Starts Thursday, Aug 30
Click here for the bracket and more information on the ASA “B” Nationals in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
Archive for August, 2007
ASA “B” Nationals – Altamonte Springs, FL
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007NAFA “AAA” World Series Recap
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007Recap of the NAFA “AAA” World Series:
1 Midwest Stampede Des Moines, Iowa 5 – 1
2 Albaugh, Inc. Elkhart, Iowa 2 – 2
3 Original Des Moines Metros Des Moines, Iowa 2 – 2
4 Kegel Black Knights Fargo, ND 2 – 2
5 Omaha Fastpitch Omaha, Neb 0 – 2
Red Angels Omaha, Neb 0 – 2
Game 1 – Kegel Black Knights 5 Red Angels 0
Game 2 – Original Des Moines Metros 5 Omaha Fastpitch 1
Game 3 – Albaugh, Inc. 5 Kegel Black Knights 2
Game 4 – Original Des Moines Metros 1 Midwest Stampede 0
Game 5 – Midwest Stampede 7 Red Angels 4, eliminated
Game 6 – Kegel Black Knights 13 Omaha Fastpitch 2, 5 innings, eliminated
Game 7 – Albaugh, Inc. 4 Original Des Moines Metros 1
Game 8 – Midwest Stampede Kegel Black Knights
Game 9 – Midwest Stampede 9 Original Des Moines Metros 3, eliminated
Championship Game
Game 10 – Midwest Stampede 7 Albaugh, Inc. 0
“If Necessary†Championship Game
Game 11 – Midwest Stampede 3 Albaugh, Inc. 2, eliminated
Midwest Stampede 2007 NAFA Class AAA World Champions
Class AAA All World Team
Most Valuable Player
Matt Palazzo, 2B, Albaugh, Inc. (Elkhart, Iowa)
Most Valuable Pitcher
Regan Manley, Midwest Stampede (Des Moines, Iowa)
Both award winners become part of the All World team
First Team All World
P Steve Langley Kegel Black Knights Fargo, ND
P Al Rebling Original Des Moines Metrs Des Moines, Iowa
P,OF Karl Gollan Albaugh, Inc. Elkhart, Iowa
C Ben Fjelland Albaugh, Inc. Elkhart, Iowa
C, OF BJ Boom Kegel Black Knights Fargo, ND
1B Brian Lammers Albaugh, Inc. Elkhart, Iowa
1B Eric Lewis Kegel Black Knights Fargo, ND
2B Rhys Casley Midwest Stampede Des Moines, Iowa
OF Marquis Cody Omaha Fastpitch Omaha, Neb
OF Dave Lay Red Angels Waverly, Minn
OF Stacy McLean Midwest Stampede Des Moines, Iowa
OF Doug Peyton Original Des Moines Metrs Des Moines, Iowa
DP Todd Budke Original Des Moines Metrs Des Moines, Iowa
DP James Darby Red Angels Waverly, Minn
DP Jeremy Manley Midwest Stampede Des Moines, Iowa
ISC Changes For 2008
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007Here are the significant 2008 changes approved by the ISC Board of Directors in Kitchener. These are in no particular order of importance.
Carrol Forbes Foundation Scholarships – Beginning immediately, high school seniors are eligible to win this $500 scholarship. Previously, applicants were required to have completed some college study. If a high school senior wins the scholarship, payment will be withheld until at least one semester of college is completed.
A 2nd annual scholarship has been approved so two $500 scholarships will be awarded each year. Details about the scholarship program are shown on the ISC web site.
Mexico and Caribbean Now Part of International Region – Effective with the 2008 season, all of Mexico and the Caribbean will be considered part of the International Region. Previously, Mexico was included in both US West and US Central regions and the Caribbean was part of US East region. This means any players living in Mexico or the Caribbean will be considered Out Of Region for US and Canadian based teams.
Mike Cutro New US East Regional Commissioner – Mike Cutro, sponsor and manager of the CPI team of Oswego, NY has been named a US East Regional Commissioner. Mike brings a passion and knowledge of the game including familiarity with the ISC II caliber teams in NY state and New England.
Team Entry Fees $350 for World Tournament and ISC II ToC – Beginning in 2008, all team entry fees are standardized at $350 for both World Tournament and ISC II teams.
2008 Hall of Fame Inductees – Hal Britton, Denny Bruckert, Doug Chase, Al Doran, Floyd “Blue” La Vergne and Gordon Wise will be inducted into the ISC Hall of Fame in Kimberly, August 10, 2008.
Catcher Courtesy Runner Rule Eliminated – The prior rule allowing for a 2-out courtesy runner for the catcher, has been eliminated.
US West Region Changes – El Paso, Hudspeth, Culbertson, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties in west Texas are now part of US West region.
Dean Oscar Elected ISC President – Dean Oscar of Reedsburg, WI was elected ISC President replacing Dick Mason who chose to not run for re-election. Dick remains as an ISC Commissioner in the US West region. All other previous officers were re-elected.
New Statistics Category Added – A pitching category was added as an official ISC statistic. It is for pitchers with the longest consecutive win streak in ISC World Tournament competition. This will be added in the 2008 ISC Guide and placed on the ISC web site.
Kimberly Will Be A 7-day Tournament In 2008. ISC II 4-days – Due to requests from host cities, the 2008 ISC World Tournament will be a 7-day tournament, from Sunday thru Saturday. Likewise, the ISC II Tournament of Champions will be a 4-day tournament from Wednesday thru Saturday.
The first official function in Kimberly will be the Hall of Fame Induction Breakfast on Sunday morning, August 10, 2008 with tournament games beginning at 12 noon. Opening Ceremonies will be held Sunday evening. The team registration and manager meeting will be conducted Saturday evening or late afternoon.
Ken
TNT/South Lebanon still relishing tourney win
Monday, August 27th, 2007
By DON SCOTT
Sports Correspondent
Lebanon Daily NewsIt took 20 years, but Lebanon has returned to a top spot in the softball world thanks to South Lebanon/TNT Sanitation’s perfect outing in Kitchener, Ontario.
In 1987, Jolly Molly, a perennial softball powerhouse along with South Lebanon in the local league, won the Class A National title in Redding, Calif.
This year, South Lebanon/TNT went a step better by winning the International Softball Congress II Tournament that featured 35 teams — eight from the U.S. and 27 Canadian squads.
Ranked 10th in the tourney, SL/TNT finished its season with a 51-5 record by winning 20 consecutive games since July 2. Two of those victories came when they defeated the two top-ranked teams in the semifinal and title games in Kitchener to win the championship.
“It was almost 20 years since Jolly Molly won that national tournament,†field manager Lee Lutz said, “but this is much bigger because it was an international tournament. It was also the first time in the six years of the tourney that a team from the United States won it. We went 4-0 in pool play, got a bye in the first round of the single elimination round, so we had one less game to play, then won all four after that.â€
Click here to read the rest of the story at our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”.
ISC Releases 2008 PRAWN List
Monday, August 27th, 2007
Following completion of the 2007 ISC World Tournament, and All-World award winners, the new PRAWN list for 2008 has been released. See the official ISC website as to the limits on the number of players on the list a team may have and other related rules. www.iscfastpitch.com
Click here for the complete detail on the 2008 List.
Click here to read our 2006 post explaining the PRAWN rule.
2008 PRAWN List:
1. Abbott, Colin
2. Algar, Paul
3. Beane, Kyle
4. Boom, Chad
5. Box, Darren
6. Boys, David
7. Brush, Boomer
8. Budke, Todd
9. Casley, Rhys
10. Cassells, Kevin
11. Cook, Gareth
12. Crawford, Greg
13. Dambrosio, Reno
14. Darling, Matt
15. Davis, Travis
16. Degroat, Frank
17. Delarwelle, Chris
18. Eidt, Jody
19. Ellsworth, Jeff
20. Fjelland, Ben
21. Ferguson, Chad
22. Folkard, Adam
23. Fowler, Dwayne
24. Gareau, Korrey
25. Garrity, Gregg
26. Garvey, Don
27. Gegen, Fred
28. Gehrke, Rob
29. Ghostkeeper, Chad
30. Giesbrecht, Rob
31. Gollan, Karl
32. Goolagong, Jeff
33. Gosse, Ward
34. Gray, Rob
35. Hale, Donny
36. Hill, Jason
37. Holoien, Dean
38. Keifel, Kris
39. Kelly, Harold
40. Kirkpatrick, Andrew
41. Koert, Paul
42. Kolkus, Patrik
43. Kranz, Bill
44. Kunka, Tony
45. Lalonde, Adam
46. Laulu, Wayne
47. Leonardo, Eduardo
48. Lessard, Tyler “Tex”
49. Levy, Dale
50. Mackintosh, Keith
51. Mackintosh, Pat
52. Macumber, Tim
53. Makea, Thomas
54. Manley, Jeremy
55. Martin, Jarrad
56. Martin, Todd
57. Mata, Lucas
58. Mayson, Derek
59. Mclean, Stacy
60. McKenzie, Colin
61. Medwedrich, Andrew
62. Miljavac, Chris
63. Monfils, Paul
64. Moraga, Omar
65. Muizelaar, Gerald
66. Mullaley, Steve
67. Needham, Nick
68. Neemia, Aaron
69. Neveau, Brian
70. Nukunuku, Nathan
71. O’Brien, Robbie
72. O’Brien, Sean
73. Perkins, Phil
74. Potskin, Evan
75. Reichart, Kevin
76. Rosebush, Paul
77. Rubley, Trent
78. Running, Steve
79. Rychcik, Shawn
80. Sandback, Darrell
81. Santilliano, Marc
82. Schucker, Steve
83. Schultz, Todd
84. Shailes, Nick
85. Shannon, Patrick
86. Shewfelt, Chris
87. Simmons, Bill
88. Skillings, Dan
89. Smith, Adam
90. Sorenson, Mark
91. Stires, Steve
92. Taveras, Jordan
93. Twachtmann, Todd
94. Twordick, Brad
95. Underhill, Nick
96. Wodtke, John
97. White, Michael
98. White, Ron
99. Wilson, Jeff
100. Wilson, Travis
101. Wolfe, Ryan
102. Zack, Darren
News Story on Frank Cox, Sr. Canadians
Monday, August 27th, 2007From The Telegram, Newfoundland, Canada
Import arm focused on task
Cox wants to bring first title to province
ROBIN SHORT
The TelegramTim McCarver, Steve Carlton’s personal catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of the 1980s, once joked he figured to be buried 60 feet, 6 inches from the Hall of Fame southpaw.
We won’t go that far, but Frank Cox’s relationship with receiver Sean O’Brien enticed one of Canada’s top fastpitch hurlers to join the host team for the 2007 Labatt national senior men’s championship in St. John’s.
So far, Roebothan, McKay, Marshall’s MVP could be Sean O’Brien.
“Me and Sean,” said Cox, after tossing two-hit ball in Roebothan, McKay, Marshall’s 1-0 win over Brookfield Elks of Nova Scotia before a packed house Sunday night, “go back a long time, eight or 10 years.
“Sean asked me a couple of years ago to play for Newfoundland when the nationals come here. We’ve been through a lot together, won eight rings (nationals and International Softball Congress championships) together. It’s hard to go against that.”
Cox, a mailman from Owen Sound, Ont., is the host club’s import pitcher for the nationals, hoping to do what other hired arms – southpaw Steve Price and Todd Martin come to mind – couldn’t, and that’s win this province’s first national senior men’s championship.
And the feeling is if this Roebothan, McKay, Marshall squad can’t break the goose egg, no team can. Sean and Rob O’Brien both have national team experience, along with Colin Abbott, whose ticket is punched for the provincial Sports Hall of Fame, and Steven Mullaley, Jason Hill and Blair Ezekiel also represent the new breed of young softball stars and Ward Gosse and Darrell Walsh will go down as among the best to ever play in these parts.
But the, er, buck stops with Cox, who surely isn’t coming to Newfoundland from Ontario because he likes breezy Caribou Complex.
“Sure, there’s pressure, but that’s what I’m here for,” he said. “If I can take pressure off the other guys, great. But when you do feel pressure, you just put up the zeros.
“Pressure is what you make of it.”
While Cox was doing his job on the rubber, mowing down nine Brookfield batters while allowing just a single walk, Robbie O’Brien made a triumphant homecoming. Born and raised in the east end of St. John’s with his brother, O’Brien now lives in Elora, Ont., the province he’s resided in the past decade or so.
After Gosse stroked a one-out single in the top of the sixth inning, Abbott walked, setting the stage for O’Brien, whose bloop single to left field scored Michael Carroll, pinch-running for Gosse.
It was one of only three hits off Elks’ hurler Pat Slawnwhite. Abbott had the other.
“To come out here and win by the mercy rule would have been the worse thing for us,” Robbie O’Brien said. “Now we know that everyone is gunning for us.”
Cox knows that feeling all too well. He’s won three ISC and five Canadian titles, including the last two with St. Thomas, Ont. Mullaley and Tim Macumber, a Nova Scotian donning Newfoundland colours, also played for St. Thomas last summer.
So why leave a good thing in his home province?
“It’s hard, but sometimes you have to move on and it’s what I wanted to do,” Cox said. “There’s lots of fans here, the teams get great support and there’s some great young ball players here.
“Yes, we’re aware Newfoundland has never won (at the senior men’s), and that’s our goal … to change that.”
And this year, for the first time, nothing less than top spot will matter.
rshort@thetelegram.com
Telegram Reader’s Comments below:
Iowa’s Stampede take title with wee-hour win
Monday, August 27th, 2007Rhys Casley Homer Delivers NAFA AAA Title for Midwest Stampede
From the Des Moines Register:
By LISA COLONNO
Register Staff WriterAugust 27, 2007
A double late-night rally brought a men’s North American Fastpitch Association World Series championship to a first-year central Iowa team.
The Midwest Stampede from Bondurant came from behind and out of the loser’s bracket to beat favorite Albaugh Inc. from Elkhart in the triple-A division – the event’s highest level. Competition extended to about 3 a.m. Sunday at Raccoon River Park Softball Complex in West Des Moines.
The Stampede beat Albaugh Inc. 7-0 in the first championship, forcing an “if necessary” championship in the double-elimination tournament. The Stampede beat Albaugh Inc. 3-2 in the second meeting that started at about 1 a.m.
The 23-and-under and ‘A’ division champions were decided Sunday afternoon to wrap up NAFA World Series play in the Des Moines area.
“It was a long day because we had been playing since around 1 p.m.,” Stampede manager Chris Bohlmann said. “We won five in a row. We made it hard on ourselves.”
Rain forced the cancellation of the round-robin portion of the triple-A tournament and consolidated play to a one-day marathon Saturday.
The Stampede lost their first game, then won five in a row. They also had to rally in the “if necessary” championship.
Albaugh Inc. led 2-0 in the fifth inning. The Stampede then used strong pitching from Regan Manley and three solo home runs to grab the championship.
“We got on his shoulders and our bats came alive,” Bohlmann said. “You want to give it all you’ve got. We were in it to win it. It was fun to get on a roll. We have to tip our hat to Albaugh. They are a heck of a team.”
Rhys Casley, who along with Manley is from New Zealand, hit the winning shot in the top of the seventh inning for the first-year Stampede.
“We’ll build on it next year,” Bohlmann said.
Des Moines Register Reader’s Comments below.
Peterson’s Farm Tavern is king
Monday, August 27th, 2007From 
Doug Moe: Peterson’s Farm Tavern is king
Doug Moe
August 21, 2007
[Madison, Wisconsin] – ROD PETERSON says this was going to be the year. He isn’t getting any younger, you know.
Peterson is about to put 70 in his rear view mirror and assembling this year’s edition of his Farm Tavern softball team took a lot out of him. He sent all the way to Australia for one kid, Jeff Goolagong, who turns out to be related to Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the tennis star from the 1970s.
The point is, Peterson, a Rio native who came to Madison in 1955, was at last going to put a wrap on a fast-pitch softball managing career that is legendary around the world among those in the know. Then a funny thing happened. Saturday night, in Canada, Peterson’s Farm Tavern won another International Softball Congress (ISC) world title.
“Now” Peterson was saying Monday,” “we’ll be back to defend.”
Among fast-pitch softball players, guys who generally play for love and beer money, the Farm Tavern franchise resonates like the New York Yankees. Last weekend’s world title was the Farm’s third, and there have been multiple national crowns as well. The numbers can run together for a self-described farm boy like Peterson, but they appear to indicate the Farm Tavern has finished in the top four in the world championships 11 of the past 12 years. Talk about a Murders’ Row.
This all started for Peterson, 69, one day in the early 1960s when he was leaving his job at the Mendota State Hospital on the north side and spotted a buddy carrying baseball spikes. The friend said he was going to a fast-pitch softball game. “Want to come?”
Peterson, a lifelong baseball fan who had been thinking about playing Home Talent League hardball, went along, and he has never looked back. He played first base and started managing in 1966, skippering a team sponsored by the Music Box Tavern on Madison ‘s east side in the city recreation league.
Peterson, whose family has a 650-acre farm south of Rio, bought the Farm Tavern on Moorland Road, south of South Towne, in 1975, and naturally he fielded a fast-pitch softball team. Today they play some 55 games a summer, traveling around the state and beyond. Fast-pitch has become an international game. This year’s Farm team has four players from Wisconsin (out of 15 on the roster). Peterson pays room, board and a stipend to the mostly young players who relocate here for the summer. And while the game is bigger elsewhere than in Madison, every July Peterson hosts a tournament at the Bowling Green complex in Middleton.
There have been many highlights over the years. In the ISC world tournament in 1981, held in Saginaw, Mich., the Farm Tavern played a 34-inning game that took nearly six and one half hours to complete. The Valley Merchants of Midland, Mich. wound up winning it 2-1 in the bottom of the 34th. The Michigan pitcher recorded 64 strikeouts.
The result was better in 1997 when the Farm won its first ISC title in Victoria, British Columbia. Peterson calls it “the greatest thrill I ever had in my life.”
How did they celebrate?
“We drank champagne out of the cup and danced at a club until four in the morning.” The manager chuckled. “It was quite an ordeal.”
They won again in 1999, and last week they were up in Canada again, in Kitchener this time, seeded sixth out of the tournament field of 32. It hadn’t been the greatest season for the Farm, but Peterson says that about a month ago things started to come together, and in the tournament they thumped a couple of “really great” teams that had beaten them earlier. The final was an 8-1 rout of a team from Palm Springs, Calif.
“I’m coming to the end,” Peterson said Monday. “I’m getting older and every year the kids seem younger. It’s a tremendous amount of work” But next year’s world tournament is nearby — in Kimberly. You can bet both the farm boy and the Farm Tavern will be there.
DVD’s to be made available of Championship Games of ISC WT and ISCII T of C
Monday, August 27th, 2007
The ISC World Tournament Championship Game, and the ISC II Tournament of Champions Title Game were produced and broadcast on television by Rogers Cable TV in Ontario.
They are making DVD’s available for purchase byFastball fans worldwide. For more information on pricing and availability, please call or email the following Rogers Cable TV contactperson:
Jen Schmidt
519-893-4400 ext. 8163
jen.schmidt(at)rci.rogers.com
Plans are to very soon archive on Sportsjuice.com, the video of the games covered by ISC-TV, excluding the Championship Game, which can be purchased, as described above.
Cheers,
Dave Blackburn
ISC Commissioner
Streaming and Broadcasting
daveb(at)virtvent.com
Decos EHS ready to defend their European Title next week
Monday, August 27th, 2007Sebastian Gervasutti, Jonas Mach Among Additions to Squad
From 
[Haarlem, The Netherlands] – Decos EHS is ready to defend its European title in Liberec, Czech
Republic the coming week. Decos EHS won the European title last year in their hometown Haarlem, The Netherlands.We have been able to add some great players to our roster. Due to the injury of Erik Zomerdijk and the absence of Kerim Bettio we had to add a few pick up players (4 allowed this year). We
are very proud to have added pitcher Sebastian Gervasutti (Argentina, The Farm), Czech National team catcher David Mertl and Patrick Kolkus, (Czech Republic, the first European player to make the ISC All World Team). Also back from the USA is Czech National Team player Jonas Mach who played for us in the Dutch competition as well.Decos EHS Roster:
Sebastian Gervasutti (pitcher)
Jonas Mach (pitcher)