2009 Combat Double Major NIT Part 1
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Mt. Rainier was visibile from the fields
The 2009 Conference features two "double" points weekends. The first was in Kissimmee, Florida to start the season and the second was this past weekend in Washington. The first tournament started at 11 AM on Friday morning and wound up finishing Saturday around noon. Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield-Combat won the tournament and defeated Classic Glass/Easton/DSSBats 43-28 in the finals. Classic Glass used all 12 of their homeruns to build a slight lead midway through the final game but fell victim to Dan Smith's superior homerun management in the end. Showcase/All American Restoration/Worth finished third for their best showing of the season and hometown Northwest Combat/Trojans finished a solid 4th. More on all the teams later in the report.
The "Official Combat Sports Vehicle" was on display!
In the second tournament which started around noon Saturday and finished up with the final four teams on Sunday, Dan Smith again went 4-0 to take the weekend sweep. Smith beat GTL Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite 43-40 in the finals with WCS/LCV finishing up 3rd and Northwest Combat/Trojans finishing 4th again. I missed the 3 games on Sunday morning due to an early flight however it looks like GTL turned a bad weekend around and completed their run through the loser's bracket to get to the shootout with Dan Smith.
Congratulations to the Dan Smith team who have now swept both double points tournaments!
Don Cooper and the staff ran a great weekend and the tournaments were set up perfectly with the 9 Conference teams joined by the best 6 local "C" teams that could play. This is the way the Majors should be run. Keep the "D" and "E" teams out whenever possible. There was at least one good game going on at all times.
Bats were confiscated whenever a pitcher was hit. The bats that were taken were mailed away to the home office for testing. One umpire was drilled in the head during the ATS vs KTI game. Someone please post how this umpire is doing. The umpire unfortunately was inside the bases with a runner on first, between the pitcher and second base. Let this be a tough lesson to all umpires. Never umpire from inside the bases before the ball is hit.
Team Breakdown: There were 9 Conference USSSA teams and 15 teams overall from 5 different states at the Combat Major:
1 Major Teams,
4 Class "A" Teams,
4 Class "B" Teams,
6 Class "C" Teams,
Player's were battered and bruised after playing as many as 11 games over 3 day's
Russell Sports Complex notes: The softball complex was beautiful and the tournament featured perfect weather. 4 of the fields were all symmetrical with 300 foot fences. Homerun fences were about 10 feet high. A 5th field which was used sparingly was a baseball field with a temporary fence. In the future they should just leave out the temp fence and use the regular dimensions which were 330 down the line and 365 to center field.
Video clip of the fields from the Edge Bar behind left field of diamond #4
Showcase had a decent weekend and played well enough to make me think they will be a player in the "B" Worlds come September. Showcase added middle infielder Jason Landa who played well. They are getting some consitent power from Dustin Palm and top notch defense out of shortstop Tim Nielson and center fielder Ryan Anderson. They also have some good power off the bench in veteran slugger Jim Thurman.
Showcase picked up two big wins over Combat USA this weekend and beat a hot NW Combat team as well.
Showcase gathers after their 3rd place finish on Saturday
Showcase shortstop Tim Nielson made a seemingly endless amount of great plays and is my pick for Defensive MVP of the Tournaments
Showcase produced some better offense than they did in past Conference events
Showcase pitcher Andy Vitcak hits a key HR vs Classic Glass
GTL Cartel/Stucco/Worth/Elite (Conf A, Othello, WA )
Combat Double Record 7-4
Overall Conference Record 28-16
GTL had a lackluster first tournament and lost 31-13 to WCS in their first game in tourny #2. After a two game break and what appeared to be a VERY serious discussion between the players and sponsor/player Donnie Wilson, the GTL team responded by beating ATS, O&S (in extra innings), KTI, NW Combat, and WCS to make it to the championship against Dan Smith. In the finals GTL lost a shootout 43-40. Anyone who witnessed this last game, please post details as I had to catch a flight.
GTL continues to search for the chemistry they had when making their run at the "A" Worlds in 2008. The roster is A+, the effort could probably be fine tuned and the pitching needs to improve. This team may be missing JC Phelps more than they want to admit. We still have a long way to go until the big 3 tournaments at the end of the year and this team still has plenty of time to turn it around. Winning 5 in a row against top competition on Saturday is a step in the right direction although playing 11 games in Seattle may take its toll at the Smoky's this weekend.
GTL's Sam Lopez won the homerun derby Thursday night at the Combat Major
Whenever I get a late Saturday picture of the sunset you can bet GTL is still playing
Local player Chad Munger pitching for GTL was tournament #2 Defensive MVP
Northwest Combat / Trojans (Conf B, Seattle, Washington )
Combat Double Record 7-4
Overall Conference Record 12-10
NW Combat is in my view a completely different team than the one that I watched play in Kissimmee in April. They have added two of the top Canadien national players in middle infielder Jeff Gare and outfielder Frank Henry. They also have veteran pitching in Derek Warren, speed and defense in centerfielder Brian Plenkovich, great glove in 2B Ryan Goodman, and veteran sticks like Danny Van Daele, Shane McCullough, and Danny Clemans. In the words of one opposing manager "they are the Columbus Pipe of 2009". I have to agree.
NW Combat is now in my opinion a top 5 "B" team in the country. Again we will have to see how they travel. The Florida heat and games in the stadium can be a whole different animal.
Former C-Town star Jon Oram locks down shortstop and leadoff for Northwest Combat
Northwest Combat's Seth Stephens hits a big HR opposite field
Another former C-Town star Danny Van Daele of Northwest Combat
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