2016 Nationwide Conference USSSA
4th Annual Columbus B.A.T.S
Columbus, OH
May 6-8
Andrew Vitcak and Backman take Columbus Major!
2016 Columbus men's bracket link
2016 Columbus women's bracket link
The 4th Annual Columbus Major featured 28 Nationwide Conference USSSA teams and 35 teams total and was played out over 3 days on 7 fields that had artificial turf infields. The tournament started on Friday at 6:00 PM with the wind gusting in on two of the main fields and out on the other two making for a wide range of scores. TM Sports (AA) came from a 24-11 deficit to take at 25-24 lead and held off Nightmare (A) 31-30. Rebel Sports (B) upset Above All Landscaping (A) 15-7 with the wind blowing in on the big Field #17. #18 seeded Resmondo (M) broke open a 15-15 tie with Bear Hollow Ranch (A) and went on to win 45-25 in a marathon game. Local Ohio non Conference teams Columbus Pipe (B), Xtreme Associates (C), and Old Bag (B) all won play their play in games and took their shot at the Conference teams Friday. At 7:30 PM Team Combat (M) was down 19-12 to Premier (B) in the middle of the game but came back to hold a 42-29 lead in the 7th inning and held off Premier 42-40 in one of the more entertaining games of the night. TG Brand (B) down a run to TG/Reds Astros (AA) going into the bottom of the 7th walked them off with a game winning base hit. Former 'A' and 'B' World Champion TJ Thompson did the pitching for TG Brand as a last minute pickup player. #1 seeded Backman (M) rolled through a Columbus Pipe (B) team that hung around for a while with the wind blowing in on the show field. Eurotech (AA) squeaked out a 10-8 win over Primetime (A) with the wind blowing in on Field #17. Newbreed (AA) ended up smoking STL (B) 37-13. 3rd Street (A) dropped 45 runs on All In (B) scoring 22 runs in the first inning. Linedrive (AA) run ruled SOL (C) by 22 in the start of the 9 PM games. #1 seeded Backman (M) after a slow start beat Columbus Pipe (B) by 21. Xtreme Miken (AA) crushed Bad Draw (AA) 37-9 and Vivid (AA) beat Buffalo Rings (A) by 3 runs late. Precision (AA) used an Evan Gallmeier bases loaded walk off single to plate two runs to beat Semper (A) by 1, and JBL/Tailgaters (A) used a late barrage of homers to beat Thunder (B) by 8.
On Saturday at 11 AM the winner's final 16 began as Vivid, Team Combat, Backman, Xtreme, The Scene, and 3rd Street all advanced fairly easily. The only really close game of the round of 16 was that big matchup between the Major super powers Smash It Sports and Resmondo. Smash It Sports was playing better for most of the game and took a lead into the bottom of the 7th but Resmondo loaded the bases and lefty Jeremy Isenhower hit a clutch walk off grand slam sending Smash It deep into the loser's bracket.
In the round of 8 Vivid pulled off a big one run win over Team Combat 34-33, Xtreme held off The Scene 15-14 and The Scene had the bats in their hands at the end. Backman knocked off Precision 31-21 and Resmondo had their hands full with 3rd Street in an ugly game with some gamesmanship going back and forth between players but Resmondo pulled away again late to a 27-23 win. 3rd Street had their chances but put up too many zeroes.
In the final 4 of the winner's bracket Resmondo jumped out to a 19-0 lead on Xtreme and won 36-19. Meanwhile Backman scored the last 10 runs of the game against Vivid mostly by hitting base hits to break a 21-21 tie and win 31-21.
In the winner's bracket championship game Saturday night with the wind blowing out Backman went up 13-4 on Resmondo after one inning of play. But Resmondo would come back with 12 runs in the bottom of the 4th to take a 23-21 lead. Backman went back up 7 runs on a Ryan Stovall 3 run homer and Resmondos Luis Reyna made a great diving stop to stop the bleeding. In the bottom of the 6th Backman left fielder Reggie Schulte made an incredible diving catch on a knuckling line drive to keep Resmondo in check. In the bottom of the 7th Resmondo used 3 home runs and had 2 runners on down 2 when they lined out and popped out to end the game with Backman winning 35-33.
Meanwhile in the loser's bracket Smash It Sports won 6 straight including a 31-16 win over Vivid Sunday morning to finish 3rd. When they played Resmondo in the loser's bracket finals quite frankly they must have been out of gas as they put up a huge zero with two runners on and no outs in the bottom of the 6th and couldn't muster a comeback in the bottom of the 7th. Buddy Wolf the Smash It Sports right fielder did make a great diving catch and a home run rob in that quirky nook in right center field in the same inning to give Smash It Sports a chance but the offense couldn't come through.
Resmondo then forced the "if" necessary game when little used reserve pitcher Dan "Dirty" Sanchez filled in for Greg Connell who had been ejected from the game and Dan hit two homers including a game winning walk off homer to win 35-33. In the final game of the championship though it was all Backman as they cruised past Resmondo and led the whole way in a 28-10 victory.
This would be a good time to set the ground rules on questioning pitches and calls.
Only managers should comment or question calls in my opinion.
This leaping snare by Steven Lloyd of Isenhowers nasty line drive may have been worth 40 Conference points
Team Breakdown:
35 Teams Overall
28 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
4 Major Teams
8 'AA' Teams
8 'A' Teams
9 'B' Teams
4 'C' Teams
1 'TBD' Teams
Resmondos Don Dedonatis Jr makes a sliding backhand on Smash It Sports Travis Clark
Smash It Sports lefty Buddy Wolf sneaks one past the diving Luis Reyna
Smash It Sports Buddy Wolf hits a walk off homer to beat Newbreed
The Scenes Brandon Dillon hitting against Vivid on Saturday night to try to make it to Sunday
Above All's Tony Elrod hits a clutch base hit to tie their game against Smash It Sports.
Smash It won in extra innings.
Resmondos Jeremy Isenhower hit a walk off grand slam to beat Smash It Sports in that highly anticipated #2 vs #18 2nd round matchup.
That set Resmondo up for a shot at the tournament while Smash It toiled the rest of the tournament in the loser's bracket.
Precisions Evan Gallmeier hits a walk off base hit to knock off Semper by 1 on Friday night.
A group of legendary softball players from the 80's and 90's got together to talk and watch some games.
Resmondo manager John Rector was finally tossed. Overall there was too much arguing this weekend.
Columbus Major Awards and Final Standings
Still waiting on the rest of the Awards
| Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
| All Tournament Team | Tim Howard | Vivid |
| All Tournament Team | Travis Clark | Smash it Sports/ASP/H.Auto/Mr.Wiggl |
| All Tournament Team | Buddy Wolf | Smash it Sports/ASP/H.Auto/Mr.Wiggl |
| All Tournament Team | Addison Rayford | Vivid |
| All Tournament Team | Isaac Gonzalez | Vivid |
| All Tournament Team | Kyle Pearson | Smash it Sports/ASP/H.Auto/Mr.Wiggl |
| Place | State | Team | Team Class |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Runs Scored |
Runs Allow |
Avg Runs |
Avg Allow |
Avg Diff |
Max Runs |
USSSA Points |
| 1 | IN – Aurora | backman shoppe louisville slugger | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 6 | 1 | 0 | 222 | 147 | 31.7 | 21 | 10.7 | 36 | 300 |
| 2 | FLS – Winter Haven | resmondo specialty tank worth | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 6 | 2 | 0 | 236 | 206 | 29.5 | 25.7 | 3.75 | 45 | 225 |
| 3 | NY – Cicero | smash it sports/asp/h.auto/mr.wiggl | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 7 | 2 | 0 | 254 | 174 | 28.2 | 19.3 | 8.88 | 36 | 200 |
| 4 | TXN – Frisco | Vivid | USSSA-Mens-AA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 143 | 152 | 23.8 | 25.3 | -1.5 | 34 | 175 |
| 5 | NY – Commack | the scene/adiktiv/monsta/klutch | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 4 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 100 | 24.6 | 16.6 | 8 | 34 | 155 |
| 5 | MN – Medina | Xtreme/Miken | USSSA-Mens-AA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 106 | 21.6 | 21.2 | 0.40 | 37 | 155 |
| 7 | DC – Washington | semper/demarini/klutch/timbuktu | USSSA-Mens-A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 134 | 102 | 22.3 | 17 | 5.33 | 33 | 130 |
| 7 | WA – Bothell | newbreed/gts/beus excavation/dirtys | USSSA-Mens-AA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 177 | 128 | 29.5 | 21.3 | 8.16 | 37 | 130 |
| 9 | OH – Cincinnati OH & /Indianapolis IN | tg/red's astros/headlines/k&g/worth | USSSA-Mens-AA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 118 | 29.2 | 23.6 | 5.6 | 37 | 110 |
| 9 | WA – Kent | TEAM COMBAT/BAUGHFORD.COM | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 2 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 116 | 30.5 | 29 | 1.5 | 42 | 110 |
| 9 | OH – West Chester | 3rd street/louisville slugger | USSSA-Mens-A | 2 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 90 | 30.2 | 22.5 | 7.75 | 45 | 110 |
| 9 | IL – Chicago | Precision | USSSA-Mens-AA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 84 | 91 | 21 | 22.7 | -1.7 | 25 | 110 |
| 13 | TXN – Gladewater | bhr/coppermine lodge/asp/worth | USSSA-Mens-A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 129 | 121 | 25.8 | 24.2 | 1.6 | 32 | 70 |
| 13 | MO – Branson | Nightmare/Miken | USSSA-Mens-A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 155 | 145 | 31 | 29 | 2 | 39 | 70 |
| 13 | NY – Wading River | thunder/blowoutpicks.com/empire | USSSA-Mens-B | 2 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 102 | 20.5 | 25.5 | -5 | 33 | 170 |
| 13 | MI – Warren | Line Drive Sportz/Easton | USSSA-Mens-AA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 76 | 22.5 | 19 | 3.5 | 37 | 70 |
| 17 | NC – Wilmington | TM Sports/Mizuno | USSSA-Mens-AA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 79 | 96 | 26.3 | 32 | -5.6 | 31 | 40 |
| 17 | MI – Flint | TG Brand | USSSA-Mens-B | 1 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 78 | 15.6 | 26 | -10. | 23 | 140 |
| 17 | NC – Greenville | Bad Draw/Broughton/Worth | USSSA-Mens-AA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 80 | 14 | 26.6 | -12. | 27 | 40 |
| 17 | MN – Minneapolis | eurotech-elite media design-easton | USSSA-Mens-AA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 70 | 17 | 23.3 | -6.3 | 36 | 40 |
| 17 | MI – Dearborn | rebel sports/ hang rite / miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 63 | 18.3 | 21 | -2.6 | 24 | 140 |
| 17 | NJ – Jackson | above all landscaping/evo9x/miken | USSSA-Mens-A | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 57 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 32 | 40 |
| 17 | PAW – Pittsburgh | all in/psb/wiggles sports/elite | USSSA-Mens-B | 1 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 82 | 22.3 | 27.3 | -5 | 26 | 140 |
| 17 | OH – Kent | JBL/Tailgaters/B&E/Worth | USSSA-Mens-A | 1 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 82 | 20.6 | 27.3 | -6.6 | 31 | 40 |
| 25 | OH – Columbus | xtreme associates/harpers/miken | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 81 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 27 | 65 |
| 25 | OH – Columbus | Old Bag/HDLN's/Miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 66 | 10.3 | 22 | -11. | 15 | 65 |
| 25 | MO – Saint Peters | SOL Softball/CastleSports | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 63 | 10.5 | 31.5 | -21 | 15 | 140 |
| 25 | OH – Columbus | columbus pipe/cotner/mts nutrition | USSSA-Mens-B | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 58 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 22 | 65 |
| 25 | IN – Indianapolis | STL/Mizuno/Sportsmanshop | USSSA-Mens-B | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 64 | 11 | 32 | -21 | 13 | 140 |
| 25 | OH – Cincinnati | premier/easton/silvertowne/hdlns | USSSA-Mens-B | 0 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 58 | 27.5 | 29 | -1.5 | 40 | 65 |
| 25 | GA – Macon | Primetime/Easton/Storm | USSSA-Mens-A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 43 | 15.5 | 21.5 | -6 | 23 | 40 |
| 25 | KY – London | Buffalo wings and rings | USSSA-Mens-A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 46 | 14 | 23 | -9 | 19 | 40 |
| 33 | PAW – Pittsburgh | la famiglia/elite/mr. wiggles/worth | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 |
| 33 | OH – Barberton | Nager Law/Pepco/Worth | USSSA-Mens-B | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 52 | 16.5 | 26 | -9.5 | 23 | 65 |
| 33 | OH – Grove City | mj lowe | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 53 | 25 | 26.5 | -1.5 | 36 | 0 |
