Archive for the ‘Tournaments’ Category

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Dave Anderson, Grass Valley CA

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

From The Union.com:


By Brian Hamilton
Sports Editor

Dave Anderson didn’t start throwing fastpitch softball until he was 34 years old, but clearly had a knack for it.

Just days before celebrating his 61st birthday on Saturday, Anderson had pitched his A-to-Z Supply team into Wednesday’s championship game of the men’s fastpitch postseason tournament at Memorial Park’s Les Eva Field in Grass Valley.

Although Anderson and his teammates fell 7-6 to Anything Green on a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, the hard-throwing righthander was still pretty pleased with his team’s performance.

He took five questions from Sports Editor Brian Hamilton after the title game.

Q. Why are you still playing fastpitch and not slow-pitch softball?

A. “I tried slow-pitch once. I went out as a 50-year-old. I bombed one to the left-field fence and ran around the bases to third. But I was standing there and they called me out, because of a rule they had about being able to run past the bases. … I figured I was in the wrong place and I went back to fastpitch.”

Q. Why do you prefer fastpitch?

A. “This is way more fun. It inspires you to stay young, to work out and keep your weight down. And I’ve been playing with these guys for 15 years now.”

Q. How long have you been pitching?

A. “I started when I was 34 in Colfax. I won my first game, won the league and won the ‘C Classic.’ In 1989, we won the state and in 1990 we went to our first nationals. So I guess, it’s been 26 years now.”

Q. In covering the regular-season championship and now the postseason tournament championship game, I’ve watched a pair of one-run thrillers. Is this league always so exciting?

A. “There are some tremendous ballplayers here. You go to tourneys and see less hitting power than you’ll see here. Teams like the (regular-season champion) Bulldogs and this (tourney champion) Anything Green team really hit the ball.”

Q. Why are there so many great players competing here, in this league?

A. “It’s pretty much the last (fastpitch) league around. When I started, there was also a league in Auburn, five leagues in Roseville, two in Sacramento and two in Colfax. And now, this is the only one left.”

Posted in General, Nor Cal, Players, Tournaments | No Comments »

2010 Sr. Men’s Canadians Begin Today at PEI

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Follow the tournament on Twitter.


(click logo for official website)

TODAY’S GAMES
Date Game # Team A Score Team B Score
Aug-29 1 QC 0 NB 12
Aug-29 2 NL2 10 NS3 2
Aug-29 3 DC 4 NL1 2
Aug-29 4 NS2 1 HOST 5
Aug-29 5 NS1 3 NB 2
Aug-29 6 NL1 8 QC 4
Aug-29 7 NS2 4 NL2 5
Aug-29 8 DC 10 HOST 3
Aug-29 9 ON 3 NS3 1

Posted in Canada, General, Tournaments | No Comments »

European Men’s Cup 2010

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

European Men’s Cup 2010

Click here for official website, translated via Google Translate. (such as it is)

The website shows a page for “Streaming”, with instructions on how to connect. A little bit of work, but the the VLC media player is a good one, so worthy of the effort. (VLC is called the “Swiss Army Knife” of media players, will play virtually any file format you can find, so a good one to keep for later use).

The tournament is being held in Ronchi dei Legionari Gorizia, an area in the northeastern corner of Italy, near the northern harbor of the Adriatic Sea:


View Larger Map

Posted in International, Tournaments | No Comments »

ISC, Midland a good match

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

From the Midland Daily News

Winger: ISC, Midland a good match
By Don Winger

Some things never change. That includes Midland’s ability to host a world class men’s fastpitch softball tournament.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the Amateur Softball Association’s national championship. This year it was the International Softball Congress’ World Fastpitch Tournament.

The host committee for the ASA tournaments was the Midland Redcoats, who were a group of dedicated volunteers who gave hundreds of hours toward making the tournaments a success.

For the ISC tournament that concluded last Saturday the same volunteer spirit existed for the Midland Explorers. Kyle Beane and David Lach, co-chairs of the 2010 ISC host committee, received the same kind of cooperation for their tourney as the Redcoats did for theirs.

Wherever you went at Emerson Park or the Redcoat Softball Complex, there were always volunteers in bright yellow shirts ready to lend a hand. They were available to answer questions to assist the many softball fans who flocked to Midland for the tourney.

Particularly visible were tourney co-directors Lee “Ike” Isenhart and Jim Volk as they rode their golf carts from diamond to diamond to make sure things were running smoothly.

As usual, Marcie Post and her Parks and Recreation Department staff did a superb job of keeping the ball diamonds in tip-top playing shape. Consequently, players had to worry about few if any bad hops turning routine ground balls into base hits. Even when called on to fix the landing area for pitchers, as they did on Emerson 3 one day, they were quick to respond.

Away from the playing fields, the highlight of the tourney was the ISC Hall of Fame induction breakfast at Valley Plaza Resort.
I had the pleasure of giving the invocation before sitting back and listening to the accolades afforded the various inductees.

As pitcher Darren Zack — who celebrated his 50th birthday that day — was introduced, I thought back to the previous afternoon. That was when he pitched his Cobourg (Ontario) Force to victory in their first tournament game. Although he did not strike out a lot of hitters as he might have in earlier times, his veteran presence on the mound was not that of a 50-year-old player.

My hope is that the ISC officials were sufficiently impressed to want to return to Midland in the future. If that opportunity arises, I urge the Explorers to go for it. If we did it once, we can do it again.

Don Winger is the retired executive sports editor of the Daily News.

Posted in General, ISC, Tournaments | No Comments »

Get back in the game, softball player/coach tells Kitchener

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010


(click for original news story)

BY CHRISTINE RIVET, RECORD STAFF

KITCHENER — This city should get back in the world softball game.

That sentiment comes from Dave Bailey, a player and coach with the two-time International Softball Congress’s world champion Kitchener Rivershark Twins.

Bailey’s team just returned from the ISC world tournament in Midland, Mich. where the R-Twins earned the silver medal.

“This tournament belongs in Ontario,” said Bailey who also runs his own senior men’s fastpitch tourney in his hometown, Tavistock.

“I had a lot of questions (about the new format), too,” he said. “But everything I saw said Midland was a great success.”

Back in March, a group of Kitchener-based organizers abruptly pulled out of hosting the 2011 worlds because the American-based ISC had changed the event’s format.

“We wouldn’t make the money that the groups expected to make,” Duncan Matheson, slated to be the 2011 tournament’s chair, told The Record in March.

“And I’m not about to lead a group of volunteers down a rocky road.”

The local organizing committee, comprised of ball associations and service clubs who would have split the proceeds, voted unanimously to walk away after the ISC combined the elite men’s bracket with the its second-tier tourney, thereby diluting the product, the Kitchener group said.

The Kitchener committee’s decision led to an acrimonious divorce with the ISC, leaving some to wonder if the sport’s governing body would ever return to Kitchener.

This city previously hosted some of the ISC’s most successful world tournaments, in 2002, 2006 and 2007.

Kitchener’s organizers estimated they raised close to $100,000 and drew about 50,000 fans for each of those events.

Local organizers also said the 2006 and 2007 events pumped about $7-million into the region’s economy through spinoff spending.

The Midland tournament’s co-chair David Lach said his committee’s objectives were more modest because it didn’t have the army of volunteers available in Kitchener.

“We were able to break even and meet our budget goals. All along our intent was not to make money on the event.

“The entire host committee was made up of members who were passionate about fastpitch softball and who wanted to leave a lasting memory. . .”

Bailey said differences between the Kitchener group and the ISC should be patched up for the good of the game.

He pointed out that 19 teams from Ontario competed in Midland, earning a clean sweep of all four division titles.

Bailey also said Kitchener’s Peter Hallman Ball Yard is a perfect venue for the ISC tourney’s new format.

“I’d love to see Kitchener get back in the game,” said Bailey whose R-Twins won world titles in 2008 and 2009.

The ISC’s 2011 world tournament has since been awarded to the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.

The R-Twins are in Charlottetown starting this weekend to defend their Canadian senior men’s fastpitch title.

crivet (at) therecord.com

Posted in Canada, ISC, Tournaments | No Comments »

CTV Canadian News Coverage of 2010 ISC World Tournament

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010


(click logo to visit the new “Clips” section of ISC Broadcast site, another of the great features from Meridix)

Some great Canadian TV (CTV) news coverage of the Kitchener Rivershark Twins, courtesy of our friends at CTV.


Click here or thumbnail to view News coverage on Thursday, August 19, 2010

Click here or thumbnail to view News coverage on Saturday, August 21, 2010

Cap tip to Al Doran for connecting us with CTV.

Posted in Canada, ISC, Tournaments | No Comments »

2011 AAU International Tournament – Jan. 20-23

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Courtesy of Al’s Fastball:



January 20-23, 2011, Orlando FL – AAU International Men’s Fastpitch – ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Posted in General, Tournaments | No Comments »

Quyon wins 6-1 over WC Electric to move on to GOFL semis

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

More news via Ivan Taylor.

Quyon wins 6-1 over WC Electric to move on to semis
by Ivan Taylor

A nice crowd was on had to see the Quyon COMBAT Flyers defeat West Carleton Electric 6-1 in GOFL playoffs on Monday night in an error-free ball game in Fitzroy, as the Flyers moved on to the semi-final round with a two games to none sweep. This means that all four top GOFL seeds advance.

Drew Hathway had the win, throwing a three hitter, while Steve Cavanagh took the loss with relief from Jeff Barber.

Quyon took the lead in the top of the second. Nick Armitage doubled with one out and scored on Steve McCord’s RBI single.

In the fourth, Matt Greer led off for Quyon with a solo homer. Then Armitage singled and scored on another McCord RBI single to put the Flyers up 3-0.

In the top of the fifth, Cavanagh was removed for Jeff Barber to come in and pitch.

Another run in the sixth made it 4-0 for Quyon. Hathway singled to lead off, moved to second on Armitage’s sac bunt and scored on yet another McCord RBI single.

For the first five innings, Hathway had a perfect game going. WC Electric finally got some baserunners in the bottom of the sixth. Jon Daley doubled with one out. Dave Bahm came in to pinch hit and singled to shallow left. Daley attempted to score, but a throw from Tim Craig was on the money for the out at home. Andy Barber then tripled, scoring Jason Armstrong who had re-entered to run for Bahm.

Quyon padded their lead in the seventh. Craig reached on a bunt single with one out, took second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a sac bunt by Troy Cote. After a Matt Greer walk, Craig scored on a Hathway single. Greer then scored on a single by Armitage to cap the scoring at 6-1.

When the Electric couldn’t respond in the bottom of seven, Quyon advanced to the semi-finals.

The GOFL semi-finals will see Quyon face Carp I4C Victory and Kars Aces against Stittsville 56ers. Quyon and Carp will get things going right away with a game on Tuesday night (Aug 24) in Quyon at 7:30. Games in the Kars/Stittsville series are to be determined.

Quyon pitching
Drew Hathway WIN 7IP 1R 1ER 3H 0BB 9K

Fitzroy pitching
Steve Cavanagh LOSS 4IP 3R 3ER 5H 0BB 5K
Jeff Barber 3IP 3R 3ER 6H 1BB 2K

Quyon hitting
Tim Craig 1-4, R
Matt Greer 1-3, HR, RBI, BB, 2R
Drew Hathway 2-4, RBI, R
Nick Armitage 3-3, 2B, 2R, SAC
Steve McCord 3-3, 3RBI
Luke Young 1-3

Fitzroy hitting
Jon Daley 1-2, 2B
Dave Bahm 1-1
Andy Barber 1-3, 3B, RBI

Posted in Canada, General, Tournaments | No Comments »

2010 Canadian Senior Men’s Nationals – August 29-Sept 2

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Cap tip, Ivan Taylor.

Senior Men’s Nationals in PEI

The schedule and team information has been posted for the Canadian Senior Men’s Nationals in Charlottetown, PEI next week.

There are 10 teams participating – unfortunately it appears to be more of an “Eastern Canadians” as there are six provinces represented but the farthest western team is Owen Sound.

The schedule is online and things get under way with the first game on Sunday Aug 29 at 10am with Team Quebec facing Fredricton.

Team rosters are posted here. Four players from Quyon are on Team Quebec. Frank Cox from Carp I4C Victory is playing for the host PEI team.

Ten teams are as follows:

St John’s, NL 3 Cheers Pub
St John’s, NL West Side Charlies
Owen Sound, ON Verge Selects
Kitchener, ON Rivershark Twins
Team Quebec
Fredericton, NB Coors Light Twins
Charlottetown, PE Gahan House Fawcetts
Glace Bay, NS Mets
Brookfield, NS Elks
Halifax, NS Blackburn Transport

Editor’s note: While sharing the news of the Sr. Canadians from Ivan Taylor, I thought I’d pass along his note about winter indoor fastball. Sounds intriguing, to say the least:

We need teams & players ASAP, so please also forward this notice to any other fastball players. Sunday nights (9pm) indoor mens fastball at the dome in Nepean for $2025/team or $170/player (format to be determined by the players). Contact foxball (at) rogers.com if you have any questions.Limited space is available, so send your cheques (payable to O.I.S.L.) ASAP to:O.I.S.L.37 Wittingham DriveOttawa, ON, K2G 6H5on Friday

Posted in Canada, General, Tournaments | No Comments »

Newfoundlanders make star turns at ISC world championship

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010


(click logo for original news story)

Cleary, Mullaley and Blair Ezekiel all named to first all-star team


Sean Cleary

The 2010 International Softball Congress (ISC) men’s world fastball tournament in Midland, Mich., featured star turns by many of the 13 Newfoundland natives who participated.
Topics : Pennsylvania Power , Albaugh , Diamondbacks Fastpitch Club, Charlottetown , Port Huron Shawn , New York.

None shone brighter than Sean Cleary.

The Harbour Main native, playing for the Pennsylvania Power, was a perfect 4-0, with two no-hitters at the ISC tourney and was named the first team all-world pitcher.

Cleary, who plays locally for the Kelly’s Pub Molson Bulldogs of the St. John’s senior league, registered his no-nos in a 15-strikeout win over host Midland Mickey’s Sleds and a 17-strikeout, 7-1 win over the Port Huron Shawn Chiropractic.

Overall, Cleary allowed seven hits, 14 walks and two earned runs over 31 innings, giving him a tournament-best 0.45 ERA while striking out 64. At the plate, he hit .313, scored three runs and had a pair of RBIs.

The Jarvis Travelers, whose roster includes St. John’s natives Sean and Robbie O’Brien, won the ISC crown, defeating another Ontario-based team, the Kitchener Rivershark Twins, 4-1 in Sunday’s championship game.

Sean O’Brien scored and drove in a run in the title match and was named the all-world second team catcher.

The O’Briens have lived in and played out of Ontario for a number of years, however Sean will play as an import for 3 Cheers Pub/Bud Light, one of two Newfoundland entries for the 2010 Canadian senior men’s softball championship, which begins in Charlottetown, P.E.I., later this month.

Brothers Brad and Blair Ezekiel of Harbour Main played for Kitchener, as did Darrell Joy, yet another native of that Conception Bay Central community.
Blair Ezekiel was selected a first-team all-star after hitting .450 and driving in five runs. Also named a first team all-star selection was outfielder Stephen Mullaley of Freshwater, who scored four runs and drove in four more for New York/Chicago Fastpitch.

Other Newfoundlanders competing in Midland included Jason Hill (New York/Chicago Fastpitch), Ward Gosse (Albaugh Inc.), Geoff Evely (Saskatoon Diamondbacks Fastpitch Club), Mike Noftall (Quyon Combat Flyers), Sean Whitten (Taylor Farms California A’s), and Ryan Boland (Minnesota Angels).

Hill, Brad Ezekiel, Evely, Gosse and Mullaley will also be playing for 3Cheers in Charlottetown, as will Whitten, who is considered an import as he now resides in Calgary.

Posted in Canada, ISC, Players, Tournaments | No Comments »

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