New Found Optimism Leads to Best Weekend of the
Year - Despite 4th Place Finish at NSA State
Year - Despite 4th Place Finish at NSA State
Indianapolis, IN 8/7/10
The Street Kids/Easton/PAS softball team has
endured a week that has caught the attention of
teams everywhere. The roster has been shaken
up in the past two weeks, with a couple of players
wanting to leave the team right at the beginning
of the post season run, and a couple of other
roster moves that were made in order to boost
morale. The result was what every player on
Saturday called the best weekend of the year,
despite the final outcome.
The SKS team traveled to Indianapolis on
Saturday for the 2010 NSA "B" State
Championship with only 12 players in uniform
but determined to show it was the right 12
players. Their first game was against the defending
NSA Super "B" World Champions Midwest
Swing (known as St. Louis Swing last year).
Swing owned the Kids in their previous battles, including beating them 48-13 during the NSA Regionals last year, and it was Swing
who gave the Kids their first loss in the Super World Series in Tennessee last fall. This time they would not go quietly, as SKS hung
in against the powerful Swing team, actually leading them late in the game by eight runs and held a 22-21 lead going into the bottom
of the seventh, but with one out, Swing battled back and scored two runs to win the game, 23-22.
Now in the losers bracket, SKS played Softball Mafia,
who just won the ASA "B" state championship one week
earlier, including defeating SKS in the first game of that
tournament 16-14. But this time the Kids were coming
off a game in which they felt they played very well, and
handed Mafia a loss they never saw coming, as SKS
rolled to a 33-22 win.
Up next for SKS was Silvertown, who defeated SKS in
Kokomo 29-20 back on June 26th. But this time it would
be all SKS, as they rolled to an easy 20-8 win, scoring
nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to leave Silvertown on
the field.
Up next was a rematch against Midwest Swing. This time,
the Kids felt they had a chance to beat them, but a few miscues on defense led to second and third chances for Swing, who took
advantage and put up some big innings. Eventually, Midwest would defeat SKS, 28-23, eliminating Street Kids from the state
championship.
Officially, it was a 4th place finish for Street Kids, but not a player walked away feeling bad about that because they played with an
energy and rejuvenation that had been missing from this team all year. Loren Zehr led the way on Saturday with a .800 average,
and Lanny Fisher - making his return to SKS for the 2010 season after a retirement last year - Chris Firebaugh, Shane Varga and
Nick Bishop all batted over .700 for the team. New outfielder Kevin Lewandowski made a great splash with his new team, batting
.647. Lewandowski, who made the jump from Class "E" to his debut in Class "B", was excited to be a part of SKS.
"This is what you play softball for," said the 32-year-old outfielder. "To be able to play at this level and with a great team."
Several other players stated how much different this weekend was compared to others in the past.
"It was the most fun I have had all year," said Justin Newcomer, who battled a bout of food poisening on Friday night. "There was
just something special about the way we played as a team, no pressure from teammates, just outright fun."
"I think having Lanny back in the lineup gave us a new sense of leadership on the mound," said SKS manager TJ Jorgensen.
"Losing our pitcher just days before this weekend was tough, but Lanny said he would step in and help and the team responded.
We played one of the best NSA teams in the country - twice - and could have beaten them both times. A base running gaffe in the
first game cut a big inning short and a few errors led to 10 unearned runs in the second Midwest game. But the best part about that
was no one was upset. We stayed together as a team, showed a lot of character and heart, and despite a fourth place finish, we felt
it was our best weekend of the year."
After three weeks off of tournament play, SKS will head to Rochester, Minnesota for the ASA National Championship on Labor
Day weekend. The Kids are holding a tournament at Rose Park on Aug 21st with a large prize package if anyone is interested.
Notes:
While the SKS team was battling on the field, another more important battle was taking place on another field. Christian
James of HelpingHits.com took to the field to hit 2,555 softballs in five hours for the purpose of raising awareness and
funds for cancer awareness. Christian reached his goal with the SKS team cheering him on at the end, as he reached the
milestone with a minute to spare. Be sure to visit StreetKidsCare.com for the full story, video highlights and pictures.
The Street Kids/Easton/PAS softball team has
endured a week that has caught the attention of
teams everywhere. The roster has been shaken
up in the past two weeks, with a couple of players
wanting to leave the team right at the beginning
of the post season run, and a couple of other
roster moves that were made in order to boost
morale. The result was what every player on
Saturday called the best weekend of the year,
despite the final outcome.
The SKS team traveled to Indianapolis on
Saturday for the 2010 NSA "B" State
Championship with only 12 players in uniform
but determined to show it was the right 12
players. Their first game was against the defending
NSA Super "B" World Champions Midwest
Swing (known as St. Louis Swing last year).
Swing owned the Kids in their previous battles, including beating them 48-13 during the NSA Regionals last year, and it was Swing
who gave the Kids their first loss in the Super World Series in Tennessee last fall. This time they would not go quietly, as SKS hung
in against the powerful Swing team, actually leading them late in the game by eight runs and held a 22-21 lead going into the bottom
of the seventh, but with one out, Swing battled back and scored two runs to win the game, 23-22.
Now in the losers bracket, SKS played Softball Mafia,
who just won the ASA "B" state championship one week
earlier, including defeating SKS in the first game of that
tournament 16-14. But this time the Kids were coming
off a game in which they felt they played very well, and
handed Mafia a loss they never saw coming, as SKS
rolled to a 33-22 win.
Up next for SKS was Silvertown, who defeated SKS in
Kokomo 29-20 back on June 26th. But this time it would
be all SKS, as they rolled to an easy 20-8 win, scoring
nine runs in the bottom of the fifth to leave Silvertown on
the field.
Up next was a rematch against Midwest Swing. This time,
the Kids felt they had a chance to beat them, but a few miscues on defense led to second and third chances for Swing, who took
advantage and put up some big innings. Eventually, Midwest would defeat SKS, 28-23, eliminating Street Kids from the state
championship.
Officially, it was a 4th place finish for Street Kids, but not a player walked away feeling bad about that because they played with an
energy and rejuvenation that had been missing from this team all year. Loren Zehr led the way on Saturday with a .800 average,
and Lanny Fisher - making his return to SKS for the 2010 season after a retirement last year - Chris Firebaugh, Shane Varga and
Nick Bishop all batted over .700 for the team. New outfielder Kevin Lewandowski made a great splash with his new team, batting
.647. Lewandowski, who made the jump from Class "E" to his debut in Class "B", was excited to be a part of SKS.
"This is what you play softball for," said the 32-year-old outfielder. "To be able to play at this level and with a great team."
Several other players stated how much different this weekend was compared to others in the past.
"It was the most fun I have had all year," said Justin Newcomer, who battled a bout of food poisening on Friday night. "There was
just something special about the way we played as a team, no pressure from teammates, just outright fun."
"I think having Lanny back in the lineup gave us a new sense of leadership on the mound," said SKS manager TJ Jorgensen.
"Losing our pitcher just days before this weekend was tough, but Lanny said he would step in and help and the team responded.
We played one of the best NSA teams in the country - twice - and could have beaten them both times. A base running gaffe in the
first game cut a big inning short and a few errors led to 10 unearned runs in the second Midwest game. But the best part about that
was no one was upset. We stayed together as a team, showed a lot of character and heart, and despite a fourth place finish, we felt
it was our best weekend of the year."
After three weeks off of tournament play, SKS will head to Rochester, Minnesota for the ASA National Championship on Labor
Day weekend. The Kids are holding a tournament at Rose Park on Aug 21st with a large prize package if anyone is interested.
Notes:
While the SKS team was battling on the field, another more important battle was taking place on another field. Christian
James of HelpingHits.com took to the field to hit 2,555 softballs in five hours for the purpose of raising awareness and
funds for cancer awareness. Christian reached his goal with the SKS team cheering him on at the end, as he reached the
milestone with a minute to spare. Be sure to visit StreetKidsCare.com for the full story, video highlights and pictures.
