Archive for the ‘So Cal’ Category

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California Chaos Brings Order to Cal Cup II

Sunday, November 6th, 2005

California Chaos reeled off four straight wins Sunday, to finish a perfect 7-0 on the weekend, and capture the 2nd Annual Cal Cup tournament, at Palm Springs, Sunday, including a 6-1 championship game win over the So Cal Hustlers. Chaos ousted Sun Fastpitch in the semi-finals while the Hustlers reached the title game with a win over Quicksilver. The Chaos accepted the Cal Cup, taking over from last year’s inaugural winner, Fred Hanker’s Long Beach Black Sox. The Cal Cup is a perpetual trophy, handed off each year from the previous winner, a la Stanley Cup.

Scott Harrison of California Chaos was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, hitting a home run in the semi-final and championship game, the difference maker in both games and made a diving catch in centerfield with two on in the 7th of the semi-final game against Sun Fastpitch to preserve the win. Chaos pitchers Robby Epp and Brett Pobantz were selected as co-Most Valuable Pitchers, posting identical 3-0 records.

The Cal Cup tournament travels to one of California’s three fastball regions each year, North, Central or South. The first Cal Cup was hosted in 2004 by Central California, in Fresno, California. This year’s tournament was hosted by Vicki Oltean and the City of Palm Springs, in Southern California, so the tournament heads north next year to a site to be determined. Those teams or cities in Northern California interested in hosting the tournament can email us, calcup [at] fastpitchwest.com

Click here for complete scoreboard, standings, seeding, a few photos, and Sunday’s schedule of games.
Full story to follow.


Have you posted your flag at the Frappr Fastball Map? Click here for details

Posted in General, So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

Sun Fastpitch, California Chaos, Panteras and Hustlers Grab Top Seeds at Palm Springs/Cal Cup

Saturday, November 5th, 2005

PALM SPRINGS-Sun Fastpitch, Panteras and Hustlers from So Cal and California Chaos from Northern California earned top seeds in the first day of California Cup Tournament play at Palm Springs, California, with perfect 3-0 records in round robin play. All fifteen teams will advance to a Single Elimination Sunday playoff round, with seeding determined by Saturday’s round robin results. Sun Fastpitch and California Chaos bore strong resemblance to two teams that tied for 7th place in this year’s ASA “C” Nationals, i.e. the El Segundo Rounders, and West Coast Cardinals, respectively.


Click here for complete scoreboard, standings, seeding, a few photos, and Sunday’s schedule of games.

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Posted in So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

Yogie’s Cal Cup Poll

Thursday, November 3rd, 2005

Have you voted in BigYogie18‘s Pick-the-Winner Cal Cup poll? If not, click here.. Defending Cal Cup champs, the Black Sox won’t be there, so there will be a new Cal Cup champion crowned.

The “B” and “C”/Cal Cup tournaments are set for this weekend in Palm Springs, November 5-6, 2005. Once again, Vicki Oltean and her crew in Palm Springs come through for men’s fastball, offering a well run tournament, good competition, at good fields in a great town. This one figures to be the final hurrah for most teams for 2005. Eighteen teams in all, with games starting early Saturday morning. No plans for the weekend? Come down and watch some ball, root for your favorite team, relax by the pool, play some golf, take your wife out to dinner, (earn some points for next season). See the links in the Morning Brief post below for map, directions, and help with your travel planning. Temperatures expected in the low 80’s during the day, high 50’s at night.


Have you posted your flag at the Frappr Fastball Map? Click here for details

Posted in General, So Cal, Teams | No Comments »

Palm Springs “B” and “C” (Cal Cup) Schedules Posted

Tuesday, November 1st, 2005

The schedules for this weekend are up:

Click here to view in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader)

Click here to view “image” format (requires Kodak Imaging – which is built in to most computers)

Click here for map and driving directions to DeMuth Park. (Click “Satellite” to see aerial photo, or “Hybrid” to see aerial photo with street overlay. Note location of the ball diamonds on the aerial photos. (to left of the Google flag)

Click here for travel planning help.

Click here for Palm Springs Weather report (forecast- high of 83, low of 57 for Saturday at present)


We’ll get a web-friendly schedule up, but for now, hopefully you can view these.

Posted in So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

10,000+ Page Views For Sledgehammer22 at “2005 Rumor Central”

Sunday, October 30th, 2005

It was scarcely more than a year ago, on September 15, 2005 when Fastpitchwest Forum member “Sledgehammer22” posted a note in the California fastpitch section called “2005 Rumor Central“:

“Now that the season has come to a halt and all there is left is the usual end of the year fun tourneys I ask the question………Where’s the rumors? I know there are some teams out there ready to make a run for 2005 and where do the players come from? Rumors baby…I need rumors. Who’s the Peter Gammons of the fastpitch world?“

The answer to that question might be Sledgehammer22 himself. Many know his true identity, while some do not. Whether one does or doesn’t does not seem important at this juncture. The fact is that Sledgehammer’s “Rumor Central” section has topped 10,000 page views in the past year. Fastball fans are indeed interested in the latest rumors, or developments in the world of fastball, and for California fastballers, that often means catching up on Rumor Central. The ‘hammer drops by from time to time with a choice tid bit of information, rumor, or just to stir the pot, and livens things up. As the 2005 season winds to a close, and we bide our time ’til next season, and as news, information and rumors fly about who’s going where for next season, there appears to be plenty of grist for the mill.

In the meantime, after helping to generate 10,000 page views in 2005, we’ll see if Sledgehammer22 will be back for an encore in 2006.

Posted in Fastpitchwest, General, So Cal | No Comments »

So Cal Bombers Add Second Norwalk Title to 2005 Resume

Wednesday, October 26th, 2005

The So Cal Bombers started the 2005 season in February with a tournament title at Norwalk at the Panteras Valentines tournament. Last weekend, October 22-23, 2005, they closed out their season with another, winning Fernie Ramirez’s October tournament at Norwalk, CA, with a 2-0 win over rival Team Rainey in the championship game. Travis Price and Raymundo Parro pitched for the Bombers, with Travis Price picking up two wins over his former team, Team Rainey. Panfilo Valdez and Sonny Perkins threw for Team Rainey, with Perkins pitching well in the championship game.

In between, the Bombers garnered additional tournament titles at the Las Vegas Spring Swing, Best of the West and Mexicali, a second at Red Rock, and 10th at the premier event in all of men’s fastball, the (40 team) ISC World Tournament, held this year at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It marked the first time in more than a decade that a So Cal team finished in the top 10 at the ISC World. The team is already looking ahead to 2006. Ralph Trejo, owner and sponsor of the team said:

“We had a good season in 2005, we have made some changes and will continue to improve the team for the 2006 season. Check the Bombers website in early 2006 for new signings of players and for the 2006 Bombers Rosters .”

Posted in So Cal, Teams, Tournaments | No Comments »

Help Wanted – “C” Pitcher for Palm Springs, November 5-6

Tuesday, October 25th, 2005

A team headed to Palm Springs for the tournament Nov. 5-6, 2005 is looking for a “C” pitcher. Click here for contact info.

Posted in Players, So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

Today is Last Day for Palm Springs/Cal Cup Entries

Monday, October 24th, 2005

Today (Monday, October 24, 2005) is the last day for entries to “B” and “C” tournaments at Palm Springs, slated for November 5-6, 2005. Contact Vicki Oltean at Palm Springs for more information. Entries and $300 entry fee check to must be in today to:

City of Palm Springs
c/o Vicki Oltean
401 S. Pavilion
Palm Springs, CA 92262

Please drop us an email, jim@fastpitchwest.com if your team is planning on going, so that you are added to their contact list. Don’t miss this one!

The perpetual Cal Cup will be awarded to the the champion of the “C” division.

Posted in So Cal, Tournaments | No Comments »

Andy Martinez of the LB Black Sox “on the Hot Seat”

Thursday, October 20th, 2005

Don’t miss the latest “Hot Seat” interview at the Long Beach Black Sox website. This month’s “victim” is shortstop Andy Martinez, (at right in photo below) one of the bright young stars in Southern California. The “Hot Seat” feature is a favorite at Fred Hanker’s Long Beach Black Sox team website, and always makes for good reading. Incidentally, Andy Martinez, 27, was named the Sox co-MVP for the 2005 season, as well as garnering “Gold Glove” honors for the team.

Andy (at right in photo) is currently playing shortstop for the Mustangs in the City of Artesia fall league, alongside his younger brother Christian, (at left in photo) who is five years his junior. The two will team up full time next season. And just for good measure, there is a third brother, five years younger than Christian, the third of the Martinez brothers to play baseball at Tustin High School. As a pitcher who’s had the privilege to play in front of these two, I can tell you they throw the leather. Shades of the fellow who helped introduce Andy to fastball, a Mustang teammate, Terry Canale, former Long Beach Nitehawk great who recently earned All World honors himself at the ASA 45+ Nationals last month.

(Photo courtesy of Fred Hanker)

Posted in Players, So Cal, Teams | No Comments »

Sonny Perkins Bumped to ASA “A” Pitchers List

Wednesday, October 19th, 2005

To no one’s surprise, Sonny Perkins has been bumped up to the ASA “A” pitchers list. Sonny’s last couple of seasons have been stellar, capped off last month with the announcement of his selection to TEAM USA. Currently, he is featured on the cover of Fastpitchwest.com.

It was just September 2003 when a certain out of state ASA commissioner approved him to play in the “C” Nationals, notwithstanding the fact that California ASA Region 14 had him classified as a “B Restricted” pitcher at the time. Go figure. (That’s a lot of improvement in a couple seasons, Sonny, from “C” to “B” to “A” 😉 ) Well, regardless, the folks in So Cal know Sonny as one of the best players around, and are proud of his accomplishment in making TEAM USA. In 2005, he pitched in the ASA Major tournament and the ISC World Tournament, and has shown that he can compete with the best in the game — as a hitter, and as a pitcher.

The pitchers’ list at the ASA Region 14 website contains a note that as of October 10, 2005, the classification list is not yet complete, so keep an eye on that list before the first pitch of the 2006 season.

The “A” list is a pretty select group: Matt Barnes, Glen Davis, Tony Peeples, Phil “Sonny” Perkins, Mark Bennett Mark Higgins, Travis Price, Lonnie Brooks, and Tony Hunoff.

The “Major” list is a list of one: Bill Hillhouse, who turned in some outstanding performances in this year’s ISC World Tournament for Keating’s Fitness, who moved up from the ISC II division in 2005. Bill teaches pitching back on the east coast, runs a website, (“Houseofpitching.com“) and serves as an ISC official in his spare time. He is responsible for bringing international teams to this year’s ISC World Tournament, including the Czech Republic and Denmark. This past week, Bill was in Aruba, giving pitching clinics to the folks there. He has played a key role in helping fastball to become a truly international game.

Posted in ASA, General, Players, So Cal | No Comments »

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