2015 Nationwide Conference USSSA
“Choo Choo” Classic
Chattanooga, TN
May 2-3
Link to the Softballcenter.com picture album of the Chattanooga Major
USSSA Chattanooga tournament info and bracket link
Albicoccos Lee Payne hits against Red’s Asros Brendt Newbill late in a close game in the winner’s final Saturday nightA
The first annual “Choo Choo” Classic was played at the scenic Summit of Softball park in Ooltewah, Tennessee just outside of Chattanooga. There were 15 teams battling it out starting on Saturday morning and ending Sunday at noon. The weather may have been the best of any Conference tournament in the 10 year history of the league! At 9 AM Saturday morning Bear Hollow Ranch from Arkansas crushed The SportsmanShop 28-8 in 35 minutes. Sportsmanshop is a Conference ‘C’ team from Wisconsin that was playing in their first Conference event of the season. Primetime from Georgia slipped past Team Collision 23-16, and in a shootout of sorts Worsham from North Carolina separated from upset minded Showtime from Tennessee late in the game and Worsham won 34-23. In the 10:30 AM games in the first round Country Fresh Foods a ‘D’ team from Georgia upset Conference ‘B’ team KG/Slayer from Indiana 25-24! OI Livingston made short work of Athletic Shop 26-6, and Red’s Astros batted for a long time in beating Tapout 35-9.
In the second round the favorite team Albicocco/The Scene/Easton, the only Major team in the tournament, jumped out to a huge lead on Bear Hollow Ranch but Bear Hollow avoided the run rule a couple of times before succumbing 43-28. OI Livingston with the wind blowing in on diamond #2 trailed the Georgia ‘D’ team Country Fresh 11-7 late. Then OI tied the game at 11 a piece and won the game in the bottom of the 7th on a Jason Gillfillan walk off homer into a strong wind 12-11. Broughton smoked Primetime 31-11 and had a two game total score of 60-13! And Red’s Astros trailed the whole game against Worsham but won 24-23 on a botched DP ball by Worsham’s that would have sent the game into extra innings.
So after all of the upsets and near upsets the final 4 had the top 4 teams in it. A major team Albicocco and 3 ‘A’ teams. In one semi final Albicocco jumped on OI Livingston and made them pay for some early errors in a 30-15 run rule. And Red’s Astros who trailed Broughton most of the game, came up big in the bottom of the 7th with some clutch hitting and won on a walk off hit down the right field line by infielder John Sullivan 26-25!
In the cool but perfect weather conditions and the harder than normal infields and short fences, the scores were up, and there really were no routine plays to be had by the defenses. They used the regular conference ZN ball and had a nice contingent of 6 Conference umpires in attendance. In the winner’s bracket championship Saturday night which lasted over two hours both Red’s and Albicocco used up all 12 of their home runs. Albicocco led 14-6 after one inning. But Red’s came back to take a 22-16 lead after two innings but it could have been worse except for a great diving catch with the bases loaded by Albicocco center fielder Ryan Parfitt. Albicocco then took a one run lead 26-25 after 3 innings. In the bottom of the 5th Albicocco 1st baseman Josh Riley gave Albicocco the lead 38-37 on a 3 run homer and Red’s couldn’t muster any runs the last two innings as they hit 5 HRO’s (home runs for outs) after the homers were gone and lost 42-37.
Late Saturday OI Livingston in the loser’s bracket advanced to Sunday with a 5 run bottom of the 7th with no outs and no homers to use to send home rival Broughton 27-26. In the loser’s final Sunday morning OI thought they were off to a nice start with 7 runs in the top of the 1st but Red’s showed them who was boss with a 14 run bottom of the first on 5 homer’s. OI’s infield defense struggled and Reds held early leads of 21-10 and 24-11 before putting OI away by the run rule in a game which had some chirping between ex-teammates… 
In the championship game Red’s thought they had a nice 6 runs on 3 homer’s in the top of the first inning until Albicocco showed them who was the big dog on the block when Brian Faria’s 2 run homer gave them a 8-6 lead. Red’s hit a bunch of solos in the top of the second to take a 12-8 lead on 7 homers. But in the bottom of the inning Albicocco used 2 homers by Chris Larsen and took a 23-13 lead as they batted around the order. Red’s Astros wasn’t done yet though as John Sullivan set the table with a two out bases loaded single that led to a Rob Roop 3 run homer to cut the Albicocco lead to 23-22. In the bottom of the third another Faria homer and table setting singles by Louden and Large led to a Parfitt 3 run homer and a 33-22 Albicocco lead. Larsen also roped a homer to center fielder that broke the ten’s digit on the scoreboard. At least it was the last game of the day! In the 4th and 5th great defense by Parfitt in center field and two ricochet grounder plays by the infield for outs held down Red’s. And in the 6th and 7th Justin Mucciarelli came on in relief and Albicocco held on by one run 35-34 after a Cory Booth grand slam by Reds and a great hands play by Brad Reckart at shortstop for Albicocco ended the game. Out of homers late Reds again struggled to score.
The tournament featured a lot of close games but in the end the “pecking” order was in full effect as each team lost to the team ahead of them in the pre-season rankings. There were some great individual plays defensively by center fielders Ryan Parfitt, Ben Dunn, and Adam Tennyson. A guy named Miles for Country Fresh had the best diving play in the infield at third base. There was a bunch of 1 run wins and quality softball played throughout. A number of teams like Albicocco, Red’s, OI Livingston, and Broughton all played better after their slow starts at the Hall of Fame Classic and they should be set for the big Columbus tournament next weekend.
Albicocco finishes off Red’s in the final game 35-34 at high noon Sunday!
Team Breakdown
1 Major
3 ‘A’
3 ‘B’
5 ‘C’
2 ‘D’
1 ‘E’
Broughton takes on Bear Hollow late Saturday night.
Albicoccos Brad Reckart with an RBI single in the quarterfinals against Bear Hollow
The Summit was an awesome facility for a Major tournament.
Rumor is they are building another 6 field complex with longer fences just down the street from this one.
Teams should add this tournament to their schedule, it should grow quickly in 2016 and beyond.
The fields were in great shape and the park had lots of shade.
The net on some of the fields to protect the parking lot was not in play.
It was actually a few feet behind the fences.
Jason Branch with sponsor Herb Price and Snake
Albicoccos Jason Branch won the home run derby! 7-7 in one round.
Branch also won Offensive MVP!
Primetimes Kyndrich Doggett was 2nd place in the HR Derby. Also had a 7-7 round I heard.
Chattanooga Major Awards and Final Standings
| Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
| Tournament MVP | Jeff Flood | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| Offensive Tournament MVP | Jason Branch | Red’s Astros/Louisville Slugger |
| Defensive Tournament MVP | Ryan Parfitt | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | Brad Reckart | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | BRIAN FARIA | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | JD Genter | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | Cooper Vittitow | OI Livingston/TNT Hauling/Brother’s |
| All Tournament Team | Phillip White | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | Cory Boothe | Red’s Astros/Louisville Slugger |
| All Tournament Team | Daniel Lopez | Broughton Pharmacy/Bad Draw/Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Chris Larsen | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | Adam Tennyson | OI Livingston/TNT Hauling/Brother’s |
| All Tournament Team | CHAD MULLINS | Red’s Astros/Louisville Slugger |
| All Tournament Team | josh riley | Albicocco/The Scene/Easton |
| All Tournament Team | Adam Rockoff | Broughton Pharmacy/Bad Draw/Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Troy Krider | Red’s Astros/Louisville Slugger |
| All Tournament Team | Walter (Wally) Maybrier | Red’s Astros/Louisville Slugger |
| All Tournament Team | Keith Martin | OI Livingston/TNT Hauling/Brother’s |
| Place | State | Team | Team Class |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Runs Scored |
Runs Allow |
Avg Runs |
Avg Allow |
Avg Diff |
Max Runs |
USSSA Points |
| 1 | NYU – Commack | albicocco/the scene/easton | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 114 | 37.7 | 28.5 | 9.25 | 43 | 300 |
| 2 | IN – Indianapolis | red’s astros/louisville slugger | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 189 | 151 | 31.5 | 25.1 | 6.33 | 37 | 225 |
| 3 | GA – Peachtree City | oi livingston/tnt hauling/brother’s | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 126 | 130 | 21 | 21.6 | -0.6 | 30 | 200 |
| 4 | NC – Greenville | broughton pharmacy/bad draw/worth | USSSA-Mens-A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 134 | 88 | 26.8 | 17.6 | 9.2 | 31 | 175 |
| 5 | GA – Macon | Primetime/Easton | USSSA-Mens-B | 3 | 2 | 0 | 128 | 113 | 25.6 | 22.6 | 3 | 37 | 155 |
| 5 | AR – Rogers | bear hollow ranch/cl/buzini/easton | USSSA-Mens-B | 3 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 104 | 24.6 | 20.8 | 3.8 | 28 | 155 |
| 7 | IN – Lanesville | kg/slayer/wilson/louisvilleslugger | USSSA-Mens-B | 2 | 2 | 0 | 85 | 81 | 21.2 | 20.2 | 1 | 24 | 130 |
| 7 | GA – Peachtree City | Country Fresh Foods | USSSA-Mens-D | 2 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 85 | 20.7 | 21.2 | -0.5 | 28 | 130 |
| 9 | NC – Fletcher | worshamathletics/klutchbrand/worth/ | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 75 | 69 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 34 | 110 |
| 9 | TN – Dickson | Showtime | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 81 | 78 | 27 | 26 | 1 | 31 | 135 |
| 9 | TN – Chattanooga | Team Collision/CTS | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 46 | 18 | 15.3 | 2.66 | 27 | 110 |
| 9 | WI – Eau Claire | The Sportsmanshop | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 61 | 13 | 30.5 | -17. | 18 | 110 |
| 13 | TN – Chattanooga | Athletic Shop/LVBC | USSSA-Mens-D | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 47 | 3.5 | 23.5 | -20 | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | TN – Chattanooga | Backlash | USSSA-Mens-E | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 1 | 28 | -27 | 2 | 70 |
| 13 | TN – KNOXVILLE | tapout/ecological pest management | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 66 | 12.5 | 33 | -20. | 16 | 0 |
MI Jeff Flood kept the ball in the park and made some great plays.
Just watching and not seeing stats I had Jeff as my MVP and now that the awards are out, my feeling is validated.
Jeff Flood – MVP of Chattanooga!
Albicocco center fielder Ryan Parfitt showed incredible range on this great running catch!
Ryan Parfitt was named Defensive MVP!
I am giving Rod, the pitcher from Country Fresh Foods ‘D’ team the Non-Conference teams MVP
The guy pitched and defended the middle great as well has hit the ball well in upset wins over KG/Slayer and Showtime.
And they gave OI Livingston and Bear Hollow all they could handle. Country Fresh played 4 great gmaes!
