The River City Rockers run at the ISC II Tournament of Champions finally ended Wednesday morning, falling to the unbeaten New York Knights, 6-2. The Rockers won three playoff games yesterday to advance to the Elite Eight, and finished the tournament with a 5-2 record. Rocker’s pitcher, young Brian Newton took the loss Wednesday morning, pitching in his seventh consecutive game. (Pitcher Ed Gaspar suffered a groin injury and only pitched a few innings in game 2).
Archive for the ‘ISC-II’ Category
Rockers Fall to NY at ISC II
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008Day 3 at the ISC II Tournament of Champions
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008For several teams at the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions, it was all about survival Tuesday as they fought and scratched and clawed their way into the Elite Eight who will contend for the title on Wednesday.
On the top of the bracket, Kitchener Outlaws prevailed over Rude Pac to become the first team to qualify for the Elite Eight with a hard-fought 3-2 win. Mel Ross paced the Outlaws both in the circle and at the plate, driving in two of Kitchener’s three runs, including the first and the third. Ross also carried a 1-hitter into the 7th only to have Rude Pac rally for two runs on the bottom of the seventh before closing the door.
Ashland Stockpack made the Elite Eight, again, on the strength of pitching by Ty McKinney and good sticks at the plate. Stockpack never trailed as they eliminated Hoffman Rise 5-3. Stockpack also has the loudest fans at the tourney, as there are several families supporting the team from Ohio.
The Ashland-Kitchener matchup can be heard on Ballpark Radio Wednesday at 9 am.
A surprise member of the Elite Eight is St. Paul ASB Villard. With workhorse Kevin Kammueller on the mound, ASB Villard took out Elora Wellington Brewers 3-1 before hanging on to beat Lloydminster Dodgers 4-3.
Matching up with St. Paul will be Waterdown Hammer. The Hammer, who have scored but 8 runs in winning all four of their games thus far, will look to scratch out another win as they did against Pete’s Blues, grinding out a 2-0 win to qualify for the Elite Eight.
One of those four teams will be in the final.
On the bottom half of the bracket, it’s been one slobberknocker after another.
After being upset in pool play, the California LumberKings won a pair of games 5-4 to advance to the Elite Eight. In the first, the top-ranked LumberKings held off Salt Lake City Innovative Communications in a see-saw affair to advance to face the Bridgeport Braves. Trailing 4-3 heading into the bottom of the 7th, Brian Teeters hit an inside-the-park HR to knot the game at 4. Ron Guzman then came up with the game-winning RBI to keep California’s hopes alive.
Ottawa Team Easton Thunder trailed Keating’s Fitness 1-0 until late in the game when they strung together some key hits to take a 2-1 lead. With Corey Costello firing bullets, the Thunder moved into the Elite Eight and will face California in the morning.
River City Rockers took the longest route into the Elite Eight with three big wins on the day, including an 8-0 shellacking of the defending champion TNT to open their day. River City then dumped Palermo Athletics 5-0 before coming up against Elmira Cubs. Trailing 2-0, the Rockers’ Mario Pereira drilled a two-run bomb to tie the game and set the stage for extra innings heroics as the Rockers won 3-2.
The final team to qualify for the Elite Eight were the New York Knights. Facing CPI in an all-NY State battle, the big boys from the city doubled their upstate cousins 6-3 to advance.
Again, one of these four teams will advance to the finals.
Will Mel Ross be this year’s Jeremy Tracy or will it be Ty McKinney? Can Waterdown Hammer score off Kevin Kammueler? Can Wayne Wells hold down ASB Villard long enough to give the Hammer a chance to scratch out a run? A year after he didn’t get the chance to face them in the finals, can Corey Costello beat the California LumberKings? Does Bryan Newton, who has thrown all but 3 innings of his team’s games due to an injury, have enough left to beat the high octane offence of the NY Knights?
All of these questions will be answered by about 4 pm tomorrow. Don’t miss it!
Ballparkradio Broadcasts for Day 4 of ISC II T of C
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Wednesday August 13 – all times central
9:00 AM
Quarter-final game
Kitchener Outlaws vs Ashland Stockpack
11:30 AM
Semi-final 1
Winner Gm 73 vs Winner Gm 74
Semi-final 2 (alternate channel)
Winner Gm 75 vs Winner Gm 76
2:00 PM
ISC II Championship Game
Winner Gm 77 vs Winner Gm 78
Rockers Win Third Game of Day, Advance to Elite Eight
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008The road to the Elite Eight was not an easy one for the River City Rockers, but they rallied from down 2-0 to win their third game of the day, 3-2 in the nightcap against 2005 ISC II champions, the Elmira Cubs of Ontario, Canada, and advance to the Elite Eight. Elmira was previously unbeaten in the tournament, earning a double bye by winning their pool. Elmira jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, which held until first baseman Mario Pereira tied the game with a two run homer. The game then went extra innings, with the international tie breaker in effect. With a runner at second, an Elmira player hit a long, high fly ball to the 275 foot fence in left where it was caught by Rob Penticoff. The runner tagged up and tried to score from second. Penticoff fired a strike all the way to the infield, and the runner was cut down at the plate. The Rockers then won the game in a walk off in the bottom of the eight, with Rusty Newnan coming through with game winning hit.
Pitcher Bryan Newton picked up the win, pitching in his sixth game of the tournament, due to a groin injury to Ed Gaspar. Newton pitched two shutouts earlier in the day, surrending a total of just two runs on the day, enroute to his fifth win of the tournament. The Rockers will face the unbeaten New York Knights, at 9am central time Wednesday morning. The Knights came into the tournament as the # 3 ranked team in the ISC II division.
Lumberkings Rally, Advance to Elite Eight
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008Ron Guzman’s RBI Single in Bottom of 7th Puts the Lumberkings in the Elite Eight
The Lumberkings were down by a run – in the sixth and again in the seventh, rallying to tie the game in the bottom half of each inning, winning it on a walk-off RBI single by Ron Guzman, for a 5-4 win over the Bridgeport Ontario Braves, and advance to the Elite Eight today, where they will take on the Ottawa Team Easton Thunder.
Dave Drotzman went the distance for his third win of the tournament. It was nail biting time for the Lumberkings, last year’s runner-up, as they fought to get to the final day of the single elimination tournament. Brian Teeters and Greg Oliver were each on base four times in the game to drive the offense. Down 4-3, it was Teeters who came up big, leading off the 7th with an inside the park home run to the 275 sign in centerfield. Teeters flew around the bases, with skipper Dave Weldin waving him home to score the tying run. Oliver then reached base and advanced to second, where he was replaced by pitcher Dave Drotzman. Guzman then drilled a line shot to the gap in right center, giving his team the walk off win.
The Lumberkings will take on the Ottawa Team Easton Thunder, who boast one of the deepest pitching staffs in the tournament, including pick-up Corey Costello, the all time ISC II strikeout king. Costello set the strikeout record in 2006 with more than 100 strikeouts, including 41 in his first two games that year.
The ISC II Tournament of Champions concludes today with the championship game at 2pm, Central time.
Ballparkradio will be broadcasting a quarterfinal this morning at 9am, central time, followed by two semi-final games at 11:00am, and the title matchup at 2pm. See www.ballparkradio.com for the login links to listen.
Lumberkings vs. Bridgeport Tonight on Ballparkradio – 6:30pm Central
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
Lumberkings in Sweet Sixteen. (click logo)
ISC II Day Three
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Some quick notes on Day 3:
Sweet Sixteen:
Kitchener 3, Rude Pac 2, 4:30pm Tuesday
Hoffman Rise PA vs. Ashland, 4:30pm Tuesday
Villard vs. Lloydminster Dodgers, Alberta, 5pm Tuesday
Pete’s Blues IL vs. Waterdown Hammer, ON, 5pm Tuesday
Lumberkings, CA vs. Bridgeport, ON, 6:30pm Tuesday ON BALLPARKRADIO.COM
Keatings or Hermann Black Gold MO vs. Ottawa, 6:30pm Tuesday
River City Rockers vs. Elmira, 7pm Tuesday
CPI vs. New York Knights, 7pm Tuesday
River City Rockers Win Again, into Sweet 16
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008The River City Rockers won their second game of the day, both playoff games, a 5-0 win over the Palermo Athletics, and advance to the Sweet Sixteen, to play their third playoff game of the day, at 7pm tonight Central time, against the unbeaten Elmira Cubs of Ontario, California. Bryan Newton has not surrendered a run in either playoff game. Earlier this morning, the Rockers eliminated the defending ISC II Champions, TNT of South Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Lumberking Survive, Advance, into Sweet Sixteen at ISC II Tournament of Champions
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
The California Lumberkings won their third game against one loss, this one a second round playoff game against a tough Innovative Communications team from Salt Lake City, Utah, 5-4. (The Lumberkings earned a first round bye) Dr. Dave Drotzman came on in relief of Mike Egerdeen to get two strikeouts with the tying run at second base, for the save. The Lumberkings will come back tonight against a well-rested Bridgeport Braves team from Ontario, California. The two teams have met twice previously at the 2006 and 2007 ISC T of C’s with each team getting a win. Rubber Match tonight at 6:30pm central.
Rockers and Rude Pac Win, Advance at ISC II Tournament of Champions
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008The “R”‘s have it.
The River City Rockers eliminated the defending champions, TNT of South Lebanon, Pennsylvania, 8-0, in a 5 inning run-shortened game. The Rockers jumped on pitcher Rob Fawcett for four runs in the first on five hits, added another in the second and put the game away with three more in the third. Rob Penticoff continued to swing a hot bat, going 3 for 4 in the game with 4 RBI, including a two-out, three-run triple to clear the bases in the third inning, that ran the score to 8-0. Pitcher Bryan Newton picked up his third win against one loss.
Rude Pac eliminated Herda & Sons, 2-1, behind the stellar pitching of Greg “Spud” Barker.
Both teams advance in the single elimination contest.
The other two teams from “out west” square off this afternoon, at 2:30pm, the California Lumberkings and Innovative Communications of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a game that will be broadcast on Ballparkradio.com
