The battle for SoCal supremacy between the So Cal Bombers and Team Rainey was to have been decided last Sunday in Santa Fe Springs, CA at the California Area ISC qualifier. Saturday’s games left both teams with 2-1 records, with the Bombers winning the head-to-head round robin game on Saturday. Sunday’s games were not played due to missing umpires. There was talk of a playoff game at this weekend’s Rose Cup tournametn to determine the ISC CA area champion — and who got the coveted ISC World Tournament berth. It was announced this morning that both teams will receive berths to the ISC World Tournament, and will be in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in August for the “Granddaddy of Them All”.
Rainey and the Bombers have seen plenty of each other this year, with the Bombers dominating the matchups thus far, but this weekend will give both squads a better measure of where they stack up with some of the elite teams in the game. The Bombers are currently ranked #19, while Team Rainey is right behind them at #20. Neither team has faced teams in the upper tier yet, but that is coming soon. The two will be in Portland, Oregon this weekend for the Rose Cup tournament. The Bombers take on #3 Broken Bow at 5pm Saturday, while Team Rainey will take on unranked-but-dangerous Prince George, British Columbia at 3pm. Prince George B.C, boasts a pitching staff of Colin McKenzie and Kevin Careless, who pitched last year for Victoria and Portland, respectively. Prince George also has three of the Potskin brothers on their roster, a family with some great fastball genes. Prince George is unranked only because they are not competing in the ISC World Tournament this year, but play top level competition in their home region. The Rose Cup also has another top-but-unranked team, the Vancouver Grey Sox. Currently, they are undefeated, with a 17-0-1 record. The Sox will compete in the Senior Canadians this year, not the ISC World Tournament, but probably be in the Top 10 if they were.
Team Rainey has been the California Area representative to the ISC World Tournament for the past two years. In 2003, at Kimberly, the team posted an impressive 3-1 record in pool play, and narrowly missed a spot in the “Sweet Sixteen” playoff round, dropping a playoff game to Houston, TX, the only team that beat them in pool play. During pool play, they beat Owen Sound of Canada, which was ranked #6 in the world at the time. Last year, Rainey appeared poised to step up to the next level, bolstering their roster with talented veterans, and playing the most ambitious schedules for an open team since the days of the Long Beach Nitehawks. Their run at the world tournament in 2004 proved to be a disappointment however, as the team struggled down the stretch. In 2005, Rainey pin their hopes on British Columbian pitching aces Bricklen Anderson and Rick Smith, and the addition of the core nucleus from the former Captain Dan’s team, added to the original 2003 roster that performed so well in Kimberly.
For the So Cal Bombers, it will be their first world tournament, though many of their players have ISC World Tournament experience. Five players came over from last year’s Team Rainey squad, including pitchers Travis Price and Tony Peeples, along with Mike Butler, Nate Devine and Jason Porto. But perhaps the biggest addition of all was the signing of ISC All-World catcher Todd Garcia to anchor both the defense and offense. Garcia has been the catcher for Team USA for a number of years, and caught for perennial contender The Farm Tavern of Madison, Wisconsin, handling some of the best pitchers in the world. Garcia, who lives in Northern California, wanted to spend more time with his son, difficult to do when catching for a team in Wisconsin, so he signed with the Bombers for the 2005 season. His addition to the Bombers gives So Cal fans reason to be hopeful about the Bomber’s chances at the ISC World Tournament in their first year.
An intersting side note, is that the Vancouver Grey Sox decision not to compete in the ISC World Tournament figures to play a key role in the ISC World Tournament hopes of both Team Rainey and the So Cal Bombers. Both Rainey and the Bombers are each adding an ace from the Vancouver pitching staff. The Bombers inked hard throwing Nick Underhill, while Team Rainey adds Rick Smith. The talents of Underhill and Smith will be on display this weekend in Portland at the Rose Cup tournament, albeit as members of their regular team, the Vancouver Grey Sox. Vancouver, Rainey and the Bombers are all in different pools for Saturday’s round robin games, but could meet up on Sunday in the single elimination bracket.
We will be broadcasting a selected number of games from the Rose Cup tournament this weekend, live on Ballparkradio. More details availabe at that website.