Tuesday March 26th, 2024
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2012 ASA 'A' National tournament report!

 

 

 

ASA 'A' National

 

Oklahoma City, OK

 

September 28 – September 30

 

Brian Faria hits the go ahead homer in the top of the 7th and Sonny's defense holds in the bottom and the celebrations is on! 

Sonnys celebrates their 1-2-3 defense in the bottom of the 7th to beat 3rd Street 19-18 in the "if" game and win the championship!

ASA 'A' National bracket Link

The ASA 'A' National tournament was played this past weekend in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the location of the American Softball Associations Hall of Fame and headquarters.  20 teams filled out the bracket with players from all over the country.  A few of the teams were considered "All Star" teams made up of players from more than one state or region but made within the guidelines of the RPL (Restricted Player List).  Each team could only have 5 or less RPL players.  The tournament used a 10 home run limit rule.  The "All Star" teams fell by the wayside as the tournament progressed however, and in the end it was Sonnys Softball Club based out of Casper, Wyoming that beat 3rd Street Financial of Cincinnati, Ohio in the championship by a score of 19-18.  The two teams battled late on Saturday night in the winner's bracket championship game as well.  In that game, 3rd Street Financial came all the way back from a 4th inning deficit of 27-10.  3rd Street scored 16 runs in the bottom of the 5th, held Sonnys scoreless in the top of the 7th, and trailing 36-32 in their last at bat they scored 7 runs, ending it with a walk off grand slam by Dan Houchin to win the game!

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So on Sunday, Sonnys had to win 3 games in a row to win the championship.  They began with a win in the loser's bracket championship game against one of the All Star teams, Annihilation/Easton who comprised a core of players including Brett Helmer and Brian Wegman who had won this tournament the past couple of years.  Sonnys trailed 19-7 when they scored 12 runs in the bottom of the 4th, and added 11 runs over the next two innings to force Annihilation to have to score 7 to tie in the top of the 7th.  Annihilation quickly scored 3 and had 2 runners on, no outs, and 3 homers left.  Then a ground ball to 2nd base and a force out at 2nd, a throw behind the runner tag out at 3rd, and a subsequent throw to 2nd to get the batter trying to take an extra base, resulted in a dramatic 4-6-5-6 triple play to end the game!

Sonnys then moved on to the championship where they had to beat 3rd Street Financial twice.  In the first game they led most of the way and took control of the game in the 3rd and 4th innings on homers in both innings by both Chris Greinert and Alexis Ramirez.  3rd Street scored 6 runs in the top of the 7th but lost 20-15.  In the "if" game of the championship which featured a number of great defensive plays, 3rd Street led 18-10 going into the 6th inning.  Sonnys scored 7 runs in the top of the 6th and held 3rd Street scoreless.  Then in the 7th, down by 1 run, Brian Faria hit a clutch 2 out 2 run homer to give Sonnys a 19-18 lead.  In the bottom of the 7th Sonnys injured pitcher (broken thumb) Danny Lopez was reinserted.  He got 3rd Street to lineout to first on a nice play by Kevin Ballard, ground out hard to Sam Christensen at 3rd base, and ended the game with a line drive back to the pitcher.  Lopez stabbed the liner even with a badly swollen and broken thumb for the win! 

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Sunday and Championship game highlites and awards for all teams

  

The ASA fields and stadium have 300 foot fences and the grounds crew did an amazing job fighting against a constant drizzle all day Saturday!

Saturday action, Nordkaps Anthony Dress hits off of Long Hauls Curtiss Wilson 

The Stadium Field

Field #4 – BBS Miken bats against Shoppe

The Stadium Field

ASA has some additional pictures on their Facebook page at ASAsoftball

ASA has some additional pictures on their Facebook page at ASAsoftball

Gametimesupply arm sleeve of the week

 


Video Highlites brought to you by:

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ASA 'A' National highlites


The "Mojo Masher" of the week is: Ashley Walker

and the USA Armed Forces Team!

 

A true display of strength and courage

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A very emotional flag ceremony for a wounded and a fallen soldier


ASA 'A' National Tournament Awards and Final Standings:

Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Lenz – Sonny’s

 Batting Champion: Brian Zirkle- Nordkap – hitting .875

HR Champion: Chris Greinert – Sonny’s – 14 home runs
 
 2012 ASA Men’s Class FIRST Team All- American Team
Infield: Jonathan Lenz- Sonny’s
Infield: Brad Reckhart – Annihilation
Infield: Kyle Moyer – Desert Falls
Infield: Larry Wert – 3rd Street Financial
Infield: Lexi Ramirez – Sonny’s
Outfield: Brian Zirkle – Nordkap
Outfield: Mike Rogers – 3rd Street Financial
Outfield: Nick Santana – Desert Falls
Outfield: West Guill – Sonny’s
Utility: Reggie Schulte – Annihilation
Utility: Jeremy Yates – Annihilation
Utility: Chris Greinert – Sonny’s
Utility: Jayson Scott – 3rs Street Financial
Utility: Manny Liriano – Sonny’s
Pitcher: Roger Drake – 3rd Street Financial
2012 ASA Men’s Class SECOND Team All- American Team
Infield: Adam Peterson – BBS/Miken
Infield: Brett McCollum – Nordkap
Infield: Kyle Decker – BBS/Miken
Infield: Kevin Bazat – Annihilation
Infield: Bryson Baker – Annihilation
Outfield: Jeremy Isenhower – BBS/Miken
Outfield: Brian Wegman – Annihilation
Outfield: Scott Zaciewski – Nordkap
Outfield: Brandon Dillion – Nordkap
Utility: Chris Larsen – Desert Falls
Utility: Geno Buck – Annihilation
Utility: Brett Helmer – Annihilation
Utility: JD Genter – Desert Falls
Utility: Kevin Filby – Nordkap
Pitcher: Tyson Steele – Desert Falls
 

 

Final Standings 

 

1) Sonnys Softball Club – Casper, Wyoming 6-1
2) 3rd Street Financial/Team Cincinnati – Cincinnati, Ohio 5-2
3) Annihilation/Easton – Cicero, New York 4-2
4) Desert Falls/Demarini/Dirty – Riverton, Utah 3-2
Tied 5) Nordkap – Coon Rapids, Minnesota 3-2
Tied 5) BBS/Miken – Stillwater, Minnesota 4-2
Tied 7) Diosa/Miken Mafia/ASP – Plumbing Norman, Oklahoma 3-2
Tied 7) 4 the Fallen/Easton/3N2 – Anthem, Arizona 2-2
Tied 9) Team Combat/Pacific Headwear – Minnesota 1-2
Tied 9) Shoppe/Team TPS/Elite – Florence, Ky. 1-2
Tied 9) U.S. Armed Forces – Washington, D.C. 2-2
Tied 9) Team Reebok/Longhaul/TYJA – Bradenton, Florida 1-2
Tied 13) TSC/Phone Masters – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1-2
Tied 13) BBS/All American/Easton/Xtreme – Champlin, Minnesota 1-2
Tied 13) Xtreme/Combat – Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 1-2
Tied 13) Stanley Law/TWP Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1-2
Tied 17) SW OK Outlaws – Mangum, Oklahoma 0-2
Tied 17) Team DeMarini/Famous Sports – Portland, Oregon 0-2
Tied 17) Crashers – Norman, Oklahoma 0-2
Tied 17) Seminoles – Estero, Florida 0-2

  


Team by team notes brought to you by:


1st Place – Sonnys Softball Club;lkajsdlkgajaljnresmondo-specialty tank worthresmondo-specialty tank worth

 from Casper, WY   6-1 Record

 

Sonnys smoked Stanley Law 30-11 in their opener.  Then they beat Long Haul 31-19 on Friday night in the stadium.  In the semi-finals at 5 PM on Saturday they upset Annihilation 36-30 when they scored 15 runs (14 before the first out) in the 5th inning.  In the previously mentioned winners final and championship rounds, Sonnys used their consistent line drive hitting, timely home runs, and great defense and pitching to win the tournament.  Chris Greinert and Westy Guill were offensive power machines as they led the tournament in home runs and combined for 27 HR and 75 RBI!  They also had the clutch homers by the little guys Alexis Ramirez and Brian Faria to go with the tag team pitching of the injured Lopez and veteran Carl Blank.  Sonnys used their regular 2012 roster except they picked up Bryce Oliviera for the missing Nick Robertson.

Congratulations to the Sonnys Softball Club who break through a frustrating season and show that they are championship material!

 

Sonnys right fielder Westy Guill had 13 homer's backing up Chris Greinert in the lineup

 

Sonny Pilcher receives the first place trophy.  Well deserved.

 

 


2nd Place – 3rd Street Financial/Team Cincinnati 

from Cincinnati, OH  4-2 Record

 

3rd Street won 3 games on Friday night.  They won their play in game against Seminoles 36-2 while scoring 22 runs in their first 2 innings.  Next they beat the highly regarded Nordkap team 30-21 on better home run management.  In the night cap Friday they outscored Shoppe 17-11 down the stretch and won on a walk off homer by third baseman Jayson Scott.  

On Saturday in the semi-finals at 5 PM, they trailed Desert Falls 31-5 after 3 innings.  In the top of the 4th, 3rd Street scored an incredible 27 runs, 22 without an out, and stunned Desert Falls with a 37-36 win.  Mike Rogers and Larry Wert were both 6-6 in the game and Butch Castor was 5-5 with 2 homers and 6 RBI.

Then 3rd Street lost the "best out of 3" with Sonnys as mentioned earlier in the report.  Congratulations to this group of Blitz, PRI, and 3rd Street Financial players put together by sponsor/manager/player Robert Mahaffey.  I don't believe either 3rd Street or Sonnys had any RPL players on their rosters.  A real gutty performance beating some big teams with some incredible momentum filled, run scoring innings! 

3rd Streets Jason Scott celebrates a walk off homer to beat Shoppe on Friday night  

 

3rd Streets Dan Houchin hits a walk off homer to beat Sonny's for another come from behind victory!

 


3rd Place – Annihilation/Easton

from Cicero, NY  4-2 Record

 

Annihilation came in as the favorites as Brett Helmer assembled a near perfect team with his long time teammate Brian Wegman and elite players like Bryson Baker, Greg Connell, and pitcher Geno Buck.  Annihilation began with a 38-16 win over a solid TSC/Phonemasters club.  Then they got a bases loaded double play and subsequent popup with the game in question to beat 4 The Fallen 30-26.  In the semi-finals against Sonnys they let up 15 runs in the top of the 5th and couldn't recover in a 36-30 loss.

In the losers bracket Annihilation beat a tough BBS/Miken team 39-15 and waited a couple hours to play Desert Falls well after midnight.  The game would last until 3 AM and Annihilation won 35-29.  In the morning the afore mentioned triple play ended their game, and tournament, against Sonnys.  A game where Annihilation had their troubles hitting with the bases loaded.

 

 

 


4th Place – Desert Falls/Demarini/Dirty

from Riverton, UT  3-2 Record

 

Desert Falls was a nice combination of Demarini/Dirty's best players, some Nordkap players like Chad Munger and Brian Zirkle, and another pick up or two like Sam Lopez from Laservision.  This team beat an offensive laden BBS/Miken team 39-32 in their opener after trailing 22-2.  Then they separated late and beat Team Combat 27-19.  In the winners semi-finals 3rd Street Financial put 27 runs on them in the 4th inning and Desert Falls lost shockingly 37-36.

In a losers bracket grudge match with Nordkap, Desert Falls blanked Nordkap for 3 innings in the middle of the game.  Then the offensive guns exploded as Nordkap scored 13 runs in the top of the 7th to take a 24-21 lead.  In the bottom of the 7th, Desert Falls had home runs by Kyle Moyer, Adam Rockoff, and a walk off homer by Andrew Collins to win the game.  Then they were knocked out at 3 AM in the morning by Annihilation 35-29. 

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Andrew Collins homer capped an 8 run bottom of the 7th and another walk off victory.  This one over rival Nordkap 26-24!

 

Chad Munger pitched for Desert Falls

 

Tied 5th Place – Nordkap

from Coon Rapids, MN  3-2 Record

 

Nordkap lost their opener on poor home run management 30-21 to 3rd Street Financial.  In the losers bracket their offense came alive in wins over Xtreme/Combat, Long Haul, and 4 The Fallen.  Then they were knocked out of the tournament by Desert Falls 26-24 after scoring 13 runs in the top of the 7th to take a 3 run lead.

Nordkap was a blend of Nordkap and R&M Metals regular season players. 

 

Nordkaps Kevin Filby launches a homer


Tied 5th Place – BBS/Miken

from Stillwater, MN  4-2 Record

 

BBS/Miken lost their opener to Desert Falls 39-32 after having a 22-2 lead early in the game.  In the losers bracket they faced and beat fellow Minnesota team BBS All American 18-17 on a walk off hit by Tom Muehlenkamp.  Then in less than favorable field conditions they beat Shoppe 28-24 with an 8 run top of the 7th and held on with the Shoppe having the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning.  In their final win they crushed Diosa 30-9 before dropping to Annihilation late on Saturday night.

I was impressed with Mikens firepower and this BBS (Better Business Systems) seems to be a great sponsor helping these two great BBS teams. 

Mikens Adam Peterson and Jeremy Isenhower were a lethal one-two punch 

 


 

 


More pictures below


Hot Links section brought to you by:

I would like to thank all of my sponsors and ASA and ASA's Rich Cress and Chris Sebren in particular for their support!

Stadium Field archived games done by ASA can be found here

ASA Nationals tournament info here

Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the ASA 'A'

ASA has some additional pictures on their Facebook page at ASAsoftball

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports


Some more pictures for you:

 

 

Our favorite Armed Forces player Dexter Avery

 

TSC/Phonemasters center fielder Trey Gothard deserves a look by the upper teams 

Joey Smith hits a walk off homer to push Team Combat past Armed Forces on Friday night 36-35!

Combats Scott Brown demonstrates how the Desert Falls player was out of the front of the box.

Steve Schulz hits off of Chaun Demars in the BBS Miken vs BBS/All American Restoration battle on Saturday morning

 

Tom Muehlenkamp of BBS/Miken gets the walk off hit over their rivals

 

Combat Derby Girls won the Women's Open division

Derby Girls Christan Dowling was 1-1 with the tournaments only home run and was intentionally walked in all 15 of her other plate appearances!  wow

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ASA Women's Open highlites

Classic Glass from California won the 'C' division over KY Steel Erectors 

 

Sean Ballard was playing for Kentucky Steel Erectors in 'C'?

The stadium field on Sunday morning was unplayable

 


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