Category: 1998

1998 Statistical Leaders

  • 1998
  • November 13, 2018

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

1. Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth .77624
2. Jeff Wallace, Team TPS .77601
3. Tom White, Wessel/TPS .773
4. Brett Helmer, Wessel/TPS .763
5. Rusty Bumgardner, Team TPS .758
5. J.C. Phelps, Team TPS .758
7. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS .751
7. Jeff Hall, Sunbelt .751
9. Jason Kendrick, Sierra .749
10. Jimmy Powers, Sunbelt .741
11. Shane Dubose, Sunbelt .739
12. Doug Roberson, Team TPS .735
13. Jason Fleming, Chase .734
14. Mike Shenk, Team TPS .733
15. Phil Jobe, Team TPS .732

HOME RUNS

1. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS 196
2. Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS 186
3. Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS 180
4. Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth 180
5. Tom White, Wessel/TPS 163
6. Rusty Bumgardner, Team TPS 161
7. Brett Helmer, Wessel/TPS 155
8. Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth 151
9. Doug Kissane, Team TPS 150
10. Jeff Wallace, Team TPS 149
11. Tot Powers, Sunbelt 147
11. Howie Krause, Wessel/TPS 147
13. Kerry Everett, Sierra/TPS 145
14. Dewayne Frizzell, Lighthouse/Worth 143
15. Todd Martin, Team TPS 135

HOME RUN FREQUENCY

1. Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth 2.122
2. Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth 2.192
3. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS 2.372
4. Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS 2.382
5. Randy Kortokrax, Steele’s/R&D 2.425

Louisville Slugger awards go to season leaders

1998 Supreme Softball’s Top 25 (Final)

  • 1998
  • November 13, 2018
  1. Team TPS, Louisville, Ky. (2)
  2. Sunbelt/Dan Smith, Centerville, Ga. (3)
  3. Lighthouse/Worth, Stone Mountain, Ga. (1)
  4. Sierra/TPS, Reno, Nev. (4)
  5. Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS, Cincinnati, Ohio (6)
  6. Steele’s/R&D/Reda, Brook Park, Ohio (5)
  7. Chase/Easton, Wilmington, N.C. (8)
  8. Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno, Albertville, Minn. (9)
  9. Herb’s/KCS/TPS, San Diego, Calif. (7)
  10. Reece/SportsWorld/Chip’s/TPS, Lebanon, Tenn. (10)
  11. Backstop/Easton/Bike/Mizuno, Aurora, Ind. (11)
  12. O&S/TPS, South St. Paul, Minn. (13)
  13. Xtreme/Hinson/Bike/Mizuno/One Ton/Worth, Little Rock, Ark. (12)
  14. Brandon’s, Wilmington, N.C. (15)
  15. JWM/Easton, Riverside, Calif. (14)
  16. RPM/TPS, Concord, Calif. (18)
  17. Tiger/ChecKing/AirTransat/TPS, Somers, Conn. (16)
  18. Gasoline Heaven/Worth, Long Island, N.Y. (17)
  19. N.A.S.T.Y. Boys/TPS, St. Louis, Mo. (19)
  20. Planet/New/TPS, Lexington, Ky. (20)
  21. Hendu’s 42/TPS, Seattle, Wash. (21)
  22. Resmondo/TPS, Lake Wales, Fla. (22)
  23. Adams/RSH/Worth, Ridgeland, Miss. (23)
  24. Central Paving/TPS, Decatur, Ill. (24)
  25. Sunnyvale Valve/TPS, Sunnyvale, Calif. (25)

1998 ISA Super World Series Report

Carl Rose 1998 ISA Super MVP

Carl Rose slammed a no-doubt-about-it grand slam home run after a walk to big Wendell Rickard with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Lighthouse/Worth to a 26-24 win over Sierra/TPS Sunday (Aug. 9) in the championship game of the Independent Softball Association (ISA) World Series at Sims Park in Gastonia, N.C. The tournament was played on a baseball park, with dimensions of 335-360-380-360-335. Sierra forced an extra game with a 20-12 win over Lighthouse that saw Hank Garris wallop four home runs. Darrell Beeler had two homers and Kerry Everett and Greg Cannedy each had 4-for-4 games. Rickard had four boomers for Lighthouse in the deciding game. Al Davis had three and he was the tournament’s leading hitter with an .810 average. He had four walks. The ISA counts walks as hits and sacrifice flies as outs. Rose was the MVP. His final figures read: .708 with seven home runs, including three in the deciding game. Rickard had nine homers. Garris had a big tournament for Sierra. He was 10-for-10 with five home runs in the first two games, winding up 26-for-34 with a tourney leading 12 home runs and a tourney leading 22 RBI. Darrell Beeler had 11 HRs for Sierra. Garris has taken over the season home run lead from teammate Larry Fredieu. He has 176 compared to 172 for Fredieu, the defensive award winner for his play in left field. Lighthouse has now won all four legs of the Grand Slam . . . in the last four years (the ASA Super in 1995, the NSA in 1996 and the USSSA World Series in 1997). This tournament was upset filled, like last year when Ritch’s-Superior/Tri-Gems/Beloli/TPS went 0-2. Lighthouse was an upset victim last year too. Team TPS, the top team in the power ratings, went 0-2, losing first to Backstop/Easton 14-13 in 8 innings, then to Steele’s/R&D by a whopping 30-10 score in 4 innings. Defending champion Sunbelt/Easton, the top-ranked team in the Supreme Softball Top 25 (Sierra was second, Team TPS third, Steele’s fourth and Lighthouse fifth), also lost on opening night — 15-10 to sixth-ranked Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS. Sierra was knocked into the losers bracket in the second round — 20-19 by Wessel when a rally fell short in the bottom of the 7th. Sierra came back to oust Steele’s 18-13, Sunbelt 18-15 and Wessel 15-9. Lighthouse was a 33-13, 4-inning winner over Wessel in the finals of the winners bracket, exploding for 17 runs in the fourth inning. Lighthouse won easily over Backstop 14-2 in the semifinal round after holding off Steele’s 26-24 in the first round. The other first round game saw Sierra beat O&S/TPS 28-12. Early losers bracket play saw Sunbelt top O&S 16-5 and Backstop 30-14. The second leading hitters were Garris and Jeff Hall of Sunbelt at .765. Speedy center fielder Scott Striebel had a nifty running catch to rob Garris of an extra base hit with two runners on in the top of the seventh. He then helped set the stage for Rose’s game-winner with a single. After one out, Davis and Dewayne Frizzell homered. Then after two outs, Dennis Mendoza, Ricky Huggins and Striebel singled. Lighthouse averaged 7 home runs per game, Sierra 6. Steele’s, which played only three games, was tops at 8 HRs per game. The all-tournament team included Rose, Davis, Rickard, Dennis Mendoza, Robin Higginbotham and Scott Striebel of Lighthouse, Garris, Fredieu, Beeler, Mark Creson and pitcher Paul Drilling of Sierra, pitcher Jim Burbrink and shortstop Randy Vollmer of Wessel/Hague (they were good in the hit department too) and Shane Dubose, Jeff Hall and Johnny McCraw of Sunbelt. Hall and McCraw and Rusty Bumgardner of Team TPS were playing before home fans. Hall and McCraw (and Sunbelt manager Gary Lowe) are from Gastonia, Bumgardner from nearby Kings Mountain. Lighthouse jumped out to leads of 5-0 and 9-3 in the final game. Rickard, Rose and Davis homered in the first and Davis homered after a triple by Robbie Ergle in the second. Mendoza had a homer leading off the third after a 2-run double in the first. He another another RBI hit, plus his hit in the seventh. Rickard and Rose combined for 13 RBI. Sierra tied it at 11-11 in the top of the fourth, then moved into leads of 18-11 and 23-14. Garris, Fredieu and Parnell each had two homers, Beeler and Everett one each (both 3-runners). Mark Creson was 5-for-5. Parnell had two other hits, Kendrick, Drilling and Cannedy triples. Rickard had two homers and Rose a triple and homer in the 20-12 loss. Elliott had the only other HR for Lighthouse. Sierra built up a 12-3 lead going into the bottom of the fourth vs. Wessel. Sierra’s only HRs were by Garris and Beeler (a 3-runner). Garris was 4-4, Drilling 3-3. Sierra jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first inning and held on in the 18-15 elimination of Sunbelt. Creson, Beeler and Fredieu homered, while Garris had two hits in the big first. Everett went 4-4 with a homer. Beeler added another one. Dale Walters had a homer. Hall had two homers, Hightower, Tot Powers, Schuck and McCraw one each for Sunbelt. The 17 runs in the bottom of the fourth of the 33-13 run-rule romp for Lighthouse over Wessel in the winners bracket finals saw homers by Frizzell, Elliott, Davis, Rickard and Rose and a triple and single each by Mendoza and Kirk Stafford. It was Mendoza’s second triple of the game. Rickard had a 375-foot line-drive double earlier in the big inning and Huggins and Striebel each had two singles. Rickard and Rose each homered earlier. So did Frizzell, Ergle and Higginbotham. Sunbelt’s 30-14 ouster of Backstop saw two 1-2-3 innings, including the first, but a 10, 9 and 9. Jeff Hall drew 4 of Sunbelt’s 12 walks. Jimmy Powers had four hits, Britt Hightower, Bobby Gilbert and Johnny McCraw two homers each Bob Van Erem was 4-4 with 2 HRs for Backstop. For three games, he was 10-for-11 with 8 HRs. Steele’s was within 9-10 and 12-13 before Sierra pushed across five runs without a home run in the top of the seventh and won 18-13. Fredieu and Beeler had homers and Kendrick an inside-the-parker for Sierra. Big Randy Kortokrax had three Steele’s HRs. Lighthouse had an easy 14-2 win over Backstop, with Davis and Rickard hitting the only two homers. Mendoza was 4-4. Wessel got a 3-runner from Tim Lins on, a solo and two other hits from Howie Krause and a grand slam and a 380-foot line-drive double from Brett Helmer in the 20-19 upset of Sierra. But the big key a 4-4 game from Jim Burbrink and a 3-3 game from Randy Vollmer batting in the 10 and 11 spots. Garris, Beeler and Fredieu socked successive HRs for Sierra in the bottom of the seventh, but the 5-run rally was one short. Steele’s 30-10, 4-inning elimination of Team TPS saw a whopping 12 home runs — two each by Jim Devine, Rod Hughes, Derek Jones, Jeff Ott and Keith Brockman and one each by Dennis Pierce and Dal Beggs. Devine also had a triple and single. Jones, Brockman and Beggs also went 4-4. Steele’s hit for 12 runs on 4 HRs in the second for a 15-7 lead, then produced the run rule with nine runs on 4 HRs in the bottom of the fourth. Wallace was 3-3 with 2 HRs (his team’s only two) and Nevitt had an opposite field triple and a single for Team TPS. Sunbelt’s 16-5 win over O&S saw Hall go 4-4 with a 3-run HR. Jimmy Powers, McCraw and Hightower also homered. Derrick Williams had a triple (off the 360 mark) and a single for O&S. Backstop struck for six runs on three homers in the top of the first in the upending of Team TPS. Judson Jackson had a 2-runner, Melvin Mallernee a solo and Monty McCory a 3-runner. Van Erem and Burch homered in the third as Backstop led 8-3. Four homers (by Mike Shenk, Phil Jobe, Wallace and Todd Martin) pulled Team TPS even at 13-13 in the bottom of the seventh. ISA rules allow a baserunner put on second base in extra innings. It took a groundout and a sac fly for Backstop to score. Team TPS did not score, going 1-2-3 — all routine fly balls. Team TPS had routine 14 fly balls (or popups) in the game. A 2-run homer by Frizzell (he also homered, tripled and singled) and a 2-out RBI single by Rick Huggins gave Lighthouse a 26-24 lead vs. Steele’s . . . after Steele’s seized a 24-23 lead with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth as Jeff Ott hit a grand slam, Jim Devine a single and triple and Kortokrax and Hughes homers. However, Steele’s went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh. Hughes had four hits, including another homer, and Dal Beggs had four hits, with a HR, for Steele’s. Kortokrax had another homer. Pierce and Brockman homered. Lighthouse had a 10-run fifth for a 23-13 lead. Davis had 2 HRs, Rose, Stafford and Higginbotham one each. Huggins had two hits in the 10-run inning, Higginbotham his HR and a single. Burbrink’s lefthanded pitching was the key in Wessel’s 15-10 reversal of Sunbelt, which scored five runs in the fifth, then drew blanks in the sixth and seventh. Jimmy Powers had Sunbelt’s only homer. A 3-run HR by Tom White in the sixth and a 2-runner by Dale Sensenig in the seventh made the difference. White also had a triple and another homer. Howie Krause had two HRs, Tim Linson and Chris Lashley one each. O&S enjoyed an early 9-1 lead vs. Sierra as Williams and Doug Berfeldt hit 3-run HRs, but Sierra enforced the run rule with 13 runs on 6 HRs in the bottom of the fifth. Garris hit his second and third HRs, Beeler his second. Fredieu, Everett and Kendrick also homered.

1998 NSA Men’s Major Super World Report

Team TPS posted a 4-0 record without a serious threat to win the NSA World Series (Sept. 11-13) at the Burlington, N.C., baseball park, and snap out a “tailspin” that had been lingering since the third weekend in June. Team TPS was the preseason No. 1, but had skidded to fourth in the Supreme Softball Top 25 rankings. Lighthouse/Worth jumped into the top spot by winning the first two legs of the Grand Slam championship series — the ISA and the ASA Super. But Lighthouse was a 38-17, 5-inning victim of Team TPS, then Team TPS was a 42-17, 5-inning winner over fifth-ranked Steele’s/R&D/Reda. Meanwhile, second-ranked Sunbelt/Dan Smith, playing without Todd Joerling and Dan Schuck who had been released by owner Wayne Williamson, was romping to three wins that saw 100 runs in just 10 innings — 32-0 over Allison’s, 34-9 over Xtreme/Hinson/Worth and 34-14 over third-ranked Sierra/TPS. Team TPS, which released J.C. Phelps, won 26-22 over Sunbelt in the winners bracket finals, holding a 10-run lead going into the top of the seventh. Jeff Wallace and Rusty Bumgardner each had two home runs, Dewayne Nevitt, Doug Kissane, Randell Boone and Mike Shenk one each. Boone’s was a 3-runner to cap a 5-run fourth and Shenk’s a grand slam to climax a 7-run fifth inning as Team TPS built up a 25-13 lead. After Sunbelt scored 11 runs in the fourth inning en route to a 29-18 elimination of Steele’s, Team TPS socked Sunbelt 33-17 in the championship game, hitting four homers in an 11-run second inning. Team TPS had a 16-1 bulge going into the bottom of the third. Sunbelt pulled within 19-13, but drew a blank in the fifth and Team TPS iced it with 6 in the sixth and 6 in the seventh. Team TPS had 10 home runs. Todd Martin had two as he broke out of a slump with a 4-for-5 game. Shortstop Johnny Mello had two, plus a triple. Doug Roberson had two, including an inside-the-parker, plus two other hits. Kissane, Nevitt, Boone and Shenk each had one. Wallace, the MVP selection, had five hits, Bumgardner four. Kissane, Shenk and Brad Stiles also had triples. The field dimensions were 335-406-335. There were 326 home runs hit over the wall, 18 inside the park. That compares with 405 homers last year when Ritch’s-Superior/Tri-Gems/Beloli/TPS double-dipped Shen Valley/Taylor/TPS in the finals. Those two teams were merged for the 1998 season. The big yard led to a whopping 56 triples in the 22 games. Big Randy Kortokrax of Steele’s won the home run title with 13 in five games. He had 13 here last year too. The leader last year with Todd Joerling of Sunbelt with 16. Sunbelt’s Greg Harding had 12 homers this year, and teammates Jimmy and Tot Powers 10 each. Based on 20 at-bats, Sunbelt’s Jeff Hall led the batting average chart with .808. Brian Jeffers of Backstop/Easton went 13-for-15 for an .867 average. Team TPS had 49 homers in four games, Sunbelt 65 in six, Steele’s 58 in five and Lighthouse 56 in five. Sierra had 40 in four games. The Team TPS team batting average was .649, Sunbelt’s 636, Lighthouse .626 and Sierra .620. Brandon’s wound up in a tie for fifth, despite losing in the opening round to Lighthouse (25-8). Brandon’s won over Xtreme/Hinson/Worth 23-16 and Backstop 31-30 on a sac fly by Chris Graves before giving Steele’s a tussle before losing 50-29 when Steele’s scored 15 on 8 home runs in the fifth inning. Kortokrax went 7-for-7, with 6 HRs and 10 RBI for Steele’s. Steele’s totaled 20 HRs, Rod Hughes, Rob Schleede, Dennis Pierce, Dal Beggs and Jeff Ott two each. Amazingly, Steele’s drew 17 walks, including 9 in the second inning. That inning saw 19 straight balls. Brandon’s scored 13 runs in the top of the second, but Steele’s had 12 in the bottom half of the inning. Brandon’s had 10 runs in the fifth for a 28-22 lead. Eddie Foust was 4-for-4 with 2 homers, Mike Martin 5-for-5 and Chris Absher 4-for-5 with an inside the park homer. Slim Bryant had 2 homers, Graves, Chris Calcutt, Tracy Logan and Keith Roberts one each. Chase/Easton, winner of the ISA AA and ASA Major but 0-2 in the NSA AA, went 0-2 in this one, losing 27-26 in 8 innings to Herb’s/KCS/TPS, winner of the NSA AA, and 29-11 to Backstop. Herb’s lost to Steele’s 36-28, then won another 8-inning game, this one by 16-15 over Planet/New/TPS. Jeff Smith’s lone 2-run home run produced the winning runs vs. Chase and he got the winning hit vs. Planet. Rusty Hoke and Jon Meyers earlier homered in the 7-run top of the eighth vs. Chase. Smith earlier had a triple, homer and single. He also had two singles and a triple against Planet. Herb’s then was eliminated 26-2 by Lighthouse, and wound up in a tie for seventh with Backstop. Brandon’s 31-30 win over Backstop saw a 14-run fourth and a 12-run fifth after drawing blanks in the first two innings. Jerold Smith had a double, triple and homer, while Mike Martin had an inside the park homer. Eddie Foust had a 3-runner, Chris Calcutt a solo. Calcutt and Tracy Logan each had five hits, little Chris Beck and Slim Bryant four each. The winning run was set up by singles by Beck, Bryant and Calcutt. Sierra eliminated Lighthouse late Saturday night 42-38, regulating the LH crew to a tie for fifth place. Sierra scored 12 runs to seize a 42-32 lead in the top of the seventh. Pitcher Paul Drilling had a pair of 2-run homers. He also homered in the sixth and had two earlier singles. Darrell Beeler and Kerry Everett also homered in the seventh, while Jason Kendrick and Greg Cannedy each had two hits. Cannedy also had a hit in the 6-run sixth, and he wound up 6-for-6. Hank Garris, Larry Fredieu and Everett homered in the sixth. Everett had four in the game. Garris had two other 3-runners . . . for a total of 9 RBI. For Lighthouse, Scott Elliott had five hits, including 3 homers, Ricky Huggins had 3 homers and Dewayne Frizzell and Kirk Stafford two each. One of Frizzell’s was a grand slam. Dennis Mendoza had five hits and Carl Rose had a single, double, triple and homer. After the high-scoring wins, Steele’s was a 14-9 winner over Sierra in the first game on the final day’s slate. Sierra only two home runs — both by Beeler. Sierra managed only two runs over the last three innings. Garris was hitless in four trips to the plate. Steele’s socked five homers (Kortokrax, Hughes, Beggs, Ott and Keith Brockman). Rob Schleede contributed a triple as Steele’s made it 5-2 with a 4-run second. It was 7-4, 9-7 and 12-8 after the next three innings. Steele’s then was eliminated 29-18 by Sunbelt. Steele’s fell behind 21-9 when Sunbelt scored 11 runs in the fourth, then cut into the deficit with 8 runs in the top of the seventh. Sunbelt had six homers (two by Hall, one each by Harding, Hightower, Gilbert and McCraw) and three triples (by Dubose, Gilbert and Curtis Williams). Dubose was 4-for-4, plus a walk. Williams was 4-for-5. Kortokrax had three of Steele’s five HRs. Hughes and Ott also homered. Team TPS built up leads of 8-3, 18-11 and 25-13 in the first five innings in the 26-22 win over Sunbelt in the finals of the winners bracket. Sunbelt tried to rally with six in the top of the seventh. Team TPS had eight homers — by Bumgardner and Nevitt in the first, by Wallace in the second, by Kissane in the third, by Wallace and Boone (a 3-runner) in the fourth and by Shenk (a grand slam) in the fifth. Bumgardnder hit another homer in the sixth. Jimmy Powers and McCraw each had four hits in a losing effort. Powers had a homer, Harding, Hightower and Tot Powers two each. Sunbelt outhomered Team TPS 12-10, but was walloped 33-17 in the finale. Jimmy Powers had three, Hall, Harding, Hightower and McCraw two each. Tot Powers had one. Team TPS had five hits from Wallace, but no HRs. Martin had two homers among four hits, Bumgardner one among four hits. Doug Roberson also had four hits, including two homers, one an IP. Roberson totaled eight RBI. Johnny Mello had two homers, Kissane one (and a triple) and Nevitt, Boone and Shenk one each. Shenk, Mello and Stiles also tripled. Team TPS’ 5-inning run-rule 38-17 romp over Lighthouse saw the score by innings read like this: 7-8-8-6-9. Lighthouse was shocked . . . trailing 15-2, 23-3, 29-4 and 38-12. Wallace, Bumgardner and Shenk homered in the first. Boone had a long triple. Boone had a 3-run HR in the second. Mello also homered. Boone had another 3-runner in the third, and a 2-runner in the fourth. He was 4-for-4, plus a walk, for 9 RBI. Jobe, Roberson (twice), Kissane and Tom White, an added player from Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS, also homered. Wallace homered again. Wallace and Bumgardner each had five hits, Nevitt and Shenk four each. Wendell Rickard had three homers for Lighthouse, but he later had to sit out his team’s last three games with an elbow injury. Frizzell had three homers for the LH crew, Rose and Huggins two each. Lighthouse had five successive HRs in an 8-run third. Elliott, Davis and Stafford also homered. In fact, 14 of the 17 LH runs were home runs. The Team TPS 42-17, 4-inning romp over Steele’s saw a 16-run second and a 15-run fourth. Team TPS had 17 homers, including an IP. Kissane, who went 6-for-6, Nevitt and Boone each had three HRs. Mello had two, including a bases-loaded IP. Martin had a grand slam. Steele’s had a lot of HRs too — 10. One was an inside-the-parker by Ron Fields. David Hood had three, Lonnie Fox two. Sunbelt stunned Sierra with a 21-run, 10-HR third inning. McCraw had a slam and solo. Harding had two. J.Powers had two too, including a 3-runner. J.Powers, Harding, T.Powers and McCraw each wound up with three homers. Sunbelt had 16, including an IP by Harding. Hightower also had two HRs. On the other hand, the usually HR hitting Sierra club had only six. Garris had two of them. Howie Krause, an added player from Wessel/Hague, had six homers for Backstop, including three plus a double in the stunning 29-11 drubbing of Chase.

Jeff Wallace NSA Super World MVP.

1998 NSA AA Report

Herb’s posted an undefeated record (5-0) to claim the title trophy in the NSA Class AA World Series Aug. 28-30 at the Indianapolis Sports & Fitness Center. Herb’s outlasted Long Haul 56-54 in a second-round matchup, then ran into Long Haul again in the finals. The score this time was 44-27. In the first meeting, Herb’s roared into a 29-3 lead, then had to survive a 22-run outburst by Long Haul in the bottom of the seventh. Herb’s was a 58-57 winner over Reece/TPS of Lebanon, Tenn., in the winners bracket finals when Jeff Smith homered to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Reece then was eliminated 50-29 by Long Haul. The MVP selection was veteran Jamie Wisham of Herb’s. He batted .828 (24-for-29). Jacques Millier of fourth-place Tiger/ChecKing/AirTransat, led in home runs with 17 (in 8 games). Herb’s other pace-setters included Jon Meyers at .812, Dan Zenovka .774, P. J. Jones .760, Glenn Dolezal .742, Ed Starcher .727, Smith .710 and George Sampson .704. Smith and Don Copelan each had 9 homers, while teammates Dolezal, Starcher and Sampson each had 7. Wisham, Meyers and Zenovka each had 5 HRs in Herb’s balanced attack. Long Haul leaders included Mike Brodzinski at .821, Rob Darhower at .800, Tim Magner at .795, Ted Larson at .765, Mike Stanley at .730 and Butch Smith at .724. Magner and Doug Johnson each had 8 homers, while Smith and Chaun Demars each had 7 and Stanley and Dan Houchin 6 each. Pete Roberts of Central Paving chalked up a remarkable average of 1.000. He was 20-for-20. Millier and Tiger teammate Dave Koser turned in .857 and .853 averages, respectively, while Joe Ambrose of Joe Black’s was at .842. Jan Moss of Central and Rick Jackson of N.A.S.T.Y. Boys were at .833. Brett Helmer, a Tiger pick-up from the Wessel/Hague team, totaled 15 home runs. Mike Lane of N.A.S.T.Y. had 12, Moss 11 and Brian Justice of Reece 10. Smith and Copelan of Herb’s, Keith Brady of Reece and Dennis Turner of N.A.S.T.Y. each had 9 HRs. There were upsets aplenty. Chase was stunned with an 0-2 record. Chase lost first to a Class A team, K&G/TPS of North Vernon, Ind., 30-29, when K&G scored 13 runs in the bottom of the seventh. The other loss was 16-14 to Ultimate Sports, another Class A team from Indianapolis. Gar King, an Indiana native who plays regularly with Resmondo/Sod of Florida, won the game with a home run. JWM won one game, then was upset 40-32 by Central Paving and 30-29 by California rival RPM. Planet/New, fourth-place finisher in the ISA, was 1-2 too, losing 27-23 to Joe Black’s/Lattof/TPS of Chicago and 22-20 to a Class A team, Mercer Machine of Indianapolis. Backstop and N.A.S.T.Y. Boys, a surprising third in the ISA, each went 2-2 and wound up in a tie for 13th. Backstop lost to Reece 38-30, then was eliminated 53-31 by K&G. N.A.S.T.Y. lost to Long Haul 35-33, then was ousted 54-43 by Tiger. The “Boys” scored almost 200 runs in four games, winning one game by 63-25 in 4 innings and another by 54-33. Herb’s and Tiger met in an early round, with Herb’s winning 40-37. Herb’s other win was over B&A of Cincinnati (43-13). B&A, a Class A team, drew a bye, then got a forfeit before upsetting Central Paving 35-30 on the strength of a 26-run top of the first. B&A tied for fifth with Joe Black’s. Tied for seventh were Gasoline Heaven and Central Paving. Tied for ninth were RPM, K&G, Mercer and Jett Door of Houston. T’s 13 of Nebraska and Galyan’s of Indianapolis were in the group tied for 13th — with Backstop and N.A.S.T.Y. Gil’s Arizona Heat of Phoenix was another team that suffered an 0-2 fate. Gil’s drew Backstop and lost 25-18, then ran into Tiger in the losers bracket and lost 31-10.RPM was eliminated 44-36 by Gasoline Heaven, which then was ousted by Tiger 25-20.

1998 Supreme Softball All-Star Team

  • 1998
  • November 13, 2018

Tri-Players of the Year – Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS
Tri-Players of the Year – Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth
Tri-Players of the Year – Jeff Wallace, Team TPS

P — Phil Jobe, Team TPS, 6-4, 230, age 30, .732 OBA-64 HRs
P — Paul Drilling, Sierra/TPS, 5-11, 220, 34, .657-85
1B — Jeff Wallace, Team TPS, 6-2, 275, 29, .776-151
2B — Rusty Bumgardner, Team TPS, 6-6, 275, 29, .758-161
3B — Mike Shenk, Team TPS, 6-2, 265, 32, .733-106
SS — John Mello, Team TPS, 6-2, 225, 32, .695-81
MI — Jeff Hall, Sunbelt/D.Smith/Easton, 6-3, 235, 28, .751-91
OF — Todd Martin, Team TPS, 6-2, 215, 26, .728-135
OF — Doug Kissane, Team TPS, 6-5, 255, 31, .689-150
OF — Jason Kendrick, Sierra/TPS, 6-2, 220, 31, .749-115
OF — Robin Higginbotham, Lighthouse/Worth, 6-1, 210, 27, .698-73
OF — Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS, 6-0, 220, 39, .690-186
OF — Dewayne Frizzell, Lighthouse/Worth, 6-1, 235, 31, .727-143
C — Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth, 6-5, 290, 32, .776-151
C — Jimmy Powers, Sunbelt/D.Smith/Easton, 6-2, 250, 36, .741-125
EH — Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth, 6-2, 250, 32, .728-180
EH — Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS, 6-2, 270, 34, .751-196
UT– Tot Powers, Sunbelt/D.Smith/Easton, 6-1, 260, 37, .722-147
UT– Greg Harding, Sunbelt/D.Smith/Easton, 6-1, 245, 30, .703-104
UT– Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS, 6-3, 240, 38, .716-180
UT– Albert Davis, Lighthouse/Worth, 6-0, 245, 30, .725-123
UT– Dennis Mendoza, Lighthouse/Worth, 5-11, 220, 32, .707-82
UT– Randy Kortokrax, Steele’s/R&D/Reda, 6-6, 280, 33, .699-134
UT– Rod Hughes, Steele’s/R&D/Reda, 6-0, 235, 30, .705-124
UT– Tom White, Wessel/Hague/SoJern, 6-3, 270, 36, .773-163
UT– Brett Helmer, Wessel/Hague/SoJern, 6-0, 270, 27, .763-155
UT– Howie Krause, Wessel/Hague/SoJern, 6-1, 230, 31, .705-147

1998 Softball Today Player of the Year – Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS, EH/C (196, .751)

1998 ISA Men’s Super Slow Pitch World Series

1998 held at Gastonia, North Carolina

Champion – Lighthouse/Worth, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Runner Up – Sierra/TPS, Reno, Nevada

Carl Rose slammed a no-doubt-about-it grand slam home run after a walk to big Wendell Rickard with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Lighthouse/Worth to a 26-24 win over Sierra/TPS Sunday in the championship game. The tournament was played on a baseball park, with dimensions of 335-360-380-360-335. Sierra forced an extra game with a 20-12 win over Lighthouse that saw Hank Garris wallop four home runs. Darrell Beeler had two homers and Kerry Everett and Greg Cannedy each had 4-for-4 games. Rickard had four boomers for Lighthouse in the deciding game. Al Davis had three and he was the tournament’s leading hitter with an .810 average.

  • MVP – Carl Rose, Lighthouse/ Worth (17-24, .708, 7 HR, 15 RBI)
  • Defensive MVP – Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS
  • Offensive MVP – Albert Davis, Lighthouse/Worth (17-21, .810, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
  • HR Leader – Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS (26-34, .765, 22 RBI) – 12
  • Batting Leader – Albert Davis, Lighthouse (17-21, .810 7 HR, 14 RBI)

ISA ALL WORLD TEAM

  • Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth (17-24, .708, 7 HR, 15 RBI)
  • Albert Davis, Lighthouse/Worth (17-21, .810, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
  • Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth (16-24, .667, 9 HR, 19 RBI)
  • Dennis Mendoza, Lighthouse/Worth (14-21, .667, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
  • Robin Higginbotham, Lighthouse/Worth (11-21, .524, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
  • Scott Striebel, Lighthouse/Worth (11-20, .550, 4 RBI)
  • Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS (26-34, .765, 12 HR, 22 RBI)
  • Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS (15-32, .469, 7 HR, 14 RBI)
  • Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS (17-33, .515, 11 HR, 19 RBI)
  • Paul Drilling, Sierra/TPS (12-23, .522, 10 RBI)
  • Mark Creson, Sierra/TPS (18-29, .621, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
  • Shane Dubose, Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton (12-16, .750, 2 RBI)
  • Jeff Hall, Sunbelt/ Dan Smith/Easton (13-17, .765, 3 HR, 7 RBI)
  • Johnny McCraw, Sunbelt Dan Smith/Easton (10-15, .667, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
  • Jim Burbrink, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS (8-11, .727, 2 RBI)
  • Randy Vollmer, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS (8-13, .615, 5 RBI)

OTHERS

Bob VanErem, Backstop/Easton (10-11, .909, 3 HR, 8 RBI)
Mike Shenk, Team TPS (5-6, .833, 2 HR, 2 RBI)
Dal Beggs, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (9-11, .818, 3 HR, 5 RBI)
Keith Brockman, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (9-11, .818, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Jim Devine, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (10-13, .769, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Lonnie Fox, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (8-11, .727, 1 RBI)
Jeff Wallace, Team TPS (5-7, .714, 3 HR, 6 RBI)
Todd Volkers, Sunbelt/Dan Smith (9-14, .643, 1 RBI)
Rod Hughes, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (8-13, .615, 4 HR, 6 RBI)
Kerry Everett, Sierra/TPS (19-31, .613, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
Greg Cannedy, Sierra/TPS (16-27, .593, 11 RBI)
Jason Kendrick, Sierra/TPS (17-29, .586, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
Dewayne Frizzell, Lighthouse/Worth (12-21, .571, 5 HR, 12 RBI)
Brett Helmer, Wessel/Hague/SoJern (9-16, .562, 3 HR, 6 RBI)
Ron Parnell, Sierra/TPS (16-29, .552, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
Randy Kortokrax, Steele’s/R&D/Reda (7-13, .538, 5 HR, 11 RBI)
Howie Krause, Wessel/Hague/SoJern (8-16, .500, 4 HR, 7 RBI)
Tom White, Wessel/Hague/SoJern (8-16, .500, 4 HR, 9 RBI)
Britt Hightower, Sunbelt/Dan Smith (8-17, .471, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
Scott Elliott, Lighthouse/Worth (6-22, .273, 2 HR, 7 RBI)

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Lighthouse/Worth, Stone Mountain, GA (5-1)
2. Sierra/TPS, Reno, NV (5-2)
3. Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS, Cincinnati, OH (2-2)
4. Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton, Centerville, GA (2-2)
5t. Steele’s/R&D/Reda, Brook Park, OH (1-2)
5t. Backstop/Easton, Aurora, IN (1-2)
7t. Team TPS, Louisville, KY (0-2)
7t. O&S/TPS, South St. Paul, MN (0-2)

1998 ISA Men’s Super Slow Pitch World Series

1998 held on August 7-9 at Gastonia, North Carolina.

Champion – Lighthouse/Worth, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Runner Up – Sierra/TPS, Reno, Nevada

  • MVP – Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth (Rose has now earned MVP honors in two national championships. He was named MVP in the USSSA World Series in 1997.
  • Offensive MVP – Albert Davis, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Defensive MVP – Larry Fredieu, Sierra /TPS

ISA SUPER ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

  • Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Al Davis, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Dennis Mendoza, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Robin Higginbotham, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Scott Striebel, Lighthouse/Worth
  • Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS
  • Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS
  • Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS
  • Paul Drilling, Sierra/TPS
  • Mark Creson, Sierra/TPS
  • Shane Dubose, Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton
  • Jeff Hall, Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton
  • Johnny McCraw, Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton
  • Jim Burbrink, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS
  • Randy Vollmer, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Lighthouse/Worth, Stone Mountain, GA (5-1)
2. Sierra/TPS, Reno, NV (5-2)
3. Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS, Cincinnati, OH (2-2)
4. Sunbelt/Dan Smith/Easton, Centerville, GA (2-2)
5t. Steele’s/R&D/Reda, Brook Park, OH (1-2)
5t. Backstop/Easton, Lawrenceburg, IN (1-2)
7t. Team TPS, Louisville, KY (0-2)
7t. O&S/TPS, South St. Paul, MN (0-2)

THE SCOREBOARD

WINNERS BRACKET

Wessel 15, Sunbelt 10
Sierra 28, O&S 12, 5 innings
Backstop 14, Team TPS 13, 8 innings
Lighthouse 26, Steele’s 24
Wessel 20, Sierra 19
Lighthouse 14, Backstop 2
Lighthouse 33, Wessel 13, 4 innings

LOSERS BRACKET

Sunbelt 16, O&S 5
Steele’s 30, Team TPS 10, 4 innings
Sunbelt 30, Backstop 14, 6 innings
Sierra 18, Steele’s 13
Sierra 18, Sunbelt 15
Sierra 15, Wessel 9

CHAMPIONSHIP

Sierra 20, Lighthouse 12
Lighthouse 26, Sierra 24

STATISTICS

BATTING AVERAGE

1. Bob Van Erem, Backstop/Easton 10-11 .909
2. Dal Beggs, Steele’s/R&D 9-11 .818
3. Keith Brockman, Steele’s/R&D 9-11 .818
4. Al Davis, Lighthouse/Worth 17-21 .810
5. Jim Devine, Steele’s/R&D 10-13 .769
6. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS 26-34 .765
7. Jeff Hall, Sunbelt/Easton 13-17 .765
8. Shane Dubose, Sunbelt/Easton 12-16 .750
9. Lonnie Fox, Steele’s/R&D 8-11 .727
9. Jim Burbrink, Wessel/Hague/TPS 8-11 .727
11. Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth 17-24 .708

HOME RUNS

1. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS 12
2. Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS 11
3. Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth 9
4. Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth 7
4. Albert Davis, Lighthouse/Worth 7
4. Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS 7
7. Dewayne Frizzell, Lighthouse/Worth 5
7. Randy Kortokrax, Steele’s/R&D 5

RUNS-BATTED-IN

1. Hank Garris, Sierra/TPS 22
2. Wendell Rickard, Lighthouse/Worth 19
2. Darrell Beeler, Sierra/TPS 19
4. Carl Rose, Lighthouse/Worth 15
5. Al Davis, Lighthouse/Worth 14
5. Larry Fredieu, Sierra/TPS 14

1998 ISC Men’s Fast Pitch World Tournament

1998 held at Kimberly, Wisconsin on August 14-23.

Champion – Smokers, Tampa, Florida
Runner Up – The Farm Tavern, Madison, Wisconsin

  • Cleo Goyette Memorial MVP Award – Steve Price, Heflin Gremlins
  • Leroy Zimmerman Memorial Pitching Award – Todd Martin, Smokers
  • Kevin Herlihy Newcomer of the Year – N/A
  • Leading Hitter – Marty Becker, 51 Classics – .636
  • Most RBI – Steve Price, Heflin Gremlins – 15

1998 ISC FIRST TEAM ALL WORLD

P – Todd Martin, Smokers (3-0, 0.71 ERA, 33K)
P – Mike Crawford, Thunder (5-1, 2.65 ERA, 48K)
P – Paul Algar, The Farm Tavern (3-1, 1.75 ERA, 44K)
C – Todd Garcia, Smokers .429
C – Paul Papulkas, Thunder .231
IF – Vic Johns IV, Decatur Pride .474
IF – Jody Edit, Selects .571
IF – Greg Melchert, Explorers .471
IF – Kyle Magnusson, Larry Miller Toyota .444
IF – Brian Martie, The Farm Tavern .300
OF – Brian Paton, Smokers .400
OF – Marty Becker, 51 Classics .636
OF – Chris Delarwelle, The Farm Tavern .429
OF – Shawn Rychcik, Smokers .333
DH – Steve Price, Heflin Gremlins .563

1998 ISC SECOND TEAM ALL WORLD

P – Doug Gillis, Explorers (5-2, 2.69 ERA, 42K)
P – Darren Zack, Smokers (3-0, 0.38 ERA, 32K)
P – Craig Gibson, DC Tire (3-0, 0.86 ERA, 44K)
C – Brian Neveau, The Farm Tavern .211
C – Glen Ford, Windmillers .273
IF – Billy McDonald, Heflin Gremlins .500
IF – Adam Smith, Decatur Pride .455
IF – Kyle Beane, Explorers .353
IF – Chris Jones, Decatur Pride .320
IF – Barry Kahler, Smokers .222
OF – Sig Voth, Slade Group .571
OF – Jeff Servinski, Explorers .400
OF – Steve Schott, Smokers .300
OF – Steve King, The Farm Tavern .292
DH – Boomer Brush, Smokers .500

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Smokers, Tampa Bay, FL
2. The Farm Tavern, Madison, WI
3. Decatur Pride, Decatur, IL
4. Explorers, Midland, MI
5t. Larry Miller Toyota, Salt Lake City, UT
5t. Slade Group, Seattle, WA
7t. Heflin Gremlins, Ballston Lake, NY
7t. Thunder, Scarborough, ON
9t. D.C. Tire, Philadelphia, PA
9t. Windmillers, Westford, NJ
9t. Selects, Owen Sound ON
9t. Meierhoffer/Fleeman, Savannah, MO
13t. Agroindustria Del Sol, Mexicali MX
13t. Travelers, Broken Bow, NE
13t. HLF Construction, Springfield, MO
13t. Central Iowa Express, Marshalltown, IA
17t. 51 Classics, Portage, WI
17t. Geneva Gamecocks, Geneva, MN
17t. Legacy Communication Bandits, Pueblo, CO
17t. Page Brake, Salt Lake City, UT
17t. Si Senor Amigos, Tumacacori, AZ
17t. Quad City Sox, Davenport, IA
17t. Hallman Twins, Waterloo ON
17t. Billy Bucks, Dubuque, IA
25t. Merchants, Kimberly, WI
25t. Colorado Ravens, Englewood, CO
25t. Dealers, St. Louis, MO
25t. DMS Knights, Fargo, ND
25t. Dukes, Denmark, WI
25t. River City Rage, Peoria, IL
25t. Coors Light, Ashland, OH
25t. Circle Tap, Denmark, WI
33t. SD Chiefs, Sioux Falls,
33t. Don’s Pioneer, DeKalb, IL
33t. Painters, Long Beach, CA
33t. Balmoral Tavern, Sarnia, ON
33t. Kegel Black Knights, Fargo, ND
33t. Thunder, Cameron, MO
33t. Parrots, Springfield, MO
33t. Esencias Castilla, Guatemala City, GU
33t. Sioux Valley Dakotas, Brandon MB
33t. Alliance, Landmark MB
33t. Merchants, Phoenix, AZ
33t. Goudy Brothers, Kokomo, IN
33t. Dolan & Murphy, Aurora, IL
33t. Karp’s Bowling Bar, Reese, MI
33t. Top Fundraisers, Fingal ON
33t. West Virginia Diamonds, New Martinsville, WV

1998 USSSA Men’s A Slow Pitch Worlds

1998 held at Sept. 4-6 at Shawnee, Kansas.

Champion – Wessel/Hague/SoJern/Ohio Transport/TPS, Cincinnati, Ohio
Runner Up – Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno, Albertville, Minnesota

  • MVP – Jim Burbrink, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/Ohio Transport/TPS
  • Offensive MVP – Brett Helmer, Wessel/Hague/SoJern/Ohio Transport/TPS
  • Defensive MVP – Richie Aliotti, Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno
  • HR Champion – Ken Bean, Xtreme/Hinson/Worth (9)
  • HR Champion – Alex Lavorico, Hendu’s 42/TPS (8)

USSSA A ALL WORLD TEAM

Andy Purcell – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (34-43, .791, 4 HR)
Guido Bindi – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (29-43, .674, 14 HR)
Gary Martin – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (29-46, .630, 6 HR)
Mark Tremaine – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (23-35, .657, 7 HR)
Rob Overholt – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (27-43, .628, 7 HR)
Darren Wendlund – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (25-46, .543, 12 HR)
Mark Gutierrez – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS (26-41, .634, 4 HR)
Matt Hughes – Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS (19-27. .704, 5 HR)
Steve Schultz – Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS (16-25, .640, 6 HR)
Colin Leitch – Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS (15-26, .577, 6 HR)
Todd Breyfogle – Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS (14-25, .560, 7 HR)
Doug Kett – Oakland Plumbing/Liberty Park/TPS (25-33, .686, 9 HR)
Paul McBride – Oakland Plumbing/Liberty Park/TPS (17-26, .654, 4 HR)
Pat McGann – Oakland Plumbing/Liberty Park/TPS (19-26, .731)
Mark Matchulat – Jimmie’s/Varsity/Easton (19-25, .760, 7 HR)
Johnny Simpson – Jimmie’s/Varsity/Easton (22-31, .710, 4 HR)
Manager – Jim Dorricott – Sunnyvale Valve/TPS

FINAL STANDINGS (57 Teams)

1. Sunnyvale Valve/TPS, Sunnyvale, CA (10-1)
2. Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS, Brooklyn Center, MN (6-2)
3. Oakland Plumbing/Liberty Park, Sterling Heights, MI (5-2)
4. Jimmies/Varsity/Ques/Easton, Westland, MI  (4-2)
5t. Calvert/Prestige, Taylor, MI (7-2)
5t. WET, Niceville, FL (4-2)
7t. Easton of Minnesota, Burnsville, MN (5-2)
7t. Hooters/TPS, Overland Park, KS (3-2)
9t. Worth/SEG, Fairfax, VA (4-2)
9t. Aftershock/Easton, Fairfield, CA (2-2)
9t. Guy’s Snacks/Easton, Leawood, KS (2-2)
9t. Creative Stucco/Roosters/Easton, Columbus, OH (2-2)
13t. Long Pest Control/Tacoma Dodge/Grover, Tacoma, WA (3-2)
13t. Louisiana Bag/DeMarini, Picayune, MS (3-2)
13t. Connecticut Sportsplex, North Branford, CT (3-2)
13t. Team Mizuno/DeMarini, Fort Pierce, FL (3-2)
17t. Suncoast/Dudley, Sarasota, FL (3-2)
17t. Supreme/Worth, St. Louis, MO (3-2)
17t. Sports Extra, Garland, TX (3-2)
17t. Hutchinson Softball/Dudley, Hutchinson, KS (3-2)
17t. Thomas Oil, Benton, AR (2-2)
17t. Pace/TPS, Rochester, NY (2-2)
17t. Gold’s Gym/Troutman, Shawnee, KS (2-2)
17t. T’s 13, Omaha, NE (2-2)
25t. Woodworkers, Alburquerque, NM (2-2)
25t. Mid-State Thunder, Kansas City, Mo (2-2)
25t. M&S Express, DeSoto, TX (2-2)
25t. WW Gay/TPS, Gainesville, FL (1-2)
25t. Karphone, Norwalk, CA (1-2)
25t. Artex Medical, Texarcana, AR (1-2)
25t. Buckeye Softball Club, Beaverdam, VA (1-2)
25t. Powerhouse/Easton, Hot Springs, AR (1-2)
33t. Herrin/TPS, Savannah, GA (1-2)
33t. Jett Door, Houston, TX (1-2)

WINNERS BRACKET

RPM 16, Brandon’s 12
Hendu’s 31, Resmondo 18
Long Haul 9, Joe Black’s 3
Tiger 23, Gil’s 6, 5 innings
Adams 12, Xtreme 10
Wessel 29, Hendu’s 5, 5 innings
O&S 16, Adams 6
Long Haul 26, Tiger 5, 4 innings
Wessel 9, RPM 8, 8 innings
Long Haul 29, O&S 13
Wessel 16, Long Haul 10

LOSERS BRACKET

Gil’s 15, Joe Black’s 9
Resmondo over Tiger, forfeit
Xtreme 25, JWM 23
Brandon’s 17, Adams 14
Hendu’s 14, Gil’s 12
Resmondo 43, Brandon’s 28, 6 innings
Xtreme 25, Hendu’s 11
RPM 20, Resmondo 16
Xtreme 25, O&S 16
Xtreme 28, RPM 27
Long Haul 16, Xtreme 10

CHAMPIONSHIP

Long Haul 13, Wessel 11
Wessel 10, Long Haul 4

BATTING

Rich Courtney, RPM .786
Alex Lavorico, Hendu’s .750
Scott Alley, Resmondo .727
Rob Darhower, Long Haul .692
Kenny Pruitt, Xtreme .682
Chaun Demars, Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno .667
Brett Helmer, Wessel .667
Howie Krause, Wessel .667
Bill Garber, Resmondo .643
Brian Arnold, Resmondo .643
Mike Stanley, Long Haul .625

HOME RUNS

Ken Bean, Xtreme 9
Alex Lavorico, Hendu’s 8
Greg Schulte, Xtreme 7
Lamar Echols, Xtreme 5

1998 USSSA Class A championship at Shawnee, Kan.

Sunnyvale Valve/TPS of Sunnyvale, Calif., won nine consecutive games, five on Sunday and four on Monday (Sept. 7) to capture the USSSA Class A championship over a 54-team field at the Mid-America Complex in Shawnee, Kan. The Sunnyvale team lost early last year at Garland, Texas, and battled back for a third-place finish behind Resmondo/TPS of Lake Wales, Fla., and Pace/TPS of Rochester, N.Y.

This year, Resmondo tied for fifth in the Class AA division, while Pace managed only a 2-2 record in the Class A division. Meanwhile, Jeff Dorricott’s Sunnyvale squad went all the way, posting a 10-1 record. “Our defense, straight-up defense” Dorricott was quick to answer when asked the key to the awesome run. “The defensive play of our pitcher (Andy Purcell) and our middle defense (shortstop Gary Martin and second baseman Chris Lasaca). Purcell and outfielder Guido Bindi were named co-MVPs. Bindi led the tournament with 13 home runs. Teammate Darren Wendland had 12. Big, veteran Tom Langenhorst had eight, and tears in his eyes as the celebration settled down. Dorricott had ice cold water running down his face . . . after the water bucket was dumped on him.

Langenhorst had a whopping 19 last year. Mark Tremaine and Rob Overholt each added seven HRs, while Martin and Heath Lane each had six. Purcell topped the batting average totem pole with a .773 mark (34-for-44). Tremaine batted .676, Bindi .674. Reggie Stocker turned in a .783 average for W.E.T. of Niceville, Fla., while Mark Matchulat of Jimmie’s/Varsity/Que’s/Easton of Westland, Mich., batted .760 and Doug Kett, Gary Henry and Pat McCann of third-place Oakland Plumbing/Liberty Park/TPS of Sterling Heights, Mich., batted .758, .750 and .731, respectively. Johnny Simpson and Scott Hillie of Jimmie’s each batted .714. Matt Hughes of runner-up Pov’s/Line Drive/TPS of Andover, Minn., batted .704 with five HRs and was awarded the Outstanding Offensive Player trophy.

The Outstanding Defensive Player award went to Martin, the Sunnyvale shortstop who made like a vacuum cleaner. Tim Lindquist and Matt Urban of Oakland/Liberty batted .686 and .680, while Bob Stewart and Bill Barrett of Calvert/Prestige of of Taylor, Mich., batted .684 and .679. Calvert/Prestige played seven games in the 98-degree heat on Sunday, winding up in a tie for fifth place with W.E.T. after being eliminated 23-13 by Jimmie’s, which came in as the top-ranked Class A team. Sunnyvale was No. 3 in the rankings. No. 2 was Hooters/Coors Light/TPS of Overland Park, Kan.

Pov’s was ranked 17th, and had finished way down the line with a 1-2 record in the ISA Class A two weeks before. Hooters was ousted 31-27 by Calvert, and finished in a tie for seventh with Easton-Minnesota. Bob Stewart had 10 home runs (in nine games) for Calvert/Prestige. Teammates Todd Wallace, Joe Gerdes and Terry Patesel had 9, 9 and 8. Doug Kett had nine for Oakland/Liberty, while Hille had eight for Jimmie’s. Todd Breyfogle and Jeff Thompson each had seven for Pov’s. Henry and John Hall matched that number for Oakland/Liberty. Chad Roberts of W.E.T. did too. Thompson had three of his homers in the finale, an 18-16 loss to Sunnyvale. He was walked intentionally with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. The next batter was called out on strikes.

Sunnyvale forced an extra game with a 25-9 win over Pov’s. It was 20-3 going into the bottom of the second. Sunnyvale earlier on the final day eliminated Jimmie’s 26-17, jumping out 12-0 in the top of the first, and Oakland/Prestige 18-11. Sunnyvale opened with a 20-4 win over a good team, Coors Light/OPT of Midland, Texas, then stumbled 23-14 at the hands of Creative Stucco/Roosters/Easton of Columbus, Ohio. Sunnyvale won over other good teams along the way — 16-15 over Long Pest Control/Tacoma Dodge/Grover of Tacoma, Wash.; 27-17 over northern California rival Aftershock, the No. 5 ranked team based out of Fairfield; 32-22 over Easton-Minnesota, which won three games in the losers bracket and five all total; and 26-11 over W.E.T., the winner of the ISA Class A and the team that knocked Calvert/Prestige into the losers bracket in the first round here (28-25 in a 10-inning tussle).

W.E.T. won its first four games before being kayoed by Pov’s 23-14 when the Minnesota outfit scored 10 in the sixth and five in the top of the seventh.

Oakland/Liberty Park dropped Michigan rival Jimmie’s 31-16 in the other winners bracket semifinal. Jimmie’s just before tumbled Aftershock 21-10 after Aftershock rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the seventh to trip up Pace 28-27. Pov’s won over two tough opponents — 30-28 over Easton-Minnesota on a home run by Dan Yockum and 45-34 after an early 15-0 deficit against Hooters.

Wins by W.E.T. included 22-16 over Minnesota Jazz, 25-24 over Long Pest Control and 19-18 over Creative Stucco. W.E.T. and Calvert/Prestige wound up in a tie for fifth, while Hooters and Easton-Minnesota finished in a tie for seventh. Karphone of Norwalk, Calif., winner of the season-opening Far West Classic in Las Vegas (beating Class AA powerhouse JWM of Riverside, Calif., in the finals) managed only a 1-2 record and wound up in a tie for 25th. So did W.W. Gay of Gainesville, Fla., the ISA runner-up and two upsets over Class AA Adams/RSH/Worth of Mississippi. Herrin/TPS of Savannah, Ga., which had high hopes, lost 19-18 in the second round to Aftershock when Todd Langdon produced a 2-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth. Herrin then lost its first game in the losers bracket — 38-37 to Powerhouse/Easton of Hot Springs, Ark. Pace was stunned in its first losers bracket game — 22-2 (in 4 innings) by Calvert/Prestige — and finished in a tie for 17th. Sixth-ranked Journeyman, a Westland, Mich., team with mostly Ohio players, suffered an 0-2 fate, losing 24-22 to Easton-Minnesota when Kurt Hornnes homered with a man on in the bottom of the seventh and 25-24 to Calvert/Prestige when Larry Stob hit a 2-runner in the bottom of the seventh. Journeyman was the winner of the prestigious Springfield NIT in Ohio, beating Wessel/Hague/SoJern/TPS, now the reigning Class AA kingpin in the finals.

Two former Hague players are now with the Journeyman club — Steve Dickinson and Kevin Birkofer. Remember Hague shocked the big-time slo-pitch world by winning the USSSA World Series in 1995. Long Pest Control is another team that played here (winding up in a tie for 13th) that pulled a big upset (over the second-ranked Major power Sierra/TPS of Reno, Nev.) in the preseason Toys for Tots tournament in Palm Springs, Calif.

Pitcher Andy Purcell and outfielder Guido Bindi were co-MVPs for Sunnyvale Valve/TPS in the USSSA A World.