May 7th, 2012
With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Jared Weaver for the Angels had faced only two batters over the minimum for the game. A deep fly ball to right field was caught by Tori Hunter to cap off a No Hitter and an incredible night of pitching for Weaver. Only two batters had reached base, one on a dropped third strike and one walk in the 9th inning. Weaver has had one of the most incredible ERAs in all of baseball for the past 5 years, so it was only a matter of time before he threw a no hitter. Cheering on the Southern California native were his mom and dad. After watching countless games, driving countless miles, and spending countless hours at the ball fields, they are still there in the front row cheering on their son through the good and the bad. A little positive parental support can do more for a player than hours of yelling and screaming.
Cinco De Mayo NIT – May 5-6, 2012
The Cinco De Mayo NIT is the last the tournament before one of the two weekends off in 2012. Teams in all divisions took advantage of that fact to play some great baseball on both Saturday and Sunday.
In the 8-Under division, Easton Elite had an undefeated weekend to take home the first place trophy. The 7-Under Chino Hills Thunder clinched the 2nd Seed, but couldn’t hold off the So Cal Bombers in the semi-finals.
The 9-Under tournament was full of upsets and revenge. The 4th Seed SGV Hustle upset the 1st Seed So Cal Bees in the semi-finals to advance to the championship game. The Bees had beaten the Hustle on Saturday in a close 7-6 game. In the finals, SGV Hustle took on So Cal Outlaws Black. It was the third game on Sunday for both teams, and the Hustle were able to outlast the Outlaws to take first place.
The 10-Under Montebello Mayhem missed the Gold Bracket on Sunday by one spot and came into Sunday determined to play hard on Sunday. They advanced to the finals where they faced the BP Roadrunners, whom they had tied on Saturday. The Mayhem fought hard for a 3-1 victory to win the Silver Bracket.
Montebello Mayhem (click to enlarge)
In the Gold Bracket, both the Bakersfield Heat and the 9-Under So Cal Outlaws Elite were both undefeated going into the championship game. The 9-Under Outlaws fought hard, but were unable to keep up with the Heat, who made sure to take advantage of the long drive down from Bakersfield.
The 11-Under Pomona Titans were in the zone all weekend, going undefeated to win the Gold Bracket.
With no 2-0 teams going into Sunday’s games, the 12-Under Red division was up for grabs for anyone. 1st Seed T2 Black took on 3rd Seed Vicious BBC in the championship game. T2 came out swinging and won the 12-Under Red division. In the 12-Under Blue division, the So Cal Riot upset the Cal Sand Dawgs in the 6-5 Championship game.
The 13-Under Anaheim Bandits were the 2nd Seeds in Pool A going into Sunday’s games. They used their loss on Saturday to light a fire for their games on Sunday. They won their quarterfinal game to take on the 1st Seed in Pool B, HD Flames. After a hard fought game, they came away with a 4-3 win to advance to the championship game, where they were to face the Tustin Knights Black. The Tustin Knights had defeated them on Saturday, but the Bandits were ready for them, and capped off an incredible three game Sunday to take home the championship trophy.
In the 14-Under, the STC Future Prospects cruised to a 1st Place finished with an undefeated weekend.
Thank you to all the teams that played this weekend. Here is a list of the Champions and Runners Up.
Mother’s Day – May 13, 2012
Mother’s Day weekend is one of our two scheduled weekends in a year that we don’t have a tournament. Moms do so much for us on and off the field, so give them a weekend back. We will be supporting moms and women alike this coming Mother’s Day at the Race For the Cure in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Thank you to all the teams that played in the Heritage tournament and helped us raise over $2500 towards our donation. Between that donation and the donations of our team, we were one of the top donators in the entire event. So from everyone at USSSA, we say thank you for your support in this incredible cause in the fight against a disease that affects so many of the people we know and love.
Spring Classic – May 19-20, 2012
The Spring Classic takes us back to Steed Park in San Clemente, as well as Big League Dreams. There are still openings available in all divisions.
Memorial Day – May 26-28, 2012
The Memorial Day team lists are currently posted for both the Memorial Day Super NIT and the FVPB/USSSA Memorial Day Tournaments. Teams playing in the Memorial Day Super NIT will receive triple ranking points on usssa.com and the winners of the Major Divisions will receive a berth to the 2012 Elite World Series.
See you on the fields
-Anthony
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