HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. – The 2021 USA Softball Men’s Super Slow Pitch National Championship was full of nonstop action as the one-day, double-elimination tournament took place today in Hendersonville, Tenn. Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S won three straight games to defeat Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics 27-12 in the Championship contest to claim their fourth-consecutive USA Softball Men's Super Slow Pitch National Championship title.
The Thunder made their way to the Championship Game by kicking off the day with a 35-15 run-rule victory (five innings) over Comatose/S2N/Monsta. Josh Riley led the team with four home runs and was one of eight Thunder players with a long ball in the contest. Riley also racked up eight RBIs for the Thunder while Jeremy Yates went five-for-five at the plate. In their second game of the day, the Thunder took down Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics thanks to a 13-run sixth inning. Down 17-14 in the bottom of the frame, back-to-back home runs from Riley and Kyle Pearson sparked the rally for the Thunder. A single, a double, and four more home runs in the inning would put the Thunder ahead and lead them to a 26-20 victory and a spot in the title game.
Monsta Black Sheep played a total of four games today and started out strong with a 18-16 win against Juno Athletics/MPT Rentals. They then took on the Thunder in the semi-final game and led through five innings of play but fell 26-20 after the Thunder’s explosive sixth inning. Sent to the loser’s bracket, Monsta Black Sheep took on Juno Athletics for the second time in a win-or-go-home matchup. Jason Matusik got things going for Monsta Black Sheep in the first inning with a solo shot to left field. Once on the board, Monsta Black Sheep didn’t look back, scoring in five out of six innings with home runs off the bats of seven different players, propelling Monsta Black Sheep to a 13-9 victory to send them to the Championship Game.
Runner up: Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics
The final game of the tournament reunited the Thunder and Monsta Black Sheep for the second time today. The Championship contest was an impressive matchup with runs crossing the plate for both teams in all but one inning. Once again, Matusik put Monsta Black Sheep on top with a solo home run to start off the game. The lead didn’t last long, however, as the Thunder responded with a sacrifice fly and a home run of their own to make the score 3-1, Thunder, after one inning of play.
The Thunder continued to tack on runs, extending their lead to 8-1 in the second inning with a handful of base hits and a home run from Gregg Connell. Monsta Black Sheep answered back with a sac fly and two more long balls from Filip Washington and Matusik to close the gap to 8-5, though they would not be able to stop the Thunder offense who plated seven more runs in the bottom of the frame.
With the score 15-5 going into the fourth inning, Monsta Black Sheep refused to go down without a fight. The team was able to scratch a couple of runs and hold the Thunder to only two runs over the next two innings. Home runs from Brian McBryde and Matusik in the sixth cut the Thunder’s lead to 17-12. With bats still on fire, the Thunder took back control in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game. Back-to-back home runs from Bradley Jones and Yates sparked the rally that led to a 10-run sixth inning capped with a walk-off home run from Yates to seal the win. The Thunder walked away with a 27-12 run-rule victory (six innings) over Monsta Black Sheep, winning their fourth straight USA Softball Men's Super Slow Pitch National Championship title.
Riley put together an impressive tournament performance which earned him the MVP title, while Jones led with a .867 batting average and Matusik tallied the most home runs with nine on the day.
2021 Men's Super Slow Pitch All-Americans:
Kevin Bazat (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – IF Orlando Castillo (Juno Athletics/MPT Rentals) – IF Greg Connelll (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – IF Bradley Jones (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – IF Jason Matusik (Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics) – IF
Tyler Marshburn (Juno Athletics/MPT Rentals) – OF Josh Riley (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – OF Nic Santana (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – OF Jeremy Yates (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – OF
Travis Houseman (Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics) – UT Ryan Honeycutt (Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics) – UT Brian McBryde (Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics) – UT Phil Matte (Juno Athletics/MPT Rentals) – UT Brian Wegman (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – UT
Travis Clark (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S) – P
2021 Men's Super Slow Pitch MVP: Josh Riley (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S)
2021 Men's Super Slow Pitch Batting Champion: Bradley Jones (Thunder/SIS/Chosen/All American/Menosse/RDD/S&S)
2021 Men's Super Slow Pitch Home Run Champion: Jason Matusik (Monsta Black Sheep/Texas5/Monsta Athletics)
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