2016 USSSA Houston 10th Annual “Space City” Classic tournament report!
2016 Nationwide Conference USSSA
10th Annual "Space City" Classic
Houston, TX
April 8-10
The Scene in White takes on Steel Athletics in the championship!
Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the Houston Major
Link to the Houston Major picture album
Houston Major tournament information link
2016 Houston Major men's bracket link
2016 Houston Major women's bracket link
The 2016 USSSA Houston Major featured a record tying 64 teams and once again in the loser's bracket at times became a battle of attrition. The tournament had near perfect weather throughout the event with some stronger winds coming in Saturday afternoon through the end of the tournament which affected each of the 6 diamonds in different ways. The first 3 rounds had no upsets of B or higher teams except for Steel Athletics a Conference 'B' team who lost 26-17 to Wiley's Supreme a Florida 'C' team over on Ebbets field. In the round of 8 in the winner's bracket which played all 4 games simultaneously Above All Landscaping a Conference 'A' team easily routed Olmito Heat a Conference 'B' team 26-9. The Scene the #1 seed in the tournament had some long offensive innings in a 20 run mercy rule win over HGC 36-16. AllOut/Miken a Conference 'B' team from Texas run ruled BHR/Coppermine Lodge an 'A' team from Texas 37-21 over on Ebbets. And over on the Fenway Park replica field Vivid had their hands full with that Wiley's Supreme 'C' team. Wiley's pulled into position to have a chance to win in the bottom of the 7th when a couple of clutch hits set up a tie game with a runner on third and they won with a bloop single that landed in front of the right fielder and over the Vivid second baseman for a 32-31 win and a final 4 appearance.
In the semifinals of the winner's bracket at 8 PM on Saturday night with the wind blowing in on Crosley field, Wiley's was at it again against New Jersey 'A' team Above All Landscaping. It was a low scoring game and Wiley's pulled out to a 6 run lead midway through the game and a 19-16 lead in the 6th. Above All closed the gap on a pair of big homers by Cirillo. Above All came back to take a lead in the top of the 7th forcing Wiley's to score in the bottom of the 7th which they did on a game tying triple by Ryan Chavis and then won on a bases loaded walk off walk 22-21. In the other semifinal AllOut came out of the gate against the heavily favored Scene and had a 13-0 lead after a half inning as AllOut second baseman Patrick Rubio crushed a high and deep homer and then in the bottom half of the inning he made a nice diving stop to hold The Scene to 12 runs. AllOut then pushed their lead to 30-16 after 4.5 innings. Going into the bottom of the 6th The Scene trailed by 14 runs with 7 of their 12 homers left to hit. The Scene who had struggled offensively most of the game turned it on in the bottom and tied the game at 30-30. AllOut which wasn't scoring much after the homers were gone didn't want to see their hard work go to waste and put up a nice 5 spot in the top of the 7th to go up 35-30. The Scene however still had 4 homers left and set up 4 hitter Keith Laski for a walk off homer, which he hit, and The Scene narrowly escaped with a 36-35 win.
The winner's bracket championship game began immediately after the semifinals as the temperatures cooled off into the 60's and the steady wind blew on Yankee Field from right towards the left field foul pole. Wiley's looking to upset their 4th Conference team in a row jumped out to a 13-5 lead after 4 complete innings. The Scene struggled again offensively and it wasn't until their 13 run top of the 6th inning that they finally grabbed a lead 24-19 and their defense held off the upset minded Wiley's 28-20.
In the quagmire they call the Houston Major loser's bracket it was the 6 other Conference teams who slowly and methodically made their way to those dreaded late Saturday games which end in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Vivid knocked off Old School, and then lost to Olmito Heat 30-22 although the game was not close. And BHR defeated upstart Fat Pats from Louisiana 21-1 to get to Steel. Steel who had lost in the middle of the winner's bracket to Wiley's played from 6:30 PM Saturday straight through til after midnight and beat Player Haters 21-2, Carboline/Chargers 24-3, HGC 30-15, BHR (Bear Hollow) 36-12, and then somehow had the energy to run rule Above All 29-14 to make it to Sunday morning.
Sunday the games started at 8 AM with Steel mustering a run rule win over the LC Watson led Olmito Heat 26-11 and then coming from behind to knock off Wiley's 21-19 in the loser's bracket championship. But Steel was out of gas and their veteran pitcher Rodney Fail didn't pitch the championship and The Scene drew a bunch of walks and batted for a long time in the first couple of innings and won the Houston Major 35-9.
Random rumblings: The weather was great. The wind was a factor. There were 4 or 5 Conference umpires and bat testing starting on Saturday. They used the Hycor 52 core bouncy ball but it didn't bounce a lot on the turf and was the perfect ball for the Big League Dreams fields. There were a whole bunch of great middle infield and center field play by many of the teams and I thought the pitching was pretty good. Stephen Cooper one of the pitchers for Vivid had the best line shot backhand stab. HGC which is an entertaining 'B' team out of Mississippi had a 27 run first inning vs Goons. Albicocco had a 20 run 1st inning vs one of the teams early in the tournament. Mayhem late Friday night was flashing the gloves at middle infield, third base, and right field. The right fielder for Carboline/Chargers Doug Stroud? had the best diver over by the foul line on Wrigley. Overall a good weekend. AllOut and Wiley's were so close to upsetting The Scene you could taste it, but it didn't happen so the Monday morning quarterbacks look at the bracket and think The Scene walked through the tournament which they did but didn't if you know what I mean.
The Scenes Keith Laski hits a walk off homer to beat AllOut 36-35 in the semifinals
Team Breakdown:
64 Teams Overall
7 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
1 TBD (M/AA)
1 'AA' Teams
3 'A' Teams
4 'B' Teams
23 'C' Teams
24 'D' Teams
8 'E' Teams
Flaco Salazar from Steel takes on Wiley's pitcher Robbie Stinton in the loser's bracket finals
Wiley's bats against The Scene pitcher Bill Pinkham
Pano on Sunday morning
Bat testing from Saturday morning on
52 cor Hycor ball was used and performed well
Crosley Field
Sportsmans Park
Crosley has that little hill instead of a warning track plus all the nooks and crannies
Wrigley Field
Ebbets Field Park
OldScout pollers said Scene would win 56%!
Oldscout pollers had Steel at only 9% to get 2nd place
Video Clips brought to you by:
Long Bombers of the Week
AllOuts Patrick Rubio was hitting moonshots when he realized the wind higher up would carry the ball deep
Steel catcher/pitcher/infielder Pedro Hernandez hits a game tying homer.
He hit some long ones with his Boombah bat!
Houston Major Awards and Final Standings
Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
Tournament CO-MVP | Davis Bilardello | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
Tournament CO-MVP | Brandon Dillon | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
Offensive Tournament MVP | Rodney Fail | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
Defensive Tournament MVP | Keith Laski | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | Ryan Hornback | OlmitoHeat/DiamondKingz/Miken |
All Tournament Team | Keith Martin | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | Jason Branch | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | Cory Newman | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | Nery Tijerino | Wiley's Supreme |
All Tournament Team | Steve Whaley | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | Toby Letak | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
All Tournament Team | Mike Cervantes | The Scene/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch |
All Tournament Team | John Huffman | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
All Tournament Team | Robbie Stinton | Wiley's Supreme |
All Tournament Team | Ricardo Lizcano | Wiley's Supreme |
All Tournament Team | Jacob Runte | OlmitoHeat/DiamondKingz/Miken |
All Tournament Team | William Sandifer | OlmitoHeat/DiamondKingz/Miken |
All Tournament Team | Ethan Guinn | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
All Tournament Team | Steven Malay | OlmitoHeat/DiamondKingz/Miken |
All Tournament Team | Bobby Mitchell | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
Place | State | Team | Team Class | Wins | Losses | Ties | Runs Scored | Runs Allow | Avg Runs | Avg Allow | Avg Diff | Max Runs | USSSA Points |
1 | NY – Commack | the scene/adiktiv/monsta/klutch | USSSA-SPMensConfTBD | 7 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 90 | 30.2 | 12.8 | 17.4 | 36 | 300 |
2 | TXS – Corpus Christi | steel athletics/miken/powerhouse | USSSA-Mens-B | 9 | 2 | 0 | 266 | 170 | 24.1 | 15.4 | 8.72 | 36 | 325 |
3 | FLS – Haines City | Wiley's Supreme | USSSA-Mens-C | 5 | 2 | 0 | 175 | 148 | 25 | 21.1 | 3.85 | 39 | 200 |
4 | TXS – Olmito | olmitoheat/diamondkingz/miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 6 | 2 | 0 | 192 | 138 | 24 | 17.2 | 6.75 | 33 | 275 |
5 | NJ – Jackson | above all landscaping/evo9x/miken | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 88 | 21.6 | 14.6 | 7 | 28 | 155 |
5 | TXS – Houston | allout/miken/worth/powerhousesportz | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 176 | 127 | 29.3 | 21.1 | 8.16 | 37 | 155 |
7 | TXN – Gladewater | bhr/coppermine lodge/asp/worth | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 96 | 24.3 | 16 | 8.33 | 37 | 130 |
7 | TXN – Frisco | Vivid | USSSA-Mens-AA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 154 | 96 | 25.6 | 16 | 9.66 | 31 | 130 |
9 | LA – Lafayette | fat pat's/premier athletics | USSSA-Mens-C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 106 | 93 | 17.6 | 15.5 | 2.16 | 27 | 110 |
9 | TXS – Beaumont | BTX/Dirty Vegas | USSSA-Mens-C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 151 | 127 | 25.1 | 21.1 | 4 | 32 | 110 |
9 | TXS – Spring | Old School | USSSA-Mens-C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 92 | 16.1 | 15.3 | 0.83 | 27 | 135 |
9 | MS – Brandon | HGC/BWW/BUZINI | USSSA-Mens-B | 3 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 84 | 22.2 | 16.8 | 5.4 | 31 | 110 |
13 | TXN – Arlington | The B Team | USSSA-Mens-C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 151 | 137 | 25.1 | 22.8 | 2.33 | 33 | 70 |
13 | TXS – San Antonio | outtacontrol/goldenchick/platinum | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 91 | 19.8 | 18.2 | 1.6 | 25 | 70 |
13 | MS – Jackson | CSI / Worth | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 92 | 24.6 | 18.4 | 6.2 | 40 | 70 |
13 | LA – Amite | CARBOLINE/LA CHARGERS | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 62 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 28 | 70 |
17 | TXS – Pasadena | Live Action | USSSA-Mens-E | 3 | 2 | 0 | 91 | 78 | 18.2 | 15.6 | 2.6 | 33 | 40 |
17 | TXS – San Antonio | untouchables/buzini sports | USSSA-Mens-D | 3 | 2 | 0 | 101 | 90 | 20.2 | 18 | 2.2 | 27 | 40 |
17 | TXN – Fort Worth | Jokers/FTP Empire | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 88 | 74 | 17.6 | 14.8 | 2.8 | 27 | 40 |
17 | TXN – Dallas | Player Haters | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 91 | 19.4 | 18.2 | 1.2 | 35 | 40 |
17 | TXS – Houston | Team Texas | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 69 | 14 | 13.8 | 0.19 | 20 | 65 |
17 | TXS – round rock | Call Your Shot | USSSA-Mens-C | 3 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 63 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 2 | 22 | 40 |
17 | AR – Arkansas | mayhem/j&r logistics/miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 3 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 75 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 25 | 40 |
17 | TXS – Rosenberg | rosenberg bulls/double play sports | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 75 | 12.7 | 18.7 | -6 | 21 | 40 |
25 | TXS – Houston | DC/FOH Sports/money Fam | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 89 | 96 | 22.2 | 24 | -1.7 | 32 | 40 |
25 | TXS – Wharton | STX Nightmares | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 61 | 17.2 | 15.2 | 2 | 21 | 40 |
25 | TXS – Houston | Goons/LDC | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 60 | 17.5 | 15 | 2.5 | 27 | 40 |
25 | TXS – Edinburg | Team MTS/Freaks | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 56 | 16.5 | 14 | 2.5 | 21 | 65 |
25 | TXS – Lake Jackson | Texas Terror | USSSA-Mens-D | 2 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 94 | 14 | 23.5 | -9.5 | 44 | 40 |
25 | TXS – La Porte | C.P.S. | USSSA-Mens-D | 2 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 50 | 13.2 | 12.5 | 0.75 | 18 | 40 |
25 | TXS – Beaumont | oilers softball club/allstate | USSSA-Mens-D | 2 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 63 | 17 | 15.7 | 1.25 | 23 | 40 |
25 | LA – Shreveport | the bearded builders militia | USSSA-Mens-D | 2 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 94 | 16.7 | 23.5 | -6.7 | 24 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Galveston | smoking aces reloaded/izzy sports | USSSA-Mens-E | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 45 | 7.33 | 15 | -7.6 | 17 | 65 |
33 | TXS – Dickinson | D12 | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 53 | 21 | 17.6 | 3.33 | 29 | 40 |
33 | TXN – Grand Prairie | Brian's Custom Detailing | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 51 | 10.6 | 17 | -6.3 | 18 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | baseball washouts/power plmg | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 61 | 16.3 | 20.3 | -4 | 22 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | Maniacs/Most Hated | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 71 | 15 | 23.6 | -8.6 | 21 | 40 |
33 | TXS – League City | Hi 5 | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 49 | 18.3 | 16.3 | 2 | 28 | 40 |
33 | TXS – La Marque | 3 Plz | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 62 | 16.6 | 20.6 | -4 | 26 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | Advocare/Proway Exteriors | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 49 | 11.3 | 16.3 | -5 | 17 | 40 |
33 | LA – Ticfaw | The Company | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 50 | 9.66 | 16.6 | -7 | 16 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | Chop City | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 74 | 12.3 | 24.6 | -12. | 26 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Pharr | carolina homes llc/probuild | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 55 | 16.6 | 18.3 | -1.6 | 21 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Pearland | Scared Hitless | USSSA-Mens-E | 1 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 56 | 14.6 | 18.6 | -4 | 28 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | Sour Apple Repair | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 42 | 10.3 | 14 | -3.6 | 14 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Rockport | OptiMax FinShark S&S | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 46 | 6 | 15.3 | -9.3 | 10 | 40 |
33 | FLP – Pensacola | Sandlot | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 36 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 19 | 40 |
33 | TXS – Houston | Hooliganz | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 76 | 18.3 | 25.3 | -7 | 24 | 40 |
49 | TXS – La Feria | STX Untouchables | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 42 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 14 | 40 |
49 | TXN – Carrollton | NTX Rumors | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 23 | 7.5 | 11.5 | -4 | 11 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Texas City | they gone! – suspended 4/8 | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 | 0 |
49 | LA – Lafayette | l2 logistics/red-eye sports | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 47 | 6.5 | 23.5 | -17 | 7 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Team ILL | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 9 | 23.5 | -14. | 10 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Team THC | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 44 | 2.5 | 22 | -19. | 3 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Weslaco | team convictz – suspended 4/9 | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 | 40 |
49 | TXW – odessa | Kairos Empire | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 2 | 19.5 | -17. | 2 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Men Of Mayhem | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 57 | 12 | 28.5 | -16. | 18 | 65 |
49 | TXN – Waco | Powerhouse | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 8 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Chuggers | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 36 | 8 | 18 | -10 | 14 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Katy | STX Disciples/Team Tayden | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 38 | 11.5 | 19 | -7.5 | 14 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Crush City | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 45 | 5 | 22.5 | -17. | 8 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | HardFeathers | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 39 | 3.5 | 19.5 | -16 | 4 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Lake Jackson | 3rd Coast Warriors | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 54 | 4 | 27 | -23 | 6 | 40 |
49 | TXS – Houston | Vendetta | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 42 | 13.5 | 21 | -7.5 | 23 | 40 |
The Scenes RF Davis Bilardello and LF Brandon Dillon were co-MVP's
Veteran Steels pitcher Rodney Fail was Offensive MVP in his hometown (probably could have been Defensive MVP too)
The Scenes Keith Laski was Defensive MVP and made some incredible leaping catches
Team by team notes brought to you by:
1st Place The Scene/Albicocco/Adiktiv/Monsta/Klutch
Conf TBD from NY 7-1 Record
7-0 Champs
The Scene took care of business as expected winning all 7 games. 5 of them in dominating fashion and 2 (AllOut and Wiley's) they had to show some grit and come from behind to save themselves from having to play all night in the loser's bracket and all morning Sunday. Pinkham and Titus split the pitching duties. Dillon, Newman, and Bilardello were in the outfield. Costantino, Laski, Whaley, Cervantes, Branch was the infield. Clark, Martin, and Kirkland shared the catcher and EH positions. Mangager Jason Kendrick and sponsor Toni Albicocco have themselves a nice team and they are good but they truly are "To Be Determined" now leaning AA at this point but lets wait and see how the HOF and Columbus tournaments go where they will be tested every inning of every game.
Trending Up!
Brian Titus and Bill Pinkham split time at pithcher
MI Steve Whaley and 2B Mike Cervantes are from Texas
2nd Place Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse
Conf 'B' from TX 9-2 Record
Most of the Steel Athletic players probably called off work Monday after playing 11 games but winning 9 makes the pain feel good. Am I right? 🙂 Sponsor/Manager Mark Holsonback had 17 players there as he tried many different lineups and defensive alignments trying to see who is going to fit in. And everything he did worked. They beat BHR, Above All, Olmito Heat, and Wileys to make it to the championship. Rodney did the pitching in place of regular starter Jason Guillory who couldn't make it after Friday night. Pedro Hernandez, big Nick Shay, and lethal hitter Matthew Vasquez all provided some of the power. Shortstop Toby Letak led off. Lefty newcomer Bobby Mitchell was lacing line drives all over the park. Professional hitter Mark Cridland, a new outfielder Patrick Williams, and veteran middle man Richard Salazar among others all had their moments. They also have former Midwest Swings Travis Hulber who played SS and LF and Donta Lapoint and former TG outfielder Cole Campbell. It was their depth that helped them in this marathon event. Finally they had Wheeler Huff who made All Tournament playing 3rd base and catcher.
Trending Up!
Steel left side in this game was Vasquez, Hulbert, and Salazr.
They also used Huffman at 3rd and Letak played SS until a pulled hamstring.
3rd Place Wiley's Supreme
'C' from FL 5-2 Record
Wiley's ruined a lot of teams big dance and busted a few brackets (64 team field reference for you basketball fans). They won their first 4 games including major upsets of Steel Athletics, Vivid, and Above All Landscaping all on Saturday! Then they were leading The Scene 13-5 and gave them a scare before losing 28-20 in the winner's bracket final. But all the hard work gave them at least a 3rd place finish which is where they ended up after a tough 21-19 loss to Steel in the loser's bracket finals on Sunday. Wiley's is also the team, albeit with a lot of different players back then, that upset GTL (Major), Shoppe (A), and Combat Pharmapar (Major) at the Atlanta Major in 2011 to finish 4th! Another great run from the team put together by Rick Wiley and JR Nocera.
Wiley's Sunday lineup:
RF Chris
MI Berto
1B Broman
P Robbie Stinton
3B Neiry Trierino
SS Ricardo Lizcano
C Herman Wilkinson
LF Shawn Zipperer
2B Oscar
CF Ryan Chavis
Wiley's Ryan Chavis gets the game tying triple and winning run vs Above All in the semifinals
It is in the highlite clips.
These guys put together a nice team that made a great run in Houston
4th Place Olmito Heat/DiamondKingz/Miken
Conf 'B' from TX 6-2 Record
Olmito Heat is a new Conference team that picked up some quality wins over Vivid 30-22 and AllOut 33-13 after midnight on Saturday in the loser's bracket. There is something to be said for winning those games when everyone is tired after a long day of playing which started at 8 AM for Olmito on Saturday morning. Olmito has good team speed and some good defensive range in key spots. I was impressed by some of the talent and athleticism up the middle especially. And of course they had LC Watson at pitcher who helped stabilize the defense and lineup. They are now 6-4 vs 'B' and above teams this year.
Olmito Heat lineup late Saturday:
MI #17 Jacob Runte
LF #35 Everette Williams
SS #2 Steven Malay
#82 Charlie Lenhard
P #22 LC Watson
2B #9 Sean Weatherford
C #5 Ryan Horback
3B #16 Mike Aguirre
#10 Garvin Mikesh
1B #4 Carlos Gallardo
CF #1 William Sandifer
Trending Up!
Aguirre, Malay, and Runte
Olmitos LC Watson hits a 3 run homer against Vivid at midnight Saturday night.
Olmito left fielder Everett Williams is headed with LC Watson over to OC Swats
Tied 5th Place Above All Landscaping/Evo9x/Miken
Conf 'A' from NJ 4-2 Record
Above All Landscaping from New Jersey won their first 4 games including quality wins over Fat Pats 20-10 and Olmito Heat 26-9 before Wiley's Supreme tripped them up with that one run loss 22-21. In the loser's bracket they waited til late in the night to play Steel Athletics who smoked them by 15 runs. Above All is similar to recent years in their lineup and roster, with new players at 3rd base Sean Ulmer, LF/Utility Chris Wilson who used to play with Demarini/Dirty, Grant Grimmett at 2B who finished the year with Encompass last year, and pitcher Eric Curry who was with CGR. Tom Paturzo was hitting it like the machine he is, CF Hoynoski and LF Rabon are athletic, and Elrod and Curry handled the pitching duties. This wasn't the start Above All wanted as I'm sure they had their eyes set towards The Scene at some point, but it is a start nevertheless.
Trending Even
Above All center fielder Jason Hoynowski was this close to keeping the game tied vs Wiley's in the semifinals
Above All middle infielder Willie Allen still closing down middle
Tied 5th Place AllOut/Miken/Worth/PowerHouseSportz
Conf 'B' from TX 4-2 Record
AllOut is the new 'A' team in Texas. They scored 29.33 runs per game and picked up a big win over BHR 37-21 and gave The Scene the best game of the tournament when they led 13-0 and 30-16 before dropping a tough 36-35 decision. AllOut has a core of former Steel players that help the lineup like Taylor Lobb, Ethan Maresh, and the big lefty David Prahm. The new guys I am starting to learn like Rubio who showed some good power, the tall lefty Kippon Todhunter, and guys from other Texas 'C' teams in the past like in Erik Kanaby and Larry Juarez among others.
A fun team who needs to learn consistency and home run management and although they made a lot of great stops on defense they need to learn how to complete those plays and win a coin toss in the big games. 🙂
Trending Even
Other top finishing Conference teams
Tied 7th Place – BHR/Coppermine Lodge/ASP/Worth
Conf 'A' from TX 4-2 Record
BHR is the Bear Hollow 'A' team that I picked in my pickem game to finish 2nd in this tournament. They won 3 straight over lower teams by the run rule each time to get to rival 'A' team AllOut. In that game over on Ebbets field BHR was just out hit by AllOut and lossed 37-21. In the loser's bracket they sent home Fat Pat's but then got drug by Steel Athletics 36-12. Danny Evans did most of the pitching along with Bohanon. Boldt, Vern, Brown, and Bowser played catcher, DH, 1B. Ferguson was at 3rd, Thornton at SS, Potts MI, Vittitow at 2B, and the outfield I believe was Driskell, Schrage, and not sure who was in right. How is that for reporting? Actually I was expecting them to go much further so I didn't watch them that closely early on.
Trending Even
Score this on 6-10-4-10 on the bad throw and second baseman throwing the runner out from his glove hand
Driskell in LF and Schrage in CF
Tied 7th Place – Vivid
Conf 'AA' from TX 4-2 Record
Vivid was holding their own until that 1 run loss to Wiley's in their 4th game. That was one of those games where they made a lot of mistakes but still had a chance to make up for them but didn't. In the loser's bracket they beat Old School but never really was in the game where they lost to Olmito Heat late Saturday night. Vivid has a good infield defense with Chris Smith and Jason Williams. Matt Fox played third base and made a couple great plays. Veteran Dennis Shrum played 2nd base and Tim Howard played outfield with Zach Keene catching and Stephen Cooper and Jason Bridges doing most of the pitching. Vivid adds Chris Larsen for the HOF Dual tournament. It will be interesting to see if this collection of veteran talent can come together and beat any of the top teams?
Trending Even
Vivids shortstop Chris Smith hits a big homer then knocks down a shot by Wiley's in a 1 run game
Former Buzini infielder Jason Williams is back in the Conference with Vivid this year
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Some more pictures for you:
The BTeam beat Oilers Softball Club 24-23 on a wild bloop hit at the end.
Did the HGC center fielder catch it?
Yes
Strange picture where the ball seems to stay in the same place for two frames, lol
Did he catch it?
No
Did he catch this?
No
HGC/BWW/Buzini was my pick for highest finishing non conference team but they finished 9th at 3-2
Wiley's right fielder went up that little hill they have at Crosley in place of a warning track and tripped
Fat Pats played well
Carboline
Best uniforms went to Untouchables
Old School always is a threat
I think it was CSI that chartered a bus
Uniform makes his beard look really big from a distance.
A good group of umpires led by Jason Oberlag and Ken Hawk
Big Time Softball magazine publisher Stafford Connor
Thank you to Texas State director Greg Huchingson for his hospitatlity.
Also pictured Louisiana State director Richie Soley and Big Time Softball Magazines Stafford Connor
One response to “2016 USSSA Houston 10th Annual “Space City” Classic tournament report!”
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The report says “The first 3 rounds had no upsets of B or higher teams except for Steel Athletics a Conference ‘B’ team who lost 26-17 to Wiley’s Supreme a Florida ‘C’ team over on Ebbets field.” However, I watched OuttaControl come from behind to take down Mayhem/JR.