MANSFIELD, TX – B.J. Fulk is a big-hitting left-hander from North Carolina. But it was his personality that was a big hit at his namesake tournament in Texas – the 2nd Annual B.J. Fulk Shootout held April 2-3 at Big League Dreams in Mansfield, TX (near Fort Worth).
Fulk blasted 77 home runs for Resmondo/Worth during Conference USSSA play in 2010, the second most of any player in the nation – trailing only teammate Greg Connell. His 210 RBI’s were fourth most in the nation. Fulk was named to the All-Tournament teams at the Major World Series, where he led Resmondo/Worth to the championship.
The B.J. Fulk Shootout in Texas is part of the Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series, which is spon¬sored by Worth. And since Fulk is one of the marquee factory players in the Worth stable – with his name gracing the Carolina blue B.J. FULK MAYHEM bat – he makes an annual appearance at his namesake tournament. While in Texas, Fulk visited with players, signed autographs, put on a hitting exhibition, and hit against the winner of a home run derby.
He even put his Carolina ranching background to use by moonlighting aboard one of the tractors being used to clear dirt from a field so Artificial Turf could be installed.
“Texas is one of the best markets for us (Worth) and it is my pleasure to be able to come here and hang out with these players,” said Fulk. “This is the grass roots of softball, right here. This is where it all gets started. And this facility (Big League Dreams) is amazing.”
Seventy teams in four divisions came out to see Fulk and participate in the tournament. The Most Valuable Players of each division, as well as the winner of the Home Run Derby, each received B.J. FULK MAYHEM bats,
In the Men’s B/C Division, the 214 Bullets/Vic’s Roofing from Dallas went 4-1 to win first place. Manager Vic Gonzalez’s team defeated the Jokers (15-14), Clutch/ SaveSecond.com (16-14) and Mafia/ Future (18-17) to advance to the cham¬pionship game undefeated. Sagnasty/ ASPNation.com/Miken emerged from the loser’s bracket and knocked off the 214 Bullets ( 20-14) in the first champion¬ship game to force an “if” game. But the 214 Bullets bounced back in the rubber match and defeated Sagnasty (19-17) to claim the crown with a 4-1 record. Sagnasty/ASPNation.com/Miken from Sagnasty settled for second place with a 6-2 record, while Mafia/Future from Dallas came in third at 3-2, and Clutch/ SaveSecond.com from Ft. Worth came in fourth also at 3-2.
Jerry Tyson of the 214 Bullets was named MVP of the division, while Jason trammel of Sagnasty was named the Gold Glove winner. The rest of the All-Tournament team consisted of Jason Benavides, Casey Melton, Jeff Ash and Daniel Davis, of the 214 Bullets; Cody Kagioritis, Corey Large, and Matt Vern, of Sagnasty; Matt Slater, Luciano Castaneda and Daniel Luke Evans of Mafia/Future; and Joey Urbanek and Logan Nelson, of Clutch/SaveSecond.com.
There were 27 teams in the Men’s D division, making it the largest of the tournament. Team Ego/TexasInks made the four-hour drive up Interstate 45 from Houston and went undefeated to win first place. Team Ego defeated DFL Construction (8-5), Showtime (13-3), Bass Tools (16-11), and Reign (23-22) to advance to the championship game, where they snuck past the Gamecocks (16-15) to take the title with a 5-0 record. Another team from South Texas, the Gamecocks from Temple, came in second with a 5-2 record, while Reign from Ft. Worth finished third at 4-2 and the Texas Sawx from Mansfield came in fourth, also at 4-2. Bass Tools from Louisiana and RPN/SwingTyme/Syndicate from Houston tied for fifth place, and DFL Construction from Louisiana and Arkansas Mayhem tied for seventh.
Mario DeLeon of Team Ego was named MVP of the division, and Dante LaPoint of the Gamecocks was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Bobby Haddock, Jose DeLeon, Trey Strickland and Rob Strickland, of Team Ego; Cody Feight, Andrew Rayas and Adam Sawder, of the Gameocks; Brian Elliott, Shawn Huseman ad Jerry Delgado, of Reign; and Scott Crumley and Jason Drake, of Texas Sawx.
In the Men’s E Division, H&H from Waxahachie did it the hard way, after losing their first game of the tourna¬ment to Young & Reckless (6-4). H&H dropped to the loser’s bracket and reeled off consecutive wins over Fighting Squirrels (11-8), The Originals (15-13), Average Joe’s (16-13), Texas Shooters (13-8), Hard Knox/Texas Shock (9-6), R&R Demons (7-0) and Player Haters (19-7) to make it all the way back to the championship. Then, H&H double-dipped the Bionic Commandos 18-14 and 8-7 to win the championship with an 8-1 record. The Bionic Commandos from Texarkana settled for second place with a 5-2 record, while Player Haters from Dallas came in third at 3-2, and R&R Demons from Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley finished fourth at 4-2. Lost Primos from Abilene in West Texas and Hard Knox/Texas Shock from Burleson tied for fifth place, and Young & Reckless from Louisiana and Texas Shooters from Waxahachie tied for seventh.
William Cameron of H&H was named the MVP of the Men’s D Division, and Josh Anthony of Bionic Commandos was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Garrett Gilliam, Scott Neall, Kevin Mawhinney and Travis Heine, of H&H; Ricky Rushing, Wesley Wicks and Jason Leeper, of Bionic Commandos; Brandon Taylor, David McCoy and Robert Delasbour, of Player Haters; and Richard Romero III and Pete Tagle, of R&R Demons.
In the Women’s C/D Division, Fully Loaded, a D team from Dallas, pulled an upset by outlasting two strong C teams in the bracket to win the crown. In the first round, Fully Loaded shocked Team Arkansas (19-14) and would have won even without the three-run spot they received from the C team. Fully Loaded went on to defeat Who’s Next (11-1) and Lady Canes II (10-7) to advance to the championship game, where they met another D team. Caught Looking/ ASC handed Fully Loaded their first loss of the tournament (16-13), before Fully Loaded bounced back to win the “if” game (14-2) to take first place with a 4-1 record. Caught Looking/ASC from Euless came in second at 5-2, the Lady Canes II from Cedar Hill took third at 2-2, and Team Arkansas from Little Rock came in fourth, also at 2-2.
Tara Wesley of Fully Loaded was named Most Valuable Player, and Destani Linamen of Caught Looking was the Gold Glove winner. Players named to the All-Tournament team were Annie Alexander, Casey May, Christine Echols and Sharla Morgan, of Fully Loaded; Angel Jursnick, Andrea Martinez and Kristi Mayes, of Caught Looking; and Aeshia Waites, Tenille Bass and Sandy Sanchez, of Lady Canes II.
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