Thursday March 28th, 2024
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2017 USSSA Cincinnati Major tournament report!

 

 

 

 

2017 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

18th Annual Cincinnati Major

 

Cincinnati, Ohio

 

July 14-16

 

Andy Purcell bats against Resmondo in the winner's bracket finals on Saturday night

 

Link to SoftballCenter picture album of Cincinnati 

 

2017 Cincinnati Major bracket and info link

 

The Cincinnati Major started with 36 teams, 26 of whom were from the Nationwide Conference USSSA!  So, this was a huge weekend for a lot of teams battling in the points standings.  The tournament started out on Friday night with an upset as Cornerstone a Kentucky 'A' team who had struggled most of the year knocked off IL-AA team Precision 22-21.  There were some other close calls as Nightmare MO-AA team just got past Wiley's FL-B 35-30, Xtreme MN-AA got past HB Softball MI-B 32-25, Bad Draw NC-A knocked off local Premier OH-B 30-24, TDB/TMSports NC-AA separated late and beat TG Brand MI-B 35-22, and JBL/Tailgaters OH-A run ruled a depleted Killbombers TX-AA team 25-10.  Killbombers playing with about half of their normal starters.  There was one other close call as Newbreed WA-M narrowly escaped with a 35-34 win over Headlines OH-C team with Headlines having runners on base in the bottom of the 7th but they couldn't quite come through.  Also, Primetime GA-A got a nice win over fellow 'A' team Pure Sports 26-24 when Pure Sports grounded into a double play to end the game.  All 4 of the other Major teams (Resmondo, SIS/Scene, Dan Smith, SIS/Thunder) cruised to first round wins.

In the 2nd round which was played on Saturday morning in perfect weather, Newbreed was actually down to Bay Area Legends by a couple runs when they proceeded to bat for what seemed like a half an hour and came away with a 34-19 win.  Worth Astros knocked off Primetime 36-34 thanks in part to center fielder Josh Kirstens 2 home run robbing catches.  #2 Resmondo separated from JBL early and cruised to a 35-15 win.  OA Apparel beat The Scene over on field #3 18-12, The Scene leaving a pile of home runs on the table in that one.  Cornerstone continued their winning streak with a HUGE 32-30 extra innings win over major team Dan Smith as they scored more after the home runs were out.  And SIS/Thunder and SIS/Scene/TDB knocked off TDB/TMSports and Bad Draw respectively to advance to the final 8.  The best game of the second round however was Xtreme vs Nightmare, a "Benjamin grudge match" of sorts.  In that one it came down to who had the bats last and Xtreme used base hits by Shannon Smith and Cooper Vittitow to set up a walk off homer by Joe Skyles to win 31-30.

The quarter finals started at noon on Saturday and all 4 games were played back to back on the show field similar to the schedule at the Smoky Mountain Classic.  Smash It/Scene knocked off Xtreme 31-20 in a game where you can see that Xtreme is so used to playing these Major teams that they seem to be in every game against them.  Then Resmondo 20 run ruled OA Apparel.  At 3:30 PM Newbreed knocked off Worth Astros 34-26 in a great game as Chente Granados the 2nd baseman for Newbreed was stealing two out hits with his great range.  And in the 5 PM game SIS/Thunder put up the highest score of the tournament beating Cornerstone 50-39.  But how about Cornerstone pushing this game to 7 innings?  Cornerstone went up 35-30 in the bottom of the 4th inning at one point.  What a run Cornerstone had made with those wins over Precision and Dan Smith and giving everything they had against SIS/Thunder!

So the semifinals were set and got started well after 8 PM on Saturday as things started to run long.  Resmondo couldn't shake Newbreed up on field #2 and the game got real close in the 7th inning although Resmondo held on 33-30.  And on field 1, #1 SIS/Scene/TDB got off to a bad start trailing SIS/Thunder 23-10 after 3 complete innings.  Kevin Filby's 3 run homer for Thunder capped a 13-run inning.  In the bottom of the 4th Thunder needed just 9 runs to mercy rule SIS/Scene with plenty of homers to get the job done but Andy Purcell got two Thunder hitters to pop out and Thunder left the door open to a comeback.  SIS/Scene then flashed the leather up the middle with great plays by Dedonatis at SS, Reyna in the middle, and Jason Branch at second base and shut Thunder down while scoring 15 runs in the top of the 6th to go up 34-27 and they held on to win 41-35.

In the winner's bracket finals, it was all Smash It/Scene/TDB as they scored 29 runs in the top of the 3rd and won by the 30-run rule 45-12.  Resmondo couldn't field and couldn't match their hitting or energy in that one.

In the loser's bracket some teams made some epic runs.  Major team Dan Smith knocked off Worsham B, TDB/TMSports AA, OA Apparel AA, and run ruled Worth Astros AA, and SIS/Thunder well after midnight to make it to Sunday.  And 'AA' team Precision who had lost their first game Friday beat LaFamiglia B, Bay Area Legends A by 4, Primetime A by 10, run ruled Xtreme AA, beat Premier B by 1 on a walk off hit by Kyle Kannenberg, and Dan Bean hit a walk off homer in extra innings at 1:30 AM in the morning to beat Major team Newbreed.  On Sunday morning Precision just would not go away against Dan Smith or Resmondo and beat them both to advance to the championship.

In the championship a fresh SIS/Scene/Albicocoo team put up 16 runs and hit Precision pitcher Dan Bean twice in the first inning.  The second one hitting Bean in the facemask and he was unable to continue.  Precision manager Todd Ankney was also ejected for arguing balls and strikes and they didn't have enough rostered players to continue the game, thus handing the tournament to SIS/Scene who wasn't going to be beaten anyways.

Smash It Sports/Scene/TDB/Miken/Worth wins their 4th tournament in a row, 8th of the year, and increase their winning streak to 22 straight games!  Their seasons record is now 55-5.

The best diver of the tournament goes to Killbombers 2nd baseman Josh Brown who was playing on the grass Friday night and made a full speed diving fully stretched out play on a hard grounder towards first and threw the runner out.  He pounced on it like a lion pouncing on a deer!  Great play!  Dal Beggs had a nice diver at third base vs Primetime.  Josh Kirsten had the two home run robs vs Primetime.  Kevin Bazat had one of the better sliding backhands, and the TG Brand middle man climbed the ladder to snap off a hard line drive against TDB/TMSports Friday night.  Those are just a fraction of the great plays that could be witnessed all weekend long.

Crowd was biggest on Friday

 

Team Breakdown:
 36 Teams Overall
25 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
5 Major Teams
9 'AA' Teams
5 'A' Teams
9 'B' Teams
8 'C' Teams

Bryson Baker scores on an awkward slide against Newbreed

Cornerstone takes on Precision on Friday night on Field #3

Another grudge match between Nightmare and Xtreme

 

Resmondo and SIS/Scene/TDB Saturday night

SIS/Thunders Jeremy Yates hits a line drive homer in a close game against Cornerstone

Field #3 and Field #4

Lots of complaining from teams about flat pitches.  

Conference umpires definitely make you pitch a hump but some teams feel Andy gets a lower strike.

 


 

Oldscout pollers were correct

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

DW's Soap Box: The tournament had great umpiring even though the Major teams did a lot of arguing about balls and strikes much of which is on the video clips.  I left it in there because I wanted to show that this is unacceptable intimidation and unsportsmanlike conduct.  While the umpires may call the arguing "white noise" and say they don't pay attention, it is a black eye on the game and should be dealt with simply.  First the manager of the team should get a warning on the first offense and the next player that argues balls and strikes gets ejected.  The team will replace the ejected player with another Major list player anyways so there is no loss at all and it will not affect the outcome of the game.

I don't post this to embarrass anyone as I like all of the players and managers in the conference and truly appreciate them and their skills.  But I post it to show we/they can do better than intimidate over a strike or a ball.  I am not saying you can't question a ball or a strike between innings and talk about it.  But during an at bat and arguing or commenting on a ball or strike in an unsportsmanlike manner should not be acceptable.

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

Greg Connell of Resmondo hit the longest ball that I witnessed.

I'm sure there were many others.

 

I am also giving the Long Bomber clutch homer of the week to Scene/HDLNS player/sponsor Ben Cosgrove who came off the bench against Cincinnati rival Premier and hit a big pinch hit homer late in the game to tie it!

 


 

 Cincinnati Major Awards and Final Standings

No Awards have been listed yet online.

Place State Team Team Class Wins Losses Ties Runs
Scored
Runs
Allow
Avg
Runs
Avg Runs
Allow
Avg Run
Diff
Max
Runs
Ranking
Points
1 NY – Rochester SMASH IT/SCENE/TDB/MIKEN/WORTH  USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 0 0 215 99 35.8 16.5 19.3 45 300
2 IL – Chicago Precision/3rd St./GBrand/Easton  USSSA-Mens-AA 8 2 0 294 230 29.4 23.0 6.4 42 225
3 FLS – Winter Haven Resmondo/O.A.Apparel/H.Auto/SPTank  USSSA-SPMensMajor 4 2 0 179 140 29.8 23.3 6.5 38 200
4 CAN – San Jose Dan Smith/Menosse  USSSA-SPMensMajor 6 2 0 252 136 31.5 17.0 14.5 41 175
5 WA – Tukwila NEWBREED/GTS/DEMARINI  USSSA-SPMensMajor 3 2 0 162 143 32.4 28.6 3.8 35 155
5 NY – Wading River SIS/THUNDER/MIKEN/WORTH/LOUISVILLE  USSSA-SPMensMajor 3 2 0 155 138 31.0 27.6 3.4 50 155
7 OH – Morrow Premier/Easton  USSSA-Mens-B 5 2 0 211 155 30.1 22.1 8.0 39 230
7 IN – Indianapolis WORTH ASTROS / K&G / KLUTCH  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 145 140 29.0 28.0 1.0 45 130
9 MO – Branson Nightmare/Miken  USSSA-Mens-AA 3 2 0 167 161 33.4 32.2 1.2 39 110
9 KY – Richmond Cornerstone/BuffaloWings&Rings  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 98 126 24.5 31.5 -7.0 39 110
9 TXN – Gladewater OA APPAREL/BROUGHTON/KBI/EASTON  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 99 99 24.8 24.8 0.0 34 110
9 MN – Medina Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 92 123 23.0 30.8 -7.8 32 110
13 OH – Hamilton The Scene/HDLNS/BHR/Easton  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 98 86 24.5 21.5 3.0 36 70
13 NC – Greenville Bad Draw/B&B/Broughton/BAF/Worth  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 115 126 28.8 31.5 -2.8 34 70
13 NC – Charlotte TDB/TMSports/MidWestWhiteTailAdv/Mi  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 112 129 28.0 32.3 -4.3 49 70
13 GA – Macon Primetime/Easton  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 108 117 27.0 29.3 -2.3 34 70
17 SC – Charleston Pure Sports/HB  USSSA-Mens-A 2 2 0 133 107 33.3 26.8 6.5 43 40
17 TXN – Frisco Killbombers / Demarini / GS Sports  USSSA-Mens-AA 2 2 0 99 86 24.8 21.5 3.3 31 40
17 MI – Flint TG Brand.Easton  USSSA-Mens-B 2 2 0 86 72 21.5 18.0 3.5 28 140
17 NC – Hendersonville Worsham Athletics/BF Cattle/Athon/M  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 66 98 22.0 32.7 -10.7 44 140
17 MI – Dearborn Rebel Sports/Game On/Dirty/hangrite  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 66 95 22.0 31.7 -9.7 28 140
17 OH – Kent JBL/Tailgaters/All In/B&E/Worth  USSSA-Mens-AA 1 2 0 61 71 20.3 23.7 -3.3 25 40
17 MI – Kalamazoo HB/SoftballFans/Miken/Evil  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 70 63 23.3 21.0 2.3 26 140
17 CAN – Castro Valley Bay Area Legends/Miken  USSSA-Mens-A 1 2 0 83 77 27.7 25.7 2.0 35 40
25 OH – Neo Titan truckin  USSSA-Mens-B 1 2 0 49 70 16.3 23.3 -7.0 25 65
25 OH – Cincinnati JLS/YODER TRANS/EAGLE BLDGS/PAUER  USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 32 73 10.7 24.3 -13.7 19 40
25 OH – Columbus Xtreme Associates/Harpers  USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 34 79 11.3 26.3 -15.0 23 0
25 IN – St. Leon Bellys/Durbin Bowl/Chandlers/DannyB  USSSA-Mens-C 1 2 0 53 82 17.7 27.3 -9.7 21 0
25 OH – Cincinnati Headlines Sportswear / CSB frozen USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 67 79 33.5 39.5 -6.0 34 65
25 FLS – Haines City Wileys Supreme/Miken/Worth  USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 41 61 20.5 30.5 -10.0 30 140
25 PAW – Pittsburgh LaFamiglia/MW/Elite  USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 3 77 1.5 38.5 -37.0 2 65
25 MD – Baltimore CGR/HOUSE MONEY/JIMMY'S SEAFOOD/MCC  USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 32 60 16.0 30.0 -14.0 22 65
33 KY – DRY RIDGE Redeemed/American Lighthouse  USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 44 56 22.0 28.0 -6.0 24 0
33 OH – Cincinnati T&W/HDLNS/MIKEN frozen USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 22 49 11.0 24.5 -13.5 12 65
33 OH – Columbus Old Bag/Chubby's/Pauer Sports  USSSA-Mens-B 0 2 0 44 55 22.0 27.5 -5.5 25 65
33 OH – Cincinnati Tropics frozen USSSA-Mens-C 0 2 0 15 44 7.5 22.0 -14.5 15 65

MVP was SIS/Scene's Cory Briggs who was 22-24 with 21 RBI

Offensive MVP was Ryan Harvey 29-29 with 15 HR and 40 RBI

 


 

Team by team notes brought to you by:

 

 

 

1st Place Smash It Sports/Scene/TDB/Miken/Worth

Conf Major from NY  6-0 Record

Total domination in a year that was considered by many including me to be a year of parity in the major division.  They have won on the big fields (HOF, Smoky) and the small (Las Vegas, Seattle, Cincinnati etc).  They have won with defense, they have won with offense, they have won with speed, and they have won with power.  Harvey has been the best offensive player two weeks in a row.  The shut down defense gives their offense a chance in any game, and the team is poised to set a new conference record for tournament wins in a season if they were to win out the rest of the way they would beat the 2007 Resmondo team which had 10 tourny wins.

Trending Up!

I was taking extra Purcell photos for a special article he did with a sports writer which will be published this week

here on SoftballCenter.com

 

Nic Santana hits a Grand Slam and Collins hits another homer.

Rulli and Collins in the field.

SIS/Scene/TDB uniforms were done by DirtySportswear.com

 


 

2nd Place Precision/3rd St./GBrand/Easton

Conf 'AA' from IL  8-2 Record

Precision went on one of those rare runs from the first spot in the loser's bracket all the way to the championship game.  Bean was a warrior on the mound and with the stick.  Youngsters like SS Kyle Kannenberg got clutch game winning hits.  The team won many of those close games even after making costly mistakes which is a trait of a champion.  They picked each other up and survived and advanced, refusing to lose.  This was really Precisions first good tournament of the season and confirms that they are a top contender for 'AA' Worlds again.  Beating 3 Major teams in a row is quite a feat and the soreness they feel while reading this will feel like it was all worth it!

Trending Up!

Playing close to home David Kessler hits a nasty knuckler to keep the game going against Newbreed

 

Kannenberg and Bean both had walk off game winning hits Saturday night

Rear, Kannenberg, and Keske across the left side of the infield.

 


 

3rd Place Resmondo/O.A.Apparel/H.Auto/SPTank/RDD/Easton

Conf Major from FL  4-2 Record

 

Resmondo continues to struggle against Smash It Sports.  Their defense has been sporadic and the offense unable to keep up.  As we move to the big fields in Columbus, Viera, and Disney we will see if the real Resmondo we know is still in there can emerge.  

Trending Even

Brian Wegman is always at his best when playing at his own park.

Reckart, Baker, Bazat on the left side for Resmondo

 


 

4th Place Dan Smith/Menosse

Conf Major from CA  6-2 Record

 

Dan Smith dropped a tough one to Cornerstone on Saturday morning but showed a lot of heart coming through the loser's bracket all the way to Sunday.  On Sunday they lost a close one to Precision or it could easily have been them in the championship against SIS/Scene.

Trending Even

Greinert gets Sunday started with a bang

Watson hits a late night homer against Astros

Chad Durick and Dan Smith sport some new uniforms.

 


 

Tied 5th Place Newbreed/GTS/Demarini

Conf Major from WA  3-2 Record

Newbreed added TJ Thompson as a backup pitcher and Geno Buck will join them in Columbus as they make the final tweaks and hope to peak here at the end of the season.  They are still underperforming but are a talented team with what can be a deep lineup.

Trending Even

Flood and the other middle infielders Whaley and Chente made some unreal plays.

 

 


 

Tied 5th Place SIS/Thunder/Miken/Worth/Louisville

Conf Major from NY  3-2 Record

SIS/Thunder had SIS/Scene on the ropes in the semi finals.  If they had scored 9 runs in the bottom of the 4th they would have 20 run ruled them and most likely would have won the tournament.  But that was a big "if" and they got shut down in the second half of the game and lost two in row to finish tied for 5th.  CF Brian Logan is still out with a pulled muscle but should be back for Columbus.  They also lost their reserve pitcher Matt Zurawel.

Trending Even

Neil Haglund played some CF.

Kennington and others settled for hitting Andy's flat pitch and it may have cost them.

 


 

Other top finishing Conference teams

 


 

Tied 7th Place – Premier/Easton

Conf 'B' from OH  5-2 Record

Premier lost their first game to Bad Draw then knocked off Old Bag, JLS, JBL Tailgaters, rivals The Scene/HDLNS in extra innings, and Cornerstone.  This team stepped up their game on their home turf.  The Classification Committee voted unanimously to leave this team in the 'B' division but they will mostly likely start in 'A' in 2017.

Trending up!

 

 


 

Tied 7th Place – Worth Astros/K&G/Klutch

Conf 'AA' from IN  3-2 Record

Worth Astros was the #3 seed and had some good long games with Primetime, Newbreed, and Nightmare but finished 3-2.  Dal Beggs has fit in with his new team nicely.  Mullins seems to be in fine hitting mode, and the team is set to be #1 seed at the 'AA' Worlds come September.  

Trending Even

 

Beggs makes a diving stop for the out

 

Kirsten and Edwards

 


 

Hot Links section brought to you by:

I would like to thank all of my sponsors, USSSA, and the SoftballCenter and Oldscout advertisers!

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to all 2009 to 2017 Tournament Reports and Previews

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points Link

 


 

Some more pictures for you:

Tied for 9th – Nightmare/Miken 2-2

 Beat Wiley's, Rebel, and Bad Draw.  Had a close loss to rival Xtreme.

Aguilar has apparently left the team.

 


 

Tied for 9th – Cornerstone/BuffaloWings&Rings 2-2

Had those two huge wins over Precision and Dan Smith.  Great memories for some young talent.

 


 

Tied for 9th – OA Apparel/Broughton/KBI/Easton 2-2

 

Mangannaro and Lunda are the corner outfielders for OA

 

Wilkins and Schwindenhammer

 


 

Tied for 9th – Xtreme/Miken/ASP/Athlon 2-2

Skyles hits a walk off to beat Nightmare after Vittitow and Smith hits set him up.

 

Prison garb?

 


 

Tied for 13th – The Scene/HDLNS/BHR/Easton 2-2

 

Staton MI, Bellamy 2B, Newman CF, and below is Noe at SS and Large in LF

 


 

Tied for 13th – Bad Draw/B&B/Broughton/BAF/Worth 2-2

Timmy Mickey for Bad Draw was 22-24 with 20 HR at the Smoky last week!

 


 

Tied for 13th – TDB/TMSports/MidWestWhiteTailAdv/Miken 2-2

Terry Baggs (below)

 


 

Tied for 13th – Primetime/Easton 2-2  

Means did some pitching and some home run hitting!

 


 

Tied for 17th – Pure Sports/HB

 

More changes coming for Pure Sports as Buckshot and them have parted ways to make more PT for Verbasco

 


 

Tied for 17th – Killbombers/Demarini/GS Sports

Killbombers may have played their last game of 2017.

They played with a skeleton crew in Cincy.  I did see where JD Genter had a .941 onbase percentage though.

Tom Crump has had a nice 2017

 


 

Tied for 17th – TG.Brand.Easton 2-2

TG Brand will remain 'B' for 2017.

 


 

Tied for 17th – Worsham Athletics/BF Cattle/Athlon/Miken 1-2

 


 

Tied for 17th – Rebel Sports/Game On/Dirty/Hangrite 1-2

 


Tied for 17th – JBL/Tailgaters/All In/B&E/Worth 1-2

JBL/Tailgaters will finish the year in the 'A' division.

 


 

Tied for 17th – HB/SoftballFans/Miken/Evil 1-2

 


 

Tied for 17th – Bay Area Legends 1-2

Bay Area is right on the cusp of the points race to make the major and didn't help themselves in Cincy.

Pictured above is the leagues leading hitter Bradley Carlsen .835

 


 

Wileys had a rough weekend after not finishing Nightmare in their first game.

 


 

Former gold glove conference middle man Rob Menke with the Charlie Brown look…

The tournament went through 8 cases of balls and it was only Saturday morning…

Texas trio of Steve Whaley, LC Watson, and Chris Potts.

There are so many great players from Texas and Florida.

The dancing bear made and appearance

The river was the highest we have seen in the summer.

I moved the livestream to the balcony at one point because of the poor internet reception at this park.

 

 

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