2023 Hall of Fame Classic Dual
Viera, Florida
April 13-16
Monsta’s Tyler Storey homer’s against Resmondo in Dual #1.
Video, Bracket, and Stats links (More Videos added Daily)
Hall of Fame Bracket and Results links
Hall of Fame Picture Album link
Thursday Hall of Fame Video Clips link
Dual #1 – Competitive Edge vs Monsta Condensed Game Link
Dual #2 Championship – Monsta vs Resmondo Condensed Game Link
Dual #2 Monsta vs MPT Rentals Condensed Game Link
Dual #2 Saturday Video Clips link
Monsta vs Smash It Sports Condensed Game Link
Women’s Dual #2 Championship Condensed Game Link
S&E vs Monsta Condensed Game Link
Roofx vs MPT Rentals Condensed Game Link
MPT vs Monsta Condensed Game Link
Monsta vs Resmondo condensed game link
Nitro Circus vs JBL Condensed Game link
JBL vs MPT Condensed Game link
Hall of Fame Archived Games link
Hall of Fame Dual #1 Stats link (Updating throughout the week)
Hall of Fame Dual #2 Stats link (Updating throughout the week)
BallClubz stats link (not accurate for all teams)
HOF Team List (30 Teams)
Thursday Dual #1 Recap
Siteman’s Luke Boyster hits a walk off homer to beat Seminoles.
The 2023 Hall of Fame Classic Dual #1 began on the 5 baseball fields (325-365-385-365-325) at the USSSA Space Coast complex in Viera, Florida on Thursday morning April 13th at 8 am with 30 teams all of whom were Conference teams. They played with the Dudley stadium ZN ball and they were a good batch of balls. The tournament is known for big upsets and although both duals this year had their share of upsets there actually weren’t that many in the “Round of 32” this year. Bay Area Legends (CA-A) knocked off fellow Cali team Cheap Suits (CA-A) 13-9 in the stadium which was a game that played into #1 seeded MPT Rentals/Juno Athletics (NJ-Major). MPT won that one 15-10 when they scored 8 runs in the top of the 4th inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit. Daniel Cayton was 3-4 with 3 HR and 7 RBI in the win as MPT out homered Bay Area 6-1. Roofx/Revolution/Albicocco/All Hustle (IN-AA) broke a 10-10 tie in the top of the 7th scoring 7 runs to beat Dirty Vegas/Steel/Envy (TX-A) 17-10 holding Dirty Vegas scoreless in 4 different innings. Jeremy Fry was 3-3 and Jon Troyer 4-4 in the win as Roofx out homered Dirty Vegas 3-1. S&E (NC-AA) trailing 7-5 going into the 4th inning held Rebel/Str8play (MI-A) scoreless in the 4th then scored 8 runs in the bottom half of the inning and pulled out a 16-11 win. Richard Racobaldo and Hunter Oliver were each on base 3-4 with 2 HR for S&E. Nathan Gahafer for Rebel was 4-4 with 4 HR and 6 RBI for Rebel in the loss a very nice Conference debut for Gahafer! Over on Red Rawlings at 9:30 AM Siteman/Pure (MO-A) came from a 17-5 deficit against Seminoles/NASF (OK-A) and fought back with 6 runs in the bottom of the 3rd and 5th innings to close to within 21-20 going into the bottom of the 7th. In that bottom of the 7th after a walk and a strikeout looking, Luke Boyster hit a walk off 2 run homer to give Siteman a 22-21 win! Nitro Circus/Candy Shop (MD-AA) run ruled Aristotle/FBI (AR-A) 29-13 scoring 10 in the 1st and 13 in the 3rd. Nick Day and Joseph Capparelli were each on base 4-4 in the win as they out homered Aristotle 6-2. JBL/Tailgaters (OH-AA) put away Str8Play (CA-A) 33-14 in 6 innings scoring 10 in the top of the 6th. David Johnson and Orlando Olivera were on base 5-5 as they out homered Str8Play 7-3. Resmondo (FL-Major) the #3 seed in the tournament welcomed Van Wert Frickers a new (OH-B) team to the Conference with a 35-1 beating scoring 15 in the top of the 2nd and 4th innings. Leadoff hitter Josh Riley and Bradley Jones were each on base 5-5. Van Wert had just 2 hits in the game. Epic/Haymak/Kilmans (SC-TBD) scored 9 in the top of the 5th to take a 22-16 lead on Smash It Sports/Bay/Baugh/BD (CA-AA) but SIS answered with 8 in the bottom of the 6th and SIS won 24-22 when Epic failed to score in the top of the 7th. SmashIt’s Joe Dorton was on base 5-5 with 2 HR and 2 triples in the win. Chick-fil-a/Slugger (VA-AA) scored in every inning including 9 runs in the top of the 7th to beat Taylormade a new ‘B’ team out of TN 38-21. Chick-fil-a lead off hitter Patrick Center was 5-6 and batted for the cycle, 3 hitter Terrence Engles (who we thought retired) was on base 6-6 with 2 HR and a triple, and catcher Justin Lutheran was on 6-6 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a homer. Greg Engle for Taylormade had 8 RBI. Sports Reach (KY-AA) run ruled TRU/Riot (MD-A) 26-8 in 5 innings. They out homered TRU 13-4 as Robert Blackburn at lead off hit 3 HR and Tommy Melton and Austin Andrews were on 4-4. Competitive Edge (FL-Major) the #4 seed beat the new ‘B’ team Beloli Brothers (MA-B) 38-21 in a 7 inning game. Mitch Lendenski, Tyler Ervine, Taylor Cobb, and Bubba Mack each reached base safely 5 times as they hit 13 home runs. WestPoint (IN-AA) beat LSR/TG/BAF (IN-TBD) 23-13, Classic Glass (CA-AA) beat NFM Lending (AZ-A) 16-7, and PrimeTime/Easton (GA-A) knocked off L&S Glass in the stadium 12-3 holding L&S scoreless in the first 4 innings and out homering them 3-1. And that PrimeTime win played them into #2 seed Monsta/Sonny’s (NC-AA). PrimeTime led 6-1 until the bottom of the 4th when Monsta scored 6 runs in the 4th and 5 in the 5th to go up 12-6. PrimeTime scored 3 in the top of the 6th and 3 more in the top of the 7th to tie the game at 12-12. But in the bottom of the 7th needing just 1 run to win, Monsta got a lead off single and then a double by Jeremy Yates to win it 13-12! PrimeTime actually out homered Monsta 4-3 in the game.
Mike Williams pictured above gets the walk off hit with 2 outs to beat Resmondo!
In the rest of the “Round of 16” games, the strong defense and pitching of Roofx held S&E to just 1 run through 5 innings but S&E scored 8 runs in the top of the 6th to take an 8-7 lead. In the bottom of the 6th Justin Mucciarelli came up with a big 2 out single to tie the game at 9-9 but S&E’s Rich Racobaldo hit a big home run in the top of the 7th which led to 5 runs and S&E advanced over Roofx 14-9. Racobaldo was 4-4 in the game and S&E out homered Roofx 6-0. Nitro Circus scored 12 in the top of the 3rd to separate from Siteman and won by the run rule 35-15 in 5 innings. Chris Greinert was on base 5-5 and Jared Hunt hit 3 home runs as Nitro out homered Siteman 14-1. Over on Red Marucci Resmondo was beating JBL 17-10 going into the bottom of the 7th when JBL batted around and intentionally walked John Radich to get to Mike Williams with two outs. Mike laced a single down the right field line for the game winner 18-17! Chick-fil-a led the whole way and beat Smash It Sports 18-15. Smash It had the bats in their hands at the end. Patrick Center and Jacob Clifton were each 4-5 and the #fightingchickens out homered Smash It 7-5. Competitive Edge scored in every inning and beat Sports Reach 29-17 as Tyler Ervine went 6-6 with 3 HR and Ryan Honeycutt went 5-6 on base. They out homered Sports Reach 13-8. And finally WestPoint beat Classic Glass 11-8.
Nitro Circus takes on JBL in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals and then semifinals were played back to back in the stadium starting at noon Thursday. Monsta scored 9 in the 1st and 10 in the 2nd and beat WestPoint in 5 innings 26-6. Lead off hitter Austyn Dawe was 4-4 and Monsta out homered WestPoint 8-2. At 3:30 PM Competitive Edge was ripe for the picking but Chick-fil-a fizzled offensively with the hammer. Comp Edge broke a 9-9 tie after 2 innings with Chick-fil-a by shutting out Chick in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings and cruised to a 18-11 win. Both teams hit just 3 home runs and Ervine had 2 of them to go with 5 RBI. At 5 PM JBL beat Nitro Circus 16-13 getting a 4-4 performance from Orlando Olivera as Brian McBryde hit JBL’s only home run and it was a big one. At 6:30 pm MPT Rentals pitching and defense shut down S&E in 3 of the 7 innings and cruised to a 21-9 win. MPT out homered S&E 8-4 and leadoff hitter Daniel Cayton and two hitter Andrew Collins combined for 7 hits all of which were home runs or extra bases.
Monsta vs Competitive Edge in semifinal #1.
The semifinals began after 8 PM Thursday night with Competitive Edge and Monsta. It was the first Major vs Major team matchup of the Dual. Competitive Edge misplayed 4 popups/fly balls in the wind and just was not playing a clean defensive game. In fact it may have been one of the worst defensive games played by a Major team in the history of Spacecoast Stadium? This led to a 9-4 Monsta lead. Comp Edge outfielder Mitch Lendenski hit a bases loaded double in the 2nd to bring CE to within 9-6 and Logan Rogers made a spectacular play in the bottom of the 4th at shortstop but Monsta’s offense was too much, taking advantage of the Comp Edge defense and Steven Lloyds double in the bottom of the 4th gave Monsta a 14 run lead. Jason Matusik hit a bomb off the top of the scoreboard in the 5th and Monsta third baseman Josh Fyffe made a leaping catch of a line drive in the 6th and Monsta cruised to a 21-11 win even though they were out homered by Comp Edge 4-3. Tyler Storey the Monsta right fielder was 4-4 with 2 doubles and a home run in the win.
JBL left fielder robs an MPT home run.
In semifinal #2 errors by MPT Rentals led to a 4-0 JBL/Tailgaters lead. And JBL held down the MPT offense thanks in part to 2 spectacular catches by left fielder Brock Frentzel to end the MPT 4th and 5th innings. The catch in the 5th was a home run rob pictured above. When JBL shortstop Adam Ussery homered in the top of the 6th JBL led 9-6. But the MPT bats came alive in the 6th as Dale Brungardt hit a line drive homer to left, Argen Dodds a big pinch hit homer, Andrew Collins hit a 2 out game tying triple, and Orlando Castillo a bases loaded single and MPT batted around and went up 18-10. MPT had 9 straight base runners after the 2nd out. JBL would score 5 in the top of the 7th to pull within 18-15 but MPT pitcher Bill Pinkham made a diving stop at pitcher to end the game. JBL out homered MPT 4-2.
MPT pitcher Bill Pinkham makes a diving stop and play to end the semifinal vs JBL.
Friday Dual #1 Recap
Dual #1 Championship game Friday.
On Thursday and Friday morning the loser’s bracket played out with Sports Reach winning 4 in a row in the top half until Competitive Edge dropped down and beat them at 9:30 am Friday morning 24-18. And Bay Area Legends won 3 in a row before a Friday morning loss to Resmondo 24-4. And then Resmondo knocked off JBL 34-14. So Sports Reach and JBL tied for 5th.
At 11:30 am in the stadium the the winner’s bracket finals was played. MPT’s Josh Kirsten hit a 2 out 3 run homer in the top of the 1st to go up 5-0. Monsta’s Jason Matusik answered with a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 1st. MPT’s Joe Joe Bennett homered off the scoreboard in the 2nd to put MPT up 10-3. Monsta 2nd baseman Mark Wik kept making nice leaping catches of MPT line drives and MPT right fielder Andrew Collins robbed a home run. MPT led 18-11 going into the 5th where they put up a zero and Monsta slowly inched back into the game down 22-16 going into the bottom of the 7th after MPT’s Argen Dodds hit another clutch pinch hit homer. In the bottom of the 7th Monsta’s Mark Wik hit an “angry” homer, MPT middle man Orlando Castillo made a great diving stop, and Monsta’s Jeremy Yates hit a clutch 2 out 3 run homer to pull Monsta to within 1 run. But MPT held on to win 22-21.
The rest of the games were in the stadium Friday. Resmondo jumped out to a 12-5 lead on Competitive Edge and held on to win 20-17 in the 4th place game. Tyler Marshburn had 2 HR and 7 RBI. Then in the loser’s final Monsta in the top of the 7th after an intentional walk to Jason Matusik got a grand slam by Steele Lewis to go up 26-18 and they held on to win 27-26 when Resmondo scored 8 in the bottom of the 7th to make it close.
In the championship Monsta’s offense over powered MPT out homering them 11-7 in a 29-27 win to force the “if” game and Monsta dominated the “if” game 24-6 out homering MPT 11-2 as Jason Matusik went 4-4 with 4 HR!
Friday/Saturday/Sunday Dual #2 Recap
Winner’s Final late Saturday night had a lightning delay and the lights themselves went out at one point.
Dual #2 is a bit of a blur as it started before Dual #1 ended on Friday and I am still digging through all of Dual #2 content and producing the box scores, condensed games and highlight videos. I will add to this report some pictures and writing when I am done with the Dual #2 content. The “Round of 30” upsets, meaning lower class team beating a higher class team was TRU over Seminoles 29-12, Aristotle with a big upset of Chick-fil-a 17-9, Epic over Sports Reach 30-20, and Dirty Vegas over Westpoint 24-22. In the “Round of 16” Aristotle won again beating TRU, and Resmondo had to score 8 in the bottom of the 7th to beat Epic on a Buddy Wolf walk off home run 29-28. Epic led the entire game until that last at bat!
In the quarterfinals Saturday Monsta run ruled S&E 27-12 only batting 4 times. Jason Matusik, Jeremy Yates, and Jon Nelson were each 4-4. At 1:30 pm MPT Rentals trailing 17-15 to upset minded Roofx, scored 7 in the bottom of the 6th to go up 22-17 and held off Roofx 22-20 without having to bat in the bottom of the 7th. Andrew Collins had 2 HR and 5 RBI in that one. At 4:30 pm Resmondo welcomed Aristotle to the stadium for the 1st time with an 18 run 1st inning and finished them off 40-11 in 5 innings. Chad Mullins was on base 5-5, Phil Matte and Kyle Pearson 5-6 and Matte hit for the cycle as Resmondo hit 13 HR.
MPT right fielder Andrew Collins robs a homer.
In the semifinals MPT Rentals broke open a 6-3 lead on Smash It by scoring 14 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning and cruised to a 22-7, 5 inning run rule win. Ryan Harvey was 4-4 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI! In the 2nd semifinal Resmondo’s offense came alive as they scored in every inning against Monsta including 11 in the 3rd and 15 in the 5th to win 40-29 in a long 2 hour game. Resmondo hit all 16 home runs and the first 9 batters all hit at least one, the first 6 batters hit at least 2 HR, and Travis Clark hit 3 of them, while Greg Connell was on base 6-6.
In the winner’s final late Saturday night Resmondo continued their offensive onslaught scoring 11 runs in each of the 1st two innings against MPT. Although MPT scored 19 in the first 5 innings they were left on the field by Resmondo in the bottom of the 5th 34-19. Phil Matte was on base 5-5 and Kyle Pearson, Travis Clark, and Cory Briggs each had 4 hits. The game was delayed by lightning and the lights going out at one point and finished around 2 am Sunday morning.
In the loser’s bracket which played out all day Saturday into Sunday morning Chick-fil-a and Sports Reach made short runs in the top of the bracket before Roofx dropped down and beat Sports Reach 14-6, then beat Competitive Edge 16-13, and then Monsta scored 13 runs in the bottom of the 7th to beat Roofx 37-36 at 2 am in the morning to advance to Sunday. The final walk off hit was a 3 run homer by Heath Barnes! In the bottom half of the loser’s bracket PrimeTime and Nitro Circus each won 3 games before they met and Nitro Circus beat Primetime 15-4 late Saturday night then SmashIt dropped down and beat Nitro for the second time in the tournament 31-11. On Sunday morning in the 4th place game Monsta rolled past Smash It 34-17 scoring 12 in the 1st and 11 in the 3rd but SIS never gave up forcing a full 7 innings. In the loser’s bracket finals at 10:30 am it was a tired Monsta team fighting through and beating MPT Rentals for the 3rd time in a row 28-23 after taking a 25-12 lead. MPT did score 10 in the bottom of the 5th to cut the lead to 25-23 but Monsta held MPT scoreless in the last two innings. Jason Matusik and Jeremy Yates were each 5-5 and they out homered MPT 11-5.
In the championship which was a marathon game Monsta scored 12 in the top of the 5th to go up 29-14 on Resmondo. But Resmondo came from behind a number of times to trail just 35-30 going into the bottom of the 7th. Resmondo got a home run from Josh Riley, a single from Kyle Pearson and Phil Matte, a one out homer from Travis Clark, and a 2 out homer from Bradley Jones to tie the game and force extra innings. Monsta scored 2 runs in the top of the 8th on 4 base hits and Resmondo came in down 37-35 and Brad Reckart walked, Josh Riley singled, and Greg Connell hit a 1 out walk off homer to win it 38-37! Bradley Jones was 6-6 with 4 HR and 10 RBI in the 2.5 hour long game. On the losing side Austyn Dawe was 7-7 and batted for the cycle. Both teams hit 11 home runs.
Resmondo veteran Greg Connell hits a walk off homer to win Dual #2 38-37!
The weather was good but humid all 4 days and the competition was as good as it has ever been. In the end the Major teams had better stamina and captured 7 of the 8 final 4 positions in the two tournaments. The umpiring was very good and consistent, the balls were as well, and the season is off to a great start. The Conference travels to the Euless, Texas dual next Thursday, April 27th.
Long Bomber of the Week!
The Long Bomber of the Week is Resmondo’s Kyle Pearson. He consistently hit long homer’s many of which were going out of LC, CF, and RC where the fence is 365 to 385. He also hit an absolute missile Saturday night that almost seemed to gain speed when it was halfway out and ended up going to the left of the batter’s eye.
Hall of Fame Classic Results and Awards
Dual #1 Standings and Awards
MVP was Monsta RF Tyler Storey – .778, 8 HR, 21 RBI
Defensive MVP was Monsta infielder Heath Barnes
Offensive MVP was MPT infielder Jeff Roxby – .739
Dual #2 Standings and Awards
Resmondo pitcher Travis Clark was MVP of Dual #2 – .750, 8 HR, 32 RBI
Defensive MVP was Resmondo’s Cory Briggs pictured here hitting. 🙂 He played CF and SS.
Offensive MVP was Monsta’s Jeremy Yates – .730, 13 HR, 28 RBI
Team by Team Notes
1st Monsta/Sonny’s/Worsham/RedAthlete NC-Major
Avg Finish: 1.5 Record: 11-3
Dual #1 1st (6-1) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 15.7 Diff: 7.3
Dual #2 2nd (5-2) Runs: 30.0 Allowed: 25.4 Diff: 4.6
Wins: PrimeTime(A), WestPoint(AA), CompEdge(M), Resmondo(M), MPT(M), MPT(M), L&S(A), S&E(AA), Roofx(AA), SIS(AA), MPT(M)
Losses: MPT(M), Resmondo(M), Resmondo(M)
Monsta’s off season question marks played very well. Tyler Storey won the MVP of dual #1. Heath Barnes produced defensively and had a bunch of extra base hits. And Mike Jacobson won some big games at pitcher. Remember Barnes and Jacobson were hitting 1st and 2nd before hand injuries for Precision last year dropped Jacobson down the order. Monsta had the 2nd best offense in the tournament and salvaged their second dual when they scored 13 in the bottom of the 7th to beat Roofx Saturday night which allowed them to make their run on Sunday to 2nd place. Monsta comes away 1st in the computer rankings. Storey and Steven Lloyd were over .700 on base percentage in the 1st dual and Jason Matusik hit 11 HR. Austyn Dawe, Steele Lewis, and Jeremy Yates were over .700, and Jason Matusik .811 in the 2nd dual. Yates hit 13 HR in the 2nd dual. Matusik hit 20 HR for the tournament and Yates 23.
Pitcher LC Watson, 3B Josh Fyffe, SS Heath Barnes
2nd Resmondo/SIS/All-American/Menosse FL-Major
Avg Finish: 2.0 Record: 13-2
Dual #1 3rd (7-2) Runs: 28.4 Allowed: 13.8 Diff: 14.7
Dual #2 1st (6-0) Runs: 36.2 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: 13.2
Wins: VanWert(B), Cheap Suits, Rebel(A), Chick-fil-a(AA), Bay Area(A), JBL(AA), CompEdge(M), Beloli(B), Epic(TBD), Aristotle(A), Monsta(M), MPT(M), Monsta(M)
Losses: JBL(AA), Monsta(M)
Resmondo won with overwhelming offense and clutch hitting for the most part. The beginning of their season offensively on both small (Las Vegas) and big fields (HOF) has been as good as we have seen in a couple years so far. Their defense though has been more of a AA defense (still better than Comp Edge so far). Kyle Overstreet is an underrated infielder. Everett Williams had a swollen knee and Kevin Bazat missed games with pulled muscle but acted as manager in the absence of Brett Helmer. They survived a big scare against Epic and lost to JBL. They kept winning home team which is important for them and will be come the Major. Phil Matte, Kyle Pearson, Kevin Bazat, Bradley Reckart, and Josh Riley were all over .700 on base in Dual #1 which is an incredible number of players on baseball fields. Pearson had 12 HR, Riley 11, and Jones 10. In Dual #2 Travis Clark, Greg Connell, Jones, Matte, Chad Mullins, Pearson, and Buddy Wolf were all over .700 on base percentage. Matte walked 11 times and Reckart walked 9 times. They averaged an unheard of 36 runs a game in the 2nd dual!
Resmondo leads the points standings after 3 tournaments by 120 points!
3rd MPT Rentals / Juno Athletics NJ-Major
Avg Finish: 2.5 Record: 7-4
Dual #1 2nd (4-2) Runs: 18.2 Allowed: 17.8 Diff: 0.3
Dual #2 3rd (3-2) Runs: 21.2 Allowed: 20.8 Diff: 0.4
Wins: Bay Area(A), S&E(AA), JBL(AA), Monsta(M), Primetime(A), Roofx(AA), SIS(AA)
Losses: Monsta(M), Monsta(M), Resmondo(M), Monsta(M)
MPT Rentals had two good finishes but the defense and offense let them down at different times. They were pretty close to winning both tournaments when you consider they were “double dipped” in the 1st dual and in the winner’s bracket finals of the 2nd dual. Daniel Cayton and Andrew Collins two of their pickups were at the top of the MPT lineup which extends an already stacked group. Then Jeff Roxby another pick up was Offensive MVP of Dual #1 and Argen Dodds another pickup hit 3 straight pinch hit homer’s at one point. They played without Filip Washington who is suspended. The Ballclubz stats aren’t completely in yet but Cayton had 8 HR in the 1st dual and Ryan Harvey 10 in the 2nd.
3B John Williams, SS Daniel Cayton, MI Orlando Castillo.
Argen Dodds hit a bunch of pinch hit homer’s. I believe 3 in a row at one point.
4th CompetitiveEdge/Suncoast/FBI/Olmito FL-Major
Avg Finish: 5.5 Record: 7-4
Dual #1 4th (4-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: 4.0
Dual #2 7th (3-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: 0.0
Wins: Beloli(B), Sports Reach(AA), Chick-fil-a(AA), Sports Reach(AA), VanWert(B), JBL(AA), WestPoint(AA)
Losses: Monsta(M), Resmondo(M), SIS(AA), Roofx(AA)
Competitive Edge imploded defensively in a big game against Monsta in the stadium and that seemed to bring down their offense and chemistry and send them into a bad place. They can recover from this and will. Brandon Streets hand was injured swinging a bat before the season and doesn’t look good. It is possible this is a lingering injury and will hurt them for awhile. Logan Rogers made some spectacular plays in the field that you will see in the videos. Tyler Ervine was .789 with 8 HR, Ryan Honeycutt 7 HR, and Bubba Mack .778 with 5 HR in the 1st dual. Joe Boland was .733 and Bubba Mack .765 in the 2nd dual.
Interview with sponsor Mark Patterson: Players have been great. Bat issues with our team have been a headache due to the Suncoast debacle. Always the goal is to win. But looking for some firsts this year. Smoky win, USA/ASA ‘AA’ or Super win, and obviously a MWS title would be the pinnacle of any season. We have the Texas Dual and then Nashville to round out the first 2 months of the season.
Injury Report: Streets — hand injury. Should know something before Texas Dual. Others are just minor injuries from Dual. Nothing major.
3B Joe Boland, SS Logan Rogers, MI Kyle Pearson.
Tied 5th Sports Reach/Demarini/CT/LLS KY-AA
Avg Finish: 7.0 Record: 8-4
Dual #1 5th (5-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: 9.0
Dual #2 9th (3-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: -1.0
Wins: TRU(A), NFM(A), L&S(A), Nitro Circus(AA), S&E(AA), Beloli(B), DirtyVegas(TBD), Chick-fil-a(AA)
Losses: CompEdge(M), CompEdge(M), Epic(TBD), Roofx(AA)
Sports Reach is back after a rough 2022 they found their stride winning 8 games at the dual. Austin Andrews, Robert Blackburn, John Elkins, Brad Sheffield, and Dylan Smith were all over .700 on base in dual #1 and Andrews hit a team high 10 HR (can anyone verify this :)! Robbie Fow was over .700 in dual #2. With Jonas back on the mound and a nice merger with the Precision core, Sports Reach was the highest finishing ‘AA’ team in the tournament tied with Nitro Circus.
Robbie Fow with a great catch to end a victory.
Tied 5th Nitro Circus/Candy Shop/Ataraxis MD-AA
Avg Finish: 7.0 Record: 7-4
Dual #1 9th (2-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: 8.0
Dual #2 5th (5-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: 3.0
Wins: Aristotle(A), Siteman(A), Taylormade(B), LSR(TBD), Str8play(A), Aristotle(A), PrimeTime(A)
Losses: JBL(AA), SportsReach(AA), SIS(AA), SIS(AA)
Nitro Circus got beat by rival Smash It twice in the 2nd dual which kind of hurt their points. They were 7-0 vs ‘A’ and below teams and 0-4 vs ‘AA’ teams? Joey Capparelli who played for 50/50 last year :), Chad Erickson, Chris Greinert, Jared Hunt, and pitcher Shawn Jones were all over .700 on base in dual #1. Jared Hunt led the team with 7 HR. Capparelli, one of the leagues leading hitters was .833 in dual 2, Bryan Dezern .875, Hunt .741, and Zach Messer .762 in dual #2. Capparelli led the team in HR with 8.
7th S&E NC-AA
Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 7th (3-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: -2.0
Dual #2 9th (2-2) Runs: 17.0 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: 1.0
Wins: Rebel(A), Roofx(AA), TRU(A), NFM(A), DirtyVegas(A)
Losses: MPT(M), SportsReach(AA), Monsta(M), PrimeTime(A)
S&E played about like a ‘AA’ team should. They did not however upset a Major team which you need to do every now and then. The team offense was down some and led by Rich Racobaldo who hit 7 HR in dual #1. In the 2nd dual the offense didn’t get much better and Casey Jones was .750 and Hunter Oliver a pickup from PrimeTime led the team with 3 HR.
P Shawn Ramsey and SS Joel Sanchez
Tied 8th Roofx/Revolution/Albicocco/AllHustle IN-AA
Avg Finish: 9.0 Record: 6-4
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 10.0 Allowed: 10.0 Diff: -1.0
Dual #2 5th (4-2) Runs: 19.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: 2.0
Wins: DirtyVegas(A), Aristotle(A), LSR(TBD), ClassicGlass(AA), Sports Reach(AA), CompEdge(M)
Losses: S&E(AA), Bay Area(A), MPT(M), Monsta(M)
Roofx, the old Rock Run team had an up and down weekend. They beat Competitive Edge and should have beaten Monsta to finish top 4 in dual #2 but ended up 5th after giving up 13 runs in the bottom of the 7th. In dual #1 they hit just 3 HR in 4 games. Joey Miller led with a .714 on base in 2 games. In dual #2 they hit 17 HR in 6 games led by Jeremy Fry who hit 5. Brandon Yoder had 12 extra base hits.
Tied 8th WestPoint IN-AA
Avg Finish: 9.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 9th (2-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 9th (3-2) Runs: 21.0 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: 8.0
Wins: LSR(TBD), ClassicGlass(AA), NFM(A), Epic(TBD), TRU(A)
Losses: Monsta(M), Bay Area(A), DirtyVegas(A), CompEdge(M)
WestPoint had a solid 5 wins and earns some good points.
Interview with manager/sponsor Alisha Bush: Our season has started off well. We had a few disappointments but overall I was happy with the Florida dual and how much we played well together. Our team chemistry is already off to a great start. My goal for the season is to finish top 5 in a few events. Most teams and people don’t think we are a threat so the guys are playing with a chip on their shoulder.
Injury Report: We have no serious injuries at the time.
Westpoint best uniforms!
10th PrimeTime/Easton GA-A
Avg Finish: 10.0 Record: 6-4
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 11.0 Diff: 3.0
Dual #2 7th (4-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 13.0 Diff: -1.0
Wins: L&SGlass(A), Epic(TBD), Str8play(A), Frickers(B), ClassicGlass(AA), S&E(AA)
Losses: Monsta(M), TRU(A), MPT(M), Nitro Circus(AA)
PrimeTime played the Major teams pretty good and won 6 games overall. In Dual #1 Alonzo Fields was .700 and the team hit just 9 HR in 4 games. In Dual #2 where they won 4 games including beating 2 ‘AA’ teams, PrimeTime was led by Alonzo Fields .737, William Fisher .750 in limited action, and James “Chris” Scott .652 with 6 HR and 9 extra base hits. PrimeTime was the highest finishing ‘A’ team in the tournament.
Tied 11th SmashIt/BayAreaLegends/BaughFord/BD CA-AA
Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: -5.0
Dual #2 4th (4-2) Runs: 22.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: 4.0
Wins: Epic(TBD), Siteman(A), Nitro Circus(AA), CompEdge(M), Nitro Circus(AA)
Losses: Chick-fil-a(AA), L&SGlass(A), MPT(M), Monsta(M)
Smash It had a rough Dual #1 going 1-2 but were led offensively by Joe Dorton .769, 5 HR, 11 RBI and Zane Migues .857. In Dual #2 they beat Nitro Circus twice and Competitive Edge to finish 4th! In that one Jason Branch .727 with 8 HR, Joe Dorton .700 with 6 HR, Kyle Fisher .714 with 6 HR, and Josh Cardwell had a .923 on base but only played 3 games.
Tommie Baugh
Tied 11th TRU/Riot/Timeless/LA VA-A
Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 9th (3-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 21.0 Diff: 3.0
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 19.0 Diff: -1.0
Wins: Beloli(B), ClassicGlass(AA), PrimeTime(A), Seminoles(AA), Bay Area(A)
Losses: SportsReach(AA), S&E(AA), Aristotle, WestPoint(AA)
TRU made a big run in the loser’s bracket after a rough start vs Sports Reach in their opener of Dual #1. They also picked up 2 wins in Dual #2 to finish as the 2nd highest finishing ‘A’ team. Clint Clymer led the team in Dual #1 with an .818 on base percentage and 7 HR. Tyler Marlette was .778 and Kshawn Smith was .708. Pitcher Sport Williams hit 7 doubles.
Tied 11th Chick-fil-A/Slugger/BAF/Shore Irrigation VA-AA
Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 9th (2-2) Runs: 22.0 Allowed: 19.0 Diff: 3.0
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 11.0 Diff: 3.0
Wins: Taylormade(B), SIS(AA), Aristotle(A), Seminoles(AA)
Losses: CompEdge(M), Resmondo(M), L&SGlass(A), SportsReach(AA)
Chick-fil-a had a little bit of an up and down weekend beating SIS and Seminoles but losing to L&S Glass. Jacob Clifton hit 10 HR.
Interview with player/sponsor John Natolly: We went 2-2 in both Duals, but played well in 7 of the 8 games. Lost to 2 Major Teams and a AA team by 1 run. Our team chemistry is great again this year, and we are really looking forward to the Dual in Texas after playing most of our games on fields with the wind blowing in at Space Coast. We are playing the Texas Dual, Nashville, Chicago, Columbus-GA, Smoky, Evansville Dual, Indianapolis, AA Worlds, and Major Worlds. We want to have fun all year, play well together, be the top finishing AA team in the standings, and win the AA Worlds.
Injury Report: Cody Collins is dealing with some fluid on his knee. Jacob Clifton has some lower back/hip tightness. Nothing too serious for our team.
John Natolly
Tied 11th JBL/D1/Tailgaters/Ignite OH-AA
Avg Finish: 11.0 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 5th (3-2) Runs: 19.0 Allowed: 19.0 Diff: 0.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 29.0 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: 6.0
Wins: Str8play(A), Resmondo(M), Nitro Circus(AA), CheapSuits(A)
Losses: MPT(M), Resmondo(M), CompEdge(M), Str8play(A)
JBL had a big run in the winner’s bracket in Dual #1 beating Resmondo and Nitro Circus. Brock Frentzel hit 10 HR and David Johnson 9 in the combined dual.
3B Roppel, SS Adam Ussery, MI Brian McBryde.
15th Bay Area Legends CA-A
Avg Finish: 12.0 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 7th (4-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 12.0 Diff: 1.0
Dual #2 17th (0-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 22.0 Diff: -6.0
Wins: CheapSuits(A), VanWert(B), Roofx(AA), WestPoint(AA)
Losses: MPT(M), Resmondo(M), L&SGlass(A), TRU(A)
Bay Area was always in the stadium when I was in the back fields and they were on the back fields when I was in the stadium. Same as L&S and Primetime but they had nice wins over Roofx and WestPoint.
16th ARISTOTLE / FBI AR-A
Avg Finish: 13.0 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: -5.0
Dual #2 9th (2-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 19.0 Diff: -5.0
Wins: Seminoles(AA), Chick-fil-a, TRU(A)
Losses: NitroCircus(AA), Roofx(AA), Resmondo(M), NitroCircus(AA)
Aristotle won their first two games of Dual #2 which got them in the stadium vs Resmondo. Tim Bowser hit 3 HR in Dual #2.
Tied 17th Classic Glass/Easton CA-AA
Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: 3-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 17.0 Allowed: 15.0 Diff: 2.0
Dual #2 13th (2-2) Runs: 15.0 Allowed: 13.0 Diff: 2.0
Wins: NFM(A), Rebel(A), Taylormade(B)
Losses: WestPoint(AA), TRU(A), Roofx(AA), PrimeTime(A)
Classic Glass struggled to put wins together and lost 3 games by 3 runs or less.
P Dustin Midyette, 3B Blake Lively
Tied 17th L & S Glass/MyAutoJack CA-A
Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 13th (1-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: -5.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -4.0
Wins: SIS(AA), BayArea(A)
Losses: PrimeTime(A), SportsReach(AA), Monsta(M), Chick-fil-a(AA)
L&S played a lot of innings and 7 innings vs Monsta. They won a game in each tournament.
Tied 19th Epic/Haymak/Kilmans/FLS/Koval/Pure SC-TBD
Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 20.0 Diff: -2.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 20.0 Allowed: 26.0 Diff: -6.0
Wins: Taylormade(B), SportsReach(AA)
Losses: SIS(AA), PrimeTime(A), Resmondo(M), WestPoint(A)
Epic beat Sports Reach and had Resmondo on the ropes early Saturday morning before losing on a walk off homer.
Interview with player Cory Hill: It was a great start for out TBD team. We lost a close one to Smash It losing by 2 in our first game of the year, made easy work of Taylormade team and lost a tough battle with the sun in our eyes with PrimeTime (neither team could see hitting after the 3rd inning). Dual #2 started with us beating somewhat of a rival in Sports Reach (rival because of Oj McFarland) by 10…Saturday morning we get Resmondo in the stadium and lead the entire game til they put up 9 runs in the bottom of the 7th to steal the win…got WestPoint for game 3 and lost by 2 runs after battling back from a 16 run first for WestPoint. We will play Texas dual, Myrtle, Nashville, Columbus-GA, Smoky, Indiana Dual, Conf Championship and try to make the major and win a world (which ever class they make us play).
Injury Report: No injuries
Tied 19th Van Wert Frickers OH-B
Avg Finish: 17.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 8.0 Allowed: 19.0 Diff: -11.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: -3.0
Wins: Str8play(A), CheapSuits(A)
Losses: Resmondo(M), BayArea(A), CompEdge(M), PrimeTime(A)
Van Wert was 2-2 vs ‘A’ teams and lost 2 to Major teams as a ‘B’ team. Nice start!
Tied 21st Rebel/Str8play/Prime Threadz MI-A
Avg Finish: 19.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 13th (2-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -1.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 11.0 Allowed: 24.0 Diff: -13.0
Wins: DirtyVegas(A), Siteman(A)
Losses: S&E(AA), Resmondo(M), ClassicGlass(AA), LSR(TBD)
Rebel was 2-2 in the 1st Dual.
Tied 21st Str8play/Rebel/Franchise Apparel CA-A
Avg Finish: 19.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: -12.0
Dual #2 13th (1-2) Runs: 21.0 Allowed: 29.0 Diff: -8.0
Wins: JBL(AA)
Losses: JBL(AA), VanWert(B), PrimeTime(A), NitroCircus(AA)
Str8Play lost their first 3 games then won a 44-42 shootout with JBL.
Tied 23rd DirtyVegas/Steel/Envy TX-TBD
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 13.0 Allowed: 17.0 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: -1.0
Wins: S&E(AA)
Losses: Roofx(AA), Rebel(A), WestPoint(AA), SportsReach(AA)
Dirty Vegas played a bunch of close games and might be on the cusp of a breakthrough season?
P James Delargarzza, MI Huseman
Tied 23rd LSR/TG/BAF/NITRO CIRCUS IN-TBD
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 20.0 Diff: -8.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 15.0 Allowed: 11.7 Diff: 3.3
Wins: Rebel(A)
Losses: WestPoint(AA), LSR(TBD), Roofx(AA), NitroCircus(AA)
I didn’t see much of LSR but they struggled with a very good team.
Tied 23rd NFMLending/4TheFallen/KBasInc/Lund AZ-A
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 9.0 Allowed: 20.0 Diff: -11.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 7.0 Allowed: 18.0 Diff: -11.0
Wins: LSR(TBD)
Losses: ClassicGlass(AA), SportsReach(AA), S&E(AA), WestPoint(AA)
NFM did not score much and that led to just 1 win. John Brown did the pitching for the still injured Brian Therkildsen.
P John Brown
Tied 23rd Siteman/Pure MO-A
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 17th (1-2) Runs: 14.0 Allowed: 26.0 Diff: -12.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 9.0 Allowed: 14.0 Diff: -5.0
Wins: Seminoles(AA)
Losses: NitroCircus(AA), Rebel(A), SIS(AA), Taylormade(B)
Siteman had so much promise after that walk off win against Seminoles. They get David Bare back at pitcher and his power in Texas!
Interview with player/sponsor David Garland: We have a ways to go, but I firmly believe in this team. The talent is there. The will to win is there. The preparation is there. We had a nice pre-season winning our pre-season tournament in Arkansas and then a rough dual #1 after a great start (walking off the Seminoles). We know the areas we need to improve and some small adjustments and tweaks that will make all the difference moving forward. The philosophy on this team is remember that it is a marathon not a sprint and get better every weekend. We want to go on an upward climb every tournament between now and the world tournaments so we are peaking in October. Our goal is to win the A World Tournament and also would like to play well enough to make the Major World Series.
Injury Report: Knock on wood, pretty lucky so far: Jagger Harjo had a slight hamstring tweak in the first dual but is good to go. Willie Dooley and David Bare are coming off off-season knee surgeries. David Bare returns to action in Texas.
Jose Hernandez with the inside the park homer in a close win over Seminoles.
Tied 23rd Taylormade/MidState/Valor Athletics TN-TBD
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 1-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 17.0 Allowed: 31.0 Diff: -14.0
Dual #2 17th (1-2) Runs: 10.0 Allowed: 16.0 Diff: -6.0
Wins: Siteman(A)
Losses: Chick-fil-a(AA), Epic(TBD), NitroCircus(AA), ClassicGlass(AA)
They broke through and beat Siteman, just didn’t score enough.
Tied 23rd Cheap Suits CA-A
Avg Finish: 21.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 17th (0-2) Runs: 11.0 Allowed: 31.0 Diff: -20.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 12.0 Allowed: 24.0 Diff: -12.0
Wins: none
Losses: BayArea(A), Resmond(M), JBL(AA), VanWert(B)
Cheap Suits is too good to go 0-4. But this is the new conference where there are no local teams to beat up on at some of these events.
Tied 28th Beloli Bros HVAC /KL&R Construction MA-B
Avg Finish: 25.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 16.0 Allowed: 34.0 Diff: -18.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 10.0 Allowed: 24.0 Diff: -14.0
Wins: none
Losses: CompEdge(M), TRU(A), Resmondo(M), SportsReach(AA)
Beloli is a new conference ‘B’ team. They have to learn to compete for 7 innings which the long games are hard to get used to. Joseph Apostoli hit 5 HR in 4 games. Also Beloli outfielder Connor Miller broke his leg in a collision in the field and had to have surgery. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Tied 28th Seminoles/Nacsf.Inc/TPS/RS/Anarchy OK-AA
Avg Finish: 25.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 25th (0-2) Runs: 19.0 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: -4.0
Dual #2 25th (0-2) Runs: 9.0 Allowed: 21.0 Diff: -13.0
Wins: none
Losses: Siteman(A), Aristotle(A), TRU(A), Chick-fil-a(AA)
Seminoles has had a rough start to the season. A season which won’t get any easier unless they dig deep and come out swinging in Texas.
Faces in the Crowd / More Pictures
The Dudley Stadium ZN was a good batch of balls. They did get a little softer in the humidity but good overall.
Gloves for sale!
UIC Slim Rice, Anthony Champion, Bruce Guillory
Ken Hawk and Jason Oberlag are back for a full slate of conference events!
Oberlag and Steve Milani
Directors/Umpires
Xtreme family reunion.
Mike Dill and Scott Sunderland
The tournament was pretty much rain free, but right after the end of dual #2 a downpour.
Remember anyone taking a game ball can be removed from the park.
Thanks Mags for bringing these back!
Thank you to the 6 out of 37 teams that participated and answered the post HOF team interview questions that I emailed to each of the main team contacts. When I send these, if you don’t have time to answer them, forward the email to an assistant coach or player to answer. Thanks!
Thank you to all the scorers that used the BallClubz scoring app. Please, all teams, let me know how you are turning in stats. Thank you to Eric McCarthy the host of Conference Prime Time. Viktor Anderson who announced a bunch of the stadium games. Thank you to the directors Tim Yamashita, TK, Jim Pilla, Jason Campbell, Clay Dickey, Juan Martinez, Sean Melvin, and Stro. Thank you to Bernie Guenther for USSSALive.com. Thank you to the behind the scenes work of Kersten Zarm and Kelly O. Michael from Ballclubz. The umpires, the pitchers, and all of those who ran center field for 4 days. And a special thanks to the sponsors for putting such great teams on the field!
The USSSALive control room
USSSALive.com!
