Cooper/Easton took a 4-0 record into the final game, where they needed a victory against 3-1 K & G/Louisville Slugger to capture the championship.  Nursing a 4-3 lead after two and a half innings, Cooper blew the game open with a nine-run 3^rd to seal the win.  The inning featured a pair of key two-run home runs, including one by Chris Riddle and one by Danny Rickman.

While the champions defeated every team they faced by at least five runs, and outscored their opponents by a combined 78-33 margin, they were on the ropes twice in the six-team round robin affair.  After brushing aside Fred’s Boys/Louisville Slugger 13-8 and Easton’s Purpose 15-3 in their first two games, Cooper outscored Saints Softball 11-0 in their final three at bats to overcome an 11-8 deficit and pull out a 19-11 victory.  Then in game four, Cooper broke open a 6-6 contest with six runs in the bottom of the 4^th and four in the 5^th to spank eventual runner-up Premier Services/Louisville Slugger 16-7.

Cooper took home $450 in cash for their efforts, while Premier pocketed $200 in cash, $200 towards a national tournament berth, and an unpaid berth to the USSSA “D” World Tournament September 12-15 in Kissimmee, Fl.  Third place K & G won $150.

Solid defense and the overall play of tournament MVP Rich Kohlbacher helped carry Cooper to the title, said manager Mike Cruea.

“Defense was the key this weekend,” said Cruea.  “The middle part of our infield with Jesse Solomon (ss), Justin Evans (m) and Chris Riddle (2b) turned several double plays.  Also the addition of Mike Ditmer at 3^rd base was key.  He made several plays with no errors.  We avoided the mistakes we had made the last few weekends.”

Cooper also got a big lift from outfielder Tyler Collins.

“He just moved out there a week ago and played right field and made several great catches that kept us in games,” said Cruea.

Rich Kohlbacher was named tournament MVP.

“He had several timely hits and led the team with fourteen rbi’s, and he had five home runs,” pointed out Cruea.  “But most impressive was that he averaged almost three runs per home run.”

Joining Kohlbacher on the All-Tournament team were Chris Riddle (.842), Mike Ditmer (.770), Eric Heinrich (.750), Matt Miller (.737) and Tyler Collins.

“Chris has had several All-Tournament selections this year,” said Cruea,” and he led the tournament this weekend in home runs with six.  He was runner-up for the MVP award for the Tri-State Conference last year, and I expect him to be among the top five in most of the Conference’s offensive statistical categories when the season ends.”

Mike Ditmer “made several good plays on defense and hit .770, and his addition coming over to us from PRI gives us a vocal leader that we need,” said Cruea.

Cruea called Heinrich his team’s “most consistent hitter.

“He leads our team in average and hit .750 this weekend.  And he did everything we needed from him,” said Cruea.

Matt Miller “pitched a few games for us and he had several key hits in the five hole,” said Cruea.  “So he’s like our second leadoff hitter.”

Tyler Collins is Cooper’s “most consistent outfielder.

“He made several diving catches and several other plays we didn’t expect him to make,” said Cruea.

Chris Riddle (.842) led Cooper both in hitting and hits (16-for-19).

Cooper used an eight-run 1^st and a three-run 3^rd to open up an 11-4 lead over Fred’s Boys in game one and held on for a 13-8 victory.  Chris Riddle socked a three-run home run to knot the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the 1^st, then Rich Kohlbacher doubled in the go-ahead run.  A two-run double by Jesse Solomon capped off the inning.  Then in the 3^rd Kohlbacher went solo and Bryan Daniel delivered a two-run shot.  Riddle added a solo home run in the 4^th to make it a 12-4 game.  Fred’s rallied for four in the top of the 6^th, but put up a goose egg in the 7^th.

Kohlbacher collected four hits, and Riddle, Matt Miller and Eric Heinrich each went 3-for-4 to pace the offense.

Next Cooper jumped out to an 11-3 lead over Easton’s Purpose with four runs in the top of the 1^st and seven in the 4^th and cruised to a 15-3 victory.  Tyler Collins belted a two-run homer and Mike Ditmer followed with a two-run double in the 1^st.  Easton’s Purpose trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with three in the bottom of the 2^nd, but Cooper quickly took the wind out of Easton’s sails with a Rich Kohlbacher slammer and a three-run blast by Jesse Solomon in the 4^th.  Cooper tacked on one in the 5^th and three in the 7^th to close out the scoring.

Matt Miller was perfect in four trips to the plate, and Bryan Daniel, Chris Riddle and Ditmer chipped in three hits apiece.

Saints Softball was poised to derail Cooper in game three when they took an 11-8 lead with five runs in the top of the 4^th.  But Cooper put up eleven unanswered runs in their next three at bats to pull out a 19-11 victory.  Danny Rickman doubled in two runs and scored the tying run on a Bryan Daniel double to tie the game at 11-11 in the bottom of the 4^th.  Rich Kohlbacher then singled in the go-ahead run in the 5^th.  Cooper erupted for seven runs in the 6^th with the help of a two-run home run by Tyler Collins, a two-run single by Matt Miller, and a two-run double by Josh Kirsten.

Chris Riddle pounded out four hits,, and Eric Heinrich, Justin Evans, Jesse Solomon, Daniel and Kohlbacher went 3-for-4.

Late scoring also helped carry Cooper past Premier 16-7 in game four.  After Premier had tied the game at 6-6 with four runs in the top of the 4^th, Cooper outscored Premier 10-1 over the next inning and a half.  In a six-run 4^th, Brian Ankney singled in the go-ahead run.  Bryan Daniel added a two-run bomb, Tyler Collins a solo shot, Matt Miller an rbi single, and Rich Kohlbacher had an rbi double.  A two-run homer by Travis Lakins and a two-run double by Dave Potter accounted for Cooper’s four runs in the 5^th and closed out the scoring.

Kohlbacher, Daniel, Chris Riddle and Miller combined for a dozen hits for the winners.

That pitted 4-0 Cooper against 3-1 K & G for the title.  K& G drew first blood with two in the top of the 1^st, then tacked on one in the 2^nd.  But Cooper outscored the Hoosier club 15-1 over the next three innings to rout K & G 15-4.  The eventual champions got a solo home run from Chris Riddle, a two-run Rich Kohlbacher bomb and an rbi single from Danny Rickman to wrench away the lead in the bottom of the 2^nd.  Then in the 3^rd they blew the game open with a nine-run outburst highlighted by a two-run single by Eric Heinrich, a two-run double by Justin Evans, and two-run home runs by Riddle and Rickman.  K & G pushed across their final run in the top of the 4^th, but Cooper offset that in the bottom of the inning on rbi singles by Riddle and Mike Ditmer.

Riddle, Kohlbacher and Ditmer shared nine hits, and Justin Evans and Danny Rickman added two each to power the champions.

Getting past Fred’s Boys in game one and knocking off K & G in the finale proved to be the two pivotal games for Cooper, said manager Mike Cruea.

“We always know it’s going to be a battle with them,” said Cruea of Fred’s Boys.  “They’re a good solid team this year.  They had us on the ropes a few weeks ago in Dayton.  They had just beaten Easton’s Purpose 24-2, so we could see we needed a win over them and that it could be our most difficult game of the tournament.”

After that, figured Cruea, “we knew that the K & G game would be the game for the money.

“But we didn’t relax on any team in between,” insisted Cruea.  “Our goal was to go 5-0, and that’s what we did.  We feel like we could beat any C team in the country.  It looked like the 5^th game had taken its toll on them.  The next time we see them, we expect to get their best from them.”

Cruea concluded by acknowledging his team’s sponsors.

“I would like to thank my sponsors, Rob VanMerte with Yuengling, Jamie Lopeman with Shinetime Clothing, and Brian Wegman with Easton,” said Cruea.  “Without these sponsors, we would not be having the success we’ve had.”

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 973351

Cooper/Yuengling/Easton routed K & G Sports/Wilson Concrete/Team Evansville/Tomcats/Louisville Slugger 15-4 in the deciding game to complete a five-game sweep of the USSSA Tri-State Conference “C-D” National Invitational on Saturday, May 18th at Expressway Park. In the front row, left to right, are Matt Miller, Bryan Daniel, Rich Kohlbacher, Brian Ankney, Dave Potter, and Justin Evans. In the back row are Ryan West, Chris Riddle, Jesse Solomon, Josh Kirsten, Tyler Collins, Eric Heinrich, Danny Rickman, Phil Watkins, Mike Cruea, Travis Lakins, and Mike Ditmer. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

Premier Services/Louisville Slugger went 3-2 en route to a runner-up finish in the USSSA Tri-State Conference “C-D” National Invitational on Saturday, May 18th at Expressway Park. Mike Snider, Kevin Forwith, Brandon Jewell, Alex Rulon, Brad Ballinger, and Aaron Brewster. In the back row are Eric Johnson, Jon Mulvihill, Rob Rockey, Josh Powell, Levi Studer, and Jake Turner. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

Reliable/Bailey’s polished off No Excuses 6-4 in a rain-shortened championship game to wrap up the title.  After the champions rallied for six runs in the bottom of the 6^th to stun Underground Detectives 11-7 in their opener, they never trailed again as they disposed of Benton Metals 11-5, No Excuses 17-13, and Freeze Concrete/Tree Frogs 18-6 in the winners’ bracket finals.

The finals went only five official innings due to inclement weather.

The victory qualified Reliable Tax for the Ohio USSSA “D” State August 17-18 in Columbus, Ohio, and for the U-Trip Great Lakes “D” National Tournament August 31-September 2 in Columbus, In.  Reliable also pocketed a paid berth to the Ohio USSSA “D” Spring State on June 8^th.

“Very solid defense,” getting past Underground Detectives in game one, and the hitting of Mike Haines helped carry Reliable/Bailey’s to the title, said manager Tim Brown.

“In the first game, we only had ten guys there, and we turned a couple of critical double plays against them,” said Brown.  “Also we scored in almost every inning.

“We had a lot of timely hitting also,” remarked Brown.  “Dave Kidwell led off for us in the bottom of the 6^th with a single, and then every guy after that had a base hit.  We just singled them to death.”

James Foreman (middle infield) and Dan Andrews (3^rd base) anchored the infield, said Brown.

“James turned a couple of really nice double plays.  It was very muddy, and he’s a mudder, so he did a really, really good job,” said Brown.  “And Dan never missed a ball at 3^rd base.  He was lights out.”

Mike Haines shined in the outfield despite less than ideal playing conditions.

“He made a couple of really nice catches in right field in water up above his ankles,” said Brown.  “We had him in a couple of different positions at 1^st base and right field, and he did a great job at both of them.  He’s a great utility guy.”

Haines also paced the offense with an .813 day.

“I’ve had him batting last all year because we wanted the last batter in our line-up to be a very good hitter,” said Brown.  “In a lot of innings he’ll be our leadoff hitter, and then the top of our lineup is right after that, and he’ll get on a lot of times and score a lot of runs.”

Shane Dancer followed with a solid .750 performance.

“It was a quiet .750,” observed Brown.  “I didn’t realize how well he hit until I did the book.  Every time he was hitting there were guys in front of him.  He had a lot of quality hits to the left and right side.”

Other hitting leaders included Dan Andrews at .733, Chris Stager at .714 and David Kidwell at .692.

Reliable/Bailey’s needed six runs in the bottom of the 6^th to overcome a 7-5 deficit and escape with an 11-7 victory over Underground Detectives in game one.  An rbi single by David Kidwell and a sac fly by Dan Andrews knotted the score at 7-7, then Chris Stager doubled in Kidwell to give his club the lead at 8-7.  Reliable then closed out the scoring with an rbi single by James Foreman, a triple from Mike Haines, and a single by Shane Dancer.

Haines, Kidwell, Stager and Dancer combined for a dozen hits to lead the winners.

Reliable never trailed in their next four games.  Against Benton Metals they opened up a 6-0 lead with one in the 1^st, two in the 2^nd and three in the 3^rd, then pulled away with two in the 6^th and three in the 7^th after Benton had trimmed the deficit down to one at 6-5.  Chris Stager’s sac fly put his team on the board in the 1^st.  James Foreman doubled in a run and scored on Mike Haines base hit in the 2^nd.  Rbi singles by Steve Zweibel, David Kidwell and Bob Billeter produced three more runs in the 3^rd.  Benton answered with one in the bottom of the 3^rd, three in the 4^th and one in the 5^th, but Reliable tacked on two in the 6^th on rbi singles by Billeter and Steve Butcher, and three in the 7^th on base hits from Kidwell, Dan Andrews and Dan Collins, to seal the win.

Kidwell, Shane Dancer, and Chris Stager were all perfect in three trips to the plate.

Next Reliable jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the top of the 1^st, then plated four in the 3^rd and three in the 4^th and 5^th to out-slug No Excuses 17-13.  A two-run shot by Shane Dancer and a two-run triple by Mike Haines capped off the 1^st, while the 3^rd featured rbi doubles from Chris Stager and James Foreman.  Jeremie Burton’s rbi double was the big blow in the 4^th, while an rbi double by Haines highlighted the 5^th.

Haines collected four hits, and Foreman, Dancer, Stager and David Kidwell each went 3-for-4.

That lifted Reliable into the winners’ bracket finals, where they used a ten-run 4^th to break open a 5-0 game and went on to mercy-rule Freeze Concrete 18-6 in five.  An rbi double by Shane Dancer gave Reliable a 1-0 lead in the 2nd.  Rbi doubles by Steve Zweibel and Chris Stager accounted for half their teams four runs in the 3^rd.  James Foreman and Dan Andrews contributed rbi doubles in the 4^th.  An rbi single by Brandon Fairchild capped off the inning.  The lead swelled to 18-0 on base hits by Bob Billeter, Foreman and Dave Kidwell in the 5^th.  Freeze rallied for six in the bottom of the 5^th to avert the shutout.

Steve Zweibel, Stager, Dancer, Foreman and Mike Haines shared fifteen hits to power the offense.

No Excuses then sent Freeze packing to earn a re-match with Reliable in the finals, but quickly fell behind 4-0 after two and never recovered.  Reliable drew first blood with two in the bottom of the 1^st on a Jeremie Burton sac and Mike Haines rbi double.  The lead doubled to 4-0 in the 2^nd when Shane Dancer doubled in a run and scored on James Foreman’s base hit.  No Excuses answered with two in the top of the 3^rd, but Reliable offset that with rbi singles from Dan Andrews and Foreman in the bottom of the inning.  No Excuses tacked on two in the 5^th, then momentarily took an 8-6 lead in the top of the 6^th.  But when the umpire called the game due to inclement weather, tournament officials reverted to the score the previous inning, giving Reliable a 6-4 victory and the title.

Haines and Dancer had two hits each for the champions.

Getting past Freeze Concrete in the winners’ bracket finals was “critical,” said Reliable manager Tim Brown.

“Those guys never give up,” said Brown.  “We hit in every inning against them, and even when we put up all those runs in the 4^th, they came back and answered with six.  They never gave up.  Even though they went the first four innings without scoring, they got guys on, they just couldn’t get them across the plate.  They’re a classy group and we were very impressed with them.”

Brown concluded by acknowledging his sponsor, the inspiration behind the name “Bailey’s Boys,” and the staff at Warren County Armco Park.

“It’s very hard to get sponsors these days,” said Brown, “and Reliable Tax is a fantastic sponsor that has really helped us with what they’re giving us to play.  We wouldn’t be able to do anything without them.

The name “Bailey’s Boys” comes from the daughter of one of the players on the team, said Brown.

“She’s going through some medical issues, and we just want to say we love her and we’re there for her,” said Brown.

“It was a very well-run tournament,” added Brown.  “Eddie and those guys did a great job, and we were happy to be there.”

For final standings, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID=979592

Reliable Tax/Bailey’s Boys swept undefeated past five opponents, knocking off No Excuses 6-4 in the finals, to capture first place in the USSSA District XIII “D-E” championship on Saturday, May 11th at Warren County Armco Park. Front row, left to right, are James Foreman, Brandon Fairchild, and Dan Collins. Standing are Tim Brown, Jackie Dancer, Brandon Minnich, Jeremie Burton, Steve Zweibel, Dave “Skins” Kidwell, Bob Billeter, Steve Butcher, Mike Haines, Chris Stager and Dan Andrews. Photo courtesy of Warren County Armco Park.

Hush was able to score when a Team Steam outfielder overran Thomas’ single into left.

The victory capped off a 5-0 day for the champions, who battled past Sinister/Powerhouse 13-8, Associates/Xtreme/Jerks/BCP 14-4, American Trading 23-20, and Full Throttle/Durbin Bowl/Sunman Packaging 27-17 in the winners’ bracket finals prior to outlasting Steam in the championship game.

Dirt Brothers outscored their five opponents by a 97-68 margin, despite winning their first and third games in their final at bat, and needing six runs in the top of the 6^th to outlast American Trading 23-20.

The victory netted Dirt Brothers $750 in cash and a paid berth to the USSSA “D” World Tournament September 12-15 in Kissimmee, Fl.

Runner-up Team Steam took home $375, while the Ducks – the highest finishing “E” team – pocketed $375 plus a paid berth to the USSSA “E” World Tournament September September 13-15 in Sterling Heights, Mi., or September 26-29 in Kissimmee, Fl.

Dirt Brothers’ player-manager Billy Hollis said his team “made the routine plays that we needed to defensively and turned some timely double plays, and we only hit into one double play as a team.  So we had productive outs throughout the tournament.

“Also, our pitcher, Mike Rhodes, pitched well and fielded the middle well,” said Hollis.  “We hit a lot of home runs for outs, but we didn’t hit a lot of solo home runs, so the ones that counted, counted.”

Fittingly, Drew Thomas and Rodney Hush – whose back-to-back singles leading off the bottom of the 7^th led to Dirt Brothers’ 20-19 victory in the championship game – were named to the All-Tournament team, and Hush was selected Tournament MVP.

They also led their team in hitting, batting .818 and .720, respectively.

“He (Hush) fielded the middle well, had a lot of timely hits, and was involved in almost every aspect of the game as far as from an offensive and defensive standpoint,” pointed out Hollis.  “And Drew only made four outs the whole tournament.  He could easily have been named MVP.”

Other All-Tournament selections included Aric Thomas (.680), Hollis (667), and Shane Thomas (.653).

“Aric had a lot of timely hits, including a lot for extra bases,” said Hollis.  “So he was putting himself in scoring position, which helped the guys behind him.  He actually scored sixteen runs, and that was the most out of anybody on the team.”

Shane Thomas “batted second and throughout the beginning of the tournament, he kept us going in the winners’ bracket, moving runners over and hitting singles and doubles,” said Hollis.

Chris Woolwine also had a big day for the Brothers, said Hollis.

“He hit third and had a lot of rbi’s in the first two games to keep us going.  And he played well for us in right field, especially for someone who is not a regular outfielder for us.”

Dirt Brothers needed five runs in the top of the 8^th to break an 8-8 stalemate and escape with a 13-8 victory over Sinister/Powerhouse in game one.  Dennie Roe’s rbi single scored Billy Hollis with the go-ahead run.  Shane Thomas followed with a sac fly, Chris Woolwine and Aric Thomas with rbi doubles, and Rodney Hust an rbi single to close out the scoring.

Hush collected four hits in all, and Drew Thomas, Cory Allen, Shane Thomas, Woolwine and Aric Thomas each went 3-for-5.

Dirt Brothers never trailed in game two against Columbus rival Associates, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st and never looked back in a five-inning, 14-4 rout.  Chris Woolwine launched a two-run shot, and Drew Thomas added a three-run bomb in the 1st.  Shane Thomas doubled in a run in the 2^nd, then Billy Hollis had a two-run double, and Cory Allen and Shane Thomas had rbi singles to help Dirt Brothers break the game open with four in the 3^rd.  Dirt Brothers tacked on two in the 4^th on rbi singles by Drew Thomas and Mike Rhodes, and two more in the 5^th on a base hit by Chris Woolwine and Rodney Hush’s walk-off single.

Hush and Shane Thomas were both perfect in four trips to the plate, Drew Thomas added three hits, and Hollis, Joey Boysel and Dennie Roe chipped in with two hits apiece.

Next Dirt Brothers rallied for six runs in the top of the 6^th to overcome a 17-16 deficit to American Trading, and held on for a 23-20 victory.  Dennie Roe’s two-run single put his club ahead for good a 18-17.  Later in the inning Rodney Hush added a big two-run triple, then scored on a base hit by Drew Thomas to cap off the inning.  Roe collected another rbi with a sac fly in the top of the 7^th.

Chris Woolwine, Aric Thomas, Drew Thomas and Billy Hollis banged out four hits each for the winners.

That lifted Dirt Brothers into the winners’ bracket finals, where they scored in every inning to out-slug Full Throttle 27-17.  Dirt Brothers grabbed the lead with six runs in the top of the 6^th.  Mike Rhodes’ two-run double was the big blow in the inning.  Drew Thomas doubled in two more runs in the 5^th, then Dirt Brothers broke the game open with four in the 6^th and five in the 7^th.  The 6^th featured a two-run double by Chris Woolwine, and the 7^th a two-run single by Shane Thomas.

Aric Thomas, Rodney Hush, and Shane Thomas combined for fifteen hits to pace the offense.

Meanwhile, Team Steam, which had lost their second game of the tournament to Full Throttle 13-9, was marching through the losers’ bracket, finally avenging their loss to Full Throttle with a 17-11 victory in the losers’ bracket finals.  And for six and a half innings in the finals, Steam was positioning themselves to win their third consecutive TSC event by rallying out of the losers’ bracket.

But in the bottom of the 7^th, Steam blinked.  Rodney Hush led off the inning with a single, then, after Drew Thomas singled into left, Hush came all the way around to score the game winner when the Steam defender overran the ball in left field.

Cory Allen and Drew Thomas pounded out five hits each to power the champions.  Mike Rhodes, Billy Hollis and Dennie Roe shared nine hits.

Dirt Brothers was on the ropes at least three times during the tournament, including twice after needing extra innings to fend off Sinister 13-8 in game one.

“We were down early against American Trading, but in the top of the 6^th we started off with the bottom three of our line-up getting on base with nobody out, and all three of them scored, so that was helpful,” said Hollis.  “And everybody scored at least once in that game.”

Hollis said his team felt it was important to score early against Steam.

“We had been watching them play Throttle in the losers’ bracket finals, and they had jumped out to a big lead,” recalled Hollis.  “We had won the winners’ bracket so we got to choose home or away, so we chose home and had the lead after the first inning, and that was big for us.  We didn’t score in the 2^nd, and only scored one in the 3^rd, but then we had big innings in the 4^th and 5^th.”

Hollis said that the competition in the Tri-State Conference “was really good from top to bottom.

“We didn’t know who was D and who as E, but we got to see quite a few teams, and it looked like the competition was close, even between the D and E teams,” said Hollis.

Hollis said his team appreciated that “the field crew did a nice job getting the fields ready after all the rain we had on Friday night.

“We got up early expecting some sort of rain delay, but they were well prepared for all the rain,” said Hollis.

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 976838

Dirt Brothers pushed across a run in the bottom of the 7th to outlast Team Steam/Goodtimers/@kjulius 20-19 in the championship game of the USSSA-Tri-State Conference Bash for Cash “D-E” National Invitational on Saturday, May 11th at Mid-America Ballyard. In the front row, left to right, are Shane Thomas, Dennie Roe, Lloyd Moore, Billy Hollis, and Rodney Hush In the back row are Drew Thomas, Aric Thomas, Joey Boysel, Mike Rhodes, Chris Woolwine and Cory Allen.

Premier compiled a 6-1 record on their way to the title of the nine-team, double-elimination affair.  After mercy-ruling Team Freedom 15-5 in their opener, Premier stumbled against Associettes in an 18-13 slugfest, but then bounced back strong to trample Red Dragons 13-0, Team Freedom 14-5 and Evoluation/DDI 24-8 prior to tripping up Associettes in the finals.

Despite yielding eighteen runs in their loss to Associettes, the champions outscored their opponents by a combined 94-48 margin, holding six of their seven opponents to single digit scoring.

Amy Dunn, left, of Associettes/AdvoCare/KMT SportsLLC, and Whitney Gillman of Premier Services shared MVP honors in the Commie Currens Memorial-USSSA Women’s World Qualifier on Saturday, May 5th at Expressway Park. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

Solid contributions from the bottom of their line-up and the pitching tandem of Kelly Throckmorton and Briana Lindner helped carry Premier to the title, said manager Rodney Wolfe.

“My bottom three hitters had a total of thirty-two rbi’s,” pointed out Wolfe.  “Jessica Hardy had thirteen, Samantha Broxterman twelve, and Amber Turner seven.  And all three hit over .600 and they’re our bottom three hitters.”

Premier’s pitching success came from “a combination of Kelly Throckmorton the first couple of games and then Briana Lindner showed up and finished out the tournament for us, and both pitched great,” said Wolfe.  “Plus Briana hit awesome too.”

No fewer than six players hit over .600 for the winners, and nine batted .565 or better.  Whitney Gillman paced the offense with a .725 mark followed by Brian Lindner at .692, Kelly Throckmorton at .680, Jessica Hardy at .667, Amber Turner at .647, Sam Broxterman at .611, Amy Schweinefus at .593, Beth Fields Hunt at .565, and Cassie Brock at .565.

Gillman was named tournament MVP.

“She just made great plays down at 3^rd base,” said Wolfe.  “Whenever we needed a key stop, or a diving catch, she made if for us.  And she hit the ball great too and had twelve rbi’s.”

Joining Gillman on the All-Tournament team were Briana Lindner, Kelly Throckmorton, Amber Turner and Beth Fields-Hunt.

“Briana hit .692 and had eight rbi’s, and when she started pitching after our second game, she only gave up twenty-five runs in five games,” said Wolfe.

Kelly Throckmorton “just hits,” said Wolfe.

“She’s just another one of our players who when she’s not pitching, or AH’ing or catching, she’s a .600 hitter every tournament.  She’s an unselfish player who’s been with me ever since I started this team.  She batted .680 with eight rbi’s and pitched two games,” said Wolfe.

Amber Turner “only had seven rbi’s, but she batted .647 and they were all big rbi’s,” said Wolfe.  “And Beth Fields-Hunt is part of our five-man infield and she moves around and plays left field or right field or short in our five-man.  She made some great plays and batted .565 with eleven key hits.  She played solid for us all day.

“We play a five-man infield,” added Wolfe.  “I don’t know any other girls teams who can do that, and that seemed to help out a bunch.”

Premier used a two-run 2^nd to break a 1-1 tie with Team Freedom in game one, then broke the game open with five in the 3^rd, two in the 4^th and five in the 5^th en route to a 15-5, five-inning rout.  Jessica Hardy’s rbi single put her club ahead for good in the bottom of the 2^nd.  Amber Turner’s two-run single was the big blow in the 3^rd, while the 4^th featured a Beth Fields-Hunt rbi triple.  Kelly Throckmorton had a two-run triple as Premier invoked the mercy-rule in the 5^th.

Whitney Gillman, Amy Schweinefus, and Fields-Hunt banged out three hits each, and Hardy, Sam Broxterman and Turner added two apiece to pace the offense.

That was as far as Premier would advance through the winners’ bracket, however, as Associettes erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the 3^rd to break a 7-7 tie and forge a commanding 14-7 lead, and went on to overpower Premier 18-13.

That heralded the arrival of Briana Lindner, who promptly tossed a 13-0, five-inning shutout over Red Dragons in game three.  Rbi singles by Kelly Throckmorton, Beth Fields-Hunt, Cassie Brock and Whitney Gillman helped Premier grab an early 4-0 lead in the top of the 1^st.  The lead swelled to 7-0 with the help of Crystal Louden’s two-run single in the 2^nd.  Rbi singles by Amy Steele and Amy Schweinefus turned it into a 9-0 romp in the 3^rd.  An rbi single by Brenda Walsh capped off a four-run 4^th.

Amy Steele, Throckmorton and Gillman combined for nine hits to lead the winners.

A four-run 2^nd and a nine-run 4^th carried Premier past Team Freedom 14-5 in game four.  Amber Turner’s rbi single ignited the 2^nd and put her team on top to stay at 2-1.  Jessica Hardy’s bases-clearing triple sparked the 4^th as Premier blew the game wide open.  Amy Steele was perfect in three trips to the plate.  Hardy added two hits and drove in four runs.

A nine-run 1^st and a nine-run 5^th powered Premier over Evolution 24-8 in a five-inning losers’ bracket finals.  In the 1^st Premier scored seven runs with two outs, with Sam Broxterman delivering a three-run triple to cap off the inning.  Whitney Gillman had a two-run single in a three-run 2^nd, and Beth Fields-Hunt had a two-run single in a three-run 3^rd.  Briana Lindner and Broxterman each contributed a two-run single to help close out the scoring in the 5^th.

Kelly Throckmorton, Fields-Hunt, and Amber Turner shared nine hits, and Broxterman had five rbi’s.

That lifted Premier into the finals, where they avenged their second round setback to Associettes with a convincing 20-9 thrashing.  Associettes drew first blood with a run in the bottom of the 1^st, but an rbi single by Whitney Gillman knotted the score, then Briana Lindner lifted her team into the lead with a sac fly.  Premier tacked on one in the 3^rd on an rbi single by Crystal Louden, and four in the 4^th with the help of back-to-back bases loaded walks to Lindner and Amber Turner.  Sam Broxterman’s two-run double capped off a seven-run 5^th as the lead swelled to 14-4.  Beth Hunt-Fields had an rbi double to highlight a six-run 7^th.

Hunt-Fields and Gillman pounded out four hits each, and Broxterman knocked in four runs and had three hits along with Jessica Hardy and Turner.

In a low-scoring finale, Associettes held a narrow 3-2 lead after five.  But in the top of the 6^th, Amy Schweinefus and Crystal Louden singled, moved into scoring position on a fly ball by Kelly Throckmorton, then raced home on a huge rbi single by Beth Fields-Hunt.  Amy Steele then plated Jessica Hardy with a sac fly in the top of the 7^th to make the final 5-3.

Throckmorton collected three hits, and Hardy, Sam Broxterman and Brenda Walsh shared six to power the champions.

Premier manager Rodney Wolfe said that after Associettes had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 5^th, he was “just hoping we didn’t run out of gas from running the bases since we had scored forty-four runs in the last two games.

“I never count this team out til the last out,” said Wolfe.  “This is just a special group and we can’t wait to get down to the World.”

Wolfe made no excuses for his team’s 18-13 loss to Associettes early in the tournament.

“They just hit the ball,” remarked Wolfe.  “We made some bad plays that game, but I’m not going to take anything away from them.  They have a good squad and they just outplayed us that game.  You can’t give good teams errors, and they capitalized on every error we had.”

Was Wolfe concerned after Premier fell into the losers’ bracket?

“With this team here I’d never count us out,” said Wolfe.  “This is by far the best team I have ever coached and I’ve been doing this for eleven years now.  I can pretty much put anybody anywhere and still feel like we have a chance to win every tournament we’re in.

“This is a special group,” he continued.  “I have a couple of girls who are limited to what they can do fielding-wise, but they do whatever it takes to win, whether it’s sitting out or catching or AH’ing.  They never complain, they just do it.  And the rest of the girls are the same way.  They are very unselfish and do whatever I ask them to do.”

Wolfe said his team had “been right there” in tournaments earlier this season, “but finally got over the top.

“It was pretty fun,” said Wolfe.  “But it was a long day.”

Wolfe concluded by acknowledging his team’s sponsor and Expressway Park.

“We want to thank Premier and Kevin Forwith for sponsoring us this year,” said Wolfe.  “It means a lot to us.  Without his help it would be a real struggle.  Also Expressway Park and Myra Burwell (Tournament Director) did a great job with running the tournament.”

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 971251

After losing their second game of the tournament, Premier Services rallied all the way back through the losers’ bracket to double-dip Associettes/Advocare/KMT Sports LLC 20-9 and 5-3 and capture first place in the Commie Currens Memorial-USSSA Women’s World Qualifier on Saturday, May 5th at Expressway Park. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

Associettes/Advocare/KMT Sports LLC went 3-2 en route to a runner-up finish in the Commie Currens Memorial-USSSA Women’s World Qualifier on Saturday, May 5th at Expressway Park. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

The Commie Currens Memorial-USSSA Women’s World Qualifier All-Tournament team. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

The win over Cooper was the only test for Bellas, which routed each of their other four opponents by at least fifteen runs on their way to the title.  After mercy-ruling Associates/Xtreme/Jerks/BCP 20-5 in a five inning opener, Bellas spanked O’Conners Irish Pub 34-18, battled past Cooper 26-22, then overpowered Dill’s Plumbing/P. B. Roofing/Citizev’s 31-14 in five to complete the sweep.  Runner-up NJB Automotive/Gabriel Homecare forfeited the championship game to Bellas, 7-0.

The champions outscored their four victims by a 111-59 margin.

Pitcher Anthony Mattix turning double play against Cooper/Yuengling/Easton in a third-round matchup in the In It To Win It Tri-State Conference USSSA “C-D” National Invitational Tournament May 4th at Kettering Fields in Dayton. Photo by Tito Workman.

Bellas left Dayton with $1,000 in USSSA travel expense.  Second place NJB pocketed $500 and an unpaid berth to the USSSA “C” World Tournament September 19-22 in Kissimmee, Fl.  Bellas had previously qualified.  Dills Plumbing was awarded $300.

Mark Finchell/Kimball/Atrium of Springfield, the highest finishing “D” team, qualified for the U-Trip “D” World September 12-15, also in Kissimmee.

“Hitting” and “consistency” helped carry Bellas to the title, said player-coach Tito Workman.

“We hit the crap out of the ball this weekend,” said Workman, whose team averaged just under 28 runs per game.  “Hitting Dudley ZN’s doesn’t hurt, but hitting was the key.”

Bellas had placed third in their previous two TSC events, but “played with much more consistency than we had in the previous tournaments,” said Workman.

“In some games we’ve been more consistent than others.  We’d play one game and the following game come out flat, and that is what we’ve been striving to do – to stay consistent,” said Workman.  “And we were able to do that this past weekend.”

Brook Crawford batted 1.000, and Eric Workman and Doug Shanyfelt hit .800 to power the champions.  Workman was named tournament MVP.

All-Tournament selection Scott Carr.

“They would have given it (MVP award) to Brook, but because he didn’t start all four games, they gave it to Eric for his hitting,” said Workman.  “Brook was a perfect 10-for-10 for the weekend.  He started two games and came off the bench two games, and in the game against Cooper he had a clutch base hit.”

Joining Eric Workman on the All-Tournament team were Crawford, Doug Shanyfelt, Scott Carr and Ian Craze.

“Doug was selected for his hitting,” said Tito Workman.  “He had been struggling and was in a little slump, but he turned it up a notch and hit really well.

Carr (.769) was named “for his hitting,” and Craze (.764) “for his defense and hitting.

Other offensive leaders included Cory Moore (.800), Mike Malesko (.713), Ryan Disbennett (.705), Mike Beckett (.667), Anthony Mattix (.667) and Jason Slack (.545).

Cory Hogle, Ian Craze and Anthony Mattix shined on defense.

“Cory made a few nice plays at short, and Ian couple nice plays in center,” said Workman.  “And our pitcher, Anthony Mattix, turned a nice double play by himself in the last inning against Cooper.  He fielded a hard shot up the middle, and was back far enough to where he could step on 2^nd base and still have time to throw to 1^st to complete the double-play.”

Bellas marked in every inning as they brushed aside Associates 20-5 in game one.  An rbi single by Chris Hoffer in the bottom of the 1^st knotted the game at 1-1, then Doug Shanyfelt singled home the go-ahead run.  Bellas pushed across a third run on a fielder’s choice.  Steve Carr had an rbi triple to make it a 4-2 game in the 2^nd, then Bellas blew the game open with five in the 3^rd and 4^th and six in the 5^th.  The 3^rd featured solo home runs by Hoffer and Mike Beckett and a two-run shot by Shanyfelt.  Ryan Disbennett had a two-run single and Brook Crawford a two-run triple in the 4^th.  Cory Hogle and Shanyfelt each contributed a two-run double in the 5^th.

Eric Workman, Hoffer, Ian Craze, Shanyfelt and Crawford combined for fifteen hits to pace the offense.

A sixteen-run 1^st helped clinch a 34-18 rout of O’Conners Irish Pub in game two.  The inning was highlighted by four home runs – a solo shot by Brook Crawford, two-run homers by Ian Craze and Ryan Disbennett, and a three-run bomb by Chris Hoffer.  O’Conners came right back with eight in the bottom of the 1^st and four in the 2^nd to trim the deficit to 16-12, but Bellas pulled away with four in the 3^rd, two in the 4^th, three in the 5^th and 6^th and six in the 7^th.  O’Conners proved to be its own worst enemy in the 3^rd, walking in all four of Bellas runs.  Brook Crawford doubled in both runs in the 4^th.  Rbi singles by Scott Carr and Craze were the big blows in the 5^th, while Mike Beckett doubled in two of his club’s three runs in the 6^th.  Rbi doubles by Doug Shanyfelt and Jason Slack and a two-run double by Crawford accounted for four of Bellas six runs in the 7^th.

Carr and Crawford were both perfect in four trips to the plate, while Craze, Shanyfelt, Disbennett and Beckett chipped in with three hits apiece to lead the winners.

Bellas needed seven runs in the bottom of the 6^th to erase a 20-19 deficit and overtake Cooper 26-20 for an eventual 26-22 win in game three.  Scott Carr singled to tie the game at 20-20, then scored the go-ahead run on a walk to Eric Workman..  A pair of two-run singles – one by Ian Craze and the other by Doug Shanyfelt – closed out the scoring for Bellas.  Cooper pushed across two in the top of the 7^th before running out of swings.

Workman, Craze and Mike Bennett banged out four hits each, and Chris Hoffer, Shanyfelt and Jason Slack shared nine hits in the victory.

That lifted Bellas into the winners’ bracket finals against Dill’s Plumbing in what proved to be the championship game.  Dill’s drew first blood with two runs in the top of the 1^st, but Bellas exploded with twenty-one in the bottom of the 1^st and eight in the 2^nd to seal an eventual 31-14 victory.  Mike Malesko’s three-run blast quickly erased a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the1st.  Ryan Disbennett added a three-run homer, Chris Hoffer a two-run shot, and Mike Beckett a three-run bomb.  The 2^nd featured rbi doubles by Disbennett and Malesko and a two-run single by Eric Workman.  Bellas tacked on two in the 3^rd on rbi singles by Cory Moore and Anthony Mattix.  Dill’s put up six in the 3^rd and six in the 4^th to make the final respectable at 31-14.

Disbennett and Mattix pounded out four hits each for the champions.  Scott Carr, Workman, Malesko, Ian Craze, Doug Shanyfelt and Cory Hogle shared eighteen hits.

Getting past Cooper in the third round proved to be the “big game” for Bellas, said player-coach Tito Workman.

“Everybody’s getting the vibes that there are going to be some battles with Cooper down the road in other tournaments,” said Workman.  “Both teams are evenly matched.  And even though there is a little chirping going on, the respect factor is there.”

Workman called his team’s game with Cooper “our biggest win of the tournament.

“It was a close game throughout until the last inning,” said Workman.  “Ian Craze and Doug Shanyfelt each had back-to-back rbi singles, which I thought was key since we were out of home runs.  Both came in clutch situations with two outs.

“Also Anthony Mattix made a nice play in the 7^th,” noted Workman.  “They started off the inning with a leadoff single, and the next guy walked.  That’s when Ant (Anthony) turned that double play.”

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 922909

Bellas/MOJO/Miken/Yuengling drilled Dill’s Plumbing/PB Rookfing/Citizev’s 31-14 in the deciding game to capture first place in the “In It To Win It” USSSA Tri-State Conference National Invitational on Saturday, May 4th at Kettering Fields in Dayton. Kneeling, left to right, are Ian Craze, Mike Beckett, Jason Slack, Ryan Disbennett, Cory Hogle, Eric Workman, Jeff Harper, Craig Hoeflich. Standing are Scott Carr, Chris Hoffer, Brook Crawford, Cory Moore, Brian Kirk, Doug Shanyfelt, Mike Malesko, Larry McCoy, Anthony Mattix, Dan Shipley, and Tito Workman. Photo courtesy of Bellas/MOJO/Miken/Yuengling softball team.

The 33rd Annual Worth/Dick’s Sporting Goods USSSA Memorial Tournament is an annual event hosted at multiple facilities in S.W. Ohio to remember and honor softballers who have passed on.

This year’s honorees include Robert Mayes (Kettering);  Kevin Ward  (Springfield); Ron “Rookie” Henry & Mark Henry (Morrow); Gene Bonny (Franklin); and Brett Lonsbury (Sidney).  Ceremonies for family and friends will be held at specific tournament sites.  Springfield’s DaveyMoorePark hosts ceremonies for Kevin Ward at 10am; WarrenCounty’s ArmcoPark hosts ceremonies for Gene Bonny, Ron Henry, and Mark Henry at noon; Dayton’s Kettering Field hosts ceremonies for Robert Mayes at 1:30pm; and Sidney’s FlanaganPark host ceremonies for Brett Lonsbury at 3pm.

This year’s Memorial Tournament, also referred to as “Softball’s Toughest Test,” will feature a 5-game round-robin on Saturday, followed by double elimination for all teams on Sunday.  On a per game basis, the $300 entry fee is also “Softball’s Best Value.”  Categories of play include both men’s (D&E) and mixed couples/co-ed.

A large prize package is provided, which includes Worth bats and additional items for both round-robin winners and championship round participants.

Teams may enter at the park of their choice, or by requesting the entry materials from:  dayton_softball@hotmail.com.

Cincysoftball.com mercy-ruled Cotner Funeral Home 17-2 in the championship game to complete a five-game sweep of the twelve-team field.  Earlier in the tournament the winners had routed Rehage Landscaping 16-6 and Team TMC 18-11, then held off Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club/Sentry Fire 12-8 before trimming Kendrick Lawn/Team Havoc/ATWLD.com 5-4 in the winners’ bracket finals.

The victory over Cotner avenged a 20-4 spanking Cincysoftball had suffered just a week earlier in the championship game of another TSC event at Expressway Park in Milford.  It also ended six weeks of frustration for the champions, whose previous three outings had produced a 5^th, 3^rd, and 2^nd place finish.

Cincysoftball.com pocketed $637.50 for their efforts, along with an unpaid berth to the USSSA “D” World Tournament September 12-15 in Kissimmee, Fl., while runner-up Cotner returned to Columbus with $362.50.

Foley’s Irish Pub took home $100 travel expense, $200 towards a USSSA Great Lakes “E” National berth, and an unpaid berth to the USSSA “E” World Tournament September 13-15 in Sterling Heights, Mi., and/or September 26-29 in Kissimmee, Fl.  Rehage Landscaping also left Kolping with $100 travel.

“Pitching and defense” carried Cincysoftball.com to the title, said manager Andy Larkins.

“We got our starting pitcher, Kevin Hutson, back,” said Larkins.  “He had been missing since the Bash for Cash (March 23-24).  He pitched four games and only gave up twenty runs, and he induced five double plays and only walked four guys – and one was intentional.  So he only gave up five runs per game.  In our second game when we gave up eleven runs Danny Tolbert pitched.  Kevin had a finger injury on his non-throwing hand, so getting him back was huge for us.”

Middle-infielder Danny Tolbert was named tournament MVP “because he played defense in the middle” and hit several key home runs, said Larkins.

“He hit a three-run home run in the 4^th that put LBYC in a run-rule position,” recalled Larkins.  “They got out of it but it was a big home run.  And his home run in the Kendrick game in the 5^th basically won the game for us.  We were down 4-3 and nobody could score.  Kevin Birkofer drew a walk, and Tolbert hit one that cleared the fence by about a foot.  And his five rbi’s in the championship game culminated with a walk-off home run to win the tournament for us.”

Joining Tolbert (.684) on the All-Tournament team were Hutson, Joe Frey (.714), Luke Thieken (.667), Isaiah Stayton (.643), and Jeremy Hampton (.636).

“Kevin was named for his pitching,” said Larkins.  “Despite his hand injury, he can really pitch and really field.  Joe had his best weekend of the year, hitting .714, and he had a big three-run home run for us.  Luke played great defense in centerfield and had several key hits.  Isaiah was selected for his offensive contributions.  He’s our AH and he got on base a whole lot (.667 OBA).  And Jeremy had a great tournament offensively and defensively.  He was on base at a .750 clip and hit a couple of home runs early in the tournament.”

Cincysoftball.com used a couple of big innings to propel themselves past their first two opponents, Rehage Landscaping 16-6 and Team TMC 18-11.

Against Rehage, Cincysoftball erupted for ten runs in the top of the 2^nd to erase a 2-1 deficit and went on to rout Rehage 16-6 in five.  Jeremy Hampton connected for a solo shot to tie the game at 2-2.  Later in the inning Danny Tolbert had a two-run double, and Brandon Houlihan contributed a three-run bomb.  Joe Frey had an rbi single in a two-run 3^rd, then struck again with an rbi single to cap off a three-run 5^th.  That proved to be the game-winning hit, as Rehage ran out of swings following a three-run rally in the bottom of the inning.

Tolbert banged out four hits, and Frey went 3-for-4 to pace the offense.

Next Cincysoftball exploded for thirteen runs in the top of the 4^th to overcome a 4-2 deficit versus Team TMC and went on to spank the Marietta, Oh. club 18-11.  Jeremy Hampton’s three-run blast put his club ahead to stay at 5-4.  Kevin Birkofer, Isaiah Stayton and Brandon Houlihan added rbi doubles in the inning, Brad Hargreaves had a two-run double, and Luke Thieken capped off the inning with a three-run homer.  Thieken drove in two more runs with a base hit in the 6^th after TMC had trimmed an eleven-run deficit down to six.

Thieken collected four hits, and Hampton and Joe Frey chipped in three apiece.

In game three Cincysoftball used a four-run 3^rd and a five-run 4^th to break open a 2-1 contest with Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club, then held on as LBYC outscored Cincysoftball 7-1 over the last three innings.  A sac fly by Luke Thieken put his team on top for good at 2-1 in the bottom of the 2^nd.  Isaiah Stayton had an rbi double in the 3^rd, Brad Hargreaves followed with a two-run single, and Joe Frey an rbi triple.  An rbi double by Anthony Robinson and a three-run homer by Danny Tolbert were the big blows in the 4^th, as the lead swelled to 11-1.  LBYC never recovered.

Kevin Birkofer and Stayton were perfect in four at bats, and Tolbert and Joe Frey had two hits each.

That pitted Cincysoftball against Kendrick Lawn in the winners’ bracket finals.  Kendrick erased a 3-2 deficit with two runs in the top of the 4^th, but Cincysoftball closed out the scoring with two in the bottom of the 5^th on a Danny Tolbert two-run shot.  Both teams put up goose eggs in the final two frames.

Tolbert, Brandon Houlihan, Jeremy Hampton and Luke Thieken shared eight hits for the winners.

Kendrick’s scoring woes continued in the losers’ bracket finals, where Cotner Funeral Home – which had just swept through a fourteen-team field a week ago – sent Kendrick’s packing 6-3.

But Cotner proved no match for Cincysoftball in the finals.  The locals grabbed an early 6-0 lead with three in the bottom of the 1^st and three in the 2^nd, then invoked the mercy-rule with eleven in the 4^th.  Rbi singles by Brad Hargreaves, Brandon Houlihan and Joe Frey accounted for their team’s three runs in the 1^st.  Danny Tolbert had a two-run double and scored on another Hargreaves base hit in the 2^nd.  Cotner pushed across two in the top fo the 3^rd, but Cincysoftball plated another run in the bottom of the inning on a Luke Thieken sac fly.  The 4^th was highlighted by a three-run Frey bomb, a two-run single by Anthony Robinson, a two-run double by Kevin Birkofer, and a Tolbert two-run walk off shot.

Birkofer and Tolbert had three hits each for the champions.  Hargreaves, Houlihan, Frey, Robinson and Thieken combined for ten hits.

The victories over Team TMC and Kendrick Lawn proved to be the pivotal games for Cincysoftball.

“We were kinda grinding along and got together at the beginning of the 4^th inning and got the guys to focus on the fact that we’re not hitting, and they answered the bell with thirteen runs,” recalled Larkins regarding his team’s come-from-behind win over TMC.  “Everybody in the line-up got a hit in that inning.  It was great to see them come alive there.”

The Kendrick match-up “was a great game if you like pitching and defense,” said Larkins.  “We had a hard time with their pitcher, and they had a hard time with ours.  And the wind knocked everything down.  We had ten hits and they only had eight.”

Revenge was sweet against Cotner, said Larkins.

“It was awesome to put the same thing on Cotner that they put on us,” said Larkins, whose team was shelled 20-4 by Cotner a week before.  “We were exhausted last week because we had to come back through the losers’ bracket and they put it on us.

“They were tired,” remarked Larkins.  “We could tell.  We had several hours to rest up and they looked like we looked last week, and we let them have it.”

So what was the difference between this weekend and last?

“For the most part, this was the first time all year we had our full roster, and it was great to see our back-up guys supporting our starters,” said Larkins.  “Having a big roster for a tournament like this was helpful, so I appreciate those guys being there and filling that role.”

And how does it feel to finally win a tournament after reaching the winners’ bracket finals and coming up empty in each of their previous two outings?

“It feels great,” said Larkins.  “We felt like we had the potential to win these tournaments as evidenced by making it to two winners’ bracket finals.  We felt like we were ready to win one of these things.  We’ve been chasing this level of success, so it’s very gratifying to finally achieve it.”

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 975742

Cincysoftball.com/Buffalo Joe’s/Cronin Ford routed Cotner Funeral Home 17-2 in the championship game to complete a five-game sweep of a USSSA Tri-State Conference “D-E” National Invitational May 4th at Kolping Park. Front row, left to right, are Kevin Hutson, Steve Bock, Mark Kahny, Anthony Robinson, and Luke Thieken. In the second row are Coy Baker, Joe Frey, Ryan Neff, Brad Hargreaves, Brandon Houlihan, and Christian Kline. In the back row are Jeremy Hampton, Andy Larkins, Kevin Birkofer, Dan Tolbert, Pete Ems, Isaiah Stayton, an Brett Kostoff.

Cotner swept past four opponents on the way to the title, steamrolling Cincysoftball.com/Buffalo Joe’s/Cronin Ford 19-4 in the championship game.

Previously the champions had disposed of Team Quality 15-3 in their opener, out-slugged Premier Services/Louisville Slugger 23-19 in game two, then rallied for seven runs in their final two at bats to overcome a 9-3 deficit and stun Cincysoftball 10-9 in the winners’ bracket finals.  Against Cincysoftball, Cotner pushed across five runs in the bottom of the 9^th on a grand slam by Cory Cooper and a game-winning rbi single by Chris Rowe.

Cotner’s spoils included an unpaid berth to the USSSA “D” World Tournament September 13-16 in Kissimmee, Fl., the return of their $275 entry fee, and $562.50 in cash.

Runner-up Cincysoftball.com also pocketed $562.50.

The play of tournament MVP Chea Romine and Defensive Tournament MVP Cory Cooper, and “big innings” helped carry Cotner to the title, said manager Jack McCallister.

“Chea was named MVP for his hitting and team leadership,” said McCallister.  “And Cooper was selected the Defensive MVP because he covers centerfield like a deer, has a great glove and a good arm.  In our very first game, he reached over the fence and snagged a home run and brought it back in.  And he made a couple of really good diving plays in the gap.

“I’ve got higher teams knocking on his door, but he has a lot of friends on this team,” said McCallister.

Romine and Cooper also led Cotner in hitting, batting .846 and .733 respectively.

Joining Romine and Cooper on the All-Tournament team were Chris Rowe, Travis Dray, John Horn and Jeremy Feeney.

“Chris was named for his clutch hitting coming off the bench, and Travis for the way he played right field and his hitting (.727),” said McCallister.  “He’s a young, quick kid and he covers a lot of ground out there.”

John Horn was picked “for his hitting (.615) and his leadership,” and Jeremy Feeney “for his utility play and timely pinch-hitting.

“John is a quiet leader on the team,” said McCallister.  “You don’t hear a whole lot from him, but he goes out and produces.”

Barth Cotner (.636) and Zach Byers also had a big day for Cotner.  Cotner batted .636 – fourth highest on the team – while Byers sparkled defensively at short.

“Zach made some diving plays in the hole and made a whole lot of good backhand plays,” said McCallister.  “And he didn’t commit an error all weekend.”

Despite the individual awards Cotner received, McCallister insisted it was a team effort.

“We have fifteen players on this team, and it took all fifteen players,” insisted McCallister.  “All fifteen had a hand in winning this tournament.

“I’ve never carried fifteen players before,” continued McCallister.  “All fifteen got to play and all fifteen played good.  All fifteen came together as a team and as a unit.”

Big innings also played a big role in Cotner’s championship.  Against Team Quality in game one, Cotner broke a 2-2 tie with a nine run 3^rd.  Then against Premier they erupted for twelve runs in the bottom of the 4^th to erase an 11-7 deficit.  While in the finals Cotner broke open an 8-4 game with an eleven-run outburst in the bottom of the 4^th.

“It’s contagious,” suggested McCallister.  “This is our third year with this team.  We picked up seven new guys.  The first two years defense carried us.  The seven new players we’ve picked up have been around softball for a long time and they can hit.  By adding them to our team, we have better hitting.  Last year, we needed to hold teams to nine runs to win.

“When we have a big inning, the hitting is contagious,” continued McCallister.  “When we won 19-4, twelve guys came up and twelve guys got on and we had some big innings.”

Cotner used a nine-run 3^rd and a four-run 4^th to break open a 2-2 contest and mercy-rule Team Quality 15-3 in game.  Josh Byers’ rbi single put Cotner ahead for good at 3-2.  Alan Miller followed with a three-run bomb, and Barth Cotner with a two-run single, and the route was on.  Travis Bray capped off the inning with an rbi single.  An inning later Cotner and Jeremy Webb each delivered a two-run single to invoke the run-rule.

Miller was perfect in three trips to the plate, and Cotner, Chea Romine and Chris Rowe chipped in two hits apiece.

Cotner found themselves trailing Premier Services 11-7 mid-way through game two, but paraded seventeen batters to the plate in the bottom of the 4^th, exploding for a dozen runs to seize a 19-11 advantage.  An rbi single by Chris Rowe lifted his club into the lead at 12-11 in the 4^th.  Travis Dray and Cory Cooper each followed with a two-run single as the lead swelled to 16-11.  Cotner tacked on three in the 5^th on rbi singles by Dray, Jeremy Feeney and Cooper, then closed out the scoring with a Jared Mucciardi single in the 6^th.  Premier cut the deficit to 23-19 with two in the 6^th and three in the 7^th before running out of swings.

Cooper and Chea Romine pounded out five hits each, Dray added four, and Jeremy Webb three to pace the offense.  Barth Cotner had a huge two-run double to help spark his team’s big 4^th inning.

That lifted Cotner into the winners’ bracket finals, where they needed five runs in the bottom of the 7^th to escape with a 10-9 win over Cincysoftball.  Trailing 9-3 after five, Cotner got a two-run shot from Johnny Horn in the bottom of the 5^th to cut the deficit to four.  Then in the 7^th, Cory Cooper’s slammer knotted the score at 9-9.  With one out Chea Romine singled, reached 2^nd on a Cincysoftball miscue, then raced home with the game-winner when Chris Rowe stroked a single into right-center.

Horn and Cooper shared four hits for the winners.

Cincysoftball rallied to spank Full Throttle/Durbin Bowl/Sunman Package 16-6 in the losers’ bracket finals, then drew first blood with a run in the top of the 1^st in the championship game.   But Cotner answered with five in the bottom of the inning, tacked on three in the 3^rd, then sealed the title with a nine-run outburst in the 4^th.  A two-run Alan Miller home run and a three-run Barth Cotner blast accounted for Cotner’s five runs in the 1^st.  Billy Cheadle and Jared Mucciardi each singled in a run in the 3^rd.  Johnny Horn’s rbi double ignited Cotner’s eleven-run 4^th.  Later in the inning Josh Byers contributed an rbi double, and Cory Cooper closed out the scoring with an inside-the-park home run.

Cooper, Cotner and Zach Byers combined for nine hits, and Mucciardi and Jeremy Webb each went 2-for-3 to power the champions.

Cotner’s tight wins over Premier and Cincysoftball in Cotner’s middle two contests proved pivotal for the Columbus team, said manager Jack McCallister.

“Even though we were down against Premier, we never quit,” said McCallister.  “They were a very good team.

“It was also a great sportsmanship game.  You didn’t hear any arguing or bitching like you normally hear in softball.  It was really a clean-played game,” said McCallister.

Cincysoftball “also had a really nice ball club,” said McCallister.  “They have four or five really good hitters on their team.  When we were down 9-5, I didn’t know if we could come from behind and win.  But my team showed a lot of heart in not giving up and coming back and scoring five runs to win the game.

“Every team we played had a very good club and all three teams showed great sportsmanship on the field.  Also, the umpiring was great and the fields were in nice shape,” said McAllister.  “Overall it was a great day for ‘Cotner Nation.’  That’s our nickname.

“We also want to thank (Expressway Park manager) Bob Owens and his staff for putting on another great tournament.  Whenever we come down there, we always have fun, win or lose.”

For final standings, tournament game scores and all-tournament team, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID= 972803

Cotner Funeral Home overpowered Cincysoftball.com/Buffalo Joe’s/Cronin Ford 19-4 in the championship game to complete a four-game sweep of a USSSA “D-E” Tri-State Conference tournament on Saturday, April 23rd at Expressway Park. In the front row, left to right, are Gary Lester, Billy Cheadle, Zack Byers, Josh Byers, Travis Dray, Cory Cooper, and Johnny Horn. In the back row are Barth Cotner, Matt Sparks, Jared Mucciardi, Alan Miller, Jeremy Webb, Chris Rowe, Chea Romine, Jeremy Feeney, and Jack McCallister. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.

Team Fear outscored their opponents by a combined 62-16 margin en route to the title, spanking Columbus Moose 18-6 in the championship game.

Previously the champions had brushed aside RSC/ALM/TGTAX 12-6 and Stampede/Scotty’s Pub/North College Hill Guns/See Life 13-2 before romping past Columbus Moose 19-2 in the winners’ bracket finals.

RSC was the only team to last more than five innings against the winners.

Team Fear was awarded a berth to the Ohio USSSA Men’s “D” State August 17-18 in Columbus, Oh., and to the USSSA Great Lakes “D” National Tournament Labor Day Weekend in Columbus, In.

Runner-up Columbus Moose qualified for the Ohio USSSA Central Men’s “E” State August 10-11 in Columbus, and the U-Trip Great Lakes “E” National Tournament Labor Day Weekend in Milford, Oh.

According to Team Fear manager Shannon Long, the keys to winning the tournament were “timely hitting and we only made two errors all day long.

“Eric Jennings was our offensive MVP,” said Long.  “We sat him the first game because he’s normally our AH or catcher, but we put him in the second game and told him to hit, and he did the rest of the day.  He’s a former All-American high school baseball player.  He’s a lefty who can hit backside as well.”

Tommy Stace and Danny Brown each chipped in with a solid .714 day.

“Tommy is a very good situational hitter and was our rbi leader for the day with ten,” said Long.  “Danny took quite a few walks at the beginning of the day, then hit the ball very hard at the end of the day when he finally started getting his hands through the zone.”

Other hitting leaders included Cody Simms and Eric Scanlon, who both batted .667.

Korey Ayers and Simms anchored the defense.

“Korey is our shortstop,” said Long.  “He’s a young kid and a solid infielder with good hands.  Cody rotated between left and center.  He’s fast and he pretty much go to everything.”

Team Fear used a five-run 5^th to break open a 6-6 contest with RSC/ALM/TGTAX in game one, and pulled away to a 12-6 victory.  An rbi double by Korey Ayers put his club ahead for good at 7-6 in the 5^th.  Tommy Stace followed with an rbi double, Johnny Linquist added an rbi single, and Solomen Gomez capped off the inning with a two-run single.  Two innings later Meeko Gomez contributed an rbi single to close out the scoring.

Stace had two doubles and a triple and went 3-for-4 along with Korey Ayers.

Next Fear used a three-run 1^st, a four-run 3^rd and a six-run 5^th to dispose of Stampede 13-2 in five.  Eric Jennings’ two-run single was the big blow in the 1^st.  Rbi singles by Mark Elter, Tommy Stace, Johnny Linquist and Danny Brown accounted for Team Fear’s four runs in the 3^rd.  The 5^th featured rbi doubles by Elter and Eric Scanlon, and rbi triples by Korey Ayers and Stace.

Stace collected three hits, and Jennings went 2-for-3 with three rbi’s.

Fear’s offense shifted into hyper-drive in the winners’ bracket finals, invoking the mercy-rule again as they trampled Columbus Moose 19-2.  Johnny Linquist stroked a two-run shot as Team Fear grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the 1^st.  The lead swelled to 7-0 in the 3rd on the strength of a two-run double by Tommy Stace and a two-run single by Linquist.  Fear tacked on three more in the 4^th with the help of a Cody Simms’ two-run single.  Fear then exploded for nine runs in the 5^th to turn it into a 19-0 laugher.  The inning was highlighted by a pair of two-run singles – one each by Stace and Simms – and a two-run Eric Scanlon double.  Moose finally pushed across two runs in the bottom of the 5^th to avert the shutout.

Linquist and Eric Jennings combined for six hits to pace the winners.

Moose rallied to bounce Down N Dirty/BPR/Themshirts.com 13-12 in the winners’ bracket finals, but again proved no match for Team Fear in the championship game.  Moose drew first blood with three runs in the top of the 1^st, but Fear answered with nine in the bottom of the inning and three in the 2^nd and the rout was on.  A two-run double by Tommy Stace knotted the score in the 1^st, then Eric Scanlon doubled in two runs to put his team on top to stay at 5-3.  Later in the inning Eric Jennings added an rbi triple and Danny Brown an rbi double.  Scanlon and Jennings each contributed an rbi single in the 2^nd.  Moose cut the 12-3 deficit in half with three runs in the top of the 3^rd, but Fear slammed the door on the Columbus team with four in the bottom of the 3^rd and two in the 4^th.  The 3^rd featured a two-run double by Mark Elter, while Brown and Johnny Jones each singled in a run in the 4^th.

Scanlon, Jennings and Brown shared nine hits for the champions.

Team Fear manager Shannon Long said he was “surprised” at the ease with which his team walked through the tournament.

“We knew D & D was in it, and Stampede usually puts up more runs,” said Long.  “But our defense shut them down mixed with good pitching from Johnny Jones.  He pitched a good tournament considering the wind.

“We also had a lot of bat control,” noted Long.  “We only hit one home run all day.”

For final standings, please paste the following url into your browser: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Tournament3.asp?TournamentID=976089 

Team Fear swept undefeated past four opponents, polishing off Columbus Moose 18-6 in the championship game, to capture first place in a USSSA “D-E” State-National qualifier on Saturday, April 20th at Warren County Armco Park. Pictured left to right are Shannon Long, Tommy Stace, Johnny Jones, Mark Elter, Solomen Gomez, Danny Brown, Eric Scanlon, Korey Ayers, Brad Gray, Josh Thompson, Eric Jennings, Robert Sexton and Cody Simms. Not pictured: Johnny Linquist and D. J. Holloway. Photo courtesy of Warren County Armco Park.

The Hitmen overpowered all three opponents on their way to the title, outscoring their opponents by a combined 51-14 margin.  The winners romped past Stampede/Scotty’s Pub/North College Hill Guns/See Life 18-6, Outta Control/Advanced Delivery 13-2, and Northern Kentucky Lightning 18-6.  The last two games only lasted five innings.

It was the Hitmen’s second USSSA championship in three weeks.

Hitmen player-manager Greg Carson attributed his club’s title to “defense, hitting, and our pitcher, Jacob House.

“Jacob pitched a pretty good tournament,” said Carson.  “He only gave up fourteen runs in three games.”

Carson said his three-man outfield – Andy Constable in left, Brandon Worley in center and Jason Harper in right – “did a good job.

“Andy can fly,” said Carson.  “He’s really fast and covers a lot of ground.  All three are pretty quick but Andy is definitely the quickest.  They get a lot of balls we haven’t gotten to in the last couple of years.

“Brandon is a big boy for a centerfielder, but he can move for a big boy,” continued Carson.  “He covers a lot of ground and has a good arm.  And Jarrod Harper is the same way.  He’s really quick.  And for a little guy he surprises everybody with how strong of an arm he has.”

The Hitmen’s infield is also solid, said Carson.

“Our left side, with the two brothers – James Smith at 3^rd base and Mike Smith at short – and Josh Beason playing the middle, is pretty solid,” said Carson.  “They make all the routine plays and a spectacular one every once in awhile.”

Constable, Rusty Bernard, and James Smith paced an offense that boasted seven players that hit .600 or better for the day.

“Andy batted .833,” said Carson.  “We just moved him to the leadoff spot from last and it seemed to work out pretty well.  Rusty hit .778 and is always a solid hitter.  He hasn’t been starting but we were short on players and we put him in there and he hit the ball really well.”

James Smith “hits the ball really hard,” said Carson.

“Whenever I’m on 3^rd, it scares me to death when he’s up because he hits the ball so hard,” said Carson.

Smith hit .727.

Other hitting leaders included Carson and Josh Beason at .700, Jarrod Harper at .625 and Brandon Worley at .600.

The Hitmen used a four-run 2^nd to overcome a 2-1 deficit, then pulled away with five runs in the 6^th and five in the 7^th en route to an 18-6 spanking of Stampede in game one.  Jarrod Harper’s rbi single put the Hitmen ahead to stay at 3-2 in the top of the 2^nd.  Rbi singles by Jacob House and Rusty Bernard helped push their team out to a 7-2 lead in the top of the 3^rd, but Stampede answered with four in the bottom of the inning to trim the lead down to 7-6.  The Hitmen then scored the game’s next eleven runs to rout Stampede 18-6.  A three-run bomb by Mike Smith and a two-run double by Josh Beason highlighted a five-run 6^th.  Greg Carson’s two-run double ignited the 7^th.  Brandon Worley’s two-run shot closed out the scoring.

Andy Constable and James Smith banged out four hits each, while Carson and House went 3-for-4.

A two-run 1^st and a six-run 2^nd sealed a 13-2 win over Outta Control in game two.  James Smith put the Hitmen on the board with an rbi single in the 1^st.  Rbi doubles by Jarrod Harper and Mike Smith and a two-run double by James Smith were the big blows in the 2^nd.  The Hitmen blew the game open with five in the bottom of the 4^th.  The inning featured rbi singles by Brian Boroff, Rusty Bernard and Andy Constable.

James Smith was perfect in three trips to the plate, while Josh Beaon, Harper, Constable, Bernard and Boroff shared ten hits for the winners.

In their finale the Hitmen jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Northern Kentucky Lightning after an inning and a half and never looked back.  A two-run single by Brian Boroff, a two-run homer by Jacob House, and a bases-clearing triple by Greg Carson accounted for seven of the Hitmen’s twelve runs in the 1^st.  Carson added an rbi double in a two-run 2^nd.  Then in the 4^th Mike Smith blasted a three-run homer to close out the scoring.

Andy Constable pounded out four hits, and Brandon Worley, Rusty Bernard and Carson chipped in three hits apiece to power the champions.

Hitmen manager Greg Carson said his team has now won two USSSA tournaments in the last three weeks, compiling an 11-3 record during that span.

“We’ve been hitting the ball really well, and we’ve been working on our defense,” said Carson.  “We’ve been averaging seventeen runs per game and giving up only four the last four weekends.

Hitmen Softball/Sugar Creek Packaging outscored three opponents by combined 51-14 margin en route to a first place finish in a USSSA “D-E” Open National Invitational Tournament on Sunday, April 21st at Expressway Park. In the front row, left to right, are Jon Perkins, Kyle Carson, Greg Carson, Mike Smith and Brandon Worley. In the second row are Wally Cox, Brian Boroff and Andy Constable. And in the back row are Jeromy Hensley, Josh Beason, Rusty Bernard, Brian Tolliver Sr., and Brian Tolliver Jr. Photo courtesy of Expressway Park.