2007 NBC World Series Report INTRODUCTION This document contains the 2007 World Series Report, including Scorer’s Essay, the Tournament Brackets, line scores for each game, statistics for each team, trophy winners, the breakdown for tournament compensation and the media summaries. THE 73 RD ANNUAL NBC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT The 2007 NBC World Series witnessed another first-time Champion, just as it did in 2006. The Havasu (AZ) Heat of the Pacific Southwest League won their first NBC title by defeating the Hays (KS) Larks in a 14-2 victory. Just as with the previous tournament, the Champion went undefeated with a 7-0 record. The Heat became the first team from Arizona to win the Championship. The Heat was an offensive juggernaut throughout the tournament, leading all teams with a .345 Batting Average and cranking out 11 Home Runs, more than doubling the previous team high of five. Havasu outscored its seven tournament opponents by a score of 71-20 with 40 of those runs coming in the first four innings of their games. The 2006 Champion and Runner-Up gave the Heat their closest games of the tournament. Havasu came from behind in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Derby (KS) Twins by a score of 6-4 (12 innings); then the next night defeated the defending Champion, the Santa Barbara (CA) Foresters, by a score of 7-6. The Hays (KS) Larks played Havasu twice in the tournament and lost 11 - 7 (11 Innings) and 14 - 2 respectively. In the Championship Game, Hays shortstop Mike Brownstein hit a double down the right field line and was in scoring position with one out and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice. However, he was stranded at third base after a fly out to centerfield. In the bottom of the first, the Havasu Heat jumped out to a 1-0 lead and never looked back. Second baseman Tim Carrier drew a walk to lead off the inning and then scored on a double to center by Brad Arnett. Arnett tied with Erick Morrison of Hays for a tournament leading 13 hits in the tournament. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the third inning when the Heat exploded for four runs. A single and two bases on balls loaded the bases for right fielder Brandon Patek who doubled down the right field line to clear the bases. Carrier singled through the left side of the infield and drove in Kevin Ramos for the final run of the inning, giving the Heat a 5-0 lead. The Heat scored 5 more runs in the fourth inning adding to their 5-0 lead. With the bases loaded again, the scoring started when Dylan Libadosis singled to drive in Ricky Orton who had walked. After a strikeout, Kevin Ramos, who went 4-4 in the game, tripled down the right field line, scoring Jared Stanley, Scott Talbert, and Libadosis. The final run was scored by Ramos after Carrier singled through the left side of the infield. The Heat led 10-0, but because the run-rule was not in effect for the Championship Game the two teams went nine innings. In the next four innings, the Heat scored 4 more runs. All total, the Heat collected 17 hits, 4 doubles (Arnett, Stephen Robinson, Cody Neer, and Patek), and a home run by Jared Stanley. The Havasu Heat placed 4 out of the top 5 hitters in the tournament (Arnett, Carrier, Stanley, 1 and Neer), 3 in Runs Scored (Stanley, Neer Talbert), 3 in the Runs Batted In (Ramos, Stanley, and Patek), 2 in Doubles (Neer and Orton) and 1 in Triples (Ramos). Jared Stanley and Drew Moffit tied with three Home Runs apiece to lead the World Series in Home Runs. With all of that offense, the Heat was unbeatable. The interesting fact is that the Heat also led the tournament in Team Pitching. In 7 games their pitchers had an ERA of 2.32, allowing only 16 Earned Runs, 14 Bases on Balls and 65 Strikeouts. Congratulations to the Havasu Heat players and coaches, and especially Dick “Chief” Twyman, for winning the 2007 NBC World Series. Congratulations to Frank Leo and the Hays Larks for another great run at the championship. This marks the fourth time the Larks have finished runner-up in the NBC World Series. The Larks also placed four players (Brownstein, Morrison, Angel and Hutt) on the All America Team and had a 1.96 team ERA until the final game. NBC WORLD SERIES ATTENDANCE The attendance for the 73 rd Annual NBC World Series was 73,928, slightly down from last year’s tournament totals. The largest day’s attendance was again during Baseball ‘Round the Clock when 7,298 people attended Friday’s sessions and 8, 283 attended Saturday’s games. With the temperatures in the upper 90’s and low 100’s, many chose to stay at home and not fight the heat (no pun intended). 71 GAMES AT LAWRENCE-DUMONT, 11 AT MAIZE HS FIELD A total of 71 games were played at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium during the 73 rd Annual NBC World Series and 11 games were played a Maize High School Field. Maize Field proved to be a good second site for the tournament and the facilities were to the liking of the fans that traveled to watch their teams play there. All but one game was a loser bracket game and the teams were guaranteed to only play one game at the second site. INTERNET AND MEDIA COVERAGE Once again, the NBC provided live web casts of the tournament on the internet at www.nbcbaseball.com . Although there were some glitches with the web casts, most of the games were carried in their entirety. Fans, parents, and patrons were able to follow their team’s progress despite the fact that they couldn’t make the trip to Wichita. Radio coverage of the feature games, semifinals and the Championship was provided by radio station KFH 1240 AM. In addition, ten clubs in the tournament broadcast their games back to their home towns. 2 CLASS OF 2007 NBC HALL OF FAME Five individuals were inducted into the National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame in 2007. Andy Teter , who played or managed in 18 NBC World Series, was the first to be inducted on Opening Night. Mr. Teter was a member of two National Champions, having played for the 1954 and 1955 Boeing Bombers. Our second inductee was Arnold Ashley of North Carolina. Mr. Ashley has served as the North Carolina State Tournament Director and the North Carolina NBC Commissioner for 31 years. In 1993, Mr. Ashley was recognized with the Raymond “Hap” Dumont Award for his contributions to the National Baseball Congress. Our third inductee was longtime scout, Herb Hess . Mr. Hess has scouted for three Major League teams over the past 45 years (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians). He has also assisted Hap Dumont in staging clinics for over 5,000 kids. Mr. Hess also played and coached in the Victory League and his son, Marty, currently is coaching a Victory League team. The last two inductees were Robert, Jr. and Melinda Rich . In 1986, the Rich’s partnered with Joe Ryan of the American Association to manage the NBC World Series. In 1988, the Rich family assumed sole ownership of the tournament in addition to the professional Double-A franchise that called Lawrence-Dumont home until this year. Mr. Rich has served as Chairman of the NBC World Series and Mindy as the Executive Vice-President. THE 2008 NBC WORLD SERIES The dates for the 74 th Annual National Baseball Congress World Series are yet to be determined. As soon as it is determined, the dates for the tournament will be posted on our website. The Havasu Heat and the Hays Larks will have automatic berths due to their 1-2 finish in 2007. The Pacific Southwest and the Jayhawk Leagues will receive two berths in 2008. All other leagues and tournaments will receive one berth, but additional teams from affiliated leagues may receive a berth if any league or tournament chooses not to send a representative. Beginning in September 2007, the National Baseball Congress will be under the direction of new ownership. The City of Wichita purchased the NBC from Rich Baseball Inc. and will take over ownership in September. The City Council approved the start of negotiations with an investor’s group connected to the American Association, an independent baseball league. The group will be responsible for running both the independent team and the NBC. They will lease the NBC from the city. 3 2007 NBC World Series League and Tournament Qualifiers League or Tournament Team Alaska Baseball League Kenai (AK) Peninsula Oilers Big States League San Antonio (TX) Phantoms California Collegiate League Santa Barbara (CA) Foresters California Collegiate League Nevada (MO) Griffons Clark C. Griffith League Vienna (VA) Senators Jayhawk League Derby (KS) Twins Jayhawk League Hays (KS) Larks MINK League Beatrice (NE) Bruins Northern Illinois League Crestwood (IL) Panthers Pacific International League Seattle (WA) Studs Pacific Southwest League Havasu (AZ) Heat Pacific Southwest League Prescott (AZ Blazers Red River League Oklahoma A's River City Victory League Haysville (KS) Astros Rocky Mountain League Denver (CO) Bombers Sooner Collegiate League Tulsa (OK) Cards Southern California Collegiate League Community Bank Cowboys (KS) Sunshine State League Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Superstars Walter Johnson League Newton (KS) Rebels Walter Johnson League Salina (KS) Blue Jays Western Baseball League-North San Diego (CA) Mavericks Western Baseball League-South San Diego (CA) Waves Zaragoza Amateur League San Antonio (TX) Titans Zaragoza Amateur League Austin (TX) Gold Sox California Cup Maxim (CA) Yankees Central California State Tournament Santa Maria (CA) Indians Central USA Regional Clarinda (IA) A's Colorado State Tournament Denver (CO) Cougars Copper Tournament Arizona Diamondjaxx Mid-South Regional Cape Girardeau (MO) Capahas Midwest Regional Park City (KS) Rangers Midwest Regional Junction City (KS) Generals North Carolina State Tournament Rock City (NC) Red Sox Pacific Southwest Regional Casa Grande (AZ) Cotton Kings Red River Regional Springfield (MO) Generals Southeast Texas Regional Houston (TX) Apollos Southern California Regional Moreno Valley (CA) Rockets Southwest Missouri TOC El Dorado (KS) Broncos Southwest Texas Regional Seguin (TX) CMC Steelers Upper Midwest Regional Madison (WI) Shoe Box Western Regional San Diego (CA) Stars Hap Dumont 18U Wichita Wolverines 4 2007 Official Scorer’s Essay The Broadview Hotel, Wichita, Kan., Aug.