Archive for March, 2007

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Hall of Fame Pitching Legend Herb Dudley Dies at Age 87

Monday, March 19th, 2007

From the ASA National office, courtesy of JRWiliamson:

OKLAHOMA CITY – Herb Dudley, who had a fast-pitch softball career that defied imagination, passed away early Friday morning, March 16th, of congestive heart failure at Lynchburg General Hospital in Lynchburg, Va. Dudley was 87 years-old.

Dudley’s career in fast pitch spanned five decades, starting in 1940 and ending in 1981. Ironically, he started and ended his career with the same team—the Clearwater Bombers of Clearwater, Fla., who won 10-ASA national championships. In addition to the Bombers, Dudley played for teams in Atlanta, Ga., Ashland, Ohio, Levittown, N.Y., Long Island, N.Y., Fort Wayne, Ind., Miami, Fla., Mountain View, Calif., Rising Sun, Md., and Allentown, Pa.

It is estimated Dudley won more than 1,000 games during his career and compiled a record of 28-9 in 16 ASA national championships. Five times he earned ASA All-America honors and was named as the most valuable player in the 1949 and 1957 ASA National Championships.

In 1949 he established the ASA national tourney single-game strikeout record when he fanned 55 batters in 21 innings against Okmulgee, Okla., in the ASA National Championship in Little Rock, Ark. After beating Okmulgee, 1-0, Dudley hurled the next game, fanning 12 more batters in a 4-0 win against Mercedes, Texas. During the six games Dudley hurled in the tournament, he fanned 130 batters, including 89 in 46 innings the last two nights.

That season was part of a five-year period in which Dudley won 142 games and lost only 10 for the Bombers, striking out 2,475 batters, hurling 110 shutouts and 45 no-hitters. He hurled more than 100 no-hitters during his career. Dudley was so well respected by the Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball, that each year at the conclusion of the ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship the Herb Dudley Outstanding Pitching Award is given to the tournaments most outstanding pitcher.

After retiring as an active player, Dudley worked for the Dudley Sports Company (no relation) until 1995 and was employed by the Clearwater Senior High School for 30 years as a teacher. He also gave pitching clinics throughout the United States during the summers.

Dudley, who was born December 19, 1919, was inducted into the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in 1986 in the men’s fast pitch category. He has also been enshrined in the Stetson University Sports Hall of Fame, Indianapolis Indiana Hall of Fame and the Florida Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Dudley is survived by his wife, Lucille, two sons, David and Tommy, three daughters, Susan, Becky and Sharon, 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held March 23, 2007 at the Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Clearwater, Fla.

Posted in ASA, General, Players | No Comments »

California Lumberkings (ISCII) Unveil Roster for 2007

Monday, March 19th, 2007

P- Darren Strang
P- Mike Egerdeen
P- Anthony Martinez
C- Jon Nimmo
Inf-Troy Parker
Inf-Kasey Knight
Inf-Carlos Flores
Inf-Kevin Castillo
Inf-Greg Hicks
Of- Chris Hunt
Of- Tim Hunt
Of- Brian Teeters
Of- Trevor Knight

Info provided by David Weldin

Editor’s notes: Last year’s Lumberkings were the first ever team from California to compete in the tough ISC II Tournament of Champions, where they qualified for the playoff round, and advanced with a first round playoff win before being eliminated in a nail-biter, extra inning game against a strong Canadian foe. This year, pitcher Joe Nimmo will find himself on the other side of the plate, with Mike Egerdeen joining the pitching staff. Young Anthony Martinez, who helped pitch the Santa Barbara Young Bucks to the ASA 23-and-under National title last year, was on the roster in 2006, but did not make the trip to Kitchener for the ISC II tournament, due to an injury. This year’s club is also strengthened by a pair of brothers – the Hunts from So Cal and the Knights from the Pacific Northwest. Nimmo and slugger Brian Teeters will anchor the middle of the batting order, while newcomer Kevin Castillo will add his talents to an already loaded lineup. Castillo was a member of the USA Jr. Men in 2005 at PEI, and a teammate of Anthony Martinez on the 23-and-under National championship team last year. The ISC II division has been dominated by teams from Ontario, Canada, but this year, the Lumberkings will go knowing they can indeed compete, and will be bolstered by the improvement to their roster and line-up for 2007.

Posted in ISC-II, So Cal, Teams | No Comments »

May 1 Deadline for ISC PRAWNs and Out-of-Region Forms

Friday, March 16th, 2007

The May 1 deadline for ISC teams to file PRAWN declarations, preliminary rosters and Out of Region forms, is rapidly approaching.

This is a reminder of the upcoming deadline.

PRAWN Players – Each team having PRAWN players must file a preliminary roster form by May 1, declaring their PRAWN’s for the 2007 season. The new roster form was recently announced and is one submitted by email attachment. The form is available at www.iscfastpitch.com From front page, click on Rules and Forms in the left margin. We encourage teams to download the roster form to their computer, complete the form, save it to your computer and then send your roster by email attachment to the proper statisticians. Then, when the next roster due date arrives July 15, you only need to make changes to the saved form.

PRAWN declaration is not optional. It is an ISC rule.

Preliminary Rosters – Preliminary rosters for both World Tournament and ISC II teams are also due May 1. The roster form is found on the ISC Web Site www.iscfastpitch.com Click on Rules and Forms in the left margin. Preliminary rosters are to be submitted to the proper statisticians whose email addresses appear on the roster form itself. Review saving and filing process covered in PRAWN filings above.

Letter of Intent – Out of Region (OOR) Form – The 2007 season begins the new Out of Region concept, replacing the former Out of Area plan. The newly revised Out of Region form is also displayed on the ISC web site in the Rules and Forms page. To save teams and players time and to avoid 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation faxes, we will accept an OOR form without the players signature, provided the player sends an email to iscken@comcast.net, stating their intention to play for XYZ team in 2007. That email must arrive no later than May 1 and the team manager can mail the actual OOR form.

The operation is the same as the former Out of Area program. The forms and fee must be postmarked to the ISC Executive Director no later than May 1. The first three OOR players per team are subject to a $100 fee each. The fourth and subsequent OOR players per team are subject to a $300 fee each.

Out of Region rules apply to both ISC World Tournament and ISC II teams.

If anyone has difficulty downloading or printing these forms from the web site, please email iscken@comcast.net and a form or forms will be sent back to you as an email attachment.

Ken

Posted in ISC, ISC-II | No Comments »

18th Annual Skins Tournament – Canberra, Australia

Wednesday, March 14th, 2007

From Al’s Fastball:

G’day Al

CANBERRA, AU

As per our phone conversation we are running our 18th consecutive men’s tournament in Canberra November 30 – December2 2007.

This tournament has now taken on a skins format with upwards of $20,000 in prize money. It is a club format but as you know all clubs try to strengthen themselves. Each team is guaranteed 2 games and the final game is the two teams who have earned the most prize money in the pool games.

We would sure love to see our first team from North America. Teams can contact me at theharrows(at)optusnet.com.au

To continue our big week of softball we’re hosting the South Pacific Classic in Canberra at the Hawker International Softball Complex. It starts on Wednesday 5th December and runs until Saturday 8th December. It will consist of 5 teams (Nationals) – Japan, Samoa, World Champs New Zealand and Australia will put two teams in, consisting of the top 34 Australian players.

The Skins Tournament is used as part of our selection process so you can see the calibre of ball it generates. My main point of this whole exercise was to try and promote our game across Australia and hopefully like you do so well across the world.

Yours in Fastpitch Softball
Bob Harrow.
theharrows(at)optusnet.com.au

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Softball Canada Announces Int’l Test Series with New Zealand

Monday, March 12th, 2007

From Al’s Fastball:

Softball Canada is pleased to announce a six game Men’s National Team test series against New Zealand. The games between World #1 ranked New Zealand and #2 ranked Canada will take place in Ontario, Canada June 14-15-16,2007. The doubleheaders will be played June 14 in Orillia, June 15 in Sebringville and June 16 in Kitchener. Game times and ticket details will be forthcoming.

New Zealand Coach Eddie Kohlhase exclaimed that “this test series provides us the opportunity to play against the best competition in the World. The Black Sox hold our traditional foes Canada
in the highest regard and we are absolutely excited at the prospect of playing quality International Softball.”

Canadian Coach Mark Smith stated ” The test series against New Zealand provides the opportunity to measure ourselves against the World number 1. Much like our team, New Zealand is in the preparation phase for the 2009 World Championships. This event represents a tremendous opportunity for both programs to evaluate performance.”

The teams last met in the Gold medal game of the 2004 World Championships in New Zealand, with New Zealand taking home the gold with a 9-5 victory.

Softball Canada has a number of other high profile male softball events scheduled in the coming years. In June, 2008 Whitehorse, Yukon will be hosting the International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Men’s World Championships. The 2009 schedule sees Charlottetown, PEI hosting the Under 19 Junior Men’s North American Championships while Saskatoon, Saskatchewan plays host to the ISF Senior Men’s World Championships.

For further information:

Harvey Stevenson
Operations Manager – National Teams
250-896-9695
fanzone(at)softball.ca

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Monday, March 12th, 2007

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Red Rock Invitational Now ISC WT Qualifier

Monday, March 5th, 2007

Only One Spot Left in Red Rock Tournament

Chris Santos jcsantos25@msn.com ISC US West VP has just announced that the 2007 Red Rock Invitational Tournament being held May 5 and 6 in St. George, Utah is now offering one (1) ISC World Tournament berth to the highest finishing team from the US West region.

8th Annual Red Rock International Invitational – St. George, Utah

TOURNAMENT DATES: May 5 and 6, 2007
ENTRY FEE: $375 US
PITCHING RULE: ISC
BERTHS: ONE (1) ISC WT berth to highest finisher from US West region
ENTRY DEADLINE: March 15, 2007
FORMAT: Round Robin into single elimination.
GAMES GUARANTEED: Four
ENTRY CHECKS
Payable to:
Roy Stout
P.O. Box 812
Lake Hughes, CA 93532

We are looking for a 16 team tournament again this year as there were 16 teams in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Currently we have 15 teams that have either confirmed by having sent their entry deposit or have given a verbal or written commitment to attend. Most have stated the ‘checks in the mail’ so please if you are attending, send your e-mail confirmation and entry fee ASAP.

Teams that are attending to date:

1. Portland Demarini
2. SoCal Bombers
3. River City Rockers
4. Houston Aces
5. Team Minnesota
6. SoCal Tribes
7. Larry Miller Hogs
8. Stockton Italian Athletic Club
9. Panteras, California
10. Innovative Communications, Utah
11. Bud King Pino
12. Castlewood II, Utah
13. A-1 Tank, Northern Cal
14. California Lumberkings
15. Mexicali, Mexico

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17th Annual Best of the West Tournament – June 2-3, 2007

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Best of West to Provide Berths to ISC World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions

Fields 1 & 2 at Pershing Park, Santa Barbara, CA, June 2 – 3, 2007

The 17th Annual Best of The West Men’s Open Fastpitch Tournament will take place in Santa Barbara on the weekend of June 2–3, 2007, which is much earlier this year, than in previous years.

This year, for the first time, The Best of The West will provide a berth into the 2007 ISC World Tournament in Kitchener, Ontario Canada and a berth to the 2007 ISC II Tournament of Champions.

Entry Fee will be $400, with a deadline for entry fees of April 15th. We will accept the first 8 teams with entry fees committed by that date.

Note: Any team can play but only US West Region teams that play with their ISC roster are eligible to win a berth.

Make entry fee checks out to “Dave Blackburn” and mail to:

Dave Blackburn
Tournament Director
Best of The West
1720 Pacific Ave. #106
Venice, CA 90291

Roy Stout will again serve as “Umpire in Chief”.

RULES IN EFFECT:

ISC Pitching Rule

No innings start after 1 hour 30 min time limit
7 Runs after 5 innings
Tie breaker in the 8th

ONLY STARTERS may re-enter

5 warm-up pitches to start the game, then 3 / inning
Speedup rule for Catcher on base, with 2 outs – last out can run

DR must be designated at start of game, but is not considered a starter for re-entry purposes
Sunday games – no time limit

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

Coming South on Hwy 101, from Northern California, exit at Castillo. Go right on Castillo two blocks. The two fields at Pershing Park are on the right.

Coming North on Hwy 101, from Southern California, exit at the Garden Street off ramp. Go left to Cabrillo. Go right on Cabrillo about a half mile.
At Castillo, go right, about 1 block, and the two fields at Pershing Park are on the left.

Info on 3 Affordable Hotels Below:

Motel 6 – Santa Barbara/Carpinteria North – $68.99 + Tax for two Adults, 2 beds
4200 Via Real
US 101 at Santa Monica Road/Santa Claus Lane
Carpinteria, California, United States, 93013
Phone: (805) 684-6921

Motel 6 – Santa Barbara/Carpinteria South – $68.99 + Tax for two adults, 2 beds
5550 Carpinteria Avenue
US 101 at Bailard Avenue/Casitas Pass Road
Carpinteria, California, United States, 93013
Phone: (805) 684-8602

Motel 6 – Santa Barbara – State Street – $95.99 + Tax
3505 State Street
US 101 at SR 225/State Street
Santa Barbara, California, United States, 93105
Phone: (805) 687-5400

See you in Sunny Santa Barbara…

Dave Blackburn
310-266-7803
daveb@virtvent.com

Editor’s note: Santa Barbara is an extremely popular summer getaway, so hotels book up fast. Make your reservations EARLY.

A bit more on the Best of the West:


The image above is from an old T-shirt from the 2nd Best of the West in 1992, in the days when the “Bombers” were from Vista 😉 Recognize any of those other teams?

The tournament was started by Al Ruegsegger and originally played at Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach, and now enters its 17th year in a row, the longest running men’s open tournament in California. For many years now, the tournament has been headed up for years by the ISC’s streaming media maven, David Blackburn. It’s been played at Palmdate, Soboba, Winchester, and last year and this year in beautiful Santa Barbara.

The ballpark is a few blocks from the ocean. Want to go to the tournament but don’t feel like driving? Catch Amtrak. . Union Station in downtown LA is an easy drive on the weekend, and you can enjoy a cold one enroute, and snooze on the way home. The Sunday morning trains will get you there in time for the semis and finals. (That’s what Maddy and I did last year) The train station is just .7 of a mile from the fields. .Click here to see the ballpark. .

Posted in General, So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

ISC Qualfying Events – Update #4

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Below is an updated list of 2007 ISC Qualifying Leagues and Tournaments. There are several changes and additions to this calendar. Please review it carefully. Questions about qualifying tournaments should be directed to the appropriate Regional Vice President.

Canada East Region – Blair Setford VP – blairjs@rogers.com
June 8-10 – Torbay, Newfoundland
Berths: World Tournament and ISC II ToC
Double elimination
In region teams only
Tournament Director – Bob McGowan 519-941-6767
Local Contact – Harold Kelly 709-727-9871 harold_kelly@hotmail.com
Umpire In Chief – Keith Pender keithpender@esdnl.ca

June 22-24 – Innerkip, Ontario
Berths: World Tournament and ISC II ToC
Double elimination
In region teams only
Tournament Director – Bob McGowan 519-941-6767
Local Contact – Howie Brown 519-421-6334 floorcreations@bellnet.ca
UIC – Bruce Bierman bierhawk@earthlink.net

June 22-24 – Sydenham, Ontario
Berths: ISC II ToC
Double elimination
In region teams only
Tournament Director – Bob McGowan 519-941-6767
Local Contact – Adam Lake 613-484-1313 paullake@kingston.net
UIC – Peter Kluszczynski kluz2@idirect.com

Eastern Canada Travel League Tournament
July 27-29 – TBA
Berths: World Tournament for 2008
League only teams
Tournament Director – Colin Smith905-790-8226 colinsmith@look.ca
UIC – Bruce Bierman bierhawk@earthlink.net

Eastern Ontario Home League Tournament
August 24-26 – TBA
Berths: ISC II ToC for 2008
UIC – Bruce Bierman bierhawk@earthlink.net

Western Ontario Home League Tournament
August 24-26 – TBA
Berths: ISC II ToC for 2008
UIC – Bruce Bierman bierhawk@earthlink.net

US West Region – Chris Santos, VP jcsantos25@msn.com

May 5 & 6
Red Rock Invitational
St. George, UT
Berths: 1 WT berth to highest finishing team from US West region.
Contact: Roy Stout umpire5@verizon.net 661-724-1551
UIC: Roy Stout

May 19 & 20
So Cal Bombers Invitational
Palm Springs, CA
Berths: 1 WT and 1 ISC II
Contact: Ralph Trejo ielooking@yahoo.com 909-841-0462 C or 909-889-3700 W
UIC – Roy Stout umpire5@verizon.net
Note: Any team can play but only US West Region teams that play with their ISC roster are eligible to win a berth.

May 25, 25 & 27
Joe Santos Memorial
Pueblo, CO
Berths: 1 WT and 1 ISC II
Contact: Chris Santos jcsantos25@msn.com 303-419-7352 – cell or 303-690-4847 – home
UIC – Ginger Rendon gingerrendon@hotmail.com 719-564-5575
Note: Any team can play but only US West Region teams that play with their ISC roster are eligible to win a berth.

June 16 & 17
Best of the West Tournament
Santa Barbara, CA
Berths: 1 WT and 1 ISC II berth
Contact: Dave Blackburn daveb@virtvent.com 310-266-7803
UIC – Roy Stout umpire5@verizon.net
Note: Any team can play but only US West Region teams that play with their ISC roster are eligible to win a berth.

US East Region – Bill Howell, VP – william.f.howell@navy.mil

April 20-22
War Eagle Fastpitch Classic
Auburn, AL – Auburn Softball Complex
Berths: 1 ISC II berth to champ, regardless of region
Contact: Robby Carter rcarter@auburnalabama.org (334) 501-2976
UIC: Sam Kelley 314-279-6168 H or 314-416-6459 W alaump@aol.com

May 25-28
Bahamas Invitational
Abaco, Bahamas
Berths: 1 WT to champ, regardless of region
Contact: Haziel McDonald whyworry@coralwave.com (H) 242-365-6436; (W) 242-359-6449; 242 359-6449 (Cell)
UIC – John Gretz jjg7279@comcast.net (703) 975-4939 (cell)

May 25 – 27
George Baumann Memorial Tournament
Erie, PA
Berths: 2 WT and 1 ISC II to top two highest finishing teams, regardless of region.
Contact: Bruce Baumann BaumannTourney@hotmail.com
UIC – George Ambrose geoasa@velocity.net

June 8 – 10
Midland Invitational
Midland, MI – Emerson Park
Berths: 2 WT to top two highest finishing US East teams. If not 2 US East teams, highest finishing team(s) from any region.
Contact: Kyle Beane kbeane8@yahoo.com
UIC – Joe Squires heyumpy@yahoo.com 989-631-7043

June 23 & 24
Ashland, OH
Berths: 1 WT 2 ISC II to any team from any region.
Contact: Mike Van Dine magicn2@yahoo.com 419-496-8496
UIC – Garry Kline gram41cob@aol.com 419-651-2992

June 29 – July 1
Croghan, NY
Contact: Charlie Walseman 518-207-6992 Charlie_H_Walseman@cargill.com or Jon Walseman 315-346-6681
Berth: 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing US East team
UIC: Chris Tehonica

June 29 – July 1
Allentown, PA
Patriots Invitational
Contact: Don Hunsicker 610-797-6039 Home or 484-357-6135 Cell
Berth: 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing team from any region
UIC: Jon Adams jasa60@aol.com 610-360-4429 Cell

June 29 – July 1
Frankenmuth, MI – Heritage Park
Michigan Qualifier
Contact: Tom Stasik 989-652-2058 tomstasik@gmail.com
Berth: 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing team from US East
UIC: Rick Havercroft 989-790-0372 H isfump@aol.com

2007 ISC II Berths already secured:
Tiffany’s – 2006 Mid Michigan Travel League
Rise – 2006 Mid Atlantic Travel League

US Central Region – Dave LeBlanc, VP farm32@aol.com

May 25, 26 & 27
Walcott Memorial Day Qualifier – 8-10 team round robin – single elimination
Walcott, IA
Berths: 1 World Tournament berth available to any team from any region
Contacts: Sean Marten ssmarten@aol.com 563-391-8307 or Ron Foster 563-650-2837
UIC: TBD

May 25, 26 & 27
Wisconsin Qualifier
Circle Tap & Denmark, WI
Berths: 1 World Tournament and 1 ISC II berths available to any team from any region
Contact: Dave LeBlanc
farm32@aol.com H 920-830-2128 or C 920-851-2349
UIC: Dave LeBlanc

June 8, 9 & 10
Liberty Bank – Albaugh, Inc – DSM Hall of Fame Tournament
Elkhart, IA
Berths: 1 World Tournament berth avaiable to any team from any region
Contact: Tom Owen owentom@johndeere.com
UIC: TBD

June 15 – 23 (two weekends)
Iowa ISC Qualifier
Walcott, IA
Berths: 1 World Tournament and 1 ISC II ToC to US Central teams.
Entries: Limited to teans in US Central region
Contact: Pat Sullivan patsullivanisc@aol.com 563-583-4381
UIC: Pat Sullivan patsullivanisc@aol.com 563-583-4381

July 13 – 15
AFSA Classic
Aurora, IL
Berths: 1 World Tournament 1 ISC II berths available to any team from any region
Contact: Dave Perkins dperk10@gmail.com
UIC – Les Novak bestumpln@aol.com

Midwest Softball Congress League
Berths: 1 ISC II berth
Contact: Wayne Fisher wpfisher@mchsi.com
UIC: Cathy Crayton (563)388-9503

Wisconsin Travel League
Berths: 1 World Tournament berth
Contact: Dave LeBlanc farm32@aol.com
UIC: Dave LeBlanc farm32@aol.com


Canada West Region – Ferdi Nelissen, VP ferdi@mts.net
Qualifier Coordinator – Craig Donaldson cdonalds5@shaw.ca

June 1 – 3
Rambler Park Fastball League Tournament
Regina, SK – Rambler Park
Berths: 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing team from Canada West.
Contact: Harvey Curts 306-545-0682 fastball@sasktel.net
UIC: Stan Hilderman 306-566-3089 shilderman@saskpower.com

June 8 – 10
Ducks Unlimited Fastpitch Shoot-Out
Melfort, Saskatchewan
Berths: 1 World Tournament berth to any team from any region
Contact: Keith Mackintosh k_mackintosh@ducks.ca 306-665-7355
UIC: Dave Moore mooredj@shaw.ca 306-934-3006

June 9 – 10
South Hill Qualifier
Vancouver, BC
Berths: 1 ISC II berth to highest finishing team from any region.
Contact: Craig Donaldson 604-525-3440 cdonalds5@shaw.ca
UIC: Bill Watson 604-992-4948 wmgwatson@telus.net

July 27 – 29
Vancouver Challenge
Vancouver, BC – South Memorial Park
Berths: 1 World Tournament berth to highest finishing team from Canada West
Contact: John Mulka 604-649-1047 vancouverchallenge@hotmail.com
UIC: Bob Henning 604-790-1166 henner@shaw.ca

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