PALM
SPRINGS-Sun
Fastpitch, Panteras and Hustlers from So Cal and
California Chaos from Northern California
earned top seeds in the first day of California Cup Tournament
play at Palm Springs, California, with perfect 3-0 records in
round robin play. All fifteen teams will advance to a Single
Elimination Sunday playoff round, with seeding determined by
Saturday’s round robin results. Sun Fastpitch and California
Chaos bore strong resemblance to two teams that tied for 7th
place in this year’s ASA “C” Nationals, i.e. the El Segundo
Rounders, and West Coast Cardinals, respectively.
On the roster for
Sun Fastpitch were Rounder pitchers Mitch Mendenhall and
Gerald Pyle, as well as Mark Villalobos, (shown in photo
hitting key 2-run triple) Eric Geierman, and John Simmers,
joined by Ken Crawford, Dan Winnick, Brett Seman and Gordon
Marks. Mitch Mendenhall picked up two of the wins, while Gerald
Pyle notched the third, with Ken Crawford pitching in relief.
California Chaos’
roster included West Coast Cardinals pitcher Brett Pobantz,
catcher Nick Muratella, Dave Jordan and several others. Pobantz
was still nursing a couple of broken toes from a hit ball,
suffered in late August, just before Nationals. He was still
wearing a pair of cleats a size larger than his normal ones, but
appeared no worse for wear in the pitching circle. Pobantz
tossed a 1 hitter Saturday, striking out 15 with a powerful rise
ball. Robby Epp was the other half of the Chaos batter, and just
as dominant, tossing a 1 hitter himself.
On fields 7 & 8,
it was Sun Fastpitch and California Chaos who
appear to the favorites to reach the final four tomorrow, while
on fields 5 & 6, it was the Panteras and Bobby Cole’s So Cal
Hustler team. Cole continued to hone his pitching, narrowly
missing a no-hitter as the Hustlers posted a 3-0 mark. With a
half dozen of the top “C” teams from 2005 bumped up to the “B”
division in 2006, Cole’s Hustlers would appear to be among the
top “C” teams for 2006, as the young squad continues to gain
experience.
The Panteras
edged the Amigos, 4-2 for the top spot in what might have been
the toughest pool in the round robin play. The winner of the
Primos-Amigos game will face Sun Fastpitch in a 9:45 game.
The Primos won
the wildest game of the day, a game that they led 10-0 at one
point, only to see Palm Springs tie. The Primos stopped the
bleeding at 10 all, and went on to win the game, 11-0 in extra
innings.
In the “B”
division, Ralph Trejo Sr. fielded a “new look” B division squad,
without most members of the ISC’s all star team, but continued
to wield the winning touch as his team went 4-0 in round robin
play.
Newcomers “Those
Guys”, a young team from the Artesia City league, with
the addition of veteran lefty Joe Edwards on the mound,
came away with a tournament first win over Quicksilver, and
played Sun Fastpitch tough, in a close 3-1 loss. Edwards
(pictured at let) had his patented change-up working all
afternoon, keeping most of the Sun hitters off balance. Those
Guys are led by veterans Paul Castillo and Don Vilander. Young
Tyler Vilander, (25 year old son of Don) was the star of the
game against Sun, going 2 for 3, including an RBI triple, and a
diving shoestring catch that Jim Edmunds would have been proud
of. The Sun’s Mark Villalobos (photo above) was 2 for 3 and
keyed the win with a two run triple that proved to be the
difference in the game. Sun shortstop Gordie Martts also had two
hits in the win.
The fields in
Palm Springs are both scenic and well maintained, but can be
described as a pitcher’s park, with fences close to 300 feet.
Despite that fact, two players still managed to homer beyond the
distance reaches. In the upper “B” division, it was Todd
Budke, ISC great from the Farm, playing with his local
Lancaster teammates. In the “C” division, it was big
Gerald Pyle, who hit one out foul, then to the warning
track of the fence in left, and finally, cleared the centerfield
fence with a home run.
Sunday’s single
elimination bracket will crown a new Cal Cup champion in the “C”
division, while a double elimination bracket will be used in the
“B” division (due to the fewer number of teams)
