2016 Nationwide Conference USSSA
16th Annual "Texas Legends"
Euless, TX
May 13-15
Big crowds as usual at Euless to watch Backman and Resmondo take on the local teams on Friday night
Link to the picture album of the Texas Major
2016 Texas Legends men's bracket link
The 16th Annual Texas Legends Major was played by 25 teams including 12 teams from the Nationwide Conference USSSA league. They started on Friday night in cooler weather in front of some decent sized crowds at 7 PM central time. All 4 Conference teams that had play in games (Steel, Team Adiktiv, Olmito Heat, ALLOut) won easily. One interesting game Friday night was a battle between Brian's Custom Detailing and Texas 'C' power Goons when Brian's Custom won on a walk off walk 26-25. Then in the round of 16 which was played by some teams on Friday night and some on Saturday all 8 favored Conference teams won. Saturdays games that were to start at 9:00 AM were delayed until 1:30 PM due to a nasty storm that rolled through early Saturday morning but director Chris Thames and his crew did a wonderful job of getting the fields ready and all games were played except the first two rounds of the loser's bracket were played with a 5 inning or 1-hour time limit whichever came first.
In the winner's bracket round of 8 things got interesting. Steel Athletics held down Bay Area Legends 18-13 when Bay Area just could not muster a comeback. Team Racks and Vivid in a war between the only two 'AA' teams in the tournament played an uneventful game where Racks grabbed a lead and never let it go in a 21-18 win although the online bracket says 21-14. Down in the lower half of the bracket #1 seed Backman Shoppe Louisville Slugger handled All Out 31-13. And in the most interesting game of the day Resmondo could not put away Nightmare/Miken an 'A' team based out of Missouri who just would not give up. Nightmares Jason Trammell with the wind blowing in hit a huge 3 run homer to give Nightmare a 38-36 lead. Then Resmondo forced extra innings by tying up the game 38-38 and Resmondo's lanky speedster Lee Payne tried to get the winning run on with a grounder and run but Nightmare shortstop Zane Trammell who made a couple of great defensive plays in the game scooped and threw on the run to get him at first base. Then Resmondo held Nightmare scoreless in the top of the 8th inning when right fielder Jeremy Isenhower made a nice running catch on a shot down the line. In the bottom of the 8th Nightmare right fielder Trey Gotthard made an incredible assist to third base on Resmondos game winning runner who tried to go first to third. But Resmondo got another hit and then a walk off single by Andrew Collins to win 39-38.
In the final 4 Saturday night with the temperatures really cooling off and the wind dying down Resmondo had a marathon 25 run top of the 3rd inning to take a 36-17 lead on Backman who was winning by 6 going into the inning. Resmondo would go on to win by the 20 run rule 44-23. Meanwhile on the field next door Team Racks scored 20 runs in the first inning on Steel and 23 more in the second inning to take a 43-4 lead after two innings and won easily 49-16.
In the winner's bracket finals then Team Racks had a narrow 12-11 lead early on and then broke the game open with a "Resmondo like" 23 run inning and made enough defensive plays in the 4th and 5th to win 38-21 in 5 innings.
In the loser's bracket things were wild and crazy with some huge scores and hard hitting. Vivid had a 20 run lead on Team Adiktiv before Adiktiv came back only to lose 32-29. Midwest Hearing knocked off ALLOut 32-8 after an early 21-1 lead, and then used a Mitch Loomis walk off homer to beat Classic Glass 35-34. Classic Glass had advanced to that game by beating The B Team in extra innings. With the game tied between Classic and B Team in the last inning Classic failed to score. In extra innings B Team put up 10 runs but Classic Glass came back and won on a walk off grand slam homer by Brandon Traylor 34-30 and then Classic knocked off 'A' rival Nightmare 32-17. In the top part of the loser's bracket Bay Area Legends knocked off Mayhem 29-14 and upset Vivid again 36-24 after a 30-18 lead. Then in the last games of the night Bay Area Legends gave Backman all they could handle in a 40-37 loss and Steel scored 18 runs without an out in the top of the 1st and held off Midwest Hearing 31-25 to make it to Sunday.
Sunday morning at 8 AM was the loser's bracket semifinal with Steel and Backman. Backman jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first but Steel batted around to a 9-6 lead going to the bottom of the 2nd. In the top of the 3rd Steel put up a zero and Backman scored 11. In the top of the 4th Steels Nick Shay hit a 3 run homer to tie the game at 17-17 and Steel scratched across 3 more runs to take a 20-17 lead. In the bottom of the 4th Backman got 3 run homers from Lee Powers and Jeremy Yates to grab a 28-20 lead and extended it to 34-22 after 5 innings. In the 6th Steels Mark Cridland, Matt Vasquez, and Toby Letak matched Backmans Steven Lloyd with great defensive plays but Backman held on for a 35-22 win.
In the loser's bracket finals Resmondo jumped all over Backman with a 20-2 lead after one inning, 35-6 after 2 innings, and a 40-20 lead after 3 innings. Resmondo never stopped scoring and won 52-31. So Resmondo went on to face a fresh and hot hitting Team Racks in the finals. In the first inning Racks got great plays by pitcher Tyson Steele off the chest throw out at first against Dedonatis, a backhand of a hot shot off the bat of Greg Connell by 2nd baseman Alexis Ramirez for out #2, and a nice running grab of a grounder by shortstop Aaron Martinez on Andy Purcell for the three up and three down inning. Racks led 11-7 after 3 innings. In the top of the 4th Resmondo center fielder Nick Santana threw a strike to the plate and got Brett Rettenmeier to keep the game to a 14-11 Racks lead after 4 innings. In the top of the 4th Racks put up a zero and were held to zero again in the 6th when Andrew Collins made a diving catch for Resmondo in left field and Andy Purcell stabbed a hot shot up the middle to end the inning. In the top of the 7th still with a 14-11 lead Team Racks got a 2 run homer by Dallas's own Stuart Snell, a 2 run homer by Lex Ramirez, and a 2 run homer by leadoff man Stuhey Lopez to take a 21-11 lead. In the bottom of the 7th Resmondo who has never given up this year scored 8 runs to pull within 3 and with two outs and two on and two strikes Team Racks pitcher Tyson Steele used a trick early release windmill pitch to help get a fly out to left field to end the game.
Team Racks becomes the first 'AA' team to win a Major with at least 2 top Major teams in it since I believe Team 454/Worth who did it in Chicago when they beat out Resmondo and double dipped Laservision and Texas Legends in 2012 when they won over Nordkap and Resmondo was also there.
Some notes I wrote down about great defensive plays I witnessed:
Andrew Collins had the best home run rob on Saturday night bringing one back in center field.
Big Corey Gilbert had a great diving stab against Steel.
Luis Reyna a great diver to his right in the middle and throw out vs Nightmare.
Zane Trammels great play on Lee Payne to get rid of the ball so quickly on a chopper and his whirling throw to first in that same game.
Reno from Olmito Heat had a leaping stab against Nightmare Saturday morning.
Isaac Gonzalez made a great diver for Vivid vs Racks.
Brandon Traylor came up with some nice dp's in the middle for Classic Glass and I was impressed with the defense of Classic Glass shortstop Ricky Reavis?
On another note I am hearing that Olmito Heat and Slayer are both breaking up. Maybe the two sponsors could get together and merge. Otherwise best of luck to those sponsors and players.
Sunday at Softball World Backman taking on Resmondo still fighting to get to the finals
Team Breakdown:
25 Teams Overall
12 Nationwide Conference USSSA Teams
2 Major Teams
2 'AA' Teams
3 'A' Teams
6 'B' Teams
10 'C' Teams
2 'D' Teams
Softball World from a drone perspective
Yes, Team Racks was actually beating Steel Athletics 43-4 in the top of the 3rd.
Steel 2B Mark Cridland hits against Backman in the first game Sunday morning
Backmans Neil Haglund hits against Resmondo in the winner's semi-finals
Tyson Steele's winning pitch was a two out wind mill trick pitch.
Nightmare taking on Classic Glass
The crowds and atmosphere at Softball World is always first rate.
The Classic M's in the cool weather was too much ball
Overnight rain delayed the tournament on Saturday
5 bats were cut open and none were shaved
Resmondos Greg Connell hit one on the roof of a building across the street from the Green field we estimate at 425 feet
Texas Legends Major Awards and Final Standings
Note: not all awards have been turned in by the teams
| Player Tournament Awards | Players Name | Plays For |
| Offensive Tournament MVP | Billy Fulk | Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Travis Hulbert | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
| All Tournament Team | Andy Purcell | Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Greg Connell | Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Andrew Collins | Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth |
| All Tournament Team | Nicholas Shay | Steel Athletics/Miken/Powerhouse |
| All Tournament Team | Ronald Mack III | Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth |
| Place | State | Team | Team Class |
Wins | Losses | Ties | Runs Scored |
Runs Allow |
Avg Runs |
Avg Allow |
Avg Diff |
Max Runs |
USSSA Points |
| 1 | WY – Casper | Team Racks/Miken/Sonny's | USSSA-Mens-AA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 169 | 94 | 33.8 | 18.8 | 15 | 49 | 300 |
| 2 | FLS – Winter Haven | resmondo specialty tank worth | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 4 | 2 | 0 | 213 | 175 | 35.5 | 29.1 | 6.33 | 52 | 225 |
| 3 | IN – Aurora | backman shoppe louisville slugger | USSSA-SPMensMajor | 4 | 2 | 0 | 191 | 177 | 31.8 | 29.5 | 2.33 | 40 | 200 |
| 4 | TXS – Corpus Christi | steel athletics/miken/powerhouse | USSSA-Mens-B | 4 | 2 | 0 | 132 | 148 | 22 | 24.6 | -2.6 | 31 | 275 |
| 5 | KS – Wichita | Midwest Hearing/SYNDICATE | USSSA-Mens-C | 4 | 2 | 0 | 139 | 124 | 23.1 | 20.6 | 2.5 | 35 | 180 |
| 5 | CAN – Hayward | Bay Area Legends | USSSA-SPMensConfTBD | 3 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 102 | 27.2 | 20.4 | 6.8 | 37 | 155 |
| 7 | CAC – San Jose | Classic Glass/Easton | USSSA-Mens-A | 3 | 2 | 0 | 132 | 103 | 26.4 | 20.6 | 5.8 | 34 | 130 |
| 7 | TXN – Frisco | Vivid | USSSA-Mens-AA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 102 | 88 | 25.5 | 22 | 3.5 | 32 | 130 |
| 9 | AR – Arkansas | mayhem/j&r logistics/miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 3 | 2 | 0 | 92 | 94 | 18.4 | 18.8 | -0.4 | 31 | 110 |
| 9 | FLP – Pace | team adiktiv/energy system/worth | USSSA-SPMensConfTBD | 3 | 2 | 0 | 125 | 90 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 31 | 110 |
| 9 | TXS – Houston | allout/powerhousesportz/izzysports | USSSA-Mens-A | 2 | 2 | 0 | 72 | 85 | 18 | 21.2 | -3.2 | 28 | 110 |
| 9 | MO – Branson | Nightmare/Miken | USSSA-Mens-A | 1 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 98 | 31.3 | 32.6 | -1.3 | 39 | 110 |
| 13 | TXN – Fort Worth | Jokers/FTP Empire | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 87 | 13.2 | 21.7 | -8.5 | 33 | 70 |
| 13 | TXS – Olmito | olmitoheat/diamondkingz/miken | USSSA-Mens-B | 2 | 2 | 0 | 95 | 98 | 23.7 | 24.5 | -0.7 | 27 | 170 |
| 13 | TXN – Arlington | The B Team | USSSA-Mens-C | 2 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 97 | 24.5 | 24.2 | 0.25 | 35 | 70 |
| 13 | TXN – Grapevine | club chill sports bar & grill | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 44 | 15 | 14.6 | 0.33 | 29 | 70 |
| 17 | TXN – Mesquite | C&R Express/Miken | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 76 | 18.3 | 25.3 | -7 | 25 | 40 |
| 17 | TXN – Grand Prairie | Brian's Custom Detailing | USSSA-Mens-C | 1 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 86 | 17 | 28.6 | -11. | 26 | 40 |
| 17 | LA – Shreveport | the bearded builders militia | USSSA-Mens-D | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 58 | 15.3 | 19.3 | -4 | 20 | 65 |
| 17 | MO – carthage mo | Community 1st/ Nally's | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 54 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 31 | 65 |
| 17 | OK – Tulsa | Seminoles | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 54 | 19 | 27 | -8 | 32 | 40 |
| 17 | TXS – Houston | Goons | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 21.5 | -8.5 | 25 | 40 |
| 17 | LA – Shreveport | lob/lasting impressions landscape | USSSA-Mens-C | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 32 | 7.5 | 16 | -8.5 | 15 | 65 |
| 17 | CO – Denver | stars/garretsons/dh global logistic | USSSA-Mens-B | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 38 | 16 | 19 | -3 | 16 | 140 |
