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06-18-2008, 03:43 PM
Space City Classic
Big League Dreams in League City, TX was the site for the 2nd Annual Space City Classic. This was the nicest complex we have visited thus far, as each field in the facility is modeled after a MLB ballpark. From Yankee Stadium to Fenway Park, these fields are almost exact replicas. The perfectly manicured grass in the outfield transitions beautifully into an all turf infield, which really seemed to help keep the balls from taking quite so many bad hops (as they would with a dirt infield). Local Houston teams like DaBomb and Houston Sports proved throughout the weekend that they belong playing with the big boys, while Team Resmondo re-established themselves as the dominant team in men’s slow-pitch softball today. Despite the extreme heat, this tournament became one to remember, as all participating teams stepped up and put on quite a performance from the very first moment of play.
Game of the Year
The winners bracket semi-final brought together perennial favorite Resmondo and a red hot T&R Stucco squad. T&R added Josh Wiggs and former Long Haul player Scottie King to their lineup; both proved very valuable additions to an already stacked lineup ready to go to the next level. Resmondo was missing standout Jeff Hall, but they quickly proved that they would be just fine without him. Early on in the game, T&R pulled into the lead with very strong fielding and great base hitting to take a 14-2 after two innings. Though Resmondo came out a little flat, no one expected this to continue for very long. They brought the thunder in the top of the third that was capped off by a Todd Martin grand slam. Resmondo ended up with 16 runs in the top of the third and after three innings the score was tied 18-18. Resmondo picked up where they left off in the third scoring seven runs in the top of the fourth. The bottom of the fourth yielded a Scott King two run homer but there wasn‘t much else to report, and after four innings the score was 25-20. T&R held Resmondo to only four runs in the fifth, but were only able to score two on the Dennis Rulli led Resmondo defense. During the fourth and fifth innings, Rulli was responsible for five of six T&R outs, and going into the sixth inning, Resmondo was on top 29-22. T&R then showed their defensive prowess behind great fielding by first baseman Chris Schmitt, and Resmondo ended up scoreless that inning. T&R added six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and going into the seventh, Resmondo held a 29-28 lead. Resmondo was able to add four more on the board taking a 33-28 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Leading off for T&R, Troy Nance came in to pinch hit for Charlie Campos. After he was walked, Scott King stepped to the plate and hit his second two run shot of the game. Mike Chambliss, Chris Schmitt, and Chad Louden followed this up with solo home runs to tie the game at 33-33 with no outs. Then, Dustin Roberts hit a double into the gap, and Joey Michaels was intentionally walked, putting runners at first and second with no outs and the score tied. After a Bill Harvey popup to Dennis Rulli, the newest member of T&R, Josh Wiggs, came to the plate. Wiggs did not disappoint as he hit a mammoth three run shot to give T&R the 36-33 win.
Heated Moments
After the T&R victory over Resmondo, quite a scuffle occurred during the hand shake line. As rival pitchers Andy Purcell and Chad Louden passed one another, Purcell gave Louden a hard and quite unfriendly high five. Mayhem ensued; players from both teams jumped in each others faces and profanities were exchanged back and forth. Head USSSA umpire Rick Robertson had to jump in to attempt to break it up. While this was going on, Jean Shoppe’s Mike Rose decided to lighten the mood up a bit by jumping onto a child’s toy car and riding it all over the infield. To sum it up, this was just an example of an emotional game where tempers flared and words were said that weren’t really meant. Look for Softball Kingdom to have footage of the altercation soon.
1st Place - Resmondo/Specialty Tank/Worth
Wins:Low Lifes, Chargers, Suncoast, Street Stars, T&R Stucco, Jean Shoppe 2x
Loss: T&R Stucco
Overall Record: 36-5
Space City Classic Record: 7-1
Last weekend, Resmondo suffered two losses at the hands of Dan Smith, which was a tough blow to their winning streak. However, they seemed poised to make that a distant memory and won their first game of the tournament 43-2. They rebounded nicely from a loss to T&R by beating them in the loser’s bracket final 35-15. Certainly not back 100% from knee surgery, Todd Martin led the team and went on to pick up tournament MVP honors.
2nd Place - Jean Shoppe/Easton
Wins:Street Stars, T&R Stucco, Houston Sports, DaBomb Softball
Losses: Resmondo 2x
Overall Record: 23-6
Space City Classic Record: 4-2
Jean Shoppe seemed to just cruise right through the tournament and all the way to the finals. Pitcher Dan “Dirty” Sanchez showed the other teams that the middle closed on defense, making spectacular plays one after another. Shoppe looked poised to take the title in the first game against Resmondo, however, they seemed to run out of gas in the end and lost an 18-16 heartbreaker. Another great tournament for Shoppe, who have solidified themselves as the top “A” team in softball.
3rd Place - T&R Stucco
Wins:Texas Miken, All Out Sports, Resmondo
Losses: Resmondo, Jean Shoppe
Overall Record: 15-10
Space City Classic Record: 3-2
Troy Nance looked like a genius for picking up Josh Wiggs and Scott King, as both players had great tournaments with Wiggs going on to make the all tournament team. T&R made it to the winner’s bracket final but fell short to Jean Shoppe after a physically and emotionally draining victory over Resmondo. It was a very gratifying victory for the team, with all tournament selection Mike Chambliss stating that it was his first victory ever over Resmondo. This tournament definitely secured T&R’s place among the best of the best.
4th Place- Street Stars
Wins:Suncoast, Team Rowmec, Dynamic Sports, Illustrated Sportswear
Losses: Jean Shoppe, Resmondo
Overall Record: 4-2
Space City Classic Record: 4-2
In their first USSSA conference tournament of the year, Street Stars played sensationally. The team showed great defense, and Teams Jean Shoppe and Resmondo were the only teams to score over ten runs on them in a game. Their 15-10 win over Suncoast was possibly the biggest upset of the weekend, and this “B” squad will surely make some more noise as the season rolls on.
All Tournament Team
Tournament MVP : Todd Martin/Resmondo
Offensive MVP: Sean Macdonald/Jean Shoppe
Defensive Co-MVP: Denis Rulli/Resmondo
Defensive Co-MVP: Don DeDonatis Jr./Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Dennis Rulli/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Jamie Gordon/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Rick Baker/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Don DeDonatis Jr./Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Jeff Wallace/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Greg Connell/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Vince Bisbee/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Dale Roe/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Mike Chambliss/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Jamie Nelson/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Travis Lane/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Josh Wiggs/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Chris Schmitt/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Bobby Hughes/Resmondo
Big League Dreams in League City, TX was the site for the 2nd Annual Space City Classic. This was the nicest complex we have visited thus far, as each field in the facility is modeled after a MLB ballpark. From Yankee Stadium to Fenway Park, these fields are almost exact replicas. The perfectly manicured grass in the outfield transitions beautifully into an all turf infield, which really seemed to help keep the balls from taking quite so many bad hops (as they would with a dirt infield). Local Houston teams like DaBomb and Houston Sports proved throughout the weekend that they belong playing with the big boys, while Team Resmondo re-established themselves as the dominant team in men’s slow-pitch softball today. Despite the extreme heat, this tournament became one to remember, as all participating teams stepped up and put on quite a performance from the very first moment of play.
Game of the Year
The winners bracket semi-final brought together perennial favorite Resmondo and a red hot T&R Stucco squad. T&R added Josh Wiggs and former Long Haul player Scottie King to their lineup; both proved very valuable additions to an already stacked lineup ready to go to the next level. Resmondo was missing standout Jeff Hall, but they quickly proved that they would be just fine without him. Early on in the game, T&R pulled into the lead with very strong fielding and great base hitting to take a 14-2 after two innings. Though Resmondo came out a little flat, no one expected this to continue for very long. They brought the thunder in the top of the third that was capped off by a Todd Martin grand slam. Resmondo ended up with 16 runs in the top of the third and after three innings the score was tied 18-18. Resmondo picked up where they left off in the third scoring seven runs in the top of the fourth. The bottom of the fourth yielded a Scott King two run homer but there wasn‘t much else to report, and after four innings the score was 25-20. T&R held Resmondo to only four runs in the fifth, but were only able to score two on the Dennis Rulli led Resmondo defense. During the fourth and fifth innings, Rulli was responsible for five of six T&R outs, and going into the sixth inning, Resmondo was on top 29-22. T&R then showed their defensive prowess behind great fielding by first baseman Chris Schmitt, and Resmondo ended up scoreless that inning. T&R added six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and going into the seventh, Resmondo held a 29-28 lead. Resmondo was able to add four more on the board taking a 33-28 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Leading off for T&R, Troy Nance came in to pinch hit for Charlie Campos. After he was walked, Scott King stepped to the plate and hit his second two run shot of the game. Mike Chambliss, Chris Schmitt, and Chad Louden followed this up with solo home runs to tie the game at 33-33 with no outs. Then, Dustin Roberts hit a double into the gap, and Joey Michaels was intentionally walked, putting runners at first and second with no outs and the score tied. After a Bill Harvey popup to Dennis Rulli, the newest member of T&R, Josh Wiggs, came to the plate. Wiggs did not disappoint as he hit a mammoth three run shot to give T&R the 36-33 win.
Heated Moments
After the T&R victory over Resmondo, quite a scuffle occurred during the hand shake line. As rival pitchers Andy Purcell and Chad Louden passed one another, Purcell gave Louden a hard and quite unfriendly high five. Mayhem ensued; players from both teams jumped in each others faces and profanities were exchanged back and forth. Head USSSA umpire Rick Robertson had to jump in to attempt to break it up. While this was going on, Jean Shoppe’s Mike Rose decided to lighten the mood up a bit by jumping onto a child’s toy car and riding it all over the infield. To sum it up, this was just an example of an emotional game where tempers flared and words were said that weren’t really meant. Look for Softball Kingdom to have footage of the altercation soon.
1st Place - Resmondo/Specialty Tank/Worth
Wins:Low Lifes, Chargers, Suncoast, Street Stars, T&R Stucco, Jean Shoppe 2x
Loss: T&R Stucco
Overall Record: 36-5
Space City Classic Record: 7-1
Last weekend, Resmondo suffered two losses at the hands of Dan Smith, which was a tough blow to their winning streak. However, they seemed poised to make that a distant memory and won their first game of the tournament 43-2. They rebounded nicely from a loss to T&R by beating them in the loser’s bracket final 35-15. Certainly not back 100% from knee surgery, Todd Martin led the team and went on to pick up tournament MVP honors.
2nd Place - Jean Shoppe/Easton
Wins:Street Stars, T&R Stucco, Houston Sports, DaBomb Softball
Losses: Resmondo 2x
Overall Record: 23-6
Space City Classic Record: 4-2
Jean Shoppe seemed to just cruise right through the tournament and all the way to the finals. Pitcher Dan “Dirty” Sanchez showed the other teams that the middle closed on defense, making spectacular plays one after another. Shoppe looked poised to take the title in the first game against Resmondo, however, they seemed to run out of gas in the end and lost an 18-16 heartbreaker. Another great tournament for Shoppe, who have solidified themselves as the top “A” team in softball.
3rd Place - T&R Stucco
Wins:Texas Miken, All Out Sports, Resmondo
Losses: Resmondo, Jean Shoppe
Overall Record: 15-10
Space City Classic Record: 3-2
Troy Nance looked like a genius for picking up Josh Wiggs and Scott King, as both players had great tournaments with Wiggs going on to make the all tournament team. T&R made it to the winner’s bracket final but fell short to Jean Shoppe after a physically and emotionally draining victory over Resmondo. It was a very gratifying victory for the team, with all tournament selection Mike Chambliss stating that it was his first victory ever over Resmondo. This tournament definitely secured T&R’s place among the best of the best.
4th Place- Street Stars
Wins:Suncoast, Team Rowmec, Dynamic Sports, Illustrated Sportswear
Losses: Jean Shoppe, Resmondo
Overall Record: 4-2
Space City Classic Record: 4-2
In their first USSSA conference tournament of the year, Street Stars played sensationally. The team showed great defense, and Teams Jean Shoppe and Resmondo were the only teams to score over ten runs on them in a game. Their 15-10 win over Suncoast was possibly the biggest upset of the weekend, and this “B” squad will surely make some more noise as the season rolls on.
All Tournament Team
Tournament MVP : Todd Martin/Resmondo
Offensive MVP: Sean Macdonald/Jean Shoppe
Defensive Co-MVP: Denis Rulli/Resmondo
Defensive Co-MVP: Don DeDonatis Jr./Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Dennis Rulli/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Jamie Gordon/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Rick Baker/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Don DeDonatis Jr./Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Jeff Wallace/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Greg Connell/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Vince Bisbee/Resmondo
All Tournament Selection: Dale Roe/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Mike Chambliss/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Jamie Nelson/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Travis Lane/Jean Shoppe
All Tournament Selection: Josh Wiggs/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Chris Schmitt/T&R Stucco
All Tournament Selection: Bobby Hughes/Resmondo