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Street Kids Dominate Fall City Tournament

Wins third tourney of the season; introduces Breast Cancer Awareness jersey’s

 

 

Mishawaka, IN-

 

Not even the damp weather in Mishawaka this weekend could stop the red hot Street Kids.

 

The Zolman Tire/Street Kids/Tanel softball team went undefeated en route to winning the 2006 Fall City Championship, winning all five games in the single-day tournament at Rose Park.  The day featured frequent rain showers but play continued throughout the day as the Kids would come away with their third tournament win of the season and second in a row, following the Kalamazoo End of Year Festival win in Michigan in August.  The Kids, who have now won 74 games against only 22 loses, have not finished lower than third in five of their last six tournaments, with the only blemish being the NSA qualifier which featured only a handful of the current roster.

 

“We played good today, despite a few mental lapses on defense,” said manager TJ Jorgensen. “But the energy and excitement we had in that championship game was something a lot of these guys will remember for a long time.”

 

In the championship game against Brew Crew/CCT, the Kids were trailing 7-5 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.  But they would rally with nine runs after sending 15 players to the plate and take a 13-7 lead into the sixth.  After Brew Crew went three up and three down in the top of the sixth, the Kids would not let the energy they found in the fifth get away as they would finish off Brew Crew in the home half with Hank Minix’ walk-off, game-ending home run, his fifth of the tournament and 61st of the season.  The Kids congratulated each other on the field as League Commissioner Chad Meyers presented the team with their championship trophy.  The Kids also were awarded championship t-shirts, which were not available at the conclusion of the tournament.

 

Following a game one forfeit from OC Royals, the Kids had their hands full from the very first inning, falling behind 9-0 in the top of the first against Murf’s SportsBar.  But they would rally for seven in the home half of the first and despite a rough defensive game, would pull out the win, 19-15.  Fisher and Horvath both went 4-for-4 in that game.

 

The third round game was not nearly as competitive as the previous round as the Kids would make quick work of Last Minute Kids, 19-4 in five innings.  Fowler and Horvath both hit two home runs each in that game.  The semi final game was against a tough Press Box team that fell behind in the third inning to the Kids by 12 runs, but battled back to make it close. But a four run seventh inning was enough to stymie a four run comeback attempt in the bottom of the seventh at the hands of Press Box and the Kids held on, 23-19. Horvath was 4-for-5 in that game but was nearly tossed from the game after arguing a very questionable call in the first inning by home plate umpire Chet Lippy.  After a two hour break as the losers bracket was finalized, the Kids would play the championship game against Brew Crew, winning 17-7.

 

Jorgensen decided to name five players to an All-Tournament team for their outstanding play throughout the day.  Those players were Lanny Fisher, Joe Horvath, Jason Fowler, Shane Varga and Hank Minix.  See the tournament box score for a complete list of the tournament stats and scores.

 

“I think we all did a great job today,” Jorgensen added. “But these five guys really stepped it up out there and carried us.”

 

“Lanny knows how to keep a team up,” said Joe Richard who, along with Horvath and Minix had a tournament high five home runs. “His veteran leadership out there is probably the main reason why we won. There were times that one of us would make a mistake or let a ball get by us that should have been picked up, but Lanny kept us up. His experience and motivation was a key part in our win.”

 

Justin Sears, the third baseman on Saturday and longtime Street Kid player, agreed.

 

“I felt that the turning point of the championship was when in the top of the fifth inning they had a 9-5 lead and bases loaded with one out,” Sears said. “I started that double play that was finished at the plate and that gave us the momentum to go hit and take the lead and never trailed after that. That was huge.”

 

Sears missed two ground balls that led to Brew Crew runs earlier in the game and felt like he needed to step up to make amends.

 

“I felt that after I missed those two balls that I needed to make a big play,” he added. “TJ made a great tag in the rain at the plate and we caught fire right after that.”

 

Lanny Fisher and Joe Horvath were amazing on Saturday as they combined to bat .875 (28-for-32) with eight home runs. Fisher was an instrumental leader both on the field and in the dugout, keeping the team relaxed and focused all day.

 

Fisher said after the game that he enjoys playing with the Street Kids and is excited to still play this fall.

 

“I hope we can find another tournament this fall because I had a lot of fun out there today,” said Fisher after the tournament. “I enjoy playing with these guys and if me being out there can help others become better players then that’s good.”

 

The Street Kids debuted their new pink jerseys on Saturday, showing their support for Breast Cancer Awareness. Many of the players on the team as well as a many friends and family members will be walking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K Walk/Run on October 14th in South Bend. The Street Kids have a team entered and is being organized by Courtney Jorgensen.

 

“I think this was really neat for the guys to show their support for breast cancer awareness today,” said Courtney who was at the tournament most the day. “For the public to see a team full of men showing their support to find a cure for this terrible disease is awesome.”

 

United Sports Apparel of Indiana donated several shirts, which feature the Street Kids logo and the American Cancer Society logo on the front, along with team sponsors Zolman Tire and Tanel 360’s logos on the back.  A message on the top of the back of the shirt reads “Street Kids Softball is Proud to Support Breast Cancer Awareness.”

 

 
 
Inside The Numbers

 

¨     Minix’ five home runs gave him 61 this season.  His 10 rbi’s gave him 192 this season.  Both lead the team by a large margin.

¨     The last home run of the tournament, Minix’ walk off shot, gave the Kids exactly 300 team home runs this season, by far a team record.

¨     If the Street Kids do not play in another tournament this season, and continue to win in both fall leagues, they will end up with 92 wins. A remarkable number for a league team.

¨     The Street Kids have not lost a game since dropping their second and final loss of the KAAF End of the Year Festival tournament in Kalamazoo on August 19th. They would go on to win that tournament (winning the final three games) and now have an 18-game winning streak, including the Fall City Tournament.

¨        Lanny Fisher is batting .912 since joining the team this fall.

¨        Jason Fowler leads Hank Minix in the batting race by only seven points. If Minix wins the batting title, the Street Kids will have back-to-back triple crown winners for the first time ever (person who leads the team in average, home runs and runs batted in), joining TJ Jorgensen who did it last season.

¨        The team has outscored their opponents this fall 291-67, with 45 of those runs given up during the Fall City Tournament.

¨        The Kids have scored 1405 runs this season, which works out to an average of 14.6 runs per game.  This fall they are averaging 19.6 runs per game.

¨        The team has four players with at least 100 rbi’s this season, a team record (Minix 192, Jorgensen 138, Fowler 126 and Richard 100).

¨        The Street Kids are undefeated when wearing pink jerseys… J