Perkasie, PA – The Hoffman Rise Fastpitch Team, based out of South Eastern Pennsylvania, are pleased to announce their 2008 roster and schedule. We hope to qualify for the ISC II ToC, being held this year in Appleton/Kimberly, WI. The Rise finished in 5th place in ’07 and are looking for the gold in ’08. We lost a few players from our ’07 team. Catcher Jim Lawrence and outfielder Ryan Frank will not be with the Rise, as they opted to play for Keatings Fitness for ’08. Lance Bauer will reunite with his former teammates in Lebanon, ’07 ToC Champions South Lebanon TNT. Keith Hammerschmidt will be taking a year off from playing, but will remain with team in an administrative role. Keith has been with the Rise since their inception, and was very instrumental in our off-season acquisitions and fund raising. Click here to read the rest of this post at our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”.
Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category
2008 Hoffman Rise Roster and Schedule
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008Vancouver Grey Sox Clinic, Exhibition at Cloverdale, B.C.
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
(click logo for official team website)
[Cloverdale, BC] – The Vancouver Grey Sox opened the 2008 season on Saturday as the guests of the Cloverdale Minor Softball Association. Our gracious hosts put on a first class event that included a free clinic for all youngters registered in the local softball association. Grey Sox coaches and personnel provided their time and talents to the clinic. It was very refreshing and encouraging to see the many young faces at the grass roots of the sport still showing that youthful enthusiam, energy and eagerness. We were most impressed by the large turnout, festive atmosphere and the amazing softball facility that the community is blessed with.
At the conclusion of the clinic, the Grey Sox participated in a scheduled exhibition game vs the Vancouver Firefighters Senior B squad. Lefthanded pitcher Mike Piechnik (Victoria, BC) started the season in fine form for the Grey Sox tossing a no hitter, with no walks, and lost a perfect game opportunity due to two Grey Sox errors. Shortstop Brian Ree (Gresham, OR) and Catcher Kevin Rasmussen (Everett, WA) paced the Grey Sox offense with homeruns as the Sox prevailed 5 – 0. Rob Johnson was the losing pitcher for the Firefighters with relief from Craig Pidcock in the 5th.
Once again our sincere thanks to the Cloverdale Minor Softball Association and the tireless efforts of Jim Ullock for putting together a great event and day, and for being first class hosts. Softball is certainly alive and well in this community.
Next action for the Grey Sox is May 10 and 11 when the team will travel to Kamloops, BC to participate in another minor clinic and will take on a local Kamloops squad in a 4 game super series.
Larry Kancs
President
Vancouver Grey Sox
www.vancouvergreysox.com
Rude Pac Loads Up for ASA “C” Nationals
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Last year, the Rude Pac came away from the NAFA World Series with the “A” Major crown, behind the stellar pitching of Spud Barker. After improving their roster even more for 2008, they were at the head of the class on many pre-season pick cards, amongst the local So Cal teams competing in the So Cal Independent Fastpitch League (SCIFL).
But in Palm Springs a couple weekends ago, the Pac was knocked off in a semi-final, having to watch the Panteras and Long Beach Black Sox square off in the finals, with the Black Sox coming away the winner. Worse still, the Pac was shutout by the Panteras in their semi-final.
Now comes the news that Rude Pac has their sights set on the ASA “C” National in Prescott, Arizona, over the Labor Day weekend, after getting pitchers Spud Barker, Gerald Pyle and Mark Bennett re-classified to the “C” Division.
We’ll let fastpitch fans draw their own conclusions on this one.
Wingnuts Take on Lumberkings in the Final Four
Monday, March 31st, 2008CNBC’s Minor League Logo Contest enters the final days:
Voting open until 9am Tuesday morning. Still pulling for my brother Bob’s team, the Wichita Wingnuts. Winner of this matchup goes to the finals !
Click logos above to vote ! (clicking logos does NOT case your vote — just takes you to the page where you can vote)
Wichita Wingnuts in Elite 8 of Logo Contest
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
This is a shameless plug for my brother Bob’s minor league baseball team, the Wichita Wingnuts.
CNBC is holding its annual “Minor League Baseball Logo” Contest, which started, like the NCAA tournament with 64 teams. (chosen from the 252 minor league teams in existence). Each round matches two of the teams against each other, with the winner advancing. My brother’s team, the Wichita Wingnuts, from Wichita, Kansas won their first three matchups and have advanced to the “Elite Eight”, with voting underway. When I voted earlier tonight, with almost 18,000 votes in, they were ahead, and bidding to get into the Final Four.
Here’s today’s matchup:
Lend them a hand?
Vote here:
or just click the logo above.
(if Wednesday’s Elite Eight voting has closed by the time you get here, click the link to see if they’re still in the hunt for Friday’s Final Four, Monday’s Semi-Final and Tuesday’s championship)
Be sure to check back as the final rounds are coming up this week and weekend:
Thursday, March 27: Two “Elite Eight” Matchups (ends 9 a.m. ET on Friday)
Friday, March 28: Two “Final Four” Matchups (ends (9 a.m. ET on Saturday)
Monday, March 31: Two “Final Four” Matchups (ends 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday)
Tuesday, April 1: The Final Contest (ends 9 a.m. ET on
More about the Wingnuts:
The Wichita Wingnuts are a professional baseball team that is slated to start playing in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. They are a member of the American Association and will start to play in 2008. The team is not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team. The Wingnuts will be replacing the Wichita Wranglers a former AA afilliate of The Kansas City Royals.
The team will play at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
Click here to visit the official Wichita Wingnut website.
More About My Brother Bob: Bob Flanagan works in the Wingnut front office, heading up corporate sales. He has worked in minor league baseball for more than a decade, starting back about 1993 with the the then-Central Valley Rockies in Visalia, when shortstop Neifi Perez was playing single A ball. After a number of years in Texas, he is now with the Wingnuts in Wichita for the 2008 season.
Las Vegas Roadie – April 5-6
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Next up for teams out west is the NAFA/SCIFL Las Vegas Road Trip.
From the official SCIFL website:
NAFA and SCIFL present the “Las Vegas Road Trip” Men’s fast pitch tournament the weekend of April 5th and 6th. This will be a NAFA sanctioned event with the participating teams separated in the following divisions:
A
A-Major/AA (depending on amount of teams)
AA/AA-Major (depending on the amount of teams)The splits in the higher classifications will be based on the amount of teams that enter.
It is anticipated that 18 teams can be accommodated for this event and confirmation into the tournament will be based on the entry fee and roster being received. The entry fee for this tournament will be $375 and at the present time we will be using the NAFA 3-game guarantee bracket for all divisions. It is open to all NAFA registered teams. With a minimum of eight (8) teams in a division, the winner will have their 2008 NAFA World Series entry fee paid.
Tony Peeples Re-signs with A-1 So Cal Bombers
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
From the So Cal Bombers website:
The A-1 Bombers are pleased to announce that we have re-signed Tony Peeples as the third member of our 2008 pitching staff. Peeps was considering other offers but in the end, he’s a Bomber again this season. Coach McGiffin had this to say about the signing:
“We needed that third arm and Peeps not only gives us a veteran that keeps theball down and changes speeds effectively, giving us another look from the bullpen or in a start, but also has as much grit and character as you could hope for. This really rounds out our pitching staff and combined with Lucas and Rob, Tony will allow us to throw a few different looks at our opponents at any given time. I welcome him back, it really solidifies things for us and he’s always been an important member of our team in every sense, so its good to have him back.
2008 Preview – SoCal A-1 Bombers
Saturday, March 8th, 2008Coach Kelly McGiffin previews the 2008 So Cal A-1 Bombers
From 
2007 was a good hard working season for the Bombers and through the off-season there’s been a lot of internet talk about the losses we’ve suffered in terms of roster. I thought as Head Coach, I’d talk a little about that and outline why I believe the 2008 A-1 Bombers will be even stronger going into this season.
There is no doubt that on the surface, losing Evan Potskin, Chad Ghostkeeper, Adam Lalonde, Sean Whitten, Tony Peeples, Darrell Tilley, Marc Santillano, Scrappy Crawford and Geoff Evely appears to be substantial.
However, I just have to look at our additions for 2008 – Chad Boom, Robbie O’Brien, Darrell Sandback, Eduardo Leonardo, Joe Morales, Kris Waverick, Manuel Mata, and Dave Kimura – to know that we’ve been able to make up a lot of ground.
Let me talk about our pitching. Lucas Mata (El Matador) returns to pick up where he left off. At 28 years old this season, he is just starting to reach his prime and his spot on the roster gives us a true number one pitcher, in my opinion, he is the best in the World. I also believe that by adding Rob O’Brien as his counterpart for this season we have complemented Lucas tremendously with a veteran pitcher that hits his spots and gives us a tremendous and legitimate back to back threat.
OB has been a top ten pitcher since leading Canada’s Junior National team to a World Championship over New Zealand in 1993. He’s played with Lucas before on the County teams of a few years back and is a two time All-World pitcher. At 34, he has plenty of life in his arm and knows how to pitch. And the bonus is that he brings one of the games strongest left-handed bats to the Bomber lineup. We believe that our one/two punch of Mata and O’Brien is as good as anyone’s in the game.
Offensively, adding the bats of Boom (former All World player and perhaps the USA’s best hitter), Sandback (Canadian National team player and an All World player for the formidable County team), Leonardo (2 time All World OF), and O’Brien to the already potent line up of Darren Box, Nate Devine, Landy Rodriguez, Jason Porto and Raymundo Parra, gives the Bombers plenty of firepower.
Steve Pinocchio, Mike Butler, Dave Kimura, Leonardo, and the young Manuel Mata (the Argentina National team’s starting SS) provide plenty of speed to set up those big bats and/or offer wheels off the bench at any given time.
Defensively our catchers are solid with Rodriguez and Box returning and the addition of Waverick (whom Doug Chase believes can be outstanding with the right direction). Up the middle, you don’t get better than Butler, Morales and Pinocchio and if the young Mata is as good as billed, we’re very deep defensively. The corners are of course well looked after with combinations of Boom, Sandback, O’Brien, Parra and Rodriguez.
Our OF with Leonoardo in CF is as strong defensively and add in the arms of Porto, Box, and Devine and depth with Kimura and we have no defensive liabilities anywhere. We can truly put out a variety of combinations and utilize defensive strengths as games wear on.
The coaching staff stays in tact with myself and Rob Shick for the bulk of the season – and as he frees up his time, Doug Chase will again join us for key tournaments, including the World’s (where he will be inducted to the ISC Hall of Fame this year).
The key for the 2008 Bombers, is to continue improving by building on last year’s experience. In 2005, the Bombes basically made an appearance at the World’s. In 2006 we ended our season with a top ten finish. And of course in 2007 we made the Championship game.
We did so however without really playing our best ball. After winning at top tournaments like Red Rock, Monkton and Vancouver last year and then getting to that World Championship final, we know we can defeat any team at any time. That confirmation is a big mental lift for our players going into the next season. The Bombers no longer have to prove they are a potent team, we are now one of the team’s to beat, and with that confirmation comes a new confidence in entering a season.
Our core players have been through that grind the last few years and as a result will be better again this year. And I am very confident that the players that the Trejo family have been able to add into the mix for 2008 will push us back into the territory of legitimately competing for that World Championship.
I feel very strongly that while we lost some quality players, we have been fortunate to gain even more and stand to be a stronger team in 2008 than we were in 2007. I look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.
Kelly McGiffin
Head Coach
SoCal A-1 Bombers
So Cal A-1 Bombers Announce 2008 Roster
Saturday, March 8th, 2008Information courtesy of Cesar Rodriguez:
2008 So Cal A-1 Bomber’s Roster
1. Boom, Chad INF
2. Box, Darren C/OF
3. Butler, Mike INF
4. Devine, Nate OF/INF
5. Kimura, Dave OF
6. Leonardo, Eduardo OF
7. Mata, Lucas P
8. Mata, Manuel INF/OF
9. Morales, Joe INF
10. O’Brien, Rob P/INF
11. Parra, Raymundo INF/OF
12. Pinocchio, Steve INF
13. Porto, Jason OF
14. Rodriguez, Landy C/INF
15. Sandback, Darrell INF/OF
16. Waverick, Kris C/OF
Staff:
Kelly McGiffin – Head Coach Ralph Trejo Sr. – Sponsor
Rob Shick – Coach Bob Piddock – Sponsor
Doug Chase – Coach
Cesar Rodriguez – Coach Ralph Trejo Jr. – GM
Editor’s notes: The Bombers had an outstanding 2007 season, winning the prestigious Monkton tournament, and going on to knock off Broken Bow and advance to the ISC World Tournament final, falling only to the eventual World Champions, The Farm Tavern of Madison, Wisconsin.
“Hammertime”
Friday, March 7th, 2008Information courtesy of Dave Birnie, Ontario, Canada
[Waterdown, Ontario] – The Waterdown Hammer ( ISC II ) are pleased to announce 2 significant roster additions for 2008. Today’s signings include pitcher, Wayne Wells who has officially committed for the 2008 tournament season and catcher Troy Gilmour for selected tournaments. Click here to read the rest of the story on our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”.