| Street Kids Win ASA State Title! Team wins five straight games from the losers bracket to capture crown |
Game by Game Results:
Game 1 vs. Bash, WON: 30-10
Game 2 vs. Dukes, WON: 16-3
Game 3 vs. National Pawn, LOST: 16-15
Game 4 vs. Canadian Lakes, WON: 25-15
Game 5 vs. Suburban Softball, WON: 22-9
Game 6 vs. National Pawn, WON: 17-13
Game 7 vs. Thumb Softball, WON: 20-15
Game 8 (Championship Game)
vs. Thumb Softball, WON: 14-4
Game 1 vs. Bash, WON: 30-10
Game 2 vs. Dukes, WON: 16-3
Game 3 vs. National Pawn, LOST: 16-15
Game 4 vs. Canadian Lakes, WON: 25-15
Game 5 vs. Suburban Softball, WON: 22-9
Game 6 vs. National Pawn, WON: 17-13
Game 7 vs. Thumb Softball, WON: 20-15
Game 8 (Championship Game)
vs. Thumb Softball, WON: 14-4
Muskegon, MI-
For the first time in their 30-year franchise history, the Street Kids
Softball team can finally lay claim as State Champions.
The Street Kids/Tanel/TPS softball team captured their first ever state
title this weekend in Muskegon at the 2007 ASA Class C State
Tournament, winning seven games and losing just one.
Without a Class A or B state tournament program in Michigan, this was
the highest level of ASA competition and featured many class B teams
with several class A players. When it was all over, it was the SKS team -
who play NSA class D in Indiana but qualified for the ASA tournament
due to half of the ASA roster being Michigan residents - that prevailed at
the end.
First year SK infielder Nick Bishop earned State MVP honors with a
career day, batting .821 and playing perfect defense at second base. The
25-year old from South Bend, who began the tournament with 15 straight
hits, was humbled at being named the MVP and is looking for more
excitement from SKS.
"I'm excited for the honor but now we have to focus on winning NSA
state," said the newly crowned state champion.
The team played outstanding all weekend, despite losing their best player
in Joe Horvath, who played only one game Saturday morning before
returning home to seek medical attention for a severely sore back.
Horvath homered and went 5-for-5 in helping SKS win their first game
over Bash, 30-10.
Without Horvath, adjustments were made and the Kids went on to beat
Dukes - who finished third last weekend in the NSA Class C State
tournament - by a score of 16-3.
But the hot SK bats would cool off in the third round of the double
elimination tournmament as National Pawn would defeat SKS on a walk
off home run in the bottom of the seventh, 16-15. The loss put the Kids in
the losers bracket, forcing them to return Sunday morning and win three
straight games in order to get a shot at the undefeated winners bracket
team, and be forced to beat them twice in order to win the tournament.
In the first game on Sunday against Canadian Lakes Merchants, Street
Kids came out strong, beating the Merchants 25-15. Reggie Uribe, Tony
Hardiman, Hank Minix and Nick Bishop all had four hits each for the
Kids as Uribe, Hardiman and Minix all hit home runs in the win.
The next game featured a show down with perrenial NSA class B power
house, Suburbam Softball, led by one of the state's best players, pitcher
Todd Fairbanks. But the red hot SKS team would put 14 runs in the fifth
and sixth innings combined to post a 22-9 win and get a rematch with
National Pawn.
Terry Patesel, Hardiman and Shane Varga all had four hits in the win
over Suburban. Uribe added another home run and Joe Richard hit a
home run as well for the winners.
The Kids were hoping that the game would be easy against National
Pawn, but it would go down to the wire again, but this time with a
different outcome as SKS prevailed by a score of 17-13, eliminating
Pawn from the tournament and putting SKS in the finals against
undefeated Thumb Softball. In the win over Pawn, Dan Garey led all
players with four hits and Hank Minix hit another home run - a key three
run shot in the fourth inning.
Because Thumb was undefeated, SKS would have to win both games in
order to claim the state crown. In the first game, Lanny Fisher, Uribe,
Jamie Everett, Minix and TJ Jorgensen all had three hits to lead the
attack as the Kids beat Thumb, 20-15. Uribe, Hardiman and Jorgensen
all hit three run home runs to back Fisher, who pitched outstanding all
weekend, and playing remarkable defense up the middle.
So the stage was set. Thumb was clearly bothered by the loss and it
would show in their offensive output in the final game. The Street Kids
were tired and sore, having played four straight games without a break
more than 15 minutes all day. But you could see that the Kids wanted this
game more than Thumb Softball. As Fisher was searching for his 11th
state title, many other SKS players were searching for thier first.
After a slow start by the Kids, and even slower start by Thumb, having
been shutout for the first three innings of the final game recording just
one hit, SKS would start to come alive and put eight runs up in the final
three innings, easily winning the game, 14-4 and winning the frachise's
first ever state title. Joe Richard and his older brother Terry Patesel led
the offense with three hits each. Hank Minix would hit the lone home run
of the game, his third of the tournament after not starting the first three
games.
Terry Patesel, who won his fourth state title, played outstanding center
field in the absence of Joe Horvath and was named to the State
All-Defensive First Team, along with MVP Nick Bishop, Lanny Fisher
and Reggie Uribe. Patesel, Minix, Bishop, Uribe, Tony Hardiman and
Shane Varga were all named to the All-State team, awarded by the final
on-base percentage averages.
Fisher's defense on the mound was outstanding, stopping many hard
shots back up the middle. Despite his final numbers, Fisher hit the ball
very well, just right at defensive players. He continued to motivate and
inspire his teammates all weekend long and was excited at the finish.
"This was nice," he said. "It wasn't like we just beat some crappy teams
here today. The teams we beat all finished second, third, fourth and fifth.
This was a good weekend."
Those players winning their first state title this weekend were Shane
Varga, Hank Minix, Joe Richard, Nick Bishop, Jason Fowler, JR Shapiro
(coach) and Danny Fleming (coach).
"There were two big reasons why I wanted to win this tournament
today," said TJ Jorgensen, who won his third state title. "One was for
those who said we couldn't do it. The people who said we were just an
average class D team. And two, for those who have never experienced
the excitement of winning your first major championship. Seeing the look
on the faces of those players made the long, hot weekend well worth it."
The Street Kids team (140-35 overall, 44-14 in tournament play) will
relax for a couple of days before starting the Buchanan League
tournament, which begins on Wednesday night and concludes on
Thursday. After that, they play their final summer schedule games in
Mishawaka next Tuesday night and will then gear up for the NSA Super
State tournament in Muncie, Indiana.
For the first time in their 30-year franchise history, the Street Kids
Softball team can finally lay claim as State Champions.
The Street Kids/Tanel/TPS softball team captured their first ever state
title this weekend in Muskegon at the 2007 ASA Class C State
Tournament, winning seven games and losing just one.
Without a Class A or B state tournament program in Michigan, this was
the highest level of ASA competition and featured many class B teams
with several class A players. When it was all over, it was the SKS team -
who play NSA class D in Indiana but qualified for the ASA tournament
due to half of the ASA roster being Michigan residents - that prevailed at
the end.
First year SK infielder Nick Bishop earned State MVP honors with a
career day, batting .821 and playing perfect defense at second base. The
25-year old from South Bend, who began the tournament with 15 straight
hits, was humbled at being named the MVP and is looking for more
excitement from SKS.
"I'm excited for the honor but now we have to focus on winning NSA
state," said the newly crowned state champion.
The team played outstanding all weekend, despite losing their best player
in Joe Horvath, who played only one game Saturday morning before
returning home to seek medical attention for a severely sore back.
Horvath homered and went 5-for-5 in helping SKS win their first game
over Bash, 30-10.
Without Horvath, adjustments were made and the Kids went on to beat
Dukes - who finished third last weekend in the NSA Class C State
tournament - by a score of 16-3.
But the hot SK bats would cool off in the third round of the double
elimination tournmament as National Pawn would defeat SKS on a walk
off home run in the bottom of the seventh, 16-15. The loss put the Kids in
the losers bracket, forcing them to return Sunday morning and win three
straight games in order to get a shot at the undefeated winners bracket
team, and be forced to beat them twice in order to win the tournament.
In the first game on Sunday against Canadian Lakes Merchants, Street
Kids came out strong, beating the Merchants 25-15. Reggie Uribe, Tony
Hardiman, Hank Minix and Nick Bishop all had four hits each for the
Kids as Uribe, Hardiman and Minix all hit home runs in the win.
The next game featured a show down with perrenial NSA class B power
house, Suburbam Softball, led by one of the state's best players, pitcher
Todd Fairbanks. But the red hot SKS team would put 14 runs in the fifth
and sixth innings combined to post a 22-9 win and get a rematch with
National Pawn.
Terry Patesel, Hardiman and Shane Varga all had four hits in the win
over Suburban. Uribe added another home run and Joe Richard hit a
home run as well for the winners.
The Kids were hoping that the game would be easy against National
Pawn, but it would go down to the wire again, but this time with a
different outcome as SKS prevailed by a score of 17-13, eliminating
Pawn from the tournament and putting SKS in the finals against
undefeated Thumb Softball. In the win over Pawn, Dan Garey led all
players with four hits and Hank Minix hit another home run - a key three
run shot in the fourth inning.
Because Thumb was undefeated, SKS would have to win both games in
order to claim the state crown. In the first game, Lanny Fisher, Uribe,
Jamie Everett, Minix and TJ Jorgensen all had three hits to lead the
attack as the Kids beat Thumb, 20-15. Uribe, Hardiman and Jorgensen
all hit three run home runs to back Fisher, who pitched outstanding all
weekend, and playing remarkable defense up the middle.
So the stage was set. Thumb was clearly bothered by the loss and it
would show in their offensive output in the final game. The Street Kids
were tired and sore, having played four straight games without a break
more than 15 minutes all day. But you could see that the Kids wanted this
game more than Thumb Softball. As Fisher was searching for his 11th
state title, many other SKS players were searching for thier first.
After a slow start by the Kids, and even slower start by Thumb, having
been shutout for the first three innings of the final game recording just
one hit, SKS would start to come alive and put eight runs up in the final
three innings, easily winning the game, 14-4 and winning the frachise's
first ever state title. Joe Richard and his older brother Terry Patesel led
the offense with three hits each. Hank Minix would hit the lone home run
of the game, his third of the tournament after not starting the first three
games.
Terry Patesel, who won his fourth state title, played outstanding center
field in the absence of Joe Horvath and was named to the State
All-Defensive First Team, along with MVP Nick Bishop, Lanny Fisher
and Reggie Uribe. Patesel, Minix, Bishop, Uribe, Tony Hardiman and
Shane Varga were all named to the All-State team, awarded by the final
on-base percentage averages.
Fisher's defense on the mound was outstanding, stopping many hard
shots back up the middle. Despite his final numbers, Fisher hit the ball
very well, just right at defensive players. He continued to motivate and
inspire his teammates all weekend long and was excited at the finish.
"This was nice," he said. "It wasn't like we just beat some crappy teams
here today. The teams we beat all finished second, third, fourth and fifth.
This was a good weekend."
Those players winning their first state title this weekend were Shane
Varga, Hank Minix, Joe Richard, Nick Bishop, Jason Fowler, JR Shapiro
(coach) and Danny Fleming (coach).
"There were two big reasons why I wanted to win this tournament
today," said TJ Jorgensen, who won his third state title. "One was for
those who said we couldn't do it. The people who said we were just an
average class D team. And two, for those who have never experienced
the excitement of winning your first major championship. Seeing the look
on the faces of those players made the long, hot weekend well worth it."
The Street Kids team (140-35 overall, 44-14 in tournament play) will
relax for a couple of days before starting the Buchanan League
tournament, which begins on Wednesday night and concludes on
Thursday. After that, they play their final summer schedule games in
Mishawaka next Tuesday night and will then gear up for the NSA Super
State tournament in Muncie, Indiana.
| SKS rookie infielder Nick Bishop batted .821 in eight games and was named the State Tournament MVP. |
