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StartStart SpreadinSpreadin

34 SPORTS ’N SPOKES November 2010 034_9523453_Layout 1 10/20/10 11:55 AM Page 035 inging thethe NewsNews

by Bruce Froendt photos by Mark Cowan

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In the shadows (and on the parking lot) of the majestic $800-million , New York City played host to the annual softball championships.

he 34th annual National Wheel- plate for the NWST’s championship in this annual -elimination tour- chair Softball Tournament field. , , nament, knowing if they could make it (NWST), sponsored by the , , and other fa- there, they’d make it anywhere as cham- Wheelchair Sports Federation, mous Mets made history in the pions of wheelchair softball. T , NY City Parks & same location from which the 34th TRecreation, and , NWST champion would be decided. Day 1 arrived in New York—and the East Four new teams took their clue from The opening two rounds of action fea- Coast—for the first time in the 34-year Frank Sinatra’s song “New York, New tured all the higher-seeded teams win- existence of the National Wheelchair York” and decided they wanted to be a ning, with the exception of the fourth Softball Association (NWSA). part of it by attending their first national seeded WPVA Warhawks (Wisconsin). In With Citi Field—home of the New York tournament—North Carolina Tar Wheels the opening round, the North Carolina Mets—as the backdrop and under La (Charlotte, N.C.), Nassau Aviators (Long Tar Wheels, led by all-star and former Guardia airport’s main landing pattern, Island, N.Y.), Shepherd Sluggers (Atlanta), Nebraska Baron Pat Driver’s six RBI per- the NWST used the home-plate monu- and . They joined the formance, crushed the Warhawks, 14–2, ment imbedded in the parking lot from three-time defending champion Ne- to advance to round two. the 40-year-old as home braska Barons and nine other contenders In the second round, after defeating the Nassau Aviators, 15–1, the third seeded Courage Rolling Twins (Minneapolis) were challenged by the sixth seeded , who had ad- vanced by defeating the New York Yankees, 18–0. With the game tied at seven after five innings, the Twins scored four runs on five hits, highlighted by Jeff Gustafson’s two- RBI double, to win the game, 11–7. The other top seeds—Nebraska Barons, RIC Cubs (), and Midwest Flyers (Chicago)—all advanced to the quar- terfinal round with little trouble. In the first quarter- final game, the second seeded Cubs, who ear- lier beat the Rolling Red Sox, 16–3, jumped to a 7–0 lead over the Twins, only to see the Twins score six runs In semifinal action, Scott Berg of the Midwest Flyers is called safe at first. Despite a valiant comeback effort, in the fifth inning to the Flyers lost to eventual champions Nebraska. close the gap to 8–7.

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The Cubs went on to bracket (DI) on day outscore the Twins, two. Similarly, the 8–1, over the last two Tampa Bay Rays innings to advance, blasted the Sluggers, 16–8. Curtis Lease’s 21–1, and Red Sox, five-hit, five-RBI, five- 8–1, to stay in Divi- performance led sion I for the first the Cubs’ attack. Jeff time in Rays’ his- Gustafson, who was tory, and continue in named to the NWSA the battle for the Hall of Fame this year, championship. and Kurt Greniger The Red Sox, each had three hits Warhawks, Tar for the Twins. Wheels, Mets, Min- Day one’s other nesota PVA Flame quarterfinal game Throwers, Nassau featured the top Aviators, Sluggers, seeded Barons—who and Yankees had defeated a pesky headed for a new New York Mets team, double-elimination 21–6—against the consolation division Midwest Flyers. Ne- (DII) by virtue of braska jumped to a having two losses 7–2 lead over the Fly- on opening day. ers after two innings. The Flyers made it to Day 2 this game by defeat- The Cubs and Fly- ing the Shepherd ers were undefeated Sluggers, 18–2, and and hungry for the the Tar Wheels, easy path to a cham- 12–0, in earlier action. Jeff Hayne (right, Courage Rolling Twins) crashes into James Gorch (Columbus Pioneers). pionship. With a win, After the Flyers one of them would scored three runs in the sixth to close the be done for the day, get some needed rest, gap, the Barons responded with two to Darryl Strawberry, and need only one victory on day three to take a 9–5 lead going into the seventh. win the coveted championship trophy. The Flyers shocked the confident defend- Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, The Cubs quickly showed why team- ing champions for six runs in the top of work in wheelchair softball is more valu- the seventh to take an 11–9 lead. Former Nolan Ryan, and other able that a collection of “vagabond” White Sox player Jimmy Jackson’s two- all-stars when trying to win a champi- out, bases-loaded line drive to the center famous Mets made onship. The Cubs scored two in the first field fence for a grand slam and added four in the third on five con- was the fatal blow. Scott Berg led the Fly- baseball history on the secutive hits, highlighted by Kurt Smith’s ers with three hits and three RBIs. two-RBI double, to take an early 6–0 lead. The Flyers’ victory sent a shock wave same location from which The Flyers immediately closed the gap through the tournament participants, (6–5) in the fifth with five runs on four but the win was not unexpected for the 34th NWST champion hits and two walks. The Cubs scored four coach Keith Wallace. He had comple- runs in the sixth and two more in the mented his home-grown talent with for- would be decided. seventh to win, 12–5. Smith’s six RBIs on mer stars from the VPVA White Sox and two doubles and Dino Ramirez’s three RIC Cubs and picked up perennial all- In the losers’ bracket, the Columbus singles led the Cubs’ attack and for the star players from the recently disbanded Pioneers recovered with vengeance second year in a row placed them as the St. Paul Saints—Scott Berg, Manny from their opening-round loss to the sole undefeated team heading into Guerra, and Evan Thorn. By beating the Red Sox to defeat the Yankees, 28–1; the championship Saturday. For the Flyers, it Barons, the Flyers advanced to face the Mets, 13–0; and the Tar Wheels, 13–0, to meant dropping to the losers’ bracket Cubs in day two’s semifinal matchup. continue playing in the championship with a chance to face the Cubs again.

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On the losers’ side of the champi- Championship Saturday games to the Barons. The Barons were onship (DI) bracket, the Twins took a 10–0 For the second consecutive year and going for title number six, which would tie lead over the Columbus Pioneers and third time in the past six years, the un- them for second place with the Minnesota went on to win, 10–4. The Barons exer- defeated Cubs needed just one victory to Courage Rolling Gophers from the ’70s cised some frustration from day one and win their third championship title. The and ’80s for total championships in NWSA thumped the Rays, 18–1, powered by Paul Cubs defeated the Barons from this po- history. Even then, both teams would still Krabbenhoft’s three-hit and four-RBI per- sition for the 2005 title, but this year, in a be far behind the 14 titles won by the St. formance and home runs by Brent Ras- similar situation in 2009, the Cubs were Paul Rolling Thunder of the ’80s/’90s. mussen and Matt Johnson. In the first champi- The Barons next met onship game, defense and the Twins in an elimina- pitching controlled the ac- tion game, with the win- tion of an otherwise of- ner advancing to play the fense-oriented sport. The Flyers later in the day. The Cubs could muster only Barons jumped to an early one base runner in the first-inning lead and held first four innings of their on to win, 4–3. championship quest. The The Twins finished Barons were only margin- fourth for the second con- ally more effective as they secutive year but gained a were caught in three dou- moral victory. Just before ble plays in the first four the tournament began, innings. But they did man- the Courage Rolling Twins age to score a single run in won a $200,000 Pepsi the third inning when Challenge Grant contest Greg Suing’s single was to help build the first ded- followed by an RBI double icated wheelchair softball from Rasmussen. The field in the home of the Cubs knotted the game at sport—Minneapolis. 1–1 in the fifth when The Flyers/Barons re- Smith, who was elected to match went much like the NWSA’s Hall of Fame, first game, with the scored on a Juan Ortiz RBI Barons racing to a 7–1 lead fielder’s choice out. after four innings. A sti- In the sixth, the Cubs fling effort by the Barons’ managed two singles but pitching and defense con- were again held scoreless tinued and stopped a by the Barons’ defense. comeback effort by the Nebraska’s offense was a Flyers. The Barons ce- different story. After one mented the victory with out and consecutive “in- three additional runs in tentional” walks to Ras- the seventh to win and Angelo Cruz (Chicago) is up to bat against the Nebraska Barons in the mussen and Johnson, Zac advance to the champi- Division I championship game. Niemann’s single to left onship game(s) against field scored Rasmussen the Cubs. outscored, 25–8, in the two champi- for the go-ahead run. After another inten- In the fifth-place game between the onship games to lose to the Barons. tional walk loaded the bases, Krabbenhoft Pioneers and Rays, the Pioneers jumped For the Barons, it was the fourth con- plated Johnson on a fielder’s choice hit to to a 9–2 lead with 12 hits and 3 walks as secutive year they lost a game in the first left field. With two outs and runners on 20 batters came to the plate in the first two days of this double-elimination tour- first and third, all-tournament team two innings. Rick Swauger’s 5 for 5 at the nament and needed two back-to-back vic- shortstop Doug Bargman hit a two-RBI plate, Charlie Coon’s 4 for 4 performance, tories against the tournament’s line-drive double to center field to secure and Brian Funderberg’s 5 RBIs on 4 hits undefeated team to win the champi- a 5–1 win for the Barons. led the Pioneers to fifth place in an easy onship. The St. Paul Saints (2007), Courage In the winner-take-all final champi- defeat of the Rays, 17–6. Jack Roudabush Rolling Twins (2008), and RIC Cubs (2009) onship game, the Barons batted first and led the Rays with 3 RBIs on 3 hits. were undefeated and lost the final two opened the game with the bases loaded

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Déjà Vu in the Windy City by Bruce Froendt The Fourth Annual Junior National Wheelchair Softball Tournament (NWST) took place in Chicago, August 6–7. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Park District hosted the 2010 event for six teams, including the two-time defending champion Junior Nebraska Barons (Omaha), Windy City Warriors (Chicago), Junior Courage Rolling Twins (Minneapolis), Junior Chicago Cubs (Chicago), and two new entrants— the Junior Midwest Flyers (Chicago) and the Bennett Blazers (Baltimore). The 2010 tournament was designed to guarantee four games through a first day pool-play format and second day playoff. After opening day, the undefeated Barons and Warriors took 2–0 records and first-round byes as the top seeds, while the Twins and Blazers opened the final- day elimination games along with the Cubs and Flyers. The Blazers and Twins contest was a battle of strategy from the start. This was a close-matched game where the newly developed Blazers

At the Fourth Annual Junior National Wheelchair Softball Tournament (NWST) in Chicago, Nebraska won the title for the third consecutive year.

found their groove with the strong play of Ryan Neiswender, and edged out the Twins. In the other elimination game, the Flyers used strong hitting and fielding to defeat the Cubs. Twaun Crain and Dean- drea Seawood demonstrated ex- cellent play for the Cubs. In the second round the Barons met the Blazers, and the Warriors were matched up against the Fly- ers; winners would advance to the championship game. The Barons made quick work of the Blazers, as the experienced Barons showed off their stellar defense behind Dylan Fischbach and strong hitting by brothers Jon and Josh Maier. The Warriors and Flyers added drama to the tournament as there were close calls, crashing plays at the plate, and great com- petition by both teams. But the experience of the 2007 national champion Warriors and the play of Kyle Gribble and Erik Todd were enough for a two-run victory by the Warriors. In each of the previous three national championship tournaments, the Junior Nebraska Barons and the Windy City Warriors met in the title game. The Barons held a 2–1 lead, but the Warriors were eager to exact revenge for last year’s 6–1 loss. The Barons won each of their three preceding games in the tournament by ten or more runs, and they began the title game like they wanted to extend that streak. Nebraska sent ten batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring six runs on seven hits. The Barons added two in the second, while the Warriors were held scoreless and had only one base runner reach first during the first two innings. In the third inning after two quick outs, Kyle Yeager and Toni Fachman reached base on singles. Jon Maier, who batted 833% for the tournament, drove in Yeager with a single. Tournament MVP Josh Maier, who hit 917%, proceeded to crush his second home run of the championship game and fifth of the tournament over the left field fence to drive in two runs and finish the scoring for the Barons. The Warriors could not muster a base runner the final two innings, and the game ended, 12–0, after four innings. Nebraska was national champions for the third consecutive year. The National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA) is looking for new teams to compete in the Junior Division and at- tend the 2011 championships, to be held in Omaha. Go to the NWSA’s website (www.wheelchairsoftball.org) and learn how easy it is to start your team and join in the fun next year.

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after a Suing single and The Nassau Aviators attend intentional walks to the National Wheelchair Rasmussen and John- Softball Tournament for the son. The Barons fol- first time. Dan Wallace lowed with three pitches against the consecutive singles by Wisconsin Warhawks. Niemann, Digilio, and Krabbenhoft to take a hit .723 and tied for hitting 3–0 lead. The Cubs an- the most home runs (15) in swered for one in the NWST games. bottom of the inning on In the seventh inning, the a Moran single and An- Barons, leading 6–3, again gelo Cruz double. loaded the bases with one In the third inning out and singles by Ras- after another walk to mussen and Niemann and Rasmussen, 2010 MVP another walk to Johnson. Johnson blasted a 1–0 Digilio’s sacrifice plated Alex Parra pitch deep Rasmussen, and after an in- over the right centerfield fence for a two- putated. He playing football and baseball tentional walk to Krabbenhoft to load the RBI home run and a 5–1 Barons lead. This in high school while using a prosthesis, bases again in the inning, Doug Bargman’s was Johnson’s third home run in four and was drafted by the Philadelphia hit glanced off Parra’s chair and scored championship games against the Cubs Phillies in the 2004 Major League Base- Johnson. On the play, the Cubs caught Nie- over the past two years. ball draft. He has won eight All-Tourna- mann in a rundown between third and Johnson, after being diagnosed with ment wheelchair softball awards. Since home to potentially end the rally. Nie- cancer at age 16, had his lower leg am- his rookie season in 2004, Johnson has mann scored the Barons’ ninth and final run when Niemann col- lided with Cubs outfielder Curtis Lease, who was called for interference. The Cubs’ grit, deter- mination, and never-say- die attitude helped start the final inning with base hits by Parra and Dan Palmer. After a ground out, the Cubs’ hopes for a comeback and third championship were dashed when Parra was caught leading too far off third base on a sensa- tional pick-off throw by Baron John Morse and tag by third baseman Lance Perez. With the final Cubs ground out, the Barons had won their fourth con- secutive national champi- onship and sixth in eight years. Seven Barons play- ers were named to the all- tournament team, and Greg Suing (Nebraska, right) makes the catch at first to get RIC’s Dino Ramirez out. Nebraska took its the squad was once again fourth consecutive national championship and sixth in eight years. singing, “We are the top of

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the list; king of the hill; A number one!”

Consolation Division (DII) The eight teams that lost twice on the first day of ac- tion were given new life in a double- elimination conso- lation division on day two. The Red Sox, Warhawks, Tar Wheels, Mets, Flamethrowers, Avi- ators, Sluggers, and Yankees found the competition much more even in this fight to win the con- solation division and claim seventh place overall. Opening-round games saw the Warhawks edge the Mets, 4–3; the Red Sox blast the Yan- kees, 15–5; the Flamethrowers clip the Aviators, 9–4; Tampa Bay’s Rick Hart (right) throws to first after forcing out Joe Mendez of the New York Mets. and the Tar Wheels beat the Sluggers, 7–1. In round two the ousted from the tournament with a 0–4 two-RBI . A seemingly tired Red Sox easily rolled past the Warhawks, record. Similarly, two new teams battled Warhawks team showed little energy, 10–3, and the Tar Wheels came from be- to a 7–6 finish, as the Aviators eliminated focus, or effort as they sent four batters hind and scored five runs in the fifth in- the Sluggers in extra innings. The Mets to the plate each inning but didn’t ad- ning to beat the Flamethrowers, 9–6. The defeated the Flamethrowers, 11–0, and vance a runner past second base. Red Sox and newbie Tar Wheels ad- the Warhawks beat the Aviators, 11–1, The Red Sox left no doubt, as they vanced to the semifinals with their vic- both by the slaughter rule. added two runs in each of the third and tories, while all others faced elimination The Mets and Warhawks were tied at fourth innings to capture their first con- with another loss. 4 after nine innings in their elimination solation division title, 11–0, and best In the semifinal game, the Red Sox game. Eddie Jorge scored in the tenth for NWST finish (seventh) since 2006. Joe opened with four runs on six singles, but the Mets, but the Warhawks’ Nate Hinze Lamar and Ron Gendron led Sox hitters the Tar Wheels stayed close (4–2) on a drove in two runs on a bases-loaded sin- with 3-3 hitting performances. S’NS Jimmy Bruce two-RBI double. The Sox gle to win the game, 6–5. The Warhawks went on to outscore the Tar Wheels in rode that momentum into the next the next four innings to win, 12–5. The game to defeat the Tar Wheels, 8–4, to Sox were well positioned with a 3–0 advance to the title game(s) against the Bruce Froendt is record and needed only a single win in undefeated Red Sox. National Wheelchair the championship game(s) to better In the championship game, in the top Softball Association their second-place finish the past two of the first the Red Sox made a strong president and years in DII action. claim for the title by sending ten batters commissioner. On the losing side, the Mets crushed to the plate en route to seven runs on six the Yankees, 16–1, as the Yankees were hits. Mac Williams led the effort with a

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