2022 Kut4 Sports Atlanta Major
Marietta, GA
May 27-29
Chick-fil-a lead off hitter Trey Porter hits a no doubter. One of his 5 hits in the winner’s final!
Friday night at Al Bishop park.
Hot Links (More Videos to come)
Atlanta Bracket and Results link
Atlanta Friday/Saturday Video Clips link
Winner’s Bracket Finals Condensed Game link
Championship Condensed Game link (when ready)
Atlanta Stats link (when ready)
The Atlanta Teams
Friday Night Recap
Primetime’s Mike Williams hits a laser in a 47-30 victory over Cornerstone Friday night.
The 23 team Atlanta Major began on Friday evening at 6:30 PM on the 300 foot fields at Al Bishop park in Marietta, Georgia. In the 1st round conference teams MIS/CamJam Sports (ID-B) and Epic/Killmans/FLS/ES/Pure (SC-B) knocked off some Georgia ‘E’ teams by the run rule. The ‘E’ teams scored just 3 runs between them. And Non Conference Georgia higher level teams Washed Up/Has Beens (GA-C), NWO (GA-B), FiftyFifty/BSM/Klphotobliss (GA-B), Top Shelf (GA-C), and New School/Anchor Roofing/Holt LLC (GA-C) all advanced to the “Round of 16” against lower level opponents.
At 8:15 PM Friday in perfect softball weather the “Round of 16” began and every game was won by a Conference USSSA team. Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast (FL-AA) run ruled Washed Up 33-7 scoring 20 runs in the top of the 5th inning. Tyler Ervine, Joe Boland, and Mason Farmer all had 4 hits in the win. Sports Reach/Riot (FL-AA) out slugged NWO 41-17 scoring 16 in the 5th and 15 more in the 6th. Sports Reach hit all 14 of their allowed home runs. Davis Bilardello, Scott Hartling, Jacob Willingham, Brad Sheffield, Kevin Bryant, and shortstop Dagmar Pena all had 4 hits in the game. Chick-fil-a/Slugger/BAF/LBT (VA-AA) run ruled New School so fast 34-7 I didn’t even get over to the field to see what was going on!
At 10:00 PM Friday the “Round of 16” continued as Primetime/Easton/FAI (GA-A) jumped out to an 18-0 lead on the new Cornerstone/Midstate (KY-A) team that merged with Rebel. But Cornerstone never gave up and kept extending the game until finally Primetime finished them off 47-30 in a game that lasted 2 hours! Kut4 Sports/OI Livingston (AL-A) battled FiftyFifty for 7 innings. FiftyFifty wouldn’t go away and was down 10 with 6 home runs to hit in the 7th but only scored 2 and lost 31-22. Lead off hitter Trey Martin, 2 hitter Curtis Cornett, and 3 hitter Josh Cardwell all had 5 hits for Kut4. Cardwell hit 4 HR and had 11 RBI. 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton (OH-A) jumped out to a 22-1 lead on MIS and run ruled them 24-3 in 4 innings. Cory Boothe was 3-3 with 3 HR and 7 RBI in the victory. Rock Run/AllHustle/Silverback/Koval (IN-B) trailed a very good ‘C’ team Top Shelf 10-5 going into the bottom of the 4th where they scored 14 runs and they added 6 more in the bottom of the 5th to leave Top Shelf on the field 26-11. Erik Lehman, Galen Miller, Terry Lambright, and Jeremy Slabach were all 4-4 in the game, Miller had 7 RBI. Epic/Killmans scored a nice win over Dirty Vegas/Steel/Suncoast/AZGM (TX-A) 31-25 using their home runs better and scoring in every inning as Robert Lanham went 5-5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI.
4With.com/Premier’s Brad Bruns hits against MIS in a 24-3 win.
Epic takes down Dirty Vegas in a 31-25 win Friday.
Saturday Recap
Chick-fil-a’s Jacob Clifton doubles down the left field line vs Epic in the quarterfinals.
On Saturday the “Final 8” began at 11 AM with Competitive Edge scoring 13 in the top of the 3rd and 12 in the top of the 5th to separate from Primetime and win in 6 innings 36-21. Mitch Lendenski, Tyler Ervine, Ryan Honeycutt, and Brandon Jackson all had 5 hits in the win. Ervine had 9 RBI. Chris Scott was 4-4 for Primetime in the loss.
4With.com jumped out to a 19-8 lead on Rock Run scoring 15 runs in the top of the 3rd but Rock Run took advantage of a number of 4With base running and fielding errors to score 12 in the 3rd and 10 in the 4th and they held on to win in 7 innings 33-29. Lehman and Miller again had 5 hits each. Lehman hit 4 HR. Both teams used their 12 home run limit.
Sports Reach scored 13 runs in the bottom of the 3rd against Kut4 Sports and held off a top of the 7th 5 run comeback to advance to the “Final 4” 30-25. Two time ‘AA’ World champ Brad Sheffield went 5-5 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in the win. Kut4 out homered them 14-11.
And Chick-fil-a crushed Epic 33-2 scoring 18 in the top of the 4th inning. Aaron Stidham was 4-5 with a homer and 5 RBI in the win.
Rock Runs Terry Lambright hits a grand slam against 4With.com in the quarterfinals.
Kut4 takes on Sports Reach in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Final 4 Recap
Chick-fil-a pitcher John Natolly stabs a liner up the middle in the semifinals.
At 5 PM Chick-fil-a played their semifinal game against Rock Run and jumped out to a 31-15 lead scoring 11 in the bottom of the 1st and 14 in the bottom of the 3rd. Rock Run to their credit never gave up and force Chick-fil-a to play all 7 innings but Chick-fil-a won 37-27. 1st baseman Ricky Moyers and 3rd baseman J.T. Gregory were both 5-5 in the win. Moyers hit 3 home runs and had 7 RBI.
Sports Reach LF Scott Hartling hits against Competitive Edge in the semifinals.
In the other semifinal Competitive Edge scored 11 in the bottom of the 1st, Sports Reach scored 12 in the top of the 4th but Competitive Edge had a 36-24 lead going into the 7th and held on to win 36-30. Mason Farmer went 4-4 and Tyler Ervine hit 3 HR in the win. Davis Bilardello was 6-6 with 6 runs scored for Sports Reach in the loss.
Winner’s Final Recap
Comp Edge nearly grounds into a triple play.
The winner’s final began at dusk as the two favorites Competitive Edge and Chick-fil-a squared off. The temperature dropped some into the 70’s and the wind blew in slightly at 5 mph. Competitive Edge got off to a rough start down 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st Tyler Ervine bounced back to the pitcher (pictured above) and Patrick Center stabbed it threw to Tanai Alston covering 2nd and Tanai stepped on the base, tagged the runner there, and threw to first. It was almost a triple play but was instead scored a double play as the runner was correctly called safe at 1st. Later in the inning on a single to left fielder Chick-fil-a’s Terrance Engles, a former AAA baseball pitcher gunned down a runner at the plate to end the inning.
Nothing went right for Competitive Edge in this game as defensive errors crept into their game throughout the 7 innings and Chick-fil-a took their 21-7 lead going into the 7th and ballooned it to 36-9 scoring 15 runs in the top of the 7th to win. They out homered Comp Edge 12-3.
The Comp Edge runner was called out at the plate. It was close!
Loser’s Bracket Recap
NWO takes on Fifty Fifty in a Georgia grudge match in the loser’s bracket.
In the top of the loser’s bracket Cornerstone and Fifty Fifty won a couple games before Epic and 4With dropped down and beat them with 4With/Premier coming out on top after beating Epic and Sports Reach to make it to Sunday. In the lower half of the bracket it was ‘C’ teams Top Shelf and New School/Anchor Roofing from Georgia winning a couple games before Kut4 Sports and Primetime dropped down to win with Primetime beating Kut4 then Rock Run dropping down and beating Primetime late Saturday to make it to the final day.
Sunday Recap
Rock Run and 4With.com/Premier square off at 8 AM Sunday morning.
In the loser’s semi final Sunday morning 4With.com jumped out to a 20-5 lead on an unusually sluggish Rock Run team and even knocked out their starting pitcher. In the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings though Rock Run extended the game avoiding run rules and closed to within 4 runs before 4With finished them 24-20. Rock Run has had 4Withs number this year and 4With revenged that “round of 16” loss from earlier in the tournament.
4With’s Nick Canfield hits against Competitive Edge in the loser’s final.
In the loser’s bracket finals 4With jumped out to a 13-3 lead on Competitive Edge but the Competitive Edge pitching and defense held them down the rest of the way waiting for the offense to score 10 in the 4th, 6 in the 5th, and 9 in the 6th to leave 4With on the field 31-16 and advance to the championship. Jason Branch at leadoff and Ryan Honeycutt in the 5 hole were each 5-5 in the game and Tyler Ervine drove in 6 runs as they out homered 4With 9-7. A middle war broke out in this game and the 4With pitcher had to leave with a swollen forearm.
Championship!
Competitive Edge pitcher Mason Farmer attempts a diving stab.
In the championship Competitive Edge got off to a nice start scoring 15 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and for much of the early part of the game it looked like an “if” game was assured. But Chick-fil-a who scored at least 3 runs in every inning took advantage of Competitive Edge misplays in the 6th and 7th innings scoring a whopping 26 runs! With center fielder Jarod Kashner running down everything in center, Terrance Engles making diving and leaping catches in left, and pitcher Kyle Center snapping off middle shots, the Competitive Edge offense was slowed just enough and Chick-fil-a wound up with a 45-30 come from behind 7 inning victory and the tournament championship!
Pudge Isennock hits a clutch 3 run homer for Chick-fil-a in their comeback!
The tournament was well run with great weather, the fields were drug consistently, and the director Carlton Griffin had the tournament running smoothly with games on time.
The poll had Competitive Edge at 62%
Long Bomber of the Week!
Competitive Edge’s Tyler Ervine was consistently the longest home run hitter. He was challenged by Chick-fil-a’s Terrance Engles (pictured below).
Atlanta Results and Awards
MVP was Chick-fil-a 3B J.T. Gregory – .833 15-18
Defensive MVP was Chick-fil-a center fielder Jarod Kashner
Offensive MVP was Competitive Edge 1B Tyler Ervine – 23-30 on base with 14 HR and 40 RBI
Team by Team Notes
1st Place – Chick-fil-a/Slugger/BAF/LBT
VA-AA Record 5-0
Chick-fil-a did a nice job of letting games come to them and adjusting to home run limits. They took advantage of opponent miscues and were playing short handed without outfielders Shifflett and Fields. Kashner looked real good in center field. Engles had that huge assist and some long bombs. Moyers, Gregory, and Sanford were over .800 on base percentage. Clifton, Engles, Alston, Issenock, Natolly, Stidham, and Porter over .700. They pretty much dominated offensively in every game. .
P Kyle Center, SS Tre Porter, MI Tanai Alston, LF Terrance Engles.
Rookie right fielder Zach Sanford was 19-23 .826 with 3 HR.
Ryan Tallon from Canada and John Natolly managed a good tournament.
2nd Place – Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast
FL-AA Record 4-2
Competitive Edge played without Faron Miller, LC Watson (who is supposed to be back for Chicago), Keith McCormack, Taylor Cobb, and Joe Boland had to leave Sunday. Young Mason Farmer did a lot of the pitching. Honeycutt, Boland, and Branch were over .800 on base percentage. Ervine had 40 RBI and takes over the leagues home run lead at 58. The defense just wasn’t there this week and the offense didn’t have enough firepower to overcome the mistakes on the defensive side. The good news is Competitive Edge has not peaked this year.
Paul Jackson from Young Guns was given a tryout.
3rd Place – 4With.com/Premier/BAF/Easton
OH-A Record 5-2
4With lost to their nemesis Rock Run in their 1st conference vs conference team game when they opened a few doors with some sketchy infield defense. They recovered in the loser’s bracket playing most of the day Saturday and beating Sports Reach late Saturday night to get back to Rock Run Sunday morning and avenged their loss with a 24-20 victory. They hung with Competitive Edge for awhile in the loser’s final but lost the middle war when their pitcher Patterson got knocked out with a line drive.
4With averaged 10 home runs a game with Noeth, Pack, and Harmon hitting double digits. Noeth was over .800 on base and Boothe, Harmon, and Canfield over .700.
Cory Boothe
Kyle Harmon
4th Place – Rock Run/AllHustle/Silverback/Koval
IN-B Record 3-2
Rock Run had some more quality wins over 4With and Primetime and they hung tough with Chick-fil-a and 4With the 2nd game. There weren’t big crowds in Atlanta but the fans there began following Rock Run as their line drive and hustle and never say die attitude is fun to watch. Jason Slabach was .909 on base percentage and Erik Lehman, Jeremy Fry, and Marcus Miller were all over .700. Lehman led with 12 home runs and 23 RBI. Look for some more upsets and entertaining games at the Windy City Major this weekend the site of their 2021 upset of #1 Smash It Sports a year ago!
3B Aaron Fry, SS Faron Fry, MI Jeremy Fry – hope I got that right 🙂
Erik Lehman
Tied 5th – Primetime/Easton/FAI
GA-A Record 3-2
Primetime had the highest score of the tournament (47) in their opener against Cornerstone but then lost by 15 to Competitive Edge. After a win in the loser’s bracket they were tripped up by Rock Run who also beat them in Texas a month ago. Primetime played without Ortega, Bynum, and Campbell (possibly more). In years where Primetime makes the major it usually includes having a good Atlanta Major so now they have their work cut out for them.
Jarvis Riggins
Center fielder Desmond Chambers makes a diving catch.
Tied 5th – Sports Reach/Riot
FL-AA Record 2-2
Sports Reach beat NWO and Kut4 but came up short against Competitive Edge and 4With. They picked up JD Genter. Mike Green and Davis Bilardello were over .800 on base. Sheffield, Genter, Hartling, Elkins, and Ogletree were over .700. Hartling led in homers (8) and RBI (19). Looks like they released middle infielder Joey Simmons after the tournament.
JD Genter comes to Sports Reach from Cornerstone.
Rookie Dagmar Pena shortstop.
Rookie Brian Taylor
Tied 7th – Epic/Killmans/FLS/ES/Pure
SC-B Record 3-2
Epic had a big win over Dirty Vegas Friday night then scored just 2 runs against Chick-fil-a. They recovered some in the loser’s bracket with a win over Cornerstone but lost to 4with to finish tied for 7th. Jalbert, Sidebottom, and Lanham were all over .775. Lanham had 9 HR and 13 RBI and Jalbert 8 HR and 12 RBI.
Tied 7th – Kut4 Sports/OI Livingston
AL-A Record 2-2
Kut4 was 0-2 vs Conference teams but still managed a 7th with wins over rivals FiftyFifty and Top Shelf. Looked like they were at full strength but I’m sure they had this tournament circled on their calendar to make a run.
More Teams
Dirty Vegas struggled 1-2
Anchor Roofing a Georgia ‘C’ team managed 3 wins.
Top Shelf gave Rock Run a good game and should be a player at ‘C’ Worlds.
MIS still struggling and making roster moves.
Cornerstone is a new team merged from players from Cornerstone and Rebel.
There new roster is:
Dorrance Hill
Jared Norman
Jacob Boggess
Casey Jones
Steven Pierce
Kevin Raisor
Alonzo Fields
Derrick Cromwell
Jeff Daup
Jeremy Coulter
Jim Lancaster
Josh Payton
Cody Stack
Kyle Whitlock
Bryan Bradler
Korey Knowles
Anthony Ottrando
Francois Henry
Shawn Voyles
Zachary Goleniak
Faces in the Crowd / More Pictures
Branch tries to kick the ball for the out.
Delagarza and Natolly talk pitching.
Tre Porter is one tough player. He got drilled in the chest Saturday night by a Kyle Center line drive while standing on 1st base then took this bad bounce to the lip on Sunday. But stayed in the game both times and played well.
Director Jeff Neiswender, Georgia State Director Carlton Griffin, and UIC Anthony Champion.
Championship game umpires Steve Milani and Anthony Champion.
Umpires, THANK YOU!
Lee Eggars is BACK!!!
Former D2E player Larkin Grant played with Washed Up
The view from the livestream. Cliff figured out that when the ball hit the backstop the view would sometimes go blurry. Maybe I can do something to correct this going forward.
Suncoast trailer had lots of great items for sale.
