PRESCOTT, AZ — It may have been Landis Markets of Pennslyvania 9, Santa Rosa Fastpitch 0 in the champoinship game of the 2008 Men’s Class C Fastpitch National Tournament, but the Santa Rosa team again established itself as the No. 1 Class C team in California and one of the best teams in the nation for the second year in a row.
After finishing fourth in the 2007 nationals in Killeen, TX, with a 6-2 record, Santa Rosa moved up to second with an 8-2 record, giving them 14 wins in 18 national tournament games in two seasons.
Landis Market dominated the field by winning seven games in impressive fashion, but in the championship game on Sunday, a battle-weary Santa Rosa team, which played five consecutive games on the final day, played the Pennslyvania team on even terms until the seventh inning, when pitcher Jeff Want, a first-team All-American, was roughed up for eight hits and eight runs to break open a 1-0 game.
Want was superb in the championship game, blanking Landis on five hits until the fifth inning when tournament MVP Justin Stock led off with a double to right-center. He moved to third when Brent Moyer grounded out and scored on a two-out single by Frank Keating.
Stock was virtually unstoppable throughout the tournament, batting a phenomenal .818 (18 of 22), which included three home runs, three triples and three doubles with 15 RBIs and 20 runs scored. In addition, he was hit by pitches three times and walked twice, pushing his on base percentage to .852.


It remained 1-0 until the top of the seventh when Landis erupted against Want for eight hits and eight runs.
Santa Rosa did little offensively against Landis pitcher Troy Hertzler, managing only four hits. The first two hitters in the game, Marc Young and Nick Green, singled, but were left stranded. Catcher Brian Osborn got Santa Rosa’s other two hits, a double in the second and a single in the fifth as Hertzler retired 18 of the last 20 batters he faced.
Santa Rosa opened with a 5-1 win over very tough Northern California team, A Perfect Game, from Grass Valley, whose pitcher, Mike Milligan, just got re-rated from B to C a few weeks before the tournament. Santa Rosa got 12 hits off him, including a home run by Mark Young. Casey Hillman and Danny Macler each got two hits.
Santa Rosa lost its second game in the tournament to the Salt Lake City Magic 11-5, as hard-throwing pitcher Garrett Howe allowed only three hits and struck out seven. Catcher Tom Dower homered for Santa Rosa.
After the loss to the Magic, Santa Rosa began its long road back by beating the hard-hitting South Carolina Tornadoes, 14-9, with a 16-hit attack that included four doubles, a triple and home runs by Mark Young (his second) and Danny Macler. Winning pitcher Brandon Shearer was touched for 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings before giving way to veteran Jim Fleck, who retired seven batters in a row to close out the game.
DP Carlos Gomez was 3×4, Young and Hillman each got two hits and drove in three runs, and Danny Macler was 2×3 with a home run.
Santa Rosa then disposed of the Colorado Rage, 10-8, thanks to a seven-run fifth inning that included home runs by Mark Young (his 3rd), Dustin Green, Brian Macler and Carlos Gomez (a grandslam). Fleck carried a 10-5 lead into the seventh inning but after giving up three runs, Want relieved and got the final two outs. Hillman had three hits for Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa was then paired against its No. 1 NorCal rival, Da Bruddah’s of Hayward, who loaded up their pitching staff and had a lineup that included shortstop Marcus Tan, the MVP and RBI champion for Taylor Farms, winner of the ISC II Nationals, and third baseman Shawn Ching.
Jeff Want limited them to seven hits in a 16-8 romp, striking out eight. Tan was 2×3, scored twice and drove in a run, Ching hit a 3-run home run in the fifth and catcher Jeff Twist was 3×3.
Santa Rosa bombard five pitchers for 17 hits, including three triples and four doubles. Danny Macler was 3×3, Brian Macler was 3×4, Mark Young was 3×5, and Dustin Green was 3×5 with four RBI.
Want went the route to get the win and losing pitcher was starter Leland Grigsby
The win put Santa Rosa into Sunday’s final day, when it played five consecutive games, starting at 8 a.m. and ending after 9 p.m.
Santa Rosa started the day by beating the Tucson Hurricanes and pitcher Ray Camacho, 9-4, with a 12-hit attack that included a home run by Danny Macler, who went 3×3 for the second game in a row. Shearer pitched six strong innings to get the win.
Santa Rosa then beat G2 of Winslow AZ 15-5 with a 15-hit attack as Danny Macler was again 3×3 (giving him nine hits in a row) with another home run. Casey Hillman went 3×4 and drove in four runs, Jeff Schulz and Brian Macler had two hits and Tom Dower tripled, walked twice and scored three times. The team had five triples and two doubles and Fleck went four innings to get the win.
In Santa Rosa’s third game of the day, Want stopped the Manor Dirtbags from Texas, 7-5. It was 7-2 until Manor scored three in the seventh. Brian Macler and Jeff Schulz homered for Santa Rosa, with Schultz going 3×3 and Gomez 2×4.
Santa Rosa then played Katman Sports, a modified pitch team from Massachussets, and routed them 12-0 behind pitcher Brandon Shearer (who was 3-0 in the tourney). Santa Rosa hit four more home runs included two tape-measure jobs by Brian Macler (one estimated at 375 feet), Danny Macler (who was 2×2) and Young.
For the tourney, Danny Macler hit .517 with four doubles, three triples and four home runs to be named to the second team, and DP Carlos Gomez was also named to the second team after hitting .429.
Mark Young was named to the first team after hitting .400 with four home runs. Jeff Schultz, first baseman, made the first team by hitting .455 and pitcher Jeff Want made the first team.
Overlooked were Brian Macler and Casey Hillman.
Brian made some spectacular catches in centerfield, including two balls that he caught that were over the fence. He hit .387 (12×31), scored 12 times, drove in 11 runs and hit four home runs. Shortstop Casey Hillman was consistent throughout, hitting .471 with 12 RBI and six doubles.
‑ By Herb Dower
Editor’s Note: In winning the MVP, Justin Stock of Landis Supermarket, Pennsylvania, batted .818 (18 of 22), which included three home runs, three triples and three doubles with 15 RBIs and 20 runs scored. In addition, he was hit by pitches three times and walked twice, pushing his on base percentage to .852.


The last time we saw numbers like this, it was another Pennsylvania player, Darren Zechman of PA Power in the 2005 ASA “C” Nationals in Stockton, going 21 for 35, a .600 avg, with 11 singles, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, and 12 RBI.