Thanks to Tom Ree for this report from Portland, OR
2007 Vancouver BC Challenge
Portland DeMarini finished 3rd at the 2007 Vancouver Challenge beating the host Grey Sox in a close game on Sunday before losing to eventual champs So Cal Bombers. Mike Piechnik picked up the win for Portland. Kris Waverick and Brian Ree homered for Portland. Portland finished with 3 wins at the tournament. Next came the So Cal Bombers. Those Bombers sure can hit. The Bombers also had an impressive win over NY Gremlins in the final.
Portland finished the season at 27-10 and will travel to Kitchner, Ontario for the ISC World Tournament next week.
The team really enjoyed the tournament as did the 11 fans I counted from Portland in the stands. Speaking of fans, there were several hundred each day at the games. The place was packed a few times.
The story of this event, however, is what a great job the hosts did. Starting with newspaper articles. There were several articles including some with photos of Mike Piechnik and Darren Zack who the tournament hosts had a special tribute to. I have never seen so much publicity in a large metro paper(s) for a fastpitch tournament before. IMPRESSIVE! I am told it took a lot of time and effort to get the papers interested in doing these articles.
John Stuart, coach of the Grey Sox, told me he estimated half of the crowd size was due to the newspaper articles. Regardless, the place was packed for a few of the games and good crowds at all games. It is such a bonus to see so many fans. The players, umpires, fans and tournament staff all enjoy the games so much more with a good crowd.
Jimmy Johnson and Craig Donaldson did a superb job of announcing the games and doing the stats. I am not just saying that because they recognized me… inside joke…
The food was excellent, good bbq, sandwiches, soft drinks and beer garden. The servers were all friendly and accomodating.
Justin Morneau’s dad was there selling 50/50 tickets all three days and raised about 5k for the big split on Sunday. His son is the reigning American League MVP. It was all volunteer work with Morneau’s great sense of humor a bonus.
Conrad Margolis, Jimmy Johnson, John Stuart, Craig Donaldson, Larry Kancs, George Morneau and countless other volunteers, thanks for making this such a special event. You undoubtedly raised the bar for Men’s Open Fastpitch tournments on the West Coast. Hope to see you again next year and thanks!
Regards,
Tom Ree
Portland DeMarini
ps We tip our hats to the Grey Sox Organization