Sunday March 17th, 2024
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Updated All Tournament list —> 2014 USSSA Michigan “Last Chance” Major tournament Report!

 

 

 

 

2014 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

Miken "Last Chance" 

 

Sterling Hts, MI

 

August 8-10

 

Laservisions Steven Lloyd tries to beat a throw from Resmondo SS Don Dedonatis in the championship game!

 

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

 

USSSA Michigan tournament info and bracket link

 

The "Last Chance" Major lived up to its billing as 32 teams including 28 teams from the Nationwide Conference USSSA played the double elimination tournament to try and score the last points of the regular season.  There were some of the biggest upsets of the season, some near upsets, a rash of walk off homers and game winning hits, a triple play, A NO HITTER, extra inning games, and huge comebacks. But when it was all said and done it was Laservision/H Auto/JJ's/Easton who went an undefeated 6-0 to win the prestigious season finale and did so all weekend with big innings and suffocating offensive firepower.  They beat Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth 50-35 in the final game.  

The tournament began amidst perfect weather on Friday night at 6:30 PM with 6 games and the upsets began right away.  Cooper/Yuengling/Easton, a 'B' team from Ohio upset Major Team Combat/Softball.com 18-10.  At 7:45 PM TG/Mush a local 'C' team knocked off the #4 ranked Baugh Ford/Doerflinger/National Pawn/Easton 27-26!  TG Brand also beat Bad Draw by 1 run in a spirited game back on field #1.  The rest of the favorites won their first round games on Friday.  Then the annual home run derby began.   The derby was held in front of the largest crowd we have witnessed at Liberty Park in the Conference era and the crowd got to see some long homers by many of the players including big Dave Miller from Line Drive Sportz who hit 6 of 7 balls in the first round over the trees in right field on the 300 foot fields.  But as the derby went on it was the consistent hitters that kept going and Louisville Slugger's Neil Haglund ended up defeating Eastons Scott Kirby by one homer in the finals and Neil won the $1,000 prize money!

The tournament continued on Saturday morning bright and early at 8 AM with some more first round games and the string of great games continued when H Auto LLC/Easton beat Combat/Blockers/PT Design/Bat Brigade 30-29 on a base hit by Ryan Allanson.  Then in the second round 4 The Fallen/Miken/Evo9x who was trying to score enough points to slip into the Major World Series top 16 "flip flopped" #3 ranked Team Albicocco meaning they were winning by the run rule in the 4th inning and became the home team so Albicocco  could bat twice to speed up the game and Albicocco made a huge comeback and almost beat 4 The Fallen but lost 30-29!  This dropped #3 Albicocco into the section of the loser’s bracket where they would end up playing #4 Baugh Ford.  Meanwhile back in the winner’s bracket the top seeds took care of business in the second round as Precision, Laservision, Line Drive, and Resmondo all won fairly easily.  The last two teams to make the final 8 were Red's Astros who knocked off their fellow Louisville Slugger team Backman/Shoppe 33-32 on a John Sullivan walk off single!  And upstart Cooper beat Xtreme to go to the final 8 as well as B&B Drywall/Easton who pulled out a come from behind win over TG/Mush 18-17.

In the final 8, Precision pitcher Andy Vitcak assisted by some great defensive plays NO HIT 4 The Fallen in 5 innings and won 16-0.  This after 4 The Fallen had just come off their biggest win of the season beating Team Albicocco.  And with 4 The Fallen re-classifying to Major both teams had 12 homers to use?  Elsewhere in the final 8 Laservision handled Line Drive Sportz 35-20, Red's Astros continued their point’s pursuit with a 24-14 win over B&B Drywall, and Cooper who was on a roll jumped out to a 15-3 on Resmondo on the show field.  Resmondo then came back with a big 20+ run inning late and held off a top of the 7th inning comeback by Cooper to win 34-31.

In the final 4 of the winners bracket Precision jumped out to a nice lead on Laservision and held that lead until late in the game when Laservision pulled out a 39-37 win.  And over on the main field the hot Red's Astros put one on Resmondo and ended up run ruling them 34-17.  This was only Resmondos second loss to a non-major team all season.  In the winners bracket championship game Laservision with its offense clicking on all cylinders beat Red's Astros 46-23.

The loser's bracket ended up having 7 games decided in the last at bat including the last game of the night Precision and Backman who played into extra innings after Precision took a 32-0 lead.  The final score was Backman 53 and Precision 51!  B&B Drywall also made it far enough to unseat Above All Landscaping (who didn't play Michigan) from the 16th spot in the points and qualify for the USSSA Major World Series.  4 The Fallen, Broughton, Combat/Blockers, and others came up short.

On Sunday at 8 am it was Resmondo run ruling Backman 30-15 and then knocking off Red's Astros 41-26 to get back to the showdown with Laservision once again.  A fresh Laservision team though would not be denied and ended up taking a 15 run lead on Resmondo through 4 complete innings.  In the top of the 5th with two out and no runners on and Resmondo facing a 5 inning run rule loss they scored 10 runs to extend the game.  But in the bottom of the 6th a strong Laservision offense finally finished off Resmondo 50-35.

 

 

The pre-game coin toss between team representatives

News and notes:
 – The infields were groomed but rock hard making even the best infielders look bad.  It was a rough weekend for infielders on all teams.
 – The best diving catch of the tournament was Red's Astros RF Buddy Wolf making a full out dive toward the RF foul line against Resmondo.
 – Longest homers during the daytime were 4 The Fallens Denny Crine and Resmondos Greg Connell.
 – Tony Mack turned triple play for Combat/Blockers against Broughton in a key spot late in a one run game.
 – The weather was perfect with no rain and low humidity
 – There were so many walk off homers I can't even remember who all hit them.
 – Laservision has picked up former Combat outfielder Rick Baker.
 – B&B Drywall has picked up former ASPNation slugger Stuart Snell.
 – There are 15 teams as of now for the 'A' worlds.  6 'A' teams, 2 'B' teams, and 5 local host teams.

 

Laservision finishes off Resmondo 50-35 in the championship game

Resmondos Andy Purcell pitches to Line Drive Sportz

 

Benches did clear twice during the Line Drive vs Resmondo game but no real action.

Base running, fake throws, bat allegations, middle war, and beer were the instigators.

Oh, and bad feelings left over from their game at the Smoky.

Josh Wiggs from Broughton hits against Combat/Blockers Shawn Jones

This weekend was the biggest crowds I have witnessed at the Last Chance in the Conference era

No fences to look through down the side lines makes it a nice place to watch a tournament

 

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

 

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

The home run derby results from Friday night:
1) Neil Haglund – Louisville Slugger (3-3 in final round)
2) Scott Kirby – Easton  (2-3 in final round)
3) Brian Mays
4) Adam Rockoff – Demarini

Other Top 10
Nick Santana – Worth
Brian Wegman – Easton
Dale Brungardt – Demarini

Resmondo's Greg Connell had one of the longest bombs of the weekend.

 

Line Drive's Joey Formosa (not pictured) had two crowd pleasers against Resmondo.

 

 

Line Drive's Cory Boothe had a bomb back on field #6

 


 

Michigan Major Awards and Final Standings

 

Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament CO-MVP Bryson Baker Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
Tournament CO-MVP Luis Reyna Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
Offensive Tournament MVP Bubba Mack III Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
Defensive Tournament MVP Brandon Dillon Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Dennis Rulli Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Brian Wegman Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Travis Clark Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Scott Kirby Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Travis Dale Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Steven Lloyd Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Andrew Collins Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Dale Brungardt Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Mike Umscheid Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton
All Tournament Team Robert Roop Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Troy Krider Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Nic Santana Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Lee Powers Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Andrew Purcell Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
Place State Team Team
Class
Wins Loses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
USSSA
Points
1 NYU – Cicero laservision/h.auto/jj's/easton SPMensMajor 6 0 0 235 133 39.1 22.1 17 50 300
2 FL – Winter Haven resmondo-specialty tank worth SPMensMajor 6 2 0 253 205 31.6 25.6 6 44 225
3 IN – Indianapolis red's astros/louisville slugger SPMensA 4 2 0 172 172 28.6 28.6 0 34 200
4 IN – AURORA backman / shoppe/louisville slugger SPMensMajor 6 2 0 286 184 35.7 23 12.7 53 175
5 MI – Warren line drive sportz/r&m metals/easton SPMensA 4 2 0 180 144 30 24 6 36 155
5 IL – Chicago Precision/Easton SPMensB 3 2 0 166 124 33.2 24.8 8.4 51 155
7 NC – Greenville Bad Draw SPMensB 4 2 0 138 130 23 21.6 1.33 36 130
7 AZ – Anthem 4 the fallen/ miken/ evo 9x SPMensMajor 3 2 0 103 118 20.6 23.6 -3 31 130
9 OHO – West Chester 3rd street/louisville slugger/mojo SPMensB 3 2 0 131 97 26.2 19.4 6.8 37 110
9 WA – Kent Team Combat/Softball.com SPMensMajor 3 2 0 135 116 27 23.2 3.8 35 110
9 OHS – Huber Heights Cooper/Yuengling/Easton SPMensB 2 2 0 77 91 19.2 22.7 -3.5 31 110
9 MO – Belton B&B DRYWALL/Easton SPMensB 2 2 0 89 98 22.2 24.5 -2.2 33 110
13 GA – Macon broughton/nls/turk auto/br/easton SPMensB 2 2 0 59 91 14.7 22.7 -8 25 70
13 AL – Clanton baugh doerflinger nat-pawn/easton SPMensA 2 2 0 105 105 26.2 26.2 0 33 70
13 OHO – Cincinnati pure romance/chics/headlines/easton SPMensB 2 2 0 91 110 22.7 27.5 -4.7 29 70
13 NC – Clayton B&B/Diamond & Ice/BMW SPMensB 2 2 0 80 85 20 21.2 -1.2 24 70
17 MI – Warren TG/MUSH Qualified SPMensC 1 2 0 54 69 18 23 -5 27 40
17 MI – Detroit Detroit Elite/ Easton SPMensC 1 2 0 52 96 17.3 32 -14. 33 40
17 MN – Le Sueur h. auto llc/easton/hooters moa SPMensB 1 2 0 61 83 20.3 27.6 -7.3 30 40
17 WA – Bothell West Coast Newbreed/Worth SPMensB 1 2 0 66 64 22 21.3 0.66 27 40
17 NYD – Hunington team albicocco/scene/easton/elite SPMensA 1 2 0 74 72 24.6 24 0.66 29 40
17 MN – Brooklyn Center Xtreme/Miken SPMensB 1 2 0 50 58 16.6 19.3 -2.6 23 40
17 MI – Flint TG Brand SPMensB 1 2 0 71 86 23.6 28.6 -5 29 40
17 WA – KENT combat/blocker/ptdesign/bat brigade SPMensA 1 2 0 75 64 25 21.3 3.66 31 40
25 NYU – Rochester smash it sports/rac/rizzo's/easton Qualified SPMensC 0 2 0 38 51 19 25.5 -6.5 22 40
25 MI – Lansing p&p333/suburban/clutch/lt/combat SPMensB 0 2 0 45 66 22.5 33 -10. 24 40
25 PA – Pittsburgh tailgaters/boys/b&e/easton SPMensC 0 2 0 20 53 10 26.5 -16. 10 40
25 VA – Williamsburg taylormade/tm sports/d&i/mizuno SPMensA 0 2 0 32 43 16 21.5 -5.5 19 40
25 OHN – Mentor CashHouse/ Nager Law SPMensB 0 2 0 46 65 23 32.5 -9.5 24 40
25 MI – Center Line Sand Bagger's Qualified SPMensD 0 2 0 10 46 5 23 -18 7 40
25 WI – Eau Claire WSC/Sportsman Shop SPMensC 0 2 0 28 63 14 31.5 -17. 21 40
25 MI – Detroit Detroit Phillies Qualified SPMensC 0 2 0 21 61 10.5 30.5 -20 16 40

 


 

2014 Final Regular Season Nationwide Conference USSSA Point Standings!

Team Name Total Pts Class
Power
Rating
GA NV TXS FL FL KS OR OH TX CN MN GA WA WA IL TX MD MD MN IN CA VA AR TN OH LA OR MD CO MI
1 Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth 1656 M-1071       274 274     214 204           238   282 282 220         274 270         222
2 Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton 1628 M-1130   209   314 314     254         201 201 168   242 242 180         234 230         262
3 Team Albicocco/Scene/Easton/Elite 1306 A-1145     155 224 214             207         222 222           214 210         142
4 Baugh Doerflinger Nat-Pawn/Easton 1288 A-998   169   254 254     194       147     158   182 182           204 200         152
5 BACKMAN / SHOPPE/LOUISVILLE SLUGGER 1284 M-666       244 244     184 164           198   202 202 150         194 170         192
6 Precision/Easton 1212 B-1185       204 224     174             178   202 202   198         180         182
7 Buzini/BWW/Miken 1176 A-635     135 194 234       124               192 192           184   180        
8 Line Drive Sportz/R&M Metals/Easton 1169 A-1178     195 164 164     174 114           138   212 212           194 160         182
9 OI Livingston/Scott's Lawn Care/MWA 1123 B-1080 120     234 204     154       167         182 182           154            
10 Team Combat/Softball.com 1105 M-461   149   234 224       144       161 161     162 162 160         154     137     162
11 TaylorMade/TM Sports/D&I/Mizuno 1096 A-660       204 204     144                 182 182           164 160         112
12 Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger 1096 A-542       164 194     154             128   162 162   158       184 190         202
13 TG Brand 1084 B-996     115 194 234     134             138   162 162   118       124 190         142
14 Classic Glass/Easton 1078 B-1058   139   224 194               121 121     172 172                 177      
15 3rd Street/Louisville Slugger/MOJO 1066 B-878       194 164     154             138   182 182           174 170         162
16 B&B DRYWALL/Easton 1040 B-860       204 164 140     124           148       120       186   150       174 162
17 Above All Landscaping/GWS 1033 B-1012     85 194 164         75   137         192 192       75   154       135    
18 4 The Fallen/ Miken/ EVO 9X 1028 M-637   129   164 164               121 131     172 172     174     174           172
19 Combat/Blocker/PTDesign/Bat Brigade 1028 A-152       204 214     164         111 101     132 132           154 150         142
20 Pure Romance/Chics/Headlines/Easton 1022 B-973       194 214     134             158         98       124 170         152
21 H. Auto LLC/Easton/Hooters MOA 1018 B-972   129   214 164 180   134     135       138       110           180         142
22 B&B/Diamond & Ice/BMW 1018 B-920       164 204             127     118   172 172       135   154 150         152
23 Broughton/NLS/Turk Auto/BR/Easton 1018 B-912 135     214 164     144       97         162 162           164 150         152
24 OC SWATS/MIKEN/PREMIER ATHLETICS 1006 B-1018   109   214 164               131 81     162 162     134       170          
25 ASPNation/JOCO/Reset/Easton 993 B-913     95 214 194       134     117       135 132 132         146 164   140        
26 West Coast Newbreed/Worth 985 B-872   109   194 214   135           101 111         140           160   107     142
27 P&P333/Suburban/Clutch/LT/Combat 974 B-711       164 164     134             148   172 172   128       154 120         112
28 CashHouse/ Nager Law 960 B-666       164 164     154             128   162 162   108       154           112
29 Primetime/Easton 951 B-607 105     164 194     104       97         162 162           164            
30 Bad Draw 948 B-884       164 194             117     118   132 132           154 120         172
31 CROSSFIT / RDU 943 C-783       164 194             87         162 162           174            
32 Cooper/Yuengling/Easton 922 B-608       164 164     134             118         138       124 160         162
33 Xtreme/Miken 918 B-1070       164 164     144             118       130         174           142
34 Nightmare/Louisville Slugger 900 B-792     125 194 204 100         120 127       120     130       86              
35 Tailgaters/Boys/B&E/Easton 876 C-1227       164 164     134                 132 132             150         112
36 WorshamAthletics/G&K/Combat 836 C-859       164 164             107         132 132           124 120          
37 Vivid/Worth/Shirt Doctors 824 B-633     75 164 194       104           118                 124   120        
38 ChecKing/Worth 802 B-660       164 164         105             132 132       105                
39 JOCO/ADIKTIV/EASTON 734 C-892 75   105 194 164       84       101 51   45             86     70        
40 Wilson & Smith / C.G.R / Miken 708 C-971                 114               132 132       60     150     120    
41 WSC/Sportsman Shop 708 C-959               104             88   132 132   108         120         112
42 Midwest Hearing/Easton 705 C-859   89   164 164 70     84                   110                   94  
43 Burch Propane/Team Moose 624 C-739                                 132 132       120     150     90    
44 LA Classic/Worth 594 C-1187     75           104             105             86 124   100        
45 AZM/3N2/EASTON/CLASSICK SPORTS 586 B-664   99                     51 121             84           117   114  
46 K&G/Wilson/Louisville Slugger 537 C-647               104       87     128         98         120          
47 MPT RENTALS / MIZUNO 522 B-816       164 194     164                                            
48 Detroit Elite/ Easton 494 C-989               144                       88         120         142
49 JTF/ Louisville Slugger 467 C-814 45 89       80           87       60             106              
50 RSC/AlphaDawgSports/Combat 390 C-155               104             88         78         120          
51 Fence Brokers Inc/Buzini/Worth 314 B-552                 94                           96 124            

 


 

Team by team notes brought to you by:


 

1st Place – Laservision/H Auto/JJ's/Easton

Conf 'M' from NY  6-0 Record

Laservision scored at least 30 runs in every game and came from behind in the winner's bracket semi-finals to beat Precision/Easton 39-37.  Then in the winner's bracket championship on Saturday night they run ruled Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger 46-23.  Red's had just upset Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth 34-17.   On Sunday Laservision was an offensive machine beating Resmondo 50-35.

Laservision wins their 7th Nationwide Conference event of the season and pulls to within 28 points of Resmondo meaning that the #1 seed for the USSSA Major World Series is still up for grabs at the Conference Championships August, 29-31 in Kissimmee, Florida!

Laservision was led by SS Luis Reyna (.871, 5 HR, 20 RBI), his co-MVP Bryson Baker (.865, 8 HR, 22 RBI), and defensive MVP CF Brandon Dillon who also hit well (.824, 8 HR, 23 RBI).  The whole team turned on the offense when needed and really played well top to bottom.  Kevin Bazat had an incredible play on a hard shot in the championship that came up off the huge lip of the grass and he stabbed high above his head.  Dale Brungardt at third turned a big double play, and the team played as good a defense as any team on the hard infields.

Trending Up!

 

Brian Wegman put the finishing touches on the conference batting title .826

 

Scott Kirby and Kevin Filby

 

Brett Helmer and Steven Lloyd

 

Dale Brungardt and Brandon Dillon

 

Mike Umschied and Luis Reyna

 

Kevin Bazat and Travis Clark

 


 

2nd Place – Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth

Conf 'M' from FL  6-2 Record

 

Resmondo played pretty well and fought hard to get back through the loser's bracket.  Andy Purcell their pitcher was drilled by a middle shot during the first game Sunday morning just above the left knee and couldn't run much most of the day as he iced the swelling between innings.  The team struggled some with the hard grounders as all the teams did but it seemed to catch Resmondo at the worst times and they ran into a hungry Reds Astros team on Saturday night in that winner's bracket semi-final.  Resmondo wasn't as crisp as normal but didn't have much to play for as they couldn't score any more points in this tournament but could have prevented Laservision from moving up on them in the point standings.

Don Dedonatis had one of the best plays of the tournament when he did a full out dive in the hole toward third base to rob Brian Wegman in the championship game.  Purcell stabbed some of the best line drives back to pitcher once again even at age 45.  Connell supplied a lot of power and Bubba Mack took home the home run crown for the season although final stats have not been posted yet.

Trending Up!

 

Dennis Rulli and Greg Connell

Bubba Mack won the Home Run title for the Conference with ?

 

Andy Purcell and Lee Powers

Like most major players BJ Fulk plays the game the right way and can really base hit when needed.

BJ was trying to give out "dirt naps".  🙂

Jimmy Salas

  

Nick Santana and Don Dedonatis

Jeremy Isenhower hits a comeback homer

 


 

3rd Place – Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger

Conf 'A' from IN  4-2 Record

 

Reds had the best infield defense of any team on Saturday including some great double play turns by middle infielder Troy Krider.  That and solid offense got them through to where they increased their Conference points and moved all the way up to tied for 11th with Taylormade.  The tie breaker is power rating which is based on in-class win loss records.  Taylormade has the edge there so Reds is currently seeded 12th.  Buddy Wolf has been on fire lately and the teams power hitters did a better job of home run management in their wins.  

Finally trending Up!  At the right time of year!

Reds middle man Troy Krider was my pick for Defensive Player of the tournament, at least until Sunday.  🙂

John Sullivan with a walk off single vs Backman

 


 

4th Place – Backman/Shoppe/Louisville Slugger

Conf 'M' from IN  6-2 Record

 

Backman because of the spot they are in the point standings every week has to play Red's Astros early in the tournament and until Michigan they had won all of those contests.  This week they came up a run short and that sent them to the loser's bracket where they won 5 straight against 'B' teams to make it to the final 4 where Resmondo run ruled them Sunday morning.  Backman won that game Saturday night against Precision after being down 32-0 in the first inning and showed some real heart, even using mangers Mike Foulkes and Scott "Stump" Sunderland after they were short handed when Brett McCollum hurt his hamstring and they had already been missing outfielder Brian Rainwater.

Backman is gearing up for the Major World Series to salvage their season but I think they need to get some momentum going at the Conference Championships with some quality wins over the top 4 teams.

Trending Even – still showing some heart against the non big two

Someone got a hit…  I jest.

Robo 

 

 


 

Tied 5th Place – Line Drive Sportz/R&M Metals/Easton

Conf 'A' from MI  4-2 Record

Linedrive played well overall losing only to the Major teams.  They stood up to Resmondo when the benches cleared twice but no punches or anything physical happened.  The top of this order Cory Large, Jason Branch, Ryan Parfitt, and Joey Formosa is as good as it gets in the 'A' division and it will be interesting to see if they can break through and beat the top 'A' teams and Precision next week at 'A' Worlds.

Trending Up!

Like him or not, Branch is a great player, and a winner

Chris Hansen at SS, Steve Whaley MI, Sal Formosa 2B, Joey Formosa 1B

Joel Ramos is playing now for Linedrive, must be championship time!

Linedrive first baseman David Miller played 1st for the Cleveland Indians and other organizations

Line Drive Sportz is located right around the corner from Liberty Park on 14 mile road.

If you need to do some hitting before or during a tournament go there.

Or if you need some equipment or uniforms.

 


 

Tied 5th Place – Precision/Easton

Conf 'B' from IL  3-2 Record

Precision was the talk of the tournament as they nearly knocked off Laservision and Backman on Saturday and the buzz around the complex was about how they were able to stay in the 'B' divison after picking up all of those Major and 'A' players in the offseason and beating just about everyone they faced this year.  But we will see if they can pull off 'A' and 'B' World wins in the coming month.  Precision has really pieced together a great team and solidified themselves as a viable top 10 team for years to come.  SS Keith Laski appeared to have a leg injury which moved Matt Rear to SS and Denis Fisher to 3B.  Dan Kirkwood did not make the trip this weekend but will be at Worlds.  Chris Geron was also missing.
 

Trending Up!  What a run. 

Frank Fracek Precisions RF

Andy Vitcak pitches to Laservisions Steve Lloyd

Denis Fisher gave me one of his drinks.  Now thats how you get your picture in the report!

 

 


 

Tied 7th Place – Bad Draw

Conf 'B' from NC  4-2 Record

Someone is about to get a Bad Draw!  Ya boy!

Bad Draw had their best tournament of the season.  After losing a nail biter to TG Brand on Friday night they knocked off a 'C' team and 3 'B' teams and finished in 7th place, squashing Broughtons Major dreams and making B&B Drywall sweat it out.  The team looked sound as they used free agent pitcher Roger Bias all weekend.

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Middle infielder Freddie Bynum has a gun

Pitcher Roger "Dancing Bear" Bias is now with Bad Draw

 

 


 

Tied 7th Place – 4 The Fallen/Miken/Evo9x

Conf 'M' from AZ  3-2 Record

4 The Fallen had their best tournament of the year with nice wins over Pure Romance and Team Albicocco.  The Albicocco game they flip flopped them and then nearly lost!  May have to get rid of that rule as no one likes it.  They scored zero and was no hit by Precision, not sure what happened there but they recovered to send Team Combat home and came up just two wins shy of a Major World Series berth.
 

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4 The Fallens Isaac Gonzalez hits a walk off run rule grand slam to beat Pure Romance

 

Geno Buck

 


 

More pictures below

 


 

Other Nationwide Conference teams

 

9th 3rd street/louisville slugger/mojo 3-2 – Had a big win over Baugh Ford in a game they put up two zeros and run ruled them in 6 innings 37-20.  Also had a quality win over West Coast Newbreed and lost to Linedrive by 1 run after leading by 9+.  

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9th Team Combat/Softball.com 3-2 – Upset by Cooper and beaten by 4 The Fallen.  Won 3 games in between, two of them by 2 or less runs over 'B' teams.

The team is struggling and it isn't looking like its getting any better.  Hustle is free and may win a few of those close games.

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9th Cooper/Yuengling/Easton 2-2 – Big upset over Team Combat on Friday night.  Then on Saturday Cooper led Resmondo 8-3 after one inning and 16-3 at one point.  Then late in the game Resmondo scored 20+ but Cooper never gave up and only lost just 34-31.  In the losers bracket they got smoked by Backman 21-1.  But overall a great weekend for Cooper finishing tied for 9th and hanging with Resmondo. 

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9th B&B DRYWALL/Easton 2-2 – Drywall used a soft spot in the bracket to beat P&P 333 and then squeaked out a 1 run win over the non-conference 'C' team TG that beat Baugh Ford on Friday night.  Then they lost two straight but it was enough to get them in the Major World Series as the #16 seed!

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13th Broughton/nls/turk auto/br/easton 2-2 – Broughton won a hard fought game on Friday night against B&B/Diamond & Ice 25-24, then lost to Resmondo.  In the loser's bracket they beat Combat/Blockers by 3 on a walk off grand slam home run by Sean Greer.  But then needing a few more wins to qualify for the Major World Series they got shut down 24-4 by Bad Draw.

PJ Garcia pitched for Broughton as the musical chairs among pitchers at the 'B' level continues.

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13th Baugh doerflinger nat-pawn/easton 2-2 – Sean McDonald and Vince Bisbee are "pure Michigan"

I didn't get a lot of pictures of Baugh Ford as they were upset by non-conference 'C' team TG/Mush and 'B' team 3rd Street.

They did knock off Team Albicocco in between losses.

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13th Pure romance/chics/headlines/easton 2-2 – Lost to Fallen by run rule, beat a couple of 'C' teams and was sent home by Backman.

PRI used Free Agent pitcher Paul Winner this weekend.

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13th B&B/Diamond & Ice/BMW 2-2 – Lost to Broughton by 1 on Friday night.  Beat H Auto by 1 on a walk off homer.  Then got smashed by Team Combat.

B&B has former ASP pitcher Cam Byars pitching now.

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17th TG/MUSH 1-2 – Huge upset of Baugh Ford on Friday night 27-26!  Then on Saturday they almost beat B&B Drywall but somehow lost by a run.

Mush has some players with conference experience like CF Brian Blay and infielder Josh Frank.

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17th Detroit Elite/ Easton 1-2 – Sent home Cash House but lost by 30 to 3rd Street?

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17th H. Auto llc/easton/hooters moa 1-2 – Beat Combat/Blockers on Saturday morning by a run on a walk off single by Ryan Allanson pictured above and below.  Then played Laservision ok for a few minutes before losing 35-13.  Then lost to B&B Diamond & Ice on a walk off homer.  Competitive weekend although 1-2.

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17th West Coast Newbreed/Worth 1-2 – Lost by 3 to 'B' peer 3rd Street on Saturday morning and then 1-1 in the loser's bracket losing to Backman.  New Breed is done until 'B' Worlds.

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17th Team Albicocco/scene/easton/elite 1-2 – A rough weekend for the dominant 'A' team going into 'A' Worlds next week.  They were upset by 4 The Fallen 30-29 after begin "flip flopped"!  Wow.  Then in the losers bracket they ran into Baugh Ford early on and lost a lackluster battle between two teams that could be in the finals of next weeks World Tournament.

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17th Xtreme/Miken 1-2 – Xtreme had a solid win over Taylormade and then two games where the offense disappeared in losses to Cooper and Bad Draw.

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17th TG Brand SPMensB 1-2 – Adam Kaminski celebrates a big home run against Bad Draw which led to a Friday night win.

TG then lost to Michigan rival Line Drive who was paying them back for losing in Cincinnati.

Then they lost a heart breaker to Team Combat by 2 runs.

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17th Combat/blocker/ptdesign/bat brigade 1-2 – Lost to H Auto and Broughton in their opponents last at bat.  

They will try to play spoiler at the 'A' Worlds.

Tony Mack pictured above turned an triple play from middle infield against Broughton.

Tag, step on bag at two, throw to first.

Trending down but did battle some

 


 


25th Smash it sports/rac/rizzo's/easton 0-2 – Smash It had veteran conference players like pitcher Greg Neal, Chris Carr, and Kirby Murphy among others.

Looks like a very good C team.

 


 


25th P&P 333/suburban/clutch/lt/combat 0-2 – P&P scored over 20 in both losses to B&B Drywall and Baugh Ford.

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25th Tailgaters/boys/b&e/easton 0-2

Pictured is Doug Kosmerl the veteran Cleveland pitcher who has been pitching at a high level for over 24 years.

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25th Taylormade/tm sports/d&i/mizuno 0-2 – lost to Xtreme on Friday and Team Combat by 1 on Saturday.  6-9 vs 'B' teams this season.

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25th CashHouse/ Nager Law 0-2

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25th WSC/Sportsman Shop 0-2 – Two and Q for WSC

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Hot Links section brought to you by:

I would like to thank all of director Tony Dedonatis, USSSA, and the SoftballCenter and Oldscout advertisers!

USSSA Michigan tournament link

Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the Michigan Major

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to the 2014 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2013 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link

 


 

 

Close Calls brought to you by

 

Strike one and strike two in a key situation Backman throwing against Precision at midnight Saturday.

Tough break

 


 

Some more pictures for you:

Fence Climbers.  Dave Kessler had a nice home run rob and Kyle Cowart on Sunday robbed a grand slam from Resmondo.

Cowart is not pictured.

 

 


 

I think this is a game Backman can win…  (we only joke with the ones that can take it Jerry 🙂

Xtreme did the jump pitch perfected by Jim Burbring who used to play for Hague in the 1990's.

By the way this is an illegal pitch.

Cash House pitcher Matt Miller pitches to Detroit Elite on Friday night

Grimmett Grant at the Home Run Derby…  🙂

Happy Birthday to Rock, sorry for your Lebron loss…  🙂

Tried to get Billy holding the sun in his hand…just missed

 


 

 

Big Jim Krzezewski had a lot of friends in softball and they named field #7 where he used to umpire after him.

 

The umpire above is Doug Kett who used to play with Bunca in the AA division.

Below is Al Krzezewski who is Big Jim's brother and used to pitch for Bunca.

They did the game on Big Jims field at the Conference tournament Friday night.

 

 

7 responses to “Updated All Tournament list —> 2014 USSSA Michigan “Last Chance” Major tournament Report!”

  1. Sansone #14 says:

    DW we didn’t get flip flopped in the Scene game, we flip flopped them and they came back on us to make it close

  2. Richard Everett says:

    Thanks very much DW! Enjoyed every picture and all the commentary!

  3. 0037 says:

    The other umpire with Doug Kett, is Jim’s brother Al…Al was Bunca’s pitcher for years, and also pitched for the old Snyders Softball team. Just an FYI.

    • DW says:

      Thanks for the information, I will update the report. I remember Al pitching for Bunca. I think he might have been the one that got carried off on a stretcher though in Cleveland one year?

  4. 0037 says:

    Yes he was. Scary.

  5. Tim Caird says:

    Great job sir!

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