Rhys Casley Homer Delivers NAFA AAA Title for Midwest Stampede
From the Des Moines Register:
By LISA COLONNO
Register Staff WriterAugust 27, 2007
A double late-night rally brought a men’s North American Fastpitch Association World Series championship to a first-year central Iowa team.
The Midwest Stampede from Bondurant came from behind and out of the loser’s bracket to beat favorite Albaugh Inc. from Elkhart in the triple-A division – the event’s highest level. Competition extended to about 3 a.m. Sunday at Raccoon River Park Softball Complex in West Des Moines.
The Stampede beat Albaugh Inc. 7-0 in the first championship, forcing an “if necessary” championship in the double-elimination tournament. The Stampede beat Albaugh Inc. 3-2 in the second meeting that started at about 1 a.m.
The 23-and-under and ‘A’ division champions were decided Sunday afternoon to wrap up NAFA World Series play in the Des Moines area.
“It was a long day because we had been playing since around 1 p.m.,” Stampede manager Chris Bohlmann said. “We won five in a row. We made it hard on ourselves.”
Rain forced the cancellation of the round-robin portion of the triple-A tournament and consolidated play to a one-day marathon Saturday.
The Stampede lost their first game, then won five in a row. They also had to rally in the “if necessary” championship.
Albaugh Inc. led 2-0 in the fifth inning. The Stampede then used strong pitching from Regan Manley and three solo home runs to grab the championship.
“We got on his shoulders and our bats came alive,” Bohlmann said. “You want to give it all you’ve got. We were in it to win it. It was fun to get on a roll. We have to tip our hat to Albaugh. They are a heck of a team.”
Rhys Casley, who along with Manley is from New Zealand, hit the winning shot in the top of the seventh inning for the first-year Stampede.
“We’ll build on it next year,” Bohlmann said.
Des Moines Register Reader’s Comments below.
Reader Comment Posted by: JBiggs
on Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:45 pm
Congarts to Midwest Stampede. Also congrats to Albaugh, Inc. You guys are very competitive and also have great sportsmanship. It was nice to finally see some type of coverage from the DM REG. This tournament was actually going on last weekend as well, with teams from all over the continent here. If we are lucky or should I say privledged to have a tournament of this stature again, I hope we could have some more coverage and exposure. LONG LIVE FAST PITCH SOFTBALL.