PALM SPRINGS-Sun Fastpitch, Panteras and Hustlers from So Cal and California Chaos from Northern California earned top seeds in the first day of California Cup Tournament play at Palm Springs, California, with perfect 3-0 records in round robin play. All fifteen teams will advance to a Single Elimination Sunday playoff round, with seeding determined by Saturday’s round robin results. Sun Fastpitch and California Chaos bore strong resemblance to two teams that tied for 7th place in this year’s ASA “C” Nationals, i.e. the El Segundo Rounders, and West Coast Cardinals, respectively.
On Sun Fastpitch were Rounder pitchers Mitch Mendenhall and Gerald Pyle, as well as Mark Villalobos, Eric Geierman, and John Simmers, joined by Ken Crawford, Dan Winnick, Brett Seman and Gordon Marks. Mitch Mendenhall picked up two of the wins, while Gerald Pyle notched the third, with Ken Crawford pitching in relief.
California Chaos’ roster included West Coast Cardinals pitcher Brett Pobantz, catcher Nick Muratella, Dave Jordan and several others. Pobantz was still nursing a couple of broken toes from a hit ball, suffered in late August, just before Nationals. He was still wearing a pair of cleats a size larger than his normal ones, but appeared no worse for wear in the pitching circle. Pobantz tossed a 1 hitter Saturday, striking out 15 with a powerful rise ball. Robby Epp was the other half of the Chaos batter, and just as dominant, tossing a 1 hitter himself.
On fields 7 & 8, it was Sun Fastpitch and California Chaos who appear to the favorites to reach the final four tomorrow, while on fields 5 & 6, it was the Panteras and Bobby Cole’s So Cal Hustler team. Cole continued to hone his pitching, narrowly missing a no-hitter as the Hustlers posted a 3-0 mark. With a half dozen of the top “C” teams from 2005 bumped up to the “B” division in 2006, Cole’s Hustlers would appear to be among the top “C” teams for 2006, as the young squad continues to gain experience.
The Panteras edged the Amigos, 4-2 for the top spot in what might have been the toughest pool in the round robin play. The winner of the Primos-Amigos game will face Sun Fastpitch in a 9:45 game.
The Primos won the wildest game of the day, a game that they led 10-0 at one point, only to see Palm Springs tie. The Primos stopped the bleeding at 10 all, and went on to win the game, 11-0 in extra innings.
In the “B” division, Ralph Trejo Sr. fielded a “new look” B division squad, without most members of the ISC’s all star team, but continued to wield the winning touch as his team went 4-0 in round robin play.
Newcomers “Those Guys”, a young team from the Artesia City league, with the addition of veteran lefty Joe Edwards on the mound, came away with a tournament first win over Quicksilver, and played Sun Fastpitch tough, in a close 3-1 loss. Edwards had his patented change-up working all afternoon, keeping most of the Sun hitters off balance. Those Guys are led by veterans Paul Castillo and Don Vilander. Young Tyler Vilander, (25 year old son of Don) was the star of the game against Sun, going 2 for 3, including an RBI triple, and a diving shoestring catch that Jim Edmunds would have been proud of. The Sun’s Mark Villalobos was 2 for 3 and keyed the win with a two run triple that proved to be the difference in the game. Sun shortstop Gordie Martts also had two hits in the win.
The fields in Palm Springs are both scenic and well maintained, but can be described as a pitcher’s park, with fences close to 300 feet. Despite that fact, two players still managed to homer beyond the distance reaches. In the upper “B” division, it was Todd Budke, ISC great from the Farm, playing with his local Lancaster teammates. In the “C” division, it was big Gerald Pyle, who hit one out foul, then to the warning track of the fence in left, and finally, cleared the centerfield fence with a home run.
Sunday’s single elimination bracket will crown a new Cal Cup champion in the “C” division, while a double elimination bracket will be used in the “B” division (due to the fewer number of teams).