[Alsfastball] Feature Story on the 2004 ISC II Tournament of Champions

[Al Doran]

From: "Jim Flanagan" <jim at fastpitchwest.com>
To: "Al Doran" <fastball at pmihrm.com>
Subject: Feature Story on the 2004 ISC II Tournament of Champions
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 14:30:49 -0700

Below is the feature story penned by ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford which
appears in
the October 2004 issue of Softball Magazine, "Mission(s) Accomplished at the
2004
ISC II Tournament of Champions".

We also provide a link to our newly added section on the ISC II at
FASTPITCHWEST:
http://www.fastpitchwest.com/ISCII.htm

Best regards,
Jim Flanagan
Editor, Fastpitchwest
www.fastpitchwest.com
jim at fastpitchwest.com



- Mission(s) Accomplished at the 2004 ISC II Tournament of Champions -

When the third edition of the ISC II Tournament of Champions was being
planned for Fargo, ND, the goal was to make the tournament better in every
way possible. "We wanted to raise the bar," says ISC II Vice President Bob
McGowan. "This is the top post-season event in the world for teams at this
level and the tournament organization, the caliber of play and the support
system should all reflect that."

Mission accomplished in that respect as the ISC II Tournament of Champions,
played at the four-diamond Anderson Sports Complex, was witness to several
dozen great ball games between 35 teams representing 19 states and provinces
from across the United States and Canada.

Not only was the tournament extremely well run from a technical standpoint -
out of 93 games scheduled, only two started late and even then, game
controllers had things back on schedule by the next round of games - but for
the first time, ISC II games were broadcast over the internet.

"One of the mandates that I brought to the ISC when I came aboard as ISC II
Commissioner in the fall of 2003 was to get our games on the air," says
Blair Setford, ISC II Commissioner and one of the lead broadcasters for the
tournament.

"We had the 2003 championship game on the air, but it was put together at
the last minute and we had to scramble to get announcers," he says, adding
that he wanted a crew this year with time to prepare so they would know the
teams and players.

Fastpitchwest.com editor Jim Flanagan was approached in February about
producing the broadcasts and joining as the lead play-by-play commentator.

"Blair set an ambitious schedule for us of 18 games over six days, but we
put together a great team of on-air people and received great support from
the entire group of ISC II game controllers and personnel," says Flanagan.

With Flanagan and Setford taking turns on play-by-play, they were joined in
the broadcast booth for colour commentary by the likes of ISC II Game
Controller Joe Todd, of Ingersoll, Ontario, Minnesota Fastpitch website
editor Brett Bresnahan and Brian Hazelton, a member of the Reasnor, IA RPM's
team who did double duty playing on the field and working on air.

A total of nine round robin games were streamed over the internet through
sportsjuice.com, featuring 15 different teams. With another nine playoffs
games added in, 22 teams were covered at least once during a broadcast.

While actual numbers aren't available for release, Flanagan notes that the
audience more than doubled over the course of the tournament, culminating in
the championship game on Friday afternoon from the drop-dead gorgeous Jack
Williams Stadium in downtown Fargo.

The broadcast program for ISC II walks in the successful footsteps of the
one initiated four years ago for the ISC World Tournament and follows a
similar format.

Players were brought in for post-game interviews while others stopped by to
chat or offer their insight during the course of games, providing their
views on the tournament, their team and the opposition.

"Our fans back home really enjoyed hearing the games on the internet," says
Denny Warrick of the Reasnor, IA RPM's team, which finished 22nd at 2-3.

Setford adds that more than one of the bars that sponsor teams were hooking
laptop computers into their sound systems so fans could listen to the games.

"That's exactly the kind of thing we were hoping to accomplish," he says.
"Bringing the ISC II games to the people that couldn't make the tournament
and providing exposure for the teams and players that they don't normally
get."

The tournament format saw 35 teams separated into seven pools of five. Each
team played four round robin games with the top three teams in each division
and three wildcards making the single-elimination playoff round.

The fifth game of the tournament saw the first upset as top seed Kemptville,
ON Thunder was knocked off by Fargo, ND Chub's Pub Wizards 5-4 in what was
the first game broadcast from the tournament.

The Wizards would go on to finish 4-0 in their division joining other pool
winners Tavistock, ON Merchants, Gladstone, MB Whips, Orr Park, OH Knights,
defending champion Harriston, ON Mercury's, Lloydminster, AB Dodgers and
Shedden, ON Mission with a first-round bye. Kemptville also received a bye
on the basis of being the highest-placing 2nd seed from amongst all the
pools based on their plus/minus.

Hermann, MO Black Gold set the tone in the playoff round for the wildcard
teams, knocking off last year's fourth-place finisher Marquette, MI
Marquette Fence 1-0. Pitcher Eric Steinbeck tossed a brilliant two-hitter,
striking out 16 for the winners. Black Gold would go on to give Harriston a
scare before dropping a close 2-1 decision in the second round.

Norwich, ON Razorbacks found their stride after going 1-3 in the round
robin, knocking off Denmark, WI Circle Tap Lumberjacks and Orr Park Knights
before running into the Gladstone buzz saw in the quarter finals. Despite
their rocky start, Norwich finished sixth.

The last wildcard entry was Yakima, WA JRW Associates, who survived one of
the wilder games of the tournament, upsetting Sioux Falls, SD Sox 2-1 in
nine innings despite being victimized for 20 strikeouts by Sox ace Shane
Bouman. JRW didn't record a hit until the 6th when leadoff batter Don
Cawthron homered to tie the game. Steve Drissel then drove in James Munson
with the winning run in the top of the 9th and pitcher Dave Drotzman was
able to keep the Sox off the board in the bottom of the inning. JRW were
eliminated by Gladstone in their second round game, but manager Jim
Williamson says the team is already looking forward to qualifying for 2005
in Chippewa Falls.

Defending champion Harriston Mercury's came into the tournament ranked fifth
and were on a mission to prove that their win in 2003 in Appleton, WI was no
fluke. Harriston steamrolled the oppostion in the round robin, outscoring
teams 28-4, including a memorable 4-3 7th-inning comeback win over The Bar
of Appleton, WI.

With the victory over Black Gold, Harriston met Lloydminster Dodgers in a
quarter-final match-up of undefeated teams. While they were little-known
coming into the 2004 Tournament of Champions, Lloydminster left a big
impression on everyone, cruising through their pool play giving up only six
runs in four games. The Alberta team were tied with Harriston through five
innings but an RBI double by Curtis Martin gave the Mercury's a one-run
cushion which Shaun Winship was able to protect, saving the game for starter
Scott Smith.

That set up a semi-final rematch between Harriston and The Bar of Appleton
as the Wisconsin team rode the pitching duo of Blair Ezekiel, of St. John's,
NL and Gerard Long of New Zealand to playoff wins over Dawson, MN Cerro
Gordo, Kemptville and St. Paul, MN ABS Villard to reach the final four.

Playing at Jack Williams Stadium, an American Legion field converted for
softball use as the main park for the ISC World Tournament, Harriston scored
three in the third inning off four hits and an error while the Bar scored
one in the fourth on a walk, sac bunt and a rare two-base tag-up on a fly
ball to the fence. Smith and Winship would combine on a no-hitter for the
win.

On the other side of the bracket, Tavistock Merchants and Gladstone Whips
were mowing down opponents in a relentless march to the final four. Ranked
second in ISC II play entering the tournament, Tavistock edged Wilkes Barre,
PA Keating's Fitness Center 2-1 before knocking off Chub's Pub 5-2 in their
quarter-final game.

Tavistock was riding the pitching trio of Fred Follings, Steve Cook and Rob
Oliver to great success while being led at the plate by 3B Jamie Rader, who
hit .583 in the round robin, and lead-off hitter Dean Kaufman, who had
announced his retirement before the tournament and was looking to go out on
top.

Gladstone Whips were the pick of many observers to win the tournament after
dominating their division and outscoring their opponents in their first two
playoff games 11-2.

With pitchers Peter Reimer, John Desaulniers and Kevin Plett along with top
hitters like Dean McBride and Rodney Speck, the Whips seemed poised to take
the ISC II Tournament of Champions title north to Manitoba.

Reimer gave the Whips a 1-0 lead in the top of the 6th inning with a
lead-off home run off Follings, but Tavistock countered with a Dave Kollman
single scoring pinch runner Terry Gerber in the home half of the inning. In
the Tavistock half of the seventh, Mark McKay led off with a single and
advanced to second on an error to the right fielder. Gladstone elected to
try for the double play on a ground ball hit by Ross Herold, but the throw
to first was errant and McKay sent Tavistock off to the finals with a chance
to keep Kaufman's hopes for a Hollywood ending alive.

Alas for Kaufman and Tavistock, it wasn't to be.

In an uncharacteristically sloppy game for both teams, Harriston would score
at least one run in every inning, topping Tavistock 7-4 in a title tilt
between two teams from the powerful South Perth league in southwestern
Ontario.

In a gutsy call by coach Rick Fisk, Harriston elected to give the ball to
20-year-old rookie Joe German while Tavistock countered with Rob Oliver.

"We were just looking to see who was the freshest and maybe show them
somebody they haven't seen," said Harriston catcher Geoff Gunson. "I think
we were more nervous this year than last year. We weren't expected to win
last year and this year I think we were a little uptight."

Both teams took turns scoring unearned runs through three innings. Harriston
pitcher Nick Goetz relieved German with two outs in the third and shut down
the Merchants' bats for the rest of the game. Steve Cook took the loss in
relief while Follings pitched the last two innings.

Harriston left fielder Trevor Seip homered in the sixth inning to give the
Mercury's some extra insurance and, for good measure, made the game-winning
catch with a stellar diving effort in the bottom of the seventh.

I was just hoping I could get to it," said a still-winded Seip in a
post-game interview. "There's always that one guy that makes a game-saving
catch or gets a game-winning hit or comes in to pitch in relief and it's
just a real team effort all the way around," he said, setting the tone for
his teammates.

Added tournament MVP Jeremy Creeden: "We don't have one star, we have 15
stars."

Harriston ace Scott Smith, named the top pitcher at the ISC II Tournament of
Champions for the second year in a row, was sanguine about not getting the
ball in the final. "We brought four pitchers down for this tournament and we
made a decision to go with a fresh arm," he said after the game. "It takes a
team effort to win down here and that's what we have with different guys
contributing every game."

Smith said winning this year was different than last year, but still very
satisfying. "It's nice to know that last year wasn't a fluke, although we
didn't think it was, it's nice to be able to prove that it wasn't."

For the Harriston Mercury's, it was definitely mission accomplished.


About the author:
ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford, 36, has been playing fastpitch softball
for 29 years. In addition to his ISC II duties, Blair runs the Golden
Horseshoe Fastball League - for more information, see
http://members.aol.com/blairjs/ghfl.html  Blair and his wife Monique
and their two children, Benjamin and Natasha, live in Mississauga, Ontario.

From: "Jim Flanagan" <jim at fastpitchwest.com>

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