I am taking a team to Prescott, Arizona, for the 50 and over Nationals, July 8-10, 2005. We have room for another player or two on the roster. If you are interested or know of someone who might be, email me, mailto:jim@fastpitchwest.com. Utility infielders especially welcome, as are young legs 🙂
Tournament starts Friday, July 8, 2005 at 6pm and runs through Sunday.
Jim Flanagan
It’s no secret that teams from the Ontario province of Canada have dominated the ISC II division. Presently 6 of the top 10 teams are from Ontario. The Niagara Snappers have made a splash in the 2005 season, climbing from #28 in the ISC II overall pre-season rankings, to #18 in the second set, and #8 in the most recent June 17, 2005 overall ISC II rankings.
Ontario also does their own set of rankings, just for Ontario teams, released today, and Niagara has made it to the top of the heap, on the strength of a big win over ISC II # 1 ranked Tavistock Merchants. Since Ontario teams hold down the top 4 slots in the overall ISC II rankings, look for Niagara to be voted #1 in the next set of overall rankings.
Niagara Snappers Won the highly competitive Snapper Shootout & the Innerkip qualifier beating Palermo twice & Norwich. Added Tim Neill, who was named to the All Tournament Team last year, for the ISC II Tournament of Champions
From Al’s Fastball: Ontario Top 10 ISC II Rankings for June 30
Speaking of ISC II, have you visited “The Deuce” lately?
Portland, Ore.
Game 1 Van 9-13-0 Sacramento 0-4-0. W-Rick Smith (12 K’s). Vancouver scored 4 times in the first. Jeff Kawaguchi paced the offence with 3 RBI, Kevin Schellenberg had 2 hits and drew a walk.
Game 2 Pueblo, Col 2-4-0 Van 1-5-0. W-Jeremy Manley, L-Nick Underhill. Vancouver gave up 2 runs in the first 4 innings. Scott Newitt had 2 hits for Vancouver, including a laser-like home run in the 7th.
Game 3 Van 9-10-0 Seattle 0-1-1. WP Rick Smith was the stopper
surrendering only a 2 out single in the fourth and striking out 9. Darin Strang took the loss. Vancouver mercied their opponent on the strength of a six run fourth inning. Dan Whiteford, who blasted a third inning homer, scored 3 runs for the Sox. Newitt, who was perfect at the plate, also took one out of the yard.
Game 4 Van 5-12-0 Boise, Id 0-3-0. W-Underhill. This was the Evan
Potskin show as he laced 4 consecutive balls to the 285 foot barrier. Two went for triples and 2 were caught at the base of a 12′ high fence. Undoubtedly all would have been homers in a regulation size park.
Game 5 Van 12-12-0 Pueblo 0-2-0 W-Smith This was payback time, as the Grey Sox needed only 5 innings to dispose of Pueblo. Newitt homered again as did Ryan Marklinger.
Game 6 (Semi-Final) Van 5-7-2 Broken Bow 3-6-1. W-Underhill, L-Gerald Muizellaar, Piechnik (5). The Bow scored 3 runs with 2 out in the third, with all the damage coming from batters who were facing 2 strike counts. Vancouver had a 4 run fourth, again the scoring all came with two out. Kevin Schellenberg drilled a 3 run homer to put Vancouver ahead by one. In the fifth, Potskin added insurance with a homer. Underhill survived a one-out bases loaded jam in the fifth, and retired the last 8 batters in a row.
Game 7 (Championship Game) Van 9-10-0 Portland 0-2-2. W-Smith, L-Luster.
Smith struck out the side in the first two innings, and Schellenberg’s 2 run homer in the third launched a 6 run rally in a one-sided final that ended in 5.
Top Pitcher: Rick Smith; MVP: Kevin Schellenberg; All-Stars: Underhill, Whiteford, Potskin, and Newitt.
Grey Sox 2005 record is now 24 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie.
Next up: 2 Doubleheaders in Prince George v. Black Bears, starting at 6:00 p.m., on Friday July 1 and Saturday July 2.
Conrad Margolis,
Vancouver Grey Sox
U.S. explodes against Denmark
SUMMERSIDE – Brian Malakowsky wanted to atone for the Unitesd States’ sixth-inning collapse Tuesday night against Canada. The leftfielder went 4-for-4 with a two-run blast in the third inning, three runs scored and three RBI as Team USA exploded against a young Denmark squad 20-0 in day six action at the ISF 2005 Junior Men’s World Softball Championship at Queen Elizabeth Park’s VIV Field in Summerside. Also leading the 3-3 U.S. squad were leadoff man Jason Loe (1-3, run scored, home run, two RBI), Kevin Castillo (2-4, three runs scored, three RBI), Curtis Leavitt (2-2, two runs scored, double, home run, three RBI), Zach Warne (1-2, two runs scored, two RBI, double), third baseman Riley White (2-3, two runs scored, two doubles, three RBI), Evan O’Reilly (1-1, two runs scored, hit by pitch, home run, RBI) and Drew Bode (1-3, two runs scored, triple, two RBI). For Denmark, brothers Valdemar (1-2) and Frederik Brask Terkelsen (1-2) was all the offense for the Danes. Sean Krohse, Kyle Davis and B.J. Hunhoff combined to earn the two-hit shutout win. Krohse went three innings allowing a wlak, a hit and five strikeout while Dasvis pitched two-thirds innings allowing a hit and fanning one. Hunhoff threw two pitches to get the third out in the bottom of the fourth.
Losing pitcher Frederik Terkelsen went two innings giving up nine runs on seven hits, walking one and sitting down one. Valdemar Terkelsen went two innings allowing 11 runs on nine hits, wlaking three and striking out two.
http://www.2005worldsoftball.com
Pat Healey
MARKETING AND MEDIA CONSULTANT
ISF 2005 JR MEN’S WORLD SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Monday June 27th, 2005
Portland, Oregon – JRW & Associates of Yakima, WA ended up with one pitcher on Saturday morning, June 24th, as they began Round Robin play in the 14 team Rose Cup. As a result, a disheartened JRW team went 0-3 in RR play and lost a Sunday morning single elimination game to eventual runner-up CR/DeMarini of Portland.
One pitcher recently went to the hospital with three blood clots in his leg and hasn’t pitched in the two weeks since. Then the team learned on Friday afternoon that the second pitcher could not get out of his work commitments (ate an $800 plane ticket). An OPEN class Calif pitcher had been lobbying to join a team for the Rose Cup. He was contacted early Friday evening and even had checked out the plane schedule to arrive in Portland on Sat morning. At 9:00 PM Friday night, he backed out.
To add to the setback, the JRW team started play with a 10 inning 5-3 loss to the Prince George, B.C. Black Bears. With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th, Dave Drotzmann (JRW) was on 3rd base when there was a passed ball. Dave broke for home, but stopped when catcher Chad Ghostkeeper (PG) made a great recovery. Then he fumbled the throw, but Dave had turned back to third.
An unearned run in that 6th inning allowed JRW to tie the score at 2-2. Another unearned run in the bottom of the 8th allowed JRW to match PG’s run in the first of three International tie-breaker innings.
In the top of the 10th, PG scored two runs on CF Brian Bailey’s single and Kevin Broboske’s Sac Fly. Relief pitcher Colin McKenzie (PG) struck out the side to preserve the victory.
Certainly didn’t need a 10-inning game to start the day with only one pitcher. With a win, JRW might have had 1-½ pitchers (emotionally) ready for the second game.
In the second RR game, the NorCal Mavericks started quick with three first inning runs, then fell behind by two runs because of three errors, but scored 3 runs in the B6 for a 7-5 victory over JRW. Manager Chris Wright let Pitcher Keith Frey struggle thru 5 !/3 innings, thin let ace Sonny Perkins finish up. And finish he did by striking out 4 of the last 5 JRW batters. Sonny also chipped in a 5th inning solo HR.
Pitcher Dave Drotzmann (JRW) also had a solo homer. Dave had 8 K’s and only two walks in a losing effort.
Needing a victory over # 19 ranked Team Rainey to even finish third in their pool in their last RR game, Manager Jim Williamson elected to rest his one pitcher for the next day’s playoff. Two infielders and one outfielder shared the pitching duties in the 13-1 blow-out. One highlight was JRW 2B Don Cawthron’s entry to the game with two outs in Team Rainey’s 7 run third inning. Don struck out his first batter on two pitches for the 3rd out. A second highlight was a single by 21 year old LF Jason Grow (JRW) to break up Villabalos’ no-hitter. SS Paul Reyes had JRW’s second and last hit in the 5th.
In Sunday morning’s single elimination game, eventual Rose Cup runner-up CR/Demarini pounded out 12 hits enroute to a 14-4 victory over JRW.
Center-fielder Kent Zweifel (CR) led the charge with two 3 run homers and a single for 6 RBI’s. In Kent’s first year back from college baseball, he sometimes would strike out 2-3 times a game. Kent takes a very healthy cut and now has certainly made the adjustment to big-time softball. Kent was named to the All-Tournament team. 3B Rob Gehrke (CR) had a solo HR. No surprise as Gehrke hits home runs off everybody.
After struggling in the ISC II qualifier tournament, SS Paul Reyes (JRW) capped off a .333, 3 RBI weekend with a solo HR off Mark Bennett.
Next action for the JRW squad will be the Phil Hunt Memorial Tournament in Everett, WA on July 9-10. This tournament is also a fund-raiser for the Burn Children Recovery Foundation (BCRF).
Game One (Sat)
Prince George, BC 011 000 010 2 5 – 5 – 2
JRW & Associates, Yakima 000 011 010 0 3 – 4 – 2
Kevin Careless (WP), Colin McKenzie, (10th) and Chad Ghostkeeper; Dave Drotzmann (LP) and Troy Grow.
Highlights:
C Troy Grow (JRW) 1-4, 1 R; RF Bob Harris (JRW) 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Pitching: Dave Drotzmann (JRW) 10 IP, 4 ER, 4 W, 5 K’s
Game Two (Sat)
JRW & Associates, Yakima 221 000 0 5 – 5 – 3
NorCal Mavericks, Stockton 300 013 x 7 – 9 – 3
Dave Drotzmann (LP) and Troy Grow: Keith Frey, Sonny Perkins (6th) (WP) and Kevin Kennedy
Highlights: HR’s – Dave Drotzmann (JRW), solo in 3rd; Troy Parker (NCM), 2 Run in 1st; Sonny Perkins (NCM) solo in 5th as DH.
SS Paul Reyes (JRW) 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; C Troy Grow (JRW) 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; P Dave Drotznann (JRW) 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI
Pitching: Dave Drotzman (JRW) 6 IP, 4 ER, 2 W, 8 K’s
Game Three (Sat)
Team Rainey, Whittier, CA 307 30 13 – 12 – 1
JRW & Associates, Yakima 100 00 1 – 2 – 2
Alejando Villabalos (WP) and Tony Acedo, Jack Andreas (LP), Don Cawthron (3rd), Jason Grow (5th) and Bob Harris
Highlights:
SS Paul Reyes (JRW) 1-2, 1 R; LF Jason Grow (JRW) 1-2; RF Troy Grow (JRW) 1 RBI
Game Four (Sun) – Single Elimination Round Starts
CR/DeMarini, Portlard, OR 501 107 14 – 12 – 2
JRW & Associates, Yakima 000 301 4 – 6 – 2
Mike Warren (WP), Mark Bennett (5th) and Ken Kvarnstrom; Dave Drotzmann (LP) and Troy Grow
Highlights:
2B Don Cawthron (JRW) 1 RBI; SS Paul Reyes (JRW) 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
The weather was perfect all weekend. Many thanks to TD Roger Jones, PDX Metro ASA Commissioner Ron Boley and behind the scenes Tom Ree for an outstanding tournament. After an opening game glitch, FP West’s Jim Flanagan broadcast some of the key tournament games. Also Jim’s posting to his web site provided teams and fans with all the tournament information. Great job, fellas !!!
Courtesy of the Broken Bow team website, here are the three box scores from Broken Bow’s games yesterday against the Boise Clippers, Meraloma Club of Vancouver, BC and the So Cal Bombers. The Bombers game was broadcast on Ballparkradio and will be available as an archive for later listening.
SUMMERSIDE, PEI
– A three-run seventh inning rallied Team USA over a valiant Czech Republic squad Friday evening at the ISF 2005 Junior Men’s World Softball Championship at Queen Elizabeth Park’s Very Important Volunteer Field in Summerside.
The Czech’s led 5-1 at one point before USA mounted their rally with timely hitting and several miscues by their defense which led to Jason Loe’s game winning run to win the game.
Other top batters for Team USA were Kevin Castillo (2-4, RBI), Curtis Leavitt (1-2, run scored, home run), and Bobby Olson (2-2 run scored). For the Czech Republic, Michal Hudec (1-2, run scored, three RBI) and Bohumir Adamec (1-3, two runs scored, two RBI) was tops.
Winning pitcher was John Kelly who went the distance allowing five runs on five hits and fanning five.
Losing pitcher Jaroslav Muller went five plus innings allowing four runs on four hits, while Stepan Eret went a seventh of an inning allowing two runs on one hit.
RAIN POSTPONES GAME
Heavy rains during the fourth inning of Canada’s opening game led to the postponement of their game with Mexico until 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. Team Canada was leading 2-0 when the umpires and the game was called due to thunder and lightning and the rains.
Pat Healey
MARKETING AND MEDIA CONSULTANT
ISF 2005 JR MEN’S WORLD SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
mailto:phealey@2005worldsoftball.com
The battle for SoCal supremacy between the So Cal Bombers and Team Rainey was to have been decided last Sunday in Santa Fe Springs, CA at the California Area ISC qualifier. Saturday’s games left both teams with 2-1 records, with the Bombers winning the head-to-head round robin game on Saturday. Sunday’s games were not played due to missing umpires. There was talk of a playoff game at this weekend’s Rose Cup tournametn to determine the ISC CA area champion — and who got the coveted ISC World Tournament berth. It was announced this morning that both teams will receive berths to the ISC World Tournament, and will be in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in August for the “Granddaddy of Them All”.
Rainey and the Bombers have seen plenty of each other this year, with the Bombers dominating the matchups thus far, but this weekend will give both squads a better measure of where they stack up with some of the elite teams in the game. The Bombers are currently ranked #19, while Team Rainey is right behind them at #20. Neither team has faced teams in the upper tier yet, but that is coming soon. The two will be in Portland, Oregon this weekend for the Rose Cup tournament. The Bombers take on #3 Broken Bow at 5pm Saturday, while Team Rainey will take on unranked-but-dangerous Prince George, British Columbia at 3pm. Prince George B.C, boasts a pitching staff of Colin McKenzie and Kevin Careless, who pitched last year for Victoria and Portland, respectively. Prince George also has three of the Potskin brothers on their roster, a family with some great fastball genes. Prince George is unranked only because they are not competing in the ISC World Tournament this year, but play top level competition in their home region. The Rose Cup also has another top-but-unranked team, the Vancouver Grey Sox. Currently, they are undefeated, with a 17-0-1 record. The Sox will compete in the Senior Canadians this year, not the ISC World Tournament, but probably be in the Top 10 if they were.
Team Rainey has been the California Area representative to the ISC World Tournament for the past two years. In 2003, at Kimberly, the team posted an impressive 3-1 record in pool play, and narrowly missed a spot in the “Sweet Sixteen” playoff round, dropping a playoff game to Houston, TX, the only team that beat them in pool play. During pool play, they beat Owen Sound of Canada, which was ranked #6 in the world at the time. Last year, Rainey appeared poised to step up to the next level, bolstering their roster with talented veterans, and playing the most ambitious schedules for an open team since the days of the Long Beach Nitehawks. Their run at the world tournament in 2004 proved to be a disappointment however, as the team struggled down the stretch. In 2005, Rainey pin their hopes on British Columbian pitching aces Bricklen Anderson and Rick Smith, and the addition of the core nucleus from the former Captain Dan’s team, added to the original 2003 roster that performed so well in Kimberly.
For the So Cal Bombers, it will be their first world tournament, though many of their players have ISC World Tournament experience. Five players came over from last year’s Team Rainey squad, including pitchers Travis Price and Tony Peeples, along with Mike Butler, Nate Devine and Jason Porto. But perhaps the biggest addition of all was the signing of ISC All-World catcher Todd Garcia to anchor both the defense and offense. Garcia has been the catcher for Team USA for a number of years, and caught for perennial contender The Farm Tavern of Madison, Wisconsin, handling some of the best pitchers in the world. Garcia, who lives in Northern California, wanted to spend more time with his son, difficult to do when catching for a team in Wisconsin, so he signed with the Bombers for the 2005 season. His addition to the Bombers gives So Cal fans reason to be hopeful about the Bomber’s chances at the ISC World Tournament in their first year.
An intersting side note, is that the Vancouver Grey Sox decision not to compete in the ISC World Tournament figures to play a key role in the ISC World Tournament hopes of both Team Rainey and the So Cal Bombers. Both Rainey and the Bombers are each adding an ace from the Vancouver pitching staff. The Bombers inked hard throwing Nick Underhill, while Team Rainey adds Rick Smith. The talents of Underhill and Smith will be on display this weekend in Portland at the Rose Cup tournament, albeit as members of their regular team, the Vancouver Grey Sox. Vancouver, Rainey and the Bombers are all in different pools for Saturday’s round robin games, but could meet up on Sunday in the single elimination bracket.
We will be broadcasting a selected number of games from the Rose Cup tournament this weekend, live on Ballparkradio. More details availabe at that website.
Click here to view the latest set of ISC World Tournament rankings.
Not much change in this set, with the top spots holding constant. West Coast teams, the So Cal Bombers, Team Rainey and the Pueblo Bandits held their spots at #19, #20, and #21, respectively. All three will be in Portland this weekend, at the Portland DeMarini Rose Cup Tournament. The #19 Bombers will face #3 Broken Bow of New York at 5pm Saturday, with a chance to make a statement to the ranking committee.
The rankings are important, as they are used to determine seeding for the ISC World Tournament.
