By DAN ARMONAITIS, For the Herald-Journal
TORNADOES CAPTURE TITLE
In their first of existence, the South Carolina Tornadoes did something last weekend that no other team from the Palmetto State had done before.
The Tornadoes – an amateur softball team based out of Spartanburg – captured the championship at the 54th Annual Blue-Gray Men’s Fast Pitch Invitational last Sunday at Lagoon Park in Montgomery, Ala.
“There have been a lot of other good teams from South Carolina that have gone down there over the years, but none of them had ever won it,” manager and right fielder Travis Owens said. “So, for us to win it all, it was something special.”
The Tornadoes swept through the two-day tournament, finishing with a 6-0 overall record. They won their two championship round games by a combined 22-4 margin.
“All the pieces fell together,” Owens said. “Our defense was playing well, and our offense was hitting the ball. We averaged 11 runs a ballgame while giving up three. When you do that, the odds are definitely in your favor.”
The Tornadoes – the only traveling men’s fast pitch team in the state – clinched the title on Sunday with a 12-4 victory against Alpha Heating and Air, which had won the tournament three of the previous four years. They posted a 10-0 win against Montgomery Fast Pitch in the semifinals.
Jahmal Overton, a former baseball player at Georgia Tech, was named the tournament MVP after hitting four home runs, including two in the championship game.
“Jahmal was on,” Owens said. “He was seeing the ball well, and it seemed kind of effortless for him. He was a spark plug for us, and every time he made contact, it generated something good.” Chris Sturgill and Greg Gerhart each added two-run blasts for the Tornadoes in the title game, and pitcher Brad Courtney claimed the decisive victory.
“The thing that was so great about the tournament was that we played all the better squads that were there,” Owens said. “Sometimes, you can go through and not have to play the best based on the way the brackets fall, but this time, we had to beat the best.”
Many members of the team had previous experience at the Blue-Gray Invitational but had never before competed in the tournament as the Tornadoes.
“When we went down to Montgomery, we kind of took everybody by surprise,” Owens said. “They didn’t know who we were by our team name, but when we showed up, they knew us as players.”
Owens said that the Tornadoes are planning to compete in two national tournaments this summer – the National Softball Association Men’s Fast Pitch World Series (Aug. 3-5 in Salisbury, Md.) and the Amateur Softball Association Class B national championships (Aug. 29-Sept. 3 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.).
For now, however, the Tornadoes will continue to savor their recently won title.
“(The Blue-Gray Invitational) is one of the best in the Southeast as far as the quality of teams that participate, so winning it is quite an accomplishment,” Owens said. “It’s a well run tournament, and every year, you know you’re going to go down there and see some good teams.”