1991 held at Little Rock, Arkansas on August 21-23.
Champion – Sunbelt/Worth, Centerville, Georgia (72-28)
Runner Up – Ritch’s-Superior/TPS, Windsor Locks, Connecticut (80-7)
The final game was a back-and-forth affair with the power of Sunbelt making the difference. With the 325 foot fences, the Championship wasn’t decided until early Tuesday morning.
Ritch’s-Superior took a 12-5 lead into the fourth inning before Sunbelt scored 10 runs on 11 hits to take a 15-12 lead. Ritch’s came back in the sixth inning to take a 21-16 lead. it would have been more but Left-Center Fielder Steve Craven dove over the fence to rob Cecil Whitehead of a home run for the third out of the inning.
Sunbelt came back to score 9 times in the bottom half of the inning on the strength of Danny Williams, whose 3-Run Blast tied the score with two outs.
Todd Joerling and Greg Schulte each drilled two run shots to see the final margin.
MVP Steve Craven said this was Sunbelts first win over R/S in the meetings.
Ritch’s, which entered the tournament with a 68-4 record, including the NSA and ISA World titles.
To reach the finals, Sunbelt defeated Starpath 25-18 in the winner’s bracket finals pounding out 28 hits and 12 HR.
Starpath had beaten Sunbelt 10 of 13 times this season.
Ritch’s defeated Starpath in the loser’s bracket final 26-23 behind Ron Parnell’s 2 HR, 5 RBI performance.
Sunbelt entered the tournament with 1679 Home Runs and hit 40 at the big field in Little Rock. 9 of the top 11 home run hitters play with Sunbelt.
On a side Note, three former Major League players were in action at the ASA Super National. Doug Flynn of Bell Corp, Jim Fuller of Ritch’s Superior and Kim Seaman of Williams/Finke.
Flynn started with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and retired after the 1985 season with the Detroit Tigers. In between, he played with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Montreal Expos. He won a Gold Glove in 1979 with the Mets. He played 1308 games, and his career average was .238.
Jim Fuller, primarily an outfielder, appeared in 107 games with the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros between 1973 and 1977. His career average was .194, but he did have a lot of power.
Kim Season was a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1979 and 1980. he had a career record for 3-2 with 4 saves and an ERA of 3.12
Sunbelt/Worth defeated Starpath/Le-Al-Co 25-18 in the winner’s bracket final to advance to the championship game.
The Legendary Bruce Meade of Starpath was only 7-17 (.412) but hit 5 HR in the tournament. Sunbelt came from behind in the game to win the title 25-21 over R-S.
- MVP – Steve Craven, Sunbelt/Worth
- HR Leader – Jim Fuller, Ritch’s-Superior – 8
- HR Leader – Jeff Arnold, Williams/Finke – 8
- HR Leader – Britt Hightower, Ritch’s/Superior – 8
- HR Leader – Danny Williams, Sunbelt – 8
- Batting Leader – Carl Rose, Sunbelt/Worth – .800
- Wilson Field Master Award – Greg Whitlock, Starpath
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
P – John Keigley, Williams/Worth
C – Dave Steffen, Ritch’s-Superior
1B – Mike Macenko, Sunbelt/Worth (17 SB)
2B – Mark Baker, Bell Corp
3B – Carl Rose, Sunbelt/Worth (16-20, .800, 7 HR)
SS – Greg Whitlock, Starpath
OF – Britt Hightower, Ritch’s/Superior (8 HR)
OF – Steve Craven, Sunbelt/Worth (14-19, .737, 5 HR)
OF – Cody Wyatt, Starpath
OF – Larry Friedeau, Starpath
UT – Dennis Graser, Ritch’s-Superior
UT – Jim Fuller, Ritch’s-Superior (8 HR)
UT – Danny Williams, Sunbelt/Worth (12-19, .632, 8 HR)
SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
P – Rick Weiterman, Ritch’s-Superior
C – Jeff Arnold, Williams/Finke (8 HR)
IF – Brian Dewitz, New Construction
IF – Todd Joerling, Sunbelt/Worth
IF – Kerry Everett, Bell Corp
IF – Ken Scobee, Williams/Finke
OF – Ronnie Hawkins, Williams/Worth
OF – Kim Seaman, Williams/Finke
OF – Larry Goodwin, Ohio Transport
OF – Mark Martin, Bell Corp
UT – Doug Beard, Wilson Softball
UT – Rich Plante, Williams/Finke
UT – Ken Carver, Sunbelt/Worth
OTHERS
Carl Rose, Sunbelt (4-4, 4 HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Danny Williams, Sunbelt (3 HR in a game and a big 3-Run Homer in another game)
Kenny Carver, Sunbelt (2 HR in a game)
Todd Joerling, Sunbelt (2 HR in a game)
Greg Schulte, Sunbelt (2 HR in a game)
Charles Wright, Ritch’s-Superior (Grand Slam)
Ron Parnell, Ritch’s-Superior (2 HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Dave Steffen, Ritch’s-Superior (3-3, HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Darrell Beeler, Ritch’s-Superior (2 HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Rick Wheeler, Starpath (4-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Larry Fredieu, Starpath (3-4 in a game)
Bruce Meade, Starpath (7-17, .412, 5 HR)
Mark Baker, Bell Corp (5-5 in a game)
Kim Seaman, Williams (2 HR in a game)
Dewayne Nevitt, New Construction (3 HR, 4 RBI in a game)
Vern Hensley, New Construction (2 HR, 5 RBI in a game)
Greg Cannedy Dan Smith (4-4, 2 RBI in a game)
Greg Johnson, Seta (3-4, 4 RBI in a game)
Steve Skladany, Ohio Transport (5-5, HR in a game)
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Worth/Sunbelt, Centerville, GA (4-0)
2. Ritch’s-Superior/TPS, Windsor Locks, CT (5-2)
3. Starpath, Monticello, KY (2-2)
4. Williams/Finke, Houston, TX (2-2)
5t. Ohio Transport, Cleveland, OH (3-2)
5t. Bell Corp., Tampa, FL (1-2)
7t. Dan Smith Plastering, San Jose, CA (2-2)
7t. New Construction, Shelbyville, IN (2-2)
9t. Seta Corporation, Charlotte, NC (0-2)
9t. Lemoyne Sleeper, Harrisburg, PA (0-2)
9t. Gooslin Construction, Columbus, OH (0-2)
9t. Wilson Softball, Little Rock, AR (0-2)
