2014 USSSA Circle City Classic – Indy Major tournament report!
will add all tournament awards as they come in
2014 Nationwide Conference USSSA
"Circle City" Classic
Indianapolis, IN
June 27-29
Reds Astros Travis Dale bats against Precision pitcher and MVP Andy Vitcak in the championship game!
Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the Indy Major
USSSA Indy tournament info and bracket link
The "Circle City Classic" Nationwide Conference USSSA tournament was played this past weekend at the Midwest Sports Complex in Indianapolis, Indiana. The field of 23 teams was widdled down to just 8 teams by the time I (DW) arrived on the scene and all but 1 of the teams were Conference teams. Cashhouse/Nager Law a 'B' team out of Ohio had just completed a nice comeback over Pure Romance 32-24 for their third straight win in the loser's bracket. Then it was time (5 PM) for the final 8 teams to play out and see who would make it to Sunday. In the winner's bracket it was Precision/Easton, one of the favorites, knocking off surprise 'C' team Bloomington Moose 29-14 on field #1. Bloomington had upset Cash House and P&P 333 earlier in the day to make it to the winner's semi-final where they played as well as can be played for a team that was run ruled by Precision. In the other semi-final it was Red's Astros who made a late run to knock off TG Brand 29-22. I think TG Brand may say they gave one away as they led most of the game. Red's had also beaten Pure Romance by just 1 run in the previous round.
In the loser's bracket at 5 PM, Cooper knocked off Cash House 20-14 in a spirited game, and P&P 333 beat WSC/Sportsmanshop 15-12. WSC actually ended up 2-2 with wins over Street Kids and K&G for their best finish ever tied for 7th. Cooper then knocked off the upstart Bloomington Moose team 9-3 in a "pillow fight", and P&P 333 held on to beat fellow Michigan 'B' team TG Brand 22-21.
Back to the winner's bracket where the championship game was a battle between the two favorites. Precision who had advanced to the big game completely unscathed and playing well on offense and defense and Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger who had just squeaked by their last two games against Pure Romance and TG Brand and Red's was still not playing up to their pre-season hype. It wasn't much of a game, Precision took control early with a couple of grand slams and Red's fought back once but fell to Precision 24-7.
In the final game of Saturday night Cooper "skunked" P&P 333 by an unexplainable score of 15-0?
On Sunday morning in the loser's bracket championship Red's Astros got 3 run homers out of Tim Cocco and Andrew Collins in the first inning. Cooper Got a 3 run homer in the 2nd inning by Michael Ditmer but Red's returned the favor with another Cocco 3 run homer in the top of the 3rd and a 2 run shot by Collins. Cooper grounded into a strange 6-10-5 double play in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Red's shortstop John Sullivan made a great diving stop of a line shot and knocked it down and pitched it to second where Troy Krider tagged the bag and threw to 3rd where Josh Riley made a leaping catch for the tagout. That play is in the video highlights for your viewing pleasure. Coopers Mike Malesko would hit a grand slam in the 5th but Red's would win 27-19 to go to the championship.
In the finals Precision struck first in the top of the first with 6 runs on a Chris Geron 2 run homer and some good base hitting, and things were looking good for Precision when Red's Astros started the game with 3 solo homers in the bottom half of the inning. In the 2nd inning Precision grounded into a double play and put up a zero, and Reds came in and took an 8-6 lead on a 3 run homer by Chad Mullins and a 2 run shot by Brad Tabler. In the 3rd Precision put on a massive display of base hitting and gap hitting and scored 10 runs on just one homer! Seth Burgmeier hit the 3 run homer and Tristan Reimolds had a huge pinch hit double with the bases loaded. Red's wouldn't go away though as they scored 9 runs of their own on base hits and gap shots to close the Precision lead to 17-15 in the 4th. In the 5th newly acquired Dan Kirkwood hit a 3 run homer for Precision and they later stretched their lead in the 6th and 7th to 25-19 and won their first Nationwide USSSA event of the year!
The weather was pretty good with some rain Saturday and warmer temperatures. Saturday night and Sunday were beautiful and breezy. The Dudley Classic M Conference ball was used. Lee Eggars led a group of umpires that have some conference experience, and the facilities were pretty good with the 305 foot fences playing relatively short (except for that Cooper vs Bloomington game, lol).
I will post the games I livestreamed on youtube soon.
Travis Dale and the Red's Astros still looking for that elusive chemistry
Coin toss for the winner's final Red Moore and Bill Wax along with Todd Ankney
2014 Circle City Classic – Indy Major – archived game videos!
Sunday games – Reds Astros, Cooper, Precision
Saturday games – Reds Astros vs TG Brand and Reds Astros vs Precision
Saturday – Cooper vs Bloomington and Cooper vs P&P 333
TG Brand takes on Red's Astros
Crowds were small at least on Saturday after I got there
Reds takes on Precision in the winner's final on Saturday night
Cooper's Mike Malesko helps end the game against P&P 333 15-0 with a double
Red's Astros defensive MVP CF Andrew Collins hits a 3 run homer against Cooper in the loser's final Sunday
Video Highlites brought to you by:
Long Bombers of the Week
Tim Cocco gets the longest bomb of the tournament (at least from what I watched).
He had 3 homer's and I believe 8 or more RBI against Cooper.
Indy Major Awards and Final Standings
Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
Offensive Tournament MVP | Bradley Tabler | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
Defensive Tournament CO-MVP | Andrew Collins | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
All Tournament Team | Tim Cocco | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
All Tournament Team | Brian Puckett | P&P333/Suburban/Clutch/LT/Combat |
All Tournament Team | Tyler Collins | Cooper/Yuengling/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Josh Onstott | P&P333/Suburban/Clutch/LT/Combat |
All Tournament Team | Joshua Riley | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
All Tournament Team | Chris Riddle | Cooper/Yuengling/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Troy Krider | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
All Tournament Team | Lawrence (Buddy) Wolf | Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger |
Place | State | Team | Team Class | Wins | Loses | Ties | Runs Scored | Runs Allow | Avg Runs | Avg Allow | Avg Diff | Max Runs | USSSA Points |
1 | IL – Chicago | Precision/Easton | SPMensB | 5 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 59 | 23.6 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 29 | 300 |
2 | IN – Indianapolis | red's astros/louisville slugger | SPMensA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 121 | 22.6 | 20.1 | 2.5 | 29 | 225 |
3 | OHS – Huber Heights | Cooper/Yuengling/Easton | SPMensB | 5 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 95 | 19.4 | 13.5 | 5.85 | 40 | 200 |
4 | MI – Lansing | p&p333/suburban/clutch/lt/combat | SPMensB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 82 | 18.1 | 13.6 | 4.5 | 28 | 175 |
5 | IN – Bloomington | bloomington moose / silvertowne | SPMensC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 63 | 16.6 | 12.6 | 4 | 26 | 155 |
5 | MI – Flint | TG Brand | SPMensB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 81 | 23.5 | 20.2 | 3.25 | 27 | 155 |
7 | OHN – Mentor | CashHouse/ Nager Law | SPMensB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 81 | 19.4 | 16.2 | 3.2 | 32 | 130 |
7 | WI – Eau Claire | WSC/Sportsman Shop | SPMensC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 80 | 16 | 20 | -4 | 18 | 130 |
9 | IN – Indianapolis | ROCKSTAR/Yats | SPMensC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 80 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 16 | 110 |
9 | IN – South Bend | Street Kids Softball | SPMensC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 88 | 20.8 | 17.6 | 3.2 | 29 | 110 |
9 | IN – Columbus | k&g/wilson/louisville slugger | SPMensC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 55 | 18 | 13.7 | 4.25 | 22 | 110 |
9 | OHO – Cincinnati | pure romance/chics/headlines/easton | SPMensB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 81 | 24.3 | 27 | -2.6 | 25 | 110 |
13 | IN – Topeka | Cedar Creek | SPMensC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 76 | 17.7 | 19 | -1.2 | 29 | 70 |
13 | IN – Lafayette | Floors Unlimited | SPMensC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 80 | 20.5 | 20 | 0.5 | 22 | 70 |
13 | IN – Columbus | raisor sharp images/burt's | SPMensD | 1 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 60 | 13.6 | 20 | -6.3 | 21 | 70 |
13 | MI – Detroit | Detroit Elite/ Easton | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 46 | 16.6 | 15.3 | 1.33 | 23 | 70 |
17 | IN – indianapolis | h&d/moose lodge 1592/c.a.m.i | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 44 | 11 | 14.6 | -3.6 | 15 | 40 |
17 | IN – Greenwood IN | Jewelers Boutique | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 50 | 6 | 25 | -19 | 9 | 40 |
17 | IN – Fort Wayne | Summit City Softball | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 44 | 15.5 | 22 | -6.5 | 19 | 40 |
17 | IN – North Vernon | Wilson Concrete | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 37 | 10 | 18.5 | -8.5 | 15 | 65 |
17 | IN – Indianapolis | Next Generation Softball | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 40 | 12 | 20 | -8 | 20 | 40 |
17 | OHO – Middletown | rsc/alphadawgsports/combat | SPMensC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 51 | 7.5 | 25.5 | -18 | 11 | 40 |
17 | IN – Kokomo | The Vibe | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 37 | 5.5 | 18.5 | -13 | 7 | 40 |
Team by team notes brought to you by:
1st Place – Precision/Easton
Conf 'B' from IL 5-0 Record
Bill Wax and Todd Ankney continue to push all the right buttons with the lineups and the team is really feeding off of the pitching of Andy Vitcak. Hitters like Matt Rear, Mark Holstein, Dan Kirkwood, and Denis Fisher really seem to be "on it" with the base hitting and timely power. Shortstop Keith Laski fields the hard shots well and is one of the leagues leading hitters. They have a deep bench and won the tournament without their leading homerun hitter Jermaine Flythe and big lefty Ryan Thiede. The team runs well, pitches to its defense, and has a good mix of lefties and righties with power and gap hitting consistency. They will be tough to beat the rest of the year and are solidifying themselves in the top 10 in the computer rankings as well as the Conference point standings. Center fielder Bryan Porter continues to make highlight reel plays and they seem to be one of the few teams that doesn't really need a backup pitcher. They averaged a tournament high 24.3 runs per game.
3B Matt Rear
2B Chris Geron
Rf Dan Kirkwood
1B Fisher
SS Keith Laski
EH Mark Holstein
P Andy Vitcak
C Seth Burgmeier
CF Porter
LF Frank Fracek or Brandon Riese
Mi Jeff Keske and Tristan Reimolds
Trending Up!
Precision outfielders LF Brandon Riese and CF Bryan Porter
Dan Kirkwood was offensive MVP and Mark Holstein was placing hits wherever he wanted them
Precision outfielder Brandon Riese tries to rob a homer
Left side of the Precision defense Matt Rear, Keith Laski, and Tristan Reimolds
2nd Place – Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
Conf 'A' from IN 4-2 Record
These guys sort of look like a band of gunfighters from the old west…
Red's is still struggling. The team was rotating players, could probably use a second pitcher, and may be a little heavy on the power hitting. Don't count them out for the 'A' Worlds as they have always been a streaky team and still have the roster and all of the pieces to make a run. But qualifying for the world series will come down to how well they do in the Smoky (which they should do well as long as they avoid the big two), Cincinnati, and the Last Chance in Michigan. This team needs to think home run management on the 300 foot fields from the very start of the game, and that may be one of the problems they are having. The outfield defense also needs to pick it up. John Sullivan with his diving stops at shortstop and Buddy Wolf with his sliding catch in foul territory in the last game were two of the defensive highlights and Troy Krider up the middle continues to turn two second fast only to Kevin Bazat.
2B Travis Dale
3B Josh Riley / Aldora / Roop
C Tim Cocco
RF Wally Maybrier
LF Buddy Wolf
RF Wally Maybrier
P Ryan Joiner
1B Brad Tabler / Roop
SS John Sullivan
EH Chad Mullins
MI Troy Krider
Trending Even
SS John Sullivan makes a nice double play
Reds pitcher Ryan Joiner
Left side Riley, Dale, Krider
3rd Place – Cooper/Yuengling/Easton
Conf 'B' from OH 5-2 Record
I finally got to really see what all the fuss is over Cooper. And I can now see why this team won the 'C' worlds. A lot of talent, some swagger, and some solid softball die hards. Their pitcher Danny Rickman is a great utility man who hits it line to line. Their middle man Justin Evans, 3rd baseman Chris Riddle, and DH Michael Ditmer can really mash it. Their shortstop Vanculin or Vangulin?, 2B Soloman, CF Kirsten, and LF Bryan Daniel are young up and coming players that can really fly. Tyler Collins the lead off hitter looks more like a basketball player but knows how to use his athleticism in the game of softball, and 1st baseman Eric Heinrich showed some disciplined base hitting when it was needed. Throw in the veteran Mike Malesko who used to play with Columbus Pipe and Linedrive and the love of the game from the sponsors and coaching staff led by big Mike Cruea and you have yourself a winning formula. Look for good things from this team as they learn to play 7 innings and figure out winning in the conference which started this weekend in Indy.
RF Tyler Collins
Mi Justin Evans
Ss Joe Vanculin
C Mike Malesko
LF Bryan Daniel
3B Chris Riddle
1B Eric Heinrich
P Danny Rickman
DH Michael Ditmer
2B Jesse Soloman
CF Josh Kirsten
Trending Up!
Cooper pitcher Danny Rickman
Chris Riddle homers
Right side of the defense 2B Jesse Soloman and 1B Eric Heinrich
Cooper has fun when they play. Sort of a throw back team.
4th Place – P&P 333/Suburban/Clutch/IT/Combat
Conf 'B' from MI 4-2 Record
P&P 333 run ruled (18-3) a good H&D Moose team then got tripped up by Bloomington Moose 22-17. They fought back through the losers bracket with wins over Rockstar, WSC, and TG Brand but finished 4th when they put up a ZERO against Cooper 15-0. I realize they were out of gas, but zero?
The team has shown some life of late and getting great offensive production out of infielders like Zach Hartle and Kenny Geiersbach should motivate this team to get the offense going. I also watched some balls drop in in the outfield that need to be caught. Its ok to dive for a ball. 🙂
RF Brian Farrar
2B Kenny Geiersbach
Eh Brian Puckett
1B Shannan Green
ss Zach Hartle
MI Justin Geiner
00 Josh Onstott
3B Chris Kirian
CF Richard Dahlman
LF Brandon Bongard
P Aaron Babicz
P Todd Fairbanks
Trending Even
Shannen Green and Zach Hartle
Tied 5th Place – Bloomington Moose/Silvertowne
'C' from IN 3-2 Record
The surprise team of the tournament. They won 3 straight in the winner's bracket including knocking off Conference 'B' teams Cash House 18-5 and P&P 333 22-17 before dropping (but giving a decent game) to Precision 14-29 and losing to Cooper 9-3.
An athletic looking team that can run the bases and put pressure on any defense. On 300 foot fields at night they could be a threat to most all A and B teams. Great tourny! Bloomington Moose is 10-5 on the year vs 'C' teams and has won 2 tournaments.
Trending Up!
Bloomington Moose picked up veteran journeyman Bryan Goins
Tied 5th Place – TG Brand
Conf 'B' from MI 2-2 Record
It looked like TG Brand was headed to a top 3 finish after beating Cooper and leading Reds in the winners bracket for most of the game. But they gave one away to Reds and then dropped a 1 run game to P&P 333 in the loser's bracket. TG Brand picked up Branden Blake to play 2B. Kaminski, Radich, and Dorton continue to supply the power.
Trending Even
Kaminski celebrates the hat tap
More pictures below
Other top finishing teams and Conference teams
Tied 7th – WI WSC/Sportsman Shop 2-2
Played 7 with Precision and P&P 333. Beat K&G and Street Kids.
Trending UP!
Tied 7th OH CashHouse/ Nager Law 3-2
5 runs against Bloomington Moose? Beat RSC, Raisor Sharp (must have been fun for Kevin), and pulled out a nice come from behind victory over PRI but couldn't push through against Cooper to make it in the top 5.
Note I didn't get to the tournament in time to get pictures of the following Conference teams:
Tied 9 IN K&G/wilson/louisville slugger 2-2
Beat some locals, lost to Conference teams. "One of those weekends."
Trending Down
Tied 9th OH – Pure Romance/chics/headlines/easton 1-2
Continue to motivate opponents with ill timed "swagger". Beat Detroit Elite by 1, lost to Reds by 1, and gave up a big lead to Cash House. Still having a good year.
Trending Down
Tied 13th MI – Detroit Detroit Elite/ Easton 1- 2
Lost to PRI by 1 is the only "highlight".
Trending Down
Tied 17th OH – RSC/alphadawgsports/combat 0-2
Team is in flux after a sponsor and half the team split. They are looking for Conference talent.
Trending Down
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I would like to thank all of my sponsors, USSSA, the SoftballCenter and Oldscout advertisers!
Some of the archived games from the Indy Major can be found here at Livestream/Softballcenter1
Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the Indy Major
Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com
Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel
Link to the 2014 Tournament Reports
Link to the 2013 Tournament Reports
Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports
Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link
Some more pictures for you:
Midwest Sports Complex
Thanks for the broadcasting help!
The Green Screen prevented the livestream camera from being on the fence
"I am what I am" – Correct 🙂
These spectators were watching at their own risk. 🙂
Time to change bulbs
Selfie
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6-10-5 double plays happen when lefties don’t do their job and hit behind the runners!