Monday March 25th, 2024
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2015 USSSA Houston Major tournament report!

 

 

 

2015 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

9th Annual "Space City" Classic

 

League City, TX

 

April 10-12

 

Vivid/Cash House/Worth catcher and Texas native Argen Dodds hammers a big home run in the Championship game!

 

 

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

 

USSSA Houston tournament info and bracket link

 

The night and grey skies made for tough photo taking.  That is why a lot of them are grainy or blurred.  Sorry

 

Vivid/Cash House/Worth a 'B' team based out of Texas came from behind to beat Albicocco/The Scene/Worth 34-31 in the winner's bracket finals Sunday morning to win the Houston Major after rain cancelled the loser's finals and championship.  This gave Albicocco and CA Sports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse/Miken a tie for 2nd Place.  TG Brand played deep into the night Saturday/Sunday morning to finish 4th.

The tournament began on Friday night at 6 PM central time at League City's Big League Dreams park.  The entire tournament was played with the Dudley Hycor 52/300 softball which provided for exciting and sometimes lower scoring games on the smaller fields.  The entire weekend there was a threat of rain and games were postponed twice eventhough the fields have artificial turf.  That tells you how hard it was raining.  The Friday upsets began in the second round for a few of the 12 Nationwide Conference USSSA teams.  An athletic HGC out of Mississippi smoked conference 'C' team Big Ten 31-7.  L/S Glass a 'D' team from northern California shocked Fence Brokers 'B' team from Arkansas 26-24.  CA Sports 'A' team was down 11-6 and came back to win on a walk off dribbler with the bases loaded 17-16 against 'C' team BTX.  Fat Pats beat Conference 'C' team Steel 22-21.  Olmito Heat gave Compound Athletics all they could handle in a 22-21 win.  And in what may have been the best game of the tournament (definitely the longest) Albicocco, the only Major team in Houston, came from way down to beat Colorado Stars a 'C' team.  Stars went up 17-0 in this game that went well past midnight Friday, and Albicocco slowly overcame multiple double digit deficits.  Going into the bottom of the 6th with two quick outs and no homers left, Albicocco scored 7 runs to break a 41-41 tie.  Colorado Stars who had basically led the entire game ran out of gas and managed just 3 runs in the top of the 7th to lose the upset bid 48-44.

On Saturday morning in the final 16, Vivid aka VCH pulled out an ugly 16-15 win over a feisty HGC team as a strong wind started to affect most of the games.  L/S Glass pulled off another win 23-20 over Magz Premier over on Crosley field on a walk off home run.  Chill Sports a local 'B' team put together by veteran Conference sponsor Doug Wood jumped out to a nice lead and pitcher Danny Evans held down CA Sports 22-21.  Evans even came through with a clutch hit in the bottom of the 7th to set up the game winner.  Nightmare won their 3rd game of the day, Albicocco beat a very good Olmito Heat team, I heard they put up 32 runs in one inning back on Wrigley, and TG Brand and Above All Landscaping survived and advanced in the 64 team field.

By the start of the final 8 it was evident to all that the ball, the wind, and the strength of the C teams in this tournament was making for a well-played and entertaining weekend.  The final 8 was played at 3:30 PM – VCH came from behind and used some nice defensive plays by brothers left fielder Zane Trammell and my pick for defensive MVP middle infielder Jason Trammell to beat TG Brand 21-16.  Chill Sports held off L/S Glass 20-18 with L/S Glass having runners on and homers left in the bottom of the 7th.  More good pitching by Chill Sports Danny Evans sealed it.  Both teams were the Cinderella stories of the tournament and both could of advanced to the final four, but it was Chill Sports that kept the slipper!  In the bottom half of the bracket Albicocco beat Fat Pats 26-11 and Above All Landscaping quietly won their 4th game of the day, beating Nightmare 22-15 but comfortably leading the whole way.  

In the final four with the rain starting up at 8 PM VCH (Vivid) beat Cinderella Chill Sports 18-8 and Albicocco run ruled Above All Landscaping 25-10 on a Lee Payne walk off 3 run homer.

The winner's bracket final between VCH and Albicocco barely got started late on Saturday night when pouring rain moved the game to 8 AM Sunday morning.  The 12 teams remaining in the loser's bracket agreed to wait out the rain and resumed their games with a one hour time limit starting a midnight.  It was at this time that the upsets ceased for 3 hours and the higher seeded teams won almost every game as the cream came to the top.

The conference awoke Sunday morning to CA Sports who won 8 games in Houston taking on TG Brand over on Fenway Park and the winner's final between VCH and Albicocco was on Crosley field.  CA Sports run ruled TG Brand who wasn't happy with an overturned double play call in the 5th inning.  And VCH shocked the softball world with a come from behind 34-31 win over heavy favorite Albicocco.  Albicocco hit 8 homers in the first inning and surrendered their lead late when Vivid's "meat of the lineup" – Ryan Roppel, Zane Trammell, and Argen Dodds all came up with clutch hits and clutch homers.  VCH MVP pitcher Wes Newell was a workhorse all weekend and the defense held Albicocco who was out of homers in the bottom of the 7th to win.

Then the rain returned about 10:30 AM Sunday morning and the tournament was called (possibly prematurely) with VCH the deserved champion!

Team Breakdown –  Teams Total (12 Conference)

 1 Major
2  'A'
6  'B'
23 'C'
24 'D'
8 'E'

It was fun to see 12 more conference teams, 11 of whom were not in Las Vegas.  2 run homers were prevalent and lots of solos were hit late in games.

It will be interesting to compare stats at the two BLD tournaments and the two different balls used.  I know the Houston conference players wanted to hit the regular conference ball.

The softball world mourns the passing this week of Jimmy "Texas Red" Glasgow a renowned umpire and Cleveland softball player/manager/legend Buddy Langdon.  May they rest in peace.

 

 

VCH middle man Jason Trammell making another great play

Ebbets field – L/S Glass Matthew Imwalle hits a walkoff homer to beat Magz Premier

Yankee Stadium – TG Brands Faron Miller pitches to Pro Gutter

Fenway

Wrigley

Big Ten pitching to Olmito Heat on Sportsmans Park field

Ebbets Field

Crowds were small due to bad weather

 


 

Oldscout pollers

Only 2% picked VCH to win…

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

 

 

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

This kid pounded one all the way over the other end of the grass.

I did not see a lot of bombs and couldn't recall one that stood out so lets give it to this kid who had a great swing.

 


 

 Major Awards and Final Standings

Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament MVP Wes Newell VCH Worth
Offensive Tournament MVP BRIAN FARIA Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
Defensive Tournament MVP Richard Buck CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Team Brad Reckart Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
All Tournament Team Ryan Morrow TG Brand
All Tournament Team Justin Evans TG Brand
All Tournament Team Phillip White Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
All Tournament Team John Radich TG Brand
All Tournament Team Isaac Gonzales VCH Worth
All Tournament Team Cory Large Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
All Tournament Team ZANE TRAMMELL VCH Worth
All Tournament Team JASON TRAMMELL VCH Worth
All Tournament Team Jesse Solomon VCH Worth
All Tournament Team Colby Hughes CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Team Ryan Parfitt Albicocco/The Scene/Easton
All Tournament Team Adam Kaminski TG Brand
All Tournament Team Kyle Pearson CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Team Bryan Daniel VCH Worth
All Tournament Team ryan roppel VCH Worth
All Tournament Team Billy Maggard CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Team SID STEPHANY CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Team Jeff Payton CASports/Buzini/Lockdown/Powerhouse
All Tournament Manager Rob Whitehouse VCH Worth
 
Place State Team Team
Class
Wins Losses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
USSSA
Points
1 TXN – Dallas VCH Worth USSSA-Mens-B 7 0 0 151 90 21.5 12.8 8.71 34 300
2 NYU – Commack albicocco/the scene/easton USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 2 0 192 104 24 13 11 48 225
2 MS – Jackson casports/buzini/lockdown/powerhouse USSSA-Mens-A 8 2 0 249 125 24.9 12.5 12.4 50 200
4 MI – Flint TG Brand USSSA-Mens-A 6 2 0 178 116 22.2 14.5 7.75 38 175
5 NJ – Jackson above all landscaping/evo9x USSSA-Mens-B 4 2 0 107 76 17.8 12.6 5.16 28 155
5 TXN – Lewisville Chill Sports Bar & Grill USSSA-Mens-B 4 2 0 117 108 19.5 18 1.5 28 155
7 MS – Brandon HGC/BWW USSSA-Mens-C 5 2 0 162 103 23.1 14.7 8.42 37 130
7 AR – Rogers bear hollow ranch/cl/buzini/easton USSSA-Mens-B 5 2 0 159 84 22.7 12 10.7 29 130
9 AR – Bryant fence brokers inc/buzini/worth USSSA-Mens-B 5 2 0 154 107 22 15.2 6.71 30 110
9 MO – Branson Nightmare/Miken USSSA-Mens-B 3 2 0 102 97 20.4 19.4 1 32 110
9 CAN – San Jose L/S Glass USSSA-Mens-D 3 2 0 100 106 20 21.2 -1.2 29 110
9 LA – Lafayette Fat Pat's USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 85 101 17 20.2 -3.2 24 110
13 CO – Denver Big Ten / Team Wager USSSA-Mens-C 4 2 0 99 98 16.5 16.3 0.16 38 70
13 TXS – Corpus Christi Steel USSSA-Mens-C 4 2 0 118 75 19.6 12.5 7.16 23 70
13 CAS – Los Angeles Magz Premier USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 121 82 24.2 16.4 7.8 34 70
13 LA – Baton Rouge P4J/J'S JOINT USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 66 89 13.2 17.8 -4.6 25 70
17 TXN – Arlington farmclub/blackjackjerky/madhatter USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 123 117 24.6 23.4 1.2 29 40
17 TXS – Conroe TMT/TI Sports/A&A Utility USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 83 92 16.6 18.4 -1.8 26 40
17 IL – CHICAGO COMPOUND ATHLETICS/EASTON USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 121 69 24.2 13.8 10.4 31 40
17 TXS – Spring old school/diamond kingz sports USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 89 74 17.8 14.8 3 22 40
17 LA – Houma CARBOLINE/TEAM TRIPP USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 95 76 19 15.2 3.8 27 40
17 AR – Arkansas Mayhem/J&R Logistics/ASP USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 86 68 21.5 17 4.5 30 40
17 MS – Jackson progutter/hemphill/prod/worth USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 45 60 11.2 15 -3.7 21 40
17 TXS – Olmito olmitoheat/diamondkingz/miken USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 66 109 16.5 27.2 -10. 21 40
25 LA – LAFAYETTE STROKERS SOFTBALL USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 76 59 19 14.7 4.25 22 40
25 TXS – Houston Goons/LDC/GSGSportswear USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 64 51 16 12.7 3.25 23 40
25 TXS – Houston ThunderCats USSSA-Mens-D 2 2 0 64 58 16 14.5 1.5 23 40
25 LA – Roanoke athlon athletics / aspnation USSSA-Mens-D 2 2 0 59 54 14.7 13.5 1.25 22 40
25 TXS – Beaumont BTX USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 74 58 18.5 14.5 4 26 40
25 TXS – Sugar Land Onslaught/Pro Delivery USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 55 80 13.7 20 -6.2 25 40
25 CO – Denver stars/ dh global logistics USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 87 83 21.7 20.7 1 44 40
25 TXS – Houston sellout sports / 24/7 softball USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 72 72 18 18 0 27 40
33 TXS – Houston STL/South Texas Locos USSSA-Mens-E 1 2 0 18 48 6 16 -10 7 40
33 OK – Oklahoma City IzzySports/TKO/Miken USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 49 66 16.3 22 -5.6 28 40
33 TXS – Lufkin ETX Desperados USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 46 47 15.3 15.6 -0.3 22 40
33 TXS – Houston Houston Thunder USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 24 50 8 16.6 -8.6 17 40
33 TXS – Houston Team THC USSSA-Mens-E 1 2 0 23 51 7.66 17 -9.3 13 0
33 TXS – Dickinson Hi 5 USSSA-Mens-E 1 2 0 14 45 4.66 15 -10. 6 40
33 TXS – Houston maniacs / killer bees / mvp sports USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 26 69 8.66 23 -14. 18 40
33 TXS – Houston TI Sports USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 32 52 10.6 17.3 -6.6 13 40
33 TXS – Houston TVSA Combat Warriors USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 40 50 13.3 16.6 -3.3 22 40
33 TXS – Texas City Mob/FSU USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 40 39 13.3 13 0.33 22 40
33 TXS – Houston Baseball Washouts USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 73 64 24.3 21.3 3 29 40
33 LA – Lafayette SD/L2 Logistics/Klutch USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 35 72 11.6 24 -12. 20 40
33 TXS – Edinburg Team MTS USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 25 44 8.33 14.6 -6.3 17 40
33 TXS – Spring Lonestar Miken USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 35 59 11.6 19.6 -8 21 40
33 TXS – Pearland EGO USSSA-Mens-D 1 2 0 34 67 11.3 22.3 -11 13 40
33 TXS – Beaumont SETX Unknowns USSSA-Mens-E 1 2 0 18 46 6 15.3 -9.3 9 40
49 TXS – Spring Texas Scorpions USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 5 38 2.5 19 -16. 4 40
49 TXS – Houston C.P.S. USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 16 40 8 20 -12 8 40
49 TXS – Killeen Psycho Softball USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 16 42 8 21 -13 9 40
49 TXS – Houston Southern Connection USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 12 41 6 20.5 -14. 10 40
49 TXS – Houston STX Nightmares/ASP Nation USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 27 43 13.5 21.5 -8 17 40
49 TXS – Houston Adrenaline/WalkOffSports USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 20 57 10 28.5 -18. 13 40
49 TXS – La Porte CGR USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 30 47 15 23.5 -8.5 23 40
49 TXS – Houston Softball Fanatics USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 16 31 8 15.5 -7.5 11 40
49 TXS – Sweeny We Dem Boyz USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 12 42 6 21 -15 7 40
49 TXS – San Antonio Smoking Guns USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 18 35 9 17.5 -8.5 12 40
49 TXS – Galveston 409ers USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 16 32 8 16 -8 10 40
49 TXS – Magnolia PN Excellence USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 9 38 4.5 19 -14. 9 40
49 TXS – Edinburg Texas Soldiers USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 35 39 17.5 19.5 -2 19 40
49 TXS – San Antonio Untouchables/Phenoms USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 27 38 13.5 19 -5.5 16 40
49 TXS – Round Rock Call Your Shot USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 0 14 0 7 -7 0 40
49 TXS – Texas City They Gone! USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 7 30 3.5 15 -11. 7 40

 

CA Sports pitcher Geno Buck was the Defensive MVP

 


 

Team by team notes brought to you by:

 


 

 

 

1st Place VCH Worth

Conf 'B' from TX  7-0 Record

Vivid/Cash House/Worth with many of their players from Texas won the tournament.  They have players that came from Vivd, Cash House, B&B Drywall, 4 The Fallen, and Cooper Auto.  All younger players with just a few years of conference experience, but every one of these guys stepped up their game and played hard and learned to win together.  It has to be a great feeling for Jon Kilburn and Rob Whitehouse who had less than stellar seasons their first two years in the conference.  When you see the success they had in Houston it has to be very gratifying.

VCH cruised through their two wins on Friday night by a combined score of 62-20.  On Saturday morning they struggled but pulled off a 16-15 win over HGC on Fenway field.  Then they came from behind to beat TG Brand 21-16 on Crosley field with some great defense from the Trammell brothers in left field and middle infield.  They beat "cinderella" Chill Sports easily 18-8 on Saturday night, then the before mentioned come from behind win over the Major team and heavy favorite Albicocco 34-31.  The culmination of a long weekend of great softball and possibly more quality wins in one weekend then either Vivid or Cash House had won in the past two seasons!  Isaac Gonzalez was on 6-6 with 3 homers in the final game.  Dodds was on 5-6 with 2 HR.

Timely hitting, good power when needed from the "Donkey's", and a defense that didn't give much away like past versions of the teams, combined with a work horse on the mound in MVP Wes Newell was a winning combination.  VCH will be tested when they play the Major team Backman bright and early at 8 AM this Wednesday on the stadium field at the dual.  Bring it!!! 

Trending Way Up!

Championship game lineup:
MI Jason Trammell
2B Isaac Gonzalez
3B Ryan Roppel
LF Zane Trammell
P  Wes Newell
C  Argen Dodds
EH Spencer Foley
1B Steve Zemanek
RF Bryan Daniel
SS Jesse Solomon
CF Josh Kirsten

Pitcher Wes Newell was MVP.  Middle man Jason Trammell also could have been MVP or Defensive MVP

Isaac Gonzalez

 

3B Ryan Roppel and 1B Steve Zemanek

 

Foley and CF Daniel

CF Josh Kirsten making a great catch (also in the highlite video)

Zane Trammell in left field and with the stick had it going good in his home state

 


 

Tied 2nd Place – Albicocco/The Scene/Easton

Conf 'M' from NY  6-2 Record

 

Defensive MVP Albicoccos second baseman Brian Faria who made a lot of great plays and had a clutch pinch hit double on Friday night to help beat Colorado Stars.

Albicocco comes up short in Houston after poor home run management led to a 34-31 winner's bracket final loss to VCH.   They nearly got derailed on Friday night when they were down 17-0 to Colorado Stars but they persevered and somehow pulled out a 48-44 win.  Albicocco on Saturday cruised through 2 'C' teams and Above All Landscaping before their Sunday morning loss.   

Larsen looked to be on his game blasting homers and gap shots.  Large, Payne, and Parfitt in the outfield have as much or more range than any other outfield in the game.  Justin Mucciarelli and TJ Thompson held down the pitching.  Phil White played a lot of third base.  And Brian Faria was flashing the leather at 2nd.  It will be fun to see this team at the dual with a good seed and a possible run at one of the two tournaments.

Trending Even

Lee Payne hits a 3 run homer to run rule Above All Landscaping

Ballard about to blow one out!

 

 


 

Tied 2nd Place – CA Sports/Buzini/LockDown/Powerhouse/Miken

Conf 'A' from MS  8-2 Record

 

CA Sports outscored their opponents 249-125 but only managed a tie for 2nd.  They nearly lost to BTX on Friday night but pulled out a 17-16 win on a bases loaded infield dribbler in the bottom of the 7th.  Then a sluggish CA Sports team lost 22-21 to a good Chill Sports team on Saturday morning.  In the losers bracket they took out their frustration on Farm Club beating them 50-29 and rattled off 6 straight wins in the loser's bracket to finish in a tie for 2nd with Albicocco.

Bascle, Stuart or Hughes, and Stephany played the outfield.  Buck did the majority of the pitching and was a workhorse.  Jason Williams and Jeff Payton shared third base.  Crawford played shortstop, Cordova was the middle man, and Maggard and Pearson were on the right side.

The team has all the pieces, they just need to work out a more efficient batting order and solidify a rotation of some sort with playing time. 

Trending Even

 

CA Sports outfielder Michael Stephany hits a walk off run rule homer Sunday to beat TG Brand

Yes, Matt Crawford is one of the top shortstops in the game!  I had the guy on my prospect list in 2009 and he has gotten better every year.

Look who is back after winning 'A' Worlds with Nordkap and taking a year off – Victor Cordova!

Cordova MI, Maggard 2B, Pearson 1B

Nordkap reunion photo, Stephany, Crawford, and Cordova

 


 

4th Place – TG Brand

Conf 'A' from MI  6-2 Record

 

TG Brand played 8 games.  They won their first 3 fairly easily.  Then they blew a lead to VCH Worth and lost 21-16.  Then they knocked off 3 straight Conference 'B' teams in the loser's bracket after midnight Saturday – FBI, Bear Hollow, and Above All Landscaping.  Then lost on Sunday morning to CA Sports 26-11. 

Just not quite enough offense this weekend for TG although the lineup has been extended with the addition of Whaley, Hoffer, and Disbennet.  I see bigger things coming from TG soon.

Trending Even

 

John Radich was mashing

TG Brand brain trust, Mike Cruea (left), Justin Green (center), Dale Dorton (right)

 

 


 

Tied 5th Place – Above All Landscaping/Evo9x

Conf 'B' from NJ  4-2 Record

Four nice solid wins to start the tournament including wins over Mayhem from Arkansas and Nightmare.  They didn't play well in the wet letting Albicocco get away with an easy win and then they lost to TG Brand 13-12 well after midnight when I was cutting zzz's at the hotel.

One of Above All's lineups:
SS Jesse Campanelli
C Mike Dill
5 Clint Murray
1B Tim Mickey
RF Brad Blankenship
3B #16 Bobby Mcminn
Mi #24 Billy Aker
P Tony Elrod
2B Chris Kirian
LF #19 Chris Stamper
CF #1 Jason Hoynowsky

3B Chris Montenegro

Trending Even

Heard shortstop Jesse Campanelli crouches because he was a catcher

Awesome blue uniforms by Evo9x!

Remembering the late Russ Banasiak in the Abov All Landscaping dugout

Veteran pitcher Jeff Graus (above) and Tony Elrod make for a good one/two punch on the mound

 

 


 

Tied 5th Place – Chill Sports Bar & Grill

'B' from TX  4-2 Record

Chill was the story of the tournament for awhile as they knocked off Old School, upset CA Sports 22-21, and beat upstart L/S Glass 20-18.  They seemed to tire out in their last two games as they only scored 19 runs combined in losses to VCH and CA Sports.  Doug Wood put together another nice 'B' team with some raw talent and veteran leadership.  Doug said he wants to get back into the conference but the current points system is too hard for a Texas team to overcome.  A simple capping of the maximum points would solve this problem in my opinion.

Trending Up!

Chill Sports had some great up and coming talent and the middle of their defense made some athletic plays

Infielder Pedro Hernandez is looking to play some Conference ball in his future

Chill Sports pitcher Danny Evans puts the finishing touches on CA Sports

 


 

 

More pictures below

 


 

Other top finishing teams and Conference teams

 

Tied 7th – Bear Hollow Ranch/CL/Buzini/Easton (AR-B) 5-2

Lost to Fat Pats in a close one in the third round.  52-8 total score in their two wins over Big Ten and L/S Glass.  Didn't do much to stand out though.

Trending Incomplete

 


 

Tied 7th – HGC/BWW (MS-C) 5-2

 
HGC was athletic, had timely power, and did not give in to anyone.  Great team!

Yes, this fired up HGC dude made it on SoftballCenter.com (he wasted his 15 minutes of fame)  ðŸ™‚

 


 

 Tied 9th – Fence Brokers Inc/Buzini/Worth (AR-B) 5-2

The battle of Arkansas teams, FBI came back to beat JR Logistics

Upset by that California 'D' team on Friday night.  Had to win two games in the loser's bracket at a different complex before returning to the BLD to post a come from behind win against in State Arkansas rival Mayhem, and beat P4J's before TG Brand sent them home after midnight 38-26.

One of FBI's lineups:
CF Tim Howard
C  Mike Cervantes
EH Alex Henry
1B Tim Bowser
LF BJ Thomas
MI Chris Smith
3B Ricky Robbins
2B Jake Mays
SS Pat Burton
RF Gavan McCauley
P  Jason Bridges

Trending down some

Ryan Robbins returned to upper level softball with FBI

 

 


 

 Tied 9th – Nightmare/Miken (MO-B) 3-2

Won three in a row with a Saturday morning start.  Dropped an uneventful final 8 game to Above All Landscaping and HGC sent them packing 27-17 after the late Saturday night rain delay.  Nightmare in my opinion didn't ever really get going but they have a nice team.  I feel that center fielder Josh Charlton had the best diving catch of the tournament that I witnessed.

One of Nightmare's Lineups:
2b Nolan Fogle
#42 Toby Letak
#55 EH Mike Brown
C Clay Smitherman
1B Trey Gothard
LF #17 Corey Tapp
3B #50 Terrin Thrash
MI Reb Smith
CF #8 Josh Charlton
P Corie Waldrep
Rf Noah Wethington

Trending Even

 


 

 

Tied 9th – L/S Glass (CA-D) 3-2

I had to get a team picture of L/S Glass after their great run!

This team came out of nowhere to beat FBI, Magz Premier, and had the bats in their hands with a chance to beat Chill Sports to make the final 4 but came up just short.

L/S Glass finishes off FBI on Friday night!

 


 

Tied 9th – Fat Pat's (LA-C) 3-2


I didn't see a lot of Fat Pat's but add them to the list of great regional 'C' teams.

 


 

Tied 13th – Big Ten / Team Wager (CO-C) 4-2


Smoked by HGC on Friday night and Bear Hollow on Saturday.  Tough weekend to start the season.  They did beat Olmito Heat. 

Trending Even, maybe Down?

 


 

Tied 13th – Steel (TX-C) 4-2

Lost to Fat Pats by 1 on Friday night, beat some C and D teams in the loser's bracket.  Some nice talent and speed on this teame mixed with the veteran pitcher Rodney Fail and hitter Mark Dennis.  They also have some other guys with conference experience like Cridland, Lapoint, Lobb, Mitschke, Prahm, Riddle, and Stuckly.  They needed a signature win on their home turf though.

Trending Even

 

 


 

Tied 13th – Magz Premier (CA-C) 3-2

Had a soft spot in the bracket but lost to L/S Glass on a walk off in the battle of California teams.  In the loser's bracket in the wee hours of the morning they lost to CA Sports who were rolling through.  They are the only team to play both Las Vegas and Houston.  A fun team to watch, if I haven't said that already…

Trending Even 

 

 


 

Tied 17th – Compound Athletics/Easton (IL-C) 3-2

 

SS Grant Grimmett and middle infielder Zack Messer

Beat some lower level locals, lost to very good 'C' teams Olmito Heat and HGC.  Have to learn to find ways to win those.  Lots of talent and a fun team.  Heard one fan say SS Grimmett and MI Messer were "making a lot of great plays."

Trending down some after some success in offseason tournaments

 


 

Hot Links section brought to you by:

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

I would also like to thank Huch for the hospitality and thank all of the great softball die hards that came out to talk softball with me!

USSSA Houston tournament info link

Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the Houston Major

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to the 2015 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2014 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2013 Tournament Reports

Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link

 


 

Some more pictures for you:

 

I wonder what these 'A' World champs sporting their rings are up to?

 

Former NFL wide receiver Ray Butler calling the Bear Hollow game

Eventhough there were no conference umpires in Houston, I thought they did well.

Two of the best sponsors in Texas squared off in the semi-finals, Jon Kilburn (left) and Doug Wood (right)

 

Jay Hill's long lost brother

J&R Logistics always a tough team to play early in a Houston or Arkansas tourny

 

"Softball Guy" of the week is between these two.  ðŸ™‚

I do like the throwback Expos look though.

Shannon Smith got picked up by Xtreme today

Mizuno now makes a softball bat without an end cap…just because they were told they couldn't do it.

This should be the future of bats in my opinion.

Rain Sunday morning before the loser's final finally ended the event, possibly prematurely…

 

 

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