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NAFA “A” World Series at Sioux Falls – Day 3

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Results from the third day of play at the NAFA “A” World Series at Harmodon Park, Sioux Falls, SD. Games begin again on Sunday at 8:00 AM with the lower bracket. Weather was hot and humid, with games being postponed for one hour-thirty minutes due to tornado watches mid-afternoon.
Winner’s Bracket
Crowbar, SD – 5, Flor de Cana, CA – 0
KC Angels, MO – 9, GLC, MI – 1
Lower Bracket
9:00 AM
Graber & Assc, SD – 7, Communiquest, MI – 0 (forfeit)
Boulder Rebels, CO – 12, San Prairie, WI – 9
Priority Mortgage, MI – 12, J & D Tube – 0
NW Implement, KS – 14, Palm Springs Express, CA – 6
Clark Construction, IN – 14, Winterset A’s – 1
Youngs Prime #2, SD – 10, Firesteel Snakes – 6
Panteras II, CA – 8, Mac-O-Che, OH – 3
Ricola, FP, NJ – 14, John’s Plumbing, NB – 3

10:45 AM
Cornerstone, PA – 7, Graber & Assc, SD – 2
Boulder Rebels, CO – 11, Alchins Disposal, MI – 9
MG Construction, WI – 9, Priority Mortgage, MI – 0
Kassan State Theatre, MN – 5 , NW Implement, KS – 1
Castle Plumbing, MI – 5, Clark Construction, IN – 0
Ramona FP, SD – 11, Youngs Prime #2, SD – 1
Silver Stars, SD – 6, Panteras II – 5
Ricola FP, NJ – 7, Budweiser, WI – 5
Delay due to tornado watches, times were adjusted from the original schedule
4:00 PM
Cornerstone, PA – 3, Preston Merchants, MN – 1
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12, Boulder Rebels, CO – 2
MG Construction, WI – 7, Main Street FP, WI – 0
Kassan State Theater, MN – 5, Ramsey Financial, IL – 4
Rice Lake Orangemen, WI – 7, Castle Plumbling, MI – 6
Ramona FP, SD – 7, Grumpy’s, IA – 4
Crouch Electric, MI – 10, Silver Stars, SD – 0
Ricola FP, NJ – 6, Wizards of Oz, KS – 4
5:45 PM
MG Construction, WI – 5, Cornerstone, PA – 4
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12, Kassan State Theatre, MN – 1
Crouch Electric, MI – 5, Rice Lake Orangemen, WI – 1
Ricola FP, NJ – 11, Ramona FP – 6
9:15 PM
Scarletts, SD – 11, MG Construction, WI – 8 vs Scarletts
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12 vs Premier Bank, IA – 0
Crouch Electric, MI – 3, Wilson/Point Blank, WI – 2
Deluth, FP, MN – 17 vs Ricola FP, NJ – 16 (not a typo)
11:30PM
Scarletts, SD – 10, Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 1
Crouch Electric, MI – 12, Deluth FP, MN – 3
Sunday
Winner’s Bracket
9:45 AM
Crowbar, SD vs KC Angels, MO

Lower Bracket
8:00 AM
Scarlet’s, SD – 10, GLC, MI – 11
Flor de Cana, CA – 12, Crouch Electric, MI – 5
9:45 AM
GLC, MI vs Flor de Cana, CA

Posted in NAFA, Tournaments | No Comments »

World’s best make their pitch in Q-C

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

From the Quad City Times:
(click link for original news story at Quad City Times)
By Doug Green


Quad-Cities pitcher Al Rebling delivers a pitch (Maddy Flanagan/ Contributed photo)

When the International Softball Congress World Fastball tournament returns to the Quad-Cities this week, it brings a rich history and tradition.

The Quad-Cities hosted the tournament from 1961 to 1969 and also in 1973. During those summers Rock Island’s Douglas Park was the center of the softball world.

Legendary Quad-City Times sports editor John O’Donnell wrote: “From Pennsylvania to California they came to visit this community and to compete for the top prize in the softball world.”

While what they are competing for is still the same, where they come from clearly is not. When the 24 teams head to Moline’s Greenvalley Complex on Friday, they will come not only from all over the country but all over the world. This year’s tournament will feature teams from the Dominican Republic and Canada and players from Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Then and now

In 1963, fans could listen to Ed Zack’s play-by-play of the semifinals and finals on WOC radio. For the last three years, the ISC has been streaming the tournament live online, with a team of a dozen play-by-play announcers and color analysts to describe the action. This year there will be a video stream of 15-20 games of the world tournament and an audio stream of 20-25 games for the ISC II tournament.

But at its core, it is the same game O’Donnell wrote about more than 40 years ago.
The game still centers around pitching and the ability to hit a sphere traveling 80 to 90 mph from only 40 feet away.

During the ’60s, the pitchers had the advantage. That gap has narrowed today.
The hitters have caught up to the pitchers because they see so many quality teams, thanks to round-robin play every weekend, Pat Sullivan said.

Sullivan has spent the past 45 years as part of the ISC. He was named an All-American catcher in 1969 and currently is the regional commissioner out of Dubuque.


Expectations

The players from yesteryear wonder how the tournament will be received now.
“You need local participation,” said Gary Dobereiner, who played for the locally-based Harrelson Motors team that won the world title in 1967. “Actually, softball in this area has gone down from the ’60s. Back in the ’60s we had six to eight teams in a metro league that were competitive.”

Games during that period consistently drew 3,000-4,000 people. A 10-day tournament easily eclipsed 30,000. The record for single day attendance at the world tournament in the Quad-Cities was 6,020, set in 1963.

But that was then and this is now. No one can predict what kind of reception the ISC will receive. That unknown is the main reason the Quad-Cities turned down its option to host the tournament again in 2011.

“For them to pick it up, they would had to make a decision before they knew how well 2009 was going to go,” ISC executive director Ken Hackmeister said.

Whether the Quad-Cities would choose to bid on a future tournament depends on how 2009 fares, Hackmeister said.

This year

When the world tournament kicks off on Friday, only two local team will be in the bracket – the Davenport-based Quad-City Sox and the Thomson (Ill.) Merchants.

The ISC II tournament will begin a week from Tuesday at Rock Island’s Campbell Complex. ISC II softball can be described as the triple-A to the world tournament’s major leagues. Three local teams – Walcott’s Lampliter Inn, Davenport’s Pizza Shack and Bettendorf’s Q-C Titans – will be among the 40 teams competing.

Way back when Champions of the ISC World tournament when it is was held at Rock Island’s Douglas Park:

1961 – Dautrich Realty, El Paso, Texas
1962 – Dautrich Realty, El Paso, Texas
1963 – Gardena Merchants, Gardena, Calif.
1964 – Paramount Chevrolet Impalas, Downey, Calif.
1965 – Ponoma Bombers, Ponoma, Calif.
1966 – Gardena Merchants, Gardena, Calif.
1967 – Harrelson Motors, Moline, Ill.
1968 – Long Beach Nitehawks, Long Beach, Calif.
1969 – Sal’s Lunch, Philadelphia, Pa.
1973 – Lakewood Jets, Lakewood, Calif.

TICKETS

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for anyone 60 and over. Anyone under 16 is free.
A nine-day tournament pass is available for $35, $25 for 60-plus.

Those who played in the tournament during its last time in the Quad-Cities can get a 9-day pass for $19.60

Posted in ISC, ISC-II, Tournaments | No Comments »

NAFA “A” World Series at Sioux Falls – Day 2

Friday, August 7th, 2009


Click logo for official NAFA website.

Results from the second day of play at the NAFA “A” World Series at Harmodon Park, Sioux Falls, SD. Games begin again on Saturday at 9:00 AM with the losers bracket. Weather was hot and humid but very playable and enjoyable.

Flor de Cana won two games in the winners bracket for a 4:00PM matchup against home team Crowbar.

Palm Springs and Panteras both won their games to go into the elimination portion. Both team play at 9:00 AM with Palm Springs playing NW Implement, KS and Panteras II plays against Mac-O-Che, OH.

Complete list of Friday 08/07 Games:

Winners Bracket

10:00am:
GLC, MI: 15 – Main Street FP, WI: 9
Ramsey Financial, IL: 3 – Duluth FP, MN: 10
KC Angels, KS: 6 – Castle Plumbing, MI: 2
Wilson’s/Point Blank, WI: 5 – Winnipeg Bullets, Canada: 4

12:00pm:
Crouch Electric, MI: 2 – Crow Bar #2, SD: 4
Wizards of Oz, KS: 1 – Premier Bank, IA: 3
Scarlett’s, SD: 3 – Rice Lake Orangemen, WI: 2
Grumpy’s, IA: 10 – Flor de Cana, CA: 16

2:00pm:
GLC, MI: 12 – Duluth FP, MN: 10
KC Angels, KS: 9 – Wilson’s/Point Blank, WI: 4

4:00pm:
Crow Bar #2, SD: 9 – Premier Bank, IA: 4
Scarlett’s, SD: 3 – Flor de Cana, CA: 10

Lower Bracket
10:30am:
Sand Prairie Construction, WI: 7 – Communiquest, MI: 0
J&D Tube, WI: 11 – NW Implement, KS: 2

12:30pm:
Graber & Associates, SD: 13 – Boulder Rebels, CO: 5
Palm Springs Express, CA: 6 – Priority Mortgage, MI: 5

2:00 pm:
MG Construction, WI: 2 – Kasson StateTheatre, MN: 1
Mac-o-Chee FP, OH: 2 – Ricola FP, NJ: 14

2:30pm:
Clark Construction, IN: 13 – Young’s Prime #2, SD: 4
Alchin’s Disposal, MI: 6 – Cornerstone, PA: 8

4:00 pm:
Firesteel Snakes, Canada: 6 – Winterset A’s, IA: 4
Panteras II, CA: 7 – John’s Plumbing, NB: 0

4:30pm:
Castle Plumbing, MI: 16 – Ramona FP, SD: 6
Silver Stars, SD: 16 – Budweiser, WI: 5

Saturday’s Matchups
Winners Bracket
4:00pm:
Crow Bar #2, SD vs Flor de Cana, CA
GLC, MI vs KC Angels, KS

Lower Bracket
9:00am:
Boulder Rebels, CO vs Sand Prairie Construction, WI
Priority Mortgage, MI vs J&D Tube, WI
Palm Springs Express, CA vs NW Implement, KS
Mac-o-Chee FP, OH vs Panteras II, CA
Ricola FP, NJ vs John’s Plumbing, NB
Clark Construction, IN vs Winterset A’s, IA
Young’s Prime #2, SD vs Firesteel Snakes, Canada

Robert Hernandez for Benjie Hedgecock
rmh323 (at) roadrunner.com
www.nafafastpitch.com

Posted in NAFA, Tournaments | No Comments »

Kamloops Fastball tournament draws top players

Friday, August 7th, 2009

BY MARK HUNTER
DAILY NEWS SPORTS REPORTER

[Kamloops] – Richard Haldane saw the best of the world last month at the ISF World Men’s Softball Championship in Saskatoon.

This week, he’ll see the best of the west at the Western Canadian Masters Fastball Championships, which are to start Thursday. Eight 40-plus men’s teams and six 35-plus women’s teams will battle on two Charles Anderson Stadium diamonds starting tomorrow at 8 a.m.

Haldane is leading the Kamloops Sandman Inn Blazers into the tournament after spending July 17-26 at the world championship pitching and playing first base for Great Britain, which finished tied for seventh.

“The intensity (between the two tournaments) will be a big difference,” said Haldane, a 40-year-old Vernon resident whose father was born in England, thus making Richard eligible to play for Great Britain. “I pitched against New Zealand, who were three-time defending champions, and I’ve never played in anything like that.

“It was phenomenal and I loved every minute of it.”

In his start against New Zealand, Haldane pitched two innings, giving up two earned runs in a 14-0 loss. New Zealand ended up losing 5-0 to Australia in the final.

The Blazers are to take on Northwest Territories on Thursday, 10 a.m., in what will be the first of the team’s six round-robin games before the playoffs start Saturday.

Kamloops will have a team — called the Dearborn Classics —in the women’s draw. It will take on one of two Saskatchewan teams on Thursday at 11:30 a.m., in the first of its five round-robin games.

Both finals are scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.

Haldane is no stranger to the local fastball scene after pitching the last few seasons in the Kamloops Major Men’s Fastball League. He’s hoping to see a lot of fan support at the weekend games.

Fan support wasn’t much of a problem in Saskatoon, where as many as 8,000 spectators took in a few of the games.

While like numbers aren’t realistic for Kamloops, the tournament does show an apparent resurgence in the local fastball scene.

“The Western Canadian championships are a big thing to land,” Haldane said. “(Organizer) Ken Ward has played a big part in landing that. It’s usually tough to get a Western Canadian or Canadian championship.”

The Blazers have loaded up for the tournament. Along with the local players, the Kamloops team will have Jerry Kennedy, Kevin Careless and Dean Longstaff on its roster.

All of these players, who live in the Lower Mainland, have impressive resumes in top men’s leagues. Haldane knows the players from his travels in the sport, and thinks the team will be a contender this week.

“It’s going to be a lot of tough competition,” he said. “But if we hit the ball, anything can happen. As long as we can put some hits together . . . I think our pitching will be fine.”

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca

Posted in General, Tournaments | No Comments »

ISC World Tournament Just One Week away !

Friday, August 7th, 2009

First pitch, 6:00 p.m. CDT next Friday ! Click logo for official website and more details.

Posted in ISC, Tournaments | No Comments »

Native Softball Classic this weekend

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

by Dave Price, Special to The R-C


Cliff Simpson Jr. takes batting practice in Dresslerville Tuesday night in preparation for this weekend’s softball tournament.

Combine tradition with love for the game, some top-level talent, even a unique twist thrown in for good measure, and you have the ingredients for the Cal-Neva Native Softball Classic this weekend at Stodick Park.

A field of men’s fast-pitch softball teams from Nevada and California, in addition to at least one co-ed entry, is expected to play Saturday and Sunday in an event that has been held annually in Carson Valley since 1967.

Games are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday and conclude Sunday afternoon.

Though known by different names over the years, the tournament has long been a family affair, according to Loren Simpson, who is serving as tournament director for the second year.

Previously, his aunts, Virginia and Lenora Kizer, and before that, his father, Cliff Simpson, were all movers and shakers in putting on what is one of the few men’s fast-pitch tournaments remaining in Northern Nevada.

“This has been a family effort for years, since the beginning, really,” Simpson said. “It’s been a long time. This is our 42nd or 43rd year … it’s now the biggest and longest-running men’s fast-pitch tournament in the area.”

There’s been a surge of interest this year because 12 teams are expected to play in the fast-pitch division this weekend.

That’s opposed to last year, when the response was low enough that a one-pitch limit slow-pitch tournament was set up to bring in more teams.

“This is the most teams we’ve had in a decade, the most since we had nationals here,” Simpson said. “We’re still going to have a slow-pitch division.

I expect five or six teams to come out and play a round robin schedule and have fun.”

On the fast-pitch side, this tournament will serve as a tune-up for teams preparing for upcoming national tournaments. Among those are the North American Fastpitch Association men’s AA and A World Series on Aug. 13-16 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and the NAFA Masters West World Series for men’s 50-, 45-, 40-, 35-and-over, as well as women’s 35-and-over teams on Sept. 18-20 at Centennial Park in Carson City.

Proceeds from this weekend’s tournament will help cover entry fees for Dresslerville Athletic Club teams that plan to play in Carson City next month and for teams to play in tournaments next year, according to Simpson.

Three or four local teams are tentatively set to play this weekend, two of those led by longtime fixtures in Northern Nevada’s fast-pitch softball community, Junior and Craig Kizer.

“Junior still has great movement on the ball,” Simpson said of the long-time ace pitcher and well-known pitching coach.

Simpson, 43, said he may even try to pitch some himself.

“I’ve always loved to play. If I’m healed up from my injury, I’ll throw some,” he said, adding with a laugh. “I don’t have great speed or great movement on the ball like Junior. It’s all about placement; I need every edge I can get.”

Simpson hopes he can delegate most of the pitching load for his Cal-Neva squad to Arizona ace Sonny Perkins, who in 2007 was a member of USA men’s national team that finished second at the ISF Men’s World Cup in Prague and in 2005 was named designated hitter on the ISC All-World team.

“He’s pretty well known in our fast-pitch circle,” Simpson said of Perkins.

As for the unique twist, Craig Kizer has entered Red Storm, which consists of players from a team that won the NSA girls 18-and-under state tournament in Carson City last month. The state championship team included Carson City’s Cassie Vondrak and Fernley’s Sevreana Johnson, who have committed to play for Western Nevada College, and Carson City’s Katie McEwan, who is set to play for Santa Barbara City College.

“It’ll be a co-ed team … I’ll probably even play some myself, just to help direct them a little from the infield,” Kizer said. “Mostly, it’s to let the girls see some quality pitching.”

And to have some fun, he added.

“That’s what the game’s all about, having fun,” Kizer said. “A lot of those guys out there, we’ve been playing together and against each other for years.”

Simpson echoed that.

“It takes a lot of work. Is it worth the time? Oh, yeah, it’s good to see that calibre of pitching. We just love the game and we want to see it keep going.”

Posted in General, Nor Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

NAFA “A” World Series at Sioux Falls – Aug 6-9

Thursday, August 6th, 2009


(click logo for original news story)

Men’s softball teams clash in Sioux Falls

DAVE MARTIN •
DAMARTIN@ARGUSLEADER.COM

Sioux Falls will continue to bask in the national softball limelight for the next two weekends, but this time it will be the men who are the headliners.

Forty teams from the U.S. and Canada hit the diamonds today through Sunday at Harmodon Park for the North American Fastpitch Association (NAFA) Men’s ‘A’ World Series, while 11 teams will be competing for the 23-under world series title starting Friday.

Championship games are set for Sunday at 3 p.m. for the ‘A’ teams and 4:45 p.m. in the 23-under division.

Next weekend, Aug. 13-16, there will be 20 teams in the ‘AA’ division and 44 teams in the ‘A’ major division battling for world series titles.

“It’s a big challenge for us to host these tournaments because we got into it late – just after Thanksgiving,” said event organizer Kerwyn Lykken, the state’s regional NAFA director.

“I got a call from the national office asking us to host it after they took the original bid away from Appleton, Wis., which didn’t follow through on promised field improvements.”

Lykken said the national office likes to locate the tournaments in the Midwest, due to geographical considerations and past success at sites such as Fargo; Mankato, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa, and Eau Claire, Wis.

Teams competing in the ‘A’ division – the lowest of the five divisions (other than the 23-under group) – are expected from Canada and 13 states, including California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Lykken said teams are placed in divisions according to the rating given their top pitcher.

“We (state commissioners) rate all the pitchers by observing them pitch and clocking their pitches with a radar gun and then placing their teams in the various divisions to try to make the playing field as level as possible,” he said.

Lykken said men’s fastpitch is especially strong in Canada, the Midwest and “hotbed” states of Wisconsin and California.

South Dakota will be represented by six teams: Crow Bar No. 2, Scarlett’s and Silver Stars, all from Sioux Falls; Young’s Prime No. 2 from Watertown and teams from Ramona and Freeman.

Posted in NAFA, Tournaments | No Comments »

Southern Oregon Bandits Win the 49th Seattle Invitational

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Thanks to Charlie Bendock for some great coverage of this long running tournament.

The Southern Oregon Bandits defeat the Boise River Dogs to Win the 49th Seattle Invitational.

The Southern Oregon Bandits, behind the stellar pitching of the “ageless” Mike Trotter, defeated a very determined Boise River Dogs, 2 – 1 to capture the Championship in the 49th Annual Seattle Invitational at Kasch Park in Everett, WA over the weekend. The game was a classic fastpitch pitching duel between two hard nosed determined pitchers; Mike Trotter and Shane Alder of the River Dogs. Both pitchers had been workhorses for their teams throught the tournament and on Sunday in the 90 degree heat.

To reach the Championship Game, the River Dogs had to defeat a very stuborn team from Spokane, the Generals 7 – 5. After falling behind in the game 5 – 1 in the 2nd inning, a 3 run Home Run by All-Star Nick Harris in the 3rd inning ignited the come back by the River Dogs. Next they had to get by the pre-tournament favorite Team Jones with the 2008 Seattle Invitational Most Valuable Pitcher, Greg Barker.The River Dogs and Shane were up to the challenge, defeating Team Jones 1 – 0. Shane spaced out 5 Team Jones hits and struck out 9 in the victory. The Bandits had an equally tough road to the Championship Game.

In their first game against the Portland Pirates, both teams were tied 2 – 2 going into the 7th before the Bandits pushed across 3 runs in the top half of the inning. Mike came in and shut the door to preserve the 5 – 2 victory. The Bandits then had to defeat a very strong Outlaw team (seeded 2nd after Saturday’s pool play) from Mt Vernon, WA. After 7 innings the game was tied at 3 apiece. After 9 innings it was tied at 4 apiece. In the 10th, the Bandits were able to push across 3 runs to make it 7 – 4. The big blow in the inning was a triple by All-Star Josh McGowan. Mike went the distance in this game striking out 9 Outlaw batters.

The Championship Game was a real battle. The Bandits struck first in the 3rd inning. Consecutive singles by Branden Dixon and Josh McGowan after one out put runners at first and third. A slow roller to second by All-Star D.J. Ryan allowed Dixon to score and make it 1 – 0. The Bandits struck again in the top of the 7th. A lead off triple by Ryan Goodman got the inning started. Shane then struck out Nate Olson, but the ball got by catcher Jamie Kubena allowing Goodman to score making it 2 – 0. However, the River Dogs would not give up.
In the home half of the 7th, with one out, All-Star Brian Stanton doubled. Nick Harris followed with a single to drive in Stanton. Trotter then struck out Brian Blake and got Dan Ryan to groud out to preserve the victory. Just a Great Championship game!

The K-Club Defeats The Sting to Win the 49th Annual Seattle Invitational Consolation Game

The K-Club from Bremerton, WA banged out 13 hits in 4 innings to defeat the favored Sting 11 – 2 and win the 49th Annual Seattle Invitational Consolation Game. The K-Club started fast scoring 6 runs in the first inning as they sent 11 batters to the plate. That was all the cushion that All-Star pitcher Dan Kolda needed as he spaced out 3 hits and struck out 3 in 5 innings to preserve the victory for the K-Club. A real good victory for the K-Club, a young team in its first year of play. Jeremy Welsh (second base) had an outstanding tournament and was selected as an All-Star.

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49th Annual Seattle Invitational All Stars

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

49th Annual Seattle Invitational Fastpitch Tournament
Kasch Park, Everett August 1-2, 2009

All Stars

C – Jamie Kubena Boise River Dogs
IF – Josh McGowan Bandits
IF – Danny Ryan Boise River Dogs
IF – Jeremy Welsh K-Club
IF – Brian Stanton Boise River Dogs
IF – Nick Harris Boise River Dogs
OF – D J Ryan Bandits
OF – Ryan Goodman Bandits
UT – Marcus Durbin Bandits
UT – Danny Mecum Bandits
P – Dan Kolda K-Club
P – Darren Strang Sting

MVPitcher – Mike Trotter – So. Oregon Bandits
MVPlayer – Shane Alder – Boise River Dogs

Updated List of Previous Winners for the past 49 years after the jump

(more…)

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The Farm Claims ASA Major Title with 10 Win Weekend

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

The Farm Tavern, WI takes two from previously unbeaten NY Gremlins for ASA Major Title

The Farm Tavern overcame a first game loss to the New York Gremlins, winning ten games in a row thereafter, including two championship game wins over the runner-up Gremlins to claim the ASA Major National Title. The Farm handed the Gremlins their first loss of the tournament, 12-5 in the first championship game, and then 8-1 in the “if” game.

The string of wins against top flite teams was important for The Farm Tavern, whose big question mark heading into this month’s ISC World Tournament, was pitching. The Farm won the ISC World Tournament in 2007 at Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, on the strength of the arm of Most Valuable Pitcher Korrey Gorreau. Gorreau helped pitch them to a top 5 finish again last year, but retired prior to the 2009 season. The Farm made a key acquisition to replace Gorreau, signing Canadian Frank Cox away from the 2008 ISC World Champion Kitchener Rivershark Twins, and adding another hard throwing Canadian, Darryl Tilley. Tilley went down with an injury and was questionable for the 2009 ISC World Tournament.

At the World Fastball Invitational in Monkton last month, Tilley was unavailable, and Cox carried the lions share of innings, getting help from 18 year old Australian Andrew Blackshaw. The innings took their toll on Cox, though, as the weekend wore on, underscoring the questions fans had about the Farm’s chances at the ISC World Tournament. Judging from their outstanding performances at the ASA Major this weekend, the Farm (ranked # 5 at present) appear to be ready to challenge the world’s best.

At this weekend’s ASA Major, Cox won six games, including the final two on Sunday to win the title, while Tilley had four wins of his own. The Farm’s bats stayed hot on Sunday, with seven home runs on the day. The squad from Madison, Wisconsin, held to just 4 hits in their opening round loss to Bryan Newton, knocked out a total of 28 hits Sunday, (15 and 13, respectively.

In the first championship game, it was Jim Corbett (2 homers), Donny Hale (homer and 4 RBI) and Colin Abbott (homer, 2 RBI) combining for 8 RBI, to carry the offense. Rob Gray also homered for the Farm.

In the second championship game, Abbott and Corbett each homered again, and Zenon Winters added one more for the 209 ASA Major Champions.

New York pitcher Bryan Newton appeared to tire on Sunday, after picking up three wins (including the opening round games against the Farm) , to pitch his team into the finals. Despite falling twice on Sunday, the NY Gremlins turned some heads this weekend with their runner-up finish, including three wins over higher ranked teams. No team left South Bend without at least one loss, the champion Farm Tavern included.

Details from Sunday’s final two games:

Game 37 Sunday, August 2-9 a.m. game ends after 6 innings Red Field
Team Name — Hometown Runs Hits Errors
Visitor The Farm — Madison, WI 12 15 0
Home NY Gremlins — Staten Island, NY 5 6 1

Winning Pitcher: Frank Cox, Farm — WIN, 6 inn, 3 earned, 5 hits, 8 K’s, 4 BB’s; Darrell Tilley, Farm —0 inn, 2 earned, 1 hits, 1 BB’s
Losing Pitcher: Bryan Newton, Gremlins— LOSS, 2 inn, 5 earned, 7 hits, 1 K; Dave Lohman, Gremlins— 1 inn, 2
earned, 3 hits; Bill Hillhouse, Gremlins – 3 inn, 5 earned, 5 hits, 2 K’s

Highlights: Tom Owens, Farm —2 Singles, RBI; Donny Hale, Farm — Double, Home Run, 4 RBI’s; Colin Abbott, Farm
— Single, Home Run, 2 RBI’s; Rob Gray, Farm — Single, Home Run, RBI; Jim Corbett, Farm — 2 Home Runs, RBI; Mike Grant, Farm —2 Singles; Jordan Taveras, Gremlins — 2 Singles

Game 38 Sunday, August 2— 11 a.m. game ends after 5 innings Red Field
Team Name — Hometown Runs Hits Errors
Visitor The Farm — Madison, WI 8 13 0
Home NY Gremlins — Staten Island, NY 1 2 0

Winning Pitcher: Frank Cox, Farm — WIN, 5 inn, 1 earned, 2 hits, 5 K’s
Losing Pitcher: Bryan Newton, Gremlins – LOSS, 5 inn, 8 earned, 13 hits, 2 K’s
Highlights: Zenon Winters, Farm — Home Run, 2 RBI’s; Tom Owen, Farm —2 Singles, Colin Abbott, Farm — Home
Run, RBI; Jeff Goolagong, Farm — Triple; Rob Gray, Farm — 3 Singles, RBI; Jim Corbett, Farm — Single, Home Run, 2
RBI’s; Mike Grant, Farm —Single, 2 RBI’s; Kick Shailes, Gremlins—Single, Home Run, RBI

Click here for PDF Bracket

Click here for PDF printer friendly version of these game summaries and line scores. (PDF)
(Cap tip to Brent Swanson for the link)

Complete recap of scores and game summaries after the jump.

(more…)

Posted in ASA, Teams, Tournaments | No Comments »

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