Note: I am unable to take video while music is playing at games so I don’t have a lot of video content of Dual #1.
2023 Christan Dowling Derby Dual
Kent, Washington
July 20-23
Self preservation by NFM pitcher Brian Therkildsen in the Dual #1 championship vs Cheap Suits.
Dan Kirkwood from Classic Glass hits against EAS in the Dual #2 Championship.
Seattle Hot Links
Seattle Bracket and Results link
Seattle Dual #1 Video Clips link
Cheap Suits vs NFM Lending condensed game link
Classic Glass vs Seminoles Condensed Game link
Seattle Dual #1 Stats link (Updating throughout the week)
Seattle Dual #2 Stats link (Updating throughout the week)
Seattle Dual Team List
Thursday Recap
Local J&I pulled multiple upsets in Dual #1.
The annual Seattle Dual Major is played in honor of the late Christan Dowling arguably the greatest power hitter in women’s slow pitch history. The 1st dual men’s major began on Thursday morning at 9 am pacific time with 17 teams from 7 different states and was played on 300 foot fields with the Dudley Pro-M ball and regular 8-12-14 home run rules. The weather was perfect all 4 days with temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees with low humidity. The 8 conference teams had their way with the regional ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams in the 1st dual “Round of 16” except for Coursey Realty/Elite (CA-B) who lost 20-5 to an experienced J&I/Westcoast/LegacyRoofing (WA-B) team. J&I’s Buck Bokuku, according to BallClubz stats, was 4-4 in the win and J&I out homered Coursey 5-2. Also non-conference Washington ‘B’ team Axe knocked off EAS/GSSports/Suncoast (CO-B) 31-27 scoring 14 runs in the top of the 5th. The other 6 Conference teams – Classic Glass/Easton (CA-AA), NFMLending/4theFallen (AZ-A), Bay Area Legends (CA-A), Cheap Suits (CA-A), and Str8play/MyAutoJack (CA-A) all beat the local/regional B/C teams by the run rule in the “Round of 16”.
The Danny Higa led NFM Lending took down Seminoles early in Dual #1.
Due to livestream issues which turned out to be out of our control (slow AT&T cell service) I did not see much of the “Round of 8” games. NFM Lending held off Seminoles 26-25 after Seminoles scored 7 in the bottom of the 7th to make it close. Orlando Cano, Dustin Wager, Brian Therkildsen, and Johnathan Sierra were all on base 4-5 for NFM and they used all 12 of their home runs. Classic Glass run ruled Axe 43-26 scoring the most runs of any game between Conference teams in the 1st dual. J&I upset Bay Area Legends 28-27 on the show field. And Cheap Suits run ruled rival Str8play 31-16.
A walk off grand slam by NFM Lending’s Michael Gibson sunk Classic Glass in Dual #1.
In the semifinals Thursday night Cheap Suits led by Reid Ramirez and Victor Cordova knocked off the upset minded J&I 28-13. And Classic Glass down 5 in the top of the 7th batted around the lineup getting a 2 run 2 out homer from pitcher Bo Andrews to go up 28-25. But in the bottom of the 7th NFM Lending started the inning with 2 home runs then tied the game on a bases loaded walk and then won on a grand slam by Michael Gibson.
Winner’s bracket finals action in Dual #1!
On Friday morning in the winner’s bracket finals both the NFM and Cheap Suits pitchers were defending the middle after the home runs were gone and neither teams offenses seemed to want to win the game as it went to extra innings. 9 innings to be exact before the game ended in a fitting way as NFM’s Brian Therkildsen won it on a bases loaded walk… In the loser’s bracket Seminoles beat the regional ‘B’ teams Pro-Active Home Builders, Axe, and J&I before knocking off Classic Glass to finish 3rd. Str8play won a couple games to finish tied for 5th with Axe. And Cheap Suits knocked off a tired Seminoles team 27-16 to make it back to the championship against NFM Lending. In the championship game NFM Lending looked fresh as they grabbed a 5-3 lead in the 1st. But Cheap Suits came alive scoring 19 runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take charge of the game. With an “if” game looming NFM scored 11 in the top of the 4th and out scored Cheap Suits 20-4 in the last 4 innings, blanking Cheap Suits 3 times, and NFM won the game and the Dual #1 tournament 34-29!
Friday Recap
EAS and Josh Tallent took down Bay Area Friday night.
Dual #2 began early Friday as Dual #1 was finishing up. This tournament was played with unlimited home runs and 80 foot bases. A majority of the winner’s bracket games were played on the all turf baseball field with its 330-370-395-375-370-330 home run fence dimensions and the stadium ball. A few winner’s games and a lot of the loser’s bracket games were played on the 300 foot fields with 80 foot bases and the Pro-M ball. Tired NFM and Cheap Suits teams lost their opening games to non-conference teams Tranont/Klutch/BSU (UT-B) and Skangers/Goodfellas/A3 (WA-B) respectively. And then Tranont went on to beat Skangers 32-28 Friday night to advance to the “Final 4”. Meanwhile Seminoles advanced to Saturday’s “Final 4” with close wins over Pro-Active Home 17-16 on the baseball field on a walk off single by Zane Trammell after Pro-Active led 12-0 behind the pitching of backup pitcher and former All Conference performer Chris Benigno. Then Seminoles went over to field #2 and beat Str8play in a close one 32-29. In the middle of the bracket Classic Glass rolled on the baseball field with a 23-1 win over Dynasty Brothers and a 45-4 win over Axe. And EAS/GS Sports beat J&I 27-15 then upset Bay Area Legends 22-14.
Saturday Recap
It was odd to see NFM Lending and Cheap Suits playing in the 1st round of the loser’s bracket after being in the finals of Dual #1.
So in the “Final 4” which was played late Saturday afternoon in perfect softball weather on the baseball field, Seminoles grabbed an early lead on Classic Glass before zeroing in the bottom of the 3rd. The momentum shifted in the 4th for Classic Glass who powered their way to 4 runs in the 4th and 9 in the top of the 5th to go up 20-9 and when Rucelle Consigny made Seminoles pay for an infield error with a 3 run no doubt homer, Classic cruised to a 26-10 win.
In the other semifinal it was two ‘B’ teams EAS and Tranont. EAS controlled the game which had a few too many mishits for my liking and EAS went on to win 18-9. For EAS veterans Josh Tallent was 4-5 with 4 extra base hits and center fielder Westy Guill was 4-5 with 3 triples while newcomer Eric Zalunardo was 4-4 with 2 doubles and a homer in the win. EAS hit 3 HR on the big field total for the game.
Joe Lewis from EAS pounds one into the trees vs Tranont in the semi’s.
The winner’s bracket finals was then played at 8 pm Saturday night. Things went bad for EAS as they got a runner thrown out at the plate, then their main player Westy Guill pulled a hamstring, and another EAS runner got caught in a pickle. Couple these bad luck plays with the fact Classic Glass got off to a slow start and somehow EAS still maintained an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd. But Classic Glass out scored EAS 18-4 the rest of the way and powered their way to an 18-12 victory. In the loser’s bracket the top 2 from Dual #1 – NFM Lending and Cheap Suits actually found themselves in a battle in the 1st round of the loser’s bracket. lol. NFM won again 34-33 on a walk off homer by Dustin Wager. J&I, Coursey Realty, and Str8play made runs in the loser’s bracket but Seminoles and Tranont dropped down from their semifinal losses and beat them to meet in the 4th place game where Tranont upset Seminoles 21-13. But then Tranont was unable to change flights for Sunday morning and forfeited to finish 3rd.
Classic Glass CF Greg Downing makes a diving catch in the winner’s final.
Sunday Recap
Championship Sunday – Classic Glass vs EAS
The only game on Sunday morning because of the Tranont forfeit was the championship. In that game Classic Glass jumped out to leads of 9-2 and after an 11 run top of the 3rd led 20-2 and won in 5 innings 21-5.
Long Bomber of the Week!
Lets go with Matt Barnes from NFM Lending for Long Bomber of Dual #1 (pictured above) and Ryan Ramirez from Classic Glass for Dual #2 (pictured below). With an honorable mention to Joe Lewis from EAS.
Seattle Dual #1 Results and Awards
Seattle Dual #2 Results and Awards
Team by Team Ordered by Average Finishing Position
Note: Due to the red eye home, my sons birthday, and preparation time for the Border Battle I was unable to finish the team by team commentary which I will add at a later date and repost. Sorry, but thank you for the understanding.
1st Place – Classic Glass/Easton CA-AA
Avg Finish: 2.5 Record: 8-2
Dual #1 4th (3-2) Runs: 31.4 Allowed: 22.8 Diff: 8.6
Dual #2 1st (5-0) Runs: 26.6 Allowed: 6.4 Diff: 20.2
Billy Wright was showing some stadium power.
3rd baseman Brady Stewart was Defensive MVP of dual #2
2nd Place – Seminoles/Nacsf.Inc/TPS/RS/Anarchy OK-A
Avg Finish: 3.5 Record: 8-4
Dual #1 3rd (5-2) Runs: 32.0 Allowed: 19.7 Diff: 12.3
Dual #2 4th (3-2) Runs: 24.0 Allowed: 24.8 Diff: -0.8
Oliver Odle was moved to lead off to free swing!
1B Justin Wilkie lays out for a shot from Classic Glass.
3rd Place – EAS/GSSPORTS/SUNCOAST CO-B
Avg Finish: 4.5 Record: 6-4
Dual #1 7th (2-2) Runs: 26.5 Allowed: 23.5 Diff: 3.0
Dual #2 2nd (4-2) Runs: 15.2 Allowed: 12.8 Diff: 2.3
Westy Guill with another triple.
Tied 4th – J&I/Westcoast/LegacyRoofingNW/Hells WA-B
Avg Finish: 5.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 5th (2-2) Runs: 18.3 Allowed: 25.5 Diff: -7.3
Dual #2 5th (3-2) Runs: 24.4 Allowed: 22.4 Diff: 2.0
Tied 4th – NFMLending/4TheFallen/KBasInc/Lund AZ-A
Avg Finish: 5.0 Record: 6-2
Dual #1 1st (5-0) Runs: 28.8 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: 5.8
Dual #2 9th (1-2) Runs: 26.0 Allowed: 27.7 Diff: -1.7
6th Place – Str8play/MyAutoJack/Franchise/Rebel CA-A
Avg Finish: 6.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 5th (3-2) Runs: 25.2 Allowed: 23.6 Diff: 1.6
Dual #2 7th (2-2) Runs: 33.5 Allowed: 29.3 Diff: 4.3
7th Place – Skangers/Goodfellas A3 WA-B
Avg Finish: 7.0 Record: 5-4
Dual #1 9th (2-2) Runs: 22.0 Allowed: 29.3 Diff: -7.3
Dual #2 5th (3-2) Runs: 23.6 Allowed: 24.0 Diff: -0.4
8th Place – Cheap Suits CA-A
Avg Finish: 7.5 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 2nd (4-2) Runs: 28.7 Allowed: 19.2 Diff: 9.5
Dual #2 13th (0-2) Runs: 31.0 Allowed: 32.0 Diff: -1.0
Dante Broome in CF was showing some big time range!
Reid Ramirez goes up for one.
Tied 9th Place – AXE WA-B
Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: 3-4
Dual #1 7th (2-2) Runs: 24.5 Allowed: 31.3 Diff: -6.8
Dual #2 9th (1-2) Runs: 16.3 Allowed: 31.7 Diff: -15.3
Tied 9th Place – CourseyRealty/EliteSecurity/Anarchy CA-B
Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: 3-4
Dual #1 9th (1-2) Runs: 16.7 Allowed: 15.7 Diff: 1.0
Dual #2 7th (2-2) Runs: 20.5 Allowed: 24.3 Diff: -3.8
Tied 9th Place – Tranont/Klutch/BSU UT-B
Avg Finish: 8.0 Record: 4-4
Dual #1 13th (0-2) Runs: 23.0 Allowed: 31.0 Diff: -8.0
Dual #2 3rd (4-2) Runs: 16.3 Allowed: 14.5 Diff: 1.8
Abbott from Tranont was all tourny Dual #2.
Tied 12th Place – Bay Area Legends CA-A
Avg Finish: 9.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 9th (1-2) Runs: 27.7 Allowed: 25.7 Diff: 2.0
Dual #2 9th (1-2) Runs: 22.7 Allowed: 20.7 Diff: 2.0
Tied 12th Place – Pro-Active Home Builders WA-B
Avg Finish: 9.0 Record: 3-4
Dual #1 9th (1-2) Runs: 15.7 Allowed: 30.3 Diff: -14.7
Dual #2 9th (2-2) Runs: 13.3 Allowed: 11.0 Diff: 2.3
Tied 14th Place – Badd Xample/BX Idaho/HMH ID-C
Avg Finish: 13.0 Record: 2-4
Dual #1 13th (1-2) Runs: 18.0 Allowed: 32.0 Diff: -14.0
Dual #2 13th (1-2) Runs: 10.0 Allowed: 19.7 Diff: -9.7
Tied 14th Place – MOG WA-C
Avg Finish: 13.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 13th (0-2) Runs: 15.0 Allowed: 26.0 Diff: -11.0
Dual #2 13th (0-2) Runs: 11.0 Allowed: 23.0 Diff: -12.0
Tied 16th Place – DynastyBrothers/EatIt/DBSports/AMB CA-C
Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 17th (0-2) Runs: 28.5 Allowed: 29.5 Diff: -1.0
Dual #2 13th (0-2) Runs: 9.5 Allowed: 21.0 Diff: -11.5
Tied 16th Place – Sticky Bandits/Mohn Drywall WA-C
Avg Finish: 15.0 Record: 0-4
Dual #1 13th (0-2) Runs: 10.0 Allowed: 26.5 Diff: -16.5
Dual #2 17th (0-2) Runs: 8.5 Allowed: 17.5 Diff: -9.0
Faces in the Crowd / More Pictures
The carpet kept rolling up on head first slides.
Greg Jones and Bruce Guillory
There was a rare species sighting, it’s called a Stro.
Ballclubz is the solution here… 🙂
The livestream which relies on AT&T cell service was not very good all weekend.
Beer truck.
Bat bucket 240 compression testing.
Dudley Stadium ZN was used on the baseball field in Dual #2.
UIC was Matt Gregory
Remember if you slam your bat and brake it, you don’t get to replace it.
Animals
