via Al’s Fastball
After taking Memorial Day weekend off, Brandt’s (Springfield, IL) was back in action on May 31-June 1 in the Springfield Franny’s Invitational, which also
doubles as the NAFA Southern Illinois State Tournament. As the defending champions of the event, they were looking to continue their hot start and get
more players on the field. With heavy rain and storms on Friday night, all of
the Saturday games were pushed back and the format was changed to 3 pools of 3 which would seed into a single elimination tournament beginning on Saturday night. The pools were only relevant for seeding on Sunday.
After their two pool games on Saturday, Brandt’s entered into a single elimination tournament on Saturday night against the host team Springfield
Franny’s, who featured Brandt’s ISC II pitcher Mike Reis. Brandt’s was able to get the win 7-3 and advance to Sunday for the final four of the event. Brandt’s
hurler Brad Sturdy chucked all 21 innings on Saturday, but would get some help on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, the semifinal matchups were set, as Pete’s Blues would take on Cerro Gordo and Brandt’s would take on the Belleville Stallions. The Stallions have had a strong year so far, already winning the Teutopolis Memorial Day Tourney and beating some of the top teams in Illinois. Mark Brayfield would see his first action of the year for Brandt’s, throwing 4
1/3 solid innings before yielding to Sturdy. Brandt’s would hold on for the 7-6 win and advance to the championship game. Brandt’s star hitter Tim Hopkins saw his first action of the season as well, and was a welcome addition to the lineup. Cerro Gordo would defeat Pete’s in the other semifinal game.
In the title game, Cerro Gordo pitcher Brent Stevenson and Sturdy would hook up in a classic pitcher’s duel. Brandt’s led 2-0 before the Broncos tied it with 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, and it would remain tied until the bottom of the 11th inning, when things got strange. Brandt’s lost two players prior to the championship game due to travel concerns, and had used their bench up during the game. After losing a player in the last inning they would be down to 8 and had to forfeit the title game to Cerro Gordo in the 11th inning.
Stevenson won 4 games in the tournament and earned the Most Valuable Pitcher Award, while Larry Moffett won the Most Valuable Player Award for Cerro Gordo, who finished the tournament 5-0 to take the title.
brad sturdy
sturdy32@yahoo.com