Friday March 29th, 2024
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A look back at the 2019 USSSA 19th Annual Texas Legends Major tournament report!

 

 

 

2019 Nationwide Conference USSSA

 

19th Annual Texas Legends Major

 

Euless, TX

 

May 17-19

 

The normal Friday night crowd at the Texas Legends

 

SoftballCenter Texas Legends picture album link

 

2019 Texas Legends bracket and results link

 

2019 Texas Legends Major stats link once available

 

2019 Texas Legends archived games link

 

Championship game – TDB's Brian Zirkle hits a double through the hole off of Thunder

The Texas Legends Major started with a change in the schedule Friday as the incoming rain on Saturday forced them to play an extra 8 games late into the night Friday.  There were 11 Conference teams in attendance and 28 teams overall and all of the Conference teams beat their local opponents in the first round except for Smith Softball (CA-B) who lost to Texas 'B' team Whut it Dew 20-11.  In the round of 16 then SIS/Thunder (NY-AA) beat Play the Game (AR-A)30-18, L&S Glass (CA-B) beat Competitive Edge (FL-A) 33-30, Classic Glass (CA-AA) beat Big Apple (TX-B) 20-11, Wood Law (TX-B) won by protest over Steel (TX-A) who only had 8 players on their roster, Cheap Suits (CA-B) beat Infamous (CO-B) 36-35, and TDB/Racks, Chanticlear (MN-A), and Vivid (TX-A) all advanced big over local 'B' and 'C' teams.

On Saturday the expected thunderstorms held off for awhile as they were able to play a couple rounds of the loser’s bracket.  But tournament director Chris Thames pulled the teams off the fields just in time as a torrential thunderstorm hit which delayed the tournament for almost 6 hours.  The tournament resumed at 9 pm in some heavy mud and poor field conditions with the final 8 of the winner's bracket playing straight through until we had a winner's bracket champion.  And the loser's bracket played through the night using a 5 inning or one hour time limit.  The final 8 of the winner's bracket were all Conference teams.  SIS/Thunder used a walk off homer by Filip Washington to complete a long comeback against L&S Glass 27-25.  Chanticlear crushed Classic Glass 28-4 over on the Blue field with the wind coming in.  Wood Law beat Vivid soundly 32-18 in a battle of Texas Conference teams.  And TDB/Racks scored 29 runs in the 1st inning to beat Cheap Suits 53-18.  Bryson Baker was 7-7 with 6 runs scored in the game.

The semifinals played immediately after the quarterfinals as SIS/Thunder handled Chanticlear 40-22 and TDB/Racks beat Wood Law 30-14 as Jason Branch was 4-4 with 6 RBI.  That set up the heavyweight battle between the two top teams in the tournament.  The game lasted a couple of hours as TDB/Racks scored 17 in the 1st inning, used up all 12 of their homers by the 3rd inning, and scored 9 runs in both the 3rd and 6th innings.  In the bottom of the 6th SIS/Thunder outfielder Kyle Olsen laced a liner that hit TDB pitcher Andy Purcell who was filling the hole on the shortstop side and the two ex-teammates had some words.  Then the next batter John Williams hit a grounder up the middle that Purcell knocked down and ended up making a play on – getting the force play at 2nd base where Olsen slid late and was pushed by middle infielder Luis Reyna.  This ignited a bench clearing shoving match that delayed the game.  When the dust settled Olsen, Reyna, John Williams, and Seth Green were all ejected leaving SIS/Thunder with just 9 players.  But SIS/Thunder still led by 4 runs going into the top of the 7th.  TDB with no homers left got a clutch single from Everett Williams to tie the game at 45 but SIS/Thunder got a game winning single from Brian McBryde in the bottom of the 7th to win 46-45.

Meanwhile a number of teams (Play the Game, Infamous, and J&R Logistics) all made long runs in the loser's bracket and Play the Game and Infamous were the last ones standing in the mud at 4 AM Sunday morning and they came back at 8 am to play in the final 4.  The Infamous offense just could not get going though and Play the Game beat them 18-11 and then Play the Game had TDB/Racks tied at 13-13 going into the bottom of the 7th where Jason Branch hit a walk off homer to beat them.  So Infamous finished 4th and Play the Game an impressive 3rd after 7 wins.

The Championship which most thought would be heated, chippy, and high scoring ended up being relatively low scoring and uneventful as the wind blew in at 13 miles per hour holding down scores and the middle of the TDB defense – Andy Purcell with his magical pitching, Zirkle in center field with his ranging catches, and Luis Reyna and Daniel Cayton playing solid defense in the infield kept the SIS/Thunder offense in check and TDB "double dipped" Thunder 24-18 and 18-11 to win their 3rd tournament of the season!  In that first championship game SIS/Thunder actually grabbed a 14-13 lead in the bottom of the 4th on a Chris Greinert homer but TDB took control with a big 6th inning.  MVP Josh Riley was 4-5 with 3 HR and 5 RBI in the first championship game and Ryan Harvey was 3-4 with 2 homers in the final game.

The tournament used the Classic M ball on the four 300-305-310-305-300 foot fields.  A full contingent of Conference umpires did a great job.  And the tournament directors made a nice call playing in the mud late into the night Saturday as it worked out and was a well-played event considering the conditions.

 

TDB gets ready for the championship

 

SIS/Thunder's Zach Messer hits a seeing eye single

Winner's bracket Saturday night in the mud after hours of thunderstorms.

 

A scuffle breaks out after a middle war and a slide into 2nd base

TDB beat Cheap Suits 53-18

SIS/Thunder pitcher Danny Evans and MI Brian McBryde are from Texas

Co-Defensive MVP TDB Center Fielder Brian Zirkle runs down a ball in the gap and made an incredible diver against Play The Game Sunday morning to keep the game tied at 13-13 in the loser's bracket finals

Team Breakdown:
28 Teams Overall
11 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
1 Major Teams
2 'AA' Teams
6 'A' Teams
12 'B' Teams
7 'C' Teams

 


 

Key Winner's Bracket Games

SISThunder hits against Chanticlear in the semifinals won by Thunder 40-22

TDB's Everett Williams hits against Wood Law in their semifinal win 30-14

 

Thunder's Ryan Snyder gets a pinch hit single over shortstop setting up a game winning homer by Filip Washington as Thunder beat L&S Glass 27-25

 

Sunday Final 4

Play the Game's Tim Howard leads off against TDB pitcher Andy Purcell.

The two used to be teammates on Resmondo

 

There were a couple of "4 base awards" on Sunday morning.  A 4 base award is a ball that tips off a fielders glove and goes over the fence.  It counts as a homer but doesn't count against a teams home run limit.
 

TDB's Jason Branch hits a walk off homer to beat Play the Game in the loser's bracket finals.

Infamous loses to Cheap Suits 36-35 in their 2nd game.  Then they won 5 straight.

Rodriguez from Competitive Edge hits against former Bay Area manager and backup pitcher Gary Perez who is pitching now for Smith Softball, just before the storms came.

A strong line of thunderstorms wiped out hours of game play

  

The Dudley Thunder Classic M balls were a little soft

 

 


 

Old Scout pollers were correct

 


 

Video Highlites brought to you by:

Texas Legends Friday/Saturday video clips

Texas Legends Sunday final 4 video clips

Video clip of the TDB vs Thunder altercation (bench clear)

 


 

Long Bombers of the Week

 

TDB power hitter "Big Jon" Nelson hit one back by those garbage cans in left field of the Red field on Friday night.

Chris Larsen also had a crowd pleaser for Classic Glass.  And Tom Crump from Vivid hit the ball well onto the building across the street on the Blue field.

 


 

 Texas Legends Major Final Standings and Awards

 

MVP was TDB's Josh Riley

 

Co-Defensive MVP's were TDB MI Luis Reyna and TDB CF Brian Zirkle

Look at that throwing angle on the double play by Reyna!

Offensive MVP was SIS/Thunders Kyle Olsen

 


 

Team by team notes brought to you by:

 

 

1st Place – TDB/Racks/Athlon

Conf Major from NC  6-1 Record

TDB crushed the Oilers, Cheap Suits 53-18, and Wood Law.  Then in the winner's bracket finals they had a huge slugfest with SIS/Thunder and ended up tying the game in the top of the 7th but losing it in the bottom.  They used all 12 of their homers in the first 3 innings.  On Sunday they got some great defense by co-defensive MVP's Brian Zirkle and Luis Reyna to hold Play the Game to 13 runs and they won on a walk off homer by Jason Branch in the bottom of the 7th.  Then they were 6 and 7 runs better than SIS/Thunder in the championship.

TDB found ways to win on Sunday when the offense went a little flat.  Purcell got a lot of Thunder hitters to hit pop ups and swing at bad pitches which gave the defense a chance to make great plays.  They have now taken the lead in the Conference points standings and they won their 3rd tournament of the season (Vegas, HOF2, Texas).

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TDB/Racks Championship lineup:
3B Bryson Baker
P Andy Purcell
C Ryan Harvey
1B Josh Riley
RF Jason Branch/Kyle Pearson
MI Luis Reyna
LF Everett Williams
SS Daniel Cayton
2B AJ Montano/Jason Martel
EH Jon Nelson
CF Brian Zirkle

Bryson Baker at 3rd base and Daniel Cayton at SS

 

Purcell and Harvey

   

Everett Williams and AJ Montano

 

Jason Martel and Kyle Pearson

 

Sponsors Sonny Pilcher and Tim Franks

 


 

2nd Place – SIS/Thunder/Miken/Worth/Anarchy/OA

Conf 'AA' from NY  4-2 Record

 

SIS/Thunder beat Play the Game 30-18 in their opener on Friday night in front of a nice crowd.  Then they came from behind with some clutch hits and a walk off homer by Filip Washington to beat L&S Glass 27-25 in their first game after the rain delay Saturday night.  In the semi finals they beat Chanticlear 40-22 and then beat TDB/Racks in the game of the tournament 46-45 to head to Sunday undefeated.  On Sunday the offense disappeared and they wasted a good pitching performance by Danny Evans when they got double dipped by TDB 24-18 and 18-11.  They played without Josh Fyffe who would have sparked the offense but they added this tournament to the schedule after their recent move to 'AA' so not everyone could make it.

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SIS/Thunder Championship lineup:
CF Filip Washington
LF Kyle Olsen
3B John Williams
RF Dave Durso
C Chris Greinert
MI Brian McBryde
SS Zach Messer
2B Chris Potts
1B Don McDuffie
P Danny Evans

LF Olsen and CF Washington

  

3B John Williams, SS Zach Messer, MI Brian McBryde

  

Gold Glove first baseman McDuffie

 

 


 

3rd Place – Play the Game

'A' from AR  7-2 Record

 

Play the Game won their opener which then put them up against SIS/Thunder Friday night.  They lost that one by 12 then went on an epic run in the loser's bracket beating Playoff Performance by forfeit, Competitive Edge 17-5, Cheap Suits 16-0 (seriously zero?), then won a string of close games – Vivid 13-11, Chanticlear 21-20, and then beat Infamous 19-11 on Sunday morning.  They even had a late lead on TDB/Racks in the loser's bracket finals and had a chance to go up on them going into the bottom of the 7th but ran out of gas and lost 16-13.  An impressive run by one of the top non-conference teams in the country and the type of perseverance needed to make a run in Florida at the 'A' Worlds.

Play the Game Sunday lineup:
Tim Howard
Juice
Zack Keene
Kolt
Brandon Jones
Jash
Kevin Bryant
Tyler Thomas
Tyler Ervine
Jon Tyson
Acosta

Zach Keene

 

 

 

Veteran pitcher Chris Wilson was all tournament

 


 

4th Place – Infamous/Salt Riot

Conf 'B' from CO  6-2 Record

 

Infamous beat a local team then lost a heart breaker to Cheap Suits 36-35 on Friday night.  In the loser's bracket they made a long run beating All Phase 25-7, Washouts by forfeit, Competitive Edge 17-5, L&S Glass by a run, J&R Logistics by a run, and they beat Wood Law 20-5 to make it to Sunday where they lost to Play the Game 18-11.  This team didn't get overly excited, they just played the game in front of them and didn't seem to worry about mistakes which they were then able to overcome most of the time. 

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Cheap Suits pitcher gets a glove on this shot

 

Pitcher Corey Miller and sponsor/pitcher Bryan Pruitt

 

Oliver Henninger

 

 

 


 

Tied 5th Place – Wood Law/Olmito Heat/Club Chill

Conf 'B' from TX  3-2 Record

Cole Campbell hits a grand slam

Wood Law beat Steel Sports by forfeit after trailing by a bunch of runs in the 7th innng.  They had a big 32-18 win over Vivid then to make it to the winner's bracket semifinals against TDB where they lost 30-14.  In the loser's bracket Infamous sent them home 20-5 well after midnight into Sunday morning.  Wood Law added Taylor Lobb another hitter with Conference experience.

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Tied 5th Place – Chanticlear/Eurotech/J&H/Miken/Worth

Conf 'A' from MN  3-2 Record

Chanticlear made quick work of the local team The Show 20-2 on Friday night.  Then they took advantage of a soft spot in the bracket beating another local team Whut it Dew 28-7.  Then on Saturday night after the delay they beat Classic Glass 28-4.  So they outscored their first three opponents 72-13…  Then they lost the quarterfinals to SIS/Thunder 40-22 and lost to Play the Game late Saturday night 21-20 after a valiant comeback attempt in the bottom of the 7th came up short.  Lewicki was pitching great.  The 3 O'Connells and "Thor" Thorbrogger seemed to have the offense clicking.  And the team is from Minnesota so adverse playing conditions doesn't bother them.

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Other top finishing Conference teams

 


 

Hot Links section brought to you by:

I would like to thank USSSA and the SoftballCenter advertisers for their support!

Send corrections to dw@softballcenter.com

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel

Link to the SoftballCenter.com Facebook page

Link to all 2009 to 2019 Tournament Reports and Previews

Nationwide Conference USSSA Points and information link

 


 

Some more pictures for you:

Tied for 7th – J&R Logistics (AR-B) 3-2 – After an opening game loss to Oilers, they beat Steel by forfeit, won a close won over Classic Glass 17-15, and was sent home by Infamous in a one run game.

 

Kilburn hits one through the 5-6 hole

Tied for 7th – Vivid (3-2) TX-A – Beat 3 local teams but lost to in state rival Wood Law and the hot Play the Game team 

 

 

Tied for 9th – Big Apple/NYPD (TX-B) 3-2 – Won 2 games by forfeit

Lost to L&S Glass by 3, beat Smith Softball, then lost to Play the Game 17-5 in the mud

Fences were 300-305-310-305-300

Park is being transformed with turf infields over the next year plus

Smith Softball center fielder Clif Williamson does a Zirkle impression

Wood Law protested Steels roster which only had 8 players on it?

Resmondo pitcher Lloyd Watson in a boot for 4-6 weeks

 

Close one on Branch and Cayton looks out at the plate

Out at the plate

Conference Umpires

Softball Super Fans – Mr. Vegas and former Womens Major multi time World Champ Amanda Lynch

 

 

 

 

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