Friday March 29th, 2024
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2015 USSSA Maryland Dual Major tournament report!

 

 

 

2015 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

"Battle On the Chesapeake"

 

Dual Major!

 

Glen Burnie, MD

 

June 11-14

 

Resmondo's Jeremy Yates hits a walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th to push Resmondo to a 32-31 win over Smash It Sports

in the winner's bracket finals of the Maryland Dual #2!

 

Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the 1st MD Major

 

Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the 2nd MD Major

 

USSSA MD #1 tournament info and bracket link

 

USSSA MD #2 tournament info and bracket link

 


32 of the top teams in the nation showed up at the Nationwide Conference USSSA Dual event in Glen Burnie, Maryland for 4 days of softball in brutal 90+ degree heat and high humidity.  It actually ended up being 31 teams when Team Racks, one of the top 'A' teams in the nation no showed.  The teams took to the fields at 8 AM Thursday morning on 6 fields with games every hour and a half.  With over 120 games played between the two tournaments over a 4 day period it is impossible to describe all of the action.  So I am just going to mainly speak in general terms.  It was hot and when the wind blew in, it was hard to hit homers.  In one game the Resmondo Major team who had a limit of 12 homers only hit 3.  One game had a final score of 6-3.  The normal Conference ZN classic M ball was used and it really "mushed up" in the heat.

In the first tournament the big story was the Texas 'C' team Steel.  They knocked off Compound Athletics 22-7, Encompass 19-16, and pulled a shocker over Major team Backman 29-28 to make the final 4 where they met a hot Precision 'A' team out of Illinois and finally lost 24-15.  Precision had gotten to the final 4 by upsetting the Smash It Sports Major team 19-16 in the second round.  On the other side of the bracket #1 seed (by points) Resmondo made it to the semi-finals easily to face Albicocco who was finally up to the challenge of trying to beat another major team.  In that game Resmondo jumped out to a lead but Albicocco scored an amazing 19 runs in one inning to take a commanding lead.  Resmondo who needed to score just to avoid the run rule came back and put up 14 runs in the bottom half of the 5th and won on a Jeremy Yates walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th 34-33.

The 1st tournament continued on Friday with Smash It Sports who had been upset in the 2nd round by Precision marching through the loser's bracket.  They beat SFI/SAL, Semper Athletics, Backman, Encompass, and Albicocco all by the run rule.  Then they got a revenge win over Precision 21-17 to go to the championship against Resmondo but ran out of gas as Resmondo trounced them 24-4.

The 2nd tournament started Saturday morning at 8 AM.  And it was still nasty hot.  The big upset in this tournament early on was Deluxe Bakery who scored their first big Conference win over Major team Albicocco 16-15 on Tom Paturzo's walk off homer.  This opened up the top quarter of the bracket for Broughton/Bad Draw/Worth an 'A' team out of North Carolina who beat CGR, Deluxe Bakery, and Peak Softball to make the final 4 where they were run ruled 44-25 by Smash It Sports.  In the bottom half of the bracket Resmondo and Precision met in the semifinals with Resmondo coming out on top 42-27.  The "Big Two" then met in the winner's bracket championship and Resmondo came from behind to win on a Jimmy Salas base hit in the bottom of the 7th 32-31.

On Sunday morning a banged up Precision team who had won a late night 9 inning affair over OC Swats to get to Backman forfeited when pitcher Andy Vitcak pulled an obleak muscle on a swing early in the first inning and Precision did not have enough players to continue.  Backman moved on to play Smash It Sports in the loser's bracket final where they gave up 21 runs in the 5th inning to Smash It and lost 37-23.

In the finals of the 2nd tournament Smash It Sports went up 10-9 on Resmondo after two innings because of some infield errors by Resmondo.  Then Resmondo turned up the defense with 3 great plays.  A ricochet off of pitcher Andy Purcell went to Rulli who threw out the batter.  Then Purcell reaching far to his left stabbed a hard grounder, and 2nd baseman Greg Connell cheated the middle at just the right time and stabbed a liner.  Smash It got some great defense of their own with Mike Umschieds backhand at third base and pitcher Travis Clarks stab of a hard grounder right at him.  Resmondo got another ricochet this one off of Salas at third base which went to Dedonatis at shortstop and he got the force play.  With all the defense it was Resmondo with a 16-10 lead after 3 innings.  In the top of the 4th Resmondo got a full out diving stop from third baseman Salas and a force out and it was evident that Resmondo playing their 12th game of the week was just a little fresher than Smash It Sports who were playing their 17th game of the week.  The ball was bouncing Resmondos way and their infielders were just barely making great play after great play while Smash Its infielders were just barely missing on great plays.

Smash It did close the gap with a 3 run homer by Dale Brungardt and a great double play started by Bazat in the middle and an athletic jumping/twisting turn by second baseman Steven Lloyd kept them in the game down 8.  In the bottom of the 5th though, Resmondo could smell blood and stepped on the gas with a BJ Fulk grand slam that put them up big and they ended the 5th with a nice lead and finished the game in the 6th with a walk off homer by Lee Powers.

The tournament was highlighted by great games and matchups throughout the 4 days and there seemed to be an unusually high amount of great diving stops by infielders.  Something we don't see when playing with the bouncy 52 core ball.  

I kept track of some of the great plays I witnessed:

– Above Alls 2nd baseman Chris Kirian great diver and roll at 2B vs Reds

– Pure Romance middle infielder Rocky Staton with two web gems in the same inning vs Resmondo.  A leaping stab of a liner, and diver going toward ss and throw from almost a sitting position to first base.

– Resmondos Rulli diver in championship of first tourny where he landed within reach of 2nd base for the force.

– Broughtons Vernand Morency straight in diver against Peak from center field.

– CA Sports third baseman Kyle Pearson with a full out dive in the hole and from belly bounced the ball to 2nd for the force vs Xtreme.

– Xtreme shortstop Chris Bauer vs Peak mad a full dive in the hole and threw from a sitting position.

– Backman third baseman Kevin Kennington diver toward line on Bazat Sunday and his strong throw to first.  And Bazat isn't slow.

– I know the entire Smash It Sports infield had many many great diving plays almost as if they were taking turns trying to out do each other.

And there were many more that I have forgotten or didn't have the privilege of witnessing.

Team Breakdown – 32 Teams Total (32 Conference)
  4 Major
 12 'A'
 14 'B'
2 'C'

 

Resmondos Lee Powers hits a home run to give Resmondo the Dual #2 win 34-19!

 

Dennis Rulli leads off the Dual #1 winners final with a smash at Albicocco's Justin Mucciarelli

Precisions Denis Fisher bats against 3rd Streets Shane Spicer

Encompass/Eurotechs Chris Olson bats against Steel

TG Brand taking on rival Pure Romance

Xtreme taking on Compound Athletics

Above All Landscaping batting against Red's Astros

GTS Beus taking on Albicocco

Thursday crowd shot


 

Oldscout pollers were wrong!  By the way VCH wasn't scheduled to play this tournament.

I accidently put them in the poll.

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

 

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

Resmondos Jeremy Yates hit an absolute bomb against Albicocco on Thursday night

Backmans Ryan Harvey hit a bomb Saturday night against Albicocco.  I think anyone that was there might not call it a bomb but an absolute missile that seemed to gain speed as it passed the home run fence.

OC Swats Mike "BramZILLA" Brambilla also had a bomb in the heat of the day vs Deluxe Bakery that a few fans were talking about.

And finally I am including OC Swats Matt Fox in the long bombers, not for a home run but the hardest hit of the tournament against Precision Saturday night in that 9 inning game when he it a single to left field where the ball made a sound I don't think I've ever heard before.  Wow.

 

 


 

 Major Awards and Final Standings

Dual #1

Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament MVP Greg Connell Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
Offensive Tournament MVP Michael Umscheid Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
Defensive Tournament MVP Andrew Collins Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Dennis Rulli Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Brian Wegman Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Bryson Baker Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Andy Purcell Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Greg Connell Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Steve Edwards Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Cory Boothe Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team michael ortiz Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Andrew Collins Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Chad Mullins Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger
All Tournament Team Billy Fulk Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Brandon Dillon Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Ronald Mack III Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
 
Place State Team Team
Class
Wins Losses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
USSSA
Points
1 FL – Winter Haven resmondo specialty tank worth USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 0 0 162 66 27 11 16 34 300
2 NYU – Cicero, NY smash it sports/compound athletics/ USSSA-SPMensMajor 8 2 0 245 136 24.5 13.6 10.9 44 225
3 IL – Chicago Precision/Easton/DO USSSA-Mens-A 4 2 0 137 109 22.8 18.1 4.66 41 200
4 IN – Indianapolis red's astros/louisville slugger USSSA-Mens-A 5 2 0 150 152 21.4 21.7 -0.2 40 175
5 NYU – Commack albicocco/the scene/easton USSSA-SPMensMajor 3 2 0 106 112 21.2 22.4 -1.2 33 155
5 TXS – Corpus Christi Steel USSSA-Mens-C 3 2 0 103 114 20.6 22.8 -2.2 29 155
7 MN – Champlin encompass / eurotech / easton / ca USSSA-Mens-B 4 2 0 129 114 21.5 19 2.5 30 130
7 GA – Peachtree City oi livingston/tnt hauling/brother's USSSA-Mens-A 3 2 0 108 120 21.6 24 -2.4 27 130
9 CAS – Yorba Linda oc swats doerflinger/miken/lcp USSSA-Mens-B 3 2 0 102 108 20.4 21.6 -1.2 25 110
9 IN – LAWRENCEBURG backman/shoppe/louisville slugger USSSA-SPMensMajor 2 2 0 83 85 20.7 21.2 -0.5 28 110
9 CAN – San Jose Classic Glass/Easton USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 100 88 25 22 3 33 110
9 OH – West Chester 3rd street/hubs pub/louisville slug USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 60 75 20 25 -5 27 110
13 NC – Greenville broughton pharmacy/bad draw/worth USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 79 52 19.7 13 6.75 22 70
13 GA – Macon Primetime/Easton USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 70 94 17.5 23.5 -6 23 70
13 DC – Washington Semper Athletics/Demarini USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 83 83 20.7 20.7 0 30 70
13 MD – Baltimore CGR/House Money USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 69 75 17.2 18.7 -1.5 28 70
17 WA – Bothell newbreed/all american athletics/dem USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 34 45 11.3 15 -3.6 19 40
17 AR – Bryant fence brokers inc/buzini/worth USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 76 68 25.3 22.6 2.66 30 40
17 CO – Colorado Springs peak softball/rockland llc USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 35 47 11.6 15.6 -4 15 40
17 NC – Fletcher worshamathletics/klutchbrand/worth/ USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 49 51 16.3 17 -0.6 28 40
17 VA – Sutherland SFI/SAL/Easton USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 15 49 5 16.3 -11. 6 40
17 NJ – Jackson above all landscaping/evo9x USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 54 66 18 22 -4 30 40
17 MS – Jackson casport/miken/powerhouse/scottslawn USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 50 46 16.6 15.3 1.33 23 40
17 OH – Cincinnati pure romance/foulks adjusting/headl USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 34 52 11.3 17.3 -6 18 40
25 ID – Boise GTS/Beus Excavation/AGD USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 30 38 15 19 -4 19 40
25 MI – Flint TG Brand USSSA-Mens-A 0 2 0 33 50 16.5 25 -8.5 26 40
25 WY – Casper TEAM RACKS EASTON USSSA-Mens-A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40
25 WA – Kent combat/northwest athletics USSSA-Mens-A 0 2 0 17 34 8.5 17 -8.5 14 40
25 NJ – Runnemede Deluxe Bakery USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 19 57 9.5 28.5 -19 11 40
25 IL – CHICAGO COMPOUND ATHLETICS/EASTON USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 37 47 18.5 23.5 -5 21 40
25 AR – Rogers bear hollow ranch/cl/buzini/easton USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 19 39 9.5 19.5 -10 14 40
25 MN – Dayton Xtreme/Miken USSSA-Mens-A 0 2 0 28 44 14 22 -8 15 40

 


 

Dual #2

Player Tournament Awards Players Name Plays For
Tournament MVP Jimmy Salas Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
Offensive Tournament MVP Bryson Baker Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
Defensive Tournament MVP Don DeDonatis III Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Brett Helmer Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Andy Purcell Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Greg Connell Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Travis Clark Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Scott Kirby Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Steven Lloyd Smash it Sports/Compound Athletics/
All Tournament Team Andrew Collins Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Billy Fulk Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Nicolas Santana Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
All Tournament Team Lee Powers Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth
Place State Team Team
Class
Wins Losses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg
Allow
Avg
Diff
Max
Runs
USSSA
Points
1 FL – Winter Haven resmondo specialty tank worth USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 0 0 185 103 30.8 17.1 13.6 42 300
2 NYU – Cicero, NY smash it sports/compound athletics/ USSSA-SPMensMajor 5 2 0 235 170 33.5 24.2 9.28 44 225
3 IN – LAWRENCEBURG backman/shoppe/louisville slugger USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 2 0 225 161 28.1 20.1 8 41 200
4 IL – Chicago Precision/Easton/DO USSSA-Mens-A 4 2 0 147 126 24.5 21 3.5 36 175
5 CAS – Yorba Linda oc swats doerflinger/miken/lcp USSSA-Mens-B 5 2 0 165 140 23.5 20 3.57 35 155
5 NC – Greenville broughton pharmacy/bad draw/worth USSSA-Mens-A 3 2 0 103 113 20.6 22.6 -2 28 155
7 IN – Indianapolis red's astros/louisville slugger USSSA-Mens-A 4 2 0 156 125 26 20.8 5.16 38 130
7 NYU – Commack albicocco/the scene/easton USSSA-SPMensMajor 4 2 0 174 138 29 23 6 40 130
9 MI – Flint TG Brand USSSA-Mens-A 3 2 0 118 114 23.6 22.8 0.80 32 110
9 NJ – Jackson above all landscaping/evo9x USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 75 86 18.7 21.5 -2.7 31 110
9 CO – Colorado Springs peak softball/rockland llc USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 80 102 20 25.5 -5.5 30 110
9 MN – Champlin encompass / eurotech / easton / ca USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 70 74 23.3 24.6 -1.3 37 110
13 OH – West Chester 3rd street/hubs pub/louisville slug USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 84 82 21 20.5 0.5 26 70
13 OH – Cincinnati pure romance/foulks adjusting/headl USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 66 89 16.5 22.2 -5.7 24 70
13 MN – Dayton Xtreme/Miken USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 97 110 24.2 27.5 -3.2 30 70
13 IL – CHICAGO COMPOUND ATHLETICS/EASTON USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 76 61 19 15.2 3.75 34 70
17 AR – Rogers bear hollow ranch/cl/buzini/easton USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 43 55 14.3 18.3 -4 16 40
17 NJ – Runnemede Deluxe Bakery USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 30 57 10 19 -9 16 40
17 AR – Bryant fence brokers inc/buzini/worth USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 47 51 15.6 17 -1.3 22 40
17 GA – Peachtree City oi livingston/tnt hauling/brother's USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 82 69 27.3 23 4.33 39 40
17 WA – Bothell newbreed/all american athletics/dem USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 56 60 18.6 20 -1.3 24 40
17 WA – Kent combat/northwest athletics USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 48 89 16 29.6 -13. 22 40
17 MS – Jackson casport/miken/powerhouse/scottslawn USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 58 73 19.3 24.3 -5 23 40
17 GA – Macon Primetime/Easton USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 61 62 20.3 20.6 -0.3 29 40
25 NC – Fletcher worshamathletics/klutchbrand/worth/ USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 41 64 20.5 32 -11. 22 40
25 WY – Casper TEAM RACKS EASTON USSSA-Mens-A 0 1 0 0 7 0 7 -7 0 40
25 VA – Sutherland SFI/SAL/Easton USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 34 58 17 29 -12 20 40
25 ID – Boise GTS/Beus Excavation/AGD USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 31 77 15.5 38.5 -23 22 40
25 CAN – San Jose Classic Glass/Easton USSSA-Mens-A 0 2 0 40 58 20 29 -9 27 40
25 DC – Washington Semper Athletics/Demarini USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 30 49 15 24.5 -9.5 19 40
25 MD – Baltimore CGR/House Money USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 28 41 14 20.5 -6.5 18 40
25 TXS – Corpus Christi Steel USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 19 40 9.5 20 -10. 11 40

 


Team by team notes brought to you by:


 

Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth FL-Major
1st 6-0
1st 6-0
Overall 12-0

Resmondo heats up as the summer heats up.  They had a perfect week, they went 12-0 they have pulled to within 12 points in the Nationwide Conference USSSA points, and they seem to be healthier than Smash It Sports.  Connell is on a roll especially offensively, their defense is fairly sharp, and the youngsters Collins and Yates are hitting the ball well.  As one Resmondo "fan" texted me, "they have 7 number two hitters in their lineup."  As we know the two spot in the lineup is the most prestigious spot on most Major teams.  Resmondo was tested twice by Albicocco and Smash It and came through in the clutch, especially that 14 run bottom of the 5th inning against Albicocco after Albicocco had put up 19 runs.

The Dudley this coming weekend could decide between the two super powers who will be the #1 seed going into the Smoky Mountain Classic.

Trending Up!

Resmondo lineup:
MI Rulli
2B Connell
P Purcell
3B Salas
1B Mack
C Fulk
EH Powers
SS Dedonatis
CF Collins
LF Yates
RF Isenhower

Santana played most games at CF
Sanchez pitched a number of games

Jimmy Salas at third, Don Dedonatis at SS, and Dennis Rulli at middle infield were getting it done fielding the hard shots.

Rulli had one ball he did a full out dive within reach of 2nd base and reached out and tagged it for the out.  Another web gem.

 

Andrew Collins and Nic Santana

Greg Connell was MVP of the first tournament.  .823 onbase %, 64 HR, 178 RBI coming into the tournament!

Powers congratulated for his big homer to end Dual #2

 

Andy Purcell and Jeremy Isenhower

 

Dan Sanchez did a lot of the pitching and Bubba Mack 135 RBI coming into Maryland

 


 

Smash It Sports/Compound Athletics/H Auto/ASP/Easton NY-Major
2nd 8-2
2nd 5-2
Overall 13-4

Smash It played 17 grueling games.  They got a tough draw when they had to play Precision in the 2nd round of the first tournament and after they lost they went on a rampage through the loser's bracket to get back to Resmondo.  I have the two super powers even, neither has an advantage over the other right now when they are both healthy and on equal levels as far as how tired they are.  In softball similar to the NBA finals there are bursts of adrenaline when players need to dig deep to overcome obstacles and much like Lebron James running out of gas in game #4, the Smash It players just didn't quite have enough in the tank to finish either tournament against Resmondo.  Next week it could be a whole different story, but Resmondo does step up their game for the Dudley, Smoky, and Cincinnati majors every year.
 
Umschied and Clark have moved up the lineup thus extending their ability to have big innings.  The infield made about 20 highlight film plays over the 17 games.  They rested some players at times, came up with a few new nicknames, and in the end held their lead in the points narrowly by finishing second in both tournaments. 
 
I know Smash It plays the Dudley and then the McQuades and the players are going to the PIF.  Thats a lot of weekends in a row leading into the Smoky and Cincinnati…

Trending Up!

Smash It Sports lineup
RF Baker (Scratchy)
LF Wegman
1B Kirby (Kirbot, Turbot, Skirby)
EH Filby or Helmer
2B Lloyd
P Clark
3B Umschied
EH Brungardt
SS Reyna
CF Dillon
MI Bazat

 

Reyna makes one of about 10 of his highlite film plays

Brett Helmer did play for his fans wondering

Travis Clarks shiny helmet caused one team to question if its allowed to be that sparkly?

Yoda and the young jedi knight

Scott Kirby hits those balls that look like they are going to hook foul but are hit so hard they curve back the other way.  Jimmy Salas also hit one of these.

 


 

Precision/Easton/DO IL-A
3rd 4-2
4th 4-2
Overall 8-4

Precision has set the bar very high as the best non-major team.  The chemistry and "next man up" attitude of this team is fun to follow and they play all out all the time…except on Sundays…
Two top 4 finishes seals their high seed at the Major.  They are 11-1 against the 'A' division and 6-8 vs the Major division.  They only lost to Major teams the last two weekends and beat 4 'A' teams and 4 Major teams during that stretch when their record is 15-6.
A true team effort top to bottom with great coaching and leadership.  I think I've said this before but its hard to talk about one player on this team. They all play great, they all make mistakes, but they all pick each other up and they all seem to know something you don't…I'm not sure what that means but its a feeling I get.

Trending Up!

 

OF Dan Kirkwood and infielder Brett McCollum

SS Keith Laski, MI Jeff Keske, and 2B Denis Fisher

Davis Bilardello climbs the left field fence

 


 

Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger IN-A
4th 5-2
7th 4-2
Overall 9-4

Red's had a nice 9-4 week, move their record to 9-3 vs the 'A' division.  Their achilles heel is their 0-7 vs Major teams.  Haven't broke through there.  They played a lot of ball against a lot of very good teams and solidified themselves in the points (7th) and in the computer rankings when they come out.  Solid week!

Trending Up!

 

Ben Dunn tracking down another in the gap, he also had another of those great jumps where he comes straight in and dives and takes away a base hit like he did in Chicago.

Travis Dale

Corey Boothe .717, 25 HR, 64 RBI coming into Maryland

Herb likes to take stroll when he is thinking through the management of a game

 


 

Albicocco/The Scene/Easton NY-Major
5th 3-2
7th 4-2
Overall 7-4

The roller coaster continues for Albicocco who won some good games, almost had Resmondo run ruled with that 18 run inning in the winner's bracket semi-finals of tournament #1 and a nice 4 game win streak in tournament #2.  But they are still just 1-4 in the Major division and the roster turmoil continues with Mondays release of pitcher Justin Mucciarelli and infielder Chris Hansen and the possible return of Ballard as the in person manager.  Is this a train wreck or the beginning of a run to the top 4?

Trending Even

Infielder Brian Faria may have taken over shortstop for Albicocco

Toni Albicocco and former player Orlando Castillo

Donald "Buckshot" Plaisance is now pitching for Albicocco

 


 

Backman/Shoppe/Louisville Slugger IN-Major
9th 2-2
3rd 6-2
Overall 8-4

Backman got tripped up by 'C' team Steel in the first tournament and Precision in the 2nd.  They did recover to get 3rd place in the 2nd tournament with a big late Saturday wins over Albicocco and Broughton when they scored a total of 81 runs.  Backman has had to scramble for players with all of their injuries and we'll see how they do in July now that they have most of it sorted out.

Trending Even

Backman Sunday lineup:
1B Baggs
3B Kennington
RF Haglund
EH Harvey
C Roberts
MI Castillo
2B Crawford
CF Logan hit a moving car in hood with hr
LF Schulte
SS Lahair
P Watson

Harvey hits a walk off homer to beat Broughton in the bottom of the 7th

Backman picked up former 4 The Fallen outfielder Reggie Schulte

 


 

OC Swats Doerflinger/Miken/LCP CA-B
9th 3-2
5th 5-2
Overall 8-4

 

With the game tied and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th, OC Swats gets the rare 1-2-5 double play!

OC Swats travelled well as they went 8-4 in Maryland including big wins over Above All Landscaping and Red's Astros.  They also took Precision to 9 innings before losing 36-35.  The team has a lot of moving parts and versatility and they are 15-4 against the 'B' division and 6-8 in the 'A' division prompting talk of a July 1st bump?

Trending Up!

We were trying to come up with a nickname for Mike Brambilla.  I've settled on Mike BrambZILLA!

Swats picked up left fielder Mario Granados

 


 

Encompass / Eurotech / Easton / CA MN-B
7th 4-2
9th 1-2
Overall 5-4

Encompass went 4-0 against 'A' teams and lost to 3 different Major teams.  Thats an A+ effort in anyones book.  Chemistry and roster tweaks, coaching, and aggressive play is a signature of this team.  Great job!

Trending Up!

Patrick Ellwanger was mashing a lot of homers, especially in the first tournament

Krasselt gives Encompass three left handed outfielders that bat in the top 4…

 


 

Broughton Pharmacy/Bad Draw/Worth NC-A
13th 2-2
 5th 3-2
Overall 5-4

Broughton beat two 'A' teams and used a soft spot that opened up in tournament #2 to make it to the final 4 of the winner's bracket.  They found their stride a little bit and did so without two of their bigger hitters Eric Thompson and John Dutch.  Adam Rockoff is leading the team in onbase .711, homers 23, and RBI 68.

Trending Up!

Matt Tindell had the power stroke going at some key times during Broughtons 2nd tournament run

 

 


 

3rd Street/Hubs Pub/Louisville Slugger OH-A
 9th 1-2
13th 2-2
Overall 3-4

3rd Street had some quality wins against Semper and Newbreed.  They lost a tough one to Encompass and only lost to Smash It 31-26.  The team seemed to be having fun which is always a plus.

Trending Even!

Cody Gilbert gets tagged out at the plate vs Newbreed

Jasyon "Red" Scott has had a nice year at leadoff for 3rd Street

 


 

OI Livingston/TNT Hauling/Brother's GA-A
 7th 3-2
17th 1-2
Overall 4-4

OI Livingston had some great success beating west coast teams OC Swats, Classic Glass, and GTS.  They also beat CA Sports in a 24-23 game and lost by one run to Albicocco 27-26.  I heard lots of people talking about center fielder Adam Tennyson's range.  OI was missing a lot of players for the first tournament because of various last minute reasons.

Trending Even!

Mike Olive the sponsor had to play when they had some player emergencies.  Mikie can hit!

2nd baseman Matt McCraw turns a great double play to beat OC Swats

 


 

Above All Landscaping/EVO-9X NJ-B
17th 1-2
 9th 2-2
Overall 3-4

Above All scored quality wins against Compound, OI, and Red's.  They had a solid week with what looked to be all of their players.  Center fielder Jason Hoynowski is having a big year with a .744 onbase percentage coming into Maryland with 17 homers, and 52 RBI.

Trending Even

 


 

Peak Softball/Rockland LLC CO-B 
17th 1-2
 9th 2-2
Overall 3-4

Peak has made the second most roster moves behind Albicocco and it is finally paying off.  They had three of their biggest wins in team history beating Xtreme, Classic Glass, and Compound Athletics.

Trending Up!

Joe Gordon beat Classic Glass with a walk off hit

 

Todd Pease and Nate Holcomb are some of the new Peak additions

 

Chad Loudon and Baltimore native John Robinson

 


 

Primetime/Easton GA-B 
13th 2-2
17th 1-2
Overall 3-4

Primetime really didn't pick up any signature wins in Maryland or the points they desperately needed.

Trending Down

 


 

Pure Romance/Foulks Adjusting/Headlines OH-A 
17th 1-2
13th 2-2
Overall 3-4

Bellamy, Masur, and Staton

Pure Romance beat the B teams and lost to the A teams.  They are still playing a little short handed. They picked up former Taylormade outfielder John Zorich.

Trending Up!

Staton made an incredible leaping stab and also a full diver to the left of 2nd base by the grass and threw the runner out at first base from a sitting position!

One of the better plays of the year.

 


 

Steel TX-C 
 5th 3-2
25th 0-2
Overall 3-4

Steel made some noise in the first tournament winning their first 3 games of the first tournament.  Upsetting Compound 17-16, Encompass/Eurotech 19-16, and the big win over Backman 29-28 on a walk off homer by newly acquired 1st baseman Nick Shay!  The team was missing 5 starters I am told.  A gritty performance and I apologize for missing the walk off homer…

Trending Up!

Jason Guillory did the pitching for Steel

 


 

CASport/Miken/Powerhouse/ScottsLawn MS-A 
17th 1-2
17th 1-2
Overall 2-4

Rough weekend.  Beat two B teams but lost to everyone else.

Trending Down

Danny Evans did the pitching in place of the missing Geno Buck

CA Sports could use some sponsorship to finish their run at an 'A' World title

 


 

Classic Glass/Easton CA-A
9th 2-2
25th 0-2
Overall 2-4

0-7 vs the 'A' division on the year?  Too many walks.  Beat Fence Brokers and FBI.

Trending Even

 


 

Fence Brokers Inc/Buzini/Worth AR-B
17th 1-2
17th 1-2
Overall 2-4

Beat Xtreme and Semper.  I didn't get to see them much but they looked good against Semper.  Need more consistency.

Trending Even

Some of FBI's veteran hitters Zach Keene, Alex Henry, and Tim Bowser

 

 


 

Newbreed/All American Athletics/Demarini WA-B
17th 1-2
17th 1-2
Overall 2-4

A weekend to forget for the team that was the buzz of the 'B' division.

Trending Down some

Veteran conference mashers Donovan Pokraka and Charles Cunningham

 

 


 

TG Brand MI-A 
25th 0-2
9th 3-2 
Overall 3-4

TG Brand has been in a bit of a funk for no real apparent reason to an outsider like myself.  They lost two in a row to start Maryland (Broughton and CGR).  In the second event they beat Primetime, OI Livingston, and Pure Romance and lost to Encompass/Eurotech, and Backman.  Look for TG Brand to get back on track in Indianapolis in two weeks.

Trending Down some!

 


 

CGR/House Money MD-B 
13th 2-2
25th 0-2 
Overall 2-4

CGR beat TG Brand and Newbreed back to back in the loser's bracket in the first tournament.  They put up a fight against Swats, Broughton, and Albicoco as well.  A solid showing for a new 'B' team with some good veterans. CGR then played the open event that was going on at the same park on Sunday and went 4-1. 

Trending Up!

Veteran Greg Rush

 


 

COMPOUND ATHLETICS/EASTON IL-B 
25th 0-2
13th 2-2
Overall 2-4

Compound lost to the hot Steel team by one in their opener and Above All to end their first tournament 0-2.  In the second they opened with a big 34-17 win over Xtreme but fell to Peak 25-21.  Then they beat FBI 9-4 with the wind blowing in before getting Swat(ed) 15-12.  A little bit of a roller coaster weekend.  Two quality wins.  No Keith Anderson.  And some more learning for this exciting team.

Trending Even

Compound 2B John Howard leads them in homer's, .630, 23 HR, 58 RBI

Compound pitcher Stephen Cooper

 


 

Semper Athletics/Demarini DC-B 
13th 2-2
25th 0-2
Overall 2-4

Semper beat Classic Glass and Peak and battled Fence Brokers.  They had a lo of guys in different positions this week and could have used a few more wins.  Middle man Tommy Melton had a .712 onbase coming into Maryland and big Mike Mallory lead the team with 14 HR and 51 RBI.

Trending Even

Semper had a different left side this weekend

 


 

Xtreme/Miken MN-A 
25th 0-2
13th 2-2
Overall 2-4

 

Trending Even

McGowans

Xtreme shortstop made a great diving play against Peak

Xtreme and a couple of other teams went to DC

 


 

Bear Hollow Ranch/CL/Buzini/Easton AR-B
25th 0-2
17th 1-2
Overall 1-4

Bear Hollow has played 11 USSSA tournaments already this year.  In Maryland they didn't score much and lost their first 3 games to Conference 'A' teams.  Then they beat Steel 14-8 and lost to another 'A' team 3rd Street.  One game they boot the ball too much, next game they don't score well.  Joseph Talley leads the team with a .809 onbase % in 69 plate appearances.  Pitcher Addison Rayford leads the team in homers with 22.

Trending Down or even since they were already pretty low

Matt Snyder for Bear Hollow has a quick bat

 


 

Combat/Northwest Athletics WA-A
25th 0-2
17th 1-2
Overall 1-4

Combat NWA picked up former 4 The Fallen pitcher Chad Munger and no longer retired veteran Dal Beggs.  They did not have a good 4 days as they lost to Worsham and SFI in the first tournament.  Two lower level teams.  Then in the second tournament they had a nice win over OC Swats 22-21 before running into Backman and Albicocco back to back.  NWA has some pieces.  They are 2-2 vs the 'A' division this year but tend to play down to their competition otherwise.  The team has made a lot of roster moves but overall trending down.  They need a spark!

Trending Down!

Canadian Franck Henry was back with Combat NWA

 

Dal Beggs was back in the Conference, Kendrick still carries a high onbase %  .691 coming into Maryland (leading team)

 


 

Deluxe Bakery NJ-B 
25th 0-2
17th 1-2 
Overall 1-4

Deluxe Bakery scored 11 or less runs in each of their 4 losses.  But they did manage the biggest upset of the Dual when veteran Tom Paturzo (formerly of ABS) won the game over the Albicocco Major team 18-15 to start tournament #2.

Trending Even!

Tom Paturzo who had that walkoff against Albicocco!

 


 

SFI/SAL/Easton VA-B
17th 1-2
25th 0-2
Overall 1 – 4

This was our first look at conference team SFI/Sal.  They lost to 3 major teams and OC Swats by two.  They did beat Combat/NWA by a whopping score of 6-3.  Wind must have been blowing in.  SFI is a bump from C to B this year.

Trending down!

 


 

WorshamAthletics/KlutchBrand/Worth NC-C
17th 1-2
25th 0-2 
Overall 1-4

Worsham showed signs of life in Maryland as they upset Combat NWA 28-14 in their opener and played Primetime and Newbreed tough, lowing by 1 and 2 runs respectively.  They did score 19 against Smash It and two of their 4 losses were against the "big two".  First baseman Jason Martel led the team in homer's coming into MD with 14 HR in 14 games. 

Trending Even

 


 

GTS/Beus Excavation/AGD ID-B 
25th 0-2
25th 0-2
Overall 0-4

GTS was a long way from home in Idaho and has now lost 6 straight games in conference play.  They didn't get any breaks in their Maryland bracket as they played 1 Major team and 3 'A' teams.  They almost upset Albicocco in their opener losing by just one run.  They picked up Richard Salazar to play infield.  GTS needs to send in stats to Stacy and stat book pictures to me…

Trending Down!

 

 


 

More pictures below

 


 

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Link to the 2012 Tournament Reports

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Some more pictures for you:

 

 

Texas softball friends Mike Cervantes, Chris Potts, Ben Dunn, Cooper Vittitow, and ?  Brian McBryde?

 

Collins was out at the plate, good call!

The crowd for the winners semi and final Saturday was about 150 (yes I counted…)   🙂  

Yes, I will take your picture for a dollar

 

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