2022 Hall of Fame Classic tournament report!

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2022 Conference USSSA

Hall of Fame Classic Dual

Viera, FL

April 7-10

Middles open at the HOF!

Hall of Fame Dual #1 tournament picture album link

Hall of Fame Dual #2 tournament picture album link

2022 Hall of Fame bracket and results link

2022 Hall of Fame Dual #1 stats link once available

2022 Hall of Fame Dual #2 stats link once available

2022 Hall of Fame archived games link

Video Highlights:

Thursday video clips link Friday video clips link Saturday video clips link (when ready)

Sunday video clips link (when ready) Condensed Game – MPT vs Resmondo Dual #1 link

Condensed Semifinal Dual #1 Game link (when ready) Condensed Semifinal Dual #1 Game link (when ready)

Condensed Winner’s Final Dual #1Game link (when ready) Condensed Championship Dual #1 Game link (when ready)

Condensed Semifinal Dual #2 Game link (when ready) Condensed Semifinal Dual #2 Game link (when ready)

Condensed Winner’s Final Dual #2Game link (when ready) Condensed Championship Dual #2 Game link (when ready)

Thursday Dual #1

L&S Glass’s Blake Smith walks off Bay Area Legends!

The Hall of Fame Classic Dual Conference event has the reputation as the most challenging 4 days of slow pitch softball every year. This year was no exception with only 1 team finishing in the top 4 of both tournaments. Dual #1 began at the Space Coast Stadium Complex in Viera, Florida on Thursday morning April 7th at 8 AM on 9 fields with the “Red Quad” baseball fields using the 325-365-385-365-325 home run fences just like the stadium. And the 4 fields in the white quad that are 325 all the way around. The Dudley Stadium ZN ball was used on the baseball fields and the Dudley Pro-M on the softball fields. The tournament had 37 teams, 35 of which are in this years Conference USSSA. There were 5 play in games. Depending on what field you were on the wind affected most games throughout the 4 days. Nitro Circus/Team199/SI a new Conference TBD (to be determined) team from Maryland knocked off 2nd year Conference ‘B’ team LSR from Indiana 7-4. Rock Run/All Hustle/Silverbacks/Koval a new Conference ‘B’ team from Indiana knocked off Tru/Stubterminal/Timeless/LA/ES a new Conference ‘B’ team from North Carolina 20-12 after trailing 5-1 in the 3rd. The kids of Rock Run out homered Tru in the stadium 2-0. Erik Lehman was 5 for 5 and Terry Lambright was 4-5 with a homer and 4 RBI. LOB a non-conference ‘B’ team from Florida upset Kut4 Sports/OI Livingston (AL-A) 16-12. Epic/Killmans/FLS/ES/Pure a new Conference ‘B’ team from SC knocked off Axe/MIS a new Conference ‘B’ team from Idaho 30-8. And TG Brand a returning Conference ‘A’ team from Michigan beat Young Guns/Juno Athletics a non-conference ‘B’ team 16-15 when Young Guns stranded the tying run at 2nd base.

In the “Round of 32” Precision/3rd Street/Red Athlete (IL-AA) run ruled Primetime/Easton/FAI (GA-A) 25-9 scoring 13 runs in the top of the 1st inning. Lead off hitter Heath Barnes and middle infielder Billy Wright were each 4-4, Barnes had 6 RBI. Precision out homered Primetime 9-2. Adiktiv/Throwbacks/CE (TX-A) upset Proton/Legacy Gloves (AZ-AA) 23-22 by scoring 14 in the bottom of the 1st inning and they did not have to bat in the bottom of the 7th. Adiktiv out homered Proton 7-2. MPT Rentals/Juno Athletics the New Jersey Major team struggled past the Nitro Circus199 team 9-3 after Nitro jumped out to a 3-1 lead and failed to score the rest of the game. Filip Washington, Nick Day, and Orlando Castillo were perfect hitting in the game and Nitro199 did not hit a home run in the game. Nightmare/Benefit the Badge/Miken (MO-AA) run ruled 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton (OH-A) 34-19 over in the White baseball quad turning a 13-8 deficit into a 24-13 lead scoring 16 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Jared Hunt led the team with a 5-5 2 HR and 6 RBI performance. Knell/Cheap Suits (CA-A) run ruled Westpoint Softball (IN-A) 32-11 scoring 14 runs in the top of the 1st inning in the White quad as Chris Benigno, Demario Boyd, and Mike Cirillo were all perfect hitting in the game with Boyd hitting 2 home runs and a double. Rock Run pulled off the upset of the year in the stadium over 2021 USSSA Major World Series champion Resmondo/Smashit/All American/Menosse 22-21 when the kids from Rock Run matched Resmondo’s 9 run 3rd inning and kept pace with them the rest of the way scoring 4 in the bottom of the 7th to win! Resmondo out homered them 10-4 but Rock Run collected 11 doubles and 3 triples in the victory. Over in the White quad Classic Glass/Easton (CA-AA) scored 6 runs in the top of the 7th and shut down Cornerstone/Midstate (KY-A) 29-22 as offseason pickup Mike Nino went 5-5 with 4 runs scored and Ryan Ramirez hit 3 home runs. Anarchy/SmashitSports/Beloli/OA (NY-A) knocked off Sports Reach/Riot (FL-AA) 10-9 scoring one run in the top of the 10th to win. Each team hit one home run on the White Easton field with the wind blowing in.

In the bottom half of the winner’s bracket “Round of 32” S&E/Dan Smith (NC-AA) quickly beat LOB 33-8 scoring 14 runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Pete Seiden was 3-3 with 2 HR and 6 RBI on the baseball field. Chick-fil-a/Slugger/BAF/LBT (VA-AA) beat Slugger/Brackins/Rebel/SVC/PT (MI-A) 12-11 on a walk off homer by Jacob Clifton in the bottom of the 7th. Monsta/Albicocco/Racks/Nitro Circus the new California Major team beat TG Brand 16-8 on Red Wilson. L&S Glass (CA-A) got a walk off homer from Blake Smith to beat rival Bay Area Legends (CA-AA) 31-30 over on White Marucci field.

Nitro Circus/Klutch/Team 199/BRC the new Maryland TBD team with Chris Greinert and Robbie Fow beat Baugh Ford/Grizzy (AL-A) 31-9 scoring 20 runs in the top of the 3rd. Aaron Conrad was 4-4 with 3 HR and 6 RBI in the win and Dylan Shupe was 4-4. The #1 seed Smashit/Thunder/Chosen/Pure/RF/BD/TDB (NY-Major) pulled away from Epic scoring 11 runs in the top of the 5th to win 22-7. Andrew Collins, Rich Racobaldo, and Kyle Fisher were perfect hitting in the win. Epic did not homer in the stadium. Stars/NFM Lending/Arab $$$ (CO-A) upset Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast (FL-AA) 7-5 scoring 3 in the bottom of the 6th on a triple by Dario Villagomez to take the lead and holding Comp Edge scoreless in the top of the 7th. And Seminoles/TPS/NACSF.INC/Pure/RS (OK-AA) who borrowed uniforms and equipment from Competitive Edge when their flight was cancelled in Atlanta drove all night to get to the tournament and they came from behind to beat Dirty Vegas/Steel/Suncoast/AZGM 12-11 in their opener.

The “Round of 16” was played between 11 AM and 6 PM Thursday as lightning delayed a few games. Adiktiv continued their upset ways knocking off Precision 13-6 scoring 7 runs in the top of the 1st inning. They out homered Precision 2-0 with the wind blowing in on Red Rawlings and Nick Perez and Dakota Lowery each had 3 hits. Nightmare trailing MPT most of the game scored 9 runs in the bottom of the 7th to beat them 15-14 on a Nick Vanstratten single scoring Zane Migues who was 4-4.

Nightmare’s Zane Migues helped take down MPT in the 7th.

Rock Run won their 3rd game in a row 11-7 over Knell/Cheap Suits in the Stadium as Terry Lambright went 4-4 and the team had 11 extra base hits. Classic Glass got past Anarchy 7-5 on Red Wilson with the win blowing in. In a wild game between ‘AA’ powers Chick-fil-a beat S&E in the 10th inning 38-37 on an Aaron Stidham walk off homer after both teams gave away the game and then tied it up with some great defense and crazy double plays. Finally Monsta run ruled L&S Glass 20-4. Smashit/Thunder run ruled Nitro Circus 20-5. And Seminoles beat Stars 13-5 as Brandon Raines went 4-4 and Seminoles out homered Stars 4-0.

Chick-fil-a’s Aaron Stidham walks off S&E in the 10th inning

In the “Round of 8” Nightmare beat Adiktiv 12-11 on a walk off single by Zane Migues in the bottom of the 8th in the stadium with the wind blowing in. Then Classic Glass beat Rock Run 5-4 in the stadium scoring 2 in the top of the 7th on a Mike Nino double. Monsta knocked off Chick-fil-a 14-10 back on Red Marucci. And Smash It sent Seminoles to the loser’s bracket 21-12.

In the “Final 4” Classic Glass beat Nightmare 10-4 in a game in the stadium where Nightmare’s Jared Hunt hit the only home run. Monsta looked good early against Smashit as middle infielder Tommy Melton and left fielder Jason Matusik made great catches to hold them in check. But SmashIt behind the pitching of Andy Purcell shut down Monsta 16-12 and Josh Riley hit a two out inside the park homer. Monsta put up too many zero’s to have a chance.

Friday Dual #1

Smash It takes on Classic Glass in the winner’s final Friday morning.

On Friday the winner’s bracket finals was played for Dual #1 between Smash it and Classic Glass. Smashit powered their way to a 21-12 lead on homer’s by Collins, Williams, and Racobaldo and held off a late run by Classic Glass to win 25-17. In the loser’s bracket it was all Resmondo after losing their first game they won 8 straight beating Young Guns 37-7, MPT Rentals 26-9 in a game you can watch here in condensed form, they then beat Precision 35-17, Seminoles 28-6, Chick-fil-a 56-43, and Nightmare 26-4. In that Chick-fil-a game they were down 40-36 and scored 20 runs in the top of the 7th. Kyle Pearson had 10 RBI.

Resmondo scores 20 in the top of the 7th vs Chick-fil-a

Resmondo then beat Monsta 31-15 in the 4th place game, Classic Glass 33-32 on a walk off homer by Travis Clark to win the 3rd place game, and in the championship ran out of gas losing to Smash It Sports 27-12 as SIS scored 11 in the bottom of the 2nd and 10 more in the bottom of the 4th to win in the 5th by the run rule. Josh Riley was 4-4 in the championship and Racobaldo, Brungardt, Dunn, and Purcell all had 3 hits each.

Monsta’s Jason Magnum homer’s against Resmondo in the 4th place game Friday.

Resmondo’s Travis Clark hits a walk off homer to beat Classic Glass in the loser’s final.

Benches cleared in the Championship between Resmondo and Smash It Sports.

Watch out, Travis may fold you and put you in his pocket… 🙂

Friday Dual #2

On Friday night Dual #2 began with the 5 play in games and the “Round of 32”. Rock Run/Silverbacks blanked LSR 14-0 hitting just one homer then lost to Monsta’s Major team 30-22 as Monsta’s Austyn Dawe went 5-5 with 2 HR. Epic beat Axe 29-25 as Walden, Fisher, Westmoreland and Jalbert all collected 4 hits. Then Epic lost to Resmondo 26-10 when Phil Matte and Pat Ellwanger went 4-4. Adiktiv beat Young Guns 20-9 then upset S&E 20-16 when they scored 13 runs in the bottom of the 6th! TG Brand run ruled LOB 22-4 before MPT Rentals beat them 30-17. Josh Kirsten was 5-5 and Olivera 4-4 with 7 RBI for MPT. True beat the Nitro Circus B? team 18-16 before losing to Smash It Major team 24-19 in the stadium. Smashit scored 11 runs in the 6th after trailing 17-13. Baugh Ford beat Chick-fil-a 28-25, Jason Gilfillan, Billy Sanders, Justin Lutheran, and Zach Ross all with 4 hits. Ross had 4 homer’s and 10 RBI in the game over on White Marucci. Proton beat Kut4 15-13, neither team hit a home run on Red Wilson. The Nitro Circus A? team beat 4with.com/Premier 17-16 when Premier left the tying run on 1st. Westpoint out slugged Nightmare 41-31 scoring 13 in the 4th and 12in the bottom of the 6th. Kyler Kirkland, Brandon Yoder, and Kyle Johnson were a combined 17 for 18 in the win. Stars scored 4 in the bottom of the 7th to beat Classic Glass 17-14 on a walk off homer by Ayden De Young-Faria. Competitive Edge beat Anarchy 38-34 scoring 11 runs in the top of the 7th. 8 players had 4 hits or more. There were so many close games Friday night! Precision beat Slugger/Brackins 32-29 as Curtis Stewart went 5-5 with 3 HR. Bay Area Legends knocked off Primetime 32-21. Knell/Cheap Suits beat California rival L&S Glass 15-13 holding off a late run by L&S. Demario Boyd was 4-4 in the win. Seminoles advanced with a 21-6 win over Cornerstone. And Sports Reach beat Dirty Vegas 31-30 even though Dirty Vegas scored 8 in the bottom of the 7th and left the bases loaded. Scott Hartling was 5-6 with 2 HR and 7 RBI for Sports Reach.

Saturday Dual #2

Space Coast Stadium

The “Round of 16” was on Saturday morning and it was extremely windy all day. Proton beat Baugh Ford 19-9 as they out homered Baugh 6-3. Monsta run ruled Nitro Circus A? team 35-12. Resmondo run ruled Westpoint 29-9 and Competitive Edge run ruled Stars 28-6 in a revenge game and Jason Branch went 5-5 in the lead off spot. Precision beat Adiktiv 10-3 with the wind gusting in on Red Rawlings taking an 8-0 lead to the 4th inning. Mike Jacobsen and Tyler Kahlke were each 3-3 and Jacobsen had the only home run of the game. MPT Rentals blew an 18 run lead against Bay Area Legends with the wind blowing out but held on to win 40-37. Bay Area had the hammer and home runs to hit. Filip Washington was 4-4, Harvey and Bennett were each 6-7. The teams combined to walk 27 batters as wind played havoc with the pitches. Smash It Thunder scored 10 in the 1st and 15 in the 3rd to beat Knell. Riley was 5-5 with 4 HR and Mcclanahan 4-4 in the win. And in a two and a half hour game Seminoles beat Sports Reach 52-41 as Scott Hartling went 6-7 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI.

In the “Round of 8” Monsta crushed Proton 28-2 over on Red Marucci with the wind blowing across from right to left. Dawe was 4-5 with 3 HR and a double and Tyler Wilson was 4-4 in the win. Resmondo was leading Competitive Edge 20-12 going into the bottom of the 5th in the stadium when Comp Edge scored 18 runs! But Resmondo scored 10 in the top of the 6th, 6 in the top of the 7th and Comp Edge scored 6 in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game at 36 each. In the 8th inning Resmondo scored 10 and Comp Edge 7 and Resmondo advanced 46-43. Resmondo used all 14 HR and Luis Reyna was 5-6. Competitive Edge got 6 hits each from Ryan Honeycutt and Logan Rogers. In the lower half of the bracket Precision upset MPT Rentals 39-28 in the stadium as Jacobsen, Khalke, and Stewart each had 5 hits. And Smashit Sports run ruled Seminoles 28-6.

The “Final 4” played out Saturday evening as the wind died down a little. Monsta upset Resmondo 40-36. At one point Steele Lewis in center field for Monsta and Cory Briggs in center for Resmondo traded great catches. This one is worth checking out in the condensed games later this week. And in the bottom half of the bracket Precision upset Smashit 22-21 after trailing by 1 going into the bottom of the 7th. Precision got a walk off homer from Heath Barnes after a walk to Frank Fracek.

Precisions Heath Barnes hits a walk off homer to beat Smash It Thunder in the semifinals Saturday night!

In the winner’s final Precision went toe to toe with Monsta as Travis Houseman went 5-5 but Monsta’s defense with Mark Wik at shortstop and a home run rob by Jeremy Yates gave the momentum to Monsta who won 31-25. They out homered Precision 7-3 and Jason Matusik hit 3 HR.

Steele Lewis is running center field for Monsta. Hits here in the winner’s final of Dual #2

In the loser’s bracket Proton beat S&E, Competitive Edge, and Smash It Thunder to make it to the loser’s final. Meanwhile late Saturday night/early Sunday morning in the game between Resmondo and MPT, John Williams hit a liner off of Resmondo pitcher Brad Reckarts helmet which led to some chirping and the teams emptied the benches. I am not aware of any punches but the suspensions are coming. The game ended up being a “double forfeit” so there was no 4th place finisher.

This liner off of the pitcher’s head led to chirping, bench clearing, and a double forfeit in the MPT vs Resmondo game.

Sunday Dual #2

Proton’s Brock Frentzel hits against Precision in the loser’s final.

On Sunday morning Proton beat Precision 19-10 scoring 11 in the bottom of the 6th. Precision made a number of unforced errors in the game. John Nelson was 4-4 with a homer in the win. In the championship Monsta held the lead the whole way and scored 11 in the top of the 5th to force a 29-12 run rule victory. The new major team had won their first tournament of the season. For Monsta Jason Matusik was 5-5 with 4 HR and 10 RBI and Steele Lewis was 4-5 with a homer and 4RBI.

Jason Matusik was on fire for Monsta.

Poll Results for Dual #1

Long Bombers of the Week

Chris Greinert of the Nitro Circus A? team hit one on Red Marucci over the net in left on the baseball field, over the grass, over the parking spaces and driveway, over the sidewalk and up on the roof of the usssa office building half way up where the second part of the roof starts. Google Earth says 475 feet!

Hall of Fame Classic Final Standings and Awards

Dual #1

Smash It Pitcher Andy Purcell was MVP of Dual #1

Resmondo shortstop Tyler Marshburn was Offensive MVP of Dual #2

Smash It CF Ben Dunn was Defensive MVP

Dual #2

Monsta LF Jason Matusik was MVP of Dual #2 and robbed this homer in left field vs Smash It Sports

Monsta pitcher Andrew Vitcak was Defensive MVP of Dual #2

Proton’s Jon Nelson was Offensvive MVP

Team by team notes:

1st – Monsta/Albicocco/Racks/Nitro Circus CA-Major

Avg Finish: 2.5 Record: (10-2)
Dual #1 4th (4-2) Runs: 19.0 Allowed: 17.2 Diff: 1.8
Dual #2 1st (6-0) Runs: 32.2 Allowed: 18.2 Diff: 14.0

The new Monsta team went 5-0 vs ‘AA’ teams on the week and won the 2nd dual. With a 4th place finish in the 1st dual they were the only team to place in the top 4 of both duals! Looking at the online roster, Cayton did not play and wasn’t there. Matusik was killing it and seemed to have renewed defensive energy and hustle on the bases as did Yates who I think actually struggled some. Steele Lewis looked like the center fielder he was before Covid hit and limited his playing time. Vitcak was solid and had a lot to do with putting this team together. Magnum brought the muscle, literally. Dawe at lead off is an interesting experiment. Kendall Welborn, Tommy Melton, and Josh Fyffe in the infield all played the part and Mark Wik at shortstop really dropped a lot of weight and made some great plays showing good range. The odd part of the roster is lefty’s Dan Kirkwood, Jeff Bloomer, and Tyler Wilson who all seem to be playing for the backup outfielder spot? Congratulations to the sponsorship group on an outstanding first week. Sonny Pilcher seems to be calling the shots with input from Steve Hildebran, Sonny Yamcharen, and most likely Vitcak. It seemed to work this week for sure.

3B Welborn, SS Wik, MI Melton, 2B Fyffe

2nd – SmashIt/ThunderChosen/PureRF/BD/TDB NY-Major

Avg Finish: 3.0 Record: (9-2)
Dual #1 1st (6-0) Runs: 21.8 Allowed: 10.8 Diff: 11.0
Dual #2 5th (3-2) Runs: 24.8 Allowed: 18.2 Diff: 6.6

Smash It rolled through Dual #1 undefeated and looked to be doing the same in Dual #2 when unlikely Precision upended them in the semifinals. Late Saturday night Proton sent them home. I didn’t see much of Smashit as they played all but one game in the stadium I believe. Brungardt, Racobaldo, and Everett Williams were all over .700 in the 1st dual but this team really relies on their pitching and defense. Gregory and Renner don’t seem to be playing much. Jonas, Purcell, Morales at least on the stadium fields, and Mcclanahan towards the bottom of the order do make outs so the defense can’t give away any runs for them to be successful. Buddy Wolf joined the team late in the 1st Dual and they seem to be healthy as a team. Riley had some monster games as well at lead off.

3rd Resmondo/Smash IT/ All American/Menosse FL-Major

Avg Finish: 3.5 Record: (12-4)
Dual #1 2nd (8-2) Runs: 30.5 Allowed: 18.2 Diff: 12.3
Dual #2 5th (4-2) Runs: 22.8 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: 5.8

Resmondo is now 9-1 vs ‘AA’ and 6-3 vs Major teams this season. They failed to win either dual, but yes we know October is all that matters. Resmondo lost to Rock Run/Silverbacks in their opener Thursday morning and never fully recovered although they made an impressive 8 win run through the loser’s bracket to finish 2nd showing they are probably still the favorites in Space Coast Stadium. Marshbrun was .826 in Dual #1, Clark .808 at lead off. Marshburn, Pearson, Connell, Clark, and Mack were all double digit in homers in Dual #1 and Pearson had 44 RBI. Resmondo seems short handed with Bazat out til summer but their offense is still tops in the game. They also had two more bench clearings with suspensions likely coming. Give them credit for heart coming through that 1st dual loser bracket like they did.

3B Mack, SS Marshburn, MI Reyna, 3B Connell

4th – COMPETITIVE EDGE/OLMITO/SUNCOAST FL-AA

Avg Finish: 6.0 Record: (8-4)
Dual #1 5th (5-2) Runs: 20.9 Allowed: 13.4 Diff: 7.4
Dual #2 7th (3-2) Runs: 31.6 Allowed: 24.8 Diff: 6.8

Competitive Edge played 12 games. They have played well this year but not their best and haven’t broken through against major teams 0-3 but have come close. Delagarza and Faron Miller pitched. They released Josh Moore to Bay Area. Logan Rogers, Tyler Ervine, Delagarza, and Branch were all over .700 onbase. Rogers, Ervine, Branch, and Roxby all had double digit homers and Roxby and Ervine had 40 RBI. This team is right there with Proton for the top of the ‘AA’ division but still far from peaking which is probably good. If “Potter” can keep from getting tossed, and Patterson can get a uniform this team can go far. 🙂

5th – Proton / Legacy Glove Co. AZ-AA

Avg Finish: 7.5 Record: (9-4)
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 26.3 Allowed: 19.8 Diff: 6.5
Dual #2 2nd (7-2) Runs: 17.1 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: 0.1

Proton struggled in Dual #1 but made a run at Dual #2 only fizzleing out in the championship. They are an “SNI like” 5-0 vs ‘AA’ teams and beat 2 Major teams so far. They played without Tyler Dickens and Alexis Ramirez, Brad Lunda pulled a muscle, and Jose Flores left after Dual #1 (family party). But backup pitcher Daniel Ankrum pitched them to 2nd in Dual #2. 13 grueling games and John Nelson and Chad Mullins both were over .700 onbase percentage, Nelson hit 11 home runs and had 16 doubles! Outfield was Frentzel, Erickson, and McClure at least towards the end. Infield was Brady Stewart at 3rd who was flashing some Legacy leather, Dezern who has taken over shortstop, Ussery in the middle, Steve Edwards at 2nd, and Dooley at 1st. They are probably built more for the 300’s but played well on the big fields and thus will be a tough out at the Major.

Brady Stewart at 3B was making great play after great play.

Dan Ankrum the Old Bag pitcher pitched the 2nd dual when Jose Flores had to leave (family birthday I think)

Tied for 6th – Precision/3rd St./Red Athlete IL-AA

Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: (6-4)
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 19.5 Allowed: 21.5 Diff: -2.0
Dual #2 3rd (4-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 22.2 Diff: 0.8

Precision sent home major teams MPT and Smash It Sports in back to back games in Dual #2. They won some games with the wind gusting in and just overall put on an impressive performance. Sunday morning they were out of gas and short handed due to injuries. Travis Houseman, Brad Tabler, and Heath Barnes who was lead off all had over .700 onbase percentages. Barnes somehow led the team in home runs with 10. Khalke had 32 RBI. Mike Jacobson and Mark Blaziewske shared the pitching duties. They had Houseman, Andrews, and Fracek in the outfield on Sunday. Khalke, Barnes, Wright, Consigny, and Tabler in the infield. With Curtis Stewart catching. Precision is always a threat just they do it with less of the big names. I do see Keske on the roster but he wasn’t there and they lost Flood, Kessler, and Mucciarelli in the offseason to Bay Area.

3B Tyler Khalke, SS Heath Barnes, MI Billy Wright

Tied for 6th – SEMINOLES/TPS/NACSF.INC/PURE/RS OK-AA

Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 9th (2-2) Runs: 10.8 Allowed: 16.3 Diff: -5.5
Dual #2 7th (3-2) Runs: 28.6 Allowed: 26.2 Diff: 2.4

Seminoles is doing well against the lower level teams but is 1-2 vs ‘AA’ and hasn’t broken through against Major teams yet (0-5). Seminoles seemed a little short handed as well and were very tired after cancelled flights from Atlanta forced them to drive overnight Wednesday in order to make the first game. I don’t have a great feel for this team yet. They seem to be the same old Seminoles which means they will have great weekends and some not so good weekends. Harris and Graus shared the pitching duties. They won that marathon game with Sports Reach 51-42, lol.

Seminoles had to use Competitive Edge’s uniforms when their flights from Atlanta were cancelled.

8th – Classic Glass/Easton CA-AA

Avg Finish: 10.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 3rd (4-2) Runs: 16.7 Allowed: 15.5 Diff: 1.2
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 27.3 Allowed: 26.3 Diff: 1.0

Classic Glass took full advantage of the Major team upsets in the top of the bracket in Dual #1 and made it all the way to the winner’s final and ended up 3rd. Classic played without Jordan Spaulding (sick) and backup pitcher Atchison. Jones pitched. Reid Ramirez, Downing, and Sal Formosa across the outfield. Nino, Casteneda at SS, Josh Brown, Clayton Farrar, and Ryan Ramirez in the infield. Team is SOLID!

Greg Downing had the shoe game going.

Tied for 9th – MPT Rentals/Juno Athletics NJ-Major

Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 10.7 Allowed: 14.7 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 5th (4-2) Runs: 26.5 Allowed: 23.2 Diff: 3.3

MPT had a rough week. No top 4 finishes, 1-4 vs Major teams this year, and has lost to two ‘AA’ teams. Since they won the winner’s final in Vegas they are 5-6… I don’t even know who Overstreet is but the stats say he led the team in onbase percentage at .737. Castillo, Washington, Shannon Smith (limited at bats) and Radich were over .700. Bennett had 12 HR and 33 RBI. The pitchers walked a medium sized village (grant it, it was VERY windy) and the MPT offense put up zero after zero against Resmondo who isn’t known for shutting teams down. Ok, I was harsh there. MPT is still the 4th best team so far…maybe. Rookie of the Year candidate Donnie Walsh was .667 with 7 HR.

Tied for 9th – NIGHTMARE/BENEFIT THE BADGE/MIKEN MO-AA

Tied for 9th – Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 5th (3-2) Runs: 13.8 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: -2.2
Dual #2 17th (2-2) Runs: 24.0 Allowed: 19.3 Diff: 4.8

Nightmare pulled off that 9 run bottom of the 7th win vs MPT, a signature win of sorts. They were led by Zane Migues .676, 6 HR, 23 RBI, Jared Hunt .636, 10 HR, 33 RBI, and Nick Vanstratten .643, 8 HR, 24 RBI. Newcomer Andy Filoteo was also .652. I wonder if he is a rookie? I am not sure how many at bats he had with Pure back in the day. Anyways the pitching of Buckshot always seems to keep Nightmare relevant and they have some power with the guys mentioned above plus Trey Gillilland and Billy Waltrip. Kanaby looks like he only played 1 game so he must have gotten injured. They also added veteran BJ Fulk this year.

Tied for 9th – Nitro Circus/Klutch/team 199/BRC MD-TBD

Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 9th (3-2) Runs: 16.2 Allowed: 12.0 Diff: 4.2
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 18.3 Allowed: 23.8 Diff: -5.5

It is hard to keep the Nitro Circus teams straight but this is the TBD team that wants to play ‘A’. At the dual they were 1-2 vs ‘AA’ and 3-2 vs ‘A’. They have Ricardo Lizcano, Zack Smith, and Toby Letak who all played ‘AA’ with Albicocco last year. They also have Aaron Conrad and Robby Fow who were bumped to ‘AA’ with Chick-fil-a and Sports Reach. And they have Chris Greinert who played Major with MPT last year. They also have rookie of the year candidate Jake Ringold in the outfield. A good team who would probably be better off accepting the ‘AA’ tag so they can make any moves they see fit to make and shock the world…or maybe they will get the ‘A’ tag, who knows. 🙂 A good new team regardless.

12th – ADIKTIV/THROWBACKS/CE TX-A

Avg Finish: 12.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 7th (3-2) Runs: 13.6 Allowed: 12.0 Diff: 1.6
Dual #2 17th (2-2) Runs: 20.0 Allowed: 18.3 Diff: 1.8

Adiktiv is the Thunder ‘B’ team from last year with a conference season under their belt they came out knowing what to expect and delivered 5 wins! They had quality wins over S&E and Proton and their losses were mostly close games. Brossman led the team in onbase .679. They hit just 23 home runs with Schumaker leading the way with 5 HR and 20 RBI.

Tied for 13th – Rock Run/AllHustle/Silverback/Koval IN-B

Avg Finish: 13.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 9th (3-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 12.0 Diff: 1.0
Dual #2 17th (2-2) Runs: 15.0 Allowed: 12.5 Diff: 2.5

Rock Run shocked the softball world beating the defending USSSA Major World Champions by a run in their 2nd game. Rock Run is the Silverbacks team that beat Smash It Sports major team in Chicago last year. They are fast, defensive minded, and hit line drives throughout the order. Arlis Miller led the team with a .743 onbase percentage and 5 triples and Terry Lambright led in HR with 5 and RBI with 24.

Rock Run won 3 straight games in the stadium to start Dual #1

Tied for 13th – S&E / Dan Smith NC-AA

Avg Finish: 13.0 Record: (4-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 28.7 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: 5.7
Dual #2 9th (3-2) Runs: 23.8 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: 9.8

S&E was off a little all week. Not sure I can put a finger on it as to why? They are now 3-3 vs ‘AA’ on the year. An extra inning loss to Chick-fil-a took a lot out of them. Rookie Hoskins the new lefty led the team in onbase with .812 and Bill Cullen the center fielder was .743. The rookie Robinson had 8 HR and 31 RBI. Dave Bare, newly acquired Corey Miller, and Edmund Locklear pitched.

Tied for 15th – KNELL/Cheap Suits CA-A

Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 18.7 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: 2.7
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 14.3 Allowed: 19.8 Diff: -5.5

Knell was up and down like most ‘A’ teams at the Dual. Benigno was onbase .871 without hitting a homer, impressive. Boyd was .710 with 5 HR and 15 RBI. And Rocha led the team in RBI with 21. This is not last years MAJ team and should not have been seeded as such… 🙂

Next year teams may end up being seeded randomly within class for the first 3 tournaments to avoid this issue of what teams qualify for points from the previous season.

Vic Cordova and Mike Bowlin from the old GTL days play with Knell.

Tied for 15th – Stars/ NFM Lending/ Arab $$$ CO-A

Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 7.7 Allowed: 11.7 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 10.5 Allowed: 15.5 Diff: -5.0

Stars upset ‘AA’ teams Competitive Edge in Dual #1 and Classic Glass in Dual #2. They are “scrappy”. Villagomez led the team with a .739 OBP. Young-Faria hit the walk off homer to beat Classic Glass. The team had just 5 HR in 7 games and the wind had a lot to do with that.

17th – Chick-fil-A / Slugger / BAF / LBT VA-AA

Avg Finish: 16.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 7th (3-2) Runs: 26.0 Allowed: 26.0 Diff: 0.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: -2.0

Chick-fil-a beat S&E on a walk off homer by Stidham in a slugfest. Lost a 56-43 game to Resmondo when Res scored 20 in the top of the 7th. Then went 0-2 in the 2nd dual losing to Alabama ‘A’ teams Baugh Ford and Kut4. This team will have their moment in the sun before its over.

Kashner, Porter, and Alston

Tied for 18th – 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton OH-A

Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 9th (4-2) Runs: 19.3 Allowed: 18.7 Diff: 0.7
Dual #2 25th (1-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 15.3 Diff: -2.3

Premier who is now 4with.com played in a bunch of good close games and came out with a 5-4 record. They picked up Kyle Harmon who I remember playing some shortstop and pitcher as well as Cody Pack and I see Nick Canfield on the roster. Cory Boothe still anchors the lineup. Rocky Staton is coaching his kids team so wasn’t there. A solid start.

The return of the Pure Romance colors.

Tied for 18th – Young Guns/Juno Athletics FLS-B

Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: (5-4)
Dual #1 25th (1-2) Runs: 12.3 Allowed: 22.3 Diff: -10.0
Dual #2 9th (4-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 20.0 Diff: 3.0

Young Guns beat Westpoint in Dual #1 and lost by 1 run to TG Brand. In Dual #2 after losing their 1st game they beat L&S, Tru, Bay Area, and Dirty Vegas! What a run! And all in the nasty Saturday wind which bodes well for their chances at ‘B’ Worlds this year.

Tied for 18th – TG Brand MI-A

Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: (4-4)
Dual #1 17th (2-2) Runs: 12.8 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: -2.3
Dual #2 17th (2-2) Runs: 17.5 Allowed: 18.5 Diff: -1.0

TG Brand is back in the conference under the leadership of John Golich. They added Keith Laski from Nightmare and Ryan Mullen from Envy and have veterans Ryan Morrow and pitcher Tyler Kincaid who have carried this team to the ‘A’ World final a few years back.

Tied for 18th – Kut4 Sports/OI Livingston AL-A

Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 17th (2-2) Runs: 15.8 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: 0.8
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 11.0 Allowed: 12.0 Diff: -1.0

Kut4 finally joined the Conference. They beat Chick-fil-a, Alabama rival Baugh Ford, and Epic. They lost some close ones to Stars and Proton. Kylie Ming, Brandon Hooks, Jonathan Rasberry, Bryan Dunson, Curtis Cornett, and Justin Tripp are some of the familiar names on the roster.

Tied for 18th – Sports Reach/Riot/Pure FL-AA

Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: (2-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 22.7 Allowed: 18.3 Diff: 4.3
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 27.3 Allowed: 38.7 Diff: -11.3

In the 1st Dual Sports Reach lost to Anarchy 10-9, run ruled Cornerstone 30-15 and lost to Precision by a run. In the 2nd they beat Dirty Vegas by a run, lost to Seminoles in a 2.5 hour game, then was run ruled by S&E. This is basically a brand new team. Justin Ogletree was doing the pitching. They had Brad Sheffield, Davis Bilardello, Scott Hartling, and Pat Price as the veteran offensive players. An interesting team that seemed to have good energy when I was watching.

P Ogletree, 2B Pat Price

Scott Hartling had some big offensive games.

23rd – DIRTY VEGAS/STEEL/SUNCOAST/AZGM TX-A

Avg Finish: 19.0 Record: (2-4)
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 8.0 Allowed: 18.5 Diff: -10.5
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 27.0 Allowed: 28.0 Diff: -1.0

Dirty Vegas beat Cornerstone and fellow Texas ‘A’ team Adiktiv and lost to a bunch of ‘AA’ teams and Young Guns.

Tied for 24th – BAUGHFORD/GRIZZY AL-A

Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 33rd (0-2) Runs: 12.5 Allowed: 28.5 Diff: -16.0
Dual #2 9th (3-2) Runs: 24.4 Allowed: 28.6 Diff: -4.2

Baugh beat Chick-fil-a, Classic Glass in a shootout, and Nitro Circus ‘A’ for some good quality wins after a slow 0-2 start in Dual #1. Rainer and Sanders were over .700 OBP. Sanders and Ross hit 10 HR. They picked up Ross from Classic Glass and Gilfillan from Sports Reach. I believe last week I mistakenly said Sanders came over from Nightmare but Sanders was actually with Baugh Ford last year.

Baugh left fielder robs a homer.

Tied for 24th – WestPoint Softball IN-A

Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 33rd (0-2) Runs: 12.5 Allowed: 23.5 Diff: -11.0
Dual #2 9th (3-2) Runs: 16.2 Allowed: 18.2 Diff: -2.0

Westpoint got off to a slow start losing to Young Guns and Knell. In the 2nd dual they beat Nightmare 41-31, lost to Resmondo by 20, then beat fellow Indiana team Rock Run 13-8 and Stars 8-5 before losing to MPT 18-10.

Tied for 24th – BAY AREA LEGENDS CA-AA

Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: (2-4)
Dual #1 25th (1-2) Runs: 17.3 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: 0.3
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 32.0 Allowed: 32.0 Diff: 0.0

Bay Area got walked off by L&S in their opener. They beat Tru and Primetime for their only two wins. They did give MPT a run for their money on Saturday but came up short 40-37 with the bats in their hands.

Tied for 24th – Anarchy/SmashItSports/Beloli/OA NY-A

Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 12.7 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: -1.3
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 25.0 Allowed: 31.0 Diff: -6.0

Anarchy beat Sports Reach 10-9 for their only win. This team is half of the 2021 USSSA ‘B’ World championship team plus some big names like Brian Zirkle and Kyle Pearson from SNI, Thorbrogger from Xtreme, and Brandon Streets from SVC.

Former Xtreme pitcher Mike Thorbrogger with Anarchy.

Tied for 28th – LOB FL-B

Avg Finish: 23.0 Record: (3-4)
Dual #1 13th (3-2) Runs: 11.8 Allowed: 16.4 Diff: -4.6
Dual #2 33rd (0-2) Runs: 4.5 Allowed: 23.5 Diff: -19.0

LOB a local Florida ‘B’ team beat Kut4, Slugger/Brackins, and Stars in the 1st Dual then went 0-2 in the 2nd. I think this was the D&S team from last year that upset some teams at the Columbus, Georgia major?

Tied for 28th – L & S Glass CA-A

Avg Finish: 23.0 Record: (2-4)
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 15.8 Allowed: 21.3 Diff: -5.5
Dual #2 33rd (0-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -5.0

L&S Glass had that big win over Bay Area Legends to start the tournament on a walk off homer but then went 1-4 from there. The offense was sluggish. The roster is similar to 2021 but they picked up Jason Crosland and Kade Christensen from MAJ, Josh Tiuchty from Juno, Taylor Albrecht, and Ryan Tomasi from Envy to pitch.

Tied for 30th – Epic/Killmans/FLS/ES/Pure SC-B

Avg Finish: 25.0 Record: (2-4)
Dual #1 25th (1-2) Runs: 16.3 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: 0.3
Dual #2 25th (1-2) Runs: 17.3 Allowed: 24.7 Diff: -7.3

Epic beat Axe/MIS twice but those were their only wins. This is some of the Briggs guys from the past. Jacob Jalbert led the team with an .800 onbase 4 HR and 17 RBI. They hit just 15 HR in 6 games for those of you at home that think its easy to hit homer’s.

Tied for 30th – Cornerstone/Midstate KY-A

Avg Finish: 25.0 Record: (0-4)
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 18.5 Allowed: 29.5 Diff: -11.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 9.5 Allowed: 20.0 Diff: -10.5

Cornerstone built a veteran ‘A’ team around pitcher Bill Pinkham with guys like Adam Rockoff, JD Genter, and Wally Maybrier who used to play with Red’s Astros. They grabbed David McDowell from Sports Reach and I see Nick Mitschke on the roster. But the new team went 0-4 so a rough start.

Tied for 30th – Primetime/Easton/FAI GA-A

Avg Finish: 25.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 32.5 Diff: -20.5
Dual #2 25th (1-2) Runs: 19.3 Allowed: 19.3 Diff: 0.0

Primetimes only win was an 18-3 victory over Axe/MIS. When you have a tournament with 37 really good teams you are going to have good teams finish 25th with one win. It’s just the way it is. Primetime is another team that will have their moments this year as they always do. The roster is similar to the past two seasons. They picked up Freddie Bynum and Jimmy Cobb.

Freddie Bynum hits an inside the park homer.

Tied for 33rd – LSR IN-B

Avg Finish: 29.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 33rd (0-2) Runs: 14.5 Allowed: 20.5 Diff: -6.0
Dual #2 25th (1-2) Runs: 7.7 Allowed: 12.7 Diff: -5.0

LSR is a 2nd year Conference ‘B’ team from Indiana. Their only win was over Brackins by the run rule.

Tied for 33rd – Nitro Circus/Team199/SI MD-TBD

Avg Finish: 29.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 25th (1-2) Runs: 7.7 Allowed: 11.7 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 33rd (0-2) Runs: 14.5 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -2.5

This is the 3rd Nitro Circus team and they are TBD although they are trying to play ‘B’. Their only win was over LSR although they lost to MPT by a score of 9-3. Ryan Fant, John Slootmaker, Cody Collins, Doug Ruble, and center fielder Woodrow Darling from MPT are some of the more recognizable names.

Tied for 33rd – Slugger/Brackins/Rebel/SVC/PT MI-A

Avg Finish: 29.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 25th (1-2) Runs: 16.7 Allowed: 15.7 Diff: 1.0
Dual #2 33rd (0-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 25.5 Diff: -9.5

This team that won the Tripp Roth tournament looks like a mix of the SVC team that won the GSL ‘A’, Rebel who has been in the conference with a few different teams, and Brackins who I don’t know much about. Their only win was over LSR and then in the 2nd dual they lost to LSR. They have some conference experience and should rebound here soon.

Tied for 33rd – TRU/StubTerminal/Timeless/LA/ES NC-B

Avg Finish: 29.0 Record: (1-4)
Dual #1 33rd (0-2) Runs: 7.5 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: -8.5
Dual #2 25th (1-2) Runs: 17.7 Allowed: 23.7 Diff: -6.0

Tru’s only win was over the Nitro Circus ‘B’? team. Chad Napier, Keandre McGee, and Chanteyon Davidson were all over .700 onbase and Fred Latimore led the team in HR with 4.

37th – Axe / MIS ID-B

Avg Finish: 33.0 Record: (0-4)
Dual #1 33rd (0-2) Runs: 6.0 Allowed: 24.5 Diff: -18.5
Dual #2 33rd (0-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 23.5 Diff: -9.5

Axe/MIS from Idaho got a nasty introduction to the conference by going 0-4 and losing 3 games by the run rule. I think this is the first ever conference team from that state?