2024 Windy City Classic tournament report!

2024 Windy City Major

Carol Stream, IL

May 31 – June 2

Mitch Lendenski hits in the championship game.

Windy City Team List

Video and Article Links

Windy City Results and Bracket Results link

Windy City Picture Album link

Resmondo vs JBL condensed game link

I-57 Roofing vs RoofX condensed game link

Resmondo vs JBL condensed game link

I-57 Roofing vs RoofX condensed game link

Sports Reach vs Bay Area Legends condensed game link

RoofX vs Resmondo condensed game link

Resmondo vs I-57 Roofing condensed game link

Championship – Resmondo vs RoofX condensed game link

Windy City Archived Games link

Windy City Stats link

Windy City Link to BallClubz Boxscores

Windy City Link to BallClubz Team Stat Reports

Friday Night Recap

KBI’s Jared Skubic hits a walk off single to beat Nally’s.

The annual Windy City Classic began on Friday night at 5 pm central time at the beautiful McCaslin Park in Carol Stream, Illinois. The games were played on the 4 – 300 foot fields with the brand new artificial turf infields. There was great softball weather Friday and Sunday but Saturday it rained half of the day but because of the turf fields the games were only halted for about 45 minutes. There were 21 teams total (15 from the Conference) and they came from 13 different states. In the “play in” games Conference teams Rebel/Str8play (MI-A) and Ely Reel/Schlabach Trucking (OH-B) won their games easily over their non-conference opponents but Nally’s (KS-A) was upset by KBI (IL-C) 21-20 when KBI scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th and won on a walk off single by Jared Skubic. KBI overcame a 17-6 deficit in that win. Also J&I an Ohio non-conference ‘B’ team knocked off non-conference ‘A’ team Comatose 33-21. In the “Round of 16” the rest of the Conference teams that were in the tournament began play. JBL Roofing (OH-AA) knocked off fellow Ohio team Van Wert Frickers 25-18. Resmondo (FL-Major) rolled through Rebel 30-10 in 3.5 innings after scoring 16 in the bottom of the 2nd and 10 more in the bottom of the 3rd. Everett Williams and Phil Matte were each 4-4 and Matte hit 2 HR and drove in 6. Nitro Circus (MD-AA) the #2 seed struggled with the speedy J&I team and the game was tied late at 19 runs each until Nitro scored 11 in the top of the 7th and held on to win 30-24. Filip Washington and Zane Migues were each 5-5 in the win. Sports Reach (KY-AA) scored 10 in the top of the 1st against Bay Area Legends (CA-A) and then Bay Area left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 2nd down 10-2. But Bay Area came back thanks in part to a Mychal Evans 2 out 3 run homer in the bottom of the 3rd and 2 home runs by pitcher Shawn Jones in the bottom of the 4th where they scored 11 runs to go up 17-16. Bay Area held a 21-19 lead going into the top of the 6th where Sports Reach scored 7 runs on homers by Jimmy Ward, Joey Kampfer, and a 3 run shot by Dagmar Pena to go up 26-21. In the bottom of the 7th down 29-21 Bay Area with 3 HR to hit they managed just 4 runs and Sports Reach ended the game by turning a double play and won 29-25. This game had the most great defensive plays in it of any game this season. Check it out in condensed form on the USSSALive YouTube channel. Travis Houseman and pitcher Mark Blaziewske were each 5-5 and Jimmy Ward was 4-5 with 4 HR and 8 RBI for Sports Reach. In the lower half of the bracket Ely Reel won their second game of the night upsetting Cheap Suits (CA-A) 25-20 and out homering them 11-8. Ely Reel leadoff hitter Ben Young was on base 4-5 with 5 RBI and shortstop Tim Kandel hit 3 HR while rookie of the year candidate Matt Valencia was 4-4 in the loss with 3 extra base hits for Cheap Suits. I-57 Roofing/Beechy (IL-A) scored in every inning to beat a feisty KBI 22-16. I-57 out homered them 11-9 as Nic Perkins and Jake Hathaway were each 4-5. RoofX the #1 seed was actually trailing to the non-conference Wisconsin ‘B’ team NE/Pure 10-0 after a half inning but quickly scored 11 in the bottom of the 1st, 11 in the 2nd, and 18 in the 3rd to leave NE/Pure on the field 40-10. They did all of that scoring on just 7 home runs. Tyler Ervine, Terry Lambright, and Ryan Honeycutt were all 5-5 on base as they drew 15 walks total as a team. And Primetime (GA-A) trailed WestPoint (IN-AA) 20-4 after 1 inning but came all the way back scoring 9 runs in the top of the 7th and holding Westpoint scoreless in the bottom of the 7th to pull out a dramatic victory 41-39. One fan claimed it was the best game of the tournament. James Scott, Chris Berry, Donta Frazier, and Tanai Alston were all on base 5 times and Ira Brown and Frazier each hit 4 HR.

J&I gave Nitro everything they had Friday night.

Saturday Recap

Resmondo whoopin on JBL again…

The quarterfinals were played at 11:30 AM and 1 PM Saturday in the cold rain. Resmondo scored 21 runs on 7 HR in the top of the 1st innings against JBL Roofing and cruised to a 43-10 win in 5 innings when they scored 14 more in the top of the 5th. Kyle Pearson who was 24-24 on base in the tournament was 6-6 along with Greg Connell and Phil Matte who were also 6-6 and Phil had 3 HR and 7 RBI. Nitro Circus scored in every inning against Sports Reach on their way to a solid 30-17 win out homering Sports Reach 13-10 and holding them scoreless in 2 innings. Chris Greinert, John Williams, and Jason Martel were each on base 5 times for Nitro. I-57 Roofing trailed Ely Reel 29-12 going into the bottom of the 5th after Ely Reel scored 18 runs in the top of the 2nd. But I-57 extended the game and avoided the run rule with a 14 run bottom of the 5th, shut out Ely Reel in the top of the 6th, and added 11 more runs in the bottom of the 6th to pull out a big comeback win 37-31. I-57 out homered Ely Reel 12-7 as Jacob Hoskins was on base 6-6 with 3 HR and last batter Dante Broome drove in 8 runs for I-57. In the last quarterfinal RoofX led the entire game against Primetime after scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the 2nd but Primetime pushed the game all 7 innings out scoring RoofX 24-14 down the stretch to make it interesting, but RoofX won 33-27. Both teams hit 13 of their 14 home runs. Mitch Lendenski, Ryan Honeycutt, and Kyle Center in the middle of the RoofX lineup were each on base 5-5. Those quarterfinals were really miserable with the rain coming down hard at times.

Final 4 Recap

Semifinals RoofX hits against I-57

The semifinals were played early Saturday evening again in the cold rain. Resmondo made quick work of Nitro Circus/Beloli scoring 15 runs in the first two innings to go up 15-0 then 19 more in the top of the 3rd to win in 3 innings 34-1! Kyle Pearson and Buddy Wolf were each 4-4 in the win. And RoofX scored 9 in the bottom of the 1st, 10 in the 2nd, and 18 in the 3rd to leave I-57 Roofing on the field 37-7. Arlis Miller, Jeremy Fry, Terry Lambright, Ryan Honeycutt, Brandon Yoder, and Logan Rogers were all on base 4-4 and Jon Troyer drove in 8 runs. So, the matchup everyone wanted was at hand…RoofX vs Resmondo in the winner’s final!

Winner’s Final Recap

Safe at the plate.

The nation’s two favorite teams squared off as the rain stopped in the early evening Saturday in cool weather. A rainbow even popped out during the game. You can see the game in condensed form here on the USSSALive YouTube Channel. RoofX scored 5 in the top of the 1st inning and then held Resmondo to just 3 runs when Jeremy Fry made a spectacular catch on a line drive up the middle with the bases loaded to end the inning. Then in the top of the 2nd, probably not by design, RoofX used most of their 16 home runs scoring 23 runs on 11 home runs (4 in a row at one point) to go up 28-3. The defense then made some more great plays includimg a double play in the bottom of the 2nd and RoofX went up 31-6 in the top of the 3rd before Resmondo buckled down and scored 15 runs to get back in it 31-21. But RoofX did a nice job of base hitting when the homers were low and got an unassisted double play by 1st baseman Joey Miller to hold Resmondo to zero in the bottom of the 5th and held on to win 43-37 after Resmondo scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 7th. Looking at the boxscore below Arliss Miller and Tyler Ervine were on base 7-7 and there were 31 home runs hit in the game.

Loser’s Bracket Recap

Van Wert Frickers Isaac Snyder hits a walk off to beat Aces.

The loser’s bracket played out all day on Saturday in the miserable rain. Van Wert Frickers in the top half of the loser’s bracket played most of the day after Isaac Snyder won their 8 am game 23-22 against Aces on a walk off home run after Aces blew the turn on a double play to win it. Then they beat Nally’s 20-15 after Nally’s had beat ‘A’ rival Rebel 21-15. Then Van Wert continued in the rain beating PrimeTime 30-28 without having to bat in the bottom of the 7th and they knocked off Ely Reel 28-11 before running out of gas in a 27-0 loss to Nitro Circus later Saturday evening. In the lower half of the loser’s bracket Buck/I-55 a Missouri ‘C’ team made a nice little run beating KBI and Cheap Suits before Sports Reach sent them home 29-23. And WestPoint proved they could win in the rain beating Comatose coming from behind, NE/Pure, and upsetting JBL 34-30 before losing to Sports Reach 26-6. Then Sports Reach turned around and lost to I-57 Roofing 20-14. So Van Wert and Sports Reach tied for 5th. The 4th place game was the last game of the night Saturday and in that one I-57 got a “second wind” and jumped out to a 33-8 lead on Nitro/Beloli after 2.5 innings. Nitro extended the game til the 5th inning where they were run ruled 44-26. Mitch Carriger, Orlando Olivera, and Jake Hathaway were all 6-6 and Olivera and Hathaway each had 3 HR and 7 RBI in the win for I-57. Nitro finished 4th.

Sunday Recap

Resmondo RF Buddy Wolf made two nice catches and got an assist in the 1st inning vs I-57.

The loser’s final was played at 8 am Sunday morning in beautiful cool/crisp weather. Resmondo and I-57 Roofing went toe to toe in the 1st inning with Resmondo winning 14-12. The difference was 3 great plays by Resmondo right fielder Buddy Wolf who tracked one down in the right center gap and made a leaping catch for out #1, then had a diver in foul territory for out #2, and then threw a runner out at the plate for out #3. When Resmondo added 9 in the top of the 2nd, I-57 came in and put up a zero, and Resmondo answered again in the top of the 3rd scoring an amazing 31 runs on 6 HR as they put on a hitting clinic with 24 singles and doubles in the inning. There was nothing I-57 could do, and Resmondo won in 3 innings 54-21. Everett Williams, Kyle Pearson, and Greg Connell at the top of the order were a combined 18-18 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. The middle 3 hitters Matusik, Marshburn, and Mack combined for 23 RBI.

Ryan Honeycutt and Everett Williams square off in the championship!

The championship was of course a rematch between the only two major teams Resmondo and RoofX. Resmondo started with a foul out and 2 solo homers but managed to score 5 runs on 3 HR in the top of the 1st inning. RoofX, the undefeated team, in the bottom of the 1st then scored 8 on 2 and a strike out looking to go up 8-5 on a “little league” homer by the speedy Brandon Yoder. In the top of the 2nd the momentum appeared to shift to RoofX as Resmondo went hard middle, possibly retaliating for an earlier RoofX middle shot? But the ball went off pitcher Kyle Center’s body and he made the out as Resmondo went down in order 1-2-3. But in the bottom of the 2nd when RoofX only managed 3 runs highlighted by a Terry Lambright homer, Resmondo was still only down 11-5. In the top of the 3rd Resmondo scored just 2 runs on a Jason Matusik 2 out 2 run homer and it was all RoofX the rest of the way as they base hit their way to 10 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, and homered their way to 9 runs in the bottom of the 4th leaving Resmondo on the field by the 20 run rule 30-10. Terry Lambright and Kyle Center were each on base 4-4 in the championship as RoofX had a .786 team on base percentage for the game to Resmondo’s .478. It was RoofX’s 2nd tournament win of the season, both on 300 foot fields and their 3rd win over Resmondo in a row.

Long Bomber of the Week!

The Long Bomber of the Week goes to Nitro Circus outfielder Craig Pellegrin who hit this ball I “google earthed” at 409 feet against J&I Friday night.

Windy City Results and Awards

MVP – RoofX 2nd baseman Tyler Ervine

Defensive MVP – RoofX center fielder Brandon Yoder

Offensive MVP – Resmondo’s Kyle Pearson was 24-24 with 6 HR, 14 RBI, and 22 runs scored.

Team by Team Notes

1st Place – RoofX/BadDraw/CE/Pure/Envy

IN-Major Record 5-0

RoofX is now 10-0 on 300 foot fields this year and 35-10 overall. They have won 7 straight games against Major teams and this was their 2nd tournament win of the season. Kyle Center did the pitching against Resmondo and won both games. He also hit .765 and could be considered the tournament MVP. Honeycutt, Ervine, and Yoder were all over .800, most everyone was over .700, and the defense continues to be the best in the country. They played without Ryan Mcclanahan who was at his son’s baseball games.

Ervine played a decent 2nd base. When they put Tyler there, RoofX calls it their “Jumbo” package.

2nd Place – Resmondo/All American Restoration/O

FL-Major Record 4-2

Resmondo is now 23-4 on the year but have lost to RoofX 3 consecutive games. They played without Phil Matte and Bradley Jones down the stretch as both had pulled hamstrings. Kyle Pearson continues to roll going 24-24 and he should win the batting title again this year. Everett Williams was over .800 for the tournament along with Greg Connell and Buddy Wolf. Everett hit in the lead off spot a couple times. And Josh Riley who has struggled some was in and out of the lineup. The defense made some mistakes and when they went to step on the gas for a double digit inning against RoofX the RoofX defense made some big plays and held them down. Buddy Wolf in right field made some nice plays and has come a long ways from the days when I remember Tailgaters tried not to ever put him in the outfield. 🙂

3rd Place – I-57 Roofing/Beechy’s/Royce Geo/SA

IL-A Record 4-2

I-57 with another Sunday finish and is the top ‘A’ team in the country based on Conference points but is 2nd among ‘A’ teams in the computer rankings behind LSR. Manager Steve Robbs continues to pull the right strings and the team responds like they did in that big comeback against Ely Reel. Mitch Carriger did most of the pitching. There was nothing they could do in losses to RoofX and Resmondo as they were blown out in those games.

Steve Robbs told me in the offseason he had a great team and he was right!

Steve Myers was on base 7-7 in more of a backup pitcher role.

4th Place – Nitro/Beloli/Ataraxis/SBT/SOL/BAF/K

MD-AA Record 3-2

Nitro Circus finished 4th but it didn’t feel like it as they struggled against J&I, scored 1 run against Resmondo, and lost to I-57 by 18 in a game where the winner makes it to Sunday. Jason Martel led the team with a .895 on base percentage and Chris Greinert led with 9 HR and 17 RBI.

Tied 5th – Van Wert Frickers

OH-A Record 4-2

After a 7 run loss to JBL, Van Wert recovered to make a nice run to 5th in the loser’s bracket scoring wins over fellow Conference ‘A’ teams Nally’s and PrimeTime. I guess we can say Van Wert likes playing in the rain. 🙂 They still need to turn in stats for the Chicago Major…

Tied 5th – Sports Reach/Demarini/Grizzy/SMHS

KY-AA Record 3-2

Sports Reach held on to beat Bay Area, lost to Nitro, beat Bucks and 20 run “mercied” Westpoint before losing to I-57 by 6 leaving 7 home runs on the table. Sports Reach is sitting 5th in the conference points which should help them with seeding going forward. The defense is more than capable. Check out CF Austin Andrews catch in the Bay Area game in the condensed game video. Joel Sanchez led the team in on base percentage. Dagmar Pena and Jimmy Ward led in HR with 8 and Ward had 16 RBI.

Jimmy Ward smashes 4 HR in win over Bay Area.

Tied 7th – WestPoint

IN-AA Record 3-2

WestPoint lost a heart breaker to PrimeTime 41-39, then beat Comatose, NE/Pure, and had a nice win over JBL to finish tied for 7th. They had some new faces in the ex-Taylormade players Clint Barnes and Darien Tubbs. And they picked up veteran slugger Jess Maloney who hasn’t played for a few years. Clint Barnes led the offense .826, Maloney and Welborn hit 9 HR, and Welborn led the team with 28 RBI.

Jess Maloney returned to Conference hitting 9 HR.

Tied 7th – Ely Reel/Schlabach/MSGA Sports

OH-B Record 3-2

Ely Reel pronounced “Eeely” had a nice showing. They beat Aces and Cheap Suits on Friday night to make the final 8. Then had a big lead before losing to I-57 37-31. In the loser’s bracket they recovered to upset Bay Area Legends 27-26 on a walk off homer by Kyle Slicker after being down 5 runs to start the last inning. Then they were sent home by Van Wert in a game where they left 7 home runs on the table. Ely Reel is a solid upset minded B+ team that can trip up anyone at any time.

More Teams

Tied 9th – Bucks/I-55 Logistics/Wolfpack Ind.

I didn’t see much of the Bucks but they quietly beat KBI big and then upset Cheap Suits to end up as the highest finishing non-conference team. And they only lost to Sports Reach by 6 when Sports Reach scored 11 runs in the top of the 7th. Not bad for a ‘C’ team.

Tied 9th – Bay Area Legends

Bay Area went 0-2 against Conference teams Sports Reach and Ely Reel but both games came down to the last at bat. Their center field pickup Shon Cureton made a spectacular catch against Cedar Creek which you can see here. The offense was led by Daontre Porter .895, Shawn Jones who hit 9 HR, and Isaac Gonzalez who drove in 22.

Tied 9th – JBL Roofing/Pauer

JBL beat Van Wert by 7, lost to Resmondo in the rain 43-16, and lost to Westpoint by 4. Not a great weekend after their 2nd place finish in Memphis. They did activate outfielder Brock Frentzel (shoulder surgery) and released veteran Steve Edwards (back issues). JBL still needs to turn in stats for Chicago.

Tied 9th – PrimeTime/Easton/BallHawk

PrimeTime came from behind to beat Westpoint, went 7 innings with RoofX, and lost to Van Wert. Tanai Alston and James Scott were over .800. Lonzo Fields hit 8 HR and Ira Brown and Fields knocked in 20 runs each.

Nally’s/Q Solutions/One Shot – Nallys was upset by KBI on a walk off single, beat Rebel, but came up short against Van Wert. The offense needs some more pop at the bottom, maybe. Mike Brown led the team with an .800 on base, Colton Leet with 6 HR and 12 RBI.

J&l sports/Beachys electric/Mt hope – J&I upset Comatose, looked real good until the end against Nitro, and lost to Bay Area by 21. Lots of fast, defensive, and line drive hitting talent on this team.

NE/Pure – They beat Cedar Creek, started good against RoofX, and went 7 innings with Westpoint. It was good to see Scott Jacobs still playing and putting teams together.

Cheap Suits/Republic Realty/ESP – Upset by Ely Reel and Bucks. Cheap Suits needs a big weekend in Palm Springs.

Rebel/Str8play/Koval

Rebel beat Bucks, then lost to Resmondo by 20. No shame there. Then Nally’s nipped them 21-15. Jarod Kashner was a perfect on base 11-11. Newly acquired Emilson Marquez and Drew Rogers were at .833. They only averaged 7 HR a game. Tyler Kincaid was pitching.