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Snapper Shootout Exhibitions Live on Ballparkradio – Thursday June 5

Sunday, June 1st, 2008


(click logo to visit Ballparkradio.com website)

Ballparkradio broadcaster Kyle Smith will be in Niagara, Ontario to broadcast two games live at 7pm and 9pm EST:

7pm EST – Niagara Snappers vs. the California Lumberkings
9pm EST – Golden Horseshoe Fastball League (GHFL) All Stars vs. the Lumberkings.

Kyle was the lead broadcaster at this year’s AAU International Tournament, part of the crew that broadcast 10 games in four days. Kyle is the youngest and newest member of the Ballparkradio crew, having started with the 2006 ISC II Tournament of Champions, and has quickly become a fan favorite. He is a graduate of the School of Broadcasting at Mohawk College in Ontario, Canada, and currently resides in Hickson, Ontario.

No games have ever been broadcast from the Snapper Shootout before, and arrangements are still underway for the internet connection, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Be sure to check the Ballparkradio website for further updates on Thursday night.

Click the logo, then the black “Click to Listen” button.

Game times are Eastern Standard Time (EST), adjust for your time zone accordingly.

Posted in Broadcasts, General | No Comments »

Best of the West Tournament – June 7-8

Friday, May 30th, 2008

2007 ISC World Tournament Runner-up Casa Trejo Bombers to Headline Field of Teams

For immediate release: (Santa Barbara, California) May 30, 2008 – The 18th Annual Best of the West Men’s fastball Tournament will be held June 7 – 8 in Santa Barbara, CA. The Tournament is the longest running open tournament, held annually in California. Ten teams will vie for the 2008 Championship, with a berth in the 2008 ISC World Tournament, and a berth in the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions will be awarded, to the highest finishing teams in each category.

Heading the field will be the 2007 ISC World Tournament Runner Up, the Casa Trejo Bombers of Palm Springs. The Bombers pitching staff includes two of the best pitchers in the world, Lucas Mata of Argentina, and New Zealander Marty Grant. On Offense, the Bombers are lead by the 2001 ISC World Tournament Most Valuable Player, Darren Box of Canada. This will be the Bombers debut for the 2008 season.

Team Rainey / IAC boasts a pitching staff featuring a pair of hard throwing foreigners in Canadian Bricklen Anderson, and the very crafty, young rising star Sebastian Gervasutti of Argentina. Offensively The Team Rainey / IAC ball club is lead by veteran players like Rod Rainey, Tony Acedo, Tim & Chris Hunt. Pete Turner, the head coach of the US National Team, brings his leadership, and versatility, to the ball club.

The DeMarini ball club from Portland, Oregon is the third team attempting to grab the berth and qualify for the 2008 ISC World Tournament. Veteran hurler Matt Barnes, is joined on the Portland staff by a pair of young throwers from Argentina. The run scoring punch for Portland is lead by former US National team catcher Todd Garcia, and a 2003 ISC All-world selection, Rob Gehrke.

Among the teams leading the charge to win the berth in the ISC II Tournament of Champions are the River City Rockers ball club, based in the Sacramento area. The Rockers are fresh off a championship win at the Grants Pass, Oregon Boatnik Tournament that was held on Memorial Day weekend. Rockers Pitcher Ed Gasper shared the Co-Outstanding Pitcher honors at Grants Pass with Portland’s Matt Barnes. Also named to the All Tournament team were Rockers Rob Penticoff, David Bostick, and Mark Summers.

Innovative Communications of Lehi, Utah has won the last two Best of The West Tournament Championships. Catcher / GM Brandon Bingham leads a potent offensive attack for the Utah club. Steve Black, who was named Outstanding Pitcher at the 2007 Best of The West, is a very effective veteran right hander, The Rude Pac ball club of Sun Valley, CA has a pitching staff featuring Greg “Spud” Barker, Mark Bennett, and Gerald Pyle. In August of 2007, Rude Pac captured the NAFA A-Major World Series Championship.

The Young Bucks under 23 team ran by Santa Barbara’s Clyde Bennett will be preparing for their run at the 2008 under 23 National Championship. The 2007 SCIFL Champions Long Beach Black Sox will be competing in their first Best of The West Tournament this year. The team is lead by GM / OF / C Fred Hanker and change-up
specialist pitcher Ronny Rupp.

The Manor Dirtbags of Texas will be coming in for the Tournament and feature veteran Texas pitching Ace Johnny Mize. The always tough Grillos Team from Mexico is lead by the 2005 Best of the West MVP Arturo Solano.

Group A
Casa Trejo – A1 Bombers (Palm Springs, CA)
River City Rockers (Citrus Heights, CA)
Team Rainey / IAC (Whittier / Stockton, CA)
DeMarini (Portland, OR)
Innovative Communications (Lehi, UT)

Group B
Rude Pac (Sun Valley, CA)
Manor Dirtbags (Manor, TX)
Black Sox (Long Beach, CA)
Grillo’s (Santa Cecelia, MX)
Young Bucks (Santa Barbara, CA)

Saturday June 7 Round Robin Schedule

Game #1 Casa Trejo Bombers Vs River City Rockers
9:00 AM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #2 Rude Pac Vs Manor Dirtbags
9:00 AM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #3 Team Rainey / IAC Vs Innovative Communications
9:00 AM Cabrillo Park

Game #4 Casa Trejo Bombers Vs Portland DeMarini
10:45 AM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #5 Manor Dirtbags Vs Santa Cecelia Grillos
10:45 AM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #6 Long Beach Black Sox Vs Young Bucks
10:45 AM at Cabrillo Park

Game #7 Team Rainey / IAC Vs Portland DeMarini
12:30 PM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #8 Rude Pac V Santa Cecelia Grillos
12:30 PM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #9 Innovative Communications Vs Young Bucks
12:30 PM (Cross/Over Game) Cabrillo Park

Game #10 Casa Trejo Bombers Vs Team Rainey / IAC
2:15 PM Pershing Park – Field #1

GAME #11 Long Beach Black Sox Vs Santa Cecelia Grillos
2:15 PM Pershing Park – Field #2

Corrected infofor Game #12:
Game #12 River City Rockers Vs Portland DeMarini
4:00 PM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #13 Rude Pac Vs Long Beach Black Sox
4:00 PM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #14 River City Rockers Vs Innovative Communications
5:45 PM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #15 Manor Dirtbags Vs Young Bucks
5:45 PM Pershing Park – Field #2

Sunday June 8 Elimination Schedule

Game #16 A5 Vs B4
8:30 AM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #17 A4 Vs B5
8:30 AM Cabrillo Park

Game #18 A3 Vs B2
8:30 AM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #19 A1 Vs Winner of Game #16
10:15 AM Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #20 A2 Vs B3
10:15 AM Cabrillo Park

Game #21 B1 Vs Winner of Game #17
10:15 AM Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #22 – Winner of Game #18 Vs Winner of Game #19
12:00 Noon Pershing Park – Field #1

Game #23 – Winner of Game #20 Vs Winner of Game #21
12:00 Noon Pershing Park – Field #2

Game #24 – Championship – Winner of Game #22 Vs Winner of Game #23
1:45 PM Pershing Park – Field #1

Maps and Directions to the two Ball Park facilities can be found through any
standard Internet map program. Use the following addresses:

Pershing Park
100 Castillo St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101


View Larger Map

Cabrillo Ball Park
800 E. Cabrillo Blvd
Santa Barbara, CA 93103


View Larger Map

Please contact me if anyone has any questions.

See you all in Sunny Santa Barbara!

Dave Blackburn
Tournament Director
2008 Best of The West Tournament
310-266-7803
daveb (at) virtvent.com

Posted in General, So Cal, Teams, Tournaments | No Comments »

Austin Blue Jays Tournament – June 21-22

Friday, May 30th, 2008

2008 AUSTIN BLUE JAYS MEN’S FAST PITCH TOURNAMENT
June 21-22, 2008

Austin, Texas

Date: June 21-22, 2008
Site: Bob Havin’s Softball Complex
12138 N. Lamar Blvd.
Format: Double Elimination 3 games guaranteed bracket
Entry Fee: $250.00 per team (includes all admission fees)
Money Orders, Checks, Payable & Mailed to:
Pedro Tovar
601 Reliance rd
Buda, TX. 78610

Deadline: Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Draw: Thursday, June 19, 2008
Rules: As per 2008 ASA Official Rules of Softball and Texas ASA supplement.
Balls: Furnished by the Tournament Sponsor.
Time Limit: 1 Hour 15 minute for all games
Run Rule: 15 Runs after 3 Innings 8 Runs after 5 Innings
Tie Breaker: International tie-breaker will be used as per 2008 ASA Code.
Awards: 1st – 4th Place Team Trophy
1st – 2nd 15 t-shirts
12 All Tournament Awards
M. V. P.
M. O. P.

For further information contact: Pete Tovar Jr 512-743-4883 or austinbluejays68@yahoo.com

Posted in General, Tournaments | No Comments »

Tuesday Nite Action from Fraser Valley

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

From the Fraser Valley Fastpitch League Blog

That’s Going to Leave a Mark

Eric Riesinger’s lips after getting drilled with a come backer in the mouth (15 zips).

Agassiz got a big 4-2 win over Flite. Fabian threw 5 strong for Agassiz as he left the game with a 2-0 lead. Rob Woodrow came in in relief and Flite managed to square it up at 2-2. Agassiz got 2 runs back in the bottom of the sixth and held on to win. Harv Wiens threw the complete game loss.

The Dogs edged Mission 8-7 at Centennial on Tues nite in a 7 inning affair. Mission got strong pitching but the Dogs got a timely HR from catcher Terry Folster. Josh Wiens threw a complete game in the victory.

In other action, Sumas Country Insurance edged the Chilliwack Slammers 5-4 and Ferndale beat Lynden Exxel 12-5.

Who’s In the Fraser Valley League, you ask? (more…)

Posted in Canada, General | No Comments »

Memorial Fastpitch Tournament in Prescott, AZ This Weekend

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

From the Daily Courier, Prescott AZ

Photo by The Daily Courier: Albert Mendibles Jr. (top) leads Cool Arrows into this weekend’s Memorial Fast-Pitch Tournament (click photo to enlarge).

Memorial Fast-Pitch arrives this weekend

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

After losing its spot in the rotation to Team USA, the annual Men’s Memorial Fast-Pitch Softball Classic throws its belated first pitch this weekend.

The Memorial gave its diamond time to the USA Women’s National Team for this past weekend’s exhibition appearance at Ken Lindley Field. It returns with a bracket of 12 teams this Saturday and Sunday.

Games get under way Saturday morning at Ken Lindley Field, Bill Vallely Field and Heritage Park. The bracket’s A division championship follows on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Lindley. The B division title game is Sunday at Vallely, also at 4.

The 12 teams will play three games each in pool play on Saturday. Seeding will then determine which clubs advance to the single-elimination playoffs starting Sunday morning.

Representing Prescott are men’s fast-pitch mainstays Badger Roofing and Barros Roofing, as well as Cool Arrows, Brennan Aire and Pinion Pines.

Games are scheduled every two hours at Lindley, Vallely and Heritage all day Saturday starting at 10 a.m.

All games are open to the public with no admission charge.

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Central California Memorial Day Challenge

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA MEMORIAL DAY CHALLENGE

Maui “Da Bruddah’s” Lose 1, Then Win 7 in a Row, and $1,000

Results:

Maui “Da Bruddah’s” Hayward 7-1
Mixed Company Fresno 3-2
KHT Pumpers Visalia 2-2
Santa Rosa Fastpitch Santa Rosa 2-2
Rez Dawgs Hanford 2-2
Silverhawks Bakersfield 1-2
Deadbolts Clovis 1-3
North Coast Bears Willets, CA 1-3
Big Three Painters Fresno 1-3

The Maui “Da Bruddah’s” lost their first game 9-5 to the Silverhawks and then went on to win 7 games (5 in a row on the final day) to win the $1,000 first place prize. Mixed Company moved into the championship game with an 8-4 victory over the KHT Pumpers.

The final day started with Maui getting revenge on the Silverhawks by the score of 15-4. Maui was led by the hard hitting of Shawn Ching who went 4/4 while Bryan Villanueva added a two run home run. Joe Given got the win allowing 4 runs (3 earned) nine hits and struck out 4.

Santa Rosa won their game against the Rez Dawgs in 5 innings by the score of 8-0 as Tony Lopez threw a two hitter. The hitting star was Dustin Green who was 2/3 with a 3 run homer.

Maui & Santa Rosa then played to see who would move on in the tournament. Maui jumped out to an early 7-0 led on the hitting of Scott Tomasello who had a 2 run home run with Jason Porto add a two run double in the 3rd. In the bottom of the 7th Santa Rosa started to get to Rich Rivera who had allowed only two hits going into the 7th. Santa Rosa got 5 hits in the 7th with the big one being a two out bases loaded triple by Preston Boswell and the final score was 7-4 Maui.

In the game of undefeated the Mixed Company broke open a 4-4 tie by scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th taking advantage of two key errors by the Pumpers. Final score here was Mixed Company 8, KHT Pumpers 4.

The KHT Pumpers then took on the hot Maui boys and took a 4-2 led into the 4th were Maui was able to tie the score 4-4 on a 300+ foot home run off the bat of Shawn Ching. In the Maui 5th Scott Tomasello singled, Jabari Wimbs tripled and Bryan Villanueva homered and that was the game as the Pumpers were able to only get two hits the rest of the way of Joe Given.

In the must win game for Maui, they found the going tough and a feisty Mixed Company. Maui score 6 in the bottom of the 1st by getting 6 hits off Mixed Company’s pitcher Forrest Dean as they took advantage of a key error with one out that should have been an inning ending double play and no runs in. In the top of the 2nd Mixed Company came out strong as Leland Grigsby homer to lift the emotions of Mixed Company who then took advantage of a hits batman, three errors to plate 7 runs and take a 7-6 led into the bottom of the 2nd. Maui then got the first two batters on and used a wild pitch, sacrifice fly and a single to take the led once again at 8-7. Mixed Company then tied the game once again by scoring a run in the 5th. Maui leadoff batter Jabari Wimbs was hit by the pitch, stole second moved to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on a ground out to shortstop which gave Maui the lead at 9-8 and the game stayed there until the bottom of the 6th. In the 6th for Maui it was a walk, single, fielder choice a sacrifice and then 4 straight hits with the key being a 2 run triple by Scott Tomasello invoked the 8 run rule and sent the tournament to the if game.

The hot hitting continued in the if game as Maui scored 2 in the first and added 6 in the second on home runs by Scott Tomasello and Joshua Woodmansee. Maui went on to invoke the run rule and win the game 10-1 and take the $1,000 first prize money while Mixed Company finished 2nd and received $400 with KHT Pumpers getting a check for $150.

Tournament MVP player went to Jabari Wimbs with a .522 batting average, scored 16 runs and had 7 RBI’s. The MVP pitcher went to Joe Given who won all 4 starts struck out 18, walked 4 and had an ERA of 2.80 in 20 innings of pitching.

Posted in General, Nor Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

Sonora Gold Rush Tournament – June 28-29

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

GOLD RUSH
MEN’S B/C TOURNAMENT SERIES
JUNE 28-29
Sonora, CA

WHAT: Men’s B & C Fastpitch Tournament Series

WHEN: June 28-29 2008.

WHERE: Standard Park Sports Complex, 18500 Standard Road at Tuolumne Road

WHO: Open to all ASA registered Men’s A/B & C fastpitch teams.

COST: $410 per C team (three game guarantee format). $430 per A/B team (round robin format). Make checks payable to Sonora ASA. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, with a maximum of 16 teams.

DEADLINE: Entries are due by Friday (6/20). Roster must be official ASA tournament roster appropriately signed by players & commissioners Mail entries to: Sonora ASA

18430 Avenida Bonita

Sonora, CA 95370

If you have any questions:

CONTACT:
Jon Abernathy (209) 532-4657 (home)
Or (209) 532-1306 (fax)
djabs (at) mlode.com (e-mail)
(209) 768-0276 (cell)

Thanks to Vanessa Woodmansee for passing along this information

Posted in General, Nor Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

5th Annual Joe Santos Memorial Men’s Fastpitch Tournament Results

Sunday, May 25th, 2008

Vancouver Grey Sox Top Host Pueblo Bandits in Marquee Matchup

Vancouver Grey Sox: 5
Pueblo Bandits: 3
WP: Mike Piechnik
LP: Sisko Sabate
HR: Brain Abrey (2) Cliff Wisdom

From

Friday May 23, 2008 – A very large crowd weathered the wind and cooler weather for an evening of very good Fastball.

Joe Santos Field
Lee & Joes: 6
Polito’s Beer Barrel: 5
WP: Mike Bobian
LP: Danny Villarola
HR: Lauro Felix, Mario Doose

Opening Ceremony
Joe Santos Scholarships awarded: Lita Romero Pueblo Central HS, Gerald Carrillo Pueblo Central HS, Travis Wilson Pueblo County HS.
Joe Santos Commissioner Award: Dan “Chopo” Vigil

Pueblo Bandits:12
Boulder Rebels: 0
WP: Sisko Sabate
LP: Russ Martin
HR: Shawn Vanduvall, Peter Mersereau, Allen West

Saturday May 24, 2008 – Pueblo Colorado – A very large crowd was entertained with good fastball all day long at the 5th Annual Joe Santos Memorial tournament. After the dust cleared, Vancouver Grey Sox won the Red Pool with a 5 to 3 victory over the host Pueblo Bandits. Both teams will advance to Sundays single elimination tournament. In the Black Pool Pueblo’s Joe and Lee’s won the pools with a 3-0 record. The 2nd seed was Polito’s Beer Barrel also from Pueblo Colorado.

Below are the individual game results: (more…)

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Start Spreading the News…

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

“The Commish” Turns 40

Start Spreading the News — ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford celebrates the big 4-0 this weekend. Finally old enough to play in the “upper division”. Here’s an email link for friend wanting to send along birthday greetings, or managers of 40-and-over teams wishing to get in touch 🙂

Blair is a big contributor to the game of fastpitch, having headed up the very successful, very competitive ISC II division since 2004, including ISC II broadcast program, which has carried more than 100 games live-on-the-air over the past 4 years. He is also a frequent contributor here at Fastpitchwest, most especially to our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”. We send along our best wishes.

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Flying the Unfriendly Skies

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008



Update: May 21, 2008: Last month we wrote about some “fastpitch-unfriendly” airlines who were starting to charge $25 extra for a second piece of luggage. Today, American Airlines moved to the head of the class as the least friendly with this announcement:

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag.

So take your average team of 15 players, charge $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second — each way, for total of $80 per player. You’ve just added $1200 to the team’s bill for one round-trip flight. No small increase !

The prior story from April 2, 2008:

Airlines to Charge $50 Roundtrip fee to check second bag

One has to have a good memory to recall the old United Airlines advertising campaign, “Fly the Friendly Skies of United”. Nowadays, flying on United or most any airline is an adventure in the unfriendly skies. Post-9/11 security concerns have added hours to the flyers routine. We all grumble, but bear with it out of necessity. But the nickel and diming by airlines for “extras” that used to be included in the price of a ticket has flyers downright annoyed. And the nickels and dimes are now dollars — potentially hundreds of dollars in extra baggage costs to fastpitch teams.

Want to bring that your ballbag with you to that next tournament ? Plan on spending an extra $50 for the privilege, if you’re flying United Airlines, Northwest, Delta, U.S. Airways, or any of the other airlines following suit.

If you’re the manager or team’s equipment manager stuck lugging a bag of helmets, uniforms or other gear and need a third bag for the team? It will cost you $100 extra — that’s $200 round-trip on these unfriendly airlines. The airlines argue that it’s just a way of “being fair to those who don’t take more than one bag”, and a way to keep the costs down to those travelers. I’m not holding my breath for the day that happens. In some situations, you might be better off bringing another member of the family or booster club.

Airlines that are un-friendly to fastpitch teams:

United
Northwest
Delta
U.S. Airways

(more…)

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