2013 USSSA Smoky Mountain Classic tournament report!

2013 Nationwide Conference USSSA

45th Annual Smoky Mountain Classic

Maryville, TN

July 12-14

Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the Smoky Major

USSSA Smoky tournament info and bracket link

The 45th annual Smoky Mountain Classic was played in perfect weather and a great softball atmosphere in front of the seasons largest crowds!  Resmondo-Specialty Tank/Worth won its 8th Smoky Classic and 6th in a row by double dipping the #2 team in the country Laservision/Desert Falls/Boombah/Easton in the championship games.  In winning, Resmondo bested a strong field of 30 teams which included 26 of the top teams from the Nationwide Conference USSSA.  The Smoky is the only Nationwide Conference regular season that features unlimited home runs and difficult to adjust to 80 foot bases.

The tournament started on Friday at 4 PM with the first round that had only two upsets.  P&P 333 a 'B' team from Michigan knocked off Taylormade an 'A' team from Virginia 15-5, and McNally Construction a local Tennessee 'C' team became the first local team to win a game in the winner's bracket in a number of years as they defeated a 'B' team Pure Romance 10-9.  In the second round all of the favorites prevailed except for one.  Fence Brokers used a walk off homer by Bob Hankins, his first homer of the year, to beat Baugh Ford 22-21.  Also in the "grudge match" Demarini/Dirty outpowered their rival Albicocco 33-18 in a game that never was real close except at the beginning.

On Saturday the focus, as is tradition, shifts to the "final 8" of the winner's bracket and the winner's side is played out soley on the "show field" at Sandy Springs #3 which is a baseball field with 310-350-315 dimensions.  All of the favorites won again in the quarter finals as #1 Resmondo and #4 Nordkap won by the run rule and #3 Shoppe and #2 Laservision squeaked out 2 and 1 run wins respectively.  In the semi-finals Resmondo went up 29 runs on Nordkap before Kap came storming back with a 20 run inning to close the deficit to 28-23 but Resmondo won 38-23.  In the other semi, Laservision scored 20 runs in the bottom of the 6th and held off a powerful Demarini/Dirty 35-32 to set up the show the fans were waiting to see, Resmondo vs Laservision.

In the winner's final Laservision outpowered Resmondo and took advantage of some rare Resmondo defensive errors to win by the run rule 34-12. 

On Sunday morning Shoppe beat Linedrive with a 26 run first inning which featured 3 homers and 10 RBI from Robert Blackburn.  Then Resmondo beat Shoppe with a 21 run 3rd inning.  This set up the rematch between Resmondo and Laservision where Resmondo jumped all over Laservision in the 2nd inning scoring 30 runs on 16 homers and the first game was almost over before it began.  In the "if" game Resmondo scored 11 in the top of the first and Laservision scored 10 in the bottom half.  Then Resmondo slowly pulled away to a 39-19 win and the championship.

The tournament was lacking some in close finishes as teams used positive momentum to put up huge innings that opposing teams could not mentally recover from.  Similarly there were teams that had what I will call "negative momentum" where a rash of double plays or popouts attempting to go for home runs led to a couple of low scoring innings and a loss.  

The top 3 teams finished 1, 2, 3 and other than the surprise Line Drive Sportz team finishing 4th after knocking off 3 straight 'A' teams, the rest of the finishing order was in line with the computer rankings and points standings.  Also Adiktiv finished tied for 7th as they found a soft spot in the loser's bracket and took full advantage of it as they scored wins over DEI, FBI, and a pair of local teams.

There were some entertaining games and upsets on the other fields as well.  Remember the Smoky is played at 6 different fields across 4 locations so it is very difficult to report on all teams.  Primetime had a very entertaining win over B&B Sears 47-44 on Saturday morning where both teams were hitting homers like they were playing on a little league field.  Buzini upset Team Combat 15-13 then followed up that win with a victory over PRI 23-22.  And DEI/S&S upset Albicocco 25-17.

Historic Smoky Mountain Classic Winning Teams List:

2013 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo-specialty tank worth
2 NY-M Laservision/anni/supr/d2/easton
3 TN-M Shoppe/TYJA/Louisville Slugger
4 MI-A Line Drive Sportz/SSS/Miken

2012 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo-specialty tank worth
2 NY-M Laservision/anni/supr/d2/easton
3 VA-A Team 454/Emerald/Worth
4 FL-A Demarini/dirty/3n2/atwldesigns

2011 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo-specialty tank / worth
2 WA-M GTL Cartel/DeMarini
3 TX-A Wood law/mizuno/famous/easton
4 VA-A Team 454 Emerald/Worth

2010 Results
1 FL-M Resmondosport/specialty/phonemaster
2 CA-M Dan Smith/Menosse
3 NY-A Albicocco's/the scene/worth
4 WA-A Team Combat / laser vision

2009 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo-specialty tank-worth
2 MN-M Long haul/miken/phonemasters
3 CA-M Dan smith-menosse-benfield-combat
4 FL-A T&R Stucco/Worth

2008 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo/specialty tank/worth
2 CA-M Dan Smith/menosse/benfield/combat
3 MN-M Long haul/phonemasters/miken
4 AR-A Fence brokers inc/laservision/worth

2007 Results
1 FL-M Bellcorp/belcher/tai/backman
2 FL-M Resmondo Softball
3 CA-A KME/CHANEY'S/EASTON
4 MD-A ABS/EASTON

2006 Results
1 FL-M Resmondo – KME Softball
2 VA-M Benfield/reece/shade/am las vegas
3 OH-M Specialtytank/ stucco/k&g /worth
4 FL-M Bell corp/taylor/belcher/easton

2005 Bell Corp/Backman/Taylor/Easton – Tampa, Florida
2004 Resmondo/Hague/Taylor/Sunbelt
2003 Hague / Resmondo / Taylor Brothers
2002 Dan Smith / Backman / Menosse / Easton
2001 Long Haul / Taylor Bros. / Shen Corp. / TPS
2000 Team TPS/Louisville, KY
1999 Team TPS, Louisville, Kentucky
1998 Sierra/TPS, Reno, NV
1997 Ritch's/Superior/Tri Gems/Beloli/TPS, Windsor Locks, CT
1996 Sunbelt/Easton, Centerville, GA
1995 Ritch's/Superior/TPS, Windsor Locks, CT
1994 Ritch's/Superior/TPS, Windsor Locks, CT
1993 Ritch's/Superior, Windsor Locks, CT
1992 Bell Corp, Tampa, FL.
1991 Bell Corp, Tampa, FL.
1990 Steeles Silver Bullets, Grafton, OH
1989 Superior-Apollo, Windsor Locks, CT
1988 Starpath Systems, Monticello, KY
1987 Steeles Sports, Grafton, OH
1986 Steeles Sports, Grafton, OH
1985 Elite Coatings, Gordon, GA
1984 Elite Coatings, Gordon, GA
1983 Elite Coatings, Gordon, GA
1982 York/Ken Sanders, York, PA
1981 Howards Western Steer, Denver, NC
1980 Jerry's Caterers, Miami, FL.
1979 Campbell's Carpet, Concord, CA
1978 Dave Carroll Sports, Sherrills-Ford, NC
1977 Howards Furniture, Denver, NC
1976 Howards Furniture, Denver, NC
1975 Nelson Painting, Oklahoma City, OK
1974 Howards Furniture, Denver, NC

Pictures/Videos from the Laservision vs Resmondo 3 games

Smoky Mountain Fields

Sandy Springs #3 – Main field

Most people don't realize there is a warning track at the Smoky main field because you can't see it from most areas of the field

Sandy Springs Field #4 (above and below)

Everett Park Field #1

Everett Park Field #2

BJ Fulk and Nick Santana have a laugh after Santana cramped up and BJ carried him off the field

Norkap/Suncoast Reeboks Jason Branch puts his entire body into this swing

Demarini/Dirty run ruled Albicocco 33-18 in the grudge match Friday night

Albicocco vs Demarini Friday night

Video clips brought to you by:

Stadium ZN's were used on the show field only

 Smoky Major Final Standings & Awards

Team by team notes brought to you by:

1st Place – Resmondo-Specialty Tank/Worth

Conf 'M' from Florida  6-1 Record

Directors with Travis Resmondo and family winning his 8th Smoky Mountain Classic Championship trophy!

Resmondo won all 6 of their games by the run rule and lost their only loss to Laservision by the run rule.  They win their 6th Smoky Mountain Classic in a row and do so by knocking off #3 Shoppe and #2 Laservision (twice).  The entire team contributed as they scored 16 runs before their first out against Laservision in the second inning of the first championship game and 30 runs total on 16 homers.  Andy Purcell had 15 homers for the tournament and Jeremy Yates was Defensive MVP.  Spectacular defensive plays by SS Don Dedonatis Jr. who layed out for a hard grounder towards third, catching the ball almost behind him, and still got the out at second base.  Jimmy Salas made a number of nice linedrive stabs as well.  The outfield defense was solid.

Resmondo started on Friday night with a 24-9 win over P&P 333.  They followed that with run rule wins over FBI and Nordkap.  In the Nordkap game they had a 29 run lead but Nordkap fought back and scored 20 runs in one inning to close the gap to 5 before Resmondo won 38-23.  Then in the big winner's bracket final Resmondo was outpowered by Laservision after opening the door to some big innings with some defensive miscues and lost 34-12.

Don Dedonatis Jr and Greg Connell celebrate a homer with Travis Resmondo looking on

Resmondo championship collage

Resmondo's 30 run, 16 HR second inning in the first game of the championship!

Resmondo takes on FBI early on Saturday morning

2nd Place – Laservision/Desert Falls/Boombah/Easton

Conf 'M' from New York  4-2 Record

Laservision won their first 4 games.  They hit 31 homers against the local McNally's team on Friday night in a 45-15 win.  Then on Saturday they held off Demarini 34-33 and Shoppe 35-32 in games where they didn't have to hit in the bottom of the 7th.  Then in the winner's bracket championship game against Resmondo in front of the largest Smoky crowd in at least 5 years, they made Resmondo pay for every mistake they made in a 34-12 rout.

On Sunday in the championship games Resmondo took the wind out of their sails with a 30 run second inning and then Resmondo broke open the second game after it was 11-10 after one inning.  Laservision seemed primed and focused but just didn't have it altogether on Sunday when line shot after line shot would go off of defenders gloves or just barely fall in clean followed by a big home run.  They did everything they could.  They tried 3 different pitchers and most if not all of the players in the starting lineup were hitting the ball well on Saturday. Laservision needs to regroup quickly as this coming weekends Cincinnati Major will be worth even more points than the Smoky!

SS Bryson Baker made and incredible diving play towards third base in the championship and threw out the runner.  Also Brian Wegman ran down a couple of tough balls in the outfield and the entire team was pounding long home runs to the delight of the Smoky crowd.

Brian Rainwater adds another homer to his Smoky history

Left side of Laservisions defense – Sam Lopez, Bryson Baker, Chad Durick

Laservision manager Dan Fruhwirth receives the runner up trophy

3rd Place – Shoppe/TYJA/Louisville Slugger

Conf 'M' from Tennessee  5-2 Record

Shoppe struggled some in their opener against East Tennessee Select (from what I heard) before winning 28-12 on Friday night.  Then they run ruled a depleted ASPNation team 38-22 before out powering and squeaking past Line Drive 17-15 on the show field Saturday afternoon.  In the semifinals they played a strong game but made a few too many errors and lost to Laservision 35-32.  In the loser's bracket they pounded GTL on Saturday night and smoked Line Drive with a 26 run first inning on Sunday morning.  In that inning Robert Blackburn was 3-3 with 3 homers and 10 RBI.  They turned right around and watched as Resmondo reminded them what the pecking order is at the top of Major softball in a 33-17 loss for Shoppe. Resmondo scoring 21 runs in the 3rd inning.

The defense wasn't particularly sharp for Shoppe although Robert Blackburn and Neil Haglund each made some nice diving catches.  On the offensive side people are talking about a couple of Neil Haglunds long homers, and Lee Powers and Robert Blackburn were all tournament with some great offense.  As we have for most of the last 3 years, we are still waiting for Shoppe to break through and win one of these Major tournaments.  If everyone turns it up a notch on the defensive side, something big will happen for this team soon.

Casey Rogowski, Tim Cocco, and Neil Haglund, 3 of the top powerhitting lefties in the game

Shoppe's Lee Powers

Shoppe pitcher Andy Vitcak

4th Place – Line Drive Sportz/SSS/Miken

Conf 'A' from Michigan  5-2 Record

Line Drive has now won at least 5 games in each of its last 4 Nationwide Conference USSSA tournaments!  Think about that.  That is impressive!  They knocked off WSC 33-25 in their opener after WSC led by 2 going into the 7th inning, and then they run ruled Team Combat on Friday night.  Then they lost 17-15 to Shoppe on the show field Saturday.  In the loser's bracket they sent home 3 straight 'A' teams – Red's Astros, Sonny's, and Nordkap to make it to Sunday.   Then Shoppe put up 26 runs on them in the first inning and Line Drive lost 33-6 but finished as the highest 'A' team again.

Line Drive just needs that second pitcher to give rookie Faron Miller a break when he needs it.  This team has now reached the magic number to be in line for an 'A' World Championship – they are 10-5 against fellow 'A' teams thus they have won twice as many games against 'A' teams as they have lost.  Which is a characteristic shared by each of the last 12 'A' World Champs.  Unfortunately they don't turn in stats, which is a characteristic of Conference teams that have never won a world.  🙂  Maybe they will be the first.

Another great effort by a team that the fans enjoyed seeing for the first time at the Smoky.  A number of the fans mentioned Line Drive was a "fun team to watch."  Anderson and Dill were providing some timely power.  Cory Large and Ryan Parfitt were striking the ball well.  And Joel Ramos was providing some great defense at second base.  But really the whole team was contributing and picking each other up as they have done most of the season.

Line Drive Sportz outfielder Cory Large

Steve Whaley brings his best to the Smoky main field every year

Tied 5th Place – GTL Doerflinger R&M/Easton

Conf 'A' from Iowa  4-2 Record

GTL beat Reds and a couple of 'B' teams.  But they lost to Nordkap and Shoppe by the run rule.  This wasn't GTL's weekend and I don't believe unlimited homers is their game.  Look for GTL to rebound this week in Cincinnati!

GTL's Brendt Newbill

Tied 5th Place – Nordkap/Suncoast Reebok

Conf 'A' from Minnesota  3-2 Record

Nordkap came from behind against Headhunters late on Friday night to win 36-30.  Then beat GTL by the 20 run rule on Saturday on the show field.  Then they dropped to Resmondo in the semi-finals and Nordkap late Saturday in the loser's bracket.  They showed some heart coming back from a 29 run deficit against Resmondo to close to within 5 runs and they backed into a 5th place finish.

This still isn't the "Kap" we watched play early in the season but we saw enough to know the true "Kap" is bubbling just under the surface and could come out at any time.  A second pitcher could help.  Jason Branch made a nice effort in a backup role to TJ Thompson at the Smoky but they could probably use a specialist.

Nordkap left side Scott Zaciewski, Luis Reyna, and Anthony Dress

Nordkap/Reeboks Corey Boothe

Scotty Z turns on one

More pictures below

Hot Links section brought to you by:

I would like to thank all of my sponsors, USSSA, the SoftballCenter and Oldscout advertisers!

A special thanks to tournament directors Joe Huff and Chris Clark for their hospitality!

Some of the archived games from the Smoky Major can be found here

USSSA Smoky tournament link

Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the Smoky Major

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to the 2013 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link

SoftballCenter.com Computer Rankings Link

Some more pictures for you:

Flashing the leather collage

Sweet GameTimesupply uniforms on Fence Brokers!

Sweet MOJO uniforms on Reds Astros

McNallys became the first local team to win a winners bracket game at the Smoky in years!

This was a long foul ball hit at the main field

FBI's Greg Hartwick was MVP of the Arkansas Major last weekend

Jeff Hall was at the Smoky but was not playing.  🙁

The room between the fence and the tennis courts at the main diamond

We will be in Cincinnati for the big Major there next week featuring 33 Conference teams!