Friday March 29th, 2024
TEXT_SIZE

2011 Connecticut Major Tournament Recap

Click here for Connecticut photos by Michele

Worth/TYJA Northeast Shootout

Slow-Pitch Mens-Major

Date : 6/24/2011

 
The 4th ranked team in the nation Team 454 Emerald/Worth based out of Glen Allen, Virginia went 6-1 to win the Worth/TYJA Northeast Shootout Major tournament this past weekend in Branford, Connecticut.  454 was the class of the tournament as expected.   They hammered their first 4 opponents 113-21 which included a 30-10 win over Taylormade.  Their defense was superb to the rest of the teams and they didn't face a challenge until the winner's bracket championship where they met a veteran 'C' team Checking/Worth who they beat just 30-29.   Then Checking came out of the loser's bracket by beating Taylormade 33-29 and gutted out a 14-13 win over Team 454 in the first championship game.  In the final game Team 454 managed their second Conference tournament win of the year by beating Checking 26-17.

1st Place – Team 454 was led by MVP Don Rogers who was back for the first time since breaking a finger early in the season and now 2 time Defensive MVP shortstop Kevin Bazat.

2nd Place – Checking came as advertised in the tournament preview.  Pete Rodrigues was hurt, but Jeff Medeiros (1B) hit some big homers, including one against Magic late in the game to extend the lead out of reach.  Jeff was also the Offensive MVP of the tournament.  Justin Valenti was the (EH) for the weekend but hit some long homeruns.  Checking had a chance to beat 454 in the winners final Saturday night with a couple homers left but came up short. The difference for them was winning close games.  They beat Magic and Turano by one, and Darkside by 4.  They were as shocked as anyone to be in the winners final.  As a veteran bunch they were not intimidated by any of the Conference teams.

3rd Place – Taylormade went through the motions in early wins against Platinum and Steves Sports.  They struggled with K L&R, a "C" team from Connecticut, and 454.  After that they killed it.   They pounded surprise "D" team PTC 33-10 and really hit against Magic on Sunday 37-22.   Kevin Kennington was hitting bombs.  "Robo" (Robert Blackburn) looked very good in right field and hit 2 dingers against Magic well over 400 feet.  Brian Floyd & Johnny Bailey showed great bat control with their swings.

4th Place – Magic was led by middle infielder Brad Yankee who went 17-20 and was filthy good on defense.   Right Fielder Joe Venturini was showed great bat control (24-32) and played a solid outfield.   Mike McGoogan continues to impress as a pitcher and made all tournament.

Tied for 5th Place – Darkside ended up playing again without Dirty.  Veteran Lou Mongelli was also injured and Oscar Shipley had limited at bats.  Ryan Parfitt played an inspiring outfield and showed great hustle on the bases.

Tied for 5th Place – An impressive 'D' team called PTC who lost their opening game but ran off 5 straight in the loser's bracket including signature wins over Bullshippers and Turano.

Tied for 7th Place – Rochester Athletic Club had great weekends from Brian Fry, Kirby Murphy and Stephen (Peanut) Kuss.   Jamal Herrin was wearing Tom Paturzo's uniform for Turano.    Steve Hower hit the two longest home runs on field 3 Friday Night over everything into the corn fields in Turano's 34-18 win over Siracusa.   They also turned a triple play in that game.   Runners on 1st & 2nd…hard ground ball to Mid Inf Doug Ruble, he tagged runner from 2nd and flipped to 2nd baseman to turn the triple play….it was unreal.   David Garcia was also hitting it well in that game.

Bullshippers made a lot of roster changes and struggled.  Donny Meyett, Steve Yarbor and Mike Wilson from the 2009 Diamond Blade/Angle Inn team.  Rick Lilly was running the team.

Overall a nice field of 33 teams and although I wasn't there it looks like it was a great tournament and from what I heard had a great atmosphere. 

The directors of the tournament told me they would forward me some pictures.  If they read this or anyone else has pictures, please send them to dw@softballcenter.com

A big thank you for tournament reporting information from John Hickey and twitter updates during the weekend from John Robinson.

  Link to the Connecticut tournament bracket and stats    

Player Tournament Awards
Players Name
Plays For
Tournament MVP
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
Offensive Tournament MVP
ChecKing/Worth
Defensive Tournament MVP
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
ChecKing/Worth
All Tournament Team
Magic/National Gold/S&S/TYJA Sports
All Tournament Team
ChecKing/Worth
All Tournament Team
ChecKing/Worth
All Tournament Team
TaylorMade/TM Sports/Mizuno
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
ChecKing/Worth
All Tournament Team
Magic/National Gold/S&S/TYJA Sports
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
TaylorMade/TM Sports/Mizuno
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
TaylorMade/TM Sports/Mizuno
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
Magic/National Gold/S&S/TYJA Sports
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
All Tournament Team
TaylorMade/TM Sports/Mizuno
All Tournament Team
ChecKing/Worth
All Tournament Team
Team 454 Emerald/Worth
 

Place
State
Team
Team
Class
Wins
Loses
Ties
Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
1
VA
SPMensA
6
1
0
172
81
24.5
11.5
13
34
300
2
CT
ChecKing/Worth Qualified
SPMensC
6
2
0
195
159
24.3
19.8
4.5
36
220
3
VA
SPMensA
5
2
0
183
128
26.1
18.2
7.85
37
180
4
MA
SPMensB
6
2
0
198
139
24.7
17.3
7.37
37
160
5
CT
PTC Qualified
SPMensD
5
2
0
120
120
17.1
17.1
0
26
140
5
CT
SPMensA
2
2
0
98
115
24.5
28.7
-4.2
32
140
7
NYU
SPMensC
4
2
0
142
113
23.6
18.8
4.83
31
120
7
CT
SPMensC
3
2
0
110
109
22
21.8
0.19
27
120
9
NYD
SPMensC
3
2
0
116
106
23.2
21.2
2
42
100
9
NYD
SPMensC
2
2
0
69
64
17.2
16
1.25
33
100
9
CT
SPMensC
2
2
0
92
86
23
21.5
1.5
29
100
9
MD
SPMensB
2
2
0
95
67
23.7
16.7
7
34
100
13
NJ
SPMensB
2
2
0
75
91
18.7
22.7
-4
26
80
13
PA
SPMensC
2
2
0
63
46
15.7
11.5
4.25
22
80
13
RI
SPMensC
2
2
0
81
59
20.2
14.7
5.5
39
80
13
RI
INVADERS Qualified
SPMensD
2
2
0
75
84
18.7
21
-2.2
26
80
17
CT
SPMensD
1
2
0
20
78
6.66
26
-19.
16
40
17
CT
Premier/Easton Qualified
SPMensD
1
2
0
45
59
15
19.6
-4.6
23
40
17
CT
SPMensD
1
2
0
55
79
18.3
26.3
-8
19
40
17
NYD
SPMensC
1
2
0
53
80
17.6
26.6
-9
27
40
17
RI
SPMensD
1
2
0
66
78
22
26
-4
27
40
17
MD
SPMensC
1
2
0
53
54
17.6
18
-0.3
31
40
17
CT
Steves Sports Qualified
SPMensC
1
2
0
30
51
10
17
-7
13
40
17
CT
SPMensD
0
2
0
24
53
12
26.5
-14.
14
40
25
NJ
SPMensE
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
25
RI
SPMensD
0
2
0
21
44
10.5
22
-11.
12
20
25
CT
SPMensD
0
2
0
35
50
17.5
25
-7.5
21
20
25
CT
Nick's Roofing Qualified
SPMensD
0
2
0
38
42
19
21
-2
24
20
25
RI
SPMensE
0
2
0
26
47
13
23.5
-10.
21
20
25
CT
SPMensD
0
2
0
17
41
8.5
20.5
-12
13
20
25
MA
SPMensD
0
2
0
18
57
9
28.5
-19.
15
20
25
MA
SPMensD
0
2
0
36
41
18
20.5
-2.5
21
20
33
CT
SPMensE
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
 


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.