Archive for April, 2010

2010 ISC Roster – Quyon COMBAT Flyers

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Allan Joe OF Ottawa, Ont
Armitage Nick IF Quyon, Qc
Craig Tim IF Quyon, Qc
Fleck Kenny IF Quyon, Qc
Graham Joran P Micksburg, Ont
Greer Matt IF Shawville, Qc
Hargrove Chad P Ottawa, Ont
Hathway Drew P Brampton, Ont

Laframboise Shawn Util Shawville, Qc
Langford Joel IF Ottawa, Ont
McCleary Joe C Shawville, Qc
McCord Steve OF Shawville, Qc
Noftall Mike P ST. John’s, NFLD
Young Luke IF Quyon, Qc

Coach Fleck Kenny 9 Quyon, Qc

Tournament Schedule
May 14-16 Millgrove Ontario
June 4-6 Snapper Shootout
June 11-13 Jim Bradford Classic
July 9-11 AuSable NY
July 23-25 Gil Read Memorial
August 14-21 ISC World Tournament

2010 ISC Roster – Kitchener Outlaws , ON

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Last Name First Name Uniform # Position Region

Hackert Brad 22 2nd Conestogo Ont
Culling Jim 6 CF Palmerston Ont
Hatt Jeff 39 1si Kitchener Ont
Hurley Kevin 20 RF Kitchener Ont
Dubois Tim 55 C Kitchener Ont
Martin Derek 8 LF Kitchener Ont
Ross Mel 5 P Kitchener Ont
Cook Steve 44 P London Ont

Shannon Ryan 33 SS -P Fergus Ont
Bradley Mark 54 C Guelph Ont
Hoffman Doug 32 P Elmira Ont
Harris Don 28 3rd Cambridge Ont
Stagg Matt 16 2nd Kitchener Ont
Roefer Brandon 15 3rd Kitchener Ont

2010 ISC Roster – Elmira Erb Electric Expos, Ontario

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Last Name First Name Uniform # Position Region State/Province

Martin Travis 64 C Elmira, ON
Martin Dan 72 P Elmira, ON
Martin Geoff 7 CF Elmira, ON
Halstead Casey 34 P Linwood, ON
Freeman Tim 12 2B Linwood, ON
Brohman Josh 5 SS Drayton, ON
Gutscher Kevin 44 RF Baden, ON
Gutscher Mark 2 OF Kitchener, ON
Harnock Mike 23 Utility Baden, ON
Beatson Trevor 9 LF Kitchener, ON
Wellwood Kevin 15 OF Linwood, ON
Brohman Doug 10 OF Elmira, ON
Hauck Cam 6 3B Waterloo, ON
Martin Corey 11 Utility Elmira, ON

Yakima Tournament 2010

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

From Mark Seward:

Its coming up fast! I have 12 teams verbally comitted. The tourney is June 5th and 6th. Deadline for entry fee is May 31st!! The cost again is $350. I am NOT going to be accepting money when you get here. The reason for it, teams back out on Friday and screws up the scheduling. I want to be able to get you a schedule by Wednesday before and not have to touch it again. Thanks again. Send checks Payable to:

Mark Seward
400 N 77th Ave
Yakima, Wa 98908

Hotel info:

These are really nice well worth the money. Try them and see!! I have reserved blocks of rooms there. These rooms are all suits with the beds in seperate rooms. They have full kitchens, 2 bbqers so you can bbq on there back patio if you want, stove, dishwasher, silverware, plenty of room to sleep at least 6 if you want you would just have to bring an air mattress or sleeping bags and they wouldnt mind at all. Right next door in the same parking lot is Bobs Burgers and Brew!! They serve great breakfast and everything else. If you havent been to one they are kind of like a Red Robin in a way. The rrom are 1Q with pull out couch is $89.00 and a 2QQ is $99.00 w/ a couch also. Again, plenty of room where you could get 6 to a room. Call the lady below and let here know you are with the Yakima Fruitbowl tournament and she will hook you up. Oh Yeah this hotel is only 2 minutes from the fields. You also have Target, Pizza hut, Sub Shop, Liqour Store right across the street walking distance.

Any questions please email or call me. If you would like a cheaper hotel maybe a hotel 6 or something let me know and I can get info for you.

Mark Seward
(509)388-1250

Ledgestone Hotel
107 N Fair Ave
Yakima Wa 98901
1-509-453-3151 Ext 601
Sylvia Aguirre

Ronnie Rupp Arrives on Facebook

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Anyone that spent much time on the Fastpitchwest Forum knows of the friendly “sparring match” between So Cal fastballers Ronnie Rupp and Gerald Pyle. Ronnie is finally on board at Facebook, and has wasted no time twisting the blade a bit on the Big Man.


Ronnie’s caption for this one: I heard Gerald was gonna pitch all 7 innings in Sherman oaks tonight, so I call channel 7. The people in the ABC news room dispatched a news van immediately to cover this breaking story… Film at 11

I’m not sure who fired the first shot, but the Big Man has gotten in a few good shots of his own, including my favorite:

Some gems:

Ron: “I saw was watching you pitch the 4th inning against Mexicali last year in Palm Springs. They circled the bases so many times, the Doppler radar picked it up as a sand storm!”

Gerald: “Ronald, I found the ball that Rocha hit off of you, it was shaped like a Silver Dollar. That was quite the porterhouse you threw to him.”

Ron: I don’t want you to get discouraged when I hit at least .350 off you this year. When I was 29, I would have clubbed you like a baby seal, but I am 51 now so you should be able to keep me under .400.”

Welcome back to it, fellas.

New Zealand 19u Black Sox Squad Announced

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010


(click logo for original story at official NZ website)

23 Apr 2010
NZ Junior Black Sox Squad Announced
National Office SNZ

The following boys have been named in the 2010 NZ Junior Black Sox Softball Squad. The team will play in the Sydney-based Friendship Series in July followed by a seven match test series against Australia.

1. Pita Rona
2. Morgan Cook (Nth Harbour)
3. Campbell Enoka
4. Ben Bull
5. Mark Sorenson
6. Matt Oxley (Auckland)
7. Levi Elliot (Waikato)
8. Horowai Puketapu (Hawkes Bay)
9. Isaac Hekenui (Taranaki)
10. Campbell Gaunt
11. EJ Albright
12. Zane Siolo (Hutt Valley)
13. Josh Pettett
14. Brad Worsley
15. Jerome Raemaki
16. Te Wera Bishop (Wellington)
17. Sam Church (Nelson)
18. Sam Hazeldine (Canterbury).

The team will be coached by John Love (Auckland) and Phil Johnston (Canterbury).

The squad will be preparing for the World Series Under 19 Tournament to be held in Parana Argentina in 2012.

Editor’s notes: As is so often the case in major league baseball and in men’s fastball, talent seems to run in the genes, with some families continuing to produce top notch players. Peruse this list and a few names jump out at you, even for those of us living far away from New Zealand……Rona, Enoka, Sorenson, as the next generation of fastball stars spread their wings….

The Jr. Black Sox finished 4th in the ISF Jr. World Championships at Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada in 2008, making the 4 team playoff round, but missing the medal stand, behind Australia, Canada and Japan, respectively. The Jr. Black Sox showed flashes of gold medal play — as the only team in Whitehorse to knock off the 4 time-gold medalists from Australia (during round robin play), but did not play consistently enough to medal. If they were building momentum towards the playoff round, it appeared to be extinguished by a late inning loss to Argentina, with a memorable game ending triple play by Argentina. Their rematch with Argentina should prove to be one of better draws in 2012, with Argentina hosting in Parana, just outside of Buenos Aires.

At the ISF Jr. Worlds in 2008, the teams seemed to break into three distinct groups:

Medal Round Playoff teams:

AUSTRALIA
CANADA
JAPAN
NEW ZEALAND

Of this group, with four consecutive gold medals over nearly two decades of play, AUS remains the team to beat, in spite of the loss to NZ and near loss to Canada in the title game. Game in, game out, they are the deepest and most seasoned team, and the one that looked like they had played a great number of games together– a key element that I think separates these teams from the rest — high level game experience. In 2008, other than the Kiwis win over Australia, Canada appeared to be the only team that could really go toe to toe with the Australia in the talent department. Canada went from bronze to silver, and figure to vie for gold in 2012. In the two prior World Championships, Canada played at home (PEI in 2005, Whitehorse in 2008). It will be interesting to see how they play as the visitors. (It worked out well for another Canadian squad, the Kitchener Rivershark Twins, who were twice denied in the 2007 and 2008 ISC World Tournaments, at home in Kitchener, only to win back-to-back titles on the road in Kimberly WI and Quad Cities, IA. )

Mid-tier-battling to get onto the medal stand

ARGENTINA
USA
MEXICO
VENEZUELA

An evenly balanced group, with a slight edge to ARG and USA ahead of MEX and VEN. Of these four, Argentina might be the most likely to break through to the next tier, with good pitching, and the hometown fans to cheer them on. Pitching will be the big question mark for the USA, with ace BJ Hunhoff graduating from the program, as well as James Hartman. The USA was 1-4 in close games, losing to Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Argentina, defeating only Mexico. Had they beaten South Africa, as most thought they would/should, and win one of the one-run games, they finish 7-4 and are knocking on the door for medal contention. The USA coaching staff will be back again, with Tim Lyon, Scott Standerfer and Gary Mullican, providing a strong base to build on. Their challenge will continue to be to find and develop pitching, something hard to come by for the Yanks. Even at the senior level, the top spots on the staff were occupied by Canadian born hurlers (Koert and Price). Lyon is determined though, and continues to beat the bushes for raw talent, and in hope that he has time to develop it by 2012.

Bottom-tier-not yet competing

DENMARK
CZ REPUBLIC
SOUTH AFRICA
BOTSWANA

These bottom tier programs are still building a talent base to compete. The European teams were a notch above those from Africa, consistent with the number of years the countries have had, or not had a 19u program. Each of the bottom tier teams had a player or two that stood out, making this group capable of knocking off someone at the next level in a given game (as South Africa did to the USA), but still a ways from moving into the mid-tier group.

By 2012, nearly all teams with have complete new rosters, so these comments are based more on the programs than the teams that we’ll see in Parana in two years.

Palm Springs SCIFL Tournament wrap up

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Editor’s note: More great writing from the pen of Bob Otto:

Story and photos by BOB OTTO
Click here for the original story with photos at Bob’s blog, “Otto in Focus”

PALM SPRINGS, CA – It’s been a few years since I’ve covered a men’s fastpitch tournament. It was good to be back. Good to run into some old friends at Demuth Park in Palm Springs last weekend.

But one thing I don’t like. Those garish yellow-neon balls. I’ve covered plenty of high school girl’s games and of course that’s what they use. But those yellow balls seem out of place in the men’s game.

I picked one up. Rock hard. And when a batter smashes one, those yellow rocks leave the bat like a missile launched for outer space.

Former Long Beach Black Sox retired pitcher, Chuck Vranich, was spectating at the tournament. He said the reason he retired from pitching was because of those yellow missiles. After having them whistle over his head a few times, he decided it was time to give up pitching. Just not worth the risk for a 66-year-old disfiguring his face or breaking his bones.

I saw a couple of two-bouncers headed into the shortstop – second base hole. I was ready to pencil in a 6-to-3 groundout, but the ball shot into centerfield before the shortstop could react.

So ball players, what do you think? Do you like them? Or would you prefer to go back to the old style cork-centered Dudley’s or DeBeers?
…I saw some great plays, but the catch Maccabi USA centerfielder, Dan Winnick, made in the championship game against the Panteras topped them all. Winnick – about as fast as they come in the sport – made a great over the shoulder running catch in left-centerfield to track down what I thought was a sure triple.

…Clyde Bennett may be the most devoted man in fastpitch. He umpires. He manages a 23-under team. And each year he recruits three or four young players and brings them into the game. Clyde brought his son, Mark, into the sport and Mark has gone on to become a top-level ASA Class “A” and ISC pitcher.

…For years, Clyde’s Santa Barbara men’s teams were competitive with the better teams in California as well as the U.S. He no longer has a men’s team, but he has kept the men’s game alive in Santa Barbara. There’s still a four-team league going, he said.

…The Southern California Independent Fastpitch League (SCIFL) is one of the last bastions of men’s fastpitch in Southern California. And much credit goes to NAFA Pacific Coast Vice President, Robert Hernandez, who serves as the SCIFL Tournament Director. The league is competitive and it’s well run.

…Co-ed fastpitch anyone? Debbie Day, a right-hander, pitched for Maccabi USA, and she did well against the men. Day pitched the University of Arizona Wildcats to the school’s first NCAA Division I National Championship in 1991. Debbie has been windmilling her screwball and rise ball at the men for about 10 years with the “Damn Yankees” in the Burbank League.

The difference?

“I think the women are more disciplined than the men,” she said. “But the men are so much stronger. You make a mistake and the ball goes so much further.” Day is also the head softball coach at Cal Lutheran University

…Frightening moment. San Diego PrimeTime pitcher Dan Zupp was standing in the on deck circle when a foul ball came screaming at him. The ball hit Zupp flush on the inside elbow of his pitching arm. His elbow had a knot the size of tennis ball. But there was Zupp pitching in the next game. And he threw well before losing 3-2 to the eventual champion Panteras.

…If it weren’t for older pitchers like Zupp, Dave Blackburn (Maccabi USA), Ron Rupp (Long Beach Black Sox), Russ Snow (Maccabi USA), and several others fighting off retirement – the game would already be toast in Southern California.

…Since 1993, Vicki Oltean has been a staunch ally of men’s fastpitch in Palm Springs. Every year, she welcomes the men to Demuth Park for tournament play. And under her leadership as Tournament Director for Palm Springs Parks Recreation, the ball fields are in excellent playing condition with the games running on schedule.

…22-year-old Cory Avery of Nova Scotia, Canada is a hot ticket in men’s fastpitch. The right-hander is toeing the rubber for Rude Pac of Sunland, California this season as well as pitching for Murphy’s Fish and Chips in the Canada Junior Men’s National Championship. On Sunday I saw him pitch against the Norwalk Panteras and he looked good.

Avery’s thoughts on facing California hitters versus Canadians: “They are equal if not better,” he said. “They put the ball in play.” Rude Pac has kept Avery busy. He’s pitched in the Las Vegas Road Trip III, St. George, Utah, and the Palm Springs tournaments since landing in La-La Land.

…I’ve talked to a few folks about the ISC World Tournament format. The format has all 48 teams in the same bracket in the early rounds. Then the first 24 teams eliminated move into a single elimination ISC II Championship. Nobody takes the middle ground. They’re either for it, or against it.

…One of the top pitchers in the world said that there should never have been an ISC II in the first place. I disagree…the ISC II has replaced the ASA Class A National Championship (in my view). And the ISC II has earned its distinction as the best national tournament for teams a notch under ISC World Tournament teams.

…Let’s hope enough ISC World Tournament teams return next year so that the ISC can once again offer World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions championships.

…Avery pitched against fellow Canadian, Travis Price (Panteras), losing 2-1 in Sunday’s first playoff game. His thoughts?

“I’ve heard about him, but I’ve never seen him pitch,” Avery said. “I wish he would’ve given me a pitch to hit.” Avery swings the bat about as well as he throws the ball.

…Yellow ball part two: I saw pitchers wearing protective helmets with face guards. I’d think all pitchers would be wearing them. I wonder how many other pitchers like Vranich retired early rather than risk injury from the yellow rocks? As you can probably tell, I’m not a big fan.

4000

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Just noticed that an earlier post from today was Morning Brief post number 4000 ! We rolled out the “blog format” over six years ago, in March 2004. Add in nearly 1500 more posts over at our brother blog, “The Deuce”, and the total is over 5000, an average of more than 800 posts a year.

Remember that you can view any month’s posts by clicking the “Archives” over in the right margin, or easier still, search by keyword(s) using the search box in the upper right.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for some big changes at Fastpitchwest and the Morning Brief. Our new format is due out soon. The design and layout have been ready for a while, just completing some website housekeeping to make sure we preserve the archives.

2010 ISC Media Guide Available May 3

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

The 2010 edition of the ISC World Championship Guide will be available for ordering after May 3.

2010 ISC Guide Cover

We have unfortunately had to increase the price this year to $10 per copy. It has previously been $7.50 for the past 10+-years but the cost of paper and shipping expenses have forced us to make this modest increase.

The 2010 Guide is 144-pages of ISC activity in 2009 including full World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions results, photos and stats. It includes photos of the 2009 ISC Hall of Fame inductions, Hall of Fame rules and nominating information, 8-categories of 2009 championship stats, color photos of all 2009 World Tournament teams and umpires, 15-pages of all-time ISC All-World Players going back to 1947, an all-time ISC records section for offensive, defensive and pitching stats and much much more.

There are three ways of ordering the 2010 Guide.

1. On line – Go to www.iscfastpitch.com and click on the ISC products link in left margin. Follow the links and payment is made by Visa or MasterCard.

2. Mail a $10 check or money order payable to ISC to:

Ken Hackmeister
153 E. 200 S. – #10
Farmington, UT 84025

3. Email iscken@comcast.net and provide the following information for a credit card payment:

A. Name as it appears on credit card
B. Card number
C. Expiration month/year of card
D. 3-digit code on back of card near signature line
E. House number of your card’s billing address. If your address is 15 Maple Street, we need the 15
F. Postal or ZIP Code of your card’s billing address

Please allow about 1-week from order receipt by us until you receive the Guide.

We also have a limited quantity of older edition Guides. Email me with what year or years you are interested in iscken@comcast.net Older editions are subject to availability at $7.50 each.

Ken

2010 ISC Roster – Alvinston Indians

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Triest Joe 95 2B Alvinston ON
Triest Andy 14 OF Alvinston ON
Drew Chris 37 IF Chatham ON
Smith Scott D 21 OF Sarnia ON
Smith Scott 7 C Wyoming ON
Ingram Jeff 77 IF Union ON
Metron Theo 93 IF London ON
Donald Steve 11 IF/OF Chatham ON
Hyatt Eric 18 OF Petrolia ON
Chapman Ryan 8 OF Alvinston ON
Young Brad 17 P PT Edward ON
Swift Ryan 19 P Oshawa ON
Winship Shaun 10 P London ON

McCallum Mark 88 C/OF Belmont ON
Brown Tim 4 OF London ON
Ferguson John 3 P Wyoming ON
Field manager McCart Paul 13 Glencoe ON
Coach Wren Gary 20 ST Thomas ON