Moorhead, MN-
The Suburban/SKS softball team captured
their first ever ASA National Championship
on Sunday afternoon in Moorhead,
Minnesota, after defeating Minnesota
Jazz/Lucky 13, 10-3 in the title game.
Suburban went a perfect 7-0 in the
tournament en route to claiming the ASA
crown, and the right to play in the Hooters
Championship in Oklahoma City on
September 25-28.
"It was an exciting experience to say the
least," said Terry Patesel, a long time
member of the Street Kids Softball
organization. "It was a great weekend for
softball and we are very excited to represent the team, the organization and the State of Michigan."
Todd Fairbanks was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament,
while BJ Smith, Chris Douglass, Troy Fairbanks and Todd Fairbanks were
all named 1st team All Tournament. Terry Patesel, Sean Norman,
Ryan Lyster, were all named to the 2nd team All-Tournament team.
The scores of each of their games were as follows:
Game 1: 10-0
Game 2: 15-1
Game 3: 28-9
Game 4: 6-5
Game 5: 14-8
Game 6: 30-16
Game 7: 10-3
The final finish of the tournament looked like this:
1. Suburban/SKS Softball - Portage, MI
2. Lucky's 13/MN Jazz - Burnsville, MN
3. Wellmans - Polk City, IA
4. BBS/Miken - Bloomington, MN
5t. ISH/Miken - Urbandale, IA
5t. Shottenkirk - Wever, IA
7t. Peter's Signs - Litchfield, MN
7t. Mich Golden - Detroit Lakes, MN
9t. Outkast - Brookings, SD
"We hang our hat on our what we call our black shirt defense...and
it was lights out all weekend," said third baseman Todd Gooding.
"And (Todd) Fairbanks was outstanding, pitching in those conditions.
There were so many crazy plays, great plays, windy conditions, battles with some great teams. It was just
our weekend."
Gooding went on to add that this is something he used to dream about as a young player. "I've thought about
winning a tournament like this, everyday for a long, long time. The whole experience...It was everything and
then some!"
What was probably most impressive was the fact that the Suburban/SKS team played and beat the top five
finishers in the tournament, a very rare feat. In the second game, they defeated heavily favored BCS Miken
out of Minnesota, 15-1, and that team battled back to win 10 games in a row, to finish fourth.
Suburban outscored their opponents 113-42 over the weekend, but their defense was phenomenal. "You'd
have to see it to believe it," said Matt Lavender of Suburban/SKS. "Watching Gnome (Ryan Lyster) and BJ
(Smith) play defense is like watching major leaguers. I would put our defense against almost anyone in the
country."
The infield turned 15 double plays and the outfield defense was just as amazing, especially given the windy
conditions at times. On Saturday the wind gusts were between 25-30 mph and on Sunday it got even worse,
topping out at over 45 mph.
The team will play fall leagues this week and after taking off this coming weekend, they will prepare for the
NSA Class B World Series, which takes place in St. Louis, MO. The Street Kids/Suburban South team
play in the Class C World Series that same weekend in Owensboro, KY. But right now, its about Suburban,
and the amazing accomplishment they achieved on Labor Day weekend in Minnesota, beating out close to
60 of the top ASA teams in the country.
"I'm very happy for Matt and the guys," said SKS director TJ Jorgensen. "They did this, but I am very glad
that the term national championship can be associated to the entire organization, but Suburban did this on
their own and deserve all the credit."
Congratulations to the 2008 ASA National Champions from the Northern Division: Suburban/SKS Softball!
You can read more information about Minnesota ASA softball by visiting the Red River Valley softball
website at www.rrvsa.org.
The Suburban/SKS softball team captured
their first ever ASA National Championship
on Sunday afternoon in Moorhead,
Minnesota, after defeating Minnesota
Jazz/Lucky 13, 10-3 in the title game.
Suburban went a perfect 7-0 in the
tournament en route to claiming the ASA
crown, and the right to play in the Hooters
Championship in Oklahoma City on
September 25-28.
"It was an exciting experience to say the
least," said Terry Patesel, a long time
member of the Street Kids Softball
organization. "It was a great weekend for
softball and we are very excited to represent the team, the organization and the State of Michigan."
Todd Fairbanks was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament,
while BJ Smith, Chris Douglass, Troy Fairbanks and Todd Fairbanks were
all named 1st team All Tournament. Terry Patesel, Sean Norman,
Ryan Lyster, were all named to the 2nd team All-Tournament team.
The scores of each of their games were as follows:
Game 1: 10-0
Game 2: 15-1
Game 3: 28-9
Game 4: 6-5
Game 5: 14-8
Game 6: 30-16
Game 7: 10-3
The final finish of the tournament looked like this:
1. Suburban/SKS Softball - Portage, MI
2. Lucky's 13/MN Jazz - Burnsville, MN
3. Wellmans - Polk City, IA
4. BBS/Miken - Bloomington, MN
5t. ISH/Miken - Urbandale, IA
5t. Shottenkirk - Wever, IA
7t. Peter's Signs - Litchfield, MN
7t. Mich Golden - Detroit Lakes, MN
9t. Outkast - Brookings, SD
"We hang our hat on our what we call our black shirt defense...and
it was lights out all weekend," said third baseman Todd Gooding.
"And (Todd) Fairbanks was outstanding, pitching in those conditions.
There were so many crazy plays, great plays, windy conditions, battles with some great teams. It was just
our weekend."
Gooding went on to add that this is something he used to dream about as a young player. "I've thought about
winning a tournament like this, everyday for a long, long time. The whole experience...It was everything and
then some!"
What was probably most impressive was the fact that the Suburban/SKS team played and beat the top five
finishers in the tournament, a very rare feat. In the second game, they defeated heavily favored BCS Miken
out of Minnesota, 15-1, and that team battled back to win 10 games in a row, to finish fourth.
Suburban outscored their opponents 113-42 over the weekend, but their defense was phenomenal. "You'd
have to see it to believe it," said Matt Lavender of Suburban/SKS. "Watching Gnome (Ryan Lyster) and BJ
(Smith) play defense is like watching major leaguers. I would put our defense against almost anyone in the
country."
The infield turned 15 double plays and the outfield defense was just as amazing, especially given the windy
conditions at times. On Saturday the wind gusts were between 25-30 mph and on Sunday it got even worse,
topping out at over 45 mph.
The team will play fall leagues this week and after taking off this coming weekend, they will prepare for the
NSA Class B World Series, which takes place in St. Louis, MO. The Street Kids/Suburban South team
play in the Class C World Series that same weekend in Owensboro, KY. But right now, its about Suburban,
and the amazing accomplishment they achieved on Labor Day weekend in Minnesota, beating out close to
60 of the top ASA teams in the country.
"I'm very happy for Matt and the guys," said SKS director TJ Jorgensen. "They did this, but I am very glad
that the term national championship can be associated to the entire organization, but Suburban did this on
their own and deserve all the credit."
Congratulations to the 2008 ASA National Champions from the Northern Division: Suburban/SKS Softball!
You can read more information about Minnesota ASA softball by visiting the Red River Valley softball
website at www.rrvsa.org.
| Todd Fairbanks was named tournament Most Valuable Player. |
| Suburban/SKS celebrate after winning the national crown on Sunday. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|