Street Kids Start 2011
Season With NSA
Tourney Win
After going unbeaten and winning
the "B" division, SKS and Sports
PT/DLB split the prize package
Season With NSA
Tourney Win
After going unbeaten and winning
the "B" division, SKS and Sports
PT/DLB split the prize package
Indianapolis, IN 3/27/2011 by TJ Jorgensen
After a long winter, hundreds of softball players gathered
in Indianapolis this weekend for the annual kick off NSA
tournament, the Battle for the Bucks, which was played at
two complexes, Midwest and Indy Sports Park.
The Street Kids/Easton/Rover team opened the season
with the upper division (Class B and C) at Indy Sports
Park, while two other SKS teams - Fort Wayne Street
Kids and Hybrids/SKS/Rover - opened the season at
Midwest for the lower division (Class D and E).
The weather was cold, as it always is in March, but the
upper division featured 13 great teams, and some of the
best teams in Indiana were on display. Several teams
looked really good, including the Snyders team, featuring
former SKS players Brandon Dillon, Danny Penale and
Chris Firebaugh. The Columbus Pipe team was equally
\impressive, featuring former SKS player Mike Malesko
as was the Sports PT/DLB team, featuring former SKS
player David Kessler. Pipe and Sports PT also play in
the USSSA Conference, where Pipe plays Class B and
Sports PT (under the name EWS) plays Class A. Dillon
and Firebaugh of Snyders also play in the Conference
with Sinister (Dillon) and Pipac (Firebaugh). So with the
loads of talent on some of the teams this weekend, this
was looking to be a big shootout for the champion.
Street Kids opened the tournament with a bye, then faced Softball Mafia, who beat Sports PT (who went to the wrong park at
first). SKS played all three of their games on field three, with the wind howling in, so teams would have to rely on small ball to
win, instead of just trading home runs like they were on other fields. Street Kids beat Mafia in the first game, 16-7 to advance to
the next round. Jay Jeffery led the Kids with four hits, including a home run and five RBI's. Terry Patesel, Jeremy Hochstetler,
Leland Schmucker and Faron Miller all added three hits each in the win. Miller was very impressive on the mound as well, and the
Kids defense was near flawless.
In the second game, the Kids faced a red hot Columbus Pipe team, who had won two games already and were putting up huge
numbers. But it would be SKS who would win this battle, thanks to a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh inning, winning 17-16.
Jay Jeffery and Terry Patesel each led the way with four hits each while Fred Schmucker led the team with five RBI's, as the Kids
advanced to the winners bracket finals.
The brackets were set up where the Class B teams
played in the top bracket, and the Class C teams played
in the lower bracket, with the goal to award two
tournament champions, one from each class. EAD from
Indiana came out of the Class C bracket and faced SKS
in the winners bracket finals. If SKS beat EAD, they
would be the top B finisher, and be named tournament
champion. If EAD won, and the team coming out of the
losers bracket was a B team, EAD would be named
Class C tournament champion. All that was left from that
point was to see who would win the most money, as it
was a cash payout tournament.
So Street Kids now faced EAD with the hopes of
winning the tournament as the highest undefeated team.
EAD took an early 2-0 lead on two solo home runs, then in the top of the second, SKS put up five runs, backed by a three run
triple by Nick Bishop. EAD answered back with six in the bottom of the third, backed by two three run home runs. It went back
and forth like this, with the Kids scoring five in the top of the fourth, then EAD answering back with five on the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth inning, SKS broke out with a 10-run inning, and did it with no home runs. EAD managed only on run in the
bottom of the sixth and after the Kids went scoreless in the top of the seventh, they entered the bottom of the final inning with a
23-15 lead. But the wheels would fall of quickly for the Kids, and EAD - who will be a very tough team in the C division this year
- took advantage of two crucial errors and scored eight runs to tie the game at 23.
In the top of the eighth, SKS scored four runs, highlighted by a two run home run by Leland Schmucker and another big triple by
Bishop - his third extra base hit of the game - and a big run scoring single by Terry Patesel. EAD was now down four runs in
extra innings and needed a spark. They had the top of the lineup coming up and they began what they hoped was their rally,
starting off with two singles and then came their big slugger (we'll call him number 33) who was a perfect 5-for-5 to this point,
with three home runs and seven RBI's. Despite how hot he was hitting a home run right now still puts them down by one, so we
pitched to him and hoped that Miller, who relieved starting pitcher Steve Schroeder half way through the game, would be able to
get the big 33 to chase a tough pitch. That's exactly what he did, forcing the big fella to hit into a big double play. A run did score
on the twin killing, but now it was two outs and the Kids held on to a slim three run lead.
EAD refused to give up, getting three more line drives to
fall, scoring another run, but the next batter up - who
came to the plate with four hits in the game already -
grounded out to end the game. The Kids held on to win,
27-25.
"EAD will be a very tough team in Class C this year, thats
for sure," said coach JR Shapiro. "They have some really
great hitters and played good defense. I'm excited to see
how they do this year."
The Kids were undefeated and in the championship game
of the tournament. EAD battled back in the losers bracket
and ended up finishing as the highest C team, thus giving
them the C tournament championship and prize fund.
Sports PT/DLB battled all the way back from the first game loss to come out on top of the loser bracket, but with SKS unbeaten
and the cold temperatures dropping, the two teams decided to split the prize package. Because SKS was unbeaten, the
tournament director declared SKS the B tourney champs, giving the Kids their first win of the 2011 season.
Jay Jeffery was named MVP, going a near perfect 11-for-12 and driving in a team high 10 runs. The entire team looked very
impressive, especially on defense. Everyone gelled well together, chemistry was high and despite the cold, the team showed they
can heat up when needed to.
Looking at other teams this weekend, I was really impressed with a few teams. Snyders has an extremely talented team, even if
Dillon and Firebaugh will not play as much due to their USSSA schedule. Hoopy and Penale are just two of many great players
on that team that will make it tough for any opponent this year. Columbus Pipe had their USSSA team there, and they are a
strong team. Roger Bias is a great pitcher, who knows how to play the mental game better than any pitcher I've seen. Malesko is
a stud, and just flat out kills the ball, so Pipe will be tough when they play NSA tournaments, which is not that often due to their
USSSA schedule. Sports PT looked great also. Most of their players play for EWS, a Class A team in the USSSA conference,
so they wont see much NSA this year, but in talking with their players they were hoping to be back in Indiana for the NIT in May.
The guys from the Sports PT team were all very nice guys and great to talk to. Softball Mafia also looked impressive but it just
wasnt their weekend, but I promise you they will be tough in every tourney. I did not get a chance to see other teams like
Syndicate, CCAC, Light it Up, Wilsons, Seeds, and S&S, but Rock Star should be a good team in C also. They hit well against a
red hot Sports PT team and one point in the fifth inning, they were tied at 26, so look for Rock Star to also bring some talent to
every tournament.
The Kids are off this coming weekend, but return to action on April 9th at the NSA Hooters event, where they won in 2009.
After a long winter, hundreds of softball players gathered
in Indianapolis this weekend for the annual kick off NSA
tournament, the Battle for the Bucks, which was played at
two complexes, Midwest and Indy Sports Park.
The Street Kids/Easton/Rover team opened the season
with the upper division (Class B and C) at Indy Sports
Park, while two other SKS teams - Fort Wayne Street
Kids and Hybrids/SKS/Rover - opened the season at
Midwest for the lower division (Class D and E).
The weather was cold, as it always is in March, but the
upper division featured 13 great teams, and some of the
best teams in Indiana were on display. Several teams
looked really good, including the Snyders team, featuring
former SKS players Brandon Dillon, Danny Penale and
Chris Firebaugh. The Columbus Pipe team was equally
\impressive, featuring former SKS player Mike Malesko
as was the Sports PT/DLB team, featuring former SKS
player David Kessler. Pipe and Sports PT also play in
the USSSA Conference, where Pipe plays Class B and
Sports PT (under the name EWS) plays Class A. Dillon
and Firebaugh of Snyders also play in the Conference
with Sinister (Dillon) and Pipac (Firebaugh). So with the
loads of talent on some of the teams this weekend, this
was looking to be a big shootout for the champion.
Street Kids opened the tournament with a bye, then faced Softball Mafia, who beat Sports PT (who went to the wrong park at
first). SKS played all three of their games on field three, with the wind howling in, so teams would have to rely on small ball to
win, instead of just trading home runs like they were on other fields. Street Kids beat Mafia in the first game, 16-7 to advance to
the next round. Jay Jeffery led the Kids with four hits, including a home run and five RBI's. Terry Patesel, Jeremy Hochstetler,
Leland Schmucker and Faron Miller all added three hits each in the win. Miller was very impressive on the mound as well, and the
Kids defense was near flawless.
In the second game, the Kids faced a red hot Columbus Pipe team, who had won two games already and were putting up huge
numbers. But it would be SKS who would win this battle, thanks to a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh inning, winning 17-16.
Jay Jeffery and Terry Patesel each led the way with four hits each while Fred Schmucker led the team with five RBI's, as the Kids
advanced to the winners bracket finals.
The brackets were set up where the Class B teams
played in the top bracket, and the Class C teams played
in the lower bracket, with the goal to award two
tournament champions, one from each class. EAD from
Indiana came out of the Class C bracket and faced SKS
in the winners bracket finals. If SKS beat EAD, they
would be the top B finisher, and be named tournament
champion. If EAD won, and the team coming out of the
losers bracket was a B team, EAD would be named
Class C tournament champion. All that was left from that
point was to see who would win the most money, as it
was a cash payout tournament.
So Street Kids now faced EAD with the hopes of
winning the tournament as the highest undefeated team.
EAD took an early 2-0 lead on two solo home runs, then in the top of the second, SKS put up five runs, backed by a three run
triple by Nick Bishop. EAD answered back with six in the bottom of the third, backed by two three run home runs. It went back
and forth like this, with the Kids scoring five in the top of the fourth, then EAD answering back with five on the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth inning, SKS broke out with a 10-run inning, and did it with no home runs. EAD managed only on run in the
bottom of the sixth and after the Kids went scoreless in the top of the seventh, they entered the bottom of the final inning with a
23-15 lead. But the wheels would fall of quickly for the Kids, and EAD - who will be a very tough team in the C division this year
- took advantage of two crucial errors and scored eight runs to tie the game at 23.
In the top of the eighth, SKS scored four runs, highlighted by a two run home run by Leland Schmucker and another big triple by
Bishop - his third extra base hit of the game - and a big run scoring single by Terry Patesel. EAD was now down four runs in
extra innings and needed a spark. They had the top of the lineup coming up and they began what they hoped was their rally,
starting off with two singles and then came their big slugger (we'll call him number 33) who was a perfect 5-for-5 to this point,
with three home runs and seven RBI's. Despite how hot he was hitting a home run right now still puts them down by one, so we
pitched to him and hoped that Miller, who relieved starting pitcher Steve Schroeder half way through the game, would be able to
get the big 33 to chase a tough pitch. That's exactly what he did, forcing the big fella to hit into a big double play. A run did score
on the twin killing, but now it was two outs and the Kids held on to a slim three run lead.
EAD refused to give up, getting three more line drives to
fall, scoring another run, but the next batter up - who
came to the plate with four hits in the game already -
grounded out to end the game. The Kids held on to win,
27-25.
"EAD will be a very tough team in Class C this year, thats
for sure," said coach JR Shapiro. "They have some really
great hitters and played good defense. I'm excited to see
how they do this year."
The Kids were undefeated and in the championship game
of the tournament. EAD battled back in the losers bracket
and ended up finishing as the highest C team, thus giving
them the C tournament championship and prize fund.
Sports PT/DLB battled all the way back from the first game loss to come out on top of the loser bracket, but with SKS unbeaten
and the cold temperatures dropping, the two teams decided to split the prize package. Because SKS was unbeaten, the
tournament director declared SKS the B tourney champs, giving the Kids their first win of the 2011 season.
Jay Jeffery was named MVP, going a near perfect 11-for-12 and driving in a team high 10 runs. The entire team looked very
impressive, especially on defense. Everyone gelled well together, chemistry was high and despite the cold, the team showed they
can heat up when needed to.
Looking at other teams this weekend, I was really impressed with a few teams. Snyders has an extremely talented team, even if
Dillon and Firebaugh will not play as much due to their USSSA schedule. Hoopy and Penale are just two of many great players
on that team that will make it tough for any opponent this year. Columbus Pipe had their USSSA team there, and they are a
strong team. Roger Bias is a great pitcher, who knows how to play the mental game better than any pitcher I've seen. Malesko is
a stud, and just flat out kills the ball, so Pipe will be tough when they play NSA tournaments, which is not that often due to their
USSSA schedule. Sports PT looked great also. Most of their players play for EWS, a Class A team in the USSSA conference,
so they wont see much NSA this year, but in talking with their players they were hoping to be back in Indiana for the NIT in May.
The guys from the Sports PT team were all very nice guys and great to talk to. Softball Mafia also looked impressive but it just
wasnt their weekend, but I promise you they will be tough in every tourney. I did not get a chance to see other teams like
Syndicate, CCAC, Light it Up, Wilsons, Seeds, and S&S, but Rock Star should be a good team in C also. They hit well against a
red hot Sports PT team and one point in the fifth inning, they were tied at 26, so look for Rock Star to also bring some talent to
every tournament.
The Kids are off this coming weekend, but return to action on April 9th at the NSA Hooters event, where they won in 2009.
