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Street Kids Win Tuesday Championship

Kids pour on runs early and often en route to title win

Mishawaka –

After 11 games against Barnaby’s this season, the final one turned out to the be the biggest one.

The Zolman Tire/Street Kids/Tanel team defeated their on-field nemesis Barnaby’s Tuesday night to win the league championship by a dominating score of 26-14. They had to play a one game play-off Tuesday due to both teams finishing the league with identical 16-6 records. The Kids (59-22 overall) have played Barnaby’s eight times in the regular season, and have won four of them. Tuesday’s win was a good finish to the Tuesday League in Mishawaka.

“I like all the guys on that team,” said manager TJ Jorgensen. “But when we step on the field with them, they’re our enemy. Beating them tonight was really big for this club. I think, coming into tonight, they are one of the top teams, if not the top team in Mishawaka. For us to beat them says a lot about our team.”

Jamie Everett once again led the team to victory as he had several key hits. Everett went 4-for-4 with two home runs – a three run shot and a grand slam – and two doubles. He drove in eight runs on the night. He is now batting .786 for the Street Kids with 27 home runs. He also has 88 rbi’s and 16 doubles – in only 32 games.

Jason Fowler continues to swing one of the hottest bats around as he went 3-for-3 Tuesday and is now only 10 points behind the team’s leading hitter, Hank Minix, for the batting title. Minix hit his team high 52^nd home run and is only three home runs away from tying the team record for most home runs in a season.

Dan Garey and Tommy Keifer combined to go 7-for-7 with three home runs and seven rbi’s, while Chad Doan and TJ Jorgensen also went 3-for-4 at the plate. Dave Perry also hit his 14^th home run of the year in the win. For more stats, see the box score.

The Kids came out in the first inning and put 13 runs on the board before Barnaby’s even got a chance to bat. Barnaby’s answered back with six of their own in the home half of the first but the Kids kept scoring runs. The closest the game got was the 13-6 score after the first.

There was a little bit of discrepancy later in the game when Reggie Uribe of Barnaby’s was swinging was appeared to be a illegal ASA softball bat. Uribe homered earlier in the game and several players noticed the new bat and began questioning its legality.

“I was just curious if it was ASA legal because I was pretty sure it was an NSA and USSSA bat only,” said Fowler, who plays in all of the associations. “I know Reggie can swing with a broom stick and hit it out, but rules are rules.”

When Jorgensen approached umpire and city softball commissioner Chad Meyers about the bat, Meyers approached the Barnaby’s bench. Uribe immediately showed the bat to Meyers who said the bat was illegal because it did not bear the ASA 2004 approved seal on the barrel as all ASA-legal bats do.

“All I did was point it out to Chad,” said Jorgensen, who took several critical remarks from the Barnaby’s team for even bringing it up. “Not only did Reggie know it was illegal, but most of his team knew it, too. Reggie is one of the best players our area has ever produced. He doesn’t need to use a bat that he knows is illegal to try to gain an edge. Something like that questions a guy’s character.”

According to Malcom Boyles, the Umpire in Chief for Seattle ASA, and one of the most respected umpires in the country, Uribe should have been called out.

“The rule is if a player steps into the batters box with a bat that does not bear the ASA approved seal, he is out,” said Boyles via a phone conversation on Wednesday. “If it was a tournament or if this was his second offense in the league, the umpire should confiscate the bat. The rule does not call for an ejection, but the player should have been called out. It’s a tough call for any umpire, and most will just tell the batter to put it away and grab another bat, but either way, the batter should be called out.”

Uribe was visually upset for the remained of the game and refused to show his sportsmanship by congratulating the Street Kids after the game. Meyers had no opinion on the matter after the game but did let Uribe finish the game, albeit with another, legal bat.

The win gave the Kids another league championship in 2006. Two weeks earlier the Kids won the Monday League title with a 20-2 mark. The Kids will now pursue two more league titles this year as they compete in the Mishawaka and South Bend fall leagues.

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