ISC World Tournament, who’s hot, who’s not, and who to wager on
By Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA - August 2, 2003

I don’t gamble, I don’t wager on the ponies, and you won’t find me at the poker tables in Las Vegas. But if I were a betting man, plopping my money down in Vegas probably offers me better odds than picking a winner from the 40-teams about to descend upon Kimberly, Wisconsin for the 57th running of the ISC World Fastball Tournament Aug. 8-16.

But before I’d bet my hard earned money picking a World Tournament champion,  I’d call upon a few ball yard experts who have kept tabs on this year’s crop of ISC contenders.  Some say throw out the ISC final season rankings. Forget the won – loss
records. Instead, focus on who is hot, and who is not. And those  star-powered players who rise to the challenge when the game is on the line. In picking a winner, Wisconsin teams leap to mind first. The state  dominates the ISC final season rankings with Marathon County Materials number one, followed closely by The Farm Tavern of Madison, with Circle Tap I at #5.

No one knows Wisconsin teams better than Bob Tomlinson. As an ISC Executive, Tomlinson keeps close watch on the goings-on in his fastpitch rich state. “County and Farm are two teams that could win the whole thing,” said  Tomlinson. “Farm’s the hottest team right now. County really laid an egg last year, 2-2 in Pool and didn’t make the playoffs, but they’re a different team this year.”

Within the 40-team format, Tomlinson willing concedes the bottom 35. Strong odds the winner will emerge from the five-some of County, The Farm, Amsterdam, NY, Broken Bow, Kitchener-Waterloo Hallman Twins, or Circle Tap I, Denmark. But don’t count out the Calgary Diamonds, said Tomlinson. “They are my dark horse,” he said. “Nobody’s really seen them, but they’ve got a
good ball club. Trent Rubley, Ryan Brand, Jason Hanson and David Boys –  they’ve got a (Tampa Bay) Smokers look to them with (Pete) Porcelli coaching there.” The Smokers won the World Championship in 1996 and ’98.

And says Tomlinson, duck for cover if Broken Bow’s Gerald Muizelaars and Darren Box get hot. “Muizelaars is the most impressive pitcher I’ve seen this year,” he said. “He throws 83 – 84 mph and picked up his speed. He’s the hardest thrower out there and as good as there is right now. Box is about 6-foot-4, chiseled and real strong. He’s a left handed batter, throws right, catches, runs well and hits for power.”

Out east in Arlington, Virginia, Mike Groves, owner, manager and catcher of Washington DC  FedLock, says put your money on Broken Bow, County Materials or The Farm, but don’t count out his FedLock Falcons. “Bow has a powerful lineup, one through eight,” said Groves. “They have so much talent and they play as a team with little arrogance. They’ve got excellent pitching, but
Muizelaars is viewed by many teams as mortal this year and touchable for runs.

“County, if they play as a team, instead of highly-paid individuals, they have a shot on sheer talent alone. The Farm has played well all year, but stumbled in Allentown, July 26. Still, they have so much talent and big game experience and power that they will be in the hunt until the end.”  And who is hot? Bow, The Farm and County, of course, said Groves. But his Falcons have sharpened their game and are flying high with the best of them.   “We beat County 7-1 last week in Allentown,” said Groves. “We knocked Zack out, scored on Mata as well. We also beat Circle Tap 10-0, knocked (Trevor) Wardell out, and beat the Windmillers 8-1 and knocked out Earl Rutledge.”

Groves sites FedLock’s pitching staff of Brian Urquhart, Jeremy DeBelleval  and Jody Hennigar as “all pitching better and all are fully rested and healed,” he said. “The team has now learned to win and has speed, inside game and power. If (we) win our pool, (we) get County in the first bracket game. That game will be the biggest game of the year for both, a huge game for both teams.”

Now, if your wager centers on big game players who can load a team on his back and carry it, Groves has some hot tips on some hot players. “Todd  Martin (pitcher, The Farm Tavern) is so fast, so talented and wild when it  helps him,” said Groves. “Mark Sorenson (County) can change a game with one swing against anyone. Karl Gollan (County), great hitter and tough pitcher, mentally tough as nails. Andrew Kirkpatrick, the Aussie kid for Owen Sound Crunch, has huge height and stride and can throw batters way off, but he has no help in the pen. Gerald Muizelaars is smooth, fast, smart and capable of shutting down any team.”

And from Broken Bow, look out for formidable hitting attack of Darren Box,  Jody Eidt and Jarrad Martin, said Groves. “Box is a great hitter and smart catcher,” said Groves. “Eidt is a great hitter, very focused. Martin can touch anyone.”

O.K, we know who is hot. But who among the 40 would be champions, is not? “ Circle Tap,” said Groves. “They lost (Rob) Scheller for the season and (Dwayne) Dyck is very questionable after knee surgery. This is a team that  plays on emotion and they are low now without their aces.”

But Groves says Circle Tap isn’t they only team facing an uphill battle in the World Tournament. “The (CanAm) Windmillers have no pitching,” he said.   “Midland, losing (Doug) Gillis and (Kyle) Beane to the Pan Ams takes their  heart and places a huge load on (Grant) Patterson and (Terry) Boetsma. “Owen Sound Selects losing (Jaime) Simpson with broken fingers on his pitching hand takes them down the scale in a big way (and) County when Zack pitches in the daytime, the word is, ‘he’s touchable’. At night, he’s tough.”

Canadian Craig Crawford catches for the Kitchener-Waterloo Hallman Twins. The Twins finished with a final #4 ISC ranking. He says the team carting away the ISC championship trophy will be the one swinging big sticks. “The scores this year have been high, 5-4, 6-5’s,” said Crawford. “The teams that hit well in the World Tournament will be on the winning side. The  tournament is a hitters’ tournament now. The way the bats and balls are made today the 1-0, 10 inning games are in the past. Maybe I’m a purest, but I’d rather be in a 2-1, 3-2 game myself than a 7-6.”

So if runs determine this year’s champion, Crawford looks to Broken Bow as the team to beat. “Man for man, it’s hard to go against Broken Bow with County second,” he said.  But don’t confuse Crawford’s run-scoring rational for thinking he believes hitters now rule the sport. Pitching still plays a big part, he said. And high on his list of top pitchers is the Twins own Korrey Gareau. “As far as hottest pitchers, Korrey throws as well as anyone. I’d put him up against anybody, Paul Algar, the Martin’s, the Muizelaars’…”

But nudged to name a hot pitcher, Crawford pointed to County’s Karl Gollan as a hurler on the rise, citing Gollan’s  3-2, 10-inning victory over Gareau and the Twins. And veteran chuckers Darren Zack, Martin and Algar still decide games, he said. “A few weeks a go Darren was as sharp as I’ve seen him in years – that’s scary.”

But he sees County as having a difficult decision to make in light of the ISC’s out-of- area rule. With Lucas Mata, Zack and Gollan comprising County’s pitching staff, who gets the call? “It will be interesting to see who they declare as their two out-of-areas,” said Crawford.

A dark horse sneaking in and snatching the crown? Forget it, said Crawford.  It’s the sweet 16 that dominate this tournament. “The first year (pool play) the top 16 seeds went through,” he said. “And 15 made it last year. There is a considerable difference in talent between the top 16 and the bottom 24. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t someone in the top six there at the end. I’d be stunned.”

And that brings us back to the Twins. With the Pan Am games taking place Aug. 6 – 14, the Twins suffer a huge talent drain, losing four players to Team Canada. “Four of our key players will be at the Pan Am’s,” said Crawford. Along with Crawford, the Twins lose Terry Challis, Jeff Seed and Tim MacCumber. That alone would scare away bettors from wagering on the #4 Twins.

One team glaringly low in the rankings is St. Joseph, MO, Frontier Casino Players, the 2002 defending ISC World Tournament champs and ASA national champions. Of the top 10 ranked teams, #9 Frontier took the biggest Pan Am hit, losing six of its stars to the U.S. team.

“That’s what you get for raising home grown talent,” said ISC Southern Vice President, Rodney Gray, of Columbia, Missouri with a chuckle. “If Robbie (O’Brien) pitches well, we’ll be fine, but taking six players out of the lineup is tough. If we can get to Friday (Aug. 15) four of our players might be back.”

If Frontier can survive pool play and possibly two playoff games they could have pitcher Michael White, second baseman, Chris Miljavac; shortstop, Blake Miller, and outfielder Adam LaLonde back for Saturday’s championship run. “It (national team) took out our whole infield,” said Gray. And that may be too much for the reigning champs to overcome. Looking at the field, Gray says, “The Farm is always the team to beat and they’re coming off an ASA national championship. Bow is always tough not to bet against.” And #1 County? “They have a history of not playing well two out of the last three years,” said Gray. And picking a darkhorse, Gray looks toward Ontario. “Owen Sound Selects, they’ve always played well in the big tournaments,” he said.

ISC Final top-ten 2003 team rankings

1. County Materials
2. The Farm Tavern
3. Broken Bow Spirit
4. Waterloo Twins
5. Circle Tap I, Denmark
6. Midland Explorers
7. Owen Sound Selects
8. FedLock
9. St. Joseph Frontier Casino
10. HIS Construction

I’ve consulted with my experts. I’ve studied the top ten. I’ve calculated who’s going advance out of the eight pools. I’ve talked to my swami and I’ve looked to the stars for guidance…and finally decided where to place and not place my bet: Don’t underestimate the power of a pig, I’m not a Materials kind of guy, and the Spirit can be broken.

And if you’re pressing me for a dark horse, Falcons fly high and Diamonds shine brightly.