2014 USSSA Columbus B.A.T.S. Major tournament report!
2014 Nationwide Conference USSSA
Columbus B.A.T.S Major
Columbus, OH
May 9-11
The Laservision infield third to second – Mike Umschied, Luis Reyna, Kevin Bazat, Steven Lloyd
Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the Columbus Major
USSSA Columbus tournament info and bracket link
Laservision/H Auto/JJ's/Easton wins the 2nd Annual Columbus B.A.T.S. Major! They do so in dominating fashion as they went 6-0 and knocked off Baugh Ford Doerflinger National Pawn/Easton (the top 'A' team) 36-21 in the winner's bracket finals, and Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth 38-23 in the championship. The tournament was played on 6 of the artificial turf infield fields at the Lou Berliner park in Columbus, Ohio. The 4 main fields were baseball sized and Laservision used their defense, timely hitting and power to run rule all but one opponent. Resmondo fought back from a semi-final loss to Baugh Ford (27-21) to finish second and Baugh finished 3rd with Backman/Shoppe/Louisville Slugger 4th. The same top 4 teams finished in the top 4 spots as the Hall of Fame dual tournaments a month ago.
The tournament began on Friday night with 26 Nationwide Conference USSSA teams and 36 teams overall. There were plenty of upset bids but the higher seeded teams for the most part overcame these and ended up winning. Massive rain storms hit on Saturday from 8 AM until early afternoon but the games went on through the rain with only slight delays. The temperatures were cool and the stadium ZN ball was flying. Late Saturday and early Sunday the teams had to deal with some fog that rolled in.
We will get to how each team did briefly in their individual team sections below.
Notes from around softball:
– Dustin Roberts has left 4 The Fallen and joined Vivid
– Wesley Parker has left Broughton and joined ASPNation
– There were a lot of pitchers drilled in Columbus prompting a lot of questions about whether or not the stadium ball should be used on those fields in the cool conditions.
– The regular conference ball was used in some of the loser's bracket games on the baseball fields and a hot dot was used up on the two 300 foot fields.
– Players mostly agreed that Fields #14 and #15 played smaller than #16 and #17.
Lets here it for our guest picker JKeel who correctly picked the top 4 teams in order!
1) Laservision
2) Resmondo
3) Baugh Ford
4) Backman/Shoppe
Note: I forgot to send out the emails to the managers to get quotes from each team. We will do that again after the next big event.
Tommie Baugh pitches to Laservisions Brandon Dillon in the winner's bracket championship game
I believe these Direct Links to ESPN3.com games are still good to watch:
Day Start Time (ET) Network League Title/Away Website Social Link
Sat 5/10/2014 17:00 ESPN3 USSSA Nationwide Conference USSSA Slow Pitch (Semifinal #1)
Sat 5/10/2014 18:30 ESPN3 USSSA Nationwide Conference USSSA Slow Pitch (Semifinal #2)
Sat 5/10/2014 20:00 ESPN3 USSSA Nationwide Conference USSSA Slow Pitch (Championship)
A view from center field of the winner's bracket finals
The fog rolled in late Saturday night and stayed for Saturday morning
Baughs JD Genter hits against Resmondo in the semi-finals. The city of Columbus in the backdrop on field #14.
Detroit Elite hits against TG Brand on Field #16
Resmondos Andy Purcell pitches against Precision late on Friday to advance to Sundays final 4.
Players and fans dodged some heavy rains on Saturday
The fences have some quirky angles and corners on all 4 of the baseball fields
Video Highlites brought to you by:
Long Bombers of the Week
Eye witnesses say Laservisions Scott Kirby hit the foul poll on that field across the street
and that Resmondos Greg Connell hit one right there as well. Those are 492 foot shots.
Rumor has it Backman's Chad Durick hit the white basketball building from field #15
That is 450 from homeplate down the line and further to the right of the foul pole
Major Awards and Final Standings
Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
Tournament MVP | Brian Wegman | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
Offensive Tournament MVP | Lee Powers | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
Defensive Tournament MVP | Brandon Dillon | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Brad Reckart | Baugh Doerflinger Nat-Pawn/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Brett Helmer | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | JD Genter | Baugh Doerflinger Nat-Pawn/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Kevin Filby | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Kevin Bazat | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | JEREMY YATES | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
All Tournament Team | Travis Clark | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Scott Kirby | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Steven Lloyd | Laservision/H.Auto/JJ's/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Chris Larsen | Baugh Doerflinger Nat-Pawn/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Neil Haglund | BACKMAN / SHOPPE/LOUISVILLE SLUGGER |
All Tournament Team | Jeff Flood | Baugh Doerflinger Nat-Pawn/Easton |
All Tournament Team | Billy Fulk | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
All Tournament Team | Nic Santana | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
All Tournament Team | George Connell | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
All Tournament Team | Andrew Purcell | Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth |
All Tournament Team | KEVIN KENNINGTON | BACKMAN / SHOPPE/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 | NYU – Cicero | laservision/h.auto/jj's/easton | SPMensMajor | 6 | 0 | 0 | 228 | 109 | 38 | 18.1 | 19.8 | 43 | 300 |
2 | FL – Winter Haven | resmondo-specialty tank worth | SPMensMajor | 6 | 2 | 0 | 257 | 192 | 32.1 | 24 | 8.12 | 43 | 225 |
3 | AL – Clanton | baugh doerflinger nat-pawn/easton | SPMensA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 159 | 116 | 26.5 | 19.3 | 7.16 | 37 | 200 |
4 | IN – AURORA | backman / shoppe/louisville slugger | SPMensMajor | 4 | 2 | 0 | 158 | 144 | 26.3 | 24 | 2.33 | 32 | 175 |
5 | IL – Chicago | Precision/Easton | SPMensB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 175 | 122 | 29.1 | 20.3 | 8.83 | 41 | 155 |
5 | MI – Warren | line drive sportz/r&m metals/easton | SPMensA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 126 | 118 | 21 | 19.6 | 1.33 | 42 | 155 |
7 | NJ – LYNDHURST | MPT RENTALS / MIZUNO | SPMensB | 4 | 2 | 0 | 153 | 134 | 25.5 | 22.3 | 3.16 | 42 | 130 |
7 | WA – KENT | combat/blocker/ptdesign/bat brigade | SPMensA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 119 | 111 | 23.8 | 22.2 | 1.6 | 30 | 130 |
9 | GA – FAYETTEVILLE | oi livingston/scott's lawn care/mwa | SPMensB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 97 | 22.2 | 19.4 | 2.8 | 34 | 110 |
9 | OHN – Mentor | CashHouse/ Nager Law | SPMensB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 85 | 14.8 | 17 | -2.2 | 26 | 110 |
9 | OHO – West Chester | 3rd street/louisville slugger/mojo | SPMensB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 125 | 92 | 25 | 18.4 | 6.6 | 34 | 110 |
9 | IN – Indianapolis | red's astros/louisville slugger | SPMensA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 102 | 27 | 25.5 | 1.5 | 34 | 110 |
13 | GA – Macon | broughton/nls/turk auto/br/easton | SPMensB | 3 | 2 | 0 | 125 | 93 | 25 | 18.6 | 6.4 | 28 | 70 |
13 | MI – Detroit | Detroit Elite/ Easton | SPMensC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 109 | 22.2 | 21.8 | 0.39 | 32 | 70 |
13 | VA – Williamsburg | taylormade/tm sports/d&i/mizuno | SPMensA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 105 | 91 | 26.2 | 22.7 | 3.5 | 41 | 70 |
13 | MN – Brooklyn Center | Xtreme/Miken | SPMensB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 72 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 23 | 70 |
17 | MI – Lansing | p&p333/suburban/clutch/lt/combat | SPMensB | 2 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 73 | 18 | 18.2 | -0.2 | 29 | 40 |
17 | OHC – Columbus | Clubhouse/Sandys/IonFire Qualified | SPMensD | 2 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 90 | 13.5 | 22.5 | -9 | 22 | 65 |
17 | PA – Pittsburgh | tailgaters/boys/b&e/easton | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 86 | 18.3 | 28.6 | -10. | 25 | 40 |
17 | OHO – Cincinnati | EAP/Goodtimers II | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 74 | 20 | 24.6 | -4.6 | 24 | 40 |
17 | MI – Flint | TG Brand | SPMensB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 76 | 21 | 25.3 | -4.3 | 28 | 40 |
17 | OHS – Huber Heights | Cooper/Yuengling/Easton | SPMensB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 81 | 15.3 | 27 | -11. | 28 | 40 |
17 | MN – Le Sueur | h. auto llc/easton/hooters moa | SPMensB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 63 | 23.3 | 21 | 2.33 | 28 | 40 |
17 | OHO – Cincinnati | pure romance/chics/headlines/easton | SPMensB | 1 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 61 | 20.3 | 20.3 | 0 | 28 | 40 |
25 | OHC – Columbus | MJ Lowe/MOJO | SPMensD | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 62 | 18 | 20.6 | -2.6 | 25 | 65 |
25 | OHC – Columbus | XtremeAssoc/BCP/Miken Qualified | SPMensD | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 86 | 10.3 | 28.6 | -18. | 22 | 65 |
25 | OHC – Columbus | Tickets Galore | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 63 | 12.3 | 21 | -8.6 | 27 | 65 |
25 | OHS – Dayton | Action Sports/VHC/Miken | SPMensC | 1 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 65 | 9.33 | 21.6 | -12. | 18 | 40 |
25 | IN – indianapolis | h&d/moose lodge 1592/c.a.m.i | SPMensC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 70 | 30 | 35 | -5 | 34 | 65 |
25 | WI – Eau Claire | WSC / The Sportsman Shop | SPMensC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 42 | 4.5 | 21 | -16. | 6 | 40 |
25 | IN – Columbus | k&g/wilson/louisville slugger | SPMensC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 51 | 13.5 | 25.5 | -12 | 17 | 40 |
25 | OHO – Middletown | slayer/rsc/alphadawgsports/combat | SPMensC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 65 | 12 | 32.5 | -20. | 12 | 40 |
33 | OHC – Reynoldsburg | Zero Tolerance | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 59 | 17.5 | 29.5 | -12 | 24 | 65 |
33 | GA – Macon | Primetime/Easton | SPMensB | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 44 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 24 | 40 |
33 | OHC – London | Team Fear Qualified | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 50 | 12.5 | 25 | -12. | 16 | 40 |
33 | OHC – Columbus | Cotner Funeral Home Qualified | SPMensD | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 44 | 17.5 | 22 | -4.5 | 21 | 65 |
Team by team notes brought to you by:
1st Place – Laservision/H Auto/JJ's/Easton
Conf 'M' from NY 6-0 Record
Laservision has now won 23 straight games in a row with 22 of those being against Nationwide Conference USSSA opponents. They have won all 4 Conference events they have played this season and run their record against Resmondo to 5-0. An improved defense, team chemistry, and pitching have led to the success on the field and lets remember this team was built through "the draft" meaning through handpicking young talent from the 'A' division and not picking the best from the other Major level teams. Brungardt, Lloyd, Reyna, Dillon, and Bazat all played for 3 different 'A' teams in 2013. Umschied also came from the 'A' division in 2012. Laservision seems to have different MVP's every weekend which really highlights the fact that they are playing team ball. The last challenge for Laservision will be to win on the 300 foot fields against Resmondo, Backman, and Baugh Ford and their cycle of domination will be complete. Chicago June 6-8 will be that first big test on the 300 foot fields and incidentally will also be the first time the tournaments will be seeded off of 2014 points where Laservision will be the #1 seed. Laservision is off this week when the Conference goes to Euless, Texas for the "Texas Legends" Major and their next tournament will be the Seattle Combat Dual which startson May 29th.
Laservision played without third baseman Dale Brungardt (obleak injury) who will be out a couple more weeks hoping to return in Seattle.
Trending Up about as high as a team can get!
Laservision middle infielder Kevin Bazat
Laservision manager Billy Messina talks defensive strategy
2nd Place – Resmondo-Specialty Tank Worth
Conf 'M' from FL 6-2 Record
Resmondo struggled early on against both TG United in the pouring rain and Combat Blockers but used their defense to separate in both games. In the winner's bracket semi-final they couldn't keep up with Baugh Ford in a 42-30 loss on ESPN3. Dennis Rulli went out with an injured back? and they move Don Dedonatis to the top of the lineup. Late Saturday they knocked off a tough Precision team 20-17 and came back Sunday to finish 2nd after beating Backman 43-21 and hanging on to beat Baugh Ford 39-37 on a walk off homer by Don Dedonatis Jr before dropping their 5th straight to Laservision. Resmondo played without Howie Krause most of the tournament.
Resmondo is gutting out these 2nd place wins but does not look like the world champions we have come to know. The defense wasn't overly sharp in less than great conditions and the offense hasn't had the consistent double figure innings of past years. It looks like Resmondo will have to play near perfect ball the rest of the way to win their 9th consecutive regular season Conference Championship but I won't write them off for the Dudley, Smoky, or a World Series Championship. It is too early in the season for that.
Trending Even
Resmondo second baseman Greg Connell had the best diving play of the tournament
Resmondo has a lot of left hand hitters in the lineup. Nick Santana and Jeremy Isenhower are two of five
3rd Place – Baugh Ford Doerflinger National Pawn Klutch Brand/Easton
Conf 'A' from 4-2 Record
Baugh Ford cruised through their first 3 games of the tournament including an impressive flip flop win over 'A' rival Line Drive Sportz 22-5 which set up a rematch with Resmondo. In that game which was aired on ESPN3, Baugh Ford picked up each others mistakes a little better than Resmondo and pulled out a big win 27-21. Then Baugh stuck with Laservision for awhile before succumbing to a 36-21 run rule loss. On Sunday morning Baugh lost to Resmondo 39-37 in the loser's bracket championship in a game they jumped out to a 10-4 lead in.
Baugh Ford is healthy, they continue to play Major teams tough and dominate teams of their classification and lower. Center fielder Brian Zirkle made the catch of the tournament in the victory over Resmondo Saturday night. I will try to pull that video clip off the archive of the game. Left fielder Donovan Pokraka is back strong this year after coming back from a knee injury in 2013. Larsen as we have documented is running better and providing stadium power. And JD Genter and Sean McDonald are providing professional consistent onbase and timely power. Baugh played without Vince Bisbee who is almost ready to play (injured quad). Baugh will continue their season in Georgia in a couple weeks where they should be the favorite to win.
Trending way Up!
Team chemistry looks to be riding high in the Baugh Ford dugout
The pitching rotation of Billy Barrett and Tommie Baugh has been effective with Barrett coming on in relief a number of times as well
4th Place – Backman/Shoppe/Louisville Slugger
Conf 'M' from 4-2 Record
Backman struggled with a hot H Auto team in their second game. H Auto actually had the tying run at the plate in the 7th but Backman got a flyout to win 22-19. Then Backman went 7 innings with fellow Slugger team Red's Astros but won 32-23. In the winner's bracket semi-finals they went toe to toe with Laservision in a well played game but came up short 43-29. Backman didn't use their homers all that well. In the loser's bracket they run ruled Linedrive late Saturday night but lost the 8 AM loser's semi final to Resmondo by over 20 runs.
Backman played without Sam Lopez again who's daughter is sick and TJ Thompson got drilled in the knee by a line drive but overall they are fairly healthy, just not matching their Major opponents big innings and making some defensive mistakes. Backman is going to Texas next week where there is no Laservision to run into but they will have to play a perfect game to beat Resmondo and try to push into the top 3.
Trending Even
Backman infield had Brett McCollum at 3B, Jonathan Lenz at SS, Kevin Kennington at MI, and Chad Durick at 2B
Jonathan Lenz has been a steady SS all year
Hosscats average remains 1000!
Tied 5th Place – Precision/Easton
Conf 'B' from IL 4-2 Record
Precision was the talk of a lot of teams at the Columbus Major as they played well. They started off with a 29-28 over MPT Rentals. MPT came a long ways back and came up just short in the end. Then Precision beat Taylormade 41-24 but lost to Laservision. In the losers bracket they crushed OI Livingston and put up 23 runs in the first inning to beat MPT Rentals again 39-7 before taking Resmondo into the 7th in a 3 run loss late Saturday night. The 23 run inning may be the biggest Conference inning of the year?
Precision is trending up. Solid defense and good pitching to go with probably the best offense in their classification when everyone is there.
Trending Up!
Infielders 3B Matt Rear and MI Jeff Keske
Precision outfielder Frank Fracke
Precision had Ryan Thiede and Jermaine Flythe with them this week which extended the lineup
Veteran Denis Fisher
Tied 5th Place – Line Drive Sportz/R&M Metals/Easton
Conf 'A' from MI 4-2 Record
Line Drive Sportz beat a good non-conference 'C' team H&D 42-34 on Friday night, then held down OI Livingston late in the game to win 22-17. Then they got flip flopped and run ruled by 'A' peer Baugh Ford which sort of shows you where Line Drive is at right now within the division. In the loser's bracket they sent home Cash House and Blockers/Combat before dropping to Backman 29-14 late on Saturday night.
Line Drive has some kinks to work out now after 2 bad weekends and a so so weekend in Columbus.
Trending Even
Other top finishing teams and Conference teams
Tied for 7th – Combat/Blockers/Primetime Design/Bat Brigade (WA-A) – Blockers beat the teams they were supposed to beat and battled Resmondo for a few innings but tired out against Linedrive when some big points were on the line late on Saturday night. The team has some solid offensive players and some defense in the right spots.
Trending up, I still like what I see here.
Tied for 7th – MPT Rentals/Mizuno (NJ-B) – A better weekend for MPT. They lost by 1 to Precision in their opener after a big comeback. Then they won 4 straight in the loser's bracket including big 1 run wins over PRI and Reds Astros. Winning the Reds game on a double play they turned with the game winning runs on base.
Trending up
Tied 9th – Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger (IN-A) – Barely beat 3rd Street in a long comeback. Played ok against Backman. Lost a tough one to MPT Rentals leaving the winning runs on base in the 7th inning. Tim Cocco played for the first time.
Overall trending down
Tied 9th – 3rd Street/Louisville Slugger/MOJO (OH-B) – beat the 'B' teams, lost to the 'A' teams. Lost by 1 to Reds.
Trending even (slightly up)
Tied 9th – OI Livingston/Scotts Lawncare/MWA (GA-B) – Beat a few 'B' teams, lost to Line Drive and Precision.
Still trending up
Tied 9th – Cash House/Nager Law (OH-B) – Cash House got a signature win of sorts when they beat Taylormade 20-17.
Offense was sluggish on Saturday though.
Trending even
More pictures below
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USSSA Columbus tournament link
Link to Softballcenter.com pictures of the Columbus 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:
Mighty Mike "The Big Cat" Macenko and Bernie Guenther before their ESPN3.com call of the big games
They used a big scizzor lift to get those great shots from above
The ipods were used to cover the other fields on usssalive.com
Field #16 has a high but short fence in left. Taylormade taking on Cash House
A new umpire? was on the dish for the Backman vs Laservision semi-final
Jeff Flood (above) and Cooper Vittitow (below) share arm sleeve of the week!
Except of course Floods isn't an arm sleeve…
USSSA's Paul O'Leary fixes another ipod in the rain
Old friends Jerry Backman and Dal Beggs
Tony Quartuccio, Larry Quartuccio, JJ, and Jerry Backman
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THANK YOU !!
To the Backmans for their commitments to softball !!