2022 Crown Town Classic
Shawnee, Kansas
July 1-3
Rock Run center fielder Jeremy Slabach robbed 2 home runs against Hubs Pub in the championship game.
Hot Links (More Videos to come)
Rock Run middle infielder Jeremy Fry completed this play for the out at 1st. Check it out in the highlight videos and condensed games.
Crown Town Results and Bracket link
Crown Town Friday to Final 4 Video Clips link
Crown Town Final 4 to Championship Video Clips link (Thursday)
Condensed Winner’s Final Game link
Condensed Championship Game link (Friday)
Crown Town Archived Games link
Crown Town Stats link (when ready)
Crown Town Teams
Friday Night Recap
Dirty Vegas takes on T’s 13 in a 1st round battle of ‘A’ teams.
The Conference returned to Shawnee, Kansas and the Mid-America Sports Complex for the 2nd year in a row on July 4th weekend. The tournament began Friday night with 23 teams from 9 different states and 10 of the teams were from the Conference USSSA league. The weather was warm and humid and at first the Dudley Pro-M didn’t fly much with a couple of the “play in” teams only hitting 1 or 2 home runs in their games. In those “play in” games the teams were for the most part local area ‘C’ and ‘B’ teams. Legendary Sports Apparel (KS-C) beat Sonic (MO-C) 10-9 with Sonic having the hammer and runners in scoring position in the bottom of the 7th. Likewise Twisted Lazers/Flat Creek/BGR (NE-B) beat Hype/Megastar Financial (KS-C) by a run and Hype had the bats in their hands with runners on in the bottom of the 7th. Performance Glass Inc a non-conference ‘A’ team from Kansas run ruled Showtime Sports (KS-C) 20-1. Non Conference ‘A’ team T’s 13 from Nebraska beat DPS Gashouse Gorillas/JNL/Nomad (KS-C) 16-10. Former Kansas Conference ‘B’ team BNS-SIS-Easton beat Red Door (MO-C) in a nice game back on field #7 17-14. Throwin Shade/Reliance Home Insp (MO-C) run ruled Bash/Elusive Sports/Six Branch (MO-C) 17-2 on the show field #4, and the only Conference team to play in to the “Final 16” TLC/Houston Homes from Missouri run ruled Iconic Apparel/Lake Painting (IA-C) 33-11 with the wind blowing out on field #6.
Siteman takes on rival ‘B’ team Hubs Pub in the “Round of 16” Friday night.
The “Round of 16” was also played on Friday night as the temperatures dropped a few degrees, the wind picked up some, and the ball flew a little better. Cheap Suits/Dirty/Republic RE (CA-A) who finished 2nd last weekend in Oregon scored 24 runs in the bottom of the 2nd and beat Legendary 39-7. Brandon Boyle was 4-4 with 3 HR and 8 RBI and Janson Faucheux knocked in 9 runs in the win. T’s 13 run ruled Dirty Vegas 28-13 to go 2-0 on the night. Stars/NFM Lending/Arab $$$ with the wind blowing in on field #5 hit just 1 home run but held on to win with the gloves in the bottom of the 7th 9-8 over Twisted Lazers. Then in the final games of the night at 9:30 PM central time Siteman/Pure (MO-B) run ruled rival Hubs Pub/Gas (MO-B) 23-8 when Hubs hit 3 solos in the top of the 1st and Siteman batted around the order including 2 three run homer’s in the bottom of the inning. Luke Boyster and Brandon Keene were each 4-4 in the game which went 5 innings. Lund Mortgage/4theFallen (AZ-A) who hadn’t played in a month or more run ruled Performance Glass 25-5. Nightmare/Benefit the Badge (MO-AA) the only ‘AA’ team in the tournament made quick work of BNS 26-6. RVCG/ACA/RSA (IN-B) scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 2nd and held TLC to just 1 run in the game winning 16-1 in 5 innings. Mario Coronado was 3-3 with 4 RBI for RVCG in a game that had just 1 home run with the wind blowing in on field #2. And Rock Run/All Hustle/Silverback/Koval (IN-B) beat Throwin Shade 23-8 jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Arlis Miller, Jeremy Fry, Kyle Miller, and Jeremy Slabach all had 3 hits. Kyle Miller had 3 HR.
Performance Glass takes on Lund Mortgage Friday night.
Nightmare makes quick work of BNS.
Rock Runs Terry Lambright homer’s against Throwin Shade Friday night.
Saturday Recap
T’s 13 Andrew Masten bats in their comeback win over Stars.
On Saturday the “Final 8” and all remaining winner’s bracket games were played “Smoky style” back to back to back on the show field #4 where the wind blew in at 5 to 12 mph all day long. Stars jumped out to a 14-0 lead on T’s 13 scoring 12 runs in the top of the 1st. But T’s 13 never gave up using home runs to climb back into it and T’s actually led 22-17 after an 8 run bottom of the 5th and held on to win 22-18. They out homered Stars 11-3 in the game and T’s was led by Kyle Aken who was 4-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. Ayden De Young-Faria and Vince Maldonado had 4 hits each in the loss for Stars.
In the 2nd quarterfinal Lund Mortgage had an early 6-5 lead on nightmare when the wind started blowing in and a number of poor defensive plays (bloopers) gave Nightmare an 11-7 lead after 4 innings and a 12-8 lead after 5 innings. Nightmare had hit 3 HR and Lund Mortgage 2 at this point. Then in the bottom of the 6th Nightmare 2nd baseman Randy Frederick made a great diving stop and it looked like Lund Mortgage had put up too many zero run innings to win. But Nightmare led by just 4 runs (12-8) going into the bottom of the 7th where Lund Mortgage got a 1 out double from Dustin Wager and a single from AJ Webb. Then after a flyout for out number two, pitcher Brian Therkildsen hit a 3 run homer, Hunter Ramirez hit a solo homer to tie the game at 12, and Johnathan Sierra (pictured above) hit a walk off homer to win it 13-12!
RVCG hits against Rock Run in quarterfinal #3
In the 3rd quarterfinal as the rain subsided RVCG grabbed a 2-0 lead on Rock Run when Garrett Gapp hit a 2 run homer in the top of the 1st inning. But Rock Run shut out RVCG the rest of the game and spread out 5 homer’s and beat RVCG 16-2 in 7 innings. Arlis Miller, Jeremy Fry, and Kyle Miller had 3 hits each. Kyle Miller hit 2 HR.
Siteman hits against Danny Lopez and Cheap Suits in quarterfinal #4.
In the 4th quarterfinal Cheap Suits held the lead the entire game and scored in every inning in a 29-17 victory over Siteman. Cheap Suits out homered Siteman 9-6 and were led by Demario Boyd (aka Mac Rio) who was 4-6 with 3 HR and 9 RBI.
Final 4 Recap
You can see the entire Lund Mortgage vs Rock Run semifinal game here in condensed form.
The semifinals were played Saturday afternoon after the rain cleared. Rock Run jumped out to a 9-3 lead after 3 innings. From there the runs were few and far between as the Rock Run defense held strong again and they beat Lund Mortgage 11-6. Rock Run out homered Lund Mortgage 5-3 and were led by lead off hitter Marcus Miller who was 4-4 with 3 runs scored.
Cheap Suits Demario Boyd hits against T’s 13 in semifinal #2.
In semi #2 Cheap Suits trailed T’s 13 6-3 going into the bottom of the 2nd but it was all Cheap Suits the rest of the way as they outscored T’s 21-4 in the last 5 innings as Blake Lively was 4-4 with 3 HR and 11 RBI including a grand slam, Demario Boyd went 5-5 with 5 RBI, and Brandon Boyle was 4-4.
Winner’s Final Recap
Arlis Miller hits a key backside homer for Rock Run in the winner’s final. Condensed game here.
In the winner’s final early Saturday evening it was Rock Run and Cheap Suits in a game that slowly gathered the interest of a large softball playing crowd because of its drama. In the early going neither team could score much and it was 2-2 going into the bottom of the 3rd when Cheap Suits broke out and scored 8 runs after a bang bang play at 1st. After 2 quick outs Chris Benigno was just barely safe at 1st on an infield grounder and that led to home runs by Demario Boyd and Blake Lively, and a grand slam by Janson Faucheux. Rock Run spent the rest of the game catching up and shut out Cheap Suits 3 straight innings. In the top of the 7th down 2 runs Rock Runs Arlis Miller doubled and pitcher Erik Lehman homered to tie it. They then held Cheap Suits scoreless in the bottom of the 7th and the game ended up going 10 innings with Rock Run holding on to win 14-13. The game was full of great diving plays and catches, double plays, clutch hits, and the agony of defeat. Check it out on the USSSALive YouTube channel.
Loser’s Bracket Recap
Hubs Pubs Tim Bowser hits a walk off grand slam to beat RVCG.
In the loser’s bracket TLC/Houston Homes who hadn’t won a conference game (0-6) coming into the tournament knocked off DPS Gashouse, Hype, Siteman, and Performance Glass before Lund Mortgage dropped down and sent them home 11-9 Saturday night. And Hubs Pub after their dismal loss Friday night to Siteman won 5 straight in the loser’s bracket beating Showtime, Red Door, RVCG, and Dirty Vegas to make it to Sunday. They beat RVCG and Dirty Vegas on the walk off homer’s pictured above and below this text.
Hubs Pubs Mitch Carriger hits a walk off homer to beat Dirty Vegas.
Sunday Recap
Hubs Pubs Buster Hendricks hits against Lund Mortgage.
On Sunday morning at 8 AM the Hub’s Pub win streak continued as they beat Lund Mortgage 14-10 in the 4th place game pictured above and Cheap Suits 17-2 in the loser’s bracket finals pictured below. Hubs jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Cheap Suits and they out homered Cheap Suits 6-1 and shut them out for the 1st 3 innings. Pitcher Mitch Carriger did a lot of the damage with his bat, his hustle, and his defense/pitching.
Cheap Suits Victor Cordova homer’s against Hubs Pub.
Championship Game
The Rock Run pre-game speech reminded the team to play this championship game with the energy they would have against a major team.
The championship game can be viewed in condensed form on youtube later this week. Hubs Pub and Rock Run were tied 6-6 after 1 inning and 15-15 after 5 innings with both teams hitting 4 of their allotted 8 home runs. Rock Run helped by their center fielder Jeremy Slabach who robbed not one but two Kenny Leach home runs and then Slabach had a key inside the park homer of his own. Hubs Pub aided by a double play by 1st baseman Kenny Leach who fielded a grounder stepped on 1st and then got the runner in a pickle in the 5th inning. With the game tied at 15 Hubs Pub got 3 straight hits and a 1 out 3 run homer by shortstop Sean Keeney to take a 19-15 lead into the bottom of the 6th. But Rock Run answered with 6 hits including home runs by Jeremy Fry and Arlis Miller to go up 21-19. In the top of the 7th inning Hubs Pubs Cory Limpert hit a clutch 2 run homer to tie the game at 21 and Mitch Carriger doubled to give them a 22-21 lead. But in the bottom of the 7th Rock Run got a lead off walk from Faron Fry and a walk off homer by MVP Jeremy Fry to win the game and the tournament!
By winning Rock Run scored 195 conference points putting them into legitimate contention to qualify in the top 18 for the USSSA Major World Series!
Tim “bye bye” Bowser was 3-3 with 3 HR and 7 RBI to start the game.
Jeremy Slabach was safe on the inside the park home run. Great call!
Hubs Pub’s Cory Limpert ties the game at 21 in the top of the 7th!
Rock Runs Jeremy Fry hits a walk off homer in the bottom of the 7th and the celebration is on!
Oldscout poll had Rock Run to win at 47%
Long Bomber of the Week!
The long bomber of the week is Cheap Suits 1st baseman Janson Faucheux. He hit one off the walking path in right center “google earthed” at 377 feet and he hit one over the net that went over the Berserk trailer back there in left field and it cleared a couple rows of cars as well for an estimated 415 feet on a day when no teams were even coming close to using their home run limits!
Crown Town Classic Results and Awards
MVP was Rock Run middle infielder Jeremy Fry
Defensive MVP was Rock Run Center Fielder Jeremy Slabach
Offensive MVP was Hubs Pub Pitcher Mitch Carriger.
Team by Team Notes
1st Place – Rock Run/AllHustle/Silverback/Koval
Conference IN-B Record 5-0
Rock Run takes a big step towards qualifying for the USSSA Major World Series which is their goal. The line to line hitting, timely power, good pitching, and great defense and hustle of this team is taking the country and the conference by storm! They are quickly becoming the most popular slow pitch team. They played without their big power hitter Myron Hochstetler, then 2B Jason Slabach pulled a muscle but the team made the adjustments and didn’t miss a beat. After winning the tournament Sunday at noon they drove all the way back to northern Indiana and played in the Topeka Invitational tournament on Monday July 4th and I believe they lost in the semifinals. Then this Thursday they turn around and travel to the Great Smoky Mountain Classic to see if they pull off some more upsets!
SS Faron Fry with a diving stop.
Pitcher Erik Lehman stabs another liner.
1st baseman Terry Lambright has a knack for catching tough throws and keeping his toe on the base.
3B Aaron “Ace” Fry, SS Faron Fry, MI Jeremy Fry
LF Carlin Yoder
2B Jason Slabach pulled a muscle early in the tournament but came through with a couple of big pinch hits.
2nd Place – Hubs Pub/Gas
Conference MO-B Record 7-2
Hubs lost that 1st game then played excellent softball never giving up in their next 8 games and just about forced the “if” game. Pitcher Mitch Carriger was spectacular in every phase of the game and the top of the lineup (Leach, Carriger, Bowser, Matecki, Limpert) put up some big numbers it seemed and the team has a nice blend of veterans and younger athletic players. They are fun to watch when they are playing well.
3B Buster Hendricks, SS Sean Keeney, MI Brady Reising, RF Luke Matecki
Conference veteran Kenny Leach Jr.
3rd Place – Cheap Suits/Dirty/Republic RE
Conference CA-A Record 3-2
Cheap Suits was the most dominant team in the tournament going into the winner’s bracket finals against Rock Run and even in that game they controlled the game and led most of the way. But they just couldn’t quite finish, which is a problem they had in Oregon last week as well and these two “almost” weekends could cost them a shot at the USSSA Major World Series. They are 5-5 vs ‘A’ teams this year overall. Boyd, Lively, and Boyle were all basically .700 on base percentage. Boyd hit 7 HR and had 24 RBI. Lively 6 HR and 21 RBI. And Faucheux hit 6 HR and had 20 RBI. The defense, pitching, offense, and power all had their moments but just need to be a little more consistent.
Left fielder Brandon Boyle makes a nice catch on the fence.
2B Dale Swinford makes a diving stop and pitches the ball out of his glove for the out.
Blake Lively has put up some big offensive numbers since coming to Cheap Suits.
4th Place – LundMortgage/4theFallen
Conference AZ-A Record 3-2
Lund beat ‘A’ team Performance Glass by the run rule Friday night, then had a dramatic comeback in the rain to beat Nightmare as 3 of the last 4 hitters homered on a day when home runs were tough to come by. In the semifinals they could not score against the pesky Rock Run defense, and after beating TLC 11-9 Saturday night they lost to Hubs Pub Sunday morning 14-10 to finish 4th. Still inconsistent offensively but 3-1 vs ‘A’ teams overall this year and they played without a couple players like AJ Montano (injured).
3B Dillon Moeller, SS Danny Higa, MI Camacho, RF Sierra
P Therkildsen, MI Raymond Camacho, 2B Hunter Ramirez
Lund Shortstop Danny Higa makes a great diving stop.
Tied 5th – TLC/Houston Homes, LLC
Conference MO-B Record 5-2
TLC won 4 games Saturday after losing to RVCG Friday night 16-1. So they did show some life playing on their home turf. In one win Dustin Ray hit a walk off to beat Siteman his old team.
Tied 5th – T’s 13
NE-A Record 3-2
T’s 13 was the highest finishing non-conference team and they really had a legitimate chance to win this tournament. Some veteran hitters like Pennebaker and Demars mixed with a veteran pitcher Cloyd and an athletic younger core. I think they said the shortstop (forgot his name) plays Arena Football.
Tied 7th – Dirty Vegas/Steel/Suncoast/AZM
Conference TX-A Record 3-2
Dirty Vegas lost their 1st game to T’s 13 so I didn’t get to see them much. But it looks like they had plenty of offense winning 3 games on Saturday and eventually lost on a walk off homer to Hubs Pub late in the day. They averaged 25.8 runs a game and are now 4-4 vs ‘A’ teams this year overall.
Tied 7th – Performance Glass Inc
KS-A Record 3-2
Performance Glass is a solid non-conference team led by professional hitter Mike Brown. They beat Showtime, BNS, and Stars to finish tied for 7th.
More Teams
Tied 9th – Stars/NFM Lending/Arab $$$ (CO-A) 1-2
Stars held on to beat Twisted Lazers, fell 4 runs short against T’s 13 after having a 13-0 lead, then lost by a run to Performance Glass. Close to a good weekend. Culbertson was .857 and Maldonado .846.
Tied 9th – Nightmare/Benefit the Badge/Miken (MO-AA) 1-2
Nightmare 20 run ruled BNS Friday then didn’t finish after holding a lead late against Lund Mortgage losing 13-12 and got smoked by Dirty Vegas 32-12. They are playing without Trey Gillilland the rest of the year. He had a freak accident and was cut by broken glass from a car window. Get well soon!
Tied 9th – Siteman/Pure (MO-B) 1-2
Siteman had a big run rule win over Hubs Pub Friday night but then lost to Cheap Suits and TLC. Brandon Keene, Harjo, and Rogers were all .750 or higher. Keene had 6 HR and 10 RBI. Siteman is now 5-3 vs ‘B’ teams this year and did have a .620 team on base percentage in this tournament.
Tied 9th – RVCG/ACA/RSA (IN-B) 1-2
RVCG had a nice win over TLC 16-1 on Friday but then couldn’t score against Rock Run losing 16-2 on Saturday. In the loser’s bracket Hubs Pub sent them home 13-9 on a walk off grand slam. Team had just a .452 team on base percentage and were led by Garrett Gapp in on base .636, HR 2, and RBI 5. They are 2-1 vs ‘B’ teams though this season.
Mr. BNS himself Brian Smith singles with the bases loaded.
The view from the USSSALive.com livestream.
Sweet uniforms
Red Door had some sweet uniforms also.
Faces in the Crowd / More Pictures
Chris Balcazar and Mark Dallenbach were your championship umpires.
Chaun Demars still mashing at age 52?
The actual John Kingz!
Tailgaters. Those Cap’n Crunch cereal uniforms were unique.
You know you are bigtime Tim Bowser when you get 3 bats in the bucket!
Siteman’s David Garland who hosts the Conference Hit & Sit podcast! New show coming this week.
Former Xtreme slugger Todd Newton who lives in the area came out to watch some games. He once played pro hockey.
Shannon Smith was playing baby daddy while the Xtreme women made a run.
When you get suspended for 2 games and then your seat is next to the Conference commissioner on the plane. That is some bad luck.
This same Mid America Softball Complex will host the Conference Championships in September. The tournament was well run and the newly refurbished park had great fields and lighting with the new mirror technology lights. The pervasive dog smell, lack of shade, and suspect concessions were the only negatives…
