2020 USSSA ‘A’ World tournament report!
Sports Reach veteran Robert Blackburn doubles in the championship against Prime Time!
2020 USSSA 'A' World Tournament
Space Coast Complex – Viera, FL
October 2-3
Sports Reach Justin Mackey hits in the winner's bracket finals against WorkSteer
SoftballCenter 'A' World picture album link
2020 'A' World bracket and results link
USSSA 'A' World mini tournament report link
Link to the SoftballCenter.com Youtube channel
Video Highlights brought to you by:
Men's 'A' World 1st day (Friday) video clips link
Men's 'A' World 2nd day (Saturday) video clips link
Condensed Game Winner's Final 'A' World link
Condensed Game Championship 'A' World link
Condensed Game Championship 'if' Game 'A' World link
USSSALive live stream archive link for Men's 'A' World
There may not be a better place to watch an 'A' World than at the Space Coast complex with its 325 foot fences
Robbie Fow was hitting triples and homers at will during the 'A' and 'AA' Worlds!
The 2020 USSSA 'A' Worlds was played on the White and Red Quads at the Space Coast Stadium Complex in Viera, Florida using 325 foot home run fences, 70 foot base paths, and 50 foot pitching rubber. They also used the Dudley Pro-M 12 inch ball. There were 32 teams from 15 different states and they used a traditional double elimination bracket. The tournament began on Friday morning October 2nd and was played primarily with overcast skies and some intermittent rain but overall the weather was nice. The wind blew in on 3 of the 7 fields and out to right on the show field most of the tournament. There was a 12 home run limit per team per game.
The 1st round was played on 7 different fields simultaneously and the action was fast and furious. Two good 'B' teams squared off – Chick-fil-a/HB from Virginia and Legion of Boom from Texas and Chick-fil-a came from 7 runs down to win on a walk off homer to center field by Phillip Hunt! Primetime (GA-A) held off Abeytu' (WY-B) 15-12. Seminoles (OK-A) beat Gorillas (MO-A) by 3. Sports Reach (KY-A) run ruled Kut4 Sports (GA-B) after a slow start but scored 16 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Shortstop Kaden Watson was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. Texas Edge (TX-B) came from a 23-2 deficit against Baugh Ford (AL-A) to win 29-28 on a walk off homer! Cheap Suits (CA-A) had their chances but got clipped by a good LazerSports (NV-B) team 10-9. Levels (CO-A) beat Express Athletics (OR-B) 20-14. Comatose (WI-B) began their run in the winner's bracket with a 14-9 upset of Premier (OH-A) as Comatose was led by their left handed leadoff hitter Mike Jacobsen who was 3-4 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. In the lower half of the bracket Maroadi/SNI (FL-A) beat the Armed Forces all-star team 34-0. Classic Glass (CA-A) stomped Dirty Vegas (TX-B) 27-4. Competitive Edge (FL-A) 15 run mercy ruled Olmito Heat (TX-A) with the wind blowing in. WorkSteer (NC-A) run ruled Goodtimes (FL-B). Category5 (OH-A) run ruled Platinum Fire (MA-B). One of the tournament favorites TurnKey/CCP/Dan Smith (NC-A) beat Program/Worth 31-29 holding them off at the end by 2. In probably the best 1st round matchup on paper L&S Glass (CA-A) knocked off Vivid/FBI (AR-A) 21-10. And in the final game of the 1st round the Ohio Amish 'B' team using their 4 man outfield scared #1 seeded Westpoint (IN-A) early on but Westpoint ended up winning 27-12.
The "sweet 16" of the winner's bracket then played at 4:30 and 6 PM with Chick-fil-a upsetting Primetime 13-10 with the wind blowing in. Sports Reach jumped out to a 20-8 lead on last years 'A' World runner up Seminoles and scored at least 2 runs in every inning on their way to a 33-18 run rule win in the 6th inning. Sports Reach hit all 12 homer's and Derrick Roland, Zach Watts, Curtis Cornett, Kenneth Cooper, and Jason Hatley all collected 4 hits each. Lazer Sports advanced over Texas Edge 27-26 in a battle of upset minded 'B' teams, winning on a walk off homer. Comatose continued their run with a 15-9 win over Levels. In the lower half of the bracket Classic Glass scored a big win over Maroadis/SNI 31-17 scoring 16 runs in the bottom of the 6th. WorkSteer walked through Competitive Edge shutting them down 18-2 with the wind blowing in. Category5 pulled off one of their biggest upsets of the year beating TurnKey 31-26 after a 12 run 6th inning gave them a 31-6 lead, and L&S Glass pulled off a big win over #1 Westpoint 18-16 and Westpoint had the bats in their hands in the bottom of the 7th with plenty of home runs to hit.
The "final 8" of the winner's bracket was played late on Friday night under the lights. Sports Reach scored 9 runs in the top of the 1st and run ruled Chick-fil-a 25-8 as Robbie Fow went 5-5 with 2 home runs. In the 2nd quarter of the bracket Comatose beat LazerSports 24-14 putting a 'B' team into the final 4! In the lower half of the bracket WorkSteers offense continued to hum as they beat Classic Glass 35-17 and L&S Glass won another close one, this time over Category5 32-29 in a game that ended well after midnight Friday.
On Saturday in the "final 4" Sports Reach grabbed a 14-5 lead against Comatose and won fairly easily 21-12. Robert Blackburn was 3-3 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in the win. And WorkSteer dominated L&S Glass 25-5 in a short game scoring 15 runs on 6 homers in the 5th inning. The winner's final was then played at 2 PM and Sports Reach and WorkSteer were locked in a dead heat until the bottom of the 4th inning when Sports Reach scored 12 runs and coasted the rest of the way to a 25-14 win. Robbie Fow led the way 4-4 with 3 HR a triple and 8 RBI!
The loser's bracket played out all day on Saturday and the top half of the loser's bracket was dominated by PrimeTime. They beat Texas teams Dirty Vegas and Olmito Heat, then beat LazerSports, WM Comm, L&S Glass, Classic Glass who had just run the bottom of the loser's bracket. They then beat WorkSteer 28-27 in the loser's bracket finals to make it to the championship game on a walk off homer by Bill Cullen after a double by Ira Brown! The loser's bracket was full of walk off wins as Premier's Mitch Lendenski had a walk off hit to beat Turnkey, Nathan Newman hit a walk off homer to beat Premier, and Category5 came from 6 down to walk off Maroadis/SNI.
In the championship game late Saturday night an exhausted PrimeTime team who had been on the field all day long were down to Sports Reach 19-16 and somehow scored 10 in the 5th and 7 in the 6th to force the "if" game 33-28. Pitcher Rod Armour was 6-6 with 3 HR and 6 RBI in the win. In the final game to determine the 'A' World Champion, Primetime reached down deep to score 6 runs in the top of the 1st but Sports Reach answered with 10 in the bottom of the inning and pulled away to a 28-13 5 inning run rule win when they scored an adrenaline filled 14 runs in the bottom of the 4th! Sports Reach was led by their MVP pitcher Brandon Jonas and 4 for 4 performances by Chris Scott, Justin Mackey, and Zach Watts.
Hats off to both Sports Reach who had the "eye of the tiger" focus all tournament long that you need to win a USSSA World and to PrimeTime who was on the field from 8 AM Saturday morning to after midnight Saturday night and put on a show forcing that "if" necessary game.
Team Breakdown:
32 Teams Overall
19 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
18 'A' Teams
14 'B' Teams
Key Games
Sports Reach and Comatose in one semi final
Andy Highbaugh of Worksteer hits against Rod Armour in the loser's final
The WM Comm Amish team gave Westpoint a run with their 4 man outfield and line drive hitting
L&S Glass takes down #1 Westpoint on Friday night
Chick-fil-a's Phillip Hunt hits a monster homer to CF for the win against Legion of Boom
Premier's Mitch Lendenski hits a walk off double to beat TurnKey
Nate Newman hits a walk off homer in the rain as Classic Glass beats Premier
Lazer Sportswear hits a walk off homer to beat Texas Edge
Don't forget about the Challenge Cup coming in January – State vs State competition!
Long Bombers of the Week
Primetimes Bill Cullen hits a walk off homer to beat WorkSteer in the loser's bracket finals.
We will give him the long bomber of the week!
USSSA 'A' World Final Standings and Awards
MVP – Brandon Jonas – Sports Reach
Defensive MVP – Aaron Miller – Sports Reach
Offensive MVP – Angel Ortega – PrimeTime
Sports Reach All Tournament members
Team by team notes brought to you by:
1st Place – Sports Reach/Crunchtime/H&H/Grizzy
Conf 'A' from KY 6-1 Record
Sports Reach had the laser focus, the veteran pitcher in Jonas, the offensive leader in Robert Blackburn, and veterans sprinkled throughout the lineup with power from the right and left side of the plate. All year long they were the one 'A' team that was never out of a game as they always played a full 7 innings and came back from double digit deficits. They took advantage of the upsets at the 'A' Worlds and played a number of 'B' teams on their way to the finals but give them credit for slowing down WorkSteer and finishing off Primetime to win the 'A' Worlds! Congratulations to Robby Speer and the leadership group who has been building this team for 3 years. They have announced they will play 'AA' in 2021!
RF Zach Watts and CF Derrick Roland quietly had big years.
Kaden Watson and Curtis Cornett
Jason Gilfillan is no stranger to USSSA World Titles
P Jonas, SS Kaden Watson, and LF Robbie Fow who is also the backup pitcher
Sports Reach receives their all tournament awards
Manager Frank McFarland and General Manager Robby Speer put together an 'A' juggernaut
2nd Place – PrimeTime Easton/F.A.I./Riot/Klutch
Conf 'A' from GA 9-2 Record
Primetime won 9 games in a row in the loser's bracket and was hanging tough for half of the "if" game. An impressive run led by the heart of the team pitcher Rod Armour and "Big Brown" Ira Brown. They added Zach Messer towards the end of the year and he helped extend the lineup. Aaron Jackson was hitting a bunch of homers late Saturday. And the team never gave up even when they had to pick up another teammates error or misplay. They were close enough to taste it but just didn't have enough in the tank for a good Sports Reach team. Primetime will be back in Conference in 2021!
P Roderick Armour and Ira Brown have been powering PrimeTime's offense all year
SS Zach Messer added another high on base percentage to the lineup
CF Robert Lee and LF Jarvis Riggins
3rd Place – WorkSteer/Bell's LawnCare
Conf 'A' from NC 4-2 Record
Worksteer was rolling through the 'A' Worlds until a couple of bad innings against Sports Reach in the winner's final and then a bad end of the game against Primetime. Joe Visser tweaked on this team for a couple of years and really came up with a winning formula this year. Unfortunately I don't believe they will be back in 2021 but I wish Joe the best and hope he reconsiders. I hear he has a nice fishing boat and is going to do fishing tournaments!
I think this is Canfield in left field trying to bring back a homer
Andy Highbaugh quietly had a big season at 2B for WorkSteer
Dezern and Ty Cobb
4th Place – Classic Glass/Easton
Conf 'A' from CA 5-2 Record
Classic Glass played a lot of close games and won 3 in the loser's bracket before dropping to Primetime in the loser's semifinals. Donald Hollingsworth in center field, Travis Tucker at SS, plus power hitters like Mike Brambilla and Tim Martinez mixed with veterans like Chris Hansen, pitcher Nate Newman, and a hot hitting Chris Benigno was the winning formula for Mike Visser and Tom Formosa. They just needed to stay in the winner's bracket.
Tim Martinez hits a big homer in their win over Comatose in the rain
Kade Christensen I think this was an inside the park homer, check the video clips
Veterans Nate Newman and Chris Benigno were big adds for Classic Glass in the 2nd half of the season
Tied 5th Place – L & S Glass
Conf 'A' from CA 3-2 Record
L&S Glass had that huge win over WestPoint then let down against Category5 late on Friday night. Much like Classic Glass they needed to stay in the winner's bracket with all the older veteran players that they have. But a good run nevertheless!
Tied 5th Place – Comatose/S2N/Subway/A+
'B' from WI 3-2 Record
Comatose came out of nowhere and took advantage of all the 'B' teams upsetting 'A' teams in their part of the bracket. They are more known as a USA Softball team but proved that much like T's 13 in the 'B' World they can play any form of softball. Team was led by pitcher Alex Hovey and lead off man Mike Jacobsen.
Tied 7th Place – WM Comm Roofing/Ely Rd Reel/German
'B' from OH 4-2 Record
The Amish are known for their slowpitch softball playing and this team won everything at the D and C levels and made the jump to B this year where they went and won 4 games at the 'A' Worlds! They hustle, play great defense, and they can all run the bases and leave it all on the field. Even though they play a 4 man outfield they still hang with just about anyone they play. Remember in Columbus, Ohio they took Dan Smith 7 innings and only lost by 5 runs. Catch this team at a park near you, they play an entertaining brand of softball.
The WM Comm pitcher was like a praying mantis defensively up the middle with their 4 man outfield
WM Comm had #1 seed WestPoint on the ropes early on
Tied 7th Place – Category5/Nager/Atrium/M&S/Grizzy
Conf 'A' from OH 3-2 Record
Category5 had a regular season to forget on and off the field. But at 'A' Worlds when it counted they made a run to the semifinals of the winner's bracket and had a great come from behind win against Maroadis in the loser's bracket for a strong finish to the season!
Johnson and Lively up the middle
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Some more pictures for you:
Geno Buck pitched for Seminoles who beat Gorillas by 3 then lost to Sports Reach and Olmito Heat.
Seminoles has announced a return to the Conference for 2021!
Maroadis/SNI beat the Armed Forces 34-0, then lost to Classic Glass, beat AbeyTu and Kut4Sports, before losing to Category5 by a run.
Little did they know they had bigger things ahead for them at USSSA Worlds when they won the 'AA'!!!
SNI will be coming back to the Conference as a 'AA' team in 2021!
Vivid lost to L&S Glass and WM Comm and only scored 17 runs in the two games.
Vivid is not coming back to the conference after a tough year. 🙁
Competitive Edge beat Olmito Heat by 15 then lost to WorkSteer only scoring 2 runs and lost to Kut4Sports by a run.
Competitive Edge is coming back to the Conference for 2021 re-tooled!
Goodtimes a Florida 'B' team lost to WorkSteer and Olmito Heat
Cheap Suits lost to LazerSports by a run then was out slugged by Baugh Ford 42-27.
Cheap Suits is returning to Conference play in 2021!
TurnKey/CCP one of the favorites beat Program Worth 31-29, then lost by 5 to Category5, then run ruled Baugh Ford, before losing on a walk off hit to Premier Saturday morning.
CCP will be back in the Conference for 2021!
Lazer Sportswear beat Cheap Suits and Texas Edge by a run each before losing to Comatose in the quarterfinals and PrimeTime in the losers bracket
Olmito Heat lost big to Competitive Edge, then beat Goodtimes and Seminoles before losing to Primetime
Baugh lost by 1 to Texas Edge after leading the game 23-2, then beat Cheap Suits, before Turnkey sent them home.
Baugh Ford is returning to Conference in 2021! Hopefully we see HDLNS and Hubs Pub as well in the future.
Gorillas lost to Seminoles and Kut4Sports.
A core group of the Gorillas team is returning to Conference in 2021 with a new sponsorship group.
Levels beat Express Athletics then lost to Comatose and WM Comm when they failed to score 10 runs.
Levels is said to be coming back to the Conference in 2021!
Texas Edge had some great young talent. They beat Baugh Ford by a run. Then lost to LazerSports by a run. Then in the loser's bracket they knocked off Platinum Fire before WM Comm beat them.
Express Athletics lost to Levels and Premier in good games.
Kut 4 Sports lost to Sports Reach, beat Gorillas and Competitive Edge, before losing to Maroadi.
Rumor is they are playing Conference in 2021 and should be a great addition.
It does appear Fow stepped completely in front of the plate on the controversial call when he was called out.
Nolan Fogle was playing for Legion of Boom and said he was bringing Nightmare back to the Conference in 2021!
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