Thursday March 28th, 2024
TEXT_SIZE

2017 USSSA Chattanooga Major tournament report!

 

 

 

 

2017 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

Chattanooga "Choo Choo" Classic

 

Chattanooga, TN

 

May 5-7

 

Worth Astros outfielder Sid Stephany hits against Smash It Albicocco in the winner's final in the fog!

 

Link to the SoftballCenter picture album of the Choo 

 

2017 Choo men's and women's bracket link

 

The Chattanooga Major was delayed Friday night due to torrential rains and didn't start until 7 AM Saturday morning.  23 Nationwide USSSA Conference teams and 31 teams total battled the rain, mud, cool temperatures and each other.  They also dropped the loser's bracket to a 1 hour time limit or 5 inning games – whichever came first in order to get back on track.  In the first round Worsham Athletics (NC-B) run ruled Primetime (GA-A).  Non-Conference 'C' team Southern Mayhem upset Killbombers (TX-AA) 28-26 in a game where there were some controversial calls made.  JBL/Tailgaters (OH-AA) beat OC Swats (CA-AA) 47-23 in a game that featured two teams that needed to get off to a good start.  SIS/Thunder (NY-AA) got past Bad Draw (NC-B) 31-26.  Classic Glass (CA-AA) took advantage of some Cornerstone (KY-A) miscues and ended up winning on a walk off homer from Brian Lipman.  TG/HDLNS (OH-AA) beat Cincinnati rival Premier (OH-A) 29-11.  Baugh Ford (GA-A) run ruled HB Softball (MI-B) and TDB/TMSports (NC-AA) run ruled Wileys (FL-B) 30-15.  In other first round action Dan Smith (CA-M), Xtreme (MN-AA), Pure Sports (SC-A), Backman (IN-M), OA Apparel (IL-AA), Nightmare (MO-AA), and Worth Astros (IN-AA) all won over non-conference opponents.  The Conference Dudley ZN ball was rock hard in the cool temperatures and most teams were having trouble keeping the ball in the park except on fields where the winds were blowing in.

In the second round Worsham Athletics held a 5-run lead late in the game against #1 seeded Smash It Sports/Albicocco on the main field.  But SIS/Albicocco grabbed a 1 run lead in the top of the 7th and Worsham who didn't have any homer's left was shut down by a great diving stop by SIS shortstop Don Dedonatis Jr who jumped to his feet and threw out one runner and pitcher Andy Purcell snapped off a hard grounder up the middle to end the game with a SIS/Albicocco 29-28 victory.  JBL/Tailgaters who upset Helmer's Smash it Sports team at the Chattanooga Major one year ago on diamond #2 felt the magic happen again as they preserved home runs better than Dan Smith and came from behind to beat them 33-26.  Backman and Classic Glass were in a close game early on but Backman pulled away and won 20-14.  Worth Astros knocked off fellow 'AA' team TDB/TMSports 32-24 to advance, and Nightmare beat Baugh Ford in extra innings 41-40 after Nightmare had blown a huge lead after their home runs were out and they didn't score for 3 innings until the 8th.  Charlie Hinojosa had the final game winning single for Nightmare.  SIS/Thunder pulled out a nice 20-14 win over Pure Sports when Pure Sports opened the door with an error late in the game.  And TG/HDLNS and Xtreme advanced on run rule wins.

In the "round of 8" SIS/Thunder beat fellow 'AA' team JBL/Tailgaters 28-20, TG/HDLNS got their biggest win of the year as they sent Major team Backman to the loser's bracket 27-22, and Worth Astros kicked the offense into high gear with a 41-26 win over Nightmare.  But the best game of the day was Xtreme and SIS/Albicocco on the main field.  Xtreme had SIS/Albicocco down 14 in runs in the bottom of the 5th and made an out with the bases loaded or else Xtreme would have won by the 15 run mercy rule.  The game went to the 7th where SIS/Albicocco scored 14 to tie the game and then used great pitching from Andy Purcell and his defense behind him made some nice plays including Luis Reyna’s double play with the bases loaded and one out to win the game in the 10th inning 38-34.  Nic Santana had the big hit in the top of the 10th for SIS/Albicocco and right fielder Andrew Collins made a great diving catch in the right center field gap to end it.  Xtreme was 0-4 with the winning run at 3rd base in the game and also had chances with the gloves to win the game.  A devastating loss for a team on the cusp of breaking into the very top of the 'AA' division.  Shortly after this game the rain hit hard again and delayed the tournament 3 hours and when they came back the loser's bracket was cut to 30 minute one pitch games that were wild and woolly!

The "final 4" started – where if Xtreme had won over SIS/Albicocco there would have been 4 undefeated 'AA' teams with all 3 Major teams in the loser's bracket.  But SIS/Albicocco was still alive and kicking and again squeaked out a come from behind win as they beat SIS/Thunder 28-20.  Over in the other semi-final Worth Astros scored 20 runs in the 5th to beat TG/HDLNS in "grudge match" number 2 of the season.  Astros have won both.  And then in the winner’s bracket finals Worth Astros whose offense was in fine form went up 30-20 on SIS/Albicocco in the 5th inning.  Astros held a 7-run lead going to the bottom of the 7th but SIS/Albicocco had 5 homer's left.  Astros middle infielder Troy Krider made a nice backhand and throw out at first for the 1st out of the 7th but Smash It got within two and then Andrew Collins hit a game tying 2 run homer.  Nic Santana followed with a single and Don Dedonatis Jr doubled to set up a game winning single by Jason Branch and SIS/Albicocco had "survived and advanced" undefeated to Sunday with their defense giving up basically no runs in the 7th inning and extra innings against all 4 of their opponents.  This team finds a way to win.

In the loser's bracket things got crazy with the shortened games and the amount of free swinging taking place.  Bad Draw who had lost their first game went rolling through the loser's bracket with wins over TDB (the 'B' team), Worsham, CTS, Nightmare 19-18 (Brent Powers a walk off homer), then upset Dan Smith 32-8, and walked off SIS/Thunder on a homer by Dylan Smith.  In the other area of the loser's bracket next to Bad Draw Dan Smith scored 31 runs in the first inning to send Pure Sports home 38-14 in a 30-minute time limit game.  Then Dan Smith sent home Backman 36-32 but lost to Bad Draw 32-22 as a thick fog rolled in.  In the top part of the loser's bracket it was OA Apparel making the run as they knocked off HB Softball, Classic Glass, JBL Tailgaters, Xtreme, and TG/HDLNS.  So basically OA Apparel sent home a quarter of the 'AA' division.

On Sunday morning, the final 4 teams started with Bad Draw/B&B vs OA Apparel.  OA got off to a 17-11 lead and stretched it to 31-19 after 5 innings and they advanced to play Worth Astros.   In that game OA had a nice top of the 1st inning getting 6 runs on 3 run homers by Curtis Stewart and Tim Bowser.  But OA didn't get to feel good for too long as Astros scored 21 runs in the bottom of the 1st on 6 homers.  In the 3rd OA was out of gas and down 39-12 and started blasting solo homer's prompting one person in the chat room on softballcenter.com to say they were throwing up the white flag by hitting solos…

So, Worth Astros advanced to the championship vs SIS/Albicocco and were doing so without their shortstop Ricardo Lizcano and middle infielder Troy Krider who had to catch flights home.  But this game would be all SIS/Albicocco as they finally broke out of their offensive funk by scoring 33 runs in the first two innings.  3rd baseman Cory "I break a lot of bats cuz I swing so hard" Briggs hit a line drive homer that knuckled 3 different directions.  Andrew Collins added 2 grand slams and SIS/Albicocco led 45-12 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning and won by the run rule.

SIS/Albicocco won their 3rd tournament of the year.  They have dominated the 300 foot fields and proved the critics wrong by winning on the stadium at the second HOF dual two weeks ago.  They do whatever it takes to win games and their pitching and defense are the best the game has to offer.  The tournament had a nice contingent of Conference umpires and the director Clay Dickey and UIC Doc Beckwell did a nice job of getting all the games played in horrible conditions.

As I walked around I wrote down a few notes about great plays that I witnessed.  Colby Hughes the Dan Smith left fielder made a tremendous running catch towards the foul line and home run fence vs JBL/Tailgaters.  That guy is a great athlete for his size.  Bradley Scott the center fielder for Pure Sports made one of the best diving catches through the wet grass vs SIS/Thunder.  SIS/Thunder pitcher Losson White "wore a few" hard shots up the middle vs SIS/Albicocco and managed to get the outs.  Ben Dunn the Nightmare center fielder made some acrobatic catches and I swear the mud did not slow this guy down on the bases.  Dylan Smith the second baseman for Bad Draw on Sunday morning made a diving stop towards the middle in the grass and as he slid the ball transferred to his throwing hand and he got the force at 2nd base vs OA Apparel.  And Bill Pinkham at pitcher for Worth Astros took a couple hard shots and still got outs as he continues to show the most range of any pitcher in the game.

The Conference moves back to Columbus, Indiana next weekend.

 

SIS/Albicocco's Jason Branch hits the game winning single in the bottom of the 7th to beat Worth Astros

 

SIS Albicocco and Xtreme in a 10 inning game early in the tournament

Worth Astros Rob Roop hits a grand slam against OA Apparel in the loser's final on Sunday morning

Worth Astros Steve Edwards hits against TG/HDLNS in grudge match #2

Smash It Albicocco turns a double play in the bottom of the 9th with 1 out and the bases loaded – game tied!

 

Team Breakdown:
31 Teams Overall
23 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
3 Major Teams
11 'AA' Teams
 4 'A' Teams
 6 'B' Teams
 7 'C/D' Teams

 

Smash It Sports/Albicocco gets ready for the winner's final

 

Fog late Saturday night

Some pics of this scenic 7 field park.

 

 


 

Oldscout pollers had SIS/Albicocco 63%

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

Third video in check out the tail on the line drive, lol

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

 

I know there were probably 100 long homers I didn't witness but I'm giving the Long Bomber of the week to righty Chad Mullins and lefty Pat Ellwanger.

Also OA Apparels John Williams hit a ball that hit a truck in left field in the parking lot which we can google earth at 439 feet!

 

And then there was the shot that eyewitnesses say Jason Branch hit in the 2016 home run derby from field #5 all the way onto the outfield of field #4.  They said it wasn't straight down the line and google earth has that shot at around 500 feet, give or take 20 feet!

 


 

Chattanooga Major Awards and Final Standings

Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament MVP Andy Purcell Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
Offensive Tournament MVP Josh Riley WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH
Defensive Tournament CO-MVP Don Dedonatis Iii Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
Defensive Tournament CO-MVP Luis Reyna Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Dennis Rulli Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Keith Martin WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH
All Tournament Team Losson White SIS/Thunder/Miken/Worth/VulcanGrips
All Tournament Team Jason Branch Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Steve Edwards WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH
All Tournament Team Cory Briggs Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Andrew Collins Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Curtis stewart OA APPAREL/BROUGHTON/KBI/EASTON
All Tournament Team Nicholas Manganaro OA APPAREL/BROUGHTON/KBI/EASTON
All Tournament Team Joshua Kirsten WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH
All Tournament Team Luke Jones Bad Draw/B&B/Broughton/BAF/Worth
All Tournament Team Brandon Dillon Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth
All Tournament Team Jackie Corn TG/HDLNS/BHR/EASTON
All Tournament Team Cam Byars OA APPAREL/BROUGHTON/KBI/EASTON
All Tournament Team William Pinkham WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH
Place State Team Team Class Wins Losses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg Runs
Allow
Avg Run
Diff
Max
Runs
Ranking
Points
1 NY – Rochester Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth  USSSA-SPMensMajor 5 0 0 126 116 25.2 23.2 2.0 38 300
2 IN – Indianapolis WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH  USSSA-Mens-AA 5 2 0 157 102 22.4 14.6 7.9 41 225
3 TXN – Gladewater OA APPAREL/BROUGHTON/KBI/EASTON  USSSA-Mens-AA 7 2 0 154 104 17.1 11.6 5.6 40 200
4 NC – Greenville Bad Draw/B&B/Broughton/BAF/Worth  USSSA-Mens-B 6 2 0 172 145 21.5 18.1 3.4 32 275
5 NY – Wading River SIS/Thunder/Miken/Worth/VulcanGrips  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 127 111 25.4 22.2 3.2 31 155
5 OH – Hamilton TG/HDLNS/BHR/EASTON  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 109 74 21.8 14.8 7.0 34 155
7 CAN – San Jose Dan Smith/Menosse  USSSA-SPMensMajor 4 2 0 175 145 29.2 24.2 5.0 38 130
7 MN – Medina Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 138 101 27.6 20.2 7.4 41 130
9 NC – Charlotte TDB/TMSports/MidWestWhiteTailAdv/Mi  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 109 110 21.8 22.0 -0.2 30 110
9 OH – Kent JBL/Tailgaters/All In/B&E/Worth  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 130 111 32.5 27.8 4.8 47 110
9 IN – Aurora Backman/S&S/Dr.Pepper/Louisville Sl  USSSA-SPMensMajor 2 2 0 118 83 29.5 20.8 8.8 44 110
9 MO – Branson Nightmare/Miken  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 117 129 29.3 32.3 -3.0 41 110
13 CAN – San Jose Classic Glass / Easton  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 76 86 19.0 21.5 -2.5 33 70
13 GA – Peachtree City Baugh Ford/Adiktiv/Worth/Miken  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 118 102 29.5 25.5 4.0 40 70
13 TNE – Chattanooga CTS/Team Collision  USSSA-Mens-C 2 2 0 80 85 20.0 21.3 -1.3 27 70
13 SC – Charleston Pure Sports/HB  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 77 87 19.3 21.8 -2.5 34 70
17 OH – Morrow Premier/Easton  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 49 56 16.3 18.7 -2.3 22 140
17 KY – Richmond Cornerstone/BuffaloWings&Rings  USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 82 83 27.3 27.7 -0.3 33 40
17 TXN – Frisco Killbombers / Demarini / GS Sports  USSSA-Mens-AA 1 2 0 71 76 23.7 25.3 -1.7 26 40
17 NC – Hendersonville Worsham Athletics/BF Cattle/Athon/M  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 81 68 27.0 22.7 4.3 37 140
17 GA – Covington Southern Mayhem/ Louisville Slugger  USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 50 80 16.7 26.7 -10.0 28 40
17 FLS – Haines City Wileys Supreme/Miken/Worth  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 45 60 15.0 20.0 -5.0 20 140
17 MI – Kalamazoo HB/SoftballFans/Miken/Evil  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 59 75 19.7 25.0 -5.3 25 140
17 GA – Macon Primetime/Easton  USSSA-Mens-A 0 2 0 33 52 16.5 26.0 -9.5 22 40
25 GA – Rossville Athletic Shop/King's Men  USSSA-Mens-D 0 2 0 13 62 6.5 31.0 -24.5 7 65
25 SC – Rock Hill TDB  USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 39 61 19.5 30.5 -11.0 21 65
25 NH – Hampton CTC  USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 44 67 22.0 33.5 -11.5 25 0
25 TNE – Chattanooga Atta Boy  USSSA-Mens-E 0 2 0 14 50 7.0 25.0 -18.0 14 0
25 AL – Prattville Kut4 Sports  USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 43 51 21.5 25.5 -4.0 29 65
25 SC – Spartanburg CrunchTime  USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 33 77 16.5 38.5 -22.0 27 65
25 CAS – Yorba Linda OC Swats / Semper  USSSA-Mens-AA 0 2 0 44 74 22.0 37.0 -15.0 23 40

 

 


 

Team by team notes brought to you by:

 

1st Place Smash It/Albicocco/Miken/Worth/DirtySportsWear

Conf Major from NY  5-0 Record

A near perfect team that also hits in the clutch on offense and plays shut down defense when the game is on the line 4 games in a row…  SIS/Albicocco is #1 in the points and may hold that spot the rest of the year.

Trending Up!

Lineup
C Branch .750, 9 HR, 24 RBI
P Purcell .828. 2 HR
LF Dillon .700, 6 HR
2B Rulli .733
RF Collins .792, 10 HR, 29 RBI
1B Kanaby .667, 6 HR
MI Reyna .731
CF Santana .708
SS Dedonatis 8 Doubles
3B Briggs .783, 5 HR, 15 RBI

Payne also played some outfield.  Filby was at a graduation.  Harvey played till he tweaked a leg muscle.

 

 

Purcell was MVP and Reyna was Defensive MVP

Dillon "doing what dilly does"

 

Rulli and Collins

Kanaby

  

Santana and Dedonatis (Jr was Defensive MVP)

Briggs

SIS/Albicoccos great uniforms are made by DirtySportsWear.com

I especially love the names and numbers and the color schemes.

 


 

2nd Place Worth Astros/K&G/Klutch

Conf 'AA' from IN  5-2 Record

 

Picture by Fecke Photos (she works with teams to take pictures at events)

Worth Astros is the "SIS/Albicocco" of the 'AA' division.  Astros is hitting and pitching and they throw in a little defense as well.  The top finishing 'AA' team in all 4 of the tournaments they have played and nearly had SIS/Albicocco beat in that winner's final…

Trending Up!

Sid Stephany

Josh Riley was Offensive MVP

Super sub Justin Aldora t's off

KMart vs Nightmare

Pinkham has some war scars to prove he is a warrior on the mound.

 


 

3rd Place OA Apparel/Broughton/KBI/Easton

Conf 'AA' from IL  7-2 Record

 

Picture by Fecke Photos (she works with teams to take pictures at events)

OA beat 4 straight 'AA' teams in the loser's bracket and finished 3rd.  Some more nice points for OA.  Wilkins and Byars pitched.  Stewart, Williams, and Bowser provided some big power.  And this team of players from all over the country has done a nice job of never giving up and have learned to be "mudders" the last two weekends.

Trending Up!

Curtis Stewart and Justin Barber

Brad Lunda played center field

 


 

4th Place Bad Draw/B&B/Broughton/BAF/Worth

Conf 'B' from NC  6-2 Record

 

This Bad Draw team is a bit of a "no name" team compared to years past.  They have Jess Maloney and Tim Mickey who came into the Conference with Team 454 a number of years ago.  They recently picked up outfielder Evan Jarman.  They have 3rd Baseman David Forbes and shortstop CJ Jacinto who were with Bad Draw in the past.  They also have Danny Lopez the pitcher but he was at the Corky's playing that other association.  This team won 6 straight in the loser's bracket and probably couldn't believe they were still playing Sunday morning.  It is a credit to this hard hitting (currently 'B' team) and a testament to what is some nice parity in the conference this year.  They have now beaten two Major teams so far in 2017 – Newbreed and Dan Smith.

Trending Up!

Lineup
Jacinto
Maloney
Forbes
Mickey
B Powers
Jarman
Marshburn
M Bunn
Jones
D Smith
Chavis

 

Maloney and Mickey

Dylan Smith

 


 

Tied 5th Place SIS/Thunder/Miken/Worth/VulcanGrips

Conf 'AA' from NY  3-2 Record

 

SIS/Thunder is yet another in a long line of teams that let SIS/Albicocco off the hook.  The Conference came so close to getting 4 'AA" teams in the final 4…  SIS/Thunder is banged up and pulled out of Columbus, Indiana but will play now in Euless in two weeks.

Trending Up!

I didn't get many SIS/Thunder pics for whatever reason.  Here is 3B Tyler Driskell

 


 

Tied 5th Place TG/HDLNS/BHR/Easton

Conf 'AA' from OH  3-2 Record

TG won over in state rival Premier, knocked off 'AA' peer OA Apparel, and got a signature win over Backman before dropping the grudge match against Astros and losing themselves in the fog against OA.

Trending Even

 

Disbennet and Staton

 

Newman and Corn

Everyones friend Dan Feichtner left Premier to manage TG/HDLNS

 


 

Other top finishing Conference teams

 


 

Tied 7th Place – Dan Smith/Menosse/Easton

Conf Major from CA  4-2 Record

 

Tripped up by JBL/Tailgaters, got on a roll vs Pure Sports and then Backman, then got a "Bad Draw"

Trending Even

 

Hughes and Durick

Ed Menosse returned to the Conference pictured here with the staff.

 


 

Tied 7th Place – Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon

Conf 'AA' from MN  3-2 Record

Xtreme let one slip away vs SIS/Albicocco.  

Oh, what could have been!

The thought is painful as I know it is for this team which takes one step forward slowly.

Trending Even

Smith, Letak, Newman ready for a scud

 

 


 

Hot Links section brought to you by:

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

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to all 2009 to 2017 Tournament Reports and Previews

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link

 


 

Some more pictures for you:

Kennington was back but the results weren't any better.  2-2

Sponsor Jerry Backman has stepped away from the team.

We wish him the best and thank him for his great sponsorship and hope to see him back at the fields soon.

TDB/TMSports 3-2.   Started to make some positive progress.

 

Classic Glass 2-2.  Beat who they were supposed to.

Primetime 0-2

Pure Sports 2-2.

Baugh Ford was this close to beating Nightmare.  2-2

 

JBL and their big win over Dan Smith.  2-2

HB Softball 1-2 as they scrambled to have enough players for the tournament

TDB 'B' team was 0-2

  

Verbasco picture for the "haters"

 

Premier 0-2

OC Swats/Semper 0-2 and their sponsor Henri left the team.

Thank you Henri for you decades of sponsorship!

Cornerstone dropped a heart breaker to Classic Glass and went 1-2

Red Moore is no longer with this team  🙁

Worsham almost shocked the world then went 1-2

Southern Mayhem went 1-2.  Very good non conference team

Wileys went 1-2

You can get in the report like Brandon Bellamy did, if you wear your "Mooch is my Homeboy" shirt!

Clay Dickey the tournament director wondering where all those game balls went?

FOG

USSSA put a livestream on facebook and it reached 250,000 people and 51,000 viewed it.

 

The End

 

 

 

One response to “2017 USSSA Chattanooga Major tournament report!”

  1. Timmy T says:

    Great Job DW

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.