Wednesday March 27th, 2024
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USSSA 'A' World Tournament Preview

 

USSSA 'A' World

Tournament

Preview

The Stadium Field normally uses a temporary homerun fence set between 305-320 feet

Fields 12 and 13 will be used at the 'A' Worlds and are 305 foot softball fields

The Stadium Field is in the lower right of this map.  Fields 12 and 13 are in the upper left

Link to the entire Disney "ESPN Wide World of Sports"

Link to the 'A' World Bracket

Link to the 'A' World Team Information List

Projected weather for the weekend.   Bring your Gatorade!

The 2011 USSSA Men's 'A' slowpitch World tournament bracket is out and it has 21 teams.  10 'A' teams,  6 'B' teams,  3 'C' teams, and  2 'D' teams.  The 10 'A' teams in my opinion are the most equal in ability of any field of 'A' world teams in recent memory.

As you go to pick your bracket the possibilities are endless and you can make a case for just about any 'A' team in the tournament.  The story lines are deep.  Can Team 454 cap off a season that saw them climb the 'A' ranks to the very top? 

Can Shoppe, a team that was built with nearly every player on the roster coming from either the Major list or the Major watch list, return them to their glory days? 

Can Sonny's who was bumped to the 'A' division and has only played one 'A' team all season in Conference play, string together enough wins to shock the softball world?

Can R&M Metals ride their recent momentum of nearly knocking off Resmondo and winning the "Last Chance" tournament, and continue to roll through opponents this weekend?

And to top it off, you still have Suncoast, Wood Law (with their new additions), Darkside coming off their runner up in North Carolina which had 5 'A' teams in the bracket, not to mention Sinister, EWS, and Down2EarthSports.com.

Wow!

The SoftballCenter.com broadcast of the stadium field should start with the 8 AM game on Saturday morning which is D2E vs Sinister followed by Wood Law vs Taylormade.  The broadcast will not always have announcing as I have to report on the back fields frequently.   I am taking a second camera to try and set up on field #12 or #13 up in the scorers booth, but it would just be a stationary camera with no announcing if it works.

1st Round Matchups:

Daves Place with their Conference veterans Brad Stillwell, Steve Loyd, and Steve Wilson will knock off PNH in game #1

Game #2: 1st Step DCS with Machado, Elrod, Garcia, and Chris Wilson among others should handle Joel's Pizza.

Game #3: Taylormade will handle West Shore Pizza

Game #4: A very good Blockers/Easton team should give Primetime a run.   I'll go with Blocker's here.

Game #5 A very interesting CA Sports team with Brandon Murray, Scott King, Ricky Haymans, Matt Crawford, Brian Autry, Gator? and others should beat a good local 'C' team CFL.

2nd Round Matchups:

The rest of these games are 60/40 games with the higher seed basically having a 60% chance of winning. 

Game #6: R&M Metal with their newfound chemistry takes on Linedrive.   This is an 8 AM game on the back fields.   Tough call but I'll go with R&M.   I am a believer in chemistry and momentum and this should be a great game.

Game #7: Down2EarthSports and Sinister.   D2E has gotten it done in all year.   Sinister is still wondering what happened to their season?   8 am, stadium field.   The stadium is a different animal and D2E has to overcome a lot here.   Lets go with Sinister 12-11.

Game #8: EWS vs Darkside.   Both teams have shown flashes this season.   EWS was built to win the 'A' worlds eventhough their roster has changed drastically since the beginning of the season.   Darkside is a different (better) team with Dirty Sanchez on the mound but he was walking way too many guys in NC and you have to wonder if Darkside is bringing another pitcher?    Lets go with EWS here, 18-10.

Game #9: Suncoast over Dave's Place, although Daves, CA Sports, and Blockers are the three non-conference teams that I think are capable of winning 2 in a row.

Game #10: Shoppe over 1st Step/DCS.

Game #11: Wood Law and Taylormade.   Wood Law (formerly Famous Sports) has picked up Denny Crine and Brian Higginbotham.   They were also rumored to be picking up Jeff Hall but I don't think this happened.   This makes you wonder whatever happened to Greg Hartwick and Tyler Beuerlein?   I pick Taylormade every week and every week they disapoint.   So I'm taking Wood Law eventhough they lost pitcher Chad Munger who went to Laser Vision.   This band of free agents shouldn't be able to beat a tight knit group like Taylormade but they will.   Taylormade is still a year away.

Game #12: Sonny's and Blockers.   I'll go with Sonny's here.   I haven't seen enough of this team to get a feel for them but their track record and resume of big wins is legendary.   Coming to Florida in the heat and playing 'A' teams for the first time puts them in a tough spot but they have the energy and youthfull exuberance to win a couple.  This game #12 is Friday night when the ball should be flying a little better and Sonny's should rack up about 30 runs.

Game #13: The final game of the first round is #1 seed Team 454/Emerald/Worth who gets to play the loaded CA Sports team.   This could be an interesting game early on, but look for 454 to take control the second time through the order and never look back.

3rd Round Matchups:
I'll take Suncoast over R&M.   Suncoast is due to get on a roll and have some players that have something to prove before the year is over.   Although the two teams couldn't be further apart when it comes to momentum at this point in the season.

In the second game, which will be on the stadium, lets go with Shoppe over Sinister although a Shoppe vs D2E game here would be more entertaining.

I'll go with Sonny's over Wood Law.   Youth and defense vs veteran free agent types…good contrast.

Finally, I've been picking against 454 for a lot of the season, and to their credit they keep pulling off Sunday finishes.   I'm going to keep my trend going and pick EWS over 454.   I don't know why, because EWS hasn't given anyone much to cheer about all year, but I'm going with the gut feeling.

Semi-Finals:
In the semi finals I'll take Shoppe over Suncoast and EWS over Sonny's.

Then late Saturday night lets go with EWS over Shoppe and 454 to come back through the bracket and finish 2nd.

Finishing order:
1) EWS  (Positive at all times here fellas.   Need Kirby, Tmack and the rest to sell out here)
2) Team 454 (A run in the loser's bracket.  I'm worried about power in the heat with this team.   Tiny keep cool)
3) Shoppe (Fell short too many times this year but could win this easily)
4) Sonny's (the wildcard in this mess)
Tied Suncoast (A lot to prove)
Tied 5th R&M (Ride the momentum)

A couple of notes:  Noone has won the 'A' World in the last 10 years that did not have twice as many wins against 'A' teams as they did losses.   This year the only team that has such a record is Team 454/Emerald/Worth.   The last team to do it with just a 14-8 record against 'A' teams was Mountain Top in 2000.

I will be rooting for the underdogs: Darkside, Down2EarthSports, Taylormade, and Sinister.

21 Winners Bracket

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 8:00 AM F12   (6  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 12:30 PM F13   (23  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 9:30 PM F12   (9  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 7:00 PM F12   (1  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 5:00 PM Std.   (31  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 9:30 PM Std.   (10  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 7:00 PM F13   (2  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 2:00 PM Std.   (24  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 8:00 AM Std.   (7  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 8:30 PM Std.   (37  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 9:30 AM Std.   (11  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 8:15 PM F12   (3  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 12:30 PM F12   (25  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 9:30 PM F13   (12  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 8:15 PM F13   (4  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 6:30 PM Std.   (32  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 8:15 PM Std.   (13  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fri 7:00 PM Std.   (5  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 12:30 PM Std.   (26  
 
 
 
 
Sun 11:00 AM Std.   (40  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 8:00 AM F13   (8  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-37
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Loser's
Bracket
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-31
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-26
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 11:00 AM Std.   (14  
 
Sat 6:30 PM F12   (30  
 
Sat 9:30 PM F12   (35  
 
Sun 9:30 AM Std.   (39  
 
Sun 1:00 PM Std.   (41  
 
 
L-6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 3:30 PM F12   (19  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 11:00 AM F12   (15  
 
 
Sat 8:00 PM F12   (33  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-25
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 11:00 AM F13   (16  
 
Sat 6:30 PM F13   (29  
 
 
Sun 8:00 AM Std.   (38  
 
 
 
 
 
L-7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 3:30 PM F13   (20  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-10
 
 
L-32
 
 
 
L-40
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-24
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-11
Sat 5:00 PM F12   (28  
 
Sat 9:30 PM F13   (36  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 2:00 PM F12   (21  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 9:30 AM F12   (17  
 
 
Sat 8:00 PM F13   (34  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-12
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-23
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 9:30 AM F13   (18  
 
Sat 5:00 PM F13   (27  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sat 2:00 PM F13   (22  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L-13
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


  

 

 

  


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