From the Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon
Bakersfield’s Eli Salazar slides under Italian Athletic Club pitcher Tyson Barkman for a run Sunday in the bottom of the seventh inning of the ASA Men’s A Fastpitch national championship at Wallace Marine Park. Italian Athletic Club of Stockton, Calif., beat Bakersfield, Calif., 6-5. (Timothy J. Gonzalez | Statesman Journal
Click here for some great photos of the tournaments.
BY BILL POEHLER • STATESMAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 2, 2010
The if-necessary games became necessary Sunday at Wallace Marine Park.
After losing in the first championship game Sunday, the Italian Athletic Club of Stockton, Calif., held off a late challenge from the Bakersfield Silverhawks of Bakersfield, Calif., to win 6-5 and clinch the ASA Men’s A Fastpitch national championship, the team’s second title in three years.
In C competition, Wasatch Properties of South Jordan, Utah, defeated Wolfpack of Las Cruces, N.M., 10-1 and 4-2 to win the ASA Men’s C Fastpitch national championship.
“This is my first time being at the ASA like this,” said Italian Athletic Club pitcher Tyson Barkman. “They beat us the game before. To stay ahead and win and grunt this out was definitely a big win.”
Sunday morning, the I.A.C. had the chance to end the tournament, but the Bakersfield Silverhawks got a stellar pitching performance from pitcher Andrew Putnam.
Putnam struck out five batters and allowed four hits as the Silverhawks won 8-0 in a game that was ended after six innings because of the score.
“It’s not a good thing,” Italian Athletic Club firstbaseman Ed Brooks said of the loss, “but when you got your No. 1 going, it’s not a bad thing when you got him on the hill.”
In the second game, Barkman was dominant in the pitching circle.
He struck out 16 Silverhawks batters and allowed five hits.
Barkman also added a two-run home run in the second inning, and Brooks added an RBI double in the frame to put the Italian Athletic Club up 3-0.
“I was just in a good rhythm right from the start, I had a good warmup,” said Barkman, originally from Abbotsford, British, Columbia. “Pitches were snapping right, rise ball was jumping and they couldn’t lay off the high stuff, so I was feeling good throughout the whole game until what everyone saw in that last inning.”
The I.A.C. added runs, which would become necessary, in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and was up 6-0 going to the bottom of the seventh.
Barkman struck out the first three batters he faced, but the second, Fernie Ramirez, Jr., reached on a wild pitch on the third strike.
The Silverhawks then played small ball to score two runs, Chris McGehee hit a two RBI double and scored when Tony Acedo hit into an error to cut the I.A.C. lead to 6-5.
But when Jason Hogelman hit an infield single to reach first, Acedo was caught trying to go to third to end the game.
” (I) started getting nervous that last batter, (he was a) real good hitter coming up to bat,” Brooks said. “He hit us the night before. Tyson threw real well. They didn’t get a bunch of hard hits in the last inning.”
In the C level’s first championship game Sunday, the Wolfpack had the opportunity to clinch the championship, but Wasatch Properties exploded offensively to win 10-1.
In the second game, Wasatch leadoff hitter Tommy Gray singled in the bottom of the first, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Jake Huff to go up 1-0.
“I think that’s what helped us, getting runs early. And we knew we had to get some runs off these guys because those guys hit the ball, and I still can’t figure out how to pitch half of them,” said Gray, Wasatch’s catcher and manager.
The Wolfpack came back to tie the game in the second inning on three consecutive singles by Cesar Delarosa, Eddie Aragon and Tony Mancha, before Wasatch got a double play to end the inning.
But Reed scored another run on a triple by Chris Hathaway, and Hathaway scored on a passed ball to spot Wasatch a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish.
The first time the teams played on Saturday, the Wolfpack rocked Wasatch pitcher Mike Roberts for nine runs in the first inning.
“I suppose there was no point in the three games that I took part in that I felt comfortable that we had won or it was all over,” said Roberts, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, who struck out seven batters and allowed one earned run. “They sort of battled the whole way. They were classy.
“It’s great. I’m happy for all the Wasatch fans, the Wasatch players. I’m just happy for everyone.”
Wasatch was without hall of fame pitcher Peter Meredith, who was injured during the tournament.
SAU Fastpitch of Herriman, Utah, won the B division championship. SAU played in the A bracket for the rest of the tournament, but won the B championship game on Sunday.