’t be the end of the two-tourney weekend.
The USSA also has a West coast double dip set for July 4th weekend up in Seattle.
What I like about the Pacific Northwest swing is that they’re really being mindful
of both coasts – swinging from East to West four months apart, everybody has
the chance to come out and play without spending too much on travel.
Even still, I’ve been zigzagging across the country in the last few weeks as we
dig in with the USSSA conference season. We just wrapped up conference play
in Missouri and Texas at the beginning of May, plus some props to my buddies
on Jean Shoppe/Easton who went 8-1 a few weeks ago in Maryland to win their
first tournament of the season.
Now the attention should turn to the weekend of June 19th, we have one
of the biggest tourneys of the season, the 27th Annual Dudley Tournament
in Brooklyn Center, Minn. I’m looking forward to this one, as I do every
year. Along with the 41st annual Smokey Mountain Classic in Mayville,
Tenn., these two are easily two of the most important in 2009 – the real
‘meat’ of the season is just around the corner.
That said, what better time to check out Easton’s 2010 line, which should
be on shelves nationwide at your local sporting goods store. This is easily
our best line to date – we really made a concerted effort this year to offer
something for everyone. Check out the whole line at www.eastonbaseball.
com. If you can’t find a bat that works for you, you may want to just pick up
golf. There are some great 100-plus mile-per-hour bats that should come in
handy as we really dig in this season.
To wrap it up, everyone should really be getting into the groove of the
season about now and be looking towards the Nationals – I know I am.
Happy Hitting,
Brett Helmer
USSSA TODAY 37
Easton Sports Announces
New ‘Tri-Zone’ Slow-Pitch
Bat Offerings
2010 Line Features Stealth Tri-Zone
and Synergy Tri-Zone Bats
VAN NUYS, Calif. – Easton Sports, the industry leader in bat technology, today unveiled its 2010 slow-pitch bat line – headlined by its
new Tri-Zone bat series. Offered in both one-piece (Synergy Tri-Zone)
and two-piece (Stealth Tri-Zone) designs, the Tri-Zone features
Easton’s innovative Tri-Zone Segmented Barrel Technology, designed
to increase flexibility along the entire length of the barrel.
The Synergy Tri-Zone and Stealth Tri-Zone both offer a 13.5-inch
barrel. The line also includes a Brett Helmer signature series edition,
which features a 12-inch barrel end-loaded for more power.
“The Tri-Zone was designed specifically with the slow-pitch softballer
in mind,” said Matt Arndt, senior vice president of Easton’s baseball/softball division. “You’re not going to find a higher performing
100-plus mile-per-hour bat on the market, especially one tailored so
specifically to the slow-pitch game.”
By manipulating the design along the length of the barrel and
segmenting the bat inch by inch, Easton’s Tri-Zone Segmented Barrel
Technology localizes the design of the bat from the taper to the end cap
to increase flexibility and greatly enhance the hitting area of the bat.
The Stealth Tri-Zone includes Easton’s patented ConneXion Design
System (CXN), which creates a true two-piece design by isolating the
handle from the barrel to eliminate vibration with an elastomeric
rubber cushion between the two. The Synergy Tri-Zone offers the
same game-changing performance as the Stealth, but uses a onepiece design and Easton’s Single System Technology. All of the Tri-Zone
models feature an ultra-thin 29/32” tapered handle with Pro-Tack grip.
Easton’s entire 2010 slow-pitch bat line is available now in all major
sporting goods stores. Easton’s Tri-Zone bats are not approved for ASA
play.
To receive more information or schedule an interview, please contact
(310) 578-7050 or e-mail at [email protected].
About Easton Sports
Easton Sports, part of the Easton-Bell Sports family of companies, is
a developer, manufacturer, marketer and distributor of baseball, softball, hockey and cycling equipment for both professionals and enthusiasts. Easton focuses on its ability to innovate and create products of
unmatched quality and performance including the #1 bat in the College
World Series®, Women’s College World Series®, Little League World
Series®, and Slow-Pitch Softball, as well as the #1 stick and #1 glove in
the National Hockey League. Headquartered in Van Nuys, Calif., Easton
Sports employs over 1,200 people worldwide and maintains facilities in
Utah, California, Mexico, Canada and Asia. For further information,
please visit the company online at www.eastonsports.com.
38 USSSA TODAY
Mizuno Introduces New And Improved
Explosive Frenzy 2™
Slow Pitch Bats
Norcross, GA) – Mizuno, one of the leading slow
pitch bat manufacturers in the world, is scheduled to launch the new and improved Frenzy 2™
Slow Pitch Bat Series next month. The Frenzy 2™
is an upgraded version of the highly successful
Frenzy™, and offers an increased sweet spot and
more durability than any previous Mizuno slow
pitch bat. The Mizuno Frenzy 2™ slow pitch bat
is available in both ASA and USSSA models.
The Frenzy 2™ bats are uniquely made with Black
Onyx Carbon™, a state of the art carbon fiber.
This carbon fiber is made in Japan, and is the
same material used in the Boeing ‘Dreamliner’
787 jets. Black Onyx Carbon™ provides maximum
distance, ultimate control, and superior durability. The Frenzy 2™ is made from stronger
materials for more consistent wall thickness for
the most durable Mizuno bat ever.
Frenzy 2™ ASA Slow pitch bats utilize Mizuno’s
Techfire Technology®, which is a unique threetiered layer of materials that maximizes performance through an enlarged sweet spot area.
The outer layer consists of Black Onyx Carbon™,
with the middle layer comprised of a carbon fiber
piping, and the inner most layer made of a carbon
glass piping. These tri-axial composites increase
the sweet spot of the Frenzy 2™ ASA, resulting in
stronger and more desired performance.
The Frenzy 2™ USSSA approved bats are referred
to as the Frenzy 2™ Xtreme. The Frenzy 2™
Xtreme bats are made with Mizuno’s revolutionary AX4 Technology™, a unique composite
construction that fuses four layers of materials,
an outer carbon wall, two middle layers of
carbon piping, and an inner carbon wall. Mizuno
was the first bat manufacturer to use this revolutionary double pipe construction on the inside of
the bat. The AX4 Technology™ in the Frenzy 2™
increases the performance and the sweet spot
area of the bat, producing better results.
All Frenzy 2™ ASA and Xtreme bats are tested
for quality control prior to becoming available
for purchase. Using X-ray scanning technology,
Mizuno inspects each Frenzy 2™ bat for cracks,
wrinkles, and pipe separations in the carbon
“flags” to ensure the quality and durability of
the bats, along with the desired performance.
“The Frenzy 2 bat line offers the most advanced
slow pitch bats ever produced and they will
quickly become the bat of choice for any player at
any level looking for maximum distance, superior
feel and ultimate performance, in a great looking
bat,” said Dick Grapenthin, Vice President and
General Manager of Diamond Sports, Mizuno
USA. “The Frenzy 2 is upgraded from the barrel
to the handle from the popular and successful
Frenzy. We are confident that this new bat will
be another top seller for Mizuno.”
The Buzz about the Mizuno Frenzy 2™:
“Our team used the original Mizuno Frenzy and
had tremendous success with it. We started to
swing the new Frenzy 2, and were impressed
with the increased performance of the bat. This
is one fantastic bat.”
Scotty O’Neil-Coach of the
TaylorMade/Mizuno Slow pitch Team
“The Frenzy 2 has great feel, and even better
distance from the original Frenzy. Our club is
excited to make the switch to the Frenzy 2. We
don’t think our opposition is too thrilled about it
though.”
Brian Floyd-1B for the
TaylorMade/Mizuno Slow pitch Team
All Frenzy 2™ ASA and Xtreme slow pitch bats
are 34 inches in length, and are available in four
different weights (26oz., 27oz., 28oz., and 29oz.).
The Frenzy 2™ ASA is blue and white, and the
Frenzy 2™ Xtreme is red, grey, and white.
The Frenzy 2™ collection of bats join the Frenzy,
Wrath, Wrath 2, Techfire Envy, Techfire Crush,
Techfire Crush 2, Techfire Rage, and the Finch
Signature Series giving Mizuno its most powerful
arsenal of softball bats ever. The Frenzy 2™ ASA
and Frenzy 2™ Xtreme model bats will be available on April 15th, 2009. The suggested retail
price for the bats is $249.99.
Mizuno USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Mizuno Corporation, one of the largest specialty
sporting goods manufacturers in the world.
Mizuno USA, Inc. manufacturers and distributes
golf, baseball, softball, running, track & field,
and volleyball equipment, apparel, and footwear
for North America. Mizuno USA, Inc. is based in
Norcross, Georgia.
USSSA TODAY 39
USSSA FASTPITCH SOFTBALL
Kansas City and USSSA
Have A Rich Tradition
by Jeremy McDowell
The tournament will be played July 20-26, and will be hosted
at Mid-America West Sports Complex in Shawnee and Blue
Valley Rec Complex in Overland Park. For more information
on this event, please go to www.usssaregion5.com. Here you
will be able to find all information, including a downloadable
packet, lodging info, a Look Who’s Coming list of teams tentatively entered, and continuous updates regarding the latest on
event information for Opening Day activities.
16 & Under B Central
The 16 & Under B Central World Series will make a return trip
to Kansas City after a three year hiatus. In 2005, Independence
was home to the 16 & Under B World Series in conjunction
with the 16 & Under A World Series.
Jessie Gargano (Omaha Sizzle Red) gets a hold of this ball during Home Run
Hitting Contest at Community America Ball Park in the 14 “B” WS Skills
Competition.
Kansas City has a rich tradition with USSSA Fastpitch and
World Series events, dating back to 2001 when the 14 & Under
B World Series made its first trip to Kansas City. That year the
event was hosted at Johnson County Girls Athletic Complex
(now the Mid-America West Sports Complex) and was host to
45 teams.
In 2008, the 14 & Under B Central World Series made a return
trip to Kansas City and the Mid-America West Sports Complex
and Blue Valley Rec Complex. This event saw an amazing
amount of interest and was able to bring 80 teams to Kansas
City. With these 80 teams, it was the largest single “B” World
Series event in the United States.
For 2009, the Opening Day activities will be centered on the
new Legend’s area in Kansas City, Kansas. Many of the local
restaurants and businesses will open their doors to the USSSA
World Series, including Community America Ballpark, home
of the Northern League T-Bones Baseball Club. This beautiful
6000+ seat stadium has been host to multiple USSSA World
Series Opening Ceremonies. The Skills Competitions will be
hosted here as well as the Ceremonies. For this ceremony we
will be joined by teams, parents, sky divers, with a special
appearance by Stacy Nuveman, Catcher of the 2008 USA
Olympic Team.
40 USSSA TODAY
This season, the 16 & Under B Central World Series come
back to Kansas City, but change venues from Adair Park in
Independence to Mid-America West Sports Complex (Shawnee)
and Blue Valley Rec Complex (Overland Park). It will be held in
conjunction with the 14 & Under B Central World Series.
For 2009, the Opening Day activities will be centered on the
new Legend’s area in Kansas City, Kansas. Many of the local
restaurants and businesses will open their doors to the USSSA
World Series, including Community America Ballpark, home
of the Northern League T-Bones Baseball Club. This beautiful
6000+ seat stadium has been host to multiple USSSA World
Series Opening Ceremonies. The Skills Competitions will be
hosted here as well as the Ceremonies. For this ceremony we
will be joined by teams, parents, sky divers, with a special
appearance by Stacy Nuveman, Catcher of the 2008 USA
Olympic Team.
The tournament will be played July 20-26, and will be hosted
at Mid-America West Sports Complex in Shawnee and Blue
Valley Rec Complex in Overland Park. For more information
on this event, please go to www.usssaregion5.com. Here you
will be able to find all information, including a downloadable
packet, lodging info, a Look Who’s Coming list of teams tentatively entered, and continuous updates regarding the latest on
event information for Opening Day activities.
In 2007, 76 12 & Under B teams descended upon Kansas City
for the 12 & Under B World Series. That event was hosted at
the beautiful Adair Park and Frank White Sports Complex.
For the week of July 20-26, Adair Park will remain the focal
point of the event, but
a new venue added
will be Tiffany Hills
Sports Complex in
Kansas City, Missouri.
Between these two
complexes, there are
14 fields that can be
utilized for a new
crop of 12 & Under
girls softball players
to spend their last KC Skinners player Madison McDowell keeps
hurrah of the 2009 her head on the end of the bat as she completes
her 8th circle in the Dizzy Bat Race.
season.
For 2009, the 12 & Under B Central World Series will be joining
forces with the hosts of the 14 & Under/16 & Under B Central
World Series events to host their Opening Day Ceremonies.
The Opening Day activities will be centered on the new
Legend’s area in Kansas City, Kansas. Many of the local restaurants and businesses will open their doors to the USSSA World
Series, including Community America Ballpark, home of the
Northern League T-Bones Baseball Club. This beautiful 6000+
seat stadium has been host to multiple USSSA World Series
Opening Ceremonies. The Skills Competitions will be hosted
here as well as the Ceremonies. For this ceremony we will be
joined by teams, parents, sky divers, with a special appearance
by Stacy Nuveman, Catcher of the 2008 USA Olympic Team.
Springhill Power outfielder Karie Kenedy was at the fence trying to chase down
a foul ball during the HR contest.
For more information on this event, please go to www.
usssaregion5.com. Here you will be able to find all information, including a downloadable packet, lodging info, a Look
Who’s Coming list of teams tentatively entered, and continuous updates regarding the latest on event information for
Opening Day activities.
USSSA TODAY 41
USSSA 2009 FastPitch Softball
in the Salt City
by Tammy Totland
Fun Valley in Hutchinson, Kansas will be hosting the 15 and
Under and the 18 and Under B Fast Pitch World Series the week
of July 20-26, 2009. This is not a new venture for the Fun
Valley staff, as they have hosted a Fast Pitch World Series for
the last 8 years, but it’s always a new, exciting, and fun experience for the tournament staff.
Fun Valley has been named by 2 different national organizations as complex of the year. It was named Midwest complex
of the year in 2006. It is regarded as one of the premier facilities in the United States. Fun Valley has 7 diamonds, sport
shop, 3 concession areas of which one is located on the mezzanine with an air conditioned area that has viewing of the four
main fields and is equipped with satellite TV’s. Fun Valley takes
great pride in the appearance and playability of their professionally manicured playing surfaces. We are confident the
teams will find our facilities second to none.
In 2008, Fun Valley hosted the 12 and Under B, 15 and Under,
and the 16 and Under B Central Fast Pitch World Series. Even
with the strenuous economic times and high gas prices, there
was still a total of 57 teams representing 11 states. Winning
the 12 and Under division was Wichita Blasters from Kansas
defeating Harley’s Angels from Missouri. In the 15 and Under
division, Patriots Fastpitch from Missouri defeated Blasters
from Texas. In the 16 and Under division, Hays Strikers from
Kansas defeated River Valley Shockers from Arkansas.
The 2009 Fast Pitch World Series agenda will consist of a
manager’s luncheon and meeting, mom’s meeting and tea,
opening ceremonies with contest to follow on the first day.
All participants in the tournament will be able to take part in
the contests which consist of around the horn, running relay,
and accuracy throw. Our goal is for no player to be left out.
42 USSSA TODAY
Tournament play starts on Tuesday with 2 days of pool play and
Thursday will start the double elimination tournament. After
pool play is finished on Wednesday, it’s a night to kick back
and relax with an evening at the Salt City Splash and complimentary pizza from Papa John’s for all players and coaches.
All family members are invited to enjoy the evening at the Salt
City Splash free of charge.
For players, coaches, family members, and fans there is a special
discounted rate available to tour the Kansas Cosmosphere and
Kansas Underground Salt Museum. The Kansas Cosmosphere
and Space Center is one of the few located in the United States
of which it is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian. It has one
of the most significant collections of space artifacts in the
world and the largest collection of Russian artifacts outside
of Moscow. The Underground Salt Museum is the only one
located in the western hemisphere. In order to explore the
mine which is 650 feet below ground, you will enter a double
decker elevator for the 70 second descent underground. Once
underground, you will see salt deposits that were formed
275 million years ago and also be able to see some of the 500
million tons of salt that is mined annually.
In order to participate in one of the above 2009 prestigious
events, coaches will need to contact their state director with
the specifics on how to qualify. They will need to send all
paper work to their state director who will then forward it to
the tournament site.
For more information on the 2009 events, please contact Fun
Valley at: 620-669-9999 or check out our web site at: www.
funvalleysports.com
Fun Valley staff and the City Of Hutchinson are looking forward
to seeing you in July.
The Life of a
Youth Tournament Director
by Lisa Walt
“The Big Pig Gig”
by Joan Simpson
Well now partner
Somewhere along the way people have forgotten about the big
picture of why children participate in youth sports. It is becoming
increasingly difficult to manage all the aspects of scheduling and
running youth fastpitch tournaments. I am a tournament director
in South Florida for fastpitch softball, although the sport really
doesn’t matter, I would guess that it is a struggle these days in all
youth sports. Pleasing so many people from coaches to parents
is getting more difficult every year. But at the end of the tournament when you give out those trophies to a group of 7 and 8 year
old girls who think they have just won the World Series, it makes
the trials and tribulations of the whole tournament worthwhile.
you might be one of the lucky ones if
you intend on attending the “A” or “B” Florida Fastpitch State tournaments in July. Not only will you have great competition, outstanding
fields, well informed and helpful staff, but you will see some of the
best dressed pigs in the whole world. Yes sir, they’re gonna bring in
their pigs all blinged out (watch for the DaPiggy veneers), dressed up
and corralled for judging on Friday night at their Pin trading and pool
parties. Not only will these pigs be dressed up they will be stuffed
with monies that will be donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation®. The
best dressed pig will win tee-shirts for his team and the players and
coaches names will go up on the ole barn wall (under construction).
For instance, my tournaments happen to fall mostly in the
months of May and June. I bet that you have never considered
the nightmare of trying to schedule these tournaments around
so many different youth functions. Some of those functions that
interfere with my scheduling include: first communions, grad
nights, graduations, and because I schedule in the south Florida
area, “Quinces” also known as fifteens dances and others, too.
You cannot imagine the number of calls I get from mom’s,
not even coaches, to make sure that their team doesn’t play
between certain hours on Saturday because they are having a
birthday party. Of course I always try to accommodate, but that
can be difficult when no one can play on Friday night and no
early games on Saturday. My tournaments, by the way, are three
games seeding starting on Friday night and into Saturday and
double elimination beginning on Sunday. I suppose if I had my
choice I wouldn’t want to have be up at the field at 7:00am for
an 8:00am game either, but that is not the way the tournaments
work.
Please note that you are helping someone in their time of need.
After the event these pigs will be taken to hospitals, children’s homes
or where ever they are needed, they will bring a smile to someone
no matter what the monetary value was inside. We chose to do this
simply to help make someone’s day, week or hours a bit better. We
are hoping for a very successful event this year and are planning to
do this yearly. Coaches, managers and/or team mom’s please explain
this to your team and the benefits it will have to some girl, boy, man
or woman. This is their website http://sfla.wish.org/
In addition to the nightmares I have with scheduling around
the family events, it is becoming even more difficult to please
this new round of coaches. You all know the ones. They are the
ones that up until a few months ago they were just “dad’s”, now
they have found this new life of coaching. Some of them forced
into coaching because a group of girls with some talent need a
leader, or there are those who have seen how their coaches have
coached their kids and are sure they could do a better job than
that guy had been doing. Some of these coaches believe that
once the schedule is issued that there must be some personal
vendetta that I have against them because they are scheduled to
play the hardest teams or have the worst game times. Little do
they know that I rely on the ISTS system to plan my draws for
the tournament. You can never please some of them.
But when the tournament comes to an end, and there are 26
girls receiving their first and second place trophies, all of the
struggles that I faced before and during the tournament are
forgotten. It is then that we must remember why sports and
tournaments exist for our youth, it is simply to prepare them for
the future. In the end it doesn’t really matter who they played,
what the score was, or who went 3 for 3. What does matter is
these young players are learning more than a sport, they are
learning life lessons. They are learning to work as a team and are
gaining self confidence.
44 USSSA TODAY
Pig Pen Rules Your team must have your pig dressed and stuffed
by the State tournament pin trading party. Pigs will be gathered
in a corral and judged at that time. The stuffing must be removed
and presented at the time your pig is registered in the contest.
The stuffing (monies) will be donated entirely to The Make-A-Wish
Foundation® of Southern Florida. Pig owners please note that your
Pig will be adopted out after it completes it’s requirements for “The
Big Pig Gig” The dressed up Big Pigs will be given to children with
the Make-A-Wish Foundation®, children’s hospitals, group homes or
wherever they may bring a smile and comfort.
The dressing for your pig may consist of the following items: bling,
clothes, shoes, hair, anything that would fall into a pig wardrobe
category. Please for the sake of our pigs no piercing.
The stuffing is of the monetary value, please have people give to
your pig so it may be donated to The Make-A-Wish Foundation®
of Southern Florida. This will be done at the pin trading party have
your coins and bills consolidated into a money order made payable
to “Make-A-Wish.”
This contest is all done in pure fun and no pun intended. The MakeA-Wish Foundation® of Southern Florida will be the sole beneficiary
of all monies collected at “The Big Pig Gig.” A representative will be
on site to herd up all the Pigs and transport them to whoever may
need them.
Stay tuned for more info and eventful happenings and changes in the
Pen rules. http://usssafloridayouth.com
We will be giving awards to the best dressed pigs. The awards will be
supplied by USSSA Florida Youth.
To order your piggies go to the link below especially for USSSA Florida
Fastpitch. http://www.banksbanksbanks.com/item_FM8360_usssa.
clear.plastic.piggy.bank.banks.html
Ankeny, Iowa
2009 Midwest Showdown
by Bryan Sage
April showers bring May
flowers as the old saying
goes, and May 1st may
bring some Mayday baskets
of goodies to your doorstep. For 16 & 18U fastpitch teams in the upper
Midwest, May 1st can mean
only one thing, it’s time for
The Midwest Showdown!
18A Champions: Frozen Ropes Fury
18A Runnerup: MSA Gold
18 Open Champions: Quakes White
May 1st, 2009 marked the
kickoff of The 4th Annual
Midwest Showdown for 16U and 18U teams. The Midwest
Showdown dates back to 2006 as a pre-season event to help
Iowa High School teams prepare for the start of their high
school season. Iowa is the only State that plays it’s High School
softball season during the summer months, leaving few opportunities for teams to experience the excitement of a tournament environment. The inaugural 2006 event hosted ten 18U
teams from Iowa and Nebraska at Prairie Ridge Sports Complex
in Ankeny, Iowa. From those humble beginnings, the event has
continued to grow and gain interest. The tournament carries
an international flavor these days with teams from Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada regularly making the 11 hour trip to The
Midwest Showdown and other Iowa Spring events. Iowa will
play host to around 10 Canadian teams in 2009, mainly from
Winnipeg, but they have drawn teams in from as far away as
Regina, Saskatchewan.
Prairie Ridge Sports Complex in Ankeny, Iowa has remained
the tournament host every year and is one of the cornerstones of an exploding fastpitch program for USSSA. The
start of the 2009 Midwest Showdown brought out fastpitch
teams, fans, and curious onlookers to soak up the beautiful
70 degree weather and see what all of excitement was about.
Two rounds of games on Friday evening started the journey
of twenty-nine 18U teams towards their goal of being The
Midwest Showdown Champions. The Midwest Speed & Agility
(MSA) Gold team staked it’s claim as a team to be reckoned
with, jumping out to a 2 – 0 start Friday over Ankeny Gold 12-2
and MAC Maroon 7-2
Pool games continued Saturday May 2nd with a buzz in the
parks surrounding the arrival of the Nebraska teams and our
Canadian friends, the Winnipeg Lightning, all of who are
regular competitors in the event. With each round of pool play
that elapsed, it became evident that all of the visiting teams
would be a factor before the weekend was over.
By the end of Saturday’s competition, the top teams had played
themselves into a 14 team 18A bracket and a 15 team 18 Open
bracket was filled with the remaining teams.
18 Open Runnerup: Eastern Iowa Barracudas
46 USSSA TODAY
Pool winners included BCLUW Comets, Team Nebraska, Frozen
The 16U Championship went to Sizzle Blue, 4-0 over Suburban
Pride Red.
The 18 Open Championship pairing was a Nebraska versus
Iowa contest, as it usually ends up being, between the Quakes
White and Eastern Iowa Barracudas. As with most of the
Sunday games, the contest went deep into the game before
a winner could be decided. With the game tied 2 – 2 in the
seventh, the Quakes White form Omaha, Nebraska were able
to put across the winning run in the bottom half of the inning
to claim the 3 – 2 win.
Winnipeg Lightning 3rd Place 16A
Ropes Fury, Central Iowa Stars, MSA Gold, Indianola Indians, &
the North Polk Comets.
Championship bracket play started Sunday morning, again
under picture perfect, sunny skies. Opening round games
hinted that we would have a day filled with tightly contested
close ballgames. The opening round was highlighted with a
thrilling 5-4 victory by the Indianola Indians over the Echoes
Thunder in one of many Iowa versus Nebraska match-ups
throughout the day. The Quarterfinal round continued the
excitement with a couple of dazzling pitching duels as the
Sizzle Red edged out Team Nebraska 1-0. At the same time
the Winterset Huskies and BCLUW Comets were busy playing
out the best game of the tournament. After playing through
7 scoreless innings of regulation play, the Comets and Huskies
went into international tie-breaker. Remaining tied through
the 9th inning, Winterset finally edged out the Comets in the
10th inning, squeaking out a hard fought 2-1 victory. With no
time to relish in their victory, Winterset went right into a semifinal match-up, where MSA Gold was awaiting them.
What started as a twenty-nine team field had been narrowed
down to the final four teams in 18A, and the semifinals
provided plenty of must-see softball. After their 10 inning
battle with BCLUW, Winterset again found itself in another
thriller as they again went scoreless into extra innings against
MSA Gold. One extra inning was all that was needed to settle
the outcome, with MSA scoring the only run of the game in the
bottom of the 8th inning. MSA had advanced undefeated into
the 18A Championship where a daunting task awaited them.
The Frozen Ropes Fury from Nebraska had also run undefeated
through the field, in machine like fashion, facing it’s toughest
challenge in the form of fellow Nebraska team, Sizzle Red in
the other semifinal. Renewing acquaintance over the course of
the match-up, the Nebraska teams delighted onlookers with
some great pitching and stellar defense, Frozen Ropes would
advance to the Championship with a 2-0 win.
As all of this was transpiring, the 16A division had worked it’s
way to the final four competitors. It was an all visitors shootout
with the 3 Nebraska teams of Sizzle Blue, Team Nebraska, and
Suburban Pride Red joined by the Winnipeg Lightning from
Canada. The final match-up was set after semifinal victories by
Suburban Pride Red 2-1 over Team Nebraska and Sizzle Blue
advancing 4-0 over the Winnipeg Lightning.
The marquee game that all twenty-nine 18U teams set their
sights on, saw the best 2 teams of the event square off with
equally impressive resumes. The Frozen Ropes Fury, led by
Coach Dave Peterson, went into the game 6-0 allowing 4 runs
and having scored 46. The Midwest Speed & Agility (MSA) Gold
team, led by Coach Garland Shirley, also came into the game
6-0 allowing 8 runs and having scored 41. These teams wasted
no time getting their bats going as the Fury put 2 runs on the
board early, only to see MSA battle back with a run of their
own. The game went along 2-1 late into the game, before
Coach Peterson’s Frozen Ropes Fury team added another 2 runs
and held off the charge of MSA to win the Championship 4-1.
Another super year for The Midwest Showdown brings
thoughts of the 2010 event already!
Circle the 1st weekend in May on your 2010 calendar and come
out for some Iowa hospitality.
Past Champions
2006
18U
Omaha Quakes Black (NE)
16U
Flamez (SD)
2007
18U
Iowa Pride (IA)
16U
Omaha Finesse (NE)
2008
18U
Sports University (IA)
16U
Sizzle Red (NE)
2009
18A Champions
Frozen Ropes Fury (NE)
2nd Place
MSA Gold (IA)
3rd Place
Sizzle Red (NE)
3rd Place
Winterset Huskies (IA)
18 Open Champions
Omaha Quakes White (NE)
2nd Place
Eastern Iowa Barracudas
3rd Place
MAC Maroon (IA)
3rd Place
Central Iowa Outlaws
16A Champions
Sizzle Blue (NE)
2nd Place
Suburban Pride Red (NE)
3rd Place
Team Nebraska (NE)
3rd Place
Winnipeg Lightning (CAN)
USSSA TODAY 47
Fast Pitch–Texas Style
by Paul Rose
Plano, TX- The USSSA hosted several
of the top 18 and Under, Fastpitch
Softball teams in the country competing
in the 2008 USSSA 18U World Series
Tournament in three Divisions (18U
Major, 18U “A-43ft” and 18U “A-40ft”),
which was held the first week in August
at Heritage Yards in beautiful Plano,
TX. The talented Teams represented 8
different states including California,
Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri,
New Mexico, Iowa and Pennsylvania
along with one team from Canada.
Plano is located in north-central Texas,
located in Collin County. It is a wealthy
northern suburb of Dallas. Plano is
within the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington
Metroplex. In 2005, Plano was designated the best place to live in the
Western United States by CNN Money
magazine. In 2006, Plano was selected
as the 11th best place to live in the
United States by CNN Money magazine.
In addition to its many industries and
good-quality living, Plano has excel48 USSSA TODAY
JD Bancroft and his world famous smoker.
18U Major Order of Finish:
1
Texas Elite Easton Gold
2
Texas Travelers Bell
3
Fort Worth Batbusters (Anderson)
4
Texas Elite Easton Bancroft
5
WDM Tigers
5
Texas Stix Gold
7
Texas Rapid Fire 18u Gold
7
Originals(Waterbury)
9
SU Softball Club
9
Texas Glory Lutz
9
Si Ya
9
Texas Travelers ET Gold
13 Diamond Dolls Softball Club
13 Bandits Gold
13 Fort Worth Batbusters 18u Gold Card
13 Iowa Pride
17 Texas Elite Harrison
17 Fort Worth Batbusters 18u - Thiessen
17 Fort Worth Batbusters 18u gold Edwards
17 Texas Glory Gold (Bell)
17 Paris Thunder
17 Ice Softball Club
17 OC Nighthawks
18U Major Awards:
Player Tournament Awards
Players Name
Plays For
Offensive Tournament MVP
Christin Mickelboro
Defensive Tournament MVP
Britni Soria
Outstanding Pitcher
Brittany Tanner
All Tournament Team
Kristen Rigsbee
All Tournament Team
Carissa Williams
All Tournament Team
Julie Essary
All Tournament Team
Magean DeLaTorre
All Tournament Team
Angela White
Ft Worth Batbusters18U Gold Edwards
All Tournament Team
Sarah Draheim
All Tournament Team
Brittany Wood
All Tournament Team
Erinn Jayjohn
All Tournament Team
Sandy James
All Tournament Team
KASEY CARLOCK
All Tournament Team
Kayla Jackson
All Tournament Team
Johnnie Dowling
WDM Tigers
All Tournament Team
Kristin Wehmeyer
Texas Stix Gold
lent schools that consistently score in
the top few percent of the nation, and
has been rated as the wealthiest city
in the United States by CNN Money. In
2008, Forbes.com selected Plano along
with University Park and Highland
Park as the three “Top Suburbs To Live
Well” of Dallas. In addition, The United
States Census Bureau declared Plano the
wealthiest city of 2008 by comparing the
median household income for all U.S.
cities whose populations were greater
than 250,000
Heritage Yards is one of the nicest
Softball venues in Northern Texas.
Heritage Yards has 9 lighted softball
diamonds and has hosted the Elite
College Showcases for the past two
years. The park was beautiful and I don’t
believe that I have ever seen the grass in
better condition then it was here. The
college coaches in attendance enjoyed
the ability to quickly access all 9 fields
with the convenient layout of the park.
The 2008 USSSA World Series kicked
off with a bang with great opening
ceremonies Texas Style. The ceremonies
started off by having a Flip Flop contest
amongst the teams. The umpires voted
on the best Flip Flop designs. All teams
had a lot of fun with this. In addition,
the umpires’ hula hoop contest was a
hit amongst everyone in attendance.
The umpire that could hula the longest
won prizes. The players, parents and
coaches had a great time watching the
umpires trying to hula. The last part of
the opening ceremonies was an inspirational speech from Megan Denny
former University of Texas pitcher
and current PFX Pro Tour player, who
inspired players to follow their dreams
and keep working hard to obtain their
goals not only on the field but in life.
Throughout the whole tournament,
players, coaches, and teams were
working hard and having fun. The atmoUSSSA TODAY 49
18U “A” Order of Finish:
sphere was very exciting, the competition was great from the very beginning
and the weather was absolutely beautiful. The Grounds Crew, Hospitality
Staff and everyone involved at Heritage
Yards did a super job of keeping the
park beautiful and all games on-time
throughout the entire week.
In the 18U Major Division, there were
several top teams that forced close
games all week in Pool and Bracket
Play. The Texas Elite Easton entered
the Championship game undefeated
to face the Texas Travelers, who had
lost to the Elite earlier in bracket play
before battling their way through the
loser’s bracket to the Championship
game. The Travelers won the first game
13-12 and forced an IF game for the
World Championship. In the IF game,
the Elite prevailed with a 5-4 victory to
be crowned the 2008 18U Major World
Champions.
In the 18U “A-43ft” Division, there were
equally impressive teams and games.
The Oklahoma Ultimate entered the
Championship game undefeated to
face the Missouri Intensity, who had to
battle back through the loser’s bracket
after losing the very first bracket game
they played. The Intensity won 5 games
in a row through the loser’s bracket to
advance to the Championship game.
The momentum must have helped the
Intensity as the won the first game 6-4
and forced an IF game for the World
Championship. In the IF game, the
Intensity’s offensive momentum proved
too much for Ultimate as they exploded
to a 10-4 victory to be crowned the 2008
18U “A” World Champions.
In the 18U “A-40ft” Division, the games
were just as exciting. The Albuquerque
Stars entered the Championship game
undefeated to face the Tucson Elite,
who were knocked into the losers
bracket by the Texas Avengers-Baker,
50 USSSA TODAY
1
MO Intensity
2
Oklahoma Ultimate
3
Lookouts
4
SW MO FLAMES
5
Texas Storm (Jones)
5
Dallas Mustangs
7
SE Iowa Allstars
7
Fanatix
9
AXE 18U Collings
9
Lady Athletics
18U “A” Awards:
Players Name
Plays For
Kalynn Schrock
Oklahoma Ultimate
Hallie Petersen
MO Intensity
Outstanding Pitcher
Tara Mitchel
MO Intensity
All Tournament Team
Jamie Holmes
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
a Baderdeen
MO Intensity
All Tournament Team
Dayna Purl
DALLAS MUSTANGS
All Tournament Team
Chelsea Bennett
Texas Storm (Jones)
All Tournament Team
Amanda Summerford
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
Jamie Nash
MO Intensity
All Tournament Team
Mercedes Campbell
MO Intensity
All Tournament Team
Carlie Rose
MO Intensity
All Tournament Team
Kyla Tatum
Lookouts
All Tournament Team
Jenna Prather
Lookouts
All Tournament Team
Jerika Rosenquist
Oklahoma Ultimate
All Tournament Team
Baylyn Jennings
Lookouts
All Tournament Team
Caitlin Cotton
Oklahoma Ultimate
All Tournament Team
Summer Schrock
Oklahoma Ultimate
All Tournament Team
Alysse Yates
Oklahoma Ultimate
18U 40’ Order of Finish:
1
Albuquerque Starz
2
Tucson Elite 18
3
Texas Avengers (Baker)
4
Williamsport Wicked Insanity
5
Texas Blaze
5
Lightning
7
Team Texas
7
NXS
9
Adrenaline
9
Veneno
9
TNT
9
North Texas Intensity-(Grimes)
18U 40’ Awards:
Players Name
Plays For
Amanda Martinez
Tucson Elite 18
Jocelynn Salazar
More then 1 team
Outstanding Pitcher
Melissa Martinez
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
McKenna Russell
All Tournament Team
Magen Lynch
coached by NFCA Hall-of-Fame Coach
Dianne Baker, earlier in bracket play but
were able to battle their way through
the loser’s bracket to semi-final game
where they had to face Baker’s squad
again. This time the Arizona squad
prevailed with a 2-0 victory to advance
to the Championship game. The Stars
won the game 3- 0 to be crowned the
2008 18U 40’ World Champions.
All Tournament Team
Kristi Covarrubia
Albuquerque Starz
All Tournament Team
Latianna Eltsosie
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
Tristin Moone
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
Eric Santillanes
More then 1 team
All Tournament Team
Lianna Zamora
Tucson Elite 18
All Tournament Team
Janessa Martinez
Tucson Elite 18
All Tournament Team
Alysha Alvarez
More then 1 team
As the week came to an end and teams
began to go home, the experience of the
2008 USSSA World Series will be remembered as a time of fun and competition.
We can’t wait to go back next year.
All Tournament Team
Courtney Comstock
Williamsport Wicked Insanity
All Tournament Team
Miraya Montiel
Tucson Elite 18
All Tournament Team
Jessica Rameriz
Texas Blaze
All Tournament Team
COURTNEY WESTBROOK
LIGHTNING
All Tournament Team
Forshaw Rachel
To learn more about the 2009 USSSA 18U
World Series: http://www.usssatexas.net
USSSA TODAY 51
USSSA SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL
Davenport, IA
33rd Annual Big Brothers
& Big Sisters
by Art Hernandez
For the second time in two years, history was made again in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Snowbird Softball Tournament.
Ironically, last years tournament was suspended because of wind chills of –32 below zero. This years tournament was put back two
weeks because of tempatures in the high 50s and low 60s that turned the fields into swamps. But, after the delay, mother nature
cooperated and the 33rd annual event was played. 66 Teams participated in this years event making it one of the most successful
snowbird tournaments ever. This years charity was again Big Brothers & Big Sisters celebrating their 101st anniversary.
Coed Rec.
1.
Ottumwa Freeze Ottumwa, Iowa 7-1
2.
Rudys Tacos Davenport, Iowa 5-2
3.
2 Drunk 2 Play Oskaloosa, Iowa 6-2
4.
Circle Tap Davenport, Iowa 4-2
All Tournament Team
Malarkys
Chris Byrns, Shannon Arnold,
Smantha Angaran, Shawnte Moss
MBP
Karrie Gibbs, Kevin Elderman,
Brad Frost, Jamie Porter
Drunk’n Monkeys
Chad Goodwin, Travis Scott,
Dave Goodwin
TNA Express
Joanne Shoemaker, Royce Rickman
Tournament M.V.P.
Chris Byrns
All Tournament Team
Ottumwa Freeze
Rudys Tacos
2 Dunk 2 Play
Circle Tap
Tournament M.V.P.
Sam Eakins, Brett Little,
Misty Varner, Jenn Glenn
Kim Wescom, Tim Hatfield,
Darrin Gilkison Russ Johnson
Emily Gertz, Andy Kohler,
Jim Kopaska
Greg Guy, Kristy Dorgan
Brett Little
After losing to Rudys
Tacos in the finals of
the winners bracket,
the Ottumwa Freeze
came back to beat
them twice to claim
the
recreational
part of the coed
Division. Ottumwa
was led by the defense of Dustin Smith and the offense of
tournament MVP Brett Little to beat Rudys 9-2 in the if
game. Rudys behind Darrin Gilkison hitting and the play of
Kim Wescom finished the tournament with a 5-2 record. Jill
Carters diving catch and the offense of Andy Kohler propelled
2 Drunk 2 Plays third place finish. Other heros included Emily
Gertz and Jim Kopaska. Down 7-2 in the semifinals, the Circle
Tap scored 8 runs in the last inning to beat Smooth Operators
10-8 to earn a fourth place . The stars for circle were Greg Guy
and Kristy Dorgan.
Coed Comp. Tournament
1. Malarkys Rock Island, Illinois 6-1
2.
MBP Fairbank, Iowa 3-2
3.
Drunk’n Monkeys Waterloo, Iowa 2-2
4.
TNA Express Davenport, Iowa 2-2
52 USSSA TODAY
For the second year
in row Malarky had
to come out of the
losers bracket to
win the competitive division of the
Coed. After losing
their first game,
Malarkys reeled off
six straight wins to claim the title. Chris Byrns and Shannon
Arnold powered Malakys attack. Also for the second year in a
row, Malarkys victim was MBP of Waterloo, Iowa. MBP ran off
three wins before bowing to Malarkys in the championship
games. Brad Frost, Karrie Gibbs, and Kevin Elderman were the
key players for MBP. Drunk’n Monkeys with the help of Travis
Scott and Chad Goodwin finished third with a record of 2-2.
Nate Whites game winning RBI in the last inning helped TNA
Express from Davenport, Iowa to a fourth place finish.
Oldest Team: Rudys Tacos, with members of a team that won
this tournament five times in row ten years ago. One person
remarked that they were like the Eveready Bunnies, they just
keep on going.
Best Beer Drinking Team(S): It’s a tie, between 2 Drunk 2
Play and Rudys Tacos. The bar at the dugout complex would
like to thank these teams for a nice weekend.
Mens Rec.
1.
Stadium Club
Davenport, Iowa
6-1
2.
Viren Construction
Moline, Illinois
5-2
3.
Bone Crushers
Silvis, Illinois
5-2
4.
Century 21
East Moline, Illinois
3-2
All Tournament Team
Stadium Club
Danny Niemi, Danny Broihier,
Tim Hamann, Alex Podhimy
Viren Const
Ryan Viren, J.R. Pauwels, Chad
Parker, Mike Jones
Bonecrushers
Greg Wessels, Chad Dye, Jacob Stice
Century 21-
John Aldrich, Kevin Cook, Jason Stone
Tournament M.V.P.
Danny Broihier
Stadium Club did
itself one better this
year (they got second
in 08) by winning
the
recreational
division of the tournament going 6-1.
Led by Tournament
MVP Danny Broihier,
and Tim Hamann,
Danny Niemi ,Stadium Club defeated Viren Construction 18-6
in the IF game. Stadium Club and Viren played 3 times in the
tournament, with both teams spilting one run games. In the
undefeated bracket game Stadium Club rallied for 9 runs in
the last inning to nip Viren 23-22. Viren returned the favor in
the first championship game by rallying with 3 runs in the last
inning to tie the game, and then win it in extra innings. Virens
manager Ryan Viren remarked “they were looking forward
to playing stadium club next year”. Viren Const. with timely
hitting by Tim Mulstrom and defensively by David Carroll
defeated the Bone Crushers 29-17. The Bone Crushers helped
by strong perfomance by Greg Wessells, Jacob Stile and Chad
Dye defeated century 21 for 3rd place. Earlier in the tournament, Century 21 led by John Aldrich and Kevin Cook defeated
the Bone Crushers 24-12.
Mens Comp.
1. Jaquez Pearls All Stars
Davenport, Iowa 6-1
2. Starting Line Davenport, Iowa 3-1
3. Malarkys
Davenport, Iowa 2-2
4. Bad Draw
Moline, Illinois 2-2
Jaquez
All
Pearlsall
Stars came out of the
losers bracket to double
dip the starting line of
Davenport, Iowa to win
the competitive division. For the second year
in a row, Chris Byrns
team won the tournament by going 6-1. Jaquez defeated Starting Line 22-9 in the
IF game. Jaquez was led by Tournament MVP Brian Barnett,
Dave Curler, Andy Malone, and Chris Byrns. Starting Line had
put Jaquez in the losers bracket by scoring 17 runs in the last
inning in a thrilling 30-27 come from behind victory. The stars
for the starting line were Dave Broderson, Royce Rickman, and
Ian Hass went 3-2 in the tournament. Third place was captured
by Malarkys of Davenport, Iowa. Malarkys with the help of
Eric Ernst, Wes Larson, and Scott Durbin defeated Bad Draw of
Moline, Ill Bad Draw went 2-2 to claim fourth place.
Best Drinking Team: Hawkeye Boat Brokers, this one was not
even close. In fact the sponsor of the team is named Tony Egert.
He bought so many drinks for everybody on Saturday night,
the staff at the Dugout has renamed him Tony Egertbomb.
Thanks Tony.
Tourn. Directors Mess.: My sincere thanks to all the teams that
took part in the 33Rd Annual Snowbird Softball Tournament
for the benefit of Big Brothers & Big Sisters. Also to all the
umpires that worked well into the night on both weekends,
braving temps that went close to zero. A special thanks to
Jay Justin of Big Brothers, Jan and Jim Muhs of the Dugout
Sports Complex and Iowa USSSA, also to all the workers at the
Dugout, for all their help. A very speacial thanks to all of our
sponsors: the Dugout Sports Complex, Keith & Co. Screenprint
and Sportswear, Quad City Laminating & Trophy, Miller Lite,
Fox 18 KLJB TV, Midwest Collectables, E2 Fitness, Pepsi, The
Brant Co, Modern Woodmen, and Iowa USSSA. See you next
year Art Hernandez
P.S: A special shoutout to Nancy Sutton of Century 21 for your
loyal support and sponsorship. Also to Rex Petersen who took
over for me in running the mens tournament when I went
down due to illness. Thanks Rex.
All Tournament Team
Jaquez
Chris Byrns, Brian Barnett,
Andy Malone, Dave Culer
Starting Line
Dave Broderson, Royce Rickman,
Ian Hass, Bruce Redding
Malarkys
Eric Ernst, Wes Larson, Scott Durbin
Tournament M.V.P
Brian Barnett
USSSA TODAY 53
OMAHA, NE
2009 DeMarini/Wilsey Omaha
Construction Tournament
by Jared Swan
The last two weekends in April are known as the start of softball season in Nebraska. For the last seven years the DeMarini/
Wilsey Omaha Construction Tournament has signaled the start
of league and the start of the USSSA-Nebraska Softball, LLC’s
Tournament Schedule. The focus of the DeMarini/Wilsey has
always been women’s bracket which has grown to 15 teams this
year and was the chosen site of the 2010 Women’s Conference
Series Preview. The purpose of this series of tournaments is to
provide the women’s teams a chance to come together and
converge on 4-6 tournaments in the region where they will
find a consistent tournament format, face new teams, and
have a chance to play for a prize package that will rival any
men’s tournament.
The 2010 DeMarini/Wilsey Women’s Conference Preview drew
teams from Minnesota to Kansas and from Illinois to Colorado.
Team portfolios included reigning 2008’s Women’s “B” World
Champions Stage II, Women’s “C” 2008 World Runner-up Wahl
Optical/Mizuno, Women’s 2008 World “A” 3rd place Minnesota
Ice, and 2007’s Women’s “C” World Champion Easton/Hooters/
Rockets.
Realizing that this early in the season teams are looking for
games to shake off the winter rust and to speed the return to
mid-season form, the DeMarini/Wilsey’s provides two games of
pool play prior to the start of the double elimination tournament bracket. Teams that go 0-2 in the bracket would play in
the consolation single elimination bracket on Sunday.
Unfortunately, the sunny 80°-90° weather Omaha experienced Wednesday-Friday did not return for Saturday’s start
of the tournament. With a mist throughout the day and a
high temperature of 54° Saturday’s play was very competitive
under less than ideal conditions. Saturday play ended with
two undefeated teams, Minnesota Ice and Easton/Hooters/
Rockets, in the winners’ bracket and Stage II, Wahl Optical,
54 USSSA TODAY
Coors/Elite/DeKuyper, and KC Addiction in the bottom bracket
set to resume play Sunday morning. About 15 minutes prior
to Sunday’s scheduled game time, mother nature decided to
soften the fields with a slight down pour. Unfortunately she
left it on about 15 minutes too long and Metro Omaha Softball,
LLC deemed the fields unplayable and with forecast for the
day they didn’t feel there would be a chance of providing a
playable field for the remainder of the day. With this information the teams and the tournament director decided to call
the tournament as it stood. Not having to pay the umpire fees
for Sunday the decision was made to pay that as an additional
Paid World berth.
With the bracket as it stood the two undefeated teams;
Minnesota Ice and Easton/Hooters/Rockets took paid “A” &
“B” World Berth’s respectfully. Wahl Optical as the highest
finishing “C” team based on head-to-head play received the
“C” paid World Berth, and KC Addiction won the paid “D”
World Berth. Tournament MVP Trophy and Demarini’s Larry
Carter Legend Bat went to Valerie Lindow of Coors/Elite/
DeKuyper. The Offensive MVP Trophy and Sports 55/Boombah
roller bag went to Sarah Lange of Stage II and the Defensive
MVP Trophy and DeMarini Diablo fielding glove went to
Sara Noland of Stage II. All Tournament players also included
Mandy Engberg (Minnesota Ice), Danielle Coleman (Minnesota
Ice), Megan Higginbotham (Minnesota Ice), Kristina Koznick
(Easton/Hooters/Rockets), Deb Tix (Easton/Hooters/Rockets),
Amanda Yurek (Easton/Hooters/Rockets), Shelly Stevens (Coors/
Elite/DeKuyper), Patsy Garcia (Coors/Elite/DeKuyper), Jeri Lewis
(Wahl Optical), Carrie Knapp (Wahl Optical), Mallory Stanfill
(KC Addiction), and Jennifer Caldwell (KC Addiction).
For more information on the 2010 Women’s Conference Series
please contact: Jared Swan, Nebraska State Director, by email
at [email protected].
Part One
Tucked away, lost but not forgotten, are the remains of what used
to be a signature softball complex in Omaha, Nebraska, the Adams
Park Complex. This area is still in the news every weekend, but not
for the baseball or softball tournaments that used to be held in this
neighborhood. The fences and posts of the batting cage remain, but
are in need of repair, and the backstops have as much area open as
there is area occupied by the remaining wood planks. For the last six
plus years, the areas that used to serve as infields have been a seeding
ground for the outfield grass, and every weed that was lucky enough
to find some bare dirt.
“Diamonds” in the rough, the basics were there, it just needed some
love and a whole lot of attention.
The Omaha Softball Series, Inc. (OSS) had been looking for such a
project.
For the last three years the OSS has been using proceeds from its
Omaha Tournament Series to try and help the Boys and Girls Clubs of
the Midlands jump start an RBI program or at least a couple of youth
baseball teams. In the city that is home to the Omaha Royals, College
World Series, and all of the baseball tournaments that run congruent
to it, these kids have plenty of exposure to the sport. They just need
a way to participate. Last year the Boys and Girls Clubs were able to
assemble a team, which also won its first game. The team was excited,
and the OSS, along with its sponsor DeMarini, were able to bring in
Larry Carter and Ray Cowart to help provide the visualization, motivation, and some equipment to help the team develop its players’
natural talents.
In the fall of 2008, the OSS approached the Adams Community Center
staff members about the fields and shared with them the idea/dream
of rebuilding the Complex using Adult Slowpitch Softball Tournament
proceeds. OSS would provide the labor, tools, materials, and equipment to rebuild the fields while not only returning them to where
they once were, but taking them to the next level. With the diamonds
back, we would then use our USSSA-Nebraska Softball, LLC resources
to focus on providing the neighborhood with youth slowpitch, girls
fastpitch, boys baseball, and adult slowpitch games, leagues, and tournaments.
In April, with the approval of the Omaha Parks and Recreation
Department and the help of Claude White (Adams Community Center
Recreation Leader), the OSS began the process of bringing the Adams
Park Complex back to life.
With the support of the Adams Park Tournament Series Title Sponsor,
Nebraska Sporting Goods, the infields again look like infields. Home
plates have been set and base anchors are installed. The backstops are
installed and awaiting paint. The outfields have been fertilized and
holes have been filled. Work has begun on the warning track and it is
hoped that the outfield fences will be installed within the next couple
of weeks.
Additional Omaha Softball Series, Inc. sponsors directly involved in the
Adams Park rebuild include Title Sponsor Centris Federal Credit Union,
Primetime Sporting Goods, LEO A DALY, Double “D” Excavating/Hook
N Go, Elkhorn Fence Company, and Ready Mixed Concrete Co./LymanRichey Corporation.
The goal of a grand re-opening on June 6 is still achievable, but it will
be quite a push down the stretch.
Next issue: Part II- The Re-birth
USSSA TODAY 55
by Scott Cameron
There’s an old saying that if you don’t like the weather in
Colorado…..wait five minutes.
Seventy-three teams from Colorado and New Mexico did just
that braving wind, cold, rain and even a moment or two of
sunshine as they battled in five divisions in the Sixth Annual
Centennial State Classic NIT held April 25-26 at the Aurora
Sports Park.
A small, but strong field of six teams met in the Men’s C division. The tournament opened with Mile High Softball Club
knocking off When Pigs Fly in a bottom of seven thriller while
Hero Management showed why they’ll be a contender all year
knocking off the visiting www.taufai.com 29-17.
Thus far in 2009, Performance has proved to be the class of
Colorado’s C division and the results this weekend further
cemented that reputation as they opened with a victory over
a game Hero Management 29-23 before outclassing Mile High
17-2.
Mile High Softball looked to be in mid-season form despite
this being their first event of the year as they battled back
through the losers bracket to meet Performance in the championship. The championship game was a back and forth affair
until Performance asserted itself in the final inning and took
the title 20-17.
Colorado Hall of Famer Barry Morten showed why he remains
one of the states most dominant pitchers and was joined on
the all tournament team by teammates Scott Bentley, Adam
Blaydes, Chad Holman and Micky Storie.
Thirty-six teams met in the Men’s D division and the
consensus was that the field was wide open with the
likely winner coming from a pool of 12-16 teams.
Star Softball has proved itself the class of Colorado’s D
division in early season play and so it came as quite
a surprise when the team dropped their first game
Saturday morning to Colorado Smash 9-8. The
team has a very talented, very deep roster and
they needed every bit of it as they began the
long road back to the championship game.
On the other side of the bracket, Elite built some early
momentum as they opened with a 10-7 victory over AeI and
followed that up with 13-5, 20-15 and 22-18 victories over
quality opponents.
56 USSSA TODAY
Star meanwhile, came back after a six
hour wait still looking flat but managed
to beat a quality Blue Mountain Stone
12-11 and made it to Sunday.
Sunday morning opened to sunny skies,
the first of the weekend and it showed
in the teams play. Star opened with a
forfeit when Team Outkast failed to
show up for the first game and then
they rattled off 19-7, 15-13, 10-9 and
23-14 victories.
As dusk fell Sunday evening so too did
the rain unfortunately and it made for
some very challenging playing conditions. Elite dropped the normally strong
hitting Xtreme 18-7 and were joined by
Star who stayed hot earning revenge
as they knocked off Colorado Smash
21-6 in a first round rematch and then
beating Xtreme 29-9.
The championship game was over before
it started it seemed as Star dominated
Elite ending it on a run rule 17-2. The IF
game was an extremely competitive in
some really sloppy conditions and with
Star leading 25-23, Tournament Director
Scott Cameron offered the teams dual
berths and Elite won on a coin flip to
take the title once it was determined
conditions were unplayable.
Elite depended on the veteran leadership of new addition Alan Keller
who took home the MVP honor while
Star displayed what many believe may
be the best ‘middle’ in Colorado in all
tourney SS Russ Trujillo, 2B Jake Medina
and pitcher Jimmy Peyton.
Nineteen teams met in the Men’s E division with Team PTP proving the class of
it as they went 8-1 in their first tournament of the season and earned an E
World Berth. Their only loss came at the
hands of Pueblo Viejo 14-8 who they
eventually double dipped to take the
title.
Tournament MVP Jon Nider did
Northern Colorado proud and was
joined by fellow PTP’ers Greg Hertzke,
Todd Kindvall, Nathan Klein and Mike
Waters on the all tournament team.
In Women’s Upper action, D team ByU
proved there may be a new sheriff in
town as they knocked off perennial B
power Pitchers playing their first of the
season.
Pitchers has been the team to beat for a
number of years in Colorado and they’ve
backed that reputation up with top five
finishes in the World C and B tournaments the last two years respectively.
ByU made some strong additions at the
plate for 2009 in Shari Baca, Jen Young
and Gabi Rendon and they seemed to
pay off right away as the ByU ladies
dropped Pitchers 26-13 in the championship game and followed that up with
a 15-4 victory to take the title.
Jen Young was named tournament
MVP and was joined on the all tournament team by teammates Audrey Litfin,
Gabi Rendon, Michelle ‘Red’ Simmons,
Stef Tanner and Ashley West.
USSSA TODAY 57
Mansfield, TX
Wood Law Uses Winning Verdict at Mansfield NIT
to Propel Team Onto National Stage
by Greg Huchingson
Zamora’s All Out- Men C Runner Up
MANSFIELD – What a difference a week can make.
Wood Law from Dallas entered the Mansfield USSSA N.I.T.
as a Men’s C team. At the time, they were having a steady,
but hardly spectacular, season. One first place trophy, from
the North Texas Winter World, was all they had to show for
the five tournaments they had entered. They had tied for just
ninth place in the North vs. South Tournament in Austin.
Then, the week of the Mansfield N.I.T., Wood Law made the
decision to add veterans Dennis Shrum from Denison and
Jebbie King from Shreveport to their roster, which forced
them by USSSA Code to move up to Class B since Shrum is on
the USSSA Major Player List. Since then, Wood Law has been
one of the best teams in the United States of any class and is
gaining national acclaim.
Wood Law rolled through the Mansfield N.I.T. with a perfect
5-0 record to claim the crown. Their victories were against
Ambush from Oklahoma (23-8); Savesecond.com from Pantego
(30-16); Zamora’s All-Out Sports from Houston (28-19); Color
Station from Ft. Worth (27-8); and a re-match against Zamora’s
All-Out in the championship game (28-19).
Two weeks later, Wood Law went to Kissimmee, Fla. for the
dual-event Hall of Fame Classic, which marked the opening
of Conference USSSA. The unheralded team from Texas won
four games in the first tournament to tie for seventh place in
the 22-team bracket. Then, to prove that was no fluke, they
won four more games in the second tournament to tie for fifth
58 USSSA TODAY
place. Among the national teams Wood Law defeated on the
weekend were Pipac/TPS, Angle Inn/Easton, GTL/Stucco/Worth
and two wins over Suncoast/Reebok, which is the team King
played for last year.
Wood Law made an even bigger splash two weeks later at the
Texas Legends Major N.I.T. in Euless, another Conference USSSA
event. The hometown favorite posted wins over Gametime/
Bonecrushers, AJS/Easton and two wins over GTL/Stucco/Worth
en route to a third place finish. Wood Law’s only losses at Texas
Legends were to defending USSSA Major World Champion
Dan Smith/Menosse/Benfield/Combat.
It all started back at the Mansfield N.I.T., where Shrum received
Most Valuable Player honors. Other Wood Law players named
to the All-Tournament team that weekend were King, Steve
Whaley, Dean Smith and sponsor Doug Wood.
Pitcher Abelardo Lerma from runnerup Zamora’s All-Out Sports
was named the Outstanding Defensive Player of the tournament. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were
Matt Pavlich, Matt Kainer, Chris Martinez and Nick Mitschke,
from All-Out Sports; Johnny Reyes, Churon Thomas and Loy
Rodriguez, from third place Color Station; and Roy Jackson
and Jeff Taborsky, from fourth place Coors.
In the Men’s D Division; Prodigy made the long trip from Odessa
in West Texas and also went undefeated through five games to
claim the title. Prodigy’s wins were over North Texas Hype from
Grand Prairie (16-15); Famous Softball from Ft. Worth (23-5);
Odessa Prodigy- Men D Champions
KG’s Sports Grill/Natty D’s from Ft. Worth (22-8); Jokers/GKI/
Solis Construction from Ft. Worth (19-11), and Jokers/GKI/Solis
again in the championship game (28-7).
Jokers/GKI/Solis settled for second place in the tournament
with a 4-2 record, while Famous Softball came in third at 6-2,
and Lethal Assault finished fourth at 5-2. The rest of the Top
10 included Monster Softball and KG Sports Grill/Natty D’s tied
for fifth; Norman Radiator and Outlawz tied for seventh; and
Unreal Softball, North Texas Hype, Winstrol and Aztecas tied
for ninth.
Maurice Martinez of Prodigy was named Most Valuable Player
of the division. Other players named to the All-Tournament
team were Larry Serrano, Robert Graham and Jessie Lujan,
from Prodigy; David Salas, Corie Waldrep and Chris Viesca,
from Jokers/GKI/Solis; Chance Cowen, Justin Shaver and David
Jimenez, from Famous; and Fernando Renteria and Andrew
Atwell, from Lethal Assault.
In the Men’s E Division, the big story was Texas Turbulence from
Greenville, who made an improbable run through the loser’s
bracket to win the championship. Texas Turbulence won their
first two games over Team Juiced (21-3) and VooDoo (10-5),
before losing to Hostility (18-5). That sent the Greenville team
to the loser’s bracket, where they posted consecutive wins over
the Ballers (18-1), Texas Select (13-7), Metal Mulisha (22-14),
Disruption (16-14) and Titan Softball Club (21-6) to make it
to the championship, where they proceeded to double-dip
Hostility (24-4) and (39-15) to claim the crown with a 9-1 record.
Hostility from Ft. Worth settled for the second place trophy
with a 5-2 record; Titans Softball Club from Dallas came in third
at 5-2; while Disruption from Euless came in fourth at 6-2. The
rest of the Top 10 included Metal Mulisha and Alpinestars tied
for fifth; Dome Shot and Texas Select tied for seventh; and
Ballers, Rehab, Texas Smoke and Texas Texas-Kioskdeals.com
tied for ninth.
James Partain of Texas Turbulence was named the Most
Valuable Player of the division, while Kevin Parsons of Hostility
was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the
All-Tournament team were Justin Wade, James Long, Matt
Shipp and Jason Trammell, of Texas Turbulence; Heath Wigley,
Matt Sandoval and Richard Blanchard, of Hostility; John
Howard and Matthew Rehfeldt, of Titans Softball Club; and
Brandon McMurtry and Harlan Cox, of Disruption.
The Mixed C/D was a small bracket, with only six teams, but
there was plenty of excitement. In the winner’s bracket finals,
Driven from Dallas defeated Powerhouse from Ft. Worth
(27-22). But Powerhouse dropped to the loser’s bracket and
knocked off No Chance (25-19) to get another shot at Driven
in the championship. Powerhouse won the first game easily
(20-5) to set up a winner-take-all “if” game, which Powerhouse
also won in a thriller (22-21).
Stuart Therrian of Powerhouse was named MVP of the division,
and Joey Urbanek of Driven was the Gold Glove winner. The
rest of the All-Tournament team included Daniel Evans, Shelly
Puente, Jerad Gabbert and Rachel Beavers, of Powerhouse;
Carol Wells, Cody Lacy, Billy Wages and Monica Garza, of
Driven; Levi Lynch, Rachel Leviner and Nancy Myers, of third
place finisher No Chance; and Jacob Read, Ralph Tucker, Jr. and
Jacquelyn Obenland, of fourth place finisher PnH Connection.
USSSA TODAY 59
Mansfield, TX
Mississippi Team Storms
Through Jeff Hall Shoot Out
by Greg Huchingson
MANSFIELD – Jeff Hall is considered by many to be the national
ambassador for slowpitch softball. The veteran slugger from
Gastonia, North Carolina has played for multiple World
Championship teams over the past 20 years, and won numerous
national home run titles, batting crowns - including the 2008
Conference USSSA On-Base Award with a .798 average - and
too many All-World team honors to count. He is the namesake
of the WORTH Jeff Hall Mutant, WORTH Jeff Hall Mayhem and
WORTH Jeff Hall Titan bats.
Titan bat.
But it is his folksy personality and willingness to share his
knowledge with others that makes him popular with fans and
fellow players alike.
Herring and his MS Storm teammates proclaimed that the
experience of meeting Hall and winning the HR Derby made
the long trip from northeastern Mississippi worthwhile – even
if they didn’t win a game in the tournament.
As a member of the WORTH Sports
Advisory Staff, “Hallsy” also has
a tournament named in his honor
as a part of the WORTH-sponsored
Lone Star Shootout Championship
Series. The 2009 event was held April
25-26 at beautiful Big League Dreams
in Mansfield.
Festivities got underway Friday night with
the Home Run Derby, thanks to the help of
Will Smith and his Texas Sawx teammates.
With Hallsy serving as honorary fair/foul
umpire, hitters stepped to the plate for
two hours to determine who would
hit in the head-to-head Elite Eight
playoffs. On his last attempt,
Tanner Herring from Amory,
Mississippi had to win a hit-off
just to make the playoffs.
Then, in the opening round
of the playoffs, Herring
had to go 10-for-10 to
beat the No. 2-seed
who hit 9-of-10 over
the fence. Next, Herring
won his semi-final match
to face Greg Collette in
the finals. Collette hit 7-of-10
to apply the pressure. Herring hit
seven of his first nine balls out, but
needed the 10th to win the grand
prize. Herring was up for the challenge, as he blasted the last ball deep
into the night to win the first prize
which was $400 and a new Jeff Hall
60 USSSA TODAY
Hall was supposed to hit against the HR Derby winner for the
bat, but was wearing a boot cast on his foot as the result of an
injury suffered one week earlier at the Hall of Fame Classic. But
not wanting to disappoint many fans who came out to see him
hit, Hallsy stepped into the batters box WITH THE BOOT STILL
ON and proceeded to hit 15-of-15 pitches over the gigantic
wall in left field on Sportsmans Park.
Little did they know what was in store.
In a tough, 20-team bracket that featured teams
from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi
and Texas, MS Storm would prove to be the best
of the bunch. MC Storm opened with a 26-10 win
over The Rock, an Air Force team from Little Rock,
Ark. MS Storm went on to defeat GW Legends from
Euless (24-9); Texas Bounty from Dallas (26-10), Texas
Playboys from Athens (207); and Louisiana’s Finest
from Shreveport, La. (25-16) to advance to the
championship. Louisiana’s Finest made it
back to the finals for a re-match, and
even knocked off MS Storm in the
first game (20-17). But MS Storm
was not to be denied in the “if”
game and rallied for a 25-13 win
to claim the championship with
a 6-1 record.
Louisiana’s
Finest
settled
for second place with a 5-2
record, while Turmoil Softball
from Oklahoma City came in
third with a 5-2 slate. Texas
Ice/Rip Sports was the highest
finisher from Texas, as the
Waco team came in fourth
place. Texas Playboys and Ball Till
We Fall from Ft. Worth tied for fifth;
Five Star from Tyler and Dawg House
from Ruston, La. tied for seventh; and
Texas Bounty, Quick Move from Dallas,
Old Skool from Ft. Worth and Texas
Kings from Dallas tied for ninth.
Herring added the division’s Most Valuable Player award to
his HR Derby championship, while Chris Cox of Louisiana’s
Finest was named the Gold Glove winner. The rest of the
All-Tournament team included Jeff Ward, Michael Downing,
Randy Mac and Allen Swedenburg, from MS Storm; Sam Meza,
Doug Finley and Chad White, from Louisiana’s Finest; Kelly
Pickett, Robert Willie and Stephen McKee, from Turmoil; and
Wesley Tepe and Jason Harborth, from Texas Ice.
The Men’s C division featured eight of the top teams from
North Texas. Color Station from Ft. Worth (formerly Vivid)
went through the bracket undefeated, but not without a scare
in the end. Color Station opened with a win over SRS/Broncos
(13-1) and followed that with wins over Mafia/House of Pain
(28-8) and Savesecond.com (28-10) to reach the championship
game.
Jeff and his wife, Tracy.
After losing to Color Station in their second game, Mafia/House
of Pain dropped to the elimination bracket and defeated
Athletic Warehouse (26-25), Monster Softball (24-17) and
Savesecond.com (17-5) to earn a re-match with Color Station.
The championship game was close all the way through, with
Color Station pulling out a 19-17 victory for the crown.
Jeremy Craft of Color Station was named Most Valuable Player
of the division, while Kyle Akins of Mafia/House of Pain was
named the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the
All-Tournament team were Brandon Young, Dwane Tockey,
Loy Rodriguez and Raul Cardenas, of Color Station; Jason
McFarlin and Jason Allen, of Mafia/House of Pain; Eric Zachary
and Ray Gurley, of third place finisher Monster; and Brandon
Goodwin, Joey Urbanek and Jason Vallejo, of fourth place
finisher Savesecond.com.
Another out-of-state team came into North Texas and claimed
the championship in the Men’s E Division. Minden Athletic
Supply from Minden, La. rolled through the 28-team bracket
but not without a strong challenge. MAS posted wins over
Texas Punishment from Canton (30-10); Texas Extreme from
San Antonio (17-15); Tobis from Winnsboro (20-5); MRT
Consulting from Shreveport, La. (18-15) and surprise team High
Ridge Church from Ft. Worth (16-15) in an extra-inning thriller
to reach the championship game undefeated. Entourage
from Waxahachie wasn’t about to let the Louisiana team run
through undefeated, and they posted a narrow 21-20 win to
force an “if” game. Minden Athletic Supply turned out to be
too tough in the end, as they defeated Entourage 31-18 to
claim the title with a 6-1 record.
Entourage’s nice run in the elimination bracket helped them
take home the second place trophy with a 6-2 mark. Little
was known about High Ridge Church before this tournament,
which was their first of the season. But the team of young
scrappers joined the trophy stand by placing third with a 4-2
record. VooDoo from Dallas finished fourth at 4-2. The rest
of the Top 10 featured Dome Shot and MRT Consulting tied
for fifth; Texas Punishment and Team Texas-Kioskdeals.com
tied for seventh; and Aftermath, Texas Warrirors, Tobis and
merchants of Death tied for ninth.
Tanner Herring- MS Storm
Chris Robley of Minden Athletic Supply was named the Most
Valuable Player of the division, and he was joined on the
All-Tournament team by teammates Terry McGaha, Chris
Cardone, Ben Potter and Steve Matthews. Other members
of the All-Tournament team were Luis Trevino, Jr. and Chase
Rogers of Entourage; Johnnie Bassham, James Gaston and Jeff
Lerkinder, of High Ridge Church; and George Williams and
Nate Phillips, of VooDoo.
The Jeff Hall Shootout also featured a six-team Women’s C/D
Division, and Cinderella team Texas Queens from Dallas were
the surprise winners. Texas Queens won their first game over
Unreal/Allday from Oklahoma City, then beat heavily-favored
Lady Canes II from Ft. Worth (15-10) before getting pounded
by Team Dallas Women (20-10). Texas Queens then dropped
to the elimination bracket and defeated Elite Softball from
Arlington (19-11) before double-dipping Team Dallas Women
(15-14) and (16-15) in a pair of thrillers to win the crown. It
should be noted that C teams had to spot D teams five runs per
game in this mixed division bracket, but the run-spotting made
for some exciting games.
Anita Else of Texas Queens was named MVP of the division,
and Tracey Gulley of Team Dallas Women was the Gold Glove
winner. Other members of the All-Tournament team were
Tamera Whitfield, Leslie Carey and Johnnie Flentry, of Texas
Queens; Lakreece Allen, of Team Dallas Women; and Dianne
Gampher and Christin Thompson, of Hot Peppers.
USSSA TODAY 61
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BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION, TX
(Home of the Fightin’ Texas Aggies)
24th Annual Budweiser Festival is ‘King
of Softball’ in Texas with 275 teams
by Van Galeon
BRYAN-COLLEGE
STATION – Budweiser
is the known as the
“King of Beers” and
the Budweiser Softball
Festival is the “King of
Softball Tournaments”
in Texas. What started as a small 24-team event in 1986 has
grown in one of the largest tournaments in the nation, topping
out at a record 275 teams this year.
Festivities got underway Friday night with the always-popular
Home Run Derby. Unlike most derbies, this event is a head-tohead, bracketed format featuring 64 hitters battling roundby-round on side-by-side fields at the Bryan Regional Athletic
Complex until two hitters step into the box to face each other
for the $1,000 grand prize. Former Texas A&M University
student and BRAC city league player John William “J-Dub”
Bethke, now with the Dirt Monkeys from Houston, was the
last man standing to capture the big prize.
The tournament began bright and early Saturday morning
and continued all day under perfect weather conditions. The
round-the-clock event made it all the way until 5:30 a.m.
Sunday, when Mother Nature came calling. Heavy thunderstorms passed through Bryan-College Station, putting a kink in
the tournament. After city and tournament officials assessed
the damage, games were delayed until early Sunday afternoon. Losing eight hours worth of games on 17 fields could
not be made up, even playing one-pitch, so the decision was
made to complete the Men’s B, Men’s C, Men’s E, Women
Upper, Women Lower and Co-ed divisions, but be forced to
ask teams left in the gigantic Men’s D division to come back
the following weekend. The move allowed all divisions to be
completed on the field of play, rather than through the luck
of coin tossing.
The Men’s B Division was played at Veterans Park in College
Station, which is the newest and largest (315-foot fences) of
the five complexes used for the tournament. Houston-based
heavyweights Texas Miken and the Fighting Cocks battled their
way to the finals of the winner’s bracket. Texas Miken rolled
through Meridian from Houston (5-4), Zamora’s All-Out Sports
from Rosenburg (14-4) and Miken Express from Austin (20-7);
while the Fighting Cocks, who feature USSSA Major List player
Ray Cowart, defeated Top Dog from Beaumont (16-7) and
Corbell from Pearland (17-5). In the king seat game, Fighting
Cocks snuck past Texas Miken (11-10) in a thriller.
But it was a team that nobody paid much attention to that
ended up stealing the headlines. Texas Express is based of
Austin, which is the home of their sponsor Q.T. Hicks, but is
coached by Craig Anthony from Dallas-Ft. Worth, where many
of their players are from. Miken Express opened with wins
64 USSSA TODAY
The Budweiser Girls showed up bringing gifts for the fans and players.
Call For Your Worth
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775 N. Hwy. 287
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have a bracket of their own and not
a combined B/C bracket, as has been
the case all season long. West Coastal
manager Curtis Day had high hopes
for his team, which is composed of the
nucleus of the 2008 Houston Sports
team that advanced all the way to USSSA
Worlds. But Day was not very happy
when his squad lost their first game to
Steel Softball from Corpus Christi (15-7).
Miken Express- Men B Champions
To their credit, West Coastal from
Houston dropped to the elimination
bracket and posted consecutive wins
over DU Softball from San Antonio
(19-4), East Texas Bad Boys from
Longview (17-4), Barely Legal from
Round Rock (19-5), Sandoval Trucking
from San Benito (14-13), Bud Crew
from Dickinson (24-18), Mafia/House
of Pain from Dallas (18-9), and Texas
Smash from Austin (22-18) to make it
all the way back to the championship
game. West Coastal then posted backto-back wins over Olmito Heat from the
Rio Grande Valley (18-17) and (12-5) to
claim the crown with a 9-1 record.
Texas Gunline- Men E Runner Up
over Da Bomb from Houston (18-11)
and FNS/DPS from San Antonio (18-11),
before losing to Texas Miken. But Miken
Express dropped to the elimination
bracket and defeated Meridian from
Houston (15-3), FNS/DPS (9-8) and Texas
Miken in a re-match (22-18) to get to
the championship, where they doubledipped the Fighting Cocks (20-12) and
(23-13) to claim the championship with
a 7-1 record.
The jubilant Hicks has been bringing
teams to the Budweiser Festival for 15
years, and never won a championship
until this year. But the celebration was
short-lived, as Hicks entered an Austin
hospital just days after the tournament.
The Texas softball community is certainly
wishing Hicks a speedy recovery.
The Fighting Cocks finished second with
a 3-2 record, while Texas Miken came in
66 USSSA TODAY
third at 3-2, and FNS/DPS came in fourth
at 3-2. Corbell and Meridian tied for
fifth place, while Da Bomb and Zamora’s
All-Out tied for seventh.
James Glover of Miken Express was
named the Most Valuable Player of
the division, while Scott Mitchell
of the Fighting Cocks was the Gold
Glove winner. Other members of the
All-Tournament team were T.J. Tisdale,
former Texas Tech and Texas Rangers
outfielder Donald Harris, Frank Ramirez
and James Maxie, of Miken Express;
B.J. Lopez, Israel Rodarte and Thomas
Melvin, of Fighting Cocks; Mark Dennis,
Kerry Doan and Rodney Fail, of Texas
Miken; and Hank Martinez and Tuck
Hinton, of FNS.
In the Men’s C bracket, also played at
Veterans Park, there were 28 evenlybalanced teams who were happy to
Olmito Heat disappointedly settled for
second place with a 5-2 mark. Texas
Smash came in third at 3-2, and Mafia/
House of Pain came in fourth also at 3-2.
The rest of the Top 10 included Monster
Softball from Dallas and Bud Crew tied
for fifth; Sandoval Trucking and SA
Hitmen/DPS/Worth from San Antonio
tied for seventh; and Barely Legal,
Lackland Warhawks from San Antonio,
Rangers from Victoria and Houston
Express tied for ninth.
Jonathan Lenz of West Coastal was
named Most Valuable Player of the
division, while Jason Torres of Olmito
Heat was the Gold Glove winner. Other
members of the All-Tournament team
were Sergio Martinez, James Chandler,
Scott Marquardt and Mike Tepera, of
West Coastal; Javier Rojas, Hawk Scott
and Tuffy Martinez, of Olmito Heat;
Matt Ford, Mark Daiker and Matthew
Perry, of Texas Smash; Jason McFarlin,
Josh Bratz, of Mafia/House of Pain.
The Men’s E Division was scheduled to
Gunline was the Gold Glove winner.
The rest of the All-Tournament team
consisted of Robert Nail, Justin Wade,
Jason Trammell and Zane Trammell, of
Texas Turbulence; Tyrone Fields, Chase
Phillips and Matthew Strode, of Texas
Gunline; Rene Ochoa and Javier Cancino,
of High Voltage; and Justin Ancelot and
Stephen Ortiz, of Rich’s Rejects.
The two women’s divisions were played
at Bee Creek Park in College Station,
although they were forced to be
completed at Veterans Park after Bee
Creek was shut down following the
thunderstorms.
Texas Turbulence- Men E Champions
In the Women’s B/C Division, the Lady
Jokers/GKI Travel continued their
incredible season by going undefeated
to win first place for the fifth time this
season. Through the Budweiser Festival,
the Lady Jokers carried a perfect 23-0
record on the year. At Budfest, the Lady
Jokers defeated Lady Bluejays from San
Antonio (17-11), Steel Unknowns also
from San Antonio (8-7), and the Lady
Brokers from Houston twice (9-2) and
(19-13) to claim the crown.
Lady Jokers- Women B/C Champions
be played exclusively at Central Park
in College Station. But after the heavy
thunderstorms, the division was forced
to be completed at BRAC.
The switch didn’t make a difference to
the hottest E team in the state, Texas
Turbulence from Greenville. Fresh off a
victories at the North Texas Shootout,
Mansfield N.I.T. and Bruce Snover
Memorial, TT kept right on rumbling.
Texas Turbulence posted consecutive wins over the Young Gunz from
Houston (14-5) Dirtbags from Austin
(18-6), Mixed Breed from Greenville
(8-2), Rich’s Rejects from Baytown (6-4)
and High Voltage from Corpus Christi
(11-7) to advance to the championship,
which they won over Texas Gunline from
Nacogdoches (4-3) to wrap up a perfect
68 USSSA TODAY
6-0 tournament.
Texas Gunline, which won the North
Texas USSSA Winter World earlier this
year, finished second at Budfest with
at an 8-2 mark. High Voltage came in
third at 4-2, while Rich’s Rejects finished
fourth at 5-2. The rest of the Top 10
consisted of Tribe from San Antonio
and Team Mojo from Little River tied for
fifth; Los Clavos from Uvalde and Texas
State Punishers from San Marcos tied
for seventh; and Mixed Breed, Batesville
Bandits, Hellrazers from San Antonio
and Buckwild from Houston tied for
ninth.
Dustin Pearson of Texas Turbulence
was named Most Valuable Player of the
division, while Marcus Wright of Texas
The Lady Brokers settled for second
palce at 3-2, Steel Unknowns came in
third at 4-2, and Lookouts from Deer
Park finished fourth also at 4-2. Lady
Top Dog from Beaumont and the X-Girls
from Austin tied for fifth place, while
Reloaded from Spring and Team Dallas
Women tied for seventh.
Robin Kenowith of the Lady Jokers was
named Most Valuable Player of the division, while Takiyah Bakari of the Lady
Brokers was named Gold Glove winner.
consisted of Tasanee Wood, Sandra
Sweatt, Jayme Nelson and Melissa
Gholston, of the Lady Jokers; Danielle
Thomas, Ashley Verver and Demisha
Hall, of the Lady Brokers; Yolanda
Garcia, Yvonne Sosa and Angela Aguilar
, of Steel Unknowns; and Anabell Pinedo
and LaShonda Mills of the Lookouts.
True Statement from Houston is another
team that has been coming to the
Budweiser Festival for many years and
never took home the gold medal. For a
while, it looked like 2009 would finally
be the year for manager Leon Wright’s
squad. True Statement posted wins over
High Voltage form Corpus Christi (11-1);
Set It Off from Austin (15-5); Dirty Deeds
from Houston (6-3); Crush from Austin
(13-2) and High Frequency from Houston
(10-9) to advance to the championship
game undefeated.
But the pesky ladies from Team Crush in
Austin had different plans. Crush won
their first three games, before losing
to True Statement in the semi-finals of
the winner’s bracket. Crush dropped to
the elimination bracket and knocked
off GCP2 from LaPorte (5-4); Dirty Deeds
(12-8) and High Frequency (22-21) to
make it back to the championship
game, where they double-dipped True
Statement (24-5) and (7-4) to claim the
championship with an 8-1 record.
True Statement settled for second place
with a 5-2 record, while High Frequency
came in third at 3-2 and Dirty Deeds
finished fourth at 5-2. Swingman Angels
from Houston and GCP2 tied for fifth
place; Guess Who from Austin and The
Cure from Conroe tied for seventh;
and Austin Powers from Austin, TCF
from Houston, Lady UT Rocstars from
Beaumont and J.F.F. from Houston tied
or ninth.
Lisa Gonzales from Crush was named
Most Valuable Player of the division, but
the team declined to name any other
All-Tournament selections. Gaby Rivera
was named the Gold Glove winner.
consisted of Deborah Taylor, Dalel Willie
and Linda Hunter of True Statement;
Michell Tyner, Marcy Waters and Terrie
Roberts, of High Frequency; and Crystal
Travis and Dara Highes, of Dirty Deeds.
The Co-ed Division was played at Haswell
and Lyons Parks in Bryan. In a bracket
that included most of the top teams
in Texas, the Big Nasties from Houston
proved to be the cream of the crop.
The Big Nasties posted wins over TNS
from San Antonio (15-10); Unreal from
Oklahoma City (12-11); Powerhouse
from Ft. Worth (13-11); Upper Deck from
Spring (11-6) and New Texas Drillers from
Dallas (22-10) to advance to the championship game, where they defeated the
New Texas Drillers again
(16-10) to cap off a perfect
6-0 tournament.
The New Texas Drillers
came in second with a
5-2 mark, followed by
BTH from Dallas also at
5-2. Upper Deck finished
fourth at 4-2, followed by
SBS of Arlington and TNS
from San Antonio tied
for fifth; and Dey Know
from Killeen and Hacks
from San Antonio tied for A couple of the Winstrol players got to know the Bud Girls.
seventh. The rest of the
area team again in the championship
Top 10 consisted of What
game, and emerged with a 14-8 win to
Happened From Kyle, Smack Crew from
cap the perfect 8-0 tournament.
Dallas, Powerhouse from Ft. Worth and
Escobar/Ronoco from Arlington, all tied
Texas Threat settled for second place
for ninth place.
with a 6-2 record. The LED Bulldogs from
Curtis Hall of the Big Nasties was named
Most Valuable Player of the division,
and was joined on the All-Tournament
team by teammates Virgnia Belknap,
Dean Smith, Jeffrey Smith and Thomas
Melvin. The rest of the All-Tournament
team consisted of Stephen Graves,
Stephanie Simmons and Stephen
Richardson, of Upper Deck; and Shawn
Burris and Brianne Wojtowicz, of BTH.
Almost half of the mammoth Budwesier
Tournament is comprised of the Men’s D
Division, which attracted 118 teams this
year. The division is based at BRAC, but
some games are also played at Veterans
and Central Park. Two-thirds of the division was completed on May 2-3, before
the rain postponed the completion of
the division until May 9. Many of the
60 teams who were still alive could not
return for the makeup date on Mother’s
day weekend.
When all the dust finally settled, the
Westsiderz from San Antonio were
standing alone on top of the mountain. The Westsiderz defeated the
Woodpeckers from Galveston (29-11),
Hardfeathers from Pasadena (19-6) and
Brokers from Houston (16-6) on the first
weekend. After returning on May 9, the
Westsiderz knocked off the Rosenburg
Bulls (17-2), CSI from Plano (18-4);
and T-Baggers from Houston (15-2) to
advance to the winner’s bracket finals.
The Westsiderz barely snuck past Texas
Threat from Channelview (10-9) in the
king seat game. They faced the Houston-
Spring came in third with a 7-2 mark.
M.I.D. from Austin was the fourth place
finisher at 6-2. The Low Lifes II from
Spring and T-Baggers from Houston tied
for fifth place, while upstarts Cobra Kai
from Tomball and the Rosenburg Bulls
tied for seventh place. Teams tying for
ninth place were Diamond Cutters from
Killeen, Craftmasters from Houston, CSI
from Plano, and Jokers/GKI/Solis from
Ft. Worth.
Richard “Flaco” Salazar of the
Westsiderz was named Most Valuable
Player of the division, and was joined
on the All-Tournament team by teammates Luciano Castaneda, Eric Salazar,
Gonzalo Ovalle and Ronald Salazar.
The Gold Glove award went to Joseph
Reed of Texas Threat, who was joined
on the All-Tournament team by teammates Pat Guajardo, Mike Mendez,
Mike Barrera and Junior Molina.
consisted of Kevin Theiss, Kevin
Boyd, Ryan Wulfjen and Shane Scott,
of LED Bulldogs; Bobby Kincaid,
Adam Miller, Marty Lyles and Robby
Gonzales, of M.I.D.; Brad Przyborski
and Jake Wilkerson, of Low Lifes II;
Matthew Vasquez and Jason Deleon,
of the T-Baggers; Tim Aguilar and Mike
Estrada, of the Rosenburg Bulls; Juan
Garcia and Chris Michels, of Cobra Kair;
Jason Walker and Paul Burkhalter, of
Diamond Cutters; and Jay Duncan and
Ernie Arnold, of Craftmasters.
USSSA TODAY 69
New Jeresey
USSSA NJ C/D Hit the Roof NIT
by Kirk Tarabokia
Hit the Roof
April C/D NIT Slow-Pitch Mens-C
Date : 4/25/2009 Stature : NIT
Best scoring : Manhattan Beer/Fabco Vending (15.5)
Best differential : Manhattan Beer/Fabco Vending (10.25)
Manhattan Beer/Fabco Vending
Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament MVP Offensive Tournament MVP Defensive Tournament MVP All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team All Tournament Team Chad Lafontaine Raymond Downs Kurt Thomas Marc Mitchell Tim Bouch Chris Hefferon Wally Lauer Josh White Tom Virgadamo John DeGiacomo George Salinovich Phil Mazzuca Joseph Apostoli Michael Resto Joseph Bacco Robert Fortunato Manhattan Beer/Fabco Vending
Max’s On Main
Deluxe Bakery
Deluxe Bakery
Deluxe Bakery
Max’s On Main
Max’s On Main
Max’s On Main
Max’s On Main
HITMEN
Bracket Game Results
Match
Up #
Deluxe Bakery
Forrys
1*
2*
3*
4*
5*
6
7*
8*
9*
10
11
12
13
14*
15*
16*
17
18*
19*
20*
Winner
Wagner Farms/Torco Supply
Great American
Max’s On Main
JS Garman Electric
Deluxe Bakery
HITMEN
Bergen Dragons
Great American
Hitmen
Max’s On Main
Deluxe Bakery
Max’s On Main
Hitmen
Max’s On Main
Max’s On Main
24
8
7
27
20
12
13
10
7
23
8
13
19
8
No Score
9
16
9
8
No Score
Losers
Score
Loser
Mountain Hawks
8
HITMEN
5
Smooth Talk Sports/ Ferra’s Easton 0
Shake N Bake / Bud Light
10
Bergen Dragons
17
Great American
9
Max’s On Main
6
Shake N Bake / Bud Light
8
Smooth Talk Sports/ Ferra’s Easton 0
Mountain Hawks
6
Bergen Dragons
6
Great American
4
4
Js Garman Electric
6
Js Garman Electric
8
Deluxe Bakery
7
Hitmen
4
Deluxe Bakery
7
Max’s On Main
* Indicates match of two competitors from a different division/class.
Place
State
Team
Class
Wins
Loses
1 CT
2 NYD
3 NJ
4 NJ
5 PA
5 PA
7 CT 7 NJ
9 NJ
9 NJ
9 NYU
Winners
Score
Manhattan Beer/Fabco Vending Qualified Berth
Max’s On Main Qualified Berth
Deluxe Bakery berth
HITMEN Wagner Farms/Torco Supply JS Garman Electric Qualified berth
American Bergen Dragons Mountain Hawks Shake N Bake / Bud Light smooth talk sports/ ferra’s easton 70 USSSA TODAY
SPMensC
SPMensD
SPMensC
SPMensE
SPMensC
SPMensD
SPMensD
SPMensE
SPMensD
SPMensD
SPMensC
4
5
2
3
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Runs
Ties
Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
USSSA
Points
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
62
43
35
36
48
26
44
30
14
18
0
21
28
36
39
44
26
36
28
47
37
14
15.5
6.14
8.75
7.2
12
8.66
11
10
7
9
0
5.25
4
9
7.8
11
8.66
9
9.33
23.5
18.5
7
10.2
2.14
-0.2
-0.6
1
0
2
0.66
-16.
-9.5
-7
27
13
13
10
24
12
23
17
8
10
0
150
220
90
160
70
140
120
120
100
100
50
Hit the Roof
April C/D NIT Double Slow-Pitch Mens-C
Date : 4/26/2009 Stature : NIT
Best scoring : Deluxe Bakery (18)
Best differential : Deluxe Bakery (14)
Players Name
Tournament MVP
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
Tim Bouch
Tim Pasquale
Shawn Stansbery
Calvin Balestrini
Dave Chando
Tim McDonald
Matt Usner
Kyle Chapin
Jason Hummer
John Williams
Shawn Stansbery
Steve Wells
Matt Dilks
Plays For
Deluxe Bakery
Deluxe Bakery
Js Garman Electric
JS Garman Electric
Deluxe Bakery
Deluxe Bakery
New Holland Legion
New Holland Legion
New Holland Legion
JS Garman Electric
JS Garman Electric
Deluxe Bakery
Deluxe Bakery
Manhattan Beer/Fabco
Ryan Thibodeau
Vending
Warren Rivell
Deluxe Bakery
Steven Deannuntis Deluxe Bakery
Michael Miranda JS Garman Electric
Andrew Trice
Vending
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
All Tournament Team
Match
Up #
The Guillotine
Slow-Pitch Womens-C
Date : 4/25/2009 Stature : Qualifier
Best scoring : Doggie Stylin’ (15.25)
Best differential : Doggie Stylin’ (9.25)
Match
Up #
Winner
Winners
Score
Loser
1*
25
JS Garman Electric
14
2*
Team Hertrich
13
Max’s On Main
Vending
Wagner Farms/Torco
Supply
Team Hertrich
8
Winner
Winners
Score
Loser
1*
25
JS Garman Electric
14
3*
New Holland Legion
25
2*
Team Hertrich
13
8
4
Deluxe Bakery
18
3*
New Holland Legion
25
11
5*
4
Deluxe Bakery
18
4
6*
5*
New Holland Legion
Vending
JS Garman Electric
Vending
Deluxe Bakery
Max’s On Main
Vending
Wagner Farms/Torco
Supply
Team Hertrich
8
7*
New Holland Legion
Vending
JS Garman Electric
Vending
Deluxe Bakery
6*
7*
23
No
Score
11
Losers
Score
Doggie Stylin’
10* JS Garman Electric
15
11
7
17
JS Garman Electric
8
9*
17
19
JS Garman Electric
12* Deluxe Bakery
9*
11
10* JS Garman Electric
15
6
11
7
12
12* Deluxe Bakery
17
JS Garman Electric
4
2
Place State
Team
1
NJ
Deluxe Bakery Berth
2
PA
Js Garman Electric
Qualified Berth
3
PA
New Holland Legion
CT
Manhattan Beer/
Fabco Vending
Qualified Berth
4
Runs Runs Avg Avg Avg
Team Class Wins Loses Ties Scored Allow Runs Allow Diff
SP
3
MensC
SP
3
MensD
SP
2
MensD
SP
MensC
2
SP
1
MensC
Wagner Farms/Torco
SP
5 PA
1
Supply
MensC
Max’s On Main
SP
7 NYD
0
Qualified Berth
MensD
5
DE
Team Hertrich
0
0
54 12 18
2
0
49 66 9.8 13.2 -3.4 15 220
2
0
58 45 14.5 11.2 3.25 25 180
2
0
40 51 10 12.7 -2.7 17 80
2
0
29 42 9.66 14 -4.3 13 70
2
0
40 49 13.3 16.3 -3 25 70
2
0
8
13
4
4
Max USSSA
Runs Points
14 19 150
6.5 -2.5 8 120
8
17
19
JS Garman Electric
4
8
9
8
9
11
Max’s On Main
Team Hertrich
Wagner Farms/Torco
Supply
New Holland Legion
Vending
New Holland Legion
Max’s On Main
Team Hertrich
Wagner Farms/Torco
Supply
New Holland Legion
Vending
New Holland Legion
23
No
Score
11
Losers
Score
8
11
6
12
4
2
Place State
Team
Team Class
SP
1 NJ Doggie Stylin’
WomenC
Toxic/K&J
SP
2 NJ
Sports
WomenD
SP
3 NJ World Gems
WomenD
SP
4 NJ 2 OUT THE BOX
WomenD
SP
5 NJ Yuengling
WomenD
VIP Discount
SP
6 NJ
Club
WomenE
SP
7 NJ All Heart
WomenD
SP
8 PA Forry’s
WomenC
Runs Runs
Wins Loses Ties Scored Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Max USSSA
Allow Avg Diff Runs Points
4
0
0
61 24 15.2 6
2
2
0
46 51 11.5 12.7 -1.2 22 55
1
1
0
26 26 13
0
14 0
1
1
0
27 29 13.5 14.5 -1
15 0
0
1
0
4
14 4
14
-10 4
60
0
1
0
1
17 1
17
-16 1
60
0
1
0
12 15 12
15
-3
12 50
0
1
0
12 13 12
13
-1
12 25
13
9.25 17 75
USSSA TODAY 71
ALBUQUERQUE / SANTA FE, NM
Pay It Forward
Photos By Toni Ramsey
72 USSSA TODAY
Date
Complex
City
Contact
Phone
June 27-28
NORTH TEXAS STATE FINALS (All divisions)
Mansfield
Greg Huchingson
(979) 575-5669
July 4-5
SOUTH TEXAS STATE FINALS (Men’s D)
League City
Greg Huchingson
(979) 575-5669
July 11-12
SOUTH TEXAS STATE FINALS (Men’s B, C, E, Women, Co-ed)
League City
Greg Huchingson
(979) 575-5669
TO REGISTER OR GET MORE INFORMATION:
Series Coordinator: Greg Huchingson • (979) 575-5669 • [email protected]
USSSA TODAY 73
S.W. OHIO
29th Annual Worth / USSSA
Memorial Softball Tournament
by Scott Kuhnen
For almost thirty years now, one of the best tournaments held in S.W. Ohio is the Worth/USSSA “Memorial”
Tournament. This event remembers and honors former
softball people who have passed on, often prematurely.
This year’s 29th Annual Worth/USSSA
“Memorial” Tournament was held at
multiple locations across S. W. Ohio,
including Dayton’s Kettering Field,
Springfield’s Davey Moore and Lagonda
Parks, Sidney’s Flanagan Park, Warren
County’s Armco Park, and Beavercreek’s
Rotary Park. The event is traditionally
held on Memorial Day weekend.
This long-standing event hosts multiple
categories of play, including in 2009 a
Men’s B-C NIT, a Men’s D&E bracket with
advancement from round-robin play for all
teams, and a Mixed Couples/Co-Ed division.
74 USSSA TODAY
The event this year attracted 71 teams.
The format for the Men’s D & E category
of play is five games of round-robin play
followed by double elimination championships rounds for all teams in each flight.
1st & 2nd play in the subsequent double
elimination “gold bracket” championships; 3rd and 4th play off in the “silver
division championships; and 5th and 6th
face off in the D/E-Lower, “bronze division.” Barring bad weather every team
played no less than seven games, and
those who were “hot” on Sunday and
made to top four or five psotions often
played 10, 11, or 12 games.
According to tournament director and
state director for Southern and Central
Ohio, Scott Kuhnen, “In addition to
referring to this event as “Toughest Test
in Softball,” at a price below $300, it is
also one of the best bargains in softball.”
As always, a large prize package was
offered with division winner awards
and championship awards from Worth
& USSSA in each category of play.
Kuhnen says this is the area’s most
important event, as it annually recognizes people from the softball community who have left us.
Memorial honorees in 2009 includes:
Umpire Max Hillsamer, Beavercreek;
Team Manager, Roy Copeland, Dayton;
Patrolman Casey Terrell, Xenia; player
Keith Mescher, of Lebanon; player Bill
Stout and umpire Dale Ratliff, both of
Springfield.
As is the tournament’s tradition, presentations to families and friends were
made at various venues hosting this
event. This year’s family & friends ceremonies were held at 11am on Saturday
at Davey Moore Park in Springfield for
Bill Stout and Dale Ratliff; noon Saturday
at Armco Park for Lebanon’s Keith
Mescher; 3pm Saturday at Kettering
Field in Dayton for Roy Copeland and
Casey Terrell; and 7pm Sunday at Rotary
Park in Beavercreek for Max Hillsamer.
In an added honor, Max Hillsamer was
recipient of a diamond being named for
him at Beavercreek’s Rotary Park.
“This is a proud moment for the softball
community in S.W. Ohio,” says Kuhnen,
“since we are able to thank families
and friends for the involvement of their
loved ones. The families are always
grateful and appreciative of the softball
community remembering and honoring
these former softball participants.”
Team interested in competing in this
worthwhile event in 2010 are encouraged to contact State Director, Scott
Kuhnen, at “dayton_softball@hotmail.
com” for details. Next year’s event will
mark the 30th Annual Worth/USSSA
Memorial Tournament.
USSSA TODAY 75
USSSA/DeMarini Jimmy V
Benefit Tournament
by Tommy Weimer
Fifty five days before his death in 1993,
Jim Valvano took the stage at Madison
Square Garden to unveil his namesake
charity to the world. While he knew it
was too late to save himself he set a lofty
goal to everyone who would listen to him
speak, eradicate cancer in our lifetime.
With the help of ESPN, The V Foundation
for Cancer Research was born.
Some sixteen years later the foundation’s mantra still holds as true as the day
Jim stood on that stage and uttered the
words “Don’t give up, Don’t ever give
up.”
In mid 2008, the 1st Annual USSSA/
DeMarini Jimmy V Charity Classic was
born as a way to give back and support a
wonderful cause that can and will affect
each and every one of us in some way or
another.
This event was hoped to be one of the
biggest charity softball tournaments
in the United States. However, due to
lack of planning time, available weekends and facilities, and being a first-year
event, that first year did not achieve the
vision that was expected. While it was
considered a success under the circumstances, there was a lot left to be desired.
Year one ended up hosting two divisions
consisting of a total of fourteen teams.
They played three game round robins
that were used to seed a single elimination bracket. In the Men’s E Division Final
Cotner Funeral Home from Columbus,
Ohio beat Cobra Force from Piqua, Ohio
12-9 and in the Mixed C Final Speed Kills
took down The Bomb Squad 7-0 in what
76 USSSA TODAY
seemed to be the battle of the mixed
teams from Columbus.
Planning for the second annual event
began even before the last pitches were
being thrown on year one.
After researching nearly every tournament in the United States, the tournament director realized that he didn’t want
the typical cookie-cutter tournament that
many others seemed to be running.
According to Tommie Weimer, Jimmy V
Tournament Director, “I wanted to make
this into more of an experience that
would increase the interest from the
softball community and at the same time
be able to reach out to draw in the nonsoftball community, as well.”
The event is expecting to grow dramatically in year two as it is expected to
attract more than 100 teams from six
states participating in fourteen divisions
of competitive and recreational play.
Weimer explains that, “Even though this
event donates the proceeds to charity,
through the help of some gracious sponsors we are able to have one of the
largest prize packages around.”
The event will give away $10,000 in cash
and prizes and at the same time has a
lofty goal to donate another $10,000 to
The V Foundation.
“With the help of some wonderful
sponsors,” according to Weimer, “this is
almost assured to happen.”
Some of the sponsors who have stepped
up to the plate to help include: DeMarini,
Vinci Pro, Extra Innings, Courtyard by
Marriott, Holiday Inn, Krispy Kreme
Donuts, TYJA Sports, Grand Slam
Graphics, Buffalo Wild Wings, Milano’s
Atlantic City Subs, Miller Lite, and BJ’s
Restaurant & Brewhouse.
Some of the highlights for the 2nd
annual USSSA Jimmy V Charity Softball
Classic will include the home run derby
sponsored by DeMarini, a live ESPN radio
show broadcast from the park, celebrity first pitch, celebrity softball game,
DeMarini bat demo with a factory hitter,
and to cap it off…a fireworks display
from the City of Dayton.
Year two will be very exciting and should
be a sign of things to come as the vision
for this event is to make it into the largest
softball charity event in the world.
The event is scheduled for July 3rd, 4th
and 5th at the Kettering Field Complex
located in downtown Dayton, Ohio.
For more information on the event
please check out the website at www.
leaguelineup.com/jimmyvcharityclassic .
Just as Jim Valvano closed his speech in
1993:
“I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got
one last thing and I said it before, and
I want to say it again. Cancer can take
away all my physical abilities. It cannot
touch my mind, it cannot touch my
heart and it cannot touch my soul. And
those three things are going to carry on
forever.
I thank you and God bless you all.”
- Jim Valvano 1946 - 1993
USSSA BASEBALL
ALEXANDRIA, LA
4th Annual
Que’ In On The Red
by Fred Ruggles
PointStreak.com provided the software
that allowed fans from all over the
world to watch the games live as they
were happening. Byron Painter says “we
try to be on the front edge of what is
happening in youth sports and this is
out front.” With point streak you actually can go back and watch a complete
replay of each game, look at all the
players batting and pitching stats. “ It
really makes it interesting and I believe
you will see many other directors taking
a look at this.” Said Ruggles
The Champions in the 8 under Coach
Pitch were the Athletic Republic Red
Raiders from West Monroe Louisana
who defeated the Gulf Coast Hurricanes
9-8.
The weather was great as the players
entered one of the nicest ballparks in
Louisiana. Johnny Downs is a $5 million
dollar complex boasting 8 fields that
is maintained by the City Golf Course.
Many teams that visit the park at first
glance they think will be playing on
astro turf.
Over 60 teams descended on Central
Louisiana to compete on the field and
enjoy the local Bar-b-que Festival. This is
the 4th year that the City of Alexandria
has hosted this Bar-b-que cook-off.
Cenla Baseball Director Fred Ruggles has
coincided one of his biggest events of
the year with the festival. Ruggles said
“Teams enjoy a great day at the park
then they go down town to the levee
and get to see some awesome entertainment and taste some of the best
bar-b-que in the world.”
This was also the first time in the State
that Live Online scoring took place.
The 9 under bracket hosted 16 teams
with the Iron Pigs Baseball going 5-0
Defeating the Cajun Crushers 9-8 in
one of the most exciting games of the
weekend. Those Iron Pigs from Many LA
always bring an awesome attitude and
great fans to the park.
10 under bracket found the Natchitoches
Warriors winning the AA side defeating
Cubs Baseball while in the AAA Division
Avoyelles Blazers took out the Louisiana
Bounty Hunters.
11 under hosted 15 teams also with the
MVP Muckdogs of Shreveport taking
out the Acadiana Curve in the Majors
division while the East Texas Scrappers
ran the table in the AA Division.
12 under was dominated by the
Louisiana Gametime Thunder a strong
Major team from North Louisiana. The
West Monroe Warriors was on the short
end of t he stick but they seem to always
make the Big Dance at the end of each
tournament.
With 10 teams playing to be the
champions of the 13’s it was a late
night when Alexandria Heat put on a
hitting and fielding display to win the
Championship over Gametime Angels.
These kind of tournaments don’t
happen often in Central Louisiana
actually this is the 2nd biggest Youth
Baseball Tournament ever held in
Alexandria Pineville area. Ruggles
repeats the motto for USSSA baseball”
More Kids Playing more Baseball” that
is what Cenla Baseball is all about. With
great facilities, Great atmosphere,
great city, and of course great young
baseball players what better way to
spend a weekend. There isn’t but for
now it is time to get ready to play next
weekend. Cenla Baseball would like to
invite you and your team to come visit
Central Louisiana and experience what
USSSA Baseball Louisiana style is all
about.
USSSA TODAY 77
BATON ROUGE, LA
Premier Baseball Complex Makes
Baton Rouge, LA Its Home
by Chris Laurence
A “one-of-a kind” youth league baseball
complex has been constructed in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. Cypress Mounds, now
in its second year of operation, is a baseball complex that was built for youth
league baseball players with the intent
to provide a major league type experience. It currently consists of six unique
baseball fields accommodating ages 9
through High School with two additional
fields accommodating ages 5 through
8 scheduled for completion in March
2009 – in time for this year’s season.
Cypress Mounds worked in tandem
with Ripken Management and Design
on the development and design of this
facility. Ripken Management and Design
is a baseball and sports complex design
firm based in Aberdeen, Maryland which
draws on the experience of Bill Ripken
and Cal Ripken Jr. to provide baseball
facility design expertise. Each field at
Cypress Mounds has distinctive characteristics. Several fields reflect past and
present Major League baseball parks.
One example combines design elements
from both Wrigley Field and the Polo
Grounds. Another has a 25 ft tall fence
similar to Fenway Park in Boston.
The playing surfaces on all of the fields
are similar to major league standards.
They are completely sodded with
Bermuda grass. All fields have underground drainage so downtime due to
rain is minimized. Complete irrigation
of all fields, professional style warning
tracks and bullpens are a few of the
added features.
There are two significant buildings at
Cypress Mounds. The Entrance Pavilion
hosts ticket windows, administration
offices, a tournament registration room,
security/first-aid rooms, photo shop,
pro shop and restrooms. In the photo
shop, parents will have the opportunity
to purchase an array of different action
shots of their child throughout the
tournament. In the pro shop, patrons
will have the ability to buy baseball
78 USSSA TODAY
at Cypress Mounds include a playground, RV parking, shade canopies,
covered bleachers, mobile beverage
and concession carts, and transportation throughout the complex. Cypress
Mounds is managed by a full time staff
with a strong background in baseball.
equipment from bat tape and pine tar
to new gloves and bats. The pro shop
will also be stocked with a full line of
Cypress Mounds souvenirs and tournament specific merchandise. As you make
your way through the breezeway of the
Entrance Pavilion and into the complex,
you will come across the Clubhouse.
The Clubhouse is a multi-level building
located in the heart of the facility.
The first level of the Clubhouse has an
open air concession area with walk-up
windows, an arcade, and restrooms. The
second level is a restaurant with a wrap
around balcony. This restaurant features
five big screen TV’s and gives spectators
the opportunity to get out of the heat
and into the air conditioning as they
watch a baseball game. The second level
allows views onto four different fields.
In addition to the immaculate fields,
Cypress Mounds also has a Patented
Ripken Training Circle. This Training
Circle is constructed out of synthetic
turf and provides multiple opportunities for different types of instruction.
While designed for training scenarios,
the Training Circle at Cypress Mounds
serves a number of additional purposes,
to include: team warm-up areas, award
ceremonies, team gathering areas, small
competitions and contests during tournament play, and much more.
As the local affiliate of the Miracle
League, Cypress Mounds is currently
constructing a field that is designed to
make the game of baseball accessible
to children with disabilities. This field
is being designed and constructed to
Miracle League standard specifications.
Additional amenities that are offered
During the 2009 Spring/Summer season,
Cypress Mounds will host a youth baseball league for ages 7-14. Games will be
played in the evenings during the week.
USSSA is the league affiliate for the 75
teams that are registered in the Cypress
Mounds 2009 Spring/Summer Youth
Baseball League.
A primary objective of Cypress Mounds
is to provide the youth of today with the
opportunity to play in tournaments at a
first-class facility and have a unique baseball experience while providing a family
atmosphere conducive to day-long
outings at the ball park. Cypress Mounds
attracts teams from the Southeast region
and around the country for tournament
play.
Cypress Mounds will host 19 USSSA affiliated youth baseball tournaments during
the Spring and Summer of 2009. In addition to the USSSA affiliated qualifier
events, Cypress Mounds will also host
The USSSA Louisiana State Tournament,
and two USSSA World Series.
Baton Rouge, home of the Louisiana
State University Tigers, is the capitol
city of Louisiana. Baton Rouge offers
Louisiana culture for everyone in the
family including fine restaurants with
authentic Cajun cooking, historic plantation homes and museums, and swamp
wildlife tours. Downtown Baton Rouge
highlights the nightlife with its restaurants, bars, and casinos.
To register for a tournament or to
get more information about Cypress
Mounds, please visit their website at
www.cypressmounds.com or give them a
call at (225)757-5550.
“Dreams Come True at
Cypress Mounds
by Chris Laurence
Dellucci’s Dream Baseball Clinic was held at Cypress Mounds
Baseball Complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on January 24,
2009. This clinic was hosted by current Major Leaguer David
Dellucci and his foundation, Dellucci’s Dream Foundation.
As a native of Louisiana, David founded Dellucci’s Dream
Foundation with the mission to serve communities in Louisiana
and Ohio through youth education and sports camps, and
supporting wounded service members and their families. To
learn more about Dellucci’s Dream Foundation, please visit
their website at www.delluccisdreamfoundation.org.
Helping David with the instruction at Dellucci’s Dream Baseball
Clinic were 33 present and former professional baseball players
as well as the coaching staff and/or players from Louisiana
State University, Southern University, Baton Rouge Community
College, and Catholic High School. The professional baseball players that came and volunteered their time to be an
instructor are listed below:
David Dellucci (Cleveland Indians), Ben McDonald (Baltimore
Orioles – former player), Blake Johnson (Kansas City Royals),
Brad Cresse (Los Angeles Dodgers – former player), Brett Laxton
(Oakland A’s – former player), Brian Wabick (Houston Astros),
Chad Durbin (Philadelphia Phillies), Clay Harris (Philadelphia
Phillies), Danny Ardoin (Los Angeles Dodgers), DJ Wabick (New
York Mets), Ed Yarnell (Kansas City Royals – former player), Eric
Young (Colorado Rockies – former player), Jason Williams (St.
Louis Cardinals – former player), Joe Lawrence (Toronto Blue
Jays – former player), Jon Zeringue (Los Angeles Dodgers),
Justin Brashear (Arizona Diamond Backs – former player),
Kurt Ainsworth (Baltimore Orioles – former player), Michael
Hollander (Texas Rangers), Mike Fontenot (Chicago Cubs),
Quinn Stewart (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), Reid Brignac (Tampa
Bay Devil Rays), Russ Springer (Oakland A’s), Ryan Patterson
USSSA TODAY 79
(Toronto Blue Jays), Scott Hodges (Montreal Expos – former
player), Simon Ferrer (Colorado Rockies), Terry Fox (Detroit
Tigers – former player), Tim Corcoran (Baltimore Orioles),
Trot Nixon (Milwaukee Brewers), Val Pascucci (Los Angeles
Dodgers), Warren Morris (Detroit Tigers – former player),
Will Clark (San Francisco Giants – former player), Will Harris
(Colorado Rockies).
Others in attendance were: Skip Bertman (Legendary LSU
Baseball Coach), Roger Cador (Southern University Baseball
Team Coach), Coach LJ Dupuy (Baton Rouge Community
College), Turner Ward (Arizona Diamondbacks Hitting Coach),
Bob Rossi (former Mets scout), Brannon Danos ( former LSU
Player), Blake Gill (former LSU player), Eric Wiethorn (former
LSU player).
Dellucci’s Dream Baseball Clinic was a free clinic open to the
public and over 600 youth baseball players were in attendance.
United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) provided
volunteers to help with check-in and registration as well as
donating camp t-shirts for all of the participants. Joey Odom,
Executive Vice-President with USSSA, and his wife Lydia,
donated $15,000.00 from their event management company,
Sports Productions, to the Dellucci’s Dream Foundation.
Cypress Mounds Baseball Complex donated the use of
their facility for the day. Cypress Mounds is an immaculate
eight field youth baseball complex located in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. Throughout the year they host USSSA affiliated
Youth Leagues and Tournaments. For a 2009 Tournament
Schedule or to receive more information on Cypress Mounds,
please visit their website at www.cypressmounds.com or give
them a call at 225-757-5550.
80 USSSA TODAY
Houston, TX
South Texas Super NIT
9U - QUALIFIED TEAMS
Team Name - City, St
Place
Team Extreme Stallions - Magnolia, TX
1st
Legends - Pasadena, TX
2nd
Place
Texas Nationals Team - The Woodlands, TX
1st
Knights Red - Baytown, TX
2nd
Place
Banditos Black - Tomball, TX
1st
Twelve - College Station, TX
2nd
Place
Houston Lightning - Houston, TX
1st
MLAB Houston Lightning - Spring, TX
2nd
Place
Terror Baseball - Thibodeaux, LA
1st
BLBA Texas Stampede - Spring, TX
2nd
Place
D-Bat Mustangs Southwest - Mansfield, TX
1st
Dallas Tigers - Oldham - Roanoke, TX
2nd
USSSA TODAY 81
KANSAS CITY
Kansas City Sports
Memorial Day Super NIT
Photo by Tyler Smith - Select Phtographics
by Rick E. Fortana
Kansas City Cougars - Missouri
The Kansas City Sports
Super NIT for 2009 was
another great success. With
300 teams for the third
straight year, the Kansas
City Sports Super NIT is
always one of the largest
events in the country.
This year’s event was held
on 38 fields with 640 games
played between Friday and
Monday. The tournament included separate age brackets for
9-14 Major, 10-14 AAA and 9-14 AA.
Kansas City Sports was founded in 1994 and was part of the
original team that started USSSA Baseball in 1997.
The Memorial Day tournament has traditionally been the
largest event of the season for KC Sports. Beginning in 2004
with the addition of USSSA Super NIT’s, the tournament has
grown rapidly to one of the largest in the United States.
Tournament Winners
Majors - Earned a berth to
Elite World Series at Disney’s Wide World of Sports
9
Dairy Queen Crushers-Arkansas
10
North Texas Bulldogs-Texas
11
Oklahoma Elite-Oklahoma
12
Armour Baseball-Colorado
13
Tulsa Hurricanes-Oklahoma
14
Mac-N-Seitz Indians-Kansas
AAA
10
Oklahoma Liners-Oklahoma
11
Wichita Yankees-Kansas
12
Kansas City Cougars-Missouri
13
St. Louis Zips-Missouri
14
Miken Mavericks-Kansas
AA
9
Arkansas Dirtbags-Arkansas
In 2008 the Memorial Day tournament had 309 teams and
looks to have even more teams in 2009. Teams from 15
different states will meet in Kansas City to earn a berth to the
Elite World Series at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
10
PH Cardinals-Missouri
11
Arkansas Gamers-Arkansas
12
Midwest Mud Dogs-Missouri
13
Eureka Jr Wildcats-Missouri
For information on this tournament and other Kansas City
Sports tournaments go to www.kcsports.org
14
Topeka Cathawks-Kansas
82 USSSA TODAY
ATLANTA, GA
Atlanta Super NIT
by Matt Trebuchon
The stage was set…the first Super NIT of the year east of the
Rocky Mountains, the first ever broadcast of baseball on USSSA
Live and the first clear, sunny and warm weekend of spring
in Atlanta, Georgia. Now, all that was needed was a group
competitive baseball teams…and boy did they show up…in
groves, 339 of them to be exact!
Annually, the Atlanta Super NIT has been one of the toughest
if not the toughest Super NIT events to win because of its early
playing date, central location in the southeast, ability to draw
teams from the north looking for warmer weather and green
grass and the ease of travel from Florida and the Gulf Coast.
Bottom line, the Atlanta Super NIT has come to be known as
the “Who’s Who of Competitive Baseball” and the 2009 event
didn’t let anyone down.
In the 9U division, Mizuno Glory from Central Florida ran the
table with a perfect 6-0 record outscoring their opponents
75-16. The Cincy Flames finished second with a 5-2 record
losing only to Mizuno, once in pool play and again in the
Championship. Both of these clubs are sure to play deep into
the Elite World Series at Disney.
USSSA TODAY 83
The 10U division saw the older Mizuno Glory also run the table
and outscore their opponents 89-30 in six games. With Major
League style defense and timely power hitting, this unit will
always be a threat. The Alabama TPSA Bandits finished second
losing only to Mizuno in the Championship.
The hometown East Cobb Longhorns swept the 11U division
winning by an average of 6+ runs per game. The Horns are
loaded with pitching top to bottom and are not afraid to put
runners in motion and move them around. Mobile’s Alabama
Bombers finished second with a 5-2 record dropping a 1 run
heartbreaker in pool play to the Atlanta Icons and then falling
short in the final.
Central Florida’s Diamondbacks Baseball won the 12U division
but only after beating the 9 player Home Plate Chilidogs in the
final. The D’backs ran a perfect 6-0 record with loads and loads
of timely hitting and strong defense. The Runner-up Chilidogs
played all six games over the course of the weekend with only
9 players on their roster and still managed to compile a 5-1
record.
The 13U division was the cream of the crop and deservedly
so, will forever be known as the first baseball ever featured
on USSSA Live…and it delivered! The eventual winners,
Terror Baseball from Louisiana won seven games in a stretch
of 37 hours to carry home the Elite World Series berth. Their
Championship included a one run victory in the final over the
very strong and powerful Charlotte Megastars. This feature
battle carried all the drama one could wish for in a broadcasted championship…had throwing pitchers, clutch hitting,
aggressive base running and stellar defense.
Atlanta’s 14U division is played Memorial Day weekend and
results will be available on USSSA.com.
84 USSSA TODAY
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Photo credit: Tom Smedes

SUMMER 2009 - USSSA - United States Specialty Sports Association

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