League play for the So Cal ASA A/B league will begin this weekend at Little Lake Park in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Team Rainey and the So Cal Bombers will be among the teams competing, as well as Raymar, which gets its first test playing at the A/B level. British Columbia pitcher Bricklen Anderson, signed for the 2005 season by Team Rainey will be with the club for the first time. Pure speculation on my part, but I’m guessing we’ll see him on the mound against the So Cal Bombers in the 3pm game Saturday in this rematch of arch rivals. The Bombers took the first meetings, in February in the Norwalk Tournament and are coming off the heels of their Las Vegas Spring Swing title. Also competing will be the “Young Bucks” a (more or less) 23 and under team, with hard-throwing 21 year old, Anthony Martinez on the mound. Jason Iuli, slightly over 23 will pitch with them, as will Mark Bennett, more than slightly over 23. All kidding aside, Mark remains one of the best pitchers in California, as shown by a stellar performance against Team Rainey in last year’s Best of the West. Don’t miss a chance to see the best fastpitch teams in Southern California. Click here for the schedule of games at the So Cal ASA website
Archive for the ‘Teams’ Category
SoCal ASA A/B League to Play This Weekend in Santa Fe Springs
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005I.S.C. Out-of-Area Filing Deadline Approaches (May 2)
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005“Scoop” Damo Heralds Big Signing for Team Rainey
Monday, April 11th, 2005Number 2 in the World and Trying Harder: 2005 County Materials
Saturday, April 9th, 2005One of men’s fastball’s truly elite teams, County Materials has been hair’s breath away from the ISC World title the past few years. County, with a good portion of the nucleus from the ISF World Champion New Zealand Black Sox, are a betting man’s pick to find their way back into the ISC World Tournament championship game in 2005, especially with defending champions Broken Bow losing a couple of starters from last year’s World Championship team. Pitcher’s Darren Zack and Lucas Mata from last year’s team will be back, and joined by the 6’6″, long, lanky lefthander, Andrew Kirkpatrick, who comes over from last year’s 3rd place Calgary Diamonds. A fixture on the New Zealand Black Sox team, Jarrad Martin comes over from Broken Bow to join the club.
If you haven’t had a chance to see a team like this play in person, click the link below and peruse that schedule for a game near you. If you live in the home state of County Materials (and the Farm Tavern of Madison, WI), you’ll have plenty of chances this summer. Or go watch the giants collide at the ISC World Tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin starting August 12.
Raymar to Red Rock
Friday, April 8th, 2005Speaking of Red Rock, among the So Cal teams headed to St. George, Utah, April 30-May 1, will be Raymar, who is playing at the A/B level this year, after being bumped up from the C division, following their “third in the nation” finish among 70 teams at last summer’s ASA “C” Nationals in Hastings, Nebraska. Rumor has it they’ll be taking a young hard throwing pitcher with them to round out their pitching staff. Look for them among the A/B teams playing locally at Little Lake Park in Santa Fe Springs, next weekend (April 16), to test their mettle against other upper division teams. Kudos to the Raymar squad for “stepping up”. So Cal will have three teams at Red Rock, including, of course, Team Rainey and the So Cal Bombers, the latter, fresh off their Las Vegas Spring Swing title last weekend. The Castlewood team that handed the Bombers their first loss of the season in Las Vegas will also be in Red Rock, having made it to the “Final Four” in last year’s tournament. The Bombers did rebound to defeat Castlewood in the finals, so it will be interesting if the two teams collide in St. George. If you’ve never been to the Red Rock complex, it’s worth the drive (or a short flight to Vegas and shorter drive to St. George). Last year was our first time there, and we found that it more than lived up to its billing as one of the nicest fastball complexes in the country. And for those of you who don’t make the trek to St. George, as noted in the article below this one, we’ll be broadcasting some of the games live on the internet. Teams entered in the Red Rock tournament are: Mexicali, High Desert Dawgs, Vannelli’s, Raymar, Pueblo, LM Chev, Painters, Socal Bombers, Castlewood, River City, Colorado Rage, Team Rainey, Page Brake, Nor-Cal Mavericks, and C/R Adidas. Last year’s champion (and defending ISC World Champion) Broken Bow will not be in Red Rock this year, meaning the championship trophy is up for grabs!
So Cal Bombers at Las Vegas Spring Swing
Thursday, April 7th, 2005Cesar Rodriguez, coach and webmaster for the So Cal Bombers, shares this note with us about his team’s Las Vegas Weekend:
The So Cal Bombers captured the Las Vegas Spring Swing Tournament out of the losers bracket with back-to -back 14 – 7 and 13 – 4 wins over the Castlewood Jesters of Utah. Castlewood Jesters knocked the So Cal Bombers into the loser’s bracket on Saturday night with a 7 – 6 victory. Bombers responded with a 9 – 2 defeat of last years Champions Desert Dawgs (FSR), Arizona/Utah. Lead off hitter Jose “Pepe” Aguila lead the Bombers with a .667 batting Avg and Arturo Solano led the Bombers to victory with 3 home runs on Sunday that probably have not landed yet.
Kitchner Hallman Twins Shoot for Title
Monday, April 4th, 2005I had the privilege to see the Sebringville Sting play, in 2002 when they won the NAFA “AA” World Series at Salem, Oregon, and last year, when they merged with Kitchner Hallman Twins, playing in the AAU Int’l Tournament. Good team, good people. While dropping the “Sting” from their name, they are actually giving life to two teams, the Twins, which will play at the Canadian senior level, and the Sting, which will return to its roots as an intermediate team. From Al’s Fastball:
The Kitchener Hallman Twins are back. Not that they ever really went away. But last year’s incarnation of Canada’s longest continuously operated senior men’s fastball team used a lengthy and somewhat confusing moniker: the Hallman Twin City Sting.
After last spring’s 11th-hour merger between the foundering Kitchener-Waterloo Twins and the Sebringville Sting — which spawned that unwieldy name — the same team will be known this year simply as the Kitchener Hallman Twins….
Raymar’s Ken Shaw to Run for Congress
Friday, April 1st, 2005We are pleased to be the first to announce that Raymar Fastpitch’s Ken Shaw is running for Congress. For further details, see his new website here: Ken Shaw for Congress Website
Star Studded Roster of The Farm Tavern, 2005
Thursday, March 31st, 2005Rod Peterson’s Farm Tavern team has released its star-studded roster and schedule for the 2005 season. The Farm is the defending ASA Major champion, and came tantalizingly close to dethroning two-time ISC World Champion Broken Bow, falling in the semi-finals by one run. Two of California’s finest players will both return to the Farm for the 2005 season, Todd Budke and catcher Todd Garcia. For the details, click this link: Al’s Fastball List: Farm Tavern Team and Schedule
See also our prior post, “A Tale of Two Todds”
Update: Thursday night, 3/31/05: Dean Holein reports that pitcher Kory Gareau has just signed with the Farm. Al’s Fastball List: Huge Signing for the Farm Tavern!
2005 Jr. Men’s World Softball Championships – Draws
Tuesday, March 29th, 2005Al’s Fastball: 2005 World Junior Men’s Schedule Release…
The schedule for the ISF Jr. Men’s ISF World Championships, June 24-July 3, 2005 at Prince Edward Island has been posted. The United States opens play on June 24, 2005 against the Czech Republic 2005 World Softball Championships – Draws & Results