2022 Major World Series tournament report!

2022 Major World Series

Viera, FL

October 5-8

52nd Annual USSSA Major World Series!

The 52nd annual USSSA Major World Series began on Wednesday morning October 5th at 9 AM at the Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Florida as well as the Red Marucci field back in the baseball quad. They played for 4 days with the championship played on Saturday night October 8th. It was an 18 team double elimination tournament played in perfect weather with no rain or lightning and a high of about 83 degrees through the week. The most prestigious tournament in slow pitch softball used the Dudley Stadium ZN ball, the all turf field dimensions were 325-365-385-365-325, and there was no home run limit. The wind for the most part blew out to the right field corner at about 7 mph. The higher seeded team in each game was automatically made the Home team based on the seasons long Conference points standings.

Major World Series Videos and Links

2022 Major World Series Condensed Games & Videos link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Bracket Link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Stats link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Almanac link

2022 Major World Series picture album link (895 Pictures)

2022 USSSA Major World Series Day #1 Video Clips link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Day #2 Video Clips link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Day #3 Video Clips Link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Day #4 (Part 1) Video Clips Link

2022 USSSA Major World Series Day #4 (Part 2) Video Clips Link

2022 Major World Series archived livestreamed games link

Link to the Day #1 Game by Game Recap

Click the text above for in depth report on Day #1 with box scores, reporting, pictures, and condensed game video links.

Rock Run gave Resmondo everything they could handle on Day 1.

On day 1 all of the 18 teams played and the games started with the “play in” games where #17 Primetime was out homered by #16 Adiktiv 8-3 but still managed to win 24-21 even though Adiktiv scored in every inning. And #15 Baugh Ford ended up run ruling #18 L&S Glass in 6 innings 32-17 as Pedro Sanchez led the team with 4 extra base hits! The rest of the games were played in the Spacecoast stadium where #7 Precision’s defense led by Jeff Keske at middle infield, Austin Andrews in center field, and Eric Nevos in right field held down #10 S&E as Precision won 19-10. There was only 1 home run hit in the game and players and fans started to realize the batch of stadium balls being used were not flying well. At the 10:45 AM game #11 Classic Glass got a 2 run homer from Gregg Downing and Ben Falcone who pinch hit earlier hit his 2nd homer of the game to go up 19-16 vs #6 Chick-fil-a. In the bottom of the 7th Chick-fil-a got a 3rd home run from Zach Sanford to pull within a run but a double play ended the game with Classic Glass winning 19-18. At noon the #1 ‘A’ team and #9 seed Nitro Circus and #8 Proton were locked in a defensive battle early on as great catches by Nitro outfielder Zach Smith and Proton outfielder Brock Frentzel slowed down the offenses. In the bottom of the 7th needing 3 to tie and 4 to win Proton got a 2 run double from Brian Dezern and Adam Ussery hit a walk off single to win it 15-14! At 2:15 PM #12 Westpoint the top offensive ‘A’ team in the country gave 2022 USSSA ‘AA’ Champion #5 Competitive Edge all they could handle as Travis Tucker, Canaan Baum, and Drew Smith all hit 3 run homer’s in the game. But Competitive Edge 1st baseman Tyler Ervine who was named the Conference Offensive MVP went 5-5 and Mitchell Lendenski added 4 hits and Competitive Edge led 24-18 late in the game. At the 4 PM game #13 Rock Run gave #4 Resmondo all they could handle until the 5th inning when Resmondo infielder Luis Reyna made a great play to stop a Rock Run rally, Patrick Ellwanger and BJ Fulk hit pinch hit home runs, and Tyler Marshburn in right field made an incredible running catch into the fence to stop Rock Run in the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th Scott Hartling who was picked up in August for the injured Nick Santana hit a clutch 2 run homer to put Resmondo up and they held on to win without having to bat in the bottom of the 7th 23-21! Survive and advance!

BJ Fulk hits a key pinch hit homer for Resmondo against Rock Run.

At the 6 PM game #2 Monsta unleashed a 1st inning offensive barrage on #15 Baugh Ford scoring 11 runs highlighted by Kendall Welborn’s 3 run homer. They added runs every inning and run ruled Baugh 22-7 in 5 innings out homering Baugh 10-2 as Austyn Dawe, Jeremy Yates, and Steele Lewis each hit 2 home runs. At 8 PM game top seeded Smash It Sports scored in every inning as they cruised to a 26-9 victory over #17 Primetime out homering Primetime 13-1. And in the nightcap #3 MPT was sharp from the outset scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st against #14 Bay Area legends and scored 4 or more runs in all 4 innings to win by the 20 run “mercy rule” 25-3. Lead off hitter Filip Washington and two hitter Ryan Harvey were each 4-4 and Harvey hit 3 HR as 9 of MPT’s 11 starters hit home runs in the short game.

The 2022 All Conference Team Awards were announced before the 8 PM game.

Link to the Day #2 Game by Game Recap

Click the link above for in depth report on Day #2 with box scores, reporting, pictures, and condensed game video links.

There were a lot of home run robbing catches in the Major. This one by Monsta’s Jason Matusik vs Precision.

On Thursday the loser’s bracket played 2 games in the morning and then the “Final 8” of the winner’s bracket played in the afternoon and the “Final 4” played in the evening. And there were a lot of big upsets. The higher seeded team in each game at the major is automatically the home team. At noon Monsta pitcher Austyn Dawe re-grabbed the lead over Precision in the 5th inning 12-7 hitting a two out 3 run homer and Monsta salted away a 12-10 victory when left fielder Jason Matusik robbed a home run in the top of the 7th hit by Tyler Kahlke. At 1:30 PM #8 seeded Proton and #1 Smash It Sports were locked in a “pillow fight” due to the bad batch of balls as both teams went down in order in the 1st inning and each team failed to score in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings? In the bottom of the 5th Jason Martel hit a clutch pinch hit 2 out grand slam to get Smash It back in the game down 5-4. In the top of the 6th Proton added a run on an Adam Ussery single and Proton held on to win 6-5 in the bottom of the 7th when Smash It only managed to score 1. At the 3:30 PM quarterfinal between Classic Glass and MPT Rentals the game was tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 7th when MPT’s Joe Dorton hit a one out bloop double, Josh Kirsten flew out which moved the runner to 3rd, and Orlando Castillo hit a 2 out RBI single to win the game 4-3! Both teams had just 7 hits in the game. In the 5:30 PM quarterfinal Competitive Edge used some good defense and pitching to shut down Resmondo and pulled away to a 17-9 victory as Tyler Ervine, Ryan Honeycutt, and Logan Rogers were on base 4-5 and 2nd baseman Andrew Filoteo was on base 5-5 in the victory.

Proton takes on Smash It in the quarterfinals.

MPT’s Ryan Harvey hits against Classic Glass in a pillow fight.

Competitive Edge middle infielder Jeff Roxby turns 2 against Resmondo.

The “Final 4” of the winner’s bracket began around 8 PM with the temperatures in the mid 70’s and the wind blowing slightly out toward the right field corner. In the 1st inning Monsta CF Steele Lewis and MPT RF Joe Joe Bennett traded nice catch’s to rob each others main power hitter Harvey and Yates respectively. After a solo homer by Bennett in the 1st, MPT added 2 runs on 3 singles playing “small ball” in the top of the 2nd to go up 3-1 and went up 5-2 in the 3rd on a Bennett inside the park homer! Bennett continued his all tournament performance in the bottom of the 5th throwing out Monsta lead off man Austyn Dawe trying to stretch a single into a double. In the top of the 7th Monsta left fielder Jason Matusik making a bid for Defensive Player of the tournament robbed Harvey of a 2 run homer but Monsta went down in order 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 7th and MPT advanced to Friday nights winner’s bracket final 9-6!

In the 2nd semifinal it was the two ‘AA’ teams that upset Major teams earlier in the day in the quarterfinals facing off to go to the winner’s final on Friday night. Both teams played small ball in the 1st as Competitive Edge grabbed a 3-2 lead on triples by Mitch Lendenski and Logan Rogers. In the 2nd CEdge separated on a bases loaded double by Lendenski and a 2 out 3 run homer by Brandon Jackson to go up 13-3. Lendenski added another RBI double in the 3rd and he made a spectacular diving catch in center field (pictured below) in the 6th to ice the game away 14-8! Lendenski was 4-4 in the game with 4 extra base hits and 6 RBI as both teams hit just 1 home run.

Link to the Day #3 Game by Game Recap

Click the link above for in depth report on Day #3 with box scores, reporting, pictures, and condensed game video links.

Billy Sanders hit 4 home runs in 4 at bats for Baugh Ford vs S&E.

The loser’s bracket played out all day Friday and you can read about each game in the Day #3 article here.

Bradley Jones hits a 2 out walk off homer as Resmondo beat Bay Area by a run and advanced to Saturday.

Competitive Edge made it to the winner’s final as a ‘AA’ team beating Westpoint, Resmondo, and Proton in the 1st two days and many thought they had a good shot to win the Major and become only the 3rd ‘AA’ team to ever do this. But they came out flat and put up zero’s in the 1st, 2nd, and 7th innings vs MPT Rentals. Meanwhile Ryan Harvey homered in the bottom of the 1st and Joe Joe Bennett went 4-4 batting for the “cycle” for MPT. In the top of the 4th Competitive Edge grabbed a narrow 4-3 lead on back to back solo homer’s by Ryan Honeycutt and Joe Boland and Competitive Edge had a 6-5 lead in the top of the 5th on a Tyler Ervine homer but it was all MPT the rest of the way as they put CE away with a pair of sac fly’s in the bottom of the 6th and held CE scoreless in the top of the 7th to win 10-7.

Link to the Day #4 Game by Game Recap

Click the link above for in depth report on Day #4 with box scores, reporting, pictures, and condensed game video links.

The agony of defeat. Resmondo right fielders glove and ball inside it go over the fence for a game winning homer for Smash It Sports.

Saturday – Day #4 was the Final 8 teams (7 of them in the loser’s bracket) fighting it out to win the 52nd annual USSSA Major World Series. It began with an incredible back and forth game between Resmondo and Smash It Sports that ended when Buddy Wolf for Smash It hit a long line drive to the fence in right where Resmondo right fielder Patrick Ellwanger made what appeared to be a leaping catch for the 3rd out but the ball inside the glove hit the top of the fence and came off and fell over the fence for a walk off game winning home run. In the 2nd game of the day Rock Run jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 13-3 and cruised to a 23-12 win over Classic Glass. In the 3rd game at noon Monsta scored 12 runs in the 1st and rolled over Smash It Sports 28-6 in 4 innings. Then at 1:30 PM in the 4th place game Proton got a walk off grand slam homer from Chad Mullins to beat Rock Run 13-12. In the 3rd place game Monsta’s Jason Matusik and Austyn Dawe hit some big home runs in a close game against Proton and the Monsta defense held Proton down in the late innings to win 9-6. In the loser’s bracket finals then Competitive Edge held the Monsta offense in check and after a slow start separated to win 11-5.

Championship game! (link to condensed game)

The championship began under the lights on Saturday night with the two hottest teams Competitive Edge the ‘AA’ team based out of Florida with their contingent of Texas talent and MPT Rentals based out of New Jersey the 2nd year Major team who was undefeated and had to get beat twice. The weather was perfect and the crowd filled in upwards of 1,500 softball playing fans with another 1,500+ watching on USSSALive.com and Facebook. Competitive Edge was shut down in the top of the 1st inning by MPT 2nd baseman Filip Washington who took a hit away from Ryan Honeycutt and CE put up a zero when the hot hitting Mitch Lendenski’s home run bid came up short stranding two runners. In the bottom of the 1st Filip Washington doubled, Ryan Harvey singled him in, and big John Williams hit a big 2 run homer to give MPT a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 2nd Andrew Filoteo who was on base 4 out of 4 times in the game doubled and scored on pitcher Faron Miller’s single to get CE on the board. And CE blanked MPT in the bottom of the 2nd on a diving catch by 1B Tyler Ervine, and then Ervine and Lendenski homered in the top of the 3rd to put CE up 4-3. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Joe Joe Bennett and John Williams each hit solo homer’s to put MPT up 6-4. In the 4th CE cut the lead to one on a double by Ryan Honeycutt and they held MPT scoreless to make it 6-5. In the top of the 5th Mitch Lendenski who hit 12 of his 14 hits in the tournament for extra bases tripled and scored on a Jeff Roxby sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6-6 but again CE stranded 2 runners.

In the bottom of the 5th MPT finally took control of the game as they got the lead 8-6 on a John Radich 2 run homer, made it 9-6 on a Chris Anninos 2 out double and Conner Murray RBI single, and extended the lead to 11-6 on a Joe Dorton 2 run pinch hit homer! In the top of the 6th Competitive Edge got 2 of those runs back on back to back solo homer’s by Ervine and Honeycutt but MPT answered again in the bottom of the 6th with back to back homer’s by Ryan Harvey and Joe Joe Bennett. In the top of the 7th down 13-8 Competitive Edge got a 2 run homer from pinch hitter Jason Branch to make it 13-10 but would get no closer as MPT closed out the game with a flyout to left and the CELEBRATION WAS ON! MPT had become the 1st non Andy Purcell, non Brett Helmer, non Dan Smith team to win the major since Chase/Reece/Roosters/Easton won in 2002!

MPT’s Chris Annino’s who led the team in on base percentage for the tournament at .714 was named MVP. Pitcher Bill Pinkham who was a fireplug on the mound and held all 5 of their opponents to 10 runs or less was the Defensive MVP. And Competitive Edge 1st baseman Tyler Ervine was Offensive MVP at .593 on base percentage with a tournament high 8 Home Runs and 15 RBI.

Joe Dorton with a 2 out 2 run pinch hit homer!

Major World Series Results and Awards

MVP was MPT left fielder Chris Anninos

Defensive MVP was MPT pitcher Bill Pinkham

Offensive MVP and Home Run Champion was Competitive Edge 1B Tyler Ervine

Team by Team Notes

1st Place – MPT Rentals/Juno Athletics

NJ-Major Record 5-0

Congratulations to MPT. They put it all together at the end of the season when they won the Cincinnati Major, both Indiana Duals, and then capped off the season with a win at the Major World Series. So they won 4 tournaments in a row to end their year. They adjusted to the conditions and the ball, pulled out some close games, and held teams down with pitching and defense. And they won with a .500 team on base percentage, they hit less than 5 HR per game, and they played Big John Williams at shortstop! MPT returns to the Major division in 2023 with a few big name additions.

Orlando Castillo’s single beats Classic Glass in the bottom of the 7th.

Filip Washington leads off the Championship game.

2nd Place – Competitive Edge/Olmito/Suncoast

FL-Major Record 4-2

Competitive Edge hot off their undefeated USSSA ‘AA’ World championship earlier in the week came into the Major looking for some upsets after surviving their opener against Westpoint, they beat Resmondo, Proton, and Monsta and only lost in this tournament to MPT who they played well against but just not well enough. A great year for Comp Edge came to an end and they are moving to the Major division for 2023 where they will be a welcome addition and will fit right in.

Mitch Lendenski had 12 extra base hits.

3rd Place – Monsta/Albicocco/Racks

CA-Major Record 4-2

Monsta didn’t adjust to the dead ball well enough and had some offensive outages at the wrong times. They will return in 2023 with a few roster changes but should be in a strong position to contend all year long.

Jason Matusik robs another one.

4th Place – Proton/Dan Smith/Legacy Glove Co.

AZ-AA Record 3-2

Proton gets a nice 4th place finish at the Major after a mediocre showing at the ‘AA’ Worlds. The walk off hit by Adam Ussery over Classic Glass and the homer by Chad Mullins to beat Rock Run and finish 4th were clutch!

Chad Mullins hits a walk off homer to beat Rock Run.

Tied 5th – RockRun/AllHustle/Pure/Beloli/Koval

IN-B Record 3-2

Rock Run made a run at the Major that only they are unsatisfied with. They were a ‘B’ team that finished 5th and they played great defense, had timely hitting, they adjusted to the ball and field conditions, and the hustle and “will” to win was incredible. I speak for all softball fans when I say “THANK YOU” for your love and dedication to the game and for the pure entertainment you provided all of us this year in Conference and World tournament play! Rock Run was arguably one play away from beating Resmondo and Proton and could easily have finished higher than their 5th place finish. They won 3 games (could easily have been 5) and hit just 5 home runs. WOW!

Marcus Miller makes a leaping catch on the fence.

Tied 5th – Smashit/Thunder/Chosen/Pure/RF/BD/TDB

NY-Major Record 3-2

Andy Purcell retirement video that played on the big screen.

Smash It Sports won the Conference points and was the number 1 seed. They just didn’t adjust well to the dead ball and was upset early in the tournament. In the loser’s bracket they won that memorable game against Resmondo Saturday morning but ran out of gas against Monsta Saturday afternoon. Andy retired, the team broke up, and the players dispersed to other Major and AA teams for 2023.

Andy gets a huge 2 out clutch hit vs Resmondo.

Tied 7th – Classic Glass/Easton

CA-AA Record 2-2

Classic Glass struggled in tournaments that weren’t in the west this year but in the major they beat Chick-fil-a by 1 then lost to MPT 4-3, ah what could have been… In the loser’s bracket they beat Nitro Circus then lost to Rock Run. A nice showing. Classic will be back in ‘AA’ in 2023.

Tied 7th – Resmondo/Smash It/All American/Menosse

FL-Major Record 2-2

This catch by Tyler Marshburn may have saved a win over Rock Run in their 1st game.

Resmondo hit almost 9 HR per game on average but struggled past Rock Run in their opener, lost to Competitive Edge Thursday, then beat Bay Area on a walk off homer, and lost to SmashIt on a walk off homer. It just wasn’t Resmondo’s year and then the dead ball through a wrench in their plans. Resmondo will be back in 2023 with a few roster changes.

Scott Hartling led Resmondo in hitting.

More Teams

Tied 9th – Nitro Circus/Klutch/Team 199/BRC (MD-AA)

Nitro Circus lost by 1 to Proton in their opener then beat L&S Glass before losing to Classic Glass. The top ‘A’ team in the regular season has moved up to ‘AA’ for 2023 and have an almost entirely new roster.

Tied 9th – Bay Area Legends (CA-AA)

Bay Area after their big run to 2nd place at the ‘AA’ Worlds Monday came into the Major late Wednesday losing big to MPT. In the loser’s bracket though they played well getting a nice win over Chick-fil-a then nearly upsetting Resmondo. Bay Area is sponsoring the 2023 SmashIt/Bay Area ‘AA’ team and also having a Bay Area ‘A’ team.

Tied 9th – Precision/3rd Street/Red Athlete (IL-AA)

Precision who finished 3rd at the ‘AA’ World beat S&E 19-10 then lost to Monsta just 12-10. In the loser’s bracket Rock Run beat them 6-3. This is the end for the Precision sponsorship group of Bill Wax and Rob Mahaffey and on behalf of USSSA and all of the Conference fans I would like to thank them for all of the great years having high level teams and being a quality group of individuals. THANK YOU!

Tied 9th – S&E/Dan Smith (NC-AA)

S&E lost their opener to Precision. Then in the loser’s bracket they beat Baugh Ford before losing to Smash It 12-5. Elvin Herring and the boys will be back in 2023!

Tied 13th Baugh Ford/GRIZZY (AL-A)

Baugh Ford won their play in game Wednesday morning then lost to Monsta Wednesday night. In the loser’s bracket they beat Adiktiv then lost to S&E. Tommie is taking his sponsorship and himself to the Smash It/Bay Area/Baugh Ford ‘AA’ team for 2023!

Tied 13th L&S Glass (CA-A)

L&S Glass lost to Baugh, beat Primetime, and lost to Nitro Circus. L&S Glass returns to the Conference ‘A’ division for 2023!

Tied 13th Chick-fil-a/Slugger/BAF/LBT (VA-A)

Chick-fil-a had a strong regular season finishing 2nd in points out of the ‘AA’ teams and winning two tournaments (Atlanta and Maryland) but the post season was not a good one. They made a few adjustments to their 2023 roster and hope to give it another great run.

Tied 13th WestPoint Softball (IN-A)

Westpoint lost a tough one to Competitive Edge making a few base running errors late in the game then dropped a 1 run game to their Indiana rivals Rock Run. Westpoint returns to the Conference in 2023 with another solid team!

Tied 17th Primetime/Easton/FAI (GA-A)

Primetime beat Adiktiv then lost to Smash It on Wednesday. In the loser’s bracket they lost to L&S Glass. Primetime returns in 2023 with a similar roster with a few changes.

Angel Ortega laced some extra base hits all over the park vs Smash It.

Tied 17th Adiktiv/Throwbacks/CE (TX-A)

Adiktiv was on the cusp of winning the ‘A’ World earlier in the week before some injuries, a double dip in the championship, and an 0-2 Major. Tough way to end a solid season for the first year ‘A’ team but they are not returning in 2023 and their players have dispersed throughout the conference.

Faces in the Crowd / More Pictures

The Hit & Sit Show was done live and had Andy Purcell as a guest.

The crowds were bigger at night for the winner’s semifinals and finals.

Bats were kept in buckets and retested at 240 compression after every game.

The Dudley Stadium ZN ball was a bad batch that did not perform consistently and did not fly very well. Scores were at all time lows and home runs were way down.