2022 “Battle at the Beach” Myrtle Beach Major tournament report!

2022 “Battle at the Beach” Major

Myrtle Beach, SC

April 6-8

Co-MVP Jason Matusik from Monsta hits in the championship game against MPT.

Hot Links (More Videos to come)

Myrtle Beach Bracket and Results link

Myrtle Beach Picture Album link (adding pictures as the week goes)

Myrtle Beach Video Clips link

MPT vs Resmondo semifinal Condensed Game link

Myrtle Beach Archived Games link

Myrtle Beach Stats link (when ready)

Friday Night Recap

DirtKings Austin Mapes hits a walk off homer to beat LSR

The 2022 “Battle at the Beach” started on Friday at 4 PM eastern time with 21 teams total with 15 of them from the Conference USSSA and all 4 Major teams were in attendance. The Myrtle Beach major is interesting in that the fences are 325 feet and the field sizes and winds are similar to where the USSSA Worlds are played in Viera, Florida. The temperatures were cooler than normal and the winds blew in on 2 of the 4 fields making teams adjust or lose. There were 5 “play in” games in the bracket. DirtKings/KingLaw/CT (NC-C) pictured above upset the LSR Conference Indiana ‘B’ team 18-17 on a walk off homer by Austin Mapes. It was Mapes 3rd homer of the game!

KL&R/RDD/Beloli/Frog Hollow (CT-B) and pitcher Mike Verbasco got a walk off double by #24 (send me name) to beat Nitro Circus/Team199 (MD-TBD) 10-9 with the wind blowing in. TRU/StubTerminal/Timeless/LA/ES (NC-B) beat Southern Gas (SC-C) 21-12 scoring 10 runs in the top of the 2nd inning as Chanteyon Davidson went 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI. MIS/CamJam Sports (ID-B) beat BB4L ‘D’ team 14-8 as Alexander Moore and S. Cureton collected 3 hits each. And in a good game between non conference regional powers Platinum Fire (MA-A) and Sal-8/LA Lawns (VA-B), Sal-8 pulled off a 16-13 victory.

DirtKings takes on MPT Rentals

The “Round of 16” was also played on Friday night as MPT Rentals rolled through DirtKings 35-9 scoring 12 in the bottom of the 1st and 19 more in the bottom of the 2nd. Ryan Harvey was 5-5 with 5 HR and 11 RBI.

Nitro Circus/Klutch/team 199/BRC (MD-TBD) beat 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton (OH-A) 19-7 after jumping out to a 17-3 lead going into the bottom of the 4th. Nitro’s Jordan Blanchette was 4-4 in the win. Premier homered just one time (Kyle Harmon) and Nitro Circus twice (Shupe & Fow).

Sports Reach’s Pat Price playing on his home fields hits against Chick-fil-a. Pat was 2-3 with 3 walks.

With the wind gusting out on field #4 Sports Reach (FL-AA) scored 18 runs in the bottom of the 3rd against Chick-fil-a (VA-AA) to take a 30-10 lead and went on to win 37-29. Former SNI infielder Brad Sheffield was 5-5 with 3 HR, 6 RBI, and 6 runs scored in the win. Scott Hartling who is one of the league leaders in hitting was 4-6 with 10 RBI.

The SmashIt/Thunder/Chosen/Pure/RF/BD/TDB (NY-Major) team run ruled Sal-8 35-13. Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast (TX-AA) run ruled MIS 30-3 scoring 17 in the 4th as Mitch Lendenski, Logan Rogers, Jason Branch, and Keith McCormack all had 4 hits. Resmondo/SmashIt/All American/Menosse (FL-Major) run ruled KL&R/RDD 32-17 scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the 6th to end it. Tyler Wilson who was just picked up by Resmondo after being released by Monsta went 5-5 and center fielder Westy Guill had 7 RBI. And S&E/Dan Smith (NC-AA) struggled with Epic/Killmans/FLS (S-B) losing 22-16 going into the 6th with the wind blowing out. But S&E scored 13 in the top of the 5th and 12 more in the top of the 6th and went on to win 45-31. Edmund Locklear and Joey Kampfer each had 5 hits. Center fielder Bill Cullen had 9 RBI. And Monsta/Albicocco/Racks/Nitro Circus (CA-Major) run ruled TRU 21-3 as Jeff Bloomer and pitcher Andrew Vitcak were perfect 3-3 on base.

Saturday Recap

Resmondo pitcher Brad Reckart catches a line drive vs Nitro Circus in the gut!

On Saturday the “Round of 8” started at 12:30 PM with Resmondo run ruling the Nitro Circus/Klutch team 37-21 after trailing 21-11 going into the top of the 5th. Resmondo scored 16 in the top of the 5th and 10 in the top of the 6th and held Nitro scoreless in the 5th and 6th to win. Leadoff hitter Phil Matte was 5-6 with a homer and 6 RBI and Bradley Jones playing on an injured hamstring was 5-6 with 3 HR and 10 RBI.

Smash it Sports takes on Sports Reach in the final 8.

In other quarterfinal action Smash It Sports scored 15 in the top of the 1st against Sports Reach when Sports Reach made a number of errors and Smash It cruised to a 34-12 victory. Josh Riley was 5-5 with 5 HR and 11 RBI in the leadoff spot with most of his home runs going over 400 feet! In the 3rd quarterfinal Monsta was trailing Competitive Edge 11-5 going into the 5th and scored 7 runs in each of the last 3 innings to pull out a 26-16 win out homering Competitive Edge 14-6. Two hitter Marc Wik and three hitter Jason Matusik were a combined 10-10 with 5 HR, 10 RBI, and 10 runs scored. And MPT Rentals played a long game with S&E/Dan Smith with the wind blowing out on field #4. MPT knocked out starting pitcher Dave Bare in the 1st inning scoring 17 runs. In fact they scored 7 or more runs in all 5 at bats eventually beating S&E 48-31. Ryan Harvey and Joe Dorton were 5-5. Joe Bennett and Orlando Castillo were each 6-6 as the team was 42-54 with 10 walks. S&E was 28-44 hitting with 7 walks.

Final 4 Recap

Reckart snaps off Kirsten as Resmondo battled MPT in the final 4.

In the semifinals a depleted Resmondo team from injuries and suspensions grabbed an early 10-5 lead on MPT and both teams made a number unforced errors and bad throws. MPT responded with 10 in the 2nd and 7 in the 3rd and held Resmondo scoreless in the bottom of the 3rd to get a 22-14 lead. MPT then scored 11 in the 5th to win by the run rule 39-19. Harvey was again 5-5 and Dorton and Washington each 4-4 in the win.

Purcell gets Brady out on the old no look pitch in the semifinals.

In the other semifinal Monsta trailed Smash It Sports early but scored 13 in the 5th and rolled offensively the rest of the way to a 36-29 win. Wik and Matusik were each on base 5-6 in the win.

Winner’s Final Recap

Orlando Olivera hit a 2 out homer to tie the game and force extra innings.

The winner’s bracket finals was played early Saturday evening as it cooled down to 70 degrees. Both teams had double digit innings early and by the 7th inning had used 15 of their 16 home run limit and Monsta held a thin 31-28 lead going into the bottom of the 7th. MPT needing 3 to keep the game going or 4 to win it made two quick outs. With 2 out and nobody on, Donnie Walsh doubled, Conner Murray singled, and after a meeting at the mound to ice Orlando Olivera he hit a clutch 3 run homer to tie the game! In extra innings it was all Monsta as Wik doubled, Matusik tripled, Fyffe singled, Magnum flew out, and Steele Lewis homered to go up 4. In the bottom of the 8th MPT went 2 for 5 and did not score and Monsta won 35-31.

Loser’s Bracket Recap

Two ‘AA’ teams S&E and Chick-fil-a battle in the loser’s bracket.

On Saturday in the loser’s bracket Chick-fil-a who had lost their 1st game to Sports Reach Friday night went on a run playing most of their games with the wind blowing in they beat Nitro Circus/Team199 21-10, Sal-8 18-1, S&E 12-8, and Nitro Circus/Klutch 12-8 before Smash It Sports dropped down and sent them home 31-12. Chick-fil-a finished tied for 5th. In the top half of the loser’s bracket 4with/Premier made a similar run as they crushed Platinum Fire 34-7, Beat KL&R 19-4, and had impressive wins over Competitive Edge 35-31 and Sports Reach 37-30, before losing to Resmondo 33-30 scoring 8 in the bottom of the 7th to fall just short.

Sunday Recap

Bradley Jones triples to lead off the bottom of the 8th!

On Sunday morning it was 57 degrees with the wind gusting in from center field in the 4th place game as Smash it Sports got the only home run of the game from Josh Riley in the top of the 7th then a single by Brungardt, triple by Pearson, and a single by Martel to tie the game at 12-12. Needing just 1 run Resmondo went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 7th leading to extra innings. But Smash It grounded into a double play in the top of the 8th and put up a zero giving Resmond another chance. In the bottom of the 8th Bradley Jones led off with a triple into the right field corner and after intentional walks to Marshburn and Mack, Tyler Wilson hit a long sacrifice fly to win the game.

MPT 2nd baseman Kyle Overstreet makes a key play in the loser’s final vs Resmondo.

In the loser’s bracket finals an even more depleted Resmondo team with Matte and Ellwanger joining the wounded list battled MPT in the wind scoring 7 in the top of the 6th to take a 16-15 lead. But MPT got a homer from Filip Washington, a triple from Orlando Castillo, and a homer from Chris Anninos to go up 18-16 which was the final score. Filip Washington was 3-4 with 2 HR and Josh Kirsten moved to leadoff for the injured John Radich went 4-4.

Championship

Yates homered into the championship game wind.

In the championship the wind continued to blow straight in. Neither team could get much going and Monsta led 5-2 until the 5th where they scored 3 and then 4 more in the top of the 6th to go up 12-2. MPT rallied with 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th but down 14-6 in the bottom of the 7th could muster just 4 runs and Monsta won the game and the tournament 14-10! It was Monsta’s second Conference tournament win of the season. Monsta out homered MPT 5-3 and Jeremy Yates was 4-4 with 5 RBI in the final game.

It was an interesting tournament where the Major teams finally avoided the early upsets and got to play each other a total of 6 times. The weather was nice but Sunday was chilly and the teams had to adjust on each field for the sometimes nasty winds. The Conference moves to Palm Springs for the California Major this coming weekend. Look for Proton, Classic Glass, and Bay Area to battle it out for the title at the Big League Dreams park there in 100+ degree temperatures.


Monsta shortstop Matt Brady makes a diving stop and throw from his knees to 1st to finish off MPT in the championship.

Long Bomber of the Week!

Ryan Harvey of MPT gets the Long Bomber of the Week award. He hit the ball pictured above the furthest into the wind of anyone when there were very few home runs being hit on Sunday and on Saturday he hit one I was able to “Google Earth” at 465. There were many deserving candidates. Anyone who hit one from field #7 the show field onto either field #1 or field #3 was a minimum of 405 feet. And John Radich hit one that hit the base of the walkway leading up to the field 1-3 tower that was google earthed at 455. The umpire tent in center field was 437 feet away and that was hit a couple of times. In one game Josh Riley hit 3 homer’s all over 400 feet.

Myrtle Beach Results and Awards

MVP – Jason Matusik from Monsta who was 20-25 onbase .800 with 9 HR and 19 RBI.

Backup pitcher Matt Chromy was Co-MVP

Defensive MVP was Monsta center fielder Steele Lewis

Offensive MVP was MPT middle infielder Conner Murray (.857, 6 HR, 17 RBI)

Team by Team Notes

1st Place – Monsta/Albicocco/Racks/Nitro Circus

CA-Major Record 5-0

Monsta played great softball, never gave up, picked each other up offensively and defensively and has now finished 1st or 2nd in 3 of the 4 tournaments they have played giving them the highest points per tournament average in the conference. Vitcak played well even though he has a foot injury. Matusik, Wik, Vitcak, Welborn, and Bloomer were all over .700. They spread out the home runs nicely. Welborn got on a home run streak at the right time and everyone chipped in. They played without outfielder Dan Kirkwood and they released Tyler Wilson earlier in the week. They have picked up Steven Lloyd who many consider the best athlete in the conference although he hasn’t played since 2019 and Daniel Cayton is expected to be in Chicago which is their next tournament.

Tommy Melton goes full Pete Rose

Kendall Welborn got on a nice home run streak right when they needed it.

2nd Place – MPT Rentals/Juno Athletics

NJ-Major Record 4-2

MPT lost a heart breaker in that winner’s final but ended up second. They played without John Williams (suspension) and John Radich and Conner Murray got injured late in the tournament. Newly acquired pitcher Bill Pinkham did most of the work on the mound and they released Dan Sanchez earlier in the week. Murray led a potent offense which only the wind was able to slow down. The younger players Walsh, Overstreet, and Olivera got a lot of much needed experience against the Major teams. MPT has been so close to winning a tournament and it should happen soon.

Josh Kirsten moved to lead off when Radich came up lame with a groin injury.

P Bill Pinkham

Vitcak snaps off a missile from Orlando Castillo.

3rd Place – Resmondo/Smash It/All American/Menosse

FL-Major Record 4-2

Resmondo was without Pearson, Briggs, and Bazat all injured and Santana and Clark were still suspended. Then at some point during the tournament Matte and Ellwanger appeared to be injured and Bradley Jones was playing injured since the Hall of Fame Classic. All things considered they played pretty well. They added Tyler Wilson, Chris Waterman, Cole Young to the additions they made last week of Dan Bean and Westy Guill. Bean, Jones, Wilson, Ellwanger, Reckart, and Dodds were all .700 or better. Jones led the team in HR with 8 and RBI with 26. Reckart pitched most of the innings. And they battled in every game even gutting out that extra innings 4th place game against Smashit and giving MPT a run in the loser’s final. At one point they only had a handful of their regular starters on the field. Resmondo released Waterman and Young after the tournament.

P Reckart, SS Marshburn, LF Ellwanger

LF was Ellwanger, CF Guill, RF Tyler Wilson

4th Place – SmashIt/Thunder/Chosen/Pure/RF/BD/TDB

NY-Major Record 3-2

Smash it struggled offensively and ends up 4th. Collins was still out suspended and Rocabaldo was injured late on Saturday which after releasing Morales leaves the infield a little light. They also don’t seem to be using Jonas at all in the big games even when trailing and needing to play the percentages with a pinch hitter? Renner was not there and may be done for the season as he wasn’t being used at all this year. Ok enough back seat managing, they are still #1 in points for the moment so who am I to second guess? 🙂

Martel may have led the team in hitting.

3B Brungardt, SS Mcclanahan, MI Pearson once Rocabaldo was hurt.

Tied 5th – 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton

OH-A Record 4-2

1B Cody Angus, 2B Bobby Noeth Jr, MI Steve Hendrickson

Premier made a great run in the loser’s bracket and got to play a lot of softball. Cody Pack led the team with 11 HR and 28 RBI and Nick Canfield was .821 with 20 RBI. They pulled off 4 quality wins to finish tied for 5th.

Pitcher Jordan Patterson hit it well .769, 4 HR, 17 RBI and SS Kyle Harmon .654, 8 HR, 23 RBI

Tied 5th – Chick-fil-a/Slugger/BAF/LBT

VA-AA Record 4-2

P Patrick Center, SS Tre Porter, MI Tanai Alston

Chick-fil-a salvaged another weekend after another Friday night loss with a big win over S&E.

P Natolly and 2B Jacob Clifton

Tied 7th – Nitro Circus/Klutch/team 199/BRC

MD-TBD Record 2-2

Beat Premier and Tru but lost to Resmondo and Chick-fil-a.

Tied 7th – Sports Reach/Riot

FL-AA Record 2-2

Sports Reach pulled off that big win over Chick-fil-a, lost to Smash it, then beat DirtKings before losing to Premier. Sheffield, Hartling, Olgetree, Green, and new pickup Joey Simmons were all over .700 on base percentage. Sheffield led with 9 HR and Hartling with 22 RBI.

More Teams

Tied 9th – DirtKings/KingLaw/CT (NC-C)

Dirtkings walked off LSR and looked good in wins over BB4 and Epic and a 22-21 loss to Sports Reach where Sports Reach scored 6 in the bottom of the 7th to win. The team is run by former Sports Reach champion manager OJ McFarland so look out for this team at USSSA ‘C’ Worlds.

Tied 9th – TRU/Stub Terminal/Timeless/LA/ES (NC-B)

I didn’t see much of TRU who was 2-2. Offensively they were led by Chanteyon Davidson .700 and Devan hill .692, 3 HR, 13 RBI.

Tied 9th – Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast (TX-AA)

Like S&E the Competitive Edge team was expected to push for a Sunday finish but went just 1-2. They beat MIS 30-3, then lost to Monsta 26-16 after leading 13-12 going into the 6th inning. Then they were losing 19-3 to Premier before making a comeback but coming up short 35-31. Roton, Ervine, Lendenski, and Branch were all over .700. Mason Farmer did some of the pitching.

Tied 9th – S&E/Dan Smith (NC-AA)

S&E struggled past Epic in their opener Friday night. On Saturday they never gave up but lost to MPT 48-31 with the wind blowing out and then 12-8 to Chick-fil-a with the wind blowing in. A team that was expected to fight the major teams for a Sunday finish was done early. Matt Lloyd, Marquez, and Locklear were all over 750. Lloyd had 16 RBI in 16 plate appearances. S&E released pitcher Corey Miller.

LSR (IN-B) lost to DirtKings on a walk off homer 18-17, beat the “new” MIS team 13-10, then lost to Tru 22-12. On the bright side they played full games which is a step in the right direction and the uniforms (except for those white ones) are on point.

Epic/Killmans/FLS/ES/Pure (SC-B) lost a high scoring 45-31 game to S&E after leading 22-16 then dropped a 20-15 upset to DirtKings after beating Southern Gas. This team is still trying to find that Briggs magic in conference play.

MIS/CamJam Sports (ID-B) is a Conference team that was taken over by Floridas Marcus Pricher. They are revamping the roster and managed a win over BB4L but then scored just 13 runs in losses to Competitive Edge and LSR.

Platinum Fire a MA-A team who had so much success last year at the Maryland major brought back 6 or 7 players from that team this year but struggled to score runs losing to Sal8 16-13 and Premier 34-7.

KL&R/RDD/Beloli/Frog hollow (CT-B) a non conference team with Mike Verbasco on the mound beat Nitro Circus/199 by a run and then fought hard against Resmondo finally losing 32-17. Then on Saturday in the loser’s bracket they lost to 4With/Premier 19-4.

The Nitro Circus/Team199/SI team lost both of their games. By 1 run to KL&R in a bit of a grudge match and by 11 to Chick-fil-a. They couldn’t score much with the wind coming although I did see Cody Collins muscle up a couple of extra base hits.