32 of the top Nationwide Insurance Conference USSSA teams traveled to Kissimmee, Florida to play in the annual Hall of Fame Classic (HOF) Men’s Major slow pitch tournament this past weekend. The 4 days of softball consisted of two separate double elimination tournaments which were played at 8 fields at two different parks. The first was the Houston Astro’s spring training facility called Heritage Park and the primary field was the Osceola County Stadium with field dimensions of 330 down the lines, 390 to the gaps, and 410 to center field. For the most part the big winner’s bracket games were held at the Stadium or behind the stadium on baseball fields and the loser’s bracket was held over at Fortune Road softball complex.

Resmondo-Specialty Tank/Worth based out of Winterhaven, Florida went 6-0 to win the first dual event. Resmondo, the #1 ranked team in the nation coming into the tournament and defending Major World Series champions did not cruise to the title as Buzinisports.com/BWW/Worth (B), SBS/Combat (B), Taylormade/TM Sports/Mizuno (A), and Team 454/Emerald/Worth (A), all made Resmondo play 7 innings to beat them by a combined score of 76-52. In fact they needed a walk off home run by Howie Krause to beat SBS/Combat 16-14. In the winner’s final and championship though, Resmondo beat Laser Vision/Annihilation/Supreme/D2E/Easton (a major team) by a combined run total of 42-11.

The parity in the dual events was the best it has ever been, as the ‘C’ and ‘B’ teams competed toe to toe with the ‘A’ and even the Major teams and each other. The way this tournament played out any team could have beaten any other team. Lower level teams have a ton of talent that have been around the Major teams enough that they are no longer “in awe” of them.

In the second tournament, the “fresh” teams that played less games in tournament #1 came to the forefront. This charge was led by Nordkap/Desert Falls/Easton (Major) who went 6-0 to sweep the event. After finishing tied for 17th place in the first tournament they knocked off Demarini/Dirty/3N2/ATWLDesigns (B) 30-29 on a walk off flyball/single by Brett McCollum. Then in the championship game, Nordkap/Desert Falls came from behind to knock off Laser Vision 26-25 on a bases loaded single by J.D. Genter.

The real story of this second tournament were all the upsets.  Shoppe/Team TPS/Elite and TYJA-Suncoast Reebok knocked off the mighty Resmondo.  Demarini/Dirty/3N2/ATWLDesigns knocked off Laser Vision.  Nordkap winning their second event of the year (Vegas).  Resmondo pitcher Andy Purcell suffering a broken pinky that could keep him out 7 or 8 weeks.  The heart that Laser Vision showed by winning 5 straight in the loser’s bracket after a long week of ball and nearly forcing an “if” game.  TYJA-Suncoast Reebok still playing great ball into their 14th game of the long weekend.  There was a lot of great ball, a lot of clutch performers, and a lot of good hustle out of some players that had nothing left in the tank.

Over the years since the USSSA created the Conference, most teams would say that the Hall of Fame classic is what kicks off the start to the very exciting season of Mens Major Slowpitch Softball. When Don DeDonatis succeeded in creating a competitive upper level “Conference” in 2006 he not only realized his own goal and dream, by doing so he helped realize the many dreams of hundreds of softball players, which is to be able to play slowpitch softball professionally and competitively. It also puts life into the idea of the thousands of softball players out there, that there is something to strive for and a reason for you and your team to get better.

As of right now, the 40 teams that are vying for the Conference crown are also competing for points and a spot in the Mens Major World Series. As we look forward to this year, we can take a look back at the past Hall of Fame Classic winners and MVP’s:

2006:

1st Place:  Bell Corp/Taylor/Belcher

Tournament MVP: CO MVP’s : Vince Bisbee & Scott Kirby

2007: 

1st Place: Resmondo Softball

Tournament MVP: Jeff Wallace

2008:

1st Place: Resmondo Softball

Tournament MVP: Andy Purcell

IN 2009 USSSA transformed the Hall of Fame Classic into a Dual Event

2009: 

1st Place:  Event 1: Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield

1st Place:  Event 2: Dan Smith-Menosse-Benfield

Tournament MVP:  Event 1: Scott Brown     Event 2: Brett Helmer

2010:

1st Place:  Event 1: Dan Smith/Menosse

1st Place:  Event 2: Resmondo Sport/Specialty/Phonemaster

Tournament MVP:   Event 1: Scott Brown     Event 2: Brett Helmer

2011:

1st Place:  Event 1: GTL Cartel/DeMarini       Event 2: Resmondo-Specialty Tank/ Worth

Tournament MVP:  Event 1: Richard Buck       Event 2: Bryson Baker

Kissimmee, FL-  Now that the first Nationwide Conference event is in the bag, the Conference teams can look forward to the next tournament on the schedule. The Hall of Fame Classic is a launch pad to start the season. Nordkap/ Desert Falls/ Easton will look to win its second Nationwide Conference Tournament in a row, while the #1 seed Resmondo looks to start the season strong and win in its home state of Florida. This gem of a tournament  will be played at the beautiful USSSA Headquarters at Osceola Heritage Park which is home of the Houston Astros for Spring Training.

The Conference USSSA is now sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. The season began this past weekend in Las Vegas, NV at Big League Dreams Freedom Park with 31 teams including 13 from Conference USSSA. The double elimination tournament began Friday with perfect weather and almost no early upsets as Conference teams went 24-1 on the weekend vs non-conference opponents. The lone win was an incredible 25-10 Saturday morning run rule victory for non-conference Classic Glass over major classed Team Combat/Pacific Headwear. AZM, a ‘B’ team out of Arizona also pushed major team Laser Vision in the second round as they trailed the #2 ranked team in the country just 29-27 at the end of 5 innings. Laser Vision then turned it on and run ruled AZM.

Also on Saturday the wind kicked up and made for some treacherous outfield play. In the much anticipated 10:40 AM games, SBS Combat squeaked out a win over West Coast Doerflinger 18-17 and Down2EarthSports.com separated mid way and run ruled “4 The Fallen” 39-24. Team Demarini run ruled Line Drive 29-13 and Sonny’s run ruled Baugh Ford 32-10.

In the round of 8 in the winner’s bracket at 3 PM on Saturday SBS/Combat blew a 10 run lead in the 6th and a chance to comeback in the 7th against Laser Vision by making multiple defensive errors and lost 41-31. Sonny’s trailed Team 454 17-4 early on but held 454 to just 4 runs the rest of the way and knocked them off 36-21 behind a 13 run 3rd inning and a 12 run 4th. Nordkap handled Demarini easily 30-15 and Down2Earth scored 12 runs in the top of the 7th and held Classic Glass scoreless in the bottom half to win 20-18.

In the final 4 Down2Earth folded shop against Nordkap in a 36-16 loss. Meanwhile Sonny’s and Laser Vision were locked in a battle which would end up as the game of the tournament. Laser Vision the visiting team trailed Sonny’s 6-0 after one inning with the sun pointed directly in the batters face. As the sun went down Laser Vision pulled out to a 20-12 lead and a 9 run top of the 7th on homers by Geno Buck and Rick Baker pushed their lead to 30-13. Sonny’s came to bat in the bottom half needing 17 to tie. They scored 5 runs before back to back outs put them in a deep hole. Then they did the unheard of…they had 14 straight runner’s reach base safely by hits, homer’s, and walk’s. The momentum and adrenaline kicked in and Sonny’s won the game 31-30 on the strength of an 18 run 7th inning and sent the mighty Laser Vision to the loser’s bracket. Details and video on the incredible comeback are laid out further on in this report.

In the winner’s bracket championship game Nordkap broke a 9-9 tie after two innings with 23 runs over the next 3 innings and held off Sonny’s who tried to make another great comeback in the 7th by a final of 37-29.

Late Saturday night, Demarini beat Down2EarthSports to make it to the loser’s bracket championship on Sunday morning against Sonny’s. In that game with the wind blowing Sonny’s held off a Demarini team that would not give up. On the verge of a run rule for a couple of innings in a row, Demarini fought back to a tough 42-30 loss. Nordkap then beat Sonny’s in the championship 27-19 with some good early offense and enough defense to keep Sonny’s at bay for the entire game.

The tournament was full of great games and parity throughout with Major, A, and B teams playing on almost equal ground except for Nordkap who run ruled their first 4 opponents before Sonny’s was able to take them the full 7 innings in their last two contests.

Nordkap/Desert Falls/Easton went undefeated to win the Las Vegas Major eventhough the rest of the tournament had great parity. Sonny’s/Louisville Slugger was second, Team Demarini/FamousSports.com 3rd, and Down2Earth/SBC/Worth 4th.

The 2012 Nationwide Conference USSSA season kicks off March 30th with the “Sin City Classic” at the beautiful Big League Dreams Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nationwide Conference USSSA is a league of the top 40 men’s slow pitch softball teams from 23 different states. Each team that joins the league plays in a minimum of 6 or more Conference tournaments out of 23 tournaments scheduled across the country. Their top 6 tournament point totals are tallied and the top 16 teams in the point standings battle it out for the Major World Series championship held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports stadium in Kissimmee, Florida September 19-23.

This year’s schedule features the most prestigious tournaments across the country like the Smoky Mountain Classic in Maryville, Tennessee and the Dudley Budweiser tournament in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The Conference also returns to Maryland and a new location in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Since the leagues inception in 2006, the Conference has grown in both the number of teams and the quality of teams every year.

2012 Nationwide Conference USSSA Schedule of Regular Season Tournaments:

Mar 30-Apr 1 Sin City Classic Las Vegas, NV
April 19-22 USSSA Hall of Fame Dual Event Kissimmee, FL
April 27-29 Worth/Mike Turney Memorial Kansas City, MO
April 27-29 Cactus Classic Phoenix, AZ
May 4-6 12th Annual Texas Legends Euless, TX
May 11-13 Columbus Major Columbus, IN
May 18-20 Music City Classic Nashville, TN
May 25-27 Peach State Shootout Atlanta, GA
June 1-3 Combat Major – Dual Event Kent, WA
June 1-3 Space City Classic Houston, TX
June 8-10 Windy City Invitational Joliet, IL
June 15-17 Dudley Budweiser Brooklyn Center, MN
June 22-24 Northeast Shootout N Brantford, CT
Jun 29-Jul 1 Carolina Shootout Rock Hill, SC
Jun 29-Jul 1 Battle In The West Riverside, CA
July 6-8 33rd Busch/Pepsi Classic Little Rock, AR
July 13-15 44th Smoky Mountain Classic Maryville, TN
July 20-22 13th Cincinnati Men’s Major Cincinnati, OH
July 27-29 Rocky Mountain Shootout Aurora, CO
July 27-29 Worth Maryland USSSA Glen Burnie, MD
Aug 3-5 Worth Last Chance Sterling Hgts, MI

This year’s top pre-season rankings are:

#1 Resmondo/Specialty Tank/Worth – FL
Andy Purcell
Don Dedonatis Jr
Jeremy Isenhower
Greg Connell
Howie Krause
Bobby Hughes
Jimmy Salas
Bubba Mack
Vince Bisbee
Scott Striebel
BJ Fulk
Tim Howard
Sean McDonald

Resmondo returns to defend their #1 ranking and World Series title after going an incredible 70-8 last year. They lose longtime outfielder Brian Rainwater and middle infielder Bryson Baker. They pick up Ronald “Bubba” Mack to play middle infield and former GTL center fielder Tim Howard to replace Rainwater. The core of Resmondo remains reasonable intact with Dedonatis Jr at SS, Andy Purcell at pitcher, and Greg Connell holding down the coveted two spot in the lineup. Resmondo should get tested and pushed to their limit on both 300 foot fields and baseball fields by the #2 ranked team Laservision, making for an interesting season for sure.

#2 Laservision/Annihilation/Supreme/Easton – MA
Brian Rainwater
Rick Baker
Brian Wegman
Dal Beggs
Kevin Kennington
Bryson Baker
Sam Lopez
Ryan Theide
Geno Buck
Jason Kendrick
Brett Helmer
Scott Kirby
JR Nocera
Josh Bartlett
Billy Messina
Dan Fruwirth
Bill Tassinari
Pierre Alfred

Brett Helmer and his main sponsor Pierre Alfred have assembled a team of equal talent to Resmondo. Brett grabbed top up and coming players like shortstop Kevin Kennington, infielder Sam Lopez, and first baseman Ryan Thiede to go with his standard major stars Rick Baker, Brian Wegman, Jason Kendrick, Dal Beggs, and Scott Kirby. Then he “iced the cake” by adding pitcher Geno Buck, outfielder Brian Rainwater, and middle infielder Bryson Baker. This team is stacked deep with talent, experience, and a hunger to win. Now they have to execute, learn their roles, and play team ball a FULL 6 months.

#3 Nordkap/Desert Falls/Easton – UT
Brett McCollum
JD Genter
Mike Bowlin
Anthony Dress
Chad Munger
Joey Formosa
Travis Clark
Brian Zirkle
Josh Olson
Tyson Steele
Rob Olson
Chris Hansen
Donovan Pokraka
Kevin Filby
Managers
Mark Meersman
Rick Olson

Nordkap arrives on the scene of the Major division with a mix of top young major players handpicked from across the rosters of all teams that played last season. The sponsorship group grabbed Kevin Filby, OF Donovan Pokraka, IF Joey Formosa, SS Anthony Dress, and OF Mike Bowlin from last year’s #2 team GTL. Then they grabbed IF Chris Hansen and pitcher Chad Munger from Wood Law. Travis Clark and Brett McCollum from EWS and IF JD Genter, CF Brian Zirkle, and Tyson Steele from the top ‘A’ teams. Nordkap is the big question mark in the Conference. They are loaded with talent and have the pitching to pull some upsets and challenge the two top teams but I feel this team is one or two years away from challenging for the World Series title. I hope I am wrong and this team pulls together and each of them step up their game yet another notch.

#4 Team Combat/Derby Boys/Pacific Headwear – WA
Scott Brown
Jeff McGavin
Johnny McCraw
Mike Dill
Derek Warren
Jeff Graus
Frank Yeilding
Franck Henry
Jeff Gare
Joey Smith
Dale Roe
Casey Rogowski
Brandon Perry
Davis Bilardello
Staff
Don Cooper
Bobby Nifong
Hector Pagan

Team Combat returns with a new look Major classified team. They are mixing in some young up and coming players with their veteran Combat major players Scott Brown, OF Johnny McCraw, SS Jeff McGavin, pitcher Derek Warren and Mike Dill. They have the Canadian contingent – Jeff Gare and Franck Henry, and the younger players like third baseman Frank Yeilding, outfielder Joey Smith, left hand power hitter Casey Rogowski, as well as some new names to the Conference – Brandon Perry and Davis Bilardello. To start the season this will be an A+ to Major- type team that is building for the future of the Major division.

#5 Team 454/Worth – VA
Kevin Bazat
Bill Rhew
Andy Vitcak
Kevin Johnson
Jason Branch
Brent Griffin
Donald Rogers
Mitch Mabe
Phil White
Jeff Hall
Kyle Moyer
Rusty Bumgardner
Matt Bunn
Jesse Harrison
Matt Pesso

Team 454 led by manager Tim Taylor and third baseman/sponsor Bill Rhew return to defend their ‘A’ World championship. They do so with 9 players from last year’s team. They lose outfielder Bubba Mack and center fielder Evan Gallmeier but they pickup former GTL outfielder Jason Branch, and major stars Rusty Bumgardner and Jeff Hall as well as “Mr. Defense” – middle infielder – Matt Pesso. They also added outfielders Matt Bunn and Jesse Harrison. Their infield defense with shortstop Kevin Bazat may be as good as any in the game and if Rusty and Jeff can find their role in the offense then this is your #1 ranked ‘A’ team in the country.

#6 Shoppe/Team TPS/Elite – TN
Dan Sanchez
Cory Boothe
Robert Blackburn
Lee Powers
Tony Mack
Tim Cocco
Eric Thompson
Chente Granados
Billy Moore
Kyle Cowart
Shane Spicer
Chris Moon

Shoppe has assembled a near perfect ‘A’ team with a great defense to get them back to the top of the ‘A’ division they used to rule year in and year out. The offense will be led by table setter Eric Thompson, third baseman Lee Powers and power hitter Tim Cocco. Throw in Robert Blackburn who finally looks healthy for an entire season and this team is stacked. Defensively they added Chente Granados and Tony Mack as well as pitcher Dan Sanchez. If there is one weakness it could be the offensive inconsistency of the bottom few players in the lineup.

#7 R & M Troupe/TCP/Easton – IA
LC Watson
Kyle Yerkes
Reggie Schulte
Scott Zaciewski
Matt Albert
Mike Umschied
Brandon Dillon
Aaron Middendorf
Scott Roen
Ron Fields
Joe Gordon
Keith Anderson
Kevin Kull
Richard Salazar
Steve Whaley

R&M has re-tooled after their impressive second half of 2011 where they nearly won the ‘A’ World in both USSSA and ASA, and won the ‘A’ bracket of the Conference Championships. They add a whole bunch of top ‘A’ talent from Sinister, EWS, and Laser Vision and on paper they have a roster that can compete toe to toe with the top of the ‘A’ division.

#8 Tyja/Suncoast – NY
Mark Weber – sponsor
Lee Trotter – player/sponsor
David Kessler
Jeff Wallace
Dennis Rulli
Neil Haglund
Terry Rosenbalm
James Curtis
Luis Reyna
Dustin Roberts
TJ Thompson
Lee Lipshutz
Ryan Harvey
Vic Cordova
Rich Gulash
Kevin Gillot

The 2011 Suncoast and TYJA sponsors merge and put together yet another all-star team. The top players from each team are joined by TYJA reps Jeff Wallace and Dennis Rulli. We definitely have to wait and see how this mix gels. The talent is definitely there to make a run but you have ‘B’ players moving up, major players moving down, and sponsor/managers merging.

#9 Taylormade/TM Sport/Mizuno – VA
Brian Floyd
Chris Calcutt
Brandon Jonas
Chyenne Brooks
Brent Haywood
Brian Logan
Jeremy Yates
Stacy Bolton
Brandon Jonas
Chad McLamb
Chris Kirian
Branden Blake
Jeremy Egan
Mike Rhines
Nick Floyd
Travis Taylor – Sponsor

Taylormade lost Robert Blackburn and SS Kevin Kennington as well as their west coast duo of Johnny Bailey and Eli Aguilar. But this team re-tools again with some quality pickups like infielder Chris Kirian, former Resmondo player Mike Rhines, and the return of outfielder Chad McLamb. This team finished 2nd at the Major World Series last year after finishing the regular season in 20th place in the points. Look for them to have a better regular season than last year and look for the young players to all take it up a notch.

#10 Sonny’s – Louisville Slugger – WY
Alexis Ramirez
Brian Faria
Charles Cunningham
Chris Greinert
Danny Lopez
Jeremy Davis
Jonathan Lenz
Kevin Ballard
Manny Liriano
Michael Noonan
Nick Robertson
Sammy Christensen
Westy Guill

Sonny’s will need to rebound from a lackluster 2nd half of 2011. They had a couple more sticks in Chris Greinert, Jonathan Lenz and speedy outfielder Nick Robertson, but lost the Granados brothers from the team that finished 5th in the computer rankings a year ago. A western heavy schedule could give them a shot at some good tournament finishes and some confidence heading into ‘A’ Worlds.

#11 Ca Sports/Miken/Creative Stucco/MOJO – TN
Brian Justice
Ryan Robbins
Brian Blount
Nate Holcomb
Brian Farrar
Landon Helm
Ronnie Lytle
Jason Hatley
Matty Crawford
Scotty King
Jason Baxter
Tommy Bain
Drew Pinckley
James Shoopman
Josh Riley
Jay Ross
Doug Reed

Ca Sports joins the Conference as an good ‘A’ team. A veteran bunch led by major players Ryan Robbins and Brian Justice. A middle infield of Brian Blount, Josh Riley, and Matt Crawford is solid. The question mark here will be USSSA pitching and the fact they will be the lowest ‘A’ seed at most tournaments until they score some points since they were not in the Conference last year.

#12 Blitz/Weller/Watanabe/K&G/Easton – OH
Mike Rogers
Jon Jamison
Brad Tabler
Frank Gruber
Nick Masur
Richie Jones
Jimmy Carter
Jason Roesch
Chris Ashley
Dan Bean
Brad Reckart
Shane Hatfield
Jayson Scott

Blitz steps up to the ‘A’ division after a ‘B’ World title in 2011. They bring back a large core of the players that won that title, plus they add veteran Major and Major Watch List players Dan Bean, Brad Reckart, and Shane Hatfield. The entire team except for Bean is from the Cincinnati, Ohio area. This team has the potential for having great chemistry and should be a tough team to beat in the midwest tournaments. If they can get off to a quick start they have a chance to finish in the top 10 in the rankings…that is a big “IF”.

#13 Team DeMarini – CA
Chris Larsen
Seth Stephens
Brendt Newbill
Ed Vega
Billy Susdorf
Mitchell Johnson
Jeffrey Flood
Dale Brungardt
Bryce Oliviera
Adam Elliot
Kaeo Rubin
Pat Paschal
Jeremy Guillory
Manager: Aaron Ingram
Coach/player: Jeremy Guillory

Team DeMarini is a new Conference ‘A’ team with plenty of offense and I’m guessing a west coast schedule that could allow them to rack up points similar to what Sonny’s did a year ago and make the top 10. Led by veteran sluggers Chris Larsen, Seth Stephens, new Long Haul Bomber Ed Vega, and pitcher Brendt Newbill, this team could contend at any tournament where the top major teams don’t show. They have a core of young and talented outfielders in Adam Elliot (#7 on the Major prospect list), Kaeo Rubin, and Bryce Oliviera. They also have Pat Paschal who showed some great offense at the Major World Series last year. The rest of the players I am not familiar with and thus the #13 ranking. This team is mixing some good Major players with some good ‘B’ and ‘A’ players and it will be interesting to see if the ‘B’ guys can raise their game and if the Major guys can be patient and carry the team when they do not.

#14 West Coast Doerflinger/Easton – WA
Aaron Martinez
Steven Lopez
Rego Nieto
Junior Robledo
Julio Salazar
Cal Ford
Robert Sena
John Bailey
Eli Aguilar
Mario Granados
Brian Munson
Jason Grissom
John Gallegos

West Coast is my pick for top ranked ‘B’ team in the Conference. With a ton of ‘A’ experience in OF Eli Aguilar and IF Johnny Bailey from Taylormade, and veterans like IF Julio Salazar, SS Rafael Robledo, pitcher Robert Sena, and some others like Mario Granados, Johnny Gallegos and Cal Ford this team is set for a run. Then throw in the defense of some young players like MI Aaron Martinez, 3B Rego Nieto, and outfielder Brian Munson and you have yourself a stacked team that will more than likely finish ahead of some of the ‘A’ teams. Oh yes, almost forgot the leadoff hitting of Steven Lopez. Wow, nice team.

#15 Fencebrokers/GameTimeSupply/Worth – AR
Chris Walker
Zach Keene
Scott Morrison
Mike Lowrey
Greg Hartwick
Brad Wallace
Brent Gigerich
Tim Bowser
Nick Aldridge
Manny Reynolds
Pat Burton
Chris Cope
Rob Stewart
Jason Anderson
Jason Bridges
Joey Powell
Mike Wilson

FBI is back in a big way as they pick up Greg Hartwick, Tim Bowser, and Pat Burton among others. This team is set for a ‘B’ World run. Look for them to compete well at the events where there are no major teams and slip into the World Series.

#16 Line Drive Sportz/SSS – MI
#17 The Scene/Easton – FL/NY
#18 Down2Earth/SBC/Worth – GA
#19 Miken Dream/DirtySportswear/3N2/ATWL – FL
#20 Columbus Pipe/DSS Bats/Easton Bats/Easton – OH
#21 HEADHUNTER CHRONICLES/CANCOOKER/SHSSPORTS.COM/LETHAL – GA
#22 “4 THE FALLEN” – AZ
#23 SBS/Combat – WA
#24 BaughFord.com/Logo Express/Advantage Sports/Buzini Sports/Worth – FL
#25 Red’s Astros/TPS/Sports Den – IN
#26 Magic/S&S/TYJA/Easton – NH
#27 Prime Time/Easton – GA
#28 Buzinisports.com/BWW/Worth – MS
#29 P&P 333/Suburban/Larry’s Tire/CMT/AllOut/Combat Sports – MI
#32 TPS/Sports Center – MS
#33 Miken Mafia/ASP Nation – TX
#34 Westshore Pizza/Team TPS – FL
#35 Pure Romance/Easton – OH
#34 Monster/Combat – WA
#35 Sagnasty/Worth/Prototype – TX
#36 Major League Dynasty/D2E/Worth – GA
#37 O.C. Swats / Easton – CA
#38 B&B/Sears/N&N Financial – NC
#39 TG United – MI
#40 Wheelhouse/GametimeSupply – WI

You can follow the 2012 Conference season with USSSAToday magazine, SoftballCenter.com, and ConferenceUSSSA.com – Tournament reports, broadcasts, pictures, and video clips.

Writer: Dale Weisler

The 2012 Nationwide Conference USSSA season is set to open this Friday night March 30th at the Big League Dreams park in Las Vegas, Nevada. First game is 5:40 PM Pacific time.

31 teams from 11 different states including 13 Conference teams and a breakout of:
3 Major
3 A
7 B
6 C
11 D
1 E

Laser Vision gets the #1 seed. This tournament features teams #2 through #5 in the pre-season rankings. Only #1 Resmondo will not be there out of the top teams. Team 454 has to play their second game at 8 AM when everyone else plays at 10:40 AM considering they are the #4 seed and it would be a long day for any team if they have success. But these are minor issues and it isn’t easy to make everyone happy.

In the top half of the bracket an early SBS/Combat vs West Coast Doerflinger/Easton game will be a good one.

In the 2nd part of the bracket I’ll go with Sonny’s over a good Baugh Ford team and then a great battle of ‘A’ teams with Sonny’s going against Team 454. This will be a good test for Sonny’s who dominated western conference events last year matched against the reigning ‘A’ World Champs, and the game is scheduled for Fenway Park no less. 454 will have to be the favorite there.

In the 3rd part of the bracket an early match between Line Drive Sportz/SSS Softball and the new ‘A’ team Demarini/FamousSports.com will be an interesting one on Saturday morning. Line Drive has the giant killer reputation from a year ago and have re-tooled and look to be a great defensive team. It will take Line Drive in an upset although if its windy like the weather says then Demarini may be able to out power them. Nordkap will look to beat Line Drive to make the final 4.

In the last part of the bracket, a Saturday matchup between class ‘B’ titans “4 The Fallen”/Easton/3n2 and Down2Earth.com/SBC/Worth could be the best matchup of a stacked 2nd round of the tournament. “4 The Fallen” will try to rally around their new pickup Denny Crine and their military veteran based team has built in chemistry and hustle. D2E has been playing softball all winter long and re-tooled a top ‘B’ team from a year ago and are ready to start the season with a bang.

The local teams which could provide some upsets are Classic Glass, MaddSkills, AZM, and Custom Truck. The problem is those 4 teams play each other in the first round. It will also be interesting to see how ABRA from Utah does. They won the 216 team ‘D’ World last year by going 11-1 and have moved up to ‘C’.

The USSSA Slowpitch softball season will slightly kick off in February, when Fortune Road and Osceola County Complex host the Winter Worlds. It is a 3-game guarantee with a $340 ENTRY FEE. First, Second, and Third place in all divisions will all recieve Combat awards packages with all the latest and new equipment. For registration go to www.usssa.com or call National Headquarters at 800-741-3014.

Kissimmee, FL- The 2012 Conference schedule has now been released. New locations for 3 different tournaments are Glen Burnie MD , Rock Hill SC, and Riverside CA. Conference membership is at over 32 teams who are submitting their commitment form and entry fee. Conference USSSA has made great strides over the last 6 years to promote the highest level of Slow Pitch in the country while also helping promote the sport as a whole.

The list of joining the Conference is long and USSSA urges any team that is remotely interested to contact the National Office for any further questions. Linked is the Conference packet which should have all the answers to the questions that you will likely have, such as what each Conference team receives and how much it costs to gain entry, as well as details of the Conference Championship. We thank all players, teams, and coaches for playing USSSA.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 2012 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE INFORMATION PACKET!

Enough Said/Easton were victorious in the Womans “A” Division this year at the World Series. They went 4-1 en route to their world series title. They won 4 in a row to get to the championship but lost to the runner-up Supersonic/Tyja Sports. Enough Said /Easton took it to an IF game and won in a thrilling 15-7 victory. They scored 45 runs for the tournament while giving up 37 to opponents. Look for Enough Said/Easton to be in the running for another consecutive chamionship in 2012. Stacie Symonds took hope both the Tournament MVP and Offensive Tournament MVP awards while 6 other teammates were All-Tournament selections.

Incognito out of Detroit, MI were the World Series winner in the competitive “B” Division in 2011, claiming their first world championship in a 14-4 victory over Minnesota Ice in a forced IF game by Incognito out of the losers bracket. Incognito beat Minnesota Ice in the championship 18-9 to force the infamous IF game. They went 6-1 for the World Series and outscored their opponents 86-38 while averaging a solid 12 runs a game. Patrika Barlow was named the A World Tournament MVP and 8 players from the team recieved all tournament selections.

Diamond Magic out of Pittsboro, NC went 8-1 in route to the Womens “C” World Series. Diamond Magic came out of the losers bracket to beat Pitchers/ H&K Screenprinting in the championship 8-5 to force an IF game where they were victorious, winning 6-3 in regulation. Diamond Magic went 34-14 for the year and played all around competitive softball year round and it paid off with a World Championship ring. Diamond Magic outscored their opponent 82-63 while averaging  a little over 9 runs per game. Dedria Locklear from Diamond Magic would take home the Tournament MVP while her teammate Christy Draper would take home the Offensive Tournament MVP. Six other players from Diamond Magic would recieve All-Tournament selections.

Compsouth/Slip n Slide out of Fort Lauderdale, FL, went 8-1 in the “D” World Series and won their first World Championship. Compsouth was undefeated until a loss came in the championship game where they were beat 8-1 by the Long Island Hurricane out of E. Northport, NY. In the if game Compsouth managed to pull out a 10-6 win and send the Long Island Hurricanes packing. In the D World Series Compsouth managed to outscore their opponents 91-45 and averaged a solid 10 runs per game average.Compsouths own two Juanita Watkins won the tournament MVP while Christina Barone took home the Offensive Tournament MVP awards while 7 other teammates won got All-Tournament selections.

Team Abra out of Salt Lake City, UT won the D World Series last weekend at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. Abra went 11-1 for the week en route to their first World Championship. They scored 139 runs in the tournament while allowing only 59. The highest point of their week was scoring 30 runs in a game in the Florida heat while the lowest point was getting dropped into the losers bracket.

Clint Haveron won the tournament MVP while Matt Newbold won the Offensive Tournament MVP. Abra had 8 players on the All-Tournament Team. Abra had an overall record of 34-7 for the year heading into the World Series but kept their eye on the prize and won their first World Tournament. As a fan you can look for them to be bumped up to C and be a force to be reckoned with in the C World Series in 2012.

P&P 333/Suburban/Larry’s Tire/CMT won 8 games in a row, cruised through the winners bracket en route to their first world championship as a team. P&P 333, a team out of Lansing, MI, had an overall record for the year of 27-14. By winning the C World Series they will be bumped up to B for the 2012 season. In 2011 they went 0-2 vs. Major, 0-2 vs. A Teams, 3-3 vs. B Teams, and 21-6 against C Teams.

For those softball fans who thought that the season ended with the Major’s, they are wrong, they can get more softball year round on demand right here in our video archives. Every game that was streamed can now be found by going to the “Watch Live” tab on the home screen and then clicking on “Archived Videos“. Game recaps can also be read on our news page, which hold a recap for each game that was also streamed live at the stadium. We hope you enjoy the new layout of ConferenceUSSSA.com !

Click here to be directly routed to the video archive page.

All World Manager: Frank Webb- Resmondo

Home Run Champion: Bryson Baker- Resmondo

Offensive: Kevin Kennington- Taylormade

Defensive: Andy Purcell- Resmondo

Co MVP: Brian Rainwater & BJ Fulk

All World Team:

BJ Fulk- Catcher: Resmondo

Brain Rainwater- Outfield: Resmondo

Andy Purcell- Pitcher: Resmondo

Bryson Baker- Infield : Resmondo 

Howie Krause- Infield: Resmondo

Greg Connell- Infield: Resmondo

Kevin Kennington- Infield: Taylormade

Robert Blackburn- Outfield: Taylormade

Brian Floyd- Utility: Taylormade

Brandon Jonas- Pitcher:  Taylormade

Brian Logan- Outfield: Taylormade

Brett Helmer- Catcher: Team Combat

Brain Wegman- Outfield: Team Combat

Rusty Bumgardner- Utility: Team Combat

Seth Stephens- Infield: Team Combat

Donavan Pokraka- Outfield: GTL

Chris Larson- Utility: GTL

Kevin Filby- Utility: GTL

Bubba Mack- Outfield: Team 454

Aaron Middendorf- Infield: R&M Metals

Dustin Roberts- Utility: Suncoast

Taylormade and Resmondo meet again… The two teams played each other for their first games of the tournament and Resmondo sent Taylormade into the losers bracket. Taylor made, the 16th seed, worked their way all the way back and are now facing Resmondo once again in the championship game. Taylor made would have to beat Resmondo twice to claim 1st place at the 2011 Men’s Major World Series.

 Although Resmondo won the coin toss, they chose to bat first. DeDonatis and Connell both put out for the first 2 outs of the game. Fulk came up to bat to score the first run on the game with a homerun to right field. Baker followed Fulk’s lead with a homerun of his own. Bisbee kept the 2 out rally going with a 3 run homer giving Resmondo a 5-0 lead.

Taylormade got their lead off man aboard, but Kennington wouls hit a perfect double play ball to DeDonatis at SS to get a quick 2 outs. Bolton would line out to 3rd to retire the side, putting 0 runs on the board. Taylormand would come back in bottom of the 2nd inning to score their first runs of the game off a 2 run homer by Aguliar. Blackburn would hit a  2 run hommer to take the lead 7-6.

Resmondo doesn’t let Taylormade keep the lead for long. Baker and Purcell would get back-to-back homeruns to go ahead by 1. Krause  add to the lead with a 3 run homer. Purcell would get a 3 run homer of his own to give Resmondo a 17-7 lead. Isenhower blew the game open with a huge 2 out grand slam to pull ahead 21-7.

In bottom of 4, Taylormade gained some momentum scoring 6, cutting Resmondo’s lead to only 7 runs. Once again Resmondo doesn’t allow Taylormade’s big inning effect them and Bryson Baker delivers a grand slam, the 3rd of the game, to give Resmondo a 30-17 lead.

Resmondo took the win after another a big 13 run inning in top of 5. They will get the run rule to end the game in 5 inning for a final score of 37-19.Resmondo stayed undefeated through the entire World Series and took  their 3rd consecutive World Series Title. Congratulations for a great season and an even better ending.

What a great World Series Taylormad has had. Although they didn’t take the title, they made a valiant effort to say the least. They deserve nothing less than a grand congratulations for making it all the way through the losers bracket and taking 2nd place at the 2011 Men’s Major World Series.

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It is Championship Sunday here at ESPN Wide World of Sports and our first game between TaylorMade and Combat/Laservision got on its way nice and early at 9:00am. Combat/Laservision was undefeated until last night when they were beat by Resmondo. TaylorMade has been battling back since Wednesday when they too lost to Resmondo in the first round, putting them into the Loser’s Bracket. Both teams go into this game hoping for a rematch against the number one seed Resmondo.

The first three innings of the game were quite one-sided with TaylorMade scoring a total of 9 runs off of 9 hits while Combat/Laservision was silent with no runs and no hits.

The fourth inning brought us the first homeruns of the game for both teams and the first run of the morning for Combat Laservision. TaylorMade still had the large lead of 13-1 going into the fifth inning.

After another big inning for TaylorMade in the top of the fifth, they led the game 18-1, forcing Combat/Laservision to wake up their bats in order to avoid a run rule defeat. Johnny McCraw stepped up to the plate and hits a bomb to left field, giving Combat/Laservision some hope to stay alive in the fifth. Rulli follows it up with a double to the left field fence. But it was not enough for Combat/Laservision. TaylorMade advances to the Championship Game by upsetting Combat 18-3. The final game between #1 seed, Resmondo and #16 seed TaylorMade will begin shortly.

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The 2011 Men’s Major Homerun Durby’s winner will get $1,000 and his pitcher will recieve $500. The runner-up won’t go home empty handed, he will go home with $500. The final four that made it through the rounds were Fulk, Rainwater, Cocco and Wegman. Wegman could only get 5 over the wall. Cocco took home the title for the 3rd year in a row with-7 homeruns.

As the sun began to set, the two undefeated teams of the 2011 World Series took the field. Helmer started off the game with a gigantic home run over the  second wall in right field. Bumgardner followed Helmer’s lead with a homer off the scoreboard in center field. Connell came up to bat in bottom of 1 to hit a stand up double down the left field line. Fulk drew the walk to give Baker 2 runners on. Baker delivered with a homerun to left to give Resmondo a 3-2 lead. Rainwater helped Resmondo add to their lead with a homerun to left before the inning was over.

Combat, put up a goose egg to start the second inning. Resmondo’s bats stayed hot with Isenhower gettg it a single and scoring off of a triple by Striebel. Baker will have the bases loaded and delivered with a grand slam over the left field wall putting Resondo ahaead by9. The bases would be loaded once again for Krause, he give Resmondo their second grand slam of the inning. Resmondo wasn’t done with the homeruns, Fulk hit a 2 run bomb over the second right field wall. Resmondo ended the inning with 19 runs off 18 hits.

Looking to stay in the ball game, Combat’s Stephen’s lead off 3rd the inning with a homerun. Kendrick doubles, scoring Helmer to atleast force Resmondo to come up to bat in the bottom of the inning. With 2 outs. still  in top of the 3rd, the lightning began to strike and everyone was instructed to leave the field for their safety. Combat continued to cut the deficit after returning from the lightning delay when Wegman hit a 3 run homer. Combat will get 5 runs to conclude the side.

Striebel homered for Resmondo’s only run in the 3rd. Combat put up another 0 on the board for the top of 4. Needing only 3 runs to get the run rule, Fulk and Baker get back-to-back home runs pulling ahead 26-7. Isenhower came up to the plate with runners on 1st and 2nd and hit a line drive to right that was deep enought to score Hughes who was on second. Resmondo remains undefeated, while Combat plays tomorrow morning against Taylormade to fight for a place in the championship game.   

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Yates starts the second inning with a homerun to right field and Brian Logan follows it up with a double. An RBI single by Brandon Jonas scores Logan for TMs second run of the inning, they lead 4-0 going into the bottom of the second with GTL still waiting to get their bats going.
The wait was over for GTL in the bottom of the second when they take the lead 6-4 after 7 hits and a three run homerun by Mike Bowlin. TaylorMade answers by scoring three runs in the third inning taking back the lead until GTL scored a solo run in the bottom of the third, making it a tie game 7-7

Tim Howard hits a three run bomb to right field making it a one-run game with GTL still trailing 11-10. TaylorMade is playing to win, scoring five runs off of six hits, two of those hits being homeruns by Calcutt and Blackburn. GTL ties up the game again in the bottom of the fifth after TaylorMade third baseman, Zwack, misses a double play opportunity and GTL takes advantage of it but Zwack redeems himself soon after with a double play but GTL scores a total of 8 runs and takes the lead 18-16 after the fifth inning.

It was a quiet inning for both teams in the sixth and they quickly go into the last inning of the game with TaylorMade needing a few runs to stay in the game.  Zwack hits a sac fly to bring in Yates for TaylorMade who only trails by one with two outs.  Johnny Bailey steps up to the plate and comes in clutch for TaylorMade with a solo homerun to tie the game. GTL goes into the bottom of the seventh needing one run to win the game. They couldn’t deliver and put up a zero forcing extra innings.

Kennington lead off the inning with a double. He then scored off of an error made by GTL’s left fielder, Pokraka. 2 more runs scored with solo homeruns by Floyd and Calcutt giving them a 21-18 lead going into bottom of the 8th.

With 2 outs, bottom of 8, GTL had runners on 1st and 2nd, McDonald came up to the plate… He coudn’t deliver and flew out to left field. GTL  took  4th place in the 2011 Men’s Major World Series and Taylormade moved on to see another day. Final Score: 21-19

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454 takes on Resmondo for Resmondo’s second game of the night. Mitch Mabe gets on with a fielders chioce and eventually scores the first run of the game off of a single hit by Mack. Resmondo’s Fulk answers with a solo, 2 out homerun to tie the game at 1 a piece. Rogers will get a double in top of 2 and White will trade places with him to take the lead. Resmondo comes up with 3 runs in bottom of 2 to take their first lead of the game. Resmondo can’t keep the lead for long. 454′s Habermehl will get a triple to tie up the game and Gallimier and Johnson will get base hits to give 454 a 6-4 lead.

Resmondo fights back in bottom of the 5th with a 2 run homerun by Salas followed by a solo homer by Krause to tie up the game 7-7. DeDonatis would have a husteling double and Connell came up to bat to break the tie with a monsterous homerun into deep left field. Purcell and Rainwwater will continue the homerun trend with solo homeruns giving Resmondo a 11-7 lead. Hughes had the 6th homerun for the inning with a 2 run homer of his own.

Heading into the 7th, 454 tailing by 6, couldn’t come up with enough runs. Resmondo takes the win 15-10

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After 2 innings the Resmondo and R&M Metal game was a 10-2 game in favor of Resmondo. Resmondo had a huge third inning, scoring 11 runs, starting with a bomb to left field by Long Haul Bomber Champion Greg Connell, followed by hits from Fulk, Purcell, Rainwater and Bisbee, making the score 17-2 for Resmondo. Bobby Hughes and Howie Krause both hit homeruns to add 3 more runs to the Resmondo lead of 20-2.

It was a quitet game until Baker hit a grand slam to make it a 30-5 game for Resmondo. Resmondo capitalizes on walks and puts nine more runs on the board. R&M can’t keep up with the run rule that comes into effect in the fifth inning with Resmondo defeating R&M 30-12.

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After yet another lightning delay, the GTL vs. Combat game finally started 2 hours after their scheduled game time. Combat had a quick half inning in the field to start the game when GTL’s Bowlin, Howard and Buck flew out  3 times in a row. Bret Helmer came up to the plate for Combat and set the tone with deep homerun to right field. After batting around, Kendrick added to the lead with a grand slam scoring McGavin, Messina, and Helmer. Combat wasn’t done and continued adding runs to the board with Wegman hitting a solo homerun and Beggs hitting a 3 run homer. Stephens concluded the inning flying out to center field, but not after combat put 17 runs up on the board.

GTL couldn’t get things rolling and only scored 1 run off a homerun by Filby. Combat’s bats didn’t cool off and they continued to dominate at the plate scoring 6 more runs, giving them a 23-1 lead after 2 innings. GTL kept Combat to only 1 run, but couldn’t put any runs on the board for themselves  in top of the 4th ending the game in a run rule. An unexpected blow out sends GTL home and Combat to the next round. Final Score: 24-2- Combat

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After a two hour lightning delay, GTL comes out strong in the bottom of the first inning, scoring six runs off of five hits. Four of those hits were homeruns by Buck, Larsen, Branch and McDonald. Down2Earth starts the second inning with Griffis making making to second base thanks to a throwing error by GTL. Hilton, Payne and Grant each fly out to retire the side for Down2Earth, only scoring Griffis making the score 6-2 for GTL.

Down2Earth scored no runs in the third inning and GTL capitalized on the opportunity to take a large lead. They score eight runs and take the lead to 14-2. Both GTL and Down2Earth score four runs in the forth inning with GTL still leading 19-6 going into the top of the fifth.

Griffin gets things started for Down2Earth in the fifth inning with a single but is left on base after a double play and fly out by Down2Earth players. Anthony Dress wins the game for GTL off of a 3-run walk off homerun in the fifth inning. GTL run-rules Down2Earth 23-7 to advance to the next game against Combat Laservision.

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Read a quick summary of losers bracket action from earlier today:

After a morning of loser bracket play, Taylormade, Suncoast Reebok, Combat/Pharmapar, Shotte, and Darkside make it through. The level of competition was very evident with such close scoring games.

Taylormade defeated Woodlaw 18-16. Woodlaw’s Watson, Higginbotham, and Goins all had home runs, but the 20 hits by Taylormade gave them the extra runs that they needed to move on.

Combat/Pharmapar led the entire game, putting up solid numbers every inning. The same couldn’t go for EWS who struggled to sting hits together to get the runs that they needed. Score – Combat Win 26-20.

With an errorless game by Sinister and Darkside, the defense in the field really played a huge role in the outcome of this game. The two complete scoreless inning in the 4th and 5th played a part in the low scoring game. Overall the team typically with the most hits wins, and it was no different here. Darkside finished the game with a total of 15 hits, compared to Sinister’s 7.

The next losers bracket game was between Sonny’s & Doerflinger where Sonny’s started off well scoring 7 in the first inning to Doeflinger’s 5. Both teams maintained a good pace throughout the game with Doeflinger scoring 9 in the top of the 6th as their best inning. The score ended up with a Doeflinger win 30-25.

Stay tuned for more games later today at USSSALive.com

The last game of the night due to a rain delay between Shoppe and 454 which was scheduled to start at 5 did not start play until after 9 Thursday night. The game started out slow with 454 leading 3-1 after the second inning .

 Shoppe came out in the third inning with one run followed by a high five run inning by 454. Lee Powers gets things stared for Shoppe in the forth with a double and is the only run scored with Shoppe still trailing 454 8-3. 454 responds with two homeruns by Mitch Mabe and Bubba Mack. Rogers get a two-run triple landing in between Shoppe’s Center and Right Fielders bringing in Griffin and Moyer.  454 scored 10 runs in the forth inning making the lead 18-3 in favor of 454.

Shoppe has a strong finish but not enough to beat 454. After 454′s Bubba Mack hit his second homerun of the game, it was all runs for 454 who defeated Shoppe 22-12, ending the game in the top of the seventh. Championship Game coverage will begin tomorrow night at 4:30pm, and Loser’s bracket games will be broadcasted on SoftballCenter.com

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Combat/Laservision and Suncoast both came out swinging in the first inning with a combined seven runs but Combat led the game 5-2. Suncoast started the second inning with two singles by Munger and McGavin followed by a three-run homerun by Brett Helmer, still leaving Combat with an 8-2 lead.  Combat has a huge inning that started with hits by Bumgardner and Wegman leaving them on the corners for Rick Baker who singles to bring in Bumgardner. Combat has a 14 run inning giving them the lead to 19-2. Suncoast responds with a 2 run inning making the score 19-4 going into the third inning.

After a huge second inning for Combat, they follow it up with a four-run inning. Johnny McCraw and Dal Beggs each hit a homerun and Chad Munger who had an RBI single scored Seth Stevens to make the score 23-4 going into the bottom of the third. Combat keeps the lead through the rest of the game ending it, 28-8 due to a run rule.

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The rain started to fall right as the game between Darkside and Suncoast Reebok began. Both teams took the field inspite of the rain, and Moore started the game off right for Darkside with a lead off homerun over the right field wall. Darkside stayed consistent with their hitting, took advantage of their base on balls opportunities, and had an 8-2 lead after two innings of play. After completing 3 innings, there was a 3 hour rain delay called due to lightning in the area.

Suncoast came out swinging in bottom of the 5th scoring 6 runs of 7 hits including back-to-back homeruns by Justice and Roberts. Darkside answered with 5 runs of their own with a lead off walk by Smith. Lipschutz doubled and Belding followed with a 2 run homerun. Haglung hit a 2 run homer of his own adding to Darksides lead.

Suncoast Reebok wasn’t done and held Darkside to zero runs in top of the 7th. Suncoast capitalized on their defense performance with back-to-back homeruns by Robbins and Justice to tie up the game at 19 runs a piece in bottom of the 7th to force extra innings.

Darkside coudn’t get any runs across the plate for the second inning in a row. Suncoast’s Adam Rockoff hit a deep ball into the right-center gap that carried just enough to get over the wall to end the game with a walk-off homerun. Final Score: 20-19- Suncoast Reebok

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EXTRA! EXTRA!

Due to the rain delay today there have been some scheduling changing – including moving the ever popular home run derby to Saturday night. See our 2011 Men’s Major Schedule page for the most up to date information…

See our recent article about the Home Run Derby to see who will be hitting this year!

After a slow first inning, Mark Holstein started off the second inning with a double for EWS. Scott Kirby with two nicely hit balls but both go foul for out number one. Mike Umscheid gets a single putting EWS rplayers on the corners for Travis Clark Who hits a double and brings in Holstein and Umscheid. Two run homer by Chris Geron gives EWS a 4-0 lead. Shoppe responded with a lead off double by Lee Powers followed by an RBI triple by JD Genter. Genter comes in off of a sacrifice fly by  Cory Boothe, giving Shoppe its second run of the game. Matt King advances to third after hitting a double and soon came in off of a single by Shane Spicer, making it a close 4-3 game with EWS still leading.

Gallegos singles and comes in to score from a double by Brett McCollum to start off the third inning. Two more doubles by EWS players, Jeff Wallace and Scott Kirby followed by a single by Umscheid who brings in Kirby and leaves bases loaded for Sid Stephany who hit a double and scores 3 more runs for EWS in the top of the third, giving them an 8 run lead over Shoppe, 11-3.  Shoppe gets only two hits in the bottom of the third inning,  a double by Kyle Cowart who was brought in off of a sac fly and the second hit being a bomb by Lee Powers that brings Tim Cocco. EWS still led the game 11-6.

 It was a busy fourth inning for both teams with EWS scoring 6 runs off of 7 hits and Shoppe scoring 5 runs off of 5 hits.  Leaving the score of the game at 17-11 going into the fifth inning. Shoppe takes advantage of EWS only scoing one run in the fifth inning and brings in 3 runs and slowly gets back in the game trailing by only 4 runs, 18-14. Shoppe stays hot in the sixth inning scoring a total of 9 runs, starting with a 3 run homerun by Cory Boothe and a triple by Rick Sedlacek who brings in the tying run. Shoppe takes the lead when Kyle Cowart hits the long ball over the right field fence with a score of 23-21.

EWS responds in the final inning of the game, scoring 5 runs to take back the lead 26-23 but it wasnt enough to get the win against Shoppe. Tim Cocco starts the bottom of the seventh with a solo homerun followed by a triple by Lee Powers who comes in to score when EWS makes a throwing error to third base. JD Genter comes in to tie the game from a single by Boothe. Shoppe players load the bases when Matt King singles and Brad Reckart is intentionally walked. Chris Moon wins the game for Shoppe with a well hit ball to left field scoring Boothe and ending the game with a final score of 27-26 Shoppe victory over EWS

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Home Run Derby Hitter - Tim Cocco

USSSA is once again holding a Home Run Hitting Contest during the World Series on Friday, evening September 23^rd.  Each team will send 1 representative Friday evening as part of the Opening Ceremonies, for the first round of qualifying.  The top 4 hitters out of these sixteen will qualify for the second round and will be eligible to hit against the top home run hitters in the country in front of a packed stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. The Home Run Derby will be broadcast LIVE on USSSALive.com

New for 2011: If your last ball hit is a Home Run, then you keep hitting until you don’t hit a Home Run! All home runs hit count towards your total.

As always the ball park will have a packed crowd as we see some of the best softball players in the world at 6:30pm ET on Friday night.

Chris Greinert started the scoring for R&M Metal Thursday morning with an RBI single, scoring Brian Zirkle who had led off with a single and advanced to second thanks to a walk from Matt Albert. Sam Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Albert for a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. It was a slow start for Woodlaw in the bottom of the first with only one hit by Denny Crine but no runs scored.

R&M came out swinging strong in the top of the second. Nate Staats started it off with a double followed by an RBI triple from by Brian Farrar and finally a homerun by Jake Mays giving R&M a comfortable 5-0 lead. Woodlaw gets on the board in the bottom of the second  with a double by Yielding scoring Goins and Whaley and making the score 5-2 going into the third.

Another double by Staats scoring Greinert and Lopez who both singled at the plate. R&M was swinging for the fence but ending the inning with three fly balls to the outfield. Another two run inning for Woodlaw in the bottom of the third resulting from a two-run homer by Dennis Shrum.

RBI single by TJ Thompson scored Aaron Middendorf who was on third after hitting a triple.  Matt Albert followed with a sac fly and scored R&M Metal’s second run of the inning making the score 9-4 for R&M. A short at-bat for Woodlaw in the bottom of the fourth, with an RBI single from Matt Bunn giving Woodlaw its only run of the inning.

R&M Metal’s continued to bring in the runs for the rest of the game as Woodlaw stayed silent until the bottom of the seventh inning when they finally scored one last run but it would not be enough as R&M defeated Woodlaw 15-6.

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Sonny’s and Down2Earth took the field on this hot morning ready to play. With only a few runs across the plate for both teams, the score was relatively close with a score of 5-4- Sonny’s going into top of the 3rd. The bats for Down2Earth woke up and they sucusfully scored 7 runs to conclude the side of the 3rd inning giving them a 12-4 lead. Sonny’s determined, was able to cut their deficit to only 2 runs by the 6th inning. A key to their comeback was Sonny’s defense, not allowing any Down2Earth runs to score in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. Top of the 7th, Sonny’s trailing by 2 and needing to score to stay in the ball game, they lead off the inning with three doubles in a row by Davis, C. Grandos, and M. Grandos. Cunningham came up to the plate and hit a 2 run homer to aid their 5 run inning to stay alive in the game. Needing 4 runs to win, Down2Earth was able to tie the game up with a RBI double the Connell. After 2 intentional walks to load the bases, Greer stepped up to the plate, and hit a line drive that was deep down the right field line which scored their 1 run need to win the ball game. Final Score Down2Earth: 16-15. Visit us on Facebook/USSSASlowpitch for 2011 Men’s Major World Series pictures and updates.

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This past weekend Team Sinister lost a beloved member of their softball family, Team Mangager Brian Basierbe. Everyone at the stadium stood up to honor the great life and contributions that Basierbe had on the softball community with a moment of Silence before the game. Brett Helmer lead off the the game with a stand up double and eventually got across the plate with a RBI fly-out to center by Wegman. Combat stayed strong in the field, not allowing Sinister to score any runs.

Combat returned to the plate with their bats hot. They strung together a series of hits, including 2 homeruns by Stephens and Wegman scoring 8 runs off 8 hits giving Comabt a 9-0 lead. Sinsister, not able to find a hole, ended the inning with no runs on the board. Beggs came up to bat for Combat and hit a beautiful shot into left field only to find the left fielder, Schulte, leapping up into the air having  a true” ESPN Top 10 Plays” moment  robbing Beggs of his homerun.

Sinister finally gets on the board in bottom of 4 when Pease leads off with a double, then scores off of Aleksandrowic’s triple. Kull then flys out to center field for an RBI to score Aleksandrowic to get Sinister their second run of the game. The momentum doesn’t last long for Sinsiter, while Combat got their bats alive again getting 11 runs in the top of the 6th inning giving them a 24-2 lead. Team Combat run rules Sinister in the 6th 24-2

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Click here for the 2011 Men’s Major Bracket

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Taylormade and Resmondo took the field tonight under the lights at ESPN Wide World of Sports with a nice size crowd in the stands. Taylormade got their first runner of  the game with their second batter, Rye who singled and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder, Striebel. Kennington putout for out number 2 of the inning, but got the RBI scoring Rye for the 1st run of the game. In bottom of 1, DeDonatis led off the inning with a walk. Connell followed with a single to left field advancing DeDonatis to 3rd. Fulk flew out to right field for a RBI scoring DeDonatis making the score 1-1. Resmondo’s Hughes came up in bottom of 2 and hit a deep homerun scoring 2 runs, bringing Resmondo’s lead to 3-1.

Taylormade’s Logan lead off the top of the 3rd inning with a triple and scored off a single by Jonas. Blackburn came up to bat with 2 outs and came up big with a 2 run homerun giving Taylormade their first lead of the game. Fulk answered to Blackburns homerun with a 2 out, 2 run homer of his own. After 3 innings of play, Resmondo gained the lead back 7-4. In bottom of 4, back to back walks gave Connell two runners on and he took advantage. Connell hit a deep bomb over the flags in left field for a 3 run homer. Fulk and Bryson follow Connell’s lead with 2 more homeruns, making it 3 in a row. Resmondo gets 3 up, 3 down again and 5th inning and takes advantage of Taylormade’s scoreless inning and adds 3 more runs to their lead. In the bottom of the 6th inning Resmondo puts Krause in to pinch hit who ends the game with a 3 run homerun to get the run rule with a score of- 22-5.

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As the winds died down after a brief rain shower in between games, GTL and Doerflinger hit the field for the second game of the 2011 Men’s Major Tournament. GTL showed up with a mission in mind, get the bats hot, and keep them hot. GTL put up a huge 1st inning with home runs by Formsa, Bowlin, and Howard putting  14 runs up on the board. Doerflinger couldn’t answer to the big inning by GTL and didn’t get any runs across the plate: 14-0.

GTL came out swinging again in top of the 2nd with lead off, back to back singles by Smith and Munson. They concluded the half inning with 5 runs. Doerflinger came up to the plate determined and strung together 4 runs making the score 19-4. The flip flop rule came into effect in bottom of 3 with GTL winning 25-4. Doerflinger couldn’t keep up with GTL’s bats and McDonald hit a 2 run homer in bottom of 4 to end the game in a run rule: 28-8.

For complete Pointstreak boxscore, Click Here

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The 2011 Men’s Major World Series kicks off here at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Central Florida with a contest between Combat/Pharmapar and Team 454. The wind was blowing in hard from left field and the skies were getting dark which posed a problem for the outfielders and home run hitters throughout the game. Team 454 took an early lead putting 4 runs up on the board after Combat/Pharmapar opened the game with zero runs.

After 3 innings of play, Combat/Pharmapar inched along putting up solo runs in both the top of the 2nd and 3rd innings, but Team 454 kept their lead of 6-2 after putting up 2 runs in the bottom of the second. Luc Chauvette walked in top of the 4th with 2 outs to load the bases for Derek Warren that could have given Combat/Pharmapar their chance to take their first lead of the game. Warren hit a long shot into right field, but Griffen came up with the catch to retire the inning.

In top of the 5th Sal Formosa hit the left field gap and hustled around the bases for an inside the park homerun, cutting the score to just a 2 run deficit: 6-4. Bubba Mack answered in bottom of the 5th with a single homerun and the rest of Team 454  followed by putting 2 more runs up on the board making the score 9-4.The bats stayed hot for Team 454 in bottom of the 6th including a triple by Mitch Mabe and a 2 run homer by Philip White building their lead to 16-4 off 8 hits. Team 454 finished with a 16-6 win for their first game of the tournament.

Click here for the Pointstreak Box Score

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Trust Celebrating Their Win

In the E World Series Championship Game – 13 Stripes Softball Club who defeated Sierra Vista Stereo 7-0 in the losers bracket final would face Trustsports/Wicked Sports/Mario.

13 Stripes started out the scoring scored 3 runs in the first inning, but Trust Sports would counter in the bottom of the first scoring 9 runs. 13 Stripes pitcher Doug Pratt would have trouble finding the plate in the first inning starting off the contest walking Jason Jones. Ben Rogowski RBI single scores the first run of the ball game for Trust Sports. Later in the inning Adam Conner’s line drive off Scot Greeve would give Trust their first lead the ball game, 3-2.

Trust Sports would bat around in the first with Lenny Studiger making the final blow, his double would clear the bases giving Trust Sports a 9-3 lead.

After both teams would go scoreless in the 2nd inning 13 Stripes would score their 4th run of the ball game after Todd Crossman and John Whittenmore both reached to start the inning. Steve Pricher would reach on a fielders choice and score Crossman to make it 9-4.

In the bottom of the 3rd Trust Sports would add to their lead with Jon Tibouto, a line drive gave Trust a 10-4 advantage.

In the 4th inning 13 Stripes would load the bases, Bret Welligford would hit a line drive back at the pitcher. Adam Conner would make a great defensive play to record the first out. Rich Curley’s single into Centerfield would make it 10-5. Mike Schutt would bobble the ball at short allowing a run to score narrowing the lead to 10-6. 13 Stripes would add two more runs before Steve Pilcher would fly out to left to end the inning.

With runners on the corners and two outs Dan Eller’s line drive hit down the right field line and would put Trust Sports up by three, but one hitter later Ben Rogowski would hit the ball out of the park to end the inning.

In the 5th inning 13 Stripes would load the bases, Greeve would groundout and Walliford would flyout to end the threat.

Trust Sports would add some insurance on the scoreboard in the 6th inning. Mike Schutt would start the scoring with a RBI Triple followed but Studigers RBI Single. Trust Sports would score 9 runs in the bottom of the 6th.

Blitz and 1st Step met for the second time Sunday morning for the B World Series Championship game. They had previously played each other Saturday afternoon when Blitz made a late comeback to knock the newly classified B team, 1st step, into the Loser’s Bracket.

1st step made it through the Loser’s Bracket, beating the first seeded Down2Earth Sports as well as Doerflinger, in order to make it back to the Championship game for a rematch against Blitz.

1st step quickly put some runs on the board thanks to a three-run homer early in the first inning. But Blitz’s Jason Roesch responded with a two-run RBI. It looked as if 1st Step was going to add to its 4-3 lead when they had bases loaded in the second inning, but Blitz was able to retire the side with no runs scored. A homerun in the second inning to deep right field by Kessler put Blitz in the lead 7-4. Another two-run homer by Blitz in the third, followed by homeruns from Blitz’s Jamison and Tabler in the fourth seemed to silence the bats of 1st Step, as they went 3 innings without scoring. 1st Step made some mid-game pitching changes but Blitz continued to bring in the runs, winning the World Series Championship game 22-6 in only 5 innings.

Champions: Blitz/Weller/Wantanabe/MAB/Easton- Cincinatti, OH
Runner Up: 1st Step/DCS- Pompano Beach, FL

The USSSA “B” World Series Tournament is all set to begin September 16-18 here in sunny Central Florida! This year’s tournament consists of 28 teams, with 24 of these teams being classified as B teams and the others being C and D teams. These top-ranked teams will be traveling from as far as Seattle, Wash. to come play at Fortune Road Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. for the coveted title of the USSSA “B” World Series Champions. According to USSSA rules, the B division plays with a 4 homerun limit (per team each game). Many of the teams playing in the World Tournament recently played in the Conference USSSA Tournament earlier this month, with 17 players receiving Conference USSSA Awards.

 Utility                  Jonathan Scott                 Down 2 Earth

2nd Base             Sean Greer                         Down 2 Earth

Catcher                Chris Carr                          Magic/National Gold

Catcher                Jon Jamison                     Wantanabe

Catcher                Brad Tabler                       Wantanabe

Utility                   Rick Potter                       Midwest Swing

Utility                   Baline Bolin                      Gas It

Utility                   John Hickey                     Magic/National Gold

Shortstop            Jason Gilfillan                  Gas It

Shortstop            Jeff Lahair                         Magic/National Gold

Shortstop            Mike Noonan                   Midwest Swing

3rd Base              Brad Clark                          Gas It

Outfield               David Kessler                   Wantanabe

Outfield               Cody Gilbert                     Midwest Swing

Outfield               Matt Arlett                        The Scene

Outfield               Kathem Martin                The Scene

Outfield               Blake Williams                 The Scene

You can follow the updates of the games all weekend long on conferenceusssa.com and see the official Tournament Bracket HERE

The 40th Annual USSSA Men’s Major World Series will kick off on September 21st-25th and the top Mens Slowpitch team’s in the country will once again come together on the beautiful field under the ESPN Wide World of Sports stadium lights to vie for the crown jewel of USSSA.

The Major Bracket has been released and can be seen HERE.

Resmondo-Specialty Tank / Worth, the #1 ranked men’s slow-pitch team in the nation came out of the loser’s bracket and “double dipped” Team Combat/Laser Vision/D2E/Supreme, the #4 ranked team in the country for the Conference Championship title. The Championship’s were held in their traditional location, the Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida the weekend of September 2-4, 2011. Resmondo had dropped to the loser’s bracket on Saturday after losing to Team Combat/Laser Vision by an astonishing score of 23-4 in the winner’s bracket championship game.

On Sunday they ran the table, winning 3 straight and picking up their 4th Conference Championship title in the 6 years the league has been in existence. Resmondo’s first win Sunday was a 26-23 win over Suncoast/Reebok after they trailed 15-4 in the second inning. Then they beat Combat/Laser Vision 22-7 and finally 23-22 on a walk off bases loaded single by Jeremy Isenhower to take the title. All of the games in the Major portion of the Championships were played on baseball fields with 330-390-410-390-330 dimensions. The largest fields used in softball today.

2nd Place Team Combat/Laser Vision finally broke through with that 23-4 win over Resmondo. That was the first time Resmondo had been held under 10 runs since April of 2009 when Long Haul beat them 20-5 at the Hall of Fame Classic. This was the first time Combat has beaten Resmondo all year long. 3rd Place went to Suncoast/Reebok who knocked off Sinister, Sonny’s, Team 454 and GTL to make it to the Sunday final 4. 4th place went to GTL Cartel/Demarini who has tailed off here at the end of the season but still managed to maintain their #2 ranking in the standings and Conference points.

2011 Conference Award Winner’s

John Glidewell Award – Rick Baker

Highest finishing ‘B’ Team – D2E

Highest finishing ‘A’ Team – 454 Emerald/Worth

Highest finishing Major Team – Resmondo

2011 USSSA Hall of Fame Inductees

Don Cooper

Dal Beggs

Larry Quartuccio

Frank Webb

‘B’ All Conference Team

Midwest Swing – Cody Gilbert, Michael Noonan, Rick Potter

Blitz/Watanabe – Dave Kessler, Jon Jamison, Brad Tabler

The Scene – Matt Arlett, Kathem Martin, Blake Williams

Gas It – Blaine Bolin, Jason Gilfillan, Brad Clark

Magic – Chris Carr, John Hickey, Jeff Lahair

Manager of the year – Drew Dubberly

2nd Team All Conference

R&M Metals – Kyle Yerkes

Pharmapar – Mike Dill, Michael Taylor,

D2E – Johnathan Scott

Wood Law – Dennis Shrum

Suncoast – Brian Justice

Darkside – Charlie Baumgartner

Team 454 – Mitch Mabe

D2E – Sean Greer

Darkside – John Robinson

Team 454 – Kevin Bazat

Wood Law – Chris Hansen

Shoppe – Chad McLamb

Taylormade – Kevin Rye

Suncoast – Adam Rockoff

R&M Metals – Brian Zirkle

Wood Law – Adam Elliot

Suncoast – Ryan Robbins

Team 454 – Tiny Taylor

1st Team All Conference

P Resmondo – Andy Purcell

P GTL – Geno Buck

C Combat – Brett Helmer

C GTL – Kevin Filby

UT GTL – Chris Larsen

UT Resmondo – Jeremy Isenhower

UT Team 454 – Kyle Moyer

UT Shoppe – Tim Cocco

UT Resmondo – Vince Bisbee

UT Resmondo – Bobby Hughes

1B Shoppe – Eric Thompson

2B Combat – Rusty Bumgardner

2B Resmondo – Greg Connell

2B Combat – Dal Beggs

3B Shoppe – Lee Powers

3B Combat – Dennis Rulli

SS Resmondo – Don Dedonatis Jr

SS GTL – Anthony Dress

MI Resmondo – Bryson Baker

MI GTL – Matt Pesso

OF Combat – Rick Baker

OF Combat – Brian Wegman

OF GTL – Donovan Pokraka

OF Team 454 – Bubba Mack

OF GTL – Tim Howard

OF Resmondo – Brian Rainwater

OF Resmondo – Scott Striebel

Manager of the year – John Rector

Batting Champion – Combat/Laser Vision – Brett Helmer .823 onbase

HR Champion – Resmondo – Greg Connell – 111 Homer’s

Co-Outstanding Offensive Player – Combat/Laser Vision – Brett Helmer .823 onbase, 106 HR’s, 286 RBI

Co-Outstanding Offensive Player – GTL – Chris Larsen .777, 73 HR’s, 194 RBI

Outstanding Defensive Player – Resmondo – Andy Purcell

Co-MVP of Conference – Resmondo – Greg Connell – .801, 111 HR, 300 RBI

Co-MVP of Conference – Resmondo – Bryson Baker – .800, 67 HR, 215 RBI

Conference USSSA – 2011 Membership Information
Based on 32 Teams

• Entry fees for 6 Conference NIT’s – all additional events are $350 each. If a team is notgoing to participate in 6 Conference NIT’s, they may use the entry fee towards any other USSSA tournament. If a team participates in more than 6 Conference NIT’s, the team’s total points will be based on the 6 highest point Conference NIT’s plus any points accumulated in the Conference Championships.

• After the Conference Championships, all team point totals including points earned in the Conference Championships will be accumulated to determine the top 16 Men’s Major World Series teams and the top 8 Men’s B/C teams.

•  After the completion of the “Worth Last Chance” Conference NIT the highest finishing A, B, & C Conference teams will be awarded 500 points towards their open class point total plus an additional $500 travel money for their respective World Tournament.

•  100 participation points are awarded to all B and C Conference teams for each entry into a Conference NIT.
•  One vote per team for Conference specific rules.

• Player stats, standardized softballs, experienced umpiring
•  HD coverage of select Conference events by USSSA Live
•  All Conference Team, MVP, Offensive Player, Defensive Player of the Year Awards

USSSA Conference Championship

Format For Conference Championships To Be Determined:

•  Participation in Conference Championships will validate World Series berth and give teams the opportunity to earn additional points toward seedings in World play.

•  Participation in Conference Championships for a “B” or “C” team will waive the requirement to play in a separate National tournament.

•  Each team will receive 10 rooms for 2 nights at a Host Hotel or its equivalent as determined by USSSA National Office

• HD coverage of Conference Championship by USSSA Live
• Awards Dinner and Ceremony

USSSA Men’s Major World Series

Top 16 Conference teams must compete in Conference Championships to validate World Series
berth.
Top 16 CConference teams must compete in Conference Championships to validate World Series
berth.
Top 16 Conference teams determined by points receive:

•  Paid berth for Men’s Major World Series at ESPN Wide World of Sports
•  Each team will receive 10 rooms for 4 nights at a Host Hotel or its equivalent as determined by USSSA National Office

• $2,000 Travel Money at World Series

USSSA Men’s A World Tournament

All Conference teams receive paid berth for Men’s “A” World Tournament

USSSA Men’s B/C World Tournament

The top 8 Conference teams (regardless of class) determined by points receive:

•  Each Men’s B & C teams will receive 10 rooms for 4 nights at a Host Hotel or its equivalent as determined by USSSA National Office

• $2,000 Travel Money at World Tournament
•  Paid berth for world tournamen