Thanks to Bill Plummer for this report from the ASA Major National Tournament at South Bend, Indiana:

FARM TAVERN EDGES KEATING FITNESS CENTER 2-1 IN ONE OF SIX OPENING GAMES IN MEN’S MAJOR FAST PITCH NATIONAL

SOUTH BEND, IN – Sometimes one run is the difference in an ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship.

It was Thursday evening at the Belleville Softball Complex as the Farm Tavern of Madison, WI, nipped Keating Fitness Center of Wilkes Barre, PA 2-1, in one of six opening round games.

Seventeen teams are entered in the annual major fast pitch championship, which was held at this complex two years ago when The Farm Tavern repeated as national champion after winning in 2003 and finishing third last year in Florida.

In its opener, The Farm got an outstanding performance from right-hander Korrey Gareau who fanned 12 batters and walked one before he was replaced after giving up a lead-off triple to Travis Wilson in the seventh inning.

After the triple, Farm Manager Rod Peterson replaced Gorreau with another right-hander, Dean Holoien, who was the outstanding pitcher in this event in 2004. Dean, who had surgery on his right shoulder in January, got the next three batters in order to close out the game. Wilson scored the only Keating run on a passed ball as Holoein fanned two of the three batters he faced.

Holoien doesn’t have any pain throwing but he still isn’t where he wants to be.“I still have a long ways to go with the shoulder,” said Holoien who threw a no-hitter in the 2004 championship game, striking out 14 as the Farm beat Broken Bow Spirit of Broken Bow, NE, 6-0. “Korrey threw a good game for us. It’s crunch time for us with the ASA Nationals and the ISC Tournament.”

Besides the triple, the only other hit Gorreau allowed was an infield single in the fourth inning by Justin Stock.

The only run Gareau would need came in the sixth inning when Todd Budke, a second-team All-America last year, singled, scoring Stan Grebek. Grebek walked to open the inning and advanced to second on a ground out before Budke laced an RBI single to right field. The Farm added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning on second baseman Derrick Zechman’s one-out solo homer over the left field fence off losing pitcher Bill Hillhouse. It was the first homer of the tournament.

Hillhouse allowed three hits and fanned three in going the distance as Keating dropped into the loser’s bracket.

The Farm Tavern 000 001 1 – 2 4 0
Keating Fitness Center 000 000 1 – 1 2 0

Korrey Gareau, Dean Holoein (7) and Todd Twachtmann. Bill Hillhouse and Steve Sell.

W – Gareau. L – Hillhouse. HR: Farm Tavern – Derrick Zechman.

Editor’s note: Yes, that’s the same Derrick Zechman approved for play by PA ASA to play in last year’s ASA “C” Nationals.

In the second game on the yellow diamond Thursday, MVD Sports of Ashland, OH rallied scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat the Duncan Outlaws of Elkhart, IN, 5-3, making its debut in this ASA Men’s National Fast Pitch Championship.

Trailing 3-1, MVD loaded the bases against losing pitcher Allen Hodge before outfielder Reggie Kline hit a two-out grand slam over the left field fence in the seventh inning to give his team the win. It was the first grand slam of the tournament.

MVD out-hit Duncan 6-5, which took an early 3-1 lead.Duncan’s Tim Smart had an RBI single in the first inning and blasted a triple to lead-off the sixth inning and later scored on Blake Gougler’s triple to right field. The second Duncan run came in the second inning on an RBI single by Smart.

MVD scored its first run in the fourth inning on a lead-off double by winning pitcher Ty McKinney and a two-out RBI single by Tommy Botkins.

McKinney hurled six innings and fanned seven batters before walking a batter to open the seventh. Tom Benube replaced him and fanned the next three batters in order to end the game.

Losing pitcher Hodge went the distance and struck out six. He had a single and a double in four at-bats.

MVD Sports 000 100 4 – 5 6 0

Duncan Outlaws 101 101 0 – 3 5 3

Ty McKinney, Tom Berube (7) and Luke Painter. Allen Hodge and Blake Borger.

W –McKinney. L – Hodge. 2B: MVD – Ty McKinney. Outlaws – Allen Hodge. 3B: Duncan – Tim Smart, Blake Gougler.

HR: MVD – Reggie Kline (grand slam).

In other opening games Thursday, Florida Fast Pitch of Jacksonville, FL, runner-up a year ago, decisioned the Ashland, OH Merchants 9-2; Circle Tap of Green Bay, WI defeated the Thomson Area Merchants, Thomson, IL 3-1, the Heflin Builders of Balston Lake, NY routed D.C. Current (the 2006 Indiana class C champion) of Breman, IN 17-1 in five innings and the Midland, MI Explorers edged Minn Dak Millers of Fargo, ND 3-2 in eight innings.

Heflin, which is one of the nation’s top ten teams, blasted D.C. for 17 hits compared to four for the losers. The winners scored three in the first, five each in the second and third and three in the fifth to end the game via the mercy rule (eight after five). D.C. used three pitchers with Mike Huppert the losing hurler the first two innings. Nate Fish led the winners with two singles and a homer driving in three runs.

The Midland Explorers scored the deciding run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to win the first extra inning game of the tourney. Doug Gillis and Dave Frick went four innings apiece for the Explorers while Rob Schweyer was the losing hurler. He fanned nine and allowed six hits. Jeff Servinski had a two-run homer in the fifth inning for Explorers. Craig Crawford and Reid Benson had a pair of singles apiece for the winners.

The tournament will resume 9 a.m. Fridayt at the Belleville Complex with 14 games scheduled.

-30-

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 7:23 pm and is filed under ASA, General, Tournaments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.