Archive for the ‘ISC-II’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Drotzmann aims for National Team

Thursday, September 18th, 2008



Drotzmann aims for National Team

By DANIEL WATTENBURGER
The East Oregonian

HERMISTON – In the world of men’s fastpitch softball, few have had the kind of year Dr. Dave Drotzmann can boast.

Not only did the Hermiston optometrist and school board chairman help his Bakersfield, Calif. club team – the Lumber Kings – win the International Softball Congress championship over the summer, he won the Most Valuable Pitcher award at the tournament and was invited to compete for a spot on the U.S. National team.

It was the fifth time Drotzmann had pitched at the international tournament, and though he has a lifetime ERA of under 1.00 at the event he had never reached the gold medal.

“It’s an absolute team game and the team that makes the least mistakes almost always wins,” he said. “That’s the reason I play – the challenge of trying to be the best.”

At the 32-team tournament, 32 games were decided by fewer than two runs and 17 were decided by one.

The 38-year-old and the Lumber Kings finished third in the 2007 tournament, losing in the semifinals by a run.

“The reason we didn’t win last year was the pressure,” he said. “You have to minimize your mistakes.”

Drotzmann carries a mid- to upper-70s fastball, which translates to about 110 miles per hour at the major league level.

In the off-season he works out four times a week and throws two or three times to keep his pitching sharp. The U.S. National team tryout is later this month in Chula Vista, Calif., near San Diego, where he will join teammate and tournament MVP Marcus Tan.

The National team will play in two international events, the AAU Tournament in Orlando, Fla. in January and the ISF World Softball Tournament in Saskatchewan in July.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Drotzmann said. “It will be fun to be a part of if nothing else. Just to be invited and train at the facilities will be a lot of fun.”

Many players in men’s fastpitch are former major league players, and a total of 34 were invited to tryout for 17 spots on the National team. Drotzmann is one of eight pitchers trying out for four spots.

Posted in General, ISC-II, ISF, Players | No Comments »

Ontario Challenge Cups This Weekend

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Story at our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”, click logo below.


Posted in Canada, ISC-II | No Comments »

Three California Teams in Top 10 at 2008 ISC II

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

The official Final Order of Finish for the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions was released at the ISC website today. (see below)

All three California teams finished in the Top 10, with the Bakersfield Lumberkings coming away with the championship trophy in this highly competititive event.

The 2008 ISC II marked the third trip to the ISC II Tournament of Champions for the Lumberkings, who improved in three consecutive years. In 2006, they became the first California team ever to compete in the event, qualfying for the playoff round, and winning their first round game before elimination. In 2007, the Lumberkings were the runners-up, falling to TNT of South Lebanon, Pennsylvania in the finals, after eliminating another California team, A-1 Taylor Farms in extra innings in the semi-finals. This year, they reached the top of the mountain, combining forces with many of the A-1 Taylor Farms players.

2008 was the first time that the River City Rockers of Sacramento, California and Rude Pac of Sun Valley competed in the tournament, with both clubs finishing in the top 10 and coming away with winning records.

California teams were a combined 15-5 in this year’s T of C.

Photos from the tournament available at www.maddysphotos.com

From the official ISC Website:
09/10/08


FINAL STANDINGS

RANK TEAM WON LOST

1 Bakersfield, CA Taylor Farms LumberKings 7 1
2 Waterdown, ON Hammer 6 1
T3 New York, NY Knights 5 1
T3 Kitchener, ON Outlaws 5 1
T5 Sacramento, CA River City Rockers 5 2
T5 Ashland, OH Stock Pack 4 1
T5 St. Paul, MN ASB Villard 4 2
T5 Ottawa, ON Team Easton Thunder 3 2
T9 Elmira, ON Cubs 3 1
T9 Sun Valley, CA Rude Pac 3 2
T9 Perkasie, PA Hoffman Rise 3 2
T9 Wilkes-Barre, PA Keating’s Fitness Center 3 2
T9 Oswego, NY Cutro Professional Inspections 3 2
T9 Mascoutah, IL Pete’s Blues 3 3
T9 Lloydminster, AB PWM Steel Dodgers 2 2
T9 Bridgeport, ON PROforma Braves 2 2
T17 Sioux Falls, SD Sox 2 2
T17 Palermo, ON Athletics 2 2
T17 Bulyea, SK Rustlers 2 3
T17 Elora, ON Wellington Brewers 2 3
T17 Hermann, MO Black Gold 2 3
T17 Wyevale, ON Tribe 2 3
T17 Waverly, MN Herda and Sons 1 4
T17 Salt Lake City, UT Innovative Communications 1 4
T25 Memphis, TN Posse 1 3
T25 Carp, ON I4C Victory 1 3
T25 South Lebanon, PA TNT 1 3
T25 Chicago, IL Fastpitch Club 1 3
T25 Kelvington, SK PDC Comets 0 4
T25 Appleton, WI The Bar of Appleton II 0 4
T25 Winterset, IA A’s 0 4
T25 Kenosha, WI Earl’s Club 0 4

Posted in ISC-II | No Comments »

Maddy’s Photos from the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Click camera


Note from ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford, at our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”.


If you were at the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions, you doubtless saw Maddy Flanagan and her camera. Maddy does an absolutely phenomenal job taking photos and we were lucky to have her as the official ISC II photographer this year.

Having taken thousands of photos in just four days, Maddy has been busy combing through the raw photography to find the best of the best. They are now posted at her remodeled web site Maddy’s Photos.

For a direct link to the ISC II gallery, click here, or the camera above..

As always, if you have a photo i.d. that you can provide, please send it to us.

Enjoy!

Editor’s notes: The new site permits players and fans to purchase any photo they wish online, in automated, shopping cart fashion. Hope this streamlines the process of getting the photos you want. As you can imagine, it was difficult for Maddy to keep up with the volume of email requests. Watch for uploaded galleries from past tournaments, which we will also announce here at the Morning Brief.

For those of you unaccustomed to seeing Maddy’s Photos for sale, she was hired as the “official photographer” for the ISC II this year, after the first fellow opted out. She was not paid for her services, but invited to post and sell the photos in the same fashion as the other photographers at the tournaments who have done so in the past. She has tried to scale the prices down a bit from what others have. I am obviously biased, but I happen to think the quality of hers is much higher than some other tournament photographers. Given the cost of equipment, including rentals, not to mention travel costs, it’s not a money making proposition. (That big lens she lugged around this year was $365 to rent for the tournament). And you don’t want to know about the other gear. She is out there taking photos because she loves the game and the people involved in it, which I think shows in the photos you see. Anyway, hope you understand, and maybe order a photo or two.

About the only thing that the new site does not do is handle volume discounting. If you are a manager and wish to a quantity (e.g. 10 or more) photos for the guys, use the “Contact Us” link at the site to write to Maddy about quantity discounts.


Posted in ISC-II, Photos | No Comments »

Quad Cities to Host 2009 ISC

Monday, September 1st, 2008

From the ISCfastpitch.com website:

Quad Cities to Host 2009 ISC

The Quad Cities of western Illinois and eastern Iowa, will be the hosts for the 2009 ISC World Tournament (August 14 – 22) and ISC II Tournament of Champions (August 19 – 22).

Situated along the banks of the Mississippi River, the Quad Cities are comprised of Davenport and Bettendorf, IA and Moline/East Moline and Rock Island, IL. Combined, they have a population of approximately 400,000 and have excellent access by Interstate highways, I-80, I-74, I-88 and the I-280 belt route encompassing all the communities. Moline has a world class airport with excellent direct service to many cities. Approximate driving time to Quad Cities from some selected cities; Chicago – 3 hours, St. Louis – 4 hours, Des Moines – 3 hours, Rockford, IL – 2 hours and Madison, WI – 3 hours.

For both Quad Cities residents and the ISC, returning to Quad Cities will be nostalgic for many as Rock Island, IL hosted the ISC World Tournament a then record 10 times, from 1961 to 1969 and again in 1973. All the tournaments were played in Rock Island’s Douglas Park.
The ISC has been working with Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission since October 2006 and in Kitchener this year, Quad Cities had two representatives attend the 2007 World Tournament in its entirety. Lynn Hunt, CVB Vice President and Milt Hand, Moline Parks & Recreation Director were each in Kitchener for half the tournament, Lynn for the first half and Milt for the second half.

For the first time, the two 2009 tournaments may be played in the same venue. Moline’s Green Valley Complex boasts two separate 4-diamond facilities with 6 of the 8 diamonds capable of playing men’s fastball. The venue has excellent parking and seating capability. The primary 4-diamond facility has a large, well appointed press box and the diamond separations provide ample space for auxiliary seating. They have hosted previous national championships in girls’ classifications and have the infrastructure of volunteers to accommodate the ISC.

The agreement contract also extends a 2011 hosting option to Quad Cities. They must exercise their option by February 2009. Otherwise, the ISC will seek other bidders for 2011 who will present their bids in Quad Cities in August 2009.

For more information about Quad Cities and surrounding areas go to www.visitquadcities.com

The agreement to have Quad Cities host us in 2009 was just recently reached so at this time, tournament directors nor headquarters hotels have been determined. This information will be released in the near future.

On November 19, 2008 a media conference was held in Quad Cities to formally announce to their local media that the International Softball Congress is returning to their area in 2009.

From an ISC standpoint, we want to extend a special thanks to Joe Taylor, President/CEO of Quad Cities CVB and Sports Commission, Lynn Hunt(CVB Vice President) and Milt Hand (Moline Parks and Recreation Director). In addition, our thanks to ISC people who have been directly involved in meetings and discussions over the past year; Larry Koberg of nearby Walcott, IA who has served as tournament director for over 20 Iowa ISC Area Tournaments, Pat Sullivan, ISC Regional Commissioner from Dubuque, IA, Wayne Fisher, ISC Developmental Vice President from Iowa City, IA and Eric Wernke, coach of the Quad City Sox team, from Bettendorf, IA. Without the cooperation and involvement of all these people, this agreement would likely have not happened.

Ken Hackmeister
Executive Director
iscken@comcast.net

Welcome

Posted in ISC, ISC-II | No Comments »

Box Scores and Play-by-Play from California Lumberking’s Championship Run at ISC II Tournament of Champions

Thursday, August 14th, 2008


Here are links to the box scores and play-by-play from the California Lumberkings Championship run on Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Quarterfinal win, 3-1 over Team Easton Thunder, Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

Semi-final win, 2-1 over New York Knights

Championship Game, 2-1 win over Waterdown Hammer, Ontario, Canada

Posted in ISC-II, Nor Cal, So Cal, Teams, Tournaments | No Comments »

2008 ISC II All-Tournament Team

Thursday, August 14th, 2008


2008 ISC II All-Tournament Team

Catchers
John Kemp, Waterdown Hammer
Shane Flinner, Ashland Stock Pack

Pitchers
Dave Drotzmann, California Taylor Farms LumberKings
Bryan Newton, River City Rockers
Tim Neill, Waterdown Hammer

Infielders
Ron Guzman, California Taylor Farms LumberKings
Marcus Tan, California Taylor Farms LumberKings
Adam Hiller, Elmira Cubs
Josh Brohman, Kitchener Outlaws
Neil Curtis, Waterdown Hammer

Outfielders
Brad Web, Ashland Stock Pack
Peter Hill, Bulyea Rustlers
Canyon Vance, Innovative Communications
Brian Teeters, California Taylor Farms LumberKings

Designated Player
Toby Ranck, Keating’s Fitness

Most RBIs
Marcus Tan, California Taylor Farms LumberKings

Leading Hitter
John Kemp, Waterdown Hammer .562

Top Pitcher
Dave Drotzmann, California Taylor Farms LumberKings 5-0

Most Valuable Player
Marcus Tan, California Taylor Farms LumberKings

Final Four
1st California Taylor Farms LumberKings
2nd Waterdown Hammer
T3 Kitchener Outlaws
T3 New York Knights

Posted in ISC-II | No Comments »

California Lumberkings Win 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions !

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Pitcher Dave Drotzman, Second Baseman Marcus Tan Earn MVP Honors


The Taylor Farms Lumberkings of California won the ISC II Tournament, with (another) come-from-behind win, 2-1 over Waterdown Hammer of Ontario, Canada.

Marcus Tan was named as the Most Valuable Player in the tournament, and pitcher Dave Drotzman was the Most Valuable Pitcher. Tan also garnered the award for the most RBI in the tournament.

Watch this blog for a complete recap of the Lumberking’s Championship run.

Posted in ISC-II, Nor Cal, So Cal, Teams | No Comments »

Brian Teeters Powers Lumberkings into ISC II Final

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Teeters Homers for Come-from-Behind Win

Lumberkings centerfielder Brian Teeters delivered once again when it counted most, hitting an opposite field, two run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, to give his team a come-from-behind 2-1 semi-final win over the previously unbeaten Knights. The home run catapulted the Lumberkings into their second ISC II championship game in two years, where they will take on the Waterdown Hammer team from Ontario, Canada.

Lumberking Mike Egerdeen turned in his finest performance of the 2008 ISC II tournament, an 11 strikeout, 3-hitter, going the distance for the win. Egerdeen had only one mistake in the game, surrendering a fourth inning solo home run to straight-a-way center to first baseman Dave Lohman. Until the Teeters home run, it appeared that the performance might go for naught, but the Lumberkings have shown remarkable resiliency, with three of the five wins in a row coming in their final at bat.

The Lumberkings advance to the championship game for the second consecutive year. They lost last year’s title tilt to TNT of South Lebanon, Pennsylvania. TNT was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by another California team, the River City Rockers of Sacramento. In 2008, they will face Waterdown Hammer of Ontario, Canada, the first time the ISC II has had a USA-Canadian final since its inaugural year in 2002. The finals in 2003 through 2006 were all Ontario affairs, while the 2007 championship was an all USA match-up.

Posted in General, ISC-II | No Comments »

Lumberkings Win Again, Advance to Final Four

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Marcus Tan Leads the Way Once Again

The Taylor Farms Lumberkings from California won their fifth game Wednesday morning, a 3-1 win over Team Easton Thunder of Ottawa, Canada, to advance to the Final Four at the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions. Young 23-year-old second baseman Marcus Tan started off the game with an inside the park home run, for a lead the Lumberkings would never surrendered. Jeff Twist reached base after a strike out pass ball, and came around to score the second run. Ottawa trimmed the lead to 2-1 on an unearned run, though the Lumberkings added a key insurance run in the 6th on a Marcus Tan sacrifice fly. Centerfielder Brian Teeters made a game saving catch in the bottom of the 6th on a long gap shot with a man aboard.

The Lumberkings advance to a semi-final game against the unbeaten New York Knights.

Posted in ISC-II | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »