Spring Classic Recap - May 23rd, 2013

Getting ready for the Memorial Day tournament has us in 5th Gear, so I won't be able to provide a Weekend Recap for the Spring Classic.  I apologize.

Here are pictures from the weekend at Steed Park in San Clemente.

Kennedy's Athletics had team in every division in San Clemente

Safe at 2nd Base on a steal.

Keeping the runner close

Redwings 2nd Baseman makes a leaping stop on a ground ball up the middle to get the runner at first

Total Baseball Centerfielder makes a running catch to save a run 

The award for Best Socks easily goes to the Crush

After hitting an opposite field shot off the wall, Kennedy executes a perfect relay to get the batter at 2nd base.

12-Under Kennedy met the Gamerz in Pool Play and again in the Championship game later in the day.

Gamerz 3rd Baseman recovers from a fumbled ball to get the runner at first.

Here is a list of the Champions and Runner Ups.

See you on the fields

-AC

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May 19-20th - Spring Classic Recap

Traditionally, a full moon is the bearer of strange behavior, bad news, and odd events.  On Sunday, the annual solar eclipse brought us some exciting (and strange) baseball.  In San Diego, the Angels and Padres were finishing off their first interleague series of the season in a truly strange fashion.  As the 2-2 game moved into extra innings, line ups were starting to wear thin.  The Angels had suffered multiple injuries, requiring some creative defensive changes.  Albert Pujols moved from first base to third base, Bobby Wilson moved from catcher to first base, Howie Kendrick moved from second base to left field.  The strangest part came in the bottom of the 13th inning.  San Diego Padres’ starting pitcher Clayton Richard (who is scheduled to start today’s game), pinch hit with two outs in the bottom of the 13th.  After driving a single to left, Will Venable hit a single to left center.  Howie Kendrick, now playing left field, bobbled the ball allowing Richard to score all the way from first. 

2012 Spring Classic – May 19-20, 2012

With Memorial Day fast approaching, the Spring Classic was the perfect tournament to have a week before our biggest tournament of the year.  With games at Steed Park in San Clemente, beautiful summer weather, and great baseball all weekend, it was the perfect calm before the storm.

The 10-Under OC Sundevils met with BPA Rawlings twice on Sunday.  In their first game of the day (their final pool play game), the Sundevils were able to give BPA Rawlings their first loss to clinch the 1st Seed.  BPA Rawlings were able to find their game for the Championship game though, and took home a hard fought 4-2 win.

In the 11-Under division, the two undefeated teams from Saturday met for two games on Sunday.  In their pool play game, No Fear managed to beat the So Cal Mustangs by one run.  Aiming to keep the championship from being a close game, No Fear jumped out to an early 6-1 lead.  The So Cal Mustangs weren’t going to give up that easily though.  In the top of the 6th inning, they scored 7 runs to give them an 8-6 lead.  The Mustangs brought in their closer in the bottom of the 6th, who quickly struck out three batters in a row to clinch the championship.

The 13-Under Gold was evenly matched all the way through. All five games on Sunday were won by one run.  In the quarter finals, the So Cal Outlaws Black met up with their brother team, So Cal Outlaws Blue.  The game was tied 5-5 going into the bottom of the sixth.  Outlaws Black had the bases loaded, but a clutch strikeout kept the game tied going into the seventh.  Outlaws Blue were unable to hold on though, when a sacrifice fly scored the walk off winning run for Outlaws Black.

No Fear went undefeated on Saturday, but due to runs allowed, were the 3rd Seed overall, meaning they would have to win three games on Sunday to win the championship.  They won their quarter final game 2-1, and upset the 2nd Seed in the semi-final game with a 3-2 win to advance to the Championship game against the 1st Seed Irvine Rox.  No Fear jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Irvine Rox.  Once the Rox found their footing though, they took a 5-3 lead going into the 6th inning.  No Fear wasn’t done though, scoring three runs and holding the Rox for the 6-5 win.

Thank you to all the teams that played this weekend.  Here is a list of the Champions and Runners Up.

Memorial Day Super NIT– May 26-28, 2012

Memorial Day is finally here.  With teams from all over the country, you can be sure that there will be some great baseball played this weekend.  Teams playing in in the Major Divisions will receive triple ranking points on usssa.com and the winner of each division will receive a 2012 Elite World Series Berth.  All other divisions will receive double ranking points on usssa.com. 

We will be playing at four parks, including Big League Dreams Cathedral City (separate tournament), with over 100 teams.

FVPB/USSSA Memorial Day – May 26-28, 2012

2012 marks the 4th year that USSSA has partnered with Fountain Valley Pony Baseball to run their annual Memorial Day tournament.  This tournament always fills Fountain Valley Sports Park to capacity, and is a great tournament for All Star teams from all over Southern California to get experience together before All-Star season starts.  With 86 teams signed up to play, this year will be no different. 

2012 World Series – July 23rd-July 29th, 2012

The World Series is quickly approaching.  We currently have teams from eight different states signed up to play, including six teams flying all the way over from Hawaii!  This is always a great tournament and we look forward to it every year.  If you are not sure if your team is qualified to play in this tournament, please email Craig at CCiandella@aol.com.

See you on the fields

-AC

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May 7th, 2012 - Cinco De Mayo NIT

May 7^th, 2012

With two outs in the bottom of the 9^th 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 9^th 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 2^nd 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 4^th Seed SGV Hustle upset the 1^st 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.  1^st Seed T2 Black took on 3^rd 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 2^nd 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 1^st 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 1^st 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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