Nationwide Conference USSSA 2012: Peach State Shootout

Demarini/Dirty/3N2/ATWLDesigns out of Orlando, Florida backed up their Conference tournament win in Indiana two weeks ago with a 5-0 performance at the “Peach State Shoot-Out”, beating Shoppe/Team TPS/Elite 36-16 in the championship game. Demarini and 3rd place TYJA-Suncoast Reebok cruised through their first 3 games each on a collision course to meet late Saturday night in the winner’s final. In the winner’s final, a two hour slugfest, TYJA-Suncoast Reebok jumped out to a 13 run top of the first inning and held leads of 15-5 and 27-17, using two double plays and a strikeout to keep the Demarini offense in check. Demarini/Dirty never gave up though and came all the way back to trail 36-29 to start the bottom of the 6th inning. Demarini would score 10 runs in the 6th to take a 39-36 lead into the 7th. TYJA scored 2 in the top half of the 7th and had the tying run on 2nd when Defensive MVP SS Steven Loyd made a nice play to get the final out.

On Sunday, Shoppe, for the third week in a row made a run through the loser’s bracket and beat D2E 24-8 and TYJA-Suncoast 19-17 to make it back to the championship game against Demarini. In the championship Demarini/Dirty took the heart out of a tired and banged up Shoppe team as they posted a 30 run lead and flip flopped and beat Shoppe 36-16, but to Shoppe’s credit they never did give up.

The DownEarth “Peach State Shoot-Out” didn’t start until Saturday morning at 8 am. The play in round was uneventful with no real upsets to speak of. In the second round D2E got past The Scene by 5, Headhunters beat Baugh Ford by 1 in extra innings when Ron Pearce lined a knuckle ball off of the BaughFord shortstops glove with the bases loaded and Baugh was only able to get a force play while the winning run scored. B&B/Sears had a nice 15-6 win over Primetime, and Taylormade broke open a 14-14 tie in the 4th inning with Westshore Pizza by scoring 15 runs in the 5th and run ruling them 29-14. Demarini/Dirty also struggled some with Major League but pulled out a 21-15 victory. Meanwhile 454, TYJA, and Shoppe all moved on easily.

In the third round, TYJA jumped out to a huge lead on D2E with some clean hitting as D2E didn’t give them any errors and TYJA run ruled them 26-9. 454 waited til late to get by Headhunters 13-9 when neither team could really get anything going in the heat of the day. B&B/Sears jumped out to a 9 run first on Shoppe and never let off the gas as they beat Shoppe in a stunner 24-8. And Demarini/Dirty knocked off Taylormade 21-19 when Taylormade made a late charge.

In the semi-finals TYJA-Suncoast hammered Team 454 39-24 and Demarini/Dirty crushed B&B/Sears 25-7.

Note: all bats were re-tested before Sunday and zero bats failed compression testing for the final 4 teams

About USSSA:

The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!

THE USSSA MOBILE APP

  • USSSA on the App Store
  • USSSA on the Play Store
  • Explore upcoming & past events
  • Get updated schedules, scores & standings
  • Book and manage your event lodging
  • Stay informed with important event updates
  • Find your fit with custom event apparel
  • Easily view & navigate to event venues