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Smoky Mountain Classic 1

Resmondo bags 12th title at 50th Smoky Mountain Classic By Greg Huchingson, Managing Editor

ARYVILLE, TN – For five Resmondo / RDD / H.Auto / All In / Sprizzi / Easton 2018 Smoky Mountain Classic Champions decades, the greatest players in the nation have made their way to the foothills ofM the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee for the premier tournament of the year. This year marked the 50th anniversary of The Great Smoky Mountain Classic and it went down as one for the ages. Arch rivals Resmondo/RDD/H.Auto/ All In/Sprizzi/Easton and Smash It/ Thunder/Backman/TDB/Miken went at each other like the Hatfields and McCoys, and the result was the most entertaining softball of the season. Resmondo’s path to the winner’s bracket finals included wins over Esco (21-6), Baugh Ford/Pure/Kincaid (33-2), All-Out/A&A/Steel/ASP/Miken (36-20) and Rapid Fire/Bad Draw (30-12). Smash It got there by beating Athletic Shop (36-8), Classic Glass/Easton (23-3), Precision/3rd Street/Bull Dawg (38-31) and Dan Smith/Menossee/Steve Smith (38-17).

That set the stage for an epic battle All-Tournament, Resmondo’s Steele Lewis- .962 OBP with 15 home runs and 23 RBIs.

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Smash It Sports/Thunder/Backman/TDB/Miken 2018 Smoky Mountain Classic - Second Place between the two titans Saturday night on the show field at Sandy Springs Park. It was the heavyweight show- down that everyone wanted to see and the game did not disappoint. Resmondo scored in every inning, including 10 runs in the second and 14 in the fourth. They 30 home runs for the game. Smash It matched them for run, as they scored 16 runs in the second inning and hit 34 home runs for the game with Ryan Harvey hitting a game-high five homers. The game was filled with crowd-pleasing homers and great defense, as Smash It shortstop Don Dedonatis made the best diving stab of a liner between short- stop and middle. Filip Washington and Buddy Wolf traded diving catches in the outfield and SIS middle-man Luis Reyna made an incredible backhand stop from the grass in left-center and bounced a throw across for an out. The two teams went to the seventh and final inning with Resmondo down by three (47-44). Resmondo was the visiting team and put up three runs with two outs, before Jeremy Yates and Bubba Mack combined for clutch home runs and Resmondo had a six-run lead. Up to this point both teams had scored in every inning, but in the bottom of the seventh the Resmondo defense closed the door with a nice infield play by shortstop Brett Rettenmeier, a nice catch by Brian Wegman in left-field on All-Tournament, Smash It Sports’ Ryan Harvey with .800 OBP, 21 home runs and 35 RBIs.

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Dan Smith/Menossee/Steve Smith 2018 Smoky Mountain Classic - Third Place a diving knuckleball, and a grounder to third where Bubba Mack fielded it clean but threw it high and first- baseman Neil Haglund climbed the ladder to make a great catch and land on first base for the final out to give Resmondo the win (53-47). On Sunday morning the pecking order was in full swing as Dan Smith hammered Rapid Fire in the loser’s bracket semi-final, as they scored 12 runs in the first inning and 31 in the second inning – 26 of those were after a botched -play ball. So the score was Dan Smith 43 and Rapid Fire 2 after two innings and Dan Smith went on to win big (52-7). Dale Brungardt was 6-for-6 with four home runs and seven RBIs. Next in the loser’s bracket finals, Smash It Sports smoked Dan Smith (29-9) in four innings as Dan Smith scored just one run in the first three innings after scoring 52 runs the game before. Andy Purcell, Kyle Pearson, Josh Riley, Cory Briggs and Flip Washington all hit two or more homers in the win. The championship game started a little early because of the previous run-rules and it was 82 degrees at game time. Resmondo led 12-5 after one inning and scored seven runs in the third, 11 more in the fourth, and 15 runs in the fifth to put away Smash It Sports by the 20-run rule (49-29) to win the Smoky Mountain Classic. Greg Connell All-Tournament, Dan Smith’s Argen Dodds blasts one of his 14 home runs on the show field. He sported a .893 OBP with 24 RBIs for the weekend.

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Rapid Fire/Bad Draw 2018 Smoky Mountain Classic - Fourth Place was 6-for-6 in the championship game with three home runs and Resmondo out-homered Smash It 29-18 in the game. Wegman, Steele Lewis and Wolf all hit four homers in the win and every player in the starting line-up homered at least once and 10 players had at least two homers each. Resmondo may have won the latest chapter in the rivalry with Smash It, but Wolf said that doesn’t mean his team will win the next one. As much as the teams have gone back and forth over the years, the outcome always seems to be a toss-up. “It is the two best teams,” said Wolf. “It is a lot of players who have played with and against each other for years. It always comes down to us and them in the end. The rivalry stems from they get some, we get some. That’s the great part of this.” The win marked the 12th Smoky Mountain Classic championship for lead sponsor Travis Resmondo, which is an all-time record easily exceeding Howard’s Furniture and Ritches- Superior with five each, Bell Corps with four and Elite Coasting and Steele’s with three apiece. “There’s always an itch to win it again when you’ve won it as many times as we have,” Resmondo told The Maryville Daily Times. “You always want to win the Smoky. It’s kind of like the World Series and that’s where you wear your All-Tournament selections fron Rapid Fire/Bad Draw- William Maloney (left 750 OBP with 11 home runs) and pitcher, Cam Byars.

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crown.” Resmondo finished the Smoky Mountain Classic with a perfect 6-0 record. They out-scored their opponents 222-116 which is an average of 37.0 to 17.7. The win gave them 258 Conference Points which extended their already commanding lead in the Conference USSSA Standings. “Resmondo played a near perfect tournament,” said veteran softball reporter Dale Weiser. “They leaned on their offense, stuck to a consis- tent power line-up and let those guys do the heavy lifting. They won by the run-rule in every game except the winner’s bracket finals, which they closed out with clutch two-out hitting and error-free defense in the Representing the Louisville Slugger and DeMarini brands were Mike Cornell, Dennis Turner, B J Fulk and Jason Strebig. bottom of the seventh inning. They now have to be the favorite to win the Major World Series.” Smash It Sports settled for 2nd place with a 5-2 record, followed by Dan Smith in 3rd also at 5-2, Rapid Fire in 4th at 4-2, and All-Out and Rack’s/Worth/Astros tied for 5th. The rest of the Top 10 consisted of TDB/FAI and Precision/3rd Street tied for 7th, and Riot Sports, La Famiglia, Pure Sports and Bay Area Legends all tied for 9th. Resmondo second-baseman Greg Connell was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Connell was an incredible 30-for-31 for an on-base percentage of .968 along with 16 home runs and 25 RBI’s.

The Offensive MVP Award went to USSSA Texas Hall of Famers (left to right): Wes Campbell, Mike Wilson and Greg Huchingson. Kyle Pearson of Smash It Sports, who went 36-for-37 for an on-base percentage of .973 with 35 runs scored and 41 RBIs. The big slugger from northern Louisiana left no doubt that he is the top power hitter in the game today as he belted 23 home runs to win the Award for the tournament. Resmondo middle-infielder Brett Rettenmeier won the Defensive MVP Award by making dazzling plays throughout the tournament. The rest of the All-Tournament team featured Bryson Baker, Travis Clark, Bubba Mack, Neil Hagland and Steele Lewis, of Resmondo; Andy Purcell, Josh Riley, Luis Reyna and Ryan Harvey, of Smash It Sports; Andrew Collins, Argen Dodds and Davis Bilardello, of Dan Smith; and Always friends off the field while not competing against each other (left to right): TDB’s B J Fulk, Pure Sports’ Lee Payne and Resmondo’s Greg Connell and Bubba Mack.

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William Maloney and Cam Byars, of Rapid Fire.

All-Tournament, Resmondo’s Bryson Baker- .742 OBP with 14 home runs.

All-Tournament, Smash It Sports’ Luis Reyna with .743 OBP and 12 home runs.

All-Tournament, Resmondo’s Travis Clark- .750 OBP with 23 RBIs.

Kettle corn and beef jerky are always a staple at the Smoky Mountain Classic. All-Tournament, Resmondo’s Neil Hagland- .833 OBP.

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Moss caps off historic season with Player of the Year Award Photos by Dina Kwit, NPF

Park Planet Player of the Year - Brenna Moss (Chicago Louisville Slugger Offensive Player of the Year - DomN8 Stolen Bases Award presented by 3n2 Sports - Brenna Bandits) Brenna Moss (Chicago Bandits) with Allison Parsell (Wilson) Moss (Chicago Bandits)

OSEMONT, Ill. — Brenna Moss of the Chicago Bandits secured her spot in the history books Wednesday night as the veteranR left fielder captured a trio of honors, including the Park Planet Player of the Year Award, at the NPF Awards Banquet. Gene and Georgetti Steakhouse hosted the annual event, which took place one day before the start of the 2018 NPF Championship Series on Thursday night at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Moss and the Bandits will square off against the league-leading USSSA Pride in a best- of-five battle for the Cowles Cup. Moss, who tied the league’s single- season hits record, also established herself as one of the game’s most potent threat on the basepaths. The former Fresno State standout stole 27 bases to rank third all-time in a single season and first in franchise history. Moss also collected the NPF’s Offensive Wilson Home Run Champion (3-way tie) - (USSSA Pride), Megan Wiggins (USSSA Pride), Player of the Year Award, presented by (Chicago Bandits) with Allison Parsell (Wilson)

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Chicago Bandits & USSSA Pride

Louisville Slugger, in unani- mous fashion, as well as the 3n2 Sports Dom-N-8 Stolen Bases Award. USSSA’s earned the Diamond Sports Pitcher of the Year Award after the right-hander posted a stellar 10-0 record throughout the regular season with a miniscule 0.40 ERA as part of a domi- Diamond Pitcher of the Year Jolene Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner - Jade 805 Stats Rookie of the Year - nant Pride pitching staff. Henderson (USSSA Pride) Rhodes (Cleveland Comets) with Chelsea Jessie Scroggins (Chicago Bandits) with Henderson paced the club Stinson (Rawlings) Pete Egedi (805 Stats) with 70.0 innings of work in the circle and surrendered just four earned runs. She also maintained a 6-to-1 -to-walk ratio. Cleveland Comets rookie first baseman Jade Rhodes took home the presti- gious Gold Glove Award, presented by Rawlings. Rhodes committed just two errors in a league-high Coaching Staff of the Year presented by Regular Season Champs - USSSA Pride Umpire of the Year presented by Crown 369 opportunities in the Vaultz® - USSSA Pride (Mike Stith, Gaye Lynn Wilson) Trophy - Bill Gomoluch (with Mike Raynor - infield to beat out Pride NPF Supervisor of Officials) catcher and 2017 Gold Glove joined by Beijing Shougang Chamberlain and Megan The USSSA Pride coaching recipient Chelsea Goodacre, Eagles outfielder Victoria Wiggins each delivered 12 staff of Mike Stith, Cody and Bandits center fielder Draper - to eclipse the .400 deep flies during the 2018 Dent and Sammy Marshall. mark at the plate. Scroggins campaign. Wiggins supplied captured the Vaultz Lock It Fellow rookie Jessie concluded the regular a pair of home runs over Up! Coaching Staff of the Scroggins secured the season with a .412 clip at the the final two games of the Year honor after the first- 805Stats Rookie of the Year plate, breaking the previous regular season to create the year crew guided the Pride Award after the Bandits record set by Sami Fagan of three-way tie. to the NPF’s regular season right fielder posted excep- the Akron Racers during the Veteran umpire Bill championship and best tional numbers in first year 2016 season. Gomoluch received the regular season record of at the professional level. A trio of standout slug- Umpire of the Year honor, all-time at 42-5. USSSA lost The former Baylor standout, gers shared the title of presented by Crown Trophy, just a single game at home whom the Bandits selected 3n2 Sports Home Run as a result of his continued during the 2018 season and 15th overall in the third Champion after Chicago’s excellence behind the plate tore off 16 consecutive to round of the 2018 NPF Draft, Emily Carosone, along and supporting roles as a ignite its historic perfor- became one of two first-year with USSSA’s Lauren base umpire. mance. players in NPF history -

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ROLL PRIDE!! Text by Jason Lowenthal, photos by Dina Kwit, special thanks to Julie Walton Pendley’s Blast Paces Pride in Narrow Game 1

helby Pendley delivered a two-run home run in to erase a late deficit, and the USSSA Pride took Game 1 of a best- of-fiveS Championship Series against the Chicago Bandits by a score of 3-2 Thursday night at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois. Pendley, whose deep fly came in the fifth inning with the Pride facing a one-run deficit at the time, provided the final blow against Bandits southpaw Danielle O’Toole. O’Toole suffered a difficult loss in a relief effort after the former Arizona standout wiggled out of jams in the Pride’s Megan Wiggins contributed with a home run. third and fourth frames before she surrendered the blast to Pendley. Meanwhile, USSSA’s Jolene Henderson solidified her reputation as one of the top arms in the NPF. The 2018 Pitcher of the Year delivered a to earn her first victory of the post- season and Vaultz Lock It Up! Player of the Game honors. She scattered just four hits and allowed two runs, both of which came off the bat of Chicago’s Jessie Scroggins. Scroggins, who earned the league’s Rookie of the Year Award at Wednesday night’s awards banquet, supplied a spotless 3-for-3 effort at the plate to mark her Championship Series debut. The former Baylor standout tied the USSSA Florida Pride’s Shelby Pendley hits the game winning Jolene Henderson, Pride’s pitcher, was selected Vaultz Player game with an RBI infield single in home run. Shelby was later named The NPF Championship of the Game. the third before she briefly gave the Series MVP. Bandits the lead with an RBI single hander tossed the first 2.1 innings and Pro Fastpitch or to purchase tickets to through the left side in the fifth. allowed a single run. the best-of-five Championship Series, Veteran left fielder and All-NPF selec- The Bandits and Pride will take the please visit profastpitch.com or call tion Megan Wiggins added a solo shot field for Game 2 of the Championship the box office at 877-722-6348. for the Pride as part of her two-her Series on Friday night at Parkway Bank night. EXTRA INNINGS Sports Complex. Bandits starter Rachele Fico surren- Attendance: 744 First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the dered the game’s first run via Wiggins’ game will be broadcast via ESPN+. Vaultz Lock It Up! Jolene Henderson towering shot to right, but did not Player of the Game (W, CG, 2 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K) factor into the decision. The right- For more information about National

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Ricketts rolls as Pride defeat Bandits in Game 2

s has been the case all season-long against USSSA Pride southpaw , the Chicago Bandits could not muster a run against the veteran Asouthpaw and dropped Game 2 of the best- of-five Championship Series by a score of 3-0 Friday night at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Ricketts rolled through the Bandits order and surrendered just three hits in a complete- game effort. The Team USA standout struck out five in her first appearance since July 24 to give the Pride a 2-0 lead in the series. The Bandits countered with a quartet of arms — Shelby Turnier, Aleshia Ocasio, Rachele Fico and — and nearly matched Ricketts pitch-for-pitch until USSSA extended its lead in the seventh with a pair of runs. The Pride plated the game’s first run in the third when Ocasio’s delivery to the plate skipped underneath the glove of Bandits catcher Kristyn Sandberg. The single run remained the game’s lone tally until a single off the bat of and an RBI groundout from off Lowary made it 3-0 ballgame, which provided plenty of support behind Ricketts’ effort in the Pride’s winning pitcher, Kellani Ricketts - Vaultz Player of the Game circle. Ricketts, who earned All-NPF distinction at the league’s awards banquet Wednesday night, did not allow a hit until a two-out single from NPF Player of the Year Brenna Moss in the third. All three hits yielded by Ricketts came with two outs in the inning. Turnier suffered the loss after the third-year right-hander allowed one unearned run in 2.2 innings of work. The Bandits and Pride will take the field for Game 3 of the NPF Championship Series on Friday night at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast via ESPN+. For more information about or to purchase tickets to the Championship Series, please visit profast- pitch.com or call the box office at 877-722- 6348.

EXTRA INNINGS

USSSA (2-0), Championship Series records Chicago (0-2) Attendance: 1,022 Vaultz Lock It Up! Keilani Ricketts Player of the Game (W, CG, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K) The #1 pick in the 2018 NPF College Draft, pitcher Paige Lowary, saw action in her first Cowles Cup.

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Historic Season Concludes for Bandits as Pride Secure Cowles Cup Title

fter three consecutive years of frustration in the postseason, the USSSA Pride can lay claim to the Cowles Cup championship. The Pride capped off a historic 2018 season with a 4-0 win Saturday Anight at Parkway Bank Sports Complex to secure a three-game sweep of the Chicago Bandits in the Championship Series. Second-year right-hander led the way for the Pride, who built their record 42-win campaign behind a dominant pitching staff and solidified their place in the history books with another shutout to earn the franchise its first Cowles Cup since 2014. Burroughs scattered four hits across 4.1 scoreless innings and allowed the powerful Pride lineup to ease its way into the decisive Game 3. Former Michigan standout Sierra Romero broke a 0-0 tie with an RBI single through the left side in the fourth off Bandits rookie right-hander Aleshia Ocasio. The Pride went on to plate two more runs in the frame and provide plenty of support for Burroughs. Southpaw Delaney Gourley and veteran right-hander Jolene Henderson secured the championship over the final 2.2 innings and stuck out a combined three. NPF Player of the Year Brenna Moss appeared to score Pride’s pitcher, Jessica Burroughs, shut out the Bandits for the 2018 NPF Cowles Cup Championship. the game’s first run off Burroughs in the opening frame when she tagged up to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Courtney Gano. However, after the Pride dugout launched an appeal, the umpiring crew declared Moss left the base early and took the run off the board. The Bandits recorded just three hits after the first, two of which came from Moss, and could not string together enough baserunners to chip away at the deficit. Moss’ two-out single in the seventh put the potential tying run in the on-deck circle for the Bandits, but Pride center fielder Allexis Bennett tracked down a liner to seal the title. USSSA celebrated its first championship since Cat USSSA Florida Pride’s GM, Don DeDonatis, Vaultz Player of the Game- Pride’s Sierra Romero celebrates his team’s fourth championship. Osterman led the franchise to the 2014 title in two games over the Akron Racers. Pride shortstop Shelby Pendley earned the Most Valuable Player award. Meanwhile, the Bandits conclude another successful season, in which they recorded the second-most victo- ries (37) in the franchise’s 14-year history.

EXTRA INNINGS USSSA (3-0), Championship Series records Chicago (0-3) Attendance: 1,500 Vaultz Lock It Up! Sierra Romero Player of the Game: (1-for-2, RBI, R, BB) Chicago Bandits’ Brenna Moss had 3 hits in Game Championship Series MVP: Shelby Pendley #3, showing her skills as why she was NPF Regular Season Offensive Player of the Year.

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Season-long Series concludes with Grand Championship Shootout Champions Crowned at Texas Battle For The Rings by Van Galeon, Contributing Writer

ANSFIELD, TX – Ten teams from across the Lone Star State reached the pinnacle Men’s B Champions Insidious (Tulsa, OK) of Texas softball by winning the ring that is coveted by all – the Lone Star Shootout SeriesM Championship Ring. The champions were Dirty Vegas/Marco from Beaumont in Men’s C; Hooliganz from Houston in Men’s D; BroSox/ArkFabrications in Men’s E; Powerhouse Sportz from San Antonio in Men’s 40 & Over; Texas Sports/Armor Gel/Mizuno from Spring in Women’s A/B; Texas Elite from League City in Women’s C; NTX Crush from Dallas in Women’s D; Too Live Crew from Houston in Mixed B/C and Amigos De Tu Mama from McAllen in Mixed D/E. Even a team from Oklahoma made it to the top of the podium, as Insidious from Tulsa won Men’s B. The old saying goes, “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” and that certainly applies to the adult slow-pitch softball world. Last year, there were more USSSA teams registered in Texas than any other state. Texas USSSA registered 4,257 teams in 2017 which was almost 1,200 more teams than runnerup Michigan with 3,084. Rounding out the top five states were New York at 2,652, California Men’s B Runnerups Wood Law (Dallas, TX)

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at 1,617 and New Mexico at 1,392. The Lone Star Shootout State Championship Series debuted in the year 2000 and is the premier adult slow-pitch softball program in Texas. Qualifiers began in early January and were held in every corner of the state on a weekly basis, culminating with the Grand Championship Battle For The Rings in late July. Each tournament of the Lone Star Shootout Series is designated a Ring Qualifier, with the first place team receiving an Automatic Berth to the Battle For The Rings. The format enables teams from remote areas of Texas, even other states, to earn a trip to the Battle For The Rings without having to rely on qualifying at one of the State Finals. At-Large Berths are naturally hoarded by teams from Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio where it is much easier for them to play in multiple Qualifiers and thus accumulate more Lone Star Points. Men’s C Champions Dirty Vegas (Beaumont, TX) There were plenty of At-Large Berths awarded this year to teams who did not win an Automatic Berth at one of the Ring Qualifiers or the North Texas State Finals (Mansfield), South Texas State Finals (League City), Southwest State Finals (San Antonio), Budweiser Softball Festival (Bryan-College Station) or North Texas Budfest (Mansfield). The end result was the turnout at the Battle For The Rings being larger and much more diverse. There were even qualified entries from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Tennessee. In true Texas tradition, huge Super Bowl-style rings were awarded to members of the champion- ship teams in each division. The piece features a prominent star surrounded by replica diamonds on the face of the gaudy ring. While some say it resembles the star on the side of the helmet of a popular pro football team in Dallas, it actually signifies the lone “Star” of the Lone Star Shootout

Series. Men’s C Runnerups Whut It Dew (Austin, TX) The 2018 Lone Star Shootout “Battle For The Rings” was held over two weekends – July 21-22 and July 28-29 – at Big League Dreams in Mansfield, Texas which is located between Dallas and Fort Worth and has been named USSSA National Complex of the Year. The modern eight-field complex was selected due to its large number of fields and FieldTurf playing surfaces, which virtually eliminate weather-related issues that have plagued parts of Texas this year. On the opening weekend, Men’s B, Men’s C, Men’s D and Mixed divisions were played, while Men’s E and Women’s A/B, Women’s C, Women’s D and Men’s Seniors were held on the second weekend. A record 221 teams played in this year’s tourna- ment, breaking the previous record of 218 set last year. The Men’s C division featured the 27 best teams from Texas plus two from Oklahoma and one from Louisiana. Dirty Vegas/Marco from went 6-0 Men’s D Champions Hooliganz (Houston, TX)

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to claim the crown in Mansfield. They defeated Bayside Quack Attack (7-0), Famous/A3AS from DeSoto (24-7), Player Haters from Dallas (21-8), Big Apple/NYPD from Ft. Worth (20-11) and All Day/ESP Family from Dallas (25-11) to advance to the championship game, where they beat Whut It Dew from Austin (13-11) to win the Rings. Whut It Dew came in as one of the favorites, having won 1st place in three tournaments this year, including the huge Budweiser Softball Festival. But they lost their second game to All-Day/ESP Family then had to battle all the way back through the loser’s bracket before settling for 2nd place with an 8-2 record. All-Day/ESP finished in 3rd place at 4-2, NTX Brewcrew from Weatherdord finished 4th at 4-2, while Big Apple/ NYPD and Hittin’ Bottom from Longview tied for 5th both at 3-2. The rest of the Top 10 included Player Haters and Maniacs from Houston, tied for 7th place, and Men’s D Runnerups Hard Luck (Corpus Christi, TX) Entourage/Kade Luke Insurance from Raceland, La., Oilers/Allstate/Mojo/Southern Barrels from Beaumont, GameOver/FindMyCompany from Austin and C.P.S. from LaPorte, all tied for 9th. Jaime Rohlmeier of Dirty Vegas was named Most Valuable Player of the Men’s C Division, while the Gold Glove Award went to Clayton Masters of Whut It Dew. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Brandon Cervenka, Coby Schumaker, Mike Martinez and Landon Wilkinson, of Dirty Vegas; Greg Perez, Brandon Cortez and Eric Queery, of Whut It Dew; Dennis Kelly, Brett Kelly and Brett Acosta, of All-Day/ ESP; Taylor Carter, Nick Ludwig and Ryan Brosnan, of NTX Brewcrew; Ty Herrick, of Hittin’ Bottom; and Ryan Tomasi, of Big Apple/NYPD. One of the most competitive divisions in the tour- nament was the 50-team Men’s D bracket, where multiple teams had garnered 1st place finishes at big tournaments during the regular season. 8th

Wonder won the Budweiser Festival, Fully Loaded Men’s E Champions BroSox/ArkFabrications (Burleson, TX) won NTX Budfest, Lonestar Twins won North vs. South, Bad Apples won NTX State Finals, and Plan B won 4 titles including the Stockyards Shootout. But it was the Hooliganz from Houston who saved their best for last. The scrappy bunch had won 1st at the Ryan Harvery Shootout back in early February, then went 7-2 to take 3rd at the Budweiser Festival. They were runner-ups at the Last Chance Shootout, then won 1st at the Lone Star STX State Finals. A month later, Hooliganz went 6-0 to take the crown at Battle For The Rings. Hooliganz defeated Tacabron/Cowtown Express from Grand Prairie (17-12), Team Ill from Houston (15-14), Thundercats Gang Reloaded from League City (21-10), Lonestar Twins from Corpus Christi (15-14) and H-Town Knockers (25-0) to advance to the championship. That’s where they met Hard Luck from Corpus Christi, who rallied from a quarter-final loss to Chunk Deuce to make it all Men’s E Runnerups CTX Cash/Berserk Athletics (Austin, TX)

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the way back to the championship game. But Hard Luck ran out of gas and the Hooliganz took the title (12-2). Hard Luck settled for 2nd place with a 7-2 record; H-Town Knockers finished 3rd at 4-2; Chunk Deuce from San Marcos was 4th at 5-2; and Lonestar Twins and What Bout Us from LaVernia tied for 5th. The rest of the Top 10 consisted of Team Run It/GMB from Houston and 8th Wonder/ BaaBaaBrew/The Company from Richmond tied for 7th place; and The Select Few from Galveston, Money City Mallards from Austin, STX Disciples/ Team Tayden from Katy and Thundercat Gang Reloaded, all tied for 9th. Javier Gutierrz of the Hooligans was named Most Valuable Player of the Men’s D Division, while Jalen Longoria of Hard Luck was the Gold Glove winner. Others named to the All-Tournament team were Chris Camp, Jordan Nolan, Kyle Kubasik and Santos Saldivar, of the Hooliganz; Roland Resendez, Devin Benes and Kevin Darilek, Women’s A/B Champions Texas Sports/Mizuno (Spring, TX) of Hard Luck; Carson Erwin, Tim Emery and Geoffrey Brocato, of H-Town Knockers; Segio Marques, Dillon Sanderson and Francisco Casarez, of Chunk Deuce; Matt Ortega of What Bout Us; and James Rodriguez, of Lonestar Twins. The smallest division of the opening weekend was Men’s B. A couple of Conference USSSA teams were exhausted and saving themselves for the stretch run there so they sat out, while some of the in-state B teams folded due to lack of success during the year. But there were still five outstanding teams to compete for the crown at Rings. Insidious/BSA/Lasting Impressions went unde- feated at 4-0 to take the Rings back across the Red River to Oklahoma. Insidious defeated NTX Brewcrew from Weatherford (17-12), Wood Law from Dallas (20-11) and GVMS/Old School/ Steel/24-7 from Houston (30-11) to advance to the championship game, where they beat Wood Law again (18-16) to win the title. Wood Law took 2nd place with a 4-2 record, GVMS/Old School Women’s A/B Runnerups Famous Freaks (Denton, TX) came in 3rd, NTX Brewcrew finished 4th and C&R Express/Dudley from Mesquite took 5th. Insidious pitcher Chris Lopez was named Most Valuable Player of the Men’s B bracket, while Taylor Albrecht of Wood Law was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Tyler Ervine, Cody Roton, Ross Borkowski and Brad Nolen, of Insidious; Gabriel Garcia, Nick Dotson and Jason White, of Wood Law; Aaron Neal, Kyle Tomlinson and Dalton Cross, of GVMS/Old School; and Ross Blondin, Zachary Cavanaugh and Wade Hath, of NTX Brewcrew. The other two divisions held on the first weekend of Battle For The Rings were Mixed B/C and Mixed D/E. In Mixed Upper, there were 16 teams and Too Live Crew/VSP from Baytown went unde- feated at 5-0 to win the Rings for the second Women’s C Champions Texas Elite (League City, TX) year in a row. Too Live Crew defeated previous

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two-time champion Coed Connection from San Antonio (5-4), R3/3Xtreme Sports from Van Alstyne (17-11), DreamCrushersSteelSports from Abilene (9-8) and Tha Outsiderz from Sugar Land (9-8) to advance to the championship game, where they beat Tha Outsiderz again (14-11). Tha Outsiderz settled for 2nd place with a 4-2 record, R3/3Xtreme came in 3rd with a 5-2 slate, DreamCrushers was 4th at 3-2, and Team Quince from San Antonio and Escobar Body Shop from Carrollton tied for 5th. The rest of the Top 10 consisted of New Era from Red Oak and GTX-Hustle from Galveston tied for 7th, and Coed Connection, LaOnda from San Antonio, The B Team from Arlington and U2/UH Family/OSS from LaFeria all tied for 9th. James Wooster of Too Live Crew was named Most Women’s C Runnerups Karma/KMA (Brownwood, TX) Valuable Player of Mixed B/C, while Larry Juarez of Tha Outsiderz was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Alexis Joseph, Joe Brown, Ethan Maresh and Ricky Demann, of Too Live Crew; Arizabeth Ruvalcaba, Cat Ansbach and Salvador Rios, of Tha Outsiderz; Amanda Reyna, Caleb Escobedo and Johnny Valle, of R3/3Xtreme; Peter Traveras, Branden Mermella and Maria McGee, of DreamCrushers; Megan Pulido of Team Quince; and Diana Pirada, of Escobar Body Shop. There were also 16 team in Mixed Lower and Amigos De Tu Mama of McAllen made the long trip from the Rio Grande Valley and went unde- feated at 5-0 to claim the championship. ADTM defeated Faith Ain’t No Joke from Dallas (11-4), Facebook Famous from Temple (24-6), Slap Pitches from San Antonio (13-9) and Stay Flipp’n from Lajitas (15-2) to advance to the champion- ship game, where they beat Slap Pitches again (13-6) to take the title. Slap Pitches came in 2nd place with a 5-2 record, followed by Stay Flipp’n in 3rd at 3-2, Texas

Twisted from Hill Country in 4th at 4-3, and Women’s D Champions NTX Crush (Dallas, TX) PhatCat from Round Rock and Faith Ain’t No Joke tied for 5th. The rest of the Top 10 consisted of Overlooked from Stafford and H4B from Stockdale tied for 7th, and X4 from D-FW, New Era from Irving, Stixs$chicks from Houston and Facebook Famous, all tied for 9th. Rosalio Rosales of Amigos De Tu Mama was named Most Valuable Player of the Mixed D/E division, Aerica Verble of Slap Pitches was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Mauricio Garcia, Sage Martinez, Noe Calvillo and Francisco Martinez, of ADTM; Matthew Blackwell, Jesse Soto and Sarah Soto, of Slap Pitches; Jordan Lirette, Jonathon Lord and Candy Lopez, of Stay Flipp’n; Tu-car Speller, Abby Prinz and Johnny Cardenas, of Texas Twisted; Layton Dworaczyk of PhatCat; and Lacy Fenn of Faith Ain’t No Joke. The second weekend of Battle For The Rings included the largest division of the tournament, which was Men’s E with 64 teams. In the top Women’s D Runnerups Lady YNK (Richmond, TX)

T 32 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball

RINGS STORY-6

half of the bracket, BroSox/ArkFabrications from Burleson defeated Country Boyz from El Campo (12-3), 3U3D from Brownwood (8-4), No Clue from Missouri City (14-3), Manac USA from Alvin (15-11) and MoneyBall from Waller (13-12) to advance to the finals of the winner’s bracket. On the other half of the bracket, CTX Cash/ Berserk Athletics from Austin defeated T.A.P.S. from Houston (9-2), Peloteros from Houston (10-5), New Blood from Cypress (13-10), Black Ops from Tomball (12-4) and Home Grown from Waxahachie (14-9) to also make the King Seat game. In the all-important winner’s bracket finals, BroSox blasted CTX Cash (21-7) to advance to the championship game. CTX Cash dropped to the lower’s bracket and eliminated Home Grown (16-2) to get another shot at BroSox in the title game. It was a back-and-forth contest before BroSox held on to take the Rings with a narrow victory (16-15). Mixed B/C Champions Too Live Crew/VSP (Houston, TX) BroSox finished the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record, while CTX Cash was the runnerup at 6-2. Home Grown, who started the year slow before a late-season run of success, was an impressive 3rd at 6-2, followed by MoneyBall in 4th at 5-2, and Manac USA and Pistoleros from San Antonio tied for 5th at 7-2 and 5-2 respectively. North Texas Illusion/BRA from North Richland Hills and Wackos from Victoria tied for 7th place at 6-2 and 5-2, while Team Controversy from Dallas, Throwdown/TM from Dallas, Texas 2 Step from Hurst and Black Ops all tied for 9th. Others finishing strong were SmasHers/GSG from San Antonio, FTP from Killeen, No Clue from Missouri City and Los Mismos from San Antonio, all tied for 13th place; and Deal With It from Houston, Infamous from Copperas Cove, Latin Breed from D’Hanis, New Blood from Cypress, Ellis County Outlaws from Ennis, Ricky Bobby’s Sports Bar from San Antonio and Space Monkey Mafia from Baton Rouge, La. and Peloteros all tied for 17th. Cody Petters of BroSox was named Most Valuable Player of the Men’s E division, while Nicholas Nelson of CTX Cash was the Gold Glove winner. Mixed B/C Runnerups Tha Outsiderz (Sugarland, TX) Other members of the All-Tournament team were Ty Buis, Alex Corbit, Chuck Caldwell and Dewayne Sullins, of BroSox; Garret McCulley, Gareth Hutton and Damon Traxler, of CTX Cash; Cameron Bowden, Thomas Wheeler and Logan Wehmeyer, of Home Grown; Derrick Washington, Stephen Breedlove and Mario Morua, of MoneyBall; Ernesto Veliz of Pistoleros; and Michael Johnson of Manac USA. Eight teams entered the Men’s 40 & Over divi- sion and the old-timers turned in some of the most exciting games of the weekend. Powerhouse Sportz from San Antonio won their first game over Strangers by forfeit (7-0) before getting upset by RCM from Dallas (23-16). That sent Powerhouse to the loser’s bracket, where they scored consecutive wins over R&L Sports from Mixed D Champions Amigos De Tu Mama (McAllen, TX)

T 34 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball RINGS STORY-7

Houston (15-7), Front Row from Beaumont (18-5) and RCM in a re-match (19-17) to advance to the championship. Powerhouse then double-dipped previously unbeaten Frank’s Country Store from Bryan (25-12, 37-20) to win the Rings. Champion Powerhouse Sportz finished the tour- nament with a 6-1 record, while Frank’s Country Store was the runnerup at 3-2. RCM came in 3rd place at 2-2, followed by Front Row in 4th also at 2-2, and Weekend Warriors and R&L Sports tied for 5th. The Battle For The Rings offered three Women’s divisions this year. The Women’s A/B bracket featured the top six women’s teams from Texas along with one from Missouri and one from Tennessee. Texas Sports/Armor Gel/Mizuno from Spring had fielded one of the most successful women’s team in Texas for a decade. Manager Kenny Scobee’s team won Battle For The Rings back in 2013, but have been coming up short ever Mixed D Runnerups Slap Pitches (San Antonio, TX) since. In 2014, they finished 3rd and the following year they took 4th. In both 2016 and 2017, the Mizuno-backed team was runnerup behind Bryant Express from Arkansas. This year, Texas Sports opened with wins over KC Sker’s from Kansas City, Mo. (16-6) and Lady Brokers from Carrollton (3-2) to make it to the finals of the winner;s bracket, where they were upset by Famous Freaks/Powerhouse Sportz from Denton (7-5). Texas Sportz dropped to the loser’s bracket and defeated the Lady Brokers again (11-1) to get to the championship. Scobee’s team defeated Famous Freaks (9-5) to set up a winner- takes-all “If” game and Texas Sports won again (6-5) to take the crown. Champion Texas Sports/Mizuno finished the tournament with a 5-1 record, while runnerup Famous Freaks was 3-2. Lady Brokers took home 3rd place, Traders Reloaded from Colliersville, Tenn. came in 4th, and Lady Top Dog from

Beaumont and Hit Cartel from Midland tied for Men’s 40 & Over Champions Powerhouse Sportz (San Antonio, TX) 5th. Mizuno pitcher Mya Truelove-McRae was named Most Valuable Player of the Women’s A/B bracket, while Brianna Aguilar of Famous Freaks was the Gold Glove winner. Other players named to the All-Tournament team were Catrina Ansbach, Kimberly Potter, Courtney Rigamonti and Wesley Guerrero, of Mizuno; Destani Linamen, Ashley Dorsey and Jennifer Hull, of Famous Freaks; A’Laeshia Adams, Dee Barker and Kiamisha Goynes, of Lady Brokers; Jordan Jones, Tab Smith and Brooke LaRue, of Traders Reloaded; Stephanie Rendon of Hit Cartel; and Michelle Cox of Lady Top Dog. Eight teams also battled in the Women’s C divi- sion and Texas Elite from League City went unde- feated at 4-0 to take the title. Texas Elite defeated Silent Assassins from Arlington (5-3), Do Work from San Antonio (7-6) and Karma/KMA/Dynasty G&A from Brownwood (13-4) to advance to the championship game, where they defeated Karma Men’s 40 & Over Runnerups Frank’s Country Store (Bryan, TX)

T COAST O COAST Big Time Softball 35 RINGS STORY-8

again (10-0) to and Tessa May of VooDoo Dolls. tied for 9th. win the Rings. There were 18 teams in the Women’s D Gemma Lappa of NTX Crush was Champion division and NTX Crush from Dallas named Most Valuable Player of the Texas Elite went undefeated through five games Women’s D division, while Heather finished the to win 1st place. NTX Crush defeated Wooten of Lady YNK was the Gold tournament Outrage/Branded from Abilene (12-0), Glove winner. Other players named at 4-0, while Fully Loaded from Seagoville (9-3), to the All-Tournament team were runnerup Hottmess from Corpus Christi (4-1) Brianne Wojtowicz, Taylor Bowers, Karma was and Lady YNK from Richmond (6-5) to Lindsey Rios and K.D. Cartwright, of 3-2. Silent advance to the championship game. NTX Crush; Courtney Cox, Gabriela Assassins came in 3rd place with a Lady YNK dropped to the loser’s Cano and Deb Wernecke, of Lady YNK; 3-2 mark, Do Work was 4th at 2-2, and bracket and beat the Rockford Peaches Martye Ferguson, Mesha Moffett Suicide Squad from Yoakum and VooDoo from Arlington (12-2) to get another and Katie Hale, of Rockford Peaches; Dolls from Ft. Worth tied for 5th. shot at NTX Crush in the champion- Elizabeth Phillips, Genevieve Ryan and Hannah Hoffman of Texas Elite was ship. But NTX Crush held on to win Leigh Maloy, of Aces; Sage Martinez of named Most Valuable Player of the (11-4) and take the title. Hottmess; and Jordan Garza of Lady Women’s C bracket, while Christal Champion NTX Crush finished the Hard Shots. Garcia of Karma/KMA was the Gold tournament at 5-0, while runnerup The two weekends of this year’s Glove winner. Other players named Lady YNK was 4-2. Rockford Peaches Battle For The Rings were the most to the All-Tournament team were came in 3rd place at 5-2, while Aces successful ever held. Big League Shelby Fetters, Sommer Salamanca- from San Antonio took 4th at 3-2, and Dreams in Mansfield was the perfect Blazek, Kasie Jo O’Meara and Heather Lady Hard Shots from Houston and venue, where general manager Brad Kicklighter, of Texas Elite; Courtney Hottmess tied for 5th. The rest of the Brewer and his staff were hospitable Clark, Anna Pyburn and Macy Pruitt, Top 10 consisted of Bat $hit Crazy hosts. Lone Star comptroller Roy Dean of Karma/KMA; Lindsay Fallen, Kelley from San Antonio and Fully Loaded anchored the operations from the Lone Cheesman and Carla Thompson, of tied for 7th, and Petty Pitches from Star trailer, while Scott Duffy served Silent Assassins; Celes Zaragoza, Amy Abilene, High Rollerz Lifestyle from as Tournament Director and Phillip Cerda and Melissa Mendiola, of Do McKinney, Lady Rejects from Waco and Wheeler, Jeff Neill and Ben Templeton Work; Toni Twomey of Suicide Squad; Lady Blue Jays from San Antonio, all were the UICs.

T 36 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball

Cajun Classic - 1

Baugh Ford bats come alive to win 40th Annual Cajun Classic By Greg Huchingson, Managing Editor

Baugh Ford celebrates another conference championship (they also won the Space City Classic) solidifying a spot in the Major World Series.

ARENCRO, LA – Baugh Ford experienced a couple of minor bumps in the road at the 40th Annual Cajun Classic, but Cquickly recovered and revved up their engines to cruise to the championship. The win gave Baugh Ford/Pure Sports 183 points and vaulted them into the Top 10 of the Conference USSSA Standings. The team from Clanton, Alabama will now be the number one seed for the Men’s Class A World Tournament and has wrapped up a spot in the USSSA Men’s Major World Series. There were 24 teams entered in the Cajun Classic, with five of them being Conference USSSA teams. It was a high-quality event as the list included one AA team, five A teams, seven B teams and 11 C/D teams. Two contrib- uting factors in the tournament’s Baugh Ford/Pure Sports/Kincaid (Clanton, AL) 2018 40th Annual Cajun Classic Champions

T 38 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball Cajun Classic - 2

renewed success are the quality facili- ties at Pelican Park and the relent- less efforts of Louisiana USSSA State Director Richie Soley. OI Livingston/Adtiktiv (Peachtree City, GA) 2018 40th Annual Cajun Classic - Second Place “Softball is going great in Louisiana and this park is a big reason why,” said Soley. “Instead of our teams traveling out-of-state to play every weekend, they’re staying home and even teams from other states are now coming here to play.” Baugh Ford opened the tournament on Friday night with a win over scrappy Swing Team Six from Bossier City, La. (33-29). The next morning, Baugh Ford had their hands full with local B team Empire/Acadiana Bar & Grill/Miken from Lafayette, La. Empire, which three weeks earlier had won 1st place at the Busch/Pepsi Classic in Little Rock, Ark., led Baugh Ford for most of the game. Empire held a six-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. But Baugh Ford rallied to tie the game up and had the based loaded when a walk-off gave them Aii-Out/A&A/Steel/ASP/Miken (Gladewater, TX) 2018 40th Annual Cajun Classic - Third Place the win (23-19). In the semi-finals of the winner’s bracket, Baugh Ford got upset by non- Conference A team OI/Livingston/ Adiktiv from Peachtree City, Georgia (16-7). In an all-Texas matchup in the other semi-final game, All-Out/A&A/ Steel/ASP/Miken from Gladewater, Texas crushed Wood Law from Dallas, Texas (35-9). Then in the King Seat game, OI/Livingston hitters pounded All-Out pitching early and often to open a commanding lead. All-Out rallied late in the game but OI/ Livingston held on for the win (35-30). Meanwhile in the loser’s bracket, Baugh Ford had a couple of nail-biters. First, OlmitoHeat/DiamondKings/ Miken a B team from Olmito, Texas fought Baugh Ford to the wire before losing a narrow decision (30-28). Then, All Tournament, All-Out’s Lyf Nimmo comes across home plate to score.

T COAST O COAST Big Time Softball 39 Cajun Classic - 3

Empire put up another valiant effort and almost posted a second win over Baugh Ford, before Baugh Ford pulled out a one-run win (38-37). After an hour delay due to a passing thunderstorm, Baugh Ford opened up a storm of their own on All-Out and cruised to an easy victory (30-10) to advance to the championship. Needing two wins against OI/Livingston to win the tournament, Baugh Ford’s sticks remained hot and pulled off the double-dipping in a pair of slugfests (41-36, 32-29) to win the title. Baugh Ford trailed 22-10 at one point of the “If” game before making a rally. Baugh Ford won the tournament with a 7-1 record. It was their second Conference USSSA championship of the year after previously winning the Space City Classic in Houston. Baugh’s offense averaged 29.25 runs per game in Louisiana. OI/Livingston was an impressive runn- erup with a 5-2 record, finishing ahead of four Conference USSSA teams. With the same kind of effort, OI/Livingston could be a darkhorse contender at A Worlds. All Tournament, OI Livingston’s pitcher, Chad Loudon All-Out had to be disappointed with Slugger from Salt Lake City, Utah Allen Ponder of OI/Livingston was their 3-2 record and 3rd place finish. tied for 7th. Rounding out the Top named Offensive MVP of the tourna- It was their second lowest Conference 10 was GVMS/Old School/Steel from ment, while Baugh Ford outfielder USSSA point score of the season Houston, MoneyMan from Brandon, Jason Gilfillan was named Defensive (123) and they fell out of the Top 10 Miss., Brackins from Dothan, Al. and MVP. Ponder batted .795 with 25 runs in the final standings. But they have Insidious/BSA from Tulsa, Okla. All tied scored and 20 RBIs. still qualified for the USSSA Major for 9th. World Series as the 12th seed and are The rest of the All-Tournament team expected to be a contender at the AA Ian Sidebottom of Baugh Ford was included Ricky Smith, Brandon Hooks, World Tournament. named Most Valuable Player of the John Zorich, Tyler Cobb and Bruce Cajun Classic. Sidebottom is normally Dady, of Baugh Ford; Curtis Cornett, Empire finished 4th with a 4-2 record an infielder but he was forced to Matt Bunn, Adam Tennyson and Chad and both losses came against Baugh share pitching duties this tourna- Loudon, of OI/Livingston; Lyf Nimmo, Ford on walk-off home runs. Olmito ment because starting pitcher/sponsor Chris Anninos and Chris Potts, of Heat and Wood Law tied for 5th, Tommie Baugh was unable to make the All-Out; and Tony Frederick and R.J. while Weiler Pipe from Lafayette, trip. Sidebottom also batted .682 with Frederick, of Empire. La. and Tradesmen/Louisville eight home runs and 28 RBIs. The Cajun Classic originally put

T 40 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball Cajun Classic - 4

Louisiana softball on the national map. It was founded in 1978 by USSSA pioneer Robert Boudreaux at Pelican Park near Lafayette, which was one of the first softball complexes in the United States to feature Astroturf infields. For most of the 1980s and ‘90s, Pelican Umpire Brandon Monju positioned himself in perfect position to make the right call. Park was the place to be on Memorial Day weekend as the Cajun Classic was one of the top USSSA Major Tournaments in the nation. All of the top teams in America made their way to Acadiana country in southwest Louisiana. Over the course of almost three decades of use, however, the turf got worn down. And just like the tattered turf on the Pelican Park infields, even the mighty Cajun Classic eventually lost its luster. The last year the tourna- ment had a Major division was 2006. Pelican Park was shut down for a few years in the latter part of the first decade of the new millennium and sat as empty as a ghost town, with high weeds growing where many of the top softball players of all-time used to play. The City of Carencro eventu- ally bought the facility and got it back into playable condition. But for most USSSA UIC, Jason Oberlag assured everything ran smoothly at the 40th anniversary of the event. of the next decade, the Cajun Classic was relegated to hosting just D and E events with only local teams entering. The result is a jewel of a park, which Hitmen, Ritch’s Superior, Smythe Sox, immediately earned a spot on the Superior Apollo, Lighthouse, Sunbelt, Five years ago, the City of Carencro Conference USSSA schedule with Bell Corp, Elite Coating or Budweiser. made a major financial investment to the Cajun Classic. Soley, now in his But the excitement was just the same. improve the facility. First and fore- fifth-year as Louisiana USSSA State Soley has done an outstanding job of most was ripping up the old, tattered Director, has worked hard to return the resurrecting one of the crown jewels Astroturf and replacing it with state- event to national prominence. of the USSSA Major Division and of-the-art Field Turf on all four fields. returning it to national prominence. The new facelift included turf on the Soley is confident that with this year’s batter’s boxes and around the bases, successful event as a drawing card, “Hopefully, more of the big teams will something the old turf did not have. the Cajun Classic will soon return to take notice of what we were able to do Dugouts on all four fields were also the status of its glory years from the this year and come join the party next completely renovated. past. The team names were not quite year,” he said. as historic as the old days – Steele’s

T COAST O COAST Big Time Softball 41 ConferenceUSSSA awards - 1

Clark, Bildardello, Pearson lead the way in 2018 All-Conference selections 1ST TEAM ALL CONFERENCE PITCHER 1ST BASE 3RD BASE OUTFIELD Travis Clark Davis Bilardello Bubba Mack Jeremy Yates Andy Purcell Kyle Pearson Dale Brungardt Steele Lewis Steve Edwards Buddy Wolf CATCHER MIDDLE INIFIELD Andrew Collins Argen Dodds 2ND BASE Luis Reyna Ben Dunn Josh Riley Greg Connell AJ Montano Ryan Stovall Chad Mullins Steven Lloyd Brad Carlsen Cory Briggs UTILITY Mike Ortiz David Kessler SHORTSTOP Kyle Pearson Brian Wegman Brad Lunda Zach Messer Brad Reckart Kevin Bazat MANAGER Keith Laski Craig Shaw

2ND TEAM ALL CONFERENCE PITCHER 1ST BASE 3RD BASE OUTFIELD Dan Bean Everett Williams Jason Branch Jared Hunt Tyler Wilson Jason Matusik CATCHER 2ND BASE Scotty Langford Travis Houseman Keith Martin Freddie Bynum Shannon Smith Dan Kirkwood Jason Ferguson Donald Hollingsworth Jr. John Radich SHORTSTOP MIDDLE INIFIELD John Zorich Brandon Hooks Ryan Harvey Pat Foster Troy Krider Tommy Melton Patrick Ellwanger MANAGER Matt Schrage Filip Washington Dal Beggs

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2018 ConferenceUSSSA Championship won by regular season points champion - Resmondo By Dale Weiser

Resmondo/RDD/H. Auto/All In/Sprizzi (Winter Haven, FL) 2018 ConferenceUSSSA Champions he 2018 Conference Championships were played on the “Red” quad of baseball fields with their 325-365-385-365- 325-footT home run fence dimensions located at the back of the Space Coast Complex in Viera, Florida. The fields were all artificial turf and they used the Dudley Stadium ZN ball with the normal 12 home runs per game per team rule unless two major teams were playing each other in which case it would then be 16. There were 11 of the top 12 teams in the nation in the tour- nament and they were seeded by the Conference USSSA points standings. There were 3 Major classed teams, and 8 ‘AA’ classed teams from 10 different states. The first three rounds of the double elimination tournament were played on Friday starting at 4 PM eastern time. In the first game Racks/ Worth Astros a ‘AA’ team based out of Resmondo’s Jeremy Yates slides home with the winning run.

T 44 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball Smash It Sports/Thunder/Backman/TDB/Miken/Worth (Rochester, NY) 2018 ConferenceUSSSA- Second Place

Indiana beat Newbreed/Steel Sports/ Demarini (WA-AA) 25-23. Then an undermanned All Out (TX-AA) team upset Precision/3rd Street (IL-AA) 33-26 as Matt Schrage was on base 5 out of 5 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in. And Xtreme/Miken (MN-AA) knocked off Riot Sports (FL-AA) 33-26 in the last of the “play in” games. Riot Sports was also missing a couple of key players. The tournament was played in warm and humid conditions with the wind affect the pitching and scoring. In the Resmondo’s Steele Lewis with the walk off hit to win the Conference MVP Travis Clark wins the championship with a 2nd round the top seeds began playing winner’s final king seat game. pinch hit single. as #1 Resmondo/Easton (FL-Major) beat Racks 26-25 after being tied at 21-21 going into the bottom of the 6th. Greg Connell was 4-5 in the win with a double, a , and a home run! #2 Dan Smith/Menosse (CA-Major) won their opener 30-14 over Xtreme when Dan Smith out homered Xtreme 12-5 and scored 16 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Ryan Stovall also was 4-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. The 2nd round finished up with #3 Smash It Sports/Thunder (NY-Major) run ruling All Out 38-23 and TDB/FAI/Klutch/ Miken (NC-AA) stomping rival Pure Sports/Monsta (SC-AA) 19-5, although Pure Sports didn’t have/use any of their normal starting pitchers. Ryan McClanahan was on maternity leave “Red” Marucci, the main field, with its state of the art Musco lighting, AstroTurf fields and 325-365-385-365-325 dimensions.

T COAST O COAST Big Time Softball 45 and Justin Mucciarelli was being saved for the ‘AA’ Worlds September 15-16. When the 2nd round ended the “Final 2018 Conference Championships Final Standings 4” of the winner’s bracket began at 8:30 PM as it cooled off a little bit and 1st FL-M Resmondo / RDD / H. Auto / All IN / Sprizzi / Easton (4-0) Resmondo beat TDB 26-15 scoring 2nd NY-M Smash It / Thunder / Backman / TDB / Miken (3-2) 7 runs in the 1st inning and Neil Haglund led the way with 3 home runs 3rd NC-AA TDB / FAI / Klutch / Miken (3-2) in the game. In the other semifinal which ended after 11 PM Friday night, 4th IL-AA Precision / 3rd Street / Bull Dawg (3-2) Smash It Sports grabbed a 19-4 lead 5th WA-AA Newbreed / Steel Sports / DeMarini (2-2) scoring 15 runs in the top of the 2nd inning and they scored 10 more runs in 5th CA-M Dan Smith / Menosse / Steven Smith (1-2) the 6th inning to put away Dan Smith 33-16. Kyle Pearson batting leadoff was 7th IN-AA Rack’s / Worth Astros / Klutch / Troupe (2-2) 4-6 with 4 home runs and 7 RBI and 7th MN-AA Xtreme / Miken / ASP / Athlon (1-2) he made the big fields look like little league fields a couple of times with 9th TX-AA All Out / A&A / Steel Sports / ASP / Miken (1-2) long home runs. Ryan Harvey also hit 2 homers, John Williams 4 homers, 9th FL-AA Riot Sports / Broughton / Beckham / Worth (0-2) and Filip Washington hit 3 home runs 9th SC-AA Pure Sports / Monsta (0-2) and drove in 7. Smash It had 2 innings where every batter scored a run! Most of the loser’s bracket as well 2018 Conference USSSA Awards - 9/1/2018 as the winner’s bracket finals were John Glidewell Award Brett Helmer played on Saturday before breaking in the late afternoon to get ready for Award Of Merit Strojan Kennison the Conference awards banquet. In Frank Webb Manager Of The Year Craig Shaw Pure Sports the winner’s bracket finals Smash It scored 8 runs in the top of the 6th Home Run Champion Kyle Pearson - 118 Smash It Sports to go up 20-13, but Resmondo in the bottom of the 7th needing 4 to win, Batting Average - On Base Kyle Pearson - .807 Smash It Sports scored 3 runs to tie and used a walk off Defensive Player Ryan McClanahan Pure Sports single by Steele Lewis to beat Smash It 23-22 in the bottom of the 7th. In the Offensive Player Davis Bilardello Dan Smith loser’s bracket Precision knocked off Pure Sports 48-33, scoring 43 runs in Most Valuable Player Travis Clark Resmondo the last 4 innings as Travis Houseman went 6 for 6 and David Kessler was 5-6 Umpire Of The Year Rob Mantlo with 3 HR and 8 RBI. Then Precision Rookie Umpire Of The Year Philip Taylor beat Racks 19-3 as Brad Lunda went 3-3 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, and they upset Dan Smith 27-20 to win the top Finalists for Conference USSSA Rookie of the Year half of the loser’s bracket as Kessler Infielder Chris Anninos All Out again had 8 RBI. In the bottom half of the loser’s bracket Newbreed came Shortstop Daniel Cayton Classic Glass from behind to beat Xtreme 19-17, before TDB scored 26 runs in one Outfielder David Durso La Famiglia inning to send Newbreed home 43-20. Pitcher Mike “Nino” Echeverria Dan Smith In the loser’s bracket semifinals at 2 pm Saturday afternoon TDB knocked Outfielder Taylor Nichols Riot Sports off a tired Precision team 40-25 to make it to Sunday. TDB scored 14 runs Conference Rookie Of The Year Mike “Nino” Echeverria Dan Smith in the 3rd inning and 19 in the 4th! Saturday evening was the Conference a 19-14 lead scoring 13 runs in the homer from Ryan Harvey with two outs Awards banquet held at the stadium bottom of the 2nd inning. Smash It and a solo homer from Josh Riley to tie where 55 awards were distributed, and then came back and grabbed a 21-20 the game at 26-26 but could score no drinks and food was consumed. lead of their own in the top of the 4th. more. In the bottom of the 7th needing On Sunday morning in the loser’s But Smash It only scored 1 run in the just one run, Resmondo’s Neil Haglund bracket finals Smash It Sports beat 5th and none in the 6th. Meanwhile drew a walk and pinch hitter Travis TDB 21-13 and advanced to the cham- Resmondo scored 3 in the 5th and 3 in Clark hit a game winning gapper with pionship against Resmondo. In the the 6th to take a 26-22 lead. In the top one out for a 27-26 win and the tourna- final game Resmondo jumped out to of the 7th Smash It had a clutch 3 run ment championship!

T 46 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball

Rapid Fire/ Bad Draw rallies to claim 2018 USSSA A World By Dale Weiser he 2018 USSSA ‘A’ World Tournament was played at the new USSSA headquarters in Viera, Florida at the Space Coast StadiumT and surrounding fields. They used 325-foot home run fences with the Dudley Classic M ball and each team was allowed 8 home runs. The 25-team tournament began on Friday at 3 PM in hot and humid weather on the all turf fields. There were 21 ‘A’ teams and 4 ‘B’ teams in the tourna- ment. The first round consisted of 9 “play in” games and for the most part scores depended on which of the 5 fields you were playing on, as the wind blew out on 2 of the fields and in or across on the other 3 fields which kept the scoring down. In the opening set of 4 games Sports Reach from Kentucky out slugged Regulators from Colorado 26-17. Rebel Sports a ‘B’ team from Michigan shut down Stars from Colorado 12-2. SNI/Easton/ SDA from Florida out hit and upset OI Livingston/Adiktiv from Georgia 27-25 with the wind blowing out. And La Famiglia/Easton from Pennsylvania beat Wiley’s Supreme from Florida easily 21-9. At 4:30 PM, Tradesmen/ Louisville Slugger from Utah beat Aire from Arizona 8-6 and Team Fan It’s all thumbs up for Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw after double-dipping Pauer Sports for the A World Championship! Apparel from Arkansas a non-Confer- ence ‘A’ team beat Smash It Sports Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E shut down came off the bench to knock in 9 RBI. from New York 9-4. Both of those Chanticlear 13-4. #5 seed Bay Area La Famiglia shocked #1 seeded Baugh games were with the wind blowing Legends/Miken from California beat Ford with a 19-4 run rule win. And in in very strong. The first big upset of Nally’s 7-2 with the wind blowing the game of the night which had the the tournament came from Infamous/ in strong on “White” Rawlings. #6 most intensity and some good natured Salt Riot a ‘B’ team from Colorado who TG Brand from Michigan won easily “chirping”, TG Brand jumped out to a beat Seminoles from Oklahoma 25-12, over Sports Reach 16-5. #7 Classic 9-2 lead on the strength of a 7 run 2nd and Nally’s from Missouri beat Fish Glass/Easton was upset when ‘B’ inning against Rapid Fire Athletics. Head from Maryland 22-19 with the team Rebel Sports beat them 9-6. And But Rapid Fire never gave up and wind blowing out on “Red” Rawlings #8 La Famiglia/Easton/Elite from grabbed a late lead and held on with field. The first round closed out with Pennsylvania crushed Infamous 25-3. the gloves in a 21-18 victory. The final Chanticlear Pizza from Minnesota So, 7 of the top 8 seeds advanced. game of the “Round of 8” was played beating CTC/Southshore from The “Final 8” of the winner’s bracket Saturday morning when they opened Massachusetts 9-2. was LOADED with top teams, most of the Stadium field using a temporary home run fence set at 325 feet and In the second round the top 7 seeds whom were expecting to win ‘A’ Worlds. Bay Area Legends lost to Pauer Sports began their ‘A’ Worlds starting at 6 PM. As this round began Friday evening at 13-6. It was not Bay Area’s weekend as #1 seeded Baugh Ford/Pure Sports/ 9 PM the sun set, and the temperatures they had one of the strongest offensive Kincaid from Alabama run ruled SNI dropped to where the ball was flying teams in the ‘A’ division but scored just 28-11. #2 seed Premier/Easton/HDLNS a little better. Premier over on the 15 runs in their 3 games. from Ohio run ruled Team Fan Apparel “White” Easton field made short work 27-11. #3 seed Rapid Fire Athletics/ of Rebel Sports as they “mercy ruled” The “Final 4” of the winner’s bracket Bad Draw from Virginia just did get them 27-12 as Clay Norton and Pat and the remainder of the games were by Tradesmen 16-14. #4 seed Pauer Foster each had 4 hits and Chuck Lack played in the Stadium. In the first

T 48 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball semifinal at 11 AM Rapid Fire Athletics and Premier could not get the offense going with strong winds blowing across the field from left to right. Neither team could score more than 3 runs in an inning but Rapid Fire did score in every inning. Rapid Fires Rich Racobaldo homered to start the game and he and Chris Nann homered in the middle of the game to push them out to an 8-6 lead by the 5th inning. Rapid Fire would score 2 more runs in the bottom of the 6th on sacrifice fly’s and hung on to win 10-7. Racobaldo was Rapid Fire Athletics/ Bad Draw (VA) 2018 USSSA A World Champions 3-4 with 2 HR in the game. In the other semifinal Pauer Sports got on an offen- sive roll and powered past La Famiglia 18-7 when La Famiglia did not get a hit in the last 4 innings. The winner’s bracket championship game was then played at 8:30 PM in front of the biggest crowd of the tournament as players that were done with the Conference Awards Banquet stopped in to watch the big game. Pauer Sports may have put the together as they used adrenaline and momentum combined with great Pauer Sports/JBL/Tail Gaters (OH) 2018 USSSA A World - Second Place defense, double plays, and big innings to pull away from Rapid Fire and held and outscored Premier 23-4 down the a grand slam to give his team a 5-3 off a late run to win 19-15. stretch and at one point all but one of advantage. But some outfield misplays the batters in their order all scored gave Rapid Fire a 6-5 lead and Chris In the loser’s bracket Seminoles, in a row. They put up 15 runs (the Idip took advantage with a big triple. Team Fan Apparel, Infamous, and most of any team) in the 4th inning Pauer Sports would not score the rest Chanticlear all made some mini and won 25-7. Pitcher Tim Bouch who of the way and lost quietly 8-5. runs with 2 or 3 wins. But it was OI isn’t known for his hitting was 4 for 4, The “if” necessary game started at high Livingston who had lost their first leadoff man Dave Durso was 3-5 with 2 noon for the ‘A’ World title and scores game of the tournament that beat doubles a homer and 8 RBI, and short- were expected to be low. But both Sports Reach by 5, Seminoles 4 to 3, stop Josh Fyffe was 2-3 with a homer teams came out of the gate with a big Bay Area Legends 7 to 2, and their arch and a walk. rival Baugh Ford 14-2, before losing to offensive inning. Rapid Fire scored 9 Premier 15-0 early Saturday evening to The loser’s final was next as Rapid Fire in the 1st which was capped by leadoff finish tied for 5th. On the other side of the more rested team jumped out to hitter Rich Racobaldo’s home run. the loser’s bracket TG Brand knocked an 11-0 lead after 4 complete innings Pauer Sports answered with 6 runs in off Chanticlear 8-6 and used a walk against La Famiglia as the tempera- the bottom of the 1st inning but they off single by Brady Hightchew to beat tures started to rise. But La Famiglia left the bases loaded and Pauer Sports fellow Michigan team Rebel Sports reached down deep and scored 1 in would only score 2 runs the rest of the 13-12, before La Famiglia dropped the 5th inning, 4 in the 6th, and 3 in game. Meanwhile Rapid Fire scored in down and sent them packing 9-6 and a the 7th and had 2 on when Rapid Fires every inning but the 4th including a 5th place finish. MVP pitcher Cam Byars got a foul out big back side pinch hit homer by Jess to end the game with the tying run at Maloney in the 6th to make it 16-7, So, on Sunday morning at 8 AM it the plate! Rapid Fire had advanced on their way to a 21-8 win and the ‘A’ was La Famiglia playing Premier for 11-8 led by Rich Racobaldo, CJ Jacinto, World title! David Forbes and Jess 3rd place. The game began with some and Chris Nann who all reached base Maloney each homered in the 3 spot in incredible defense by both teams safely 3 times. the lineup, Chris Idip collected 3 hits, outfielders as La Famiglia robbed and the entire team pitched in on both Cory Boothe’s home run down the left The championship then began around sides of the ball to pull off the “double field line and Eric Challburg made 10:45 AM as Rapid Fire aimed to beat dip”! two incredible catches in center Pauer Sports the undefeated team field. But Premier right fielder Ryan twice. Pauer was the automatic home Congratulations to Rapid Fire spon- Disbennet made a great diving catch team in the first game as per USSSA sors Mark Katz in his first year in the and Premier’s offense pushed them to World tournament rules. Rapid Fire Conference and their other sponsor an early 3-2 lead. However, it was all jumped out to a 3-1 lead until the Brandon Cashwell from Bad Draw who La Famiglia the rest of the way as they bottom of the 3rd inning when big has been through some ups and downs took advantage of 4 Premier errors Mike Mallory from Pauer Sports hit in upper level softball.

T COAST O COAST Big Time Softball 49 2018 USSSA ‘A’ World Final Standings 17 NY-A Smashitsports/Thunder/Dominos/Easton(0-2) 1 VA-A Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw (6-1) 25 FL-B Wiley’s Supreme Alpha Prime Sports (0-2) 2 OH-A Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E (4-2) 2018 USSSA ‘A’ World Awards 3 PA-A La Famiglia/Easton/Elite Sports (5-2) MVP Cam Byars Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 4 OH-A Premier/Easton/HDLNS (3-2) Offensive Ryan 5 GA-A OI Livingston/Adiktiv (4-2) Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E MVP Roppel 5 MI-A TG Brand (3-2) Defensive Freddie Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw Offensive MVP Ryan Roppel Pauer Sports 7 MI-B Rebel Sports/Dirty Sports/Miken (3-2) MVP Bynum 7 AL-A Baugh Ford/Pure Sports/Kincaid (2-2) All-Tournament Team 9 MN-A Chanticlear/J&H/P5/JEC/Miken-Worth (3-2) Peter Seiden Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 9 CO-B Infamous/ Salt Riot/Double Cup (3-2) Aaron Sandoval Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E 9 AR-A Team Fan Apparel (3-2) Tim Bouch La Famiglia/Easton/Elite Sports 9 CA-A Bay Area legends/Miken (1-2) Ryan Noe Premier/Easton/HDLNS 13 MO-A Nallys/D&D/Berserk (2-2) Frankie Andriola Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E 13 OK-A Seminoles/TPS/NACSF.INC/Easton (2-2) Pedro Sanchez La Famiglia/Easton/Elite Sports Rapid Fire Defensive MVP Freddie Bynum 13 MD-A Fish Head/Top Shelf/E Shore Sports (1-2) receives his award from Levi Lynch. Cj Jacinto Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 13 CO-A Regulators (1-2) Phil Matte Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E 17 UT-A Tradesmen/Louisville Slugger/SavOn (1-2) Hunter Young Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 17 FL-A SNI/Easton/SDA/Dynasty (1-2) Christopher Idip Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 17 KY-A Sports Reach (1-2) Ryan Uckotter Premier/Easton/HDLNS 17 MA-B CTC/SouthShore (0-2) Chris Nann Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw 17 CO-A STARS/ VSP/Miken/ Thunder (0-2) David Durso Jr. La Famiglia/Easton/Elite Sports 17 AZ-A Aire/SLM/Downtime Sports (0-2) Anthony Dominick Pauer Sports/JBL/Tailgaters/B&E 17 CA-A Classic Glass/Easton (0-2) Rapid Fire MVP Pitcher, Cam Byars, receiving Richard Racobaldo Rapid Fire Athletics/Bad Draw his award from Tony Walczak.

T 50 COAST O COAST Big Time Softball

USSSA SPACE COAST COMPLEX

THE HOME OF

15 4K 3 HD The fun doesn’t end when the games are over. ASTROTURF BROADCAST VIDEO FIELDS CAPABILITIES BOARDS Enjoy 72 miles of shoreline, rocket launches, beachfront shopping & dining and more! Viera is conveniently located to major airports, attractions and USSSASpaceCoast.com family-friendly restaurants. Only 45 minutes from Orlando. 5800 Stadium Pkwy, Viera, FL 32940