2021 held at Hall of Fame Stadium Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on August 6-8.
Champion – NY Gremlins, Clifton Park, New York
Runner Up – Hill United Chiefs, Machias, New York
The 2021 USA Softball Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship kicked off today as the top men’s fast pitch players from across the country were welcomed to the Softball Capital of the World® for the second-straight year. A total of 15 teams began their quest to the coveted National Championship title including the AWP Lumberjacks (Anna Schmitt), Bar on the Avenue Buzz (Justin Colombo), Bear Bottom Lodge (Codi Pannebecker), Circle Tap Dukes (Dean Kane), Fishers Softball (Sean King), Hallman Twins (Ron Hackett), Hill United Chiefs (Jeff Ellsworth), Kegel Black Knights (Mike Lewis), Marchio Sausage Co. (Dave Marchio), Midland Explorers (David Lach), NY Gremlins (Gregg Leather), Omma Tigres (Juan Medrano), Ray Rays Sports Bar Misfits (Steve Prado), Rio Grande Senators (Dave Parker) and San Antonio Glowworm (David Rios).
Six teams advanced to the winner’s bracket with AWP Lumberjacks garnering two wins in the opening day and Hill United Chiefs, Circle Tap Dukes, Omma Tigres, Kegal Black Knights and NY Gremlins each posting one win to advance to winner’s bracket contests tomorrow morning. The remaining nine teams will battle it out in the loser’s bracket with the playing field narrowing to four teams leading into Championship Sunday.
In the first game of the day on OGE Energy Field, Marchio Sausage Co. posted a come-from-behind walk-off victory over Bear Bottom Lodge after falling behind 5-0 through the first three innings. Marchio Sausage Co. began chipping away at the BBL lead with a three-run third inning before tying the game in the bottom of the seventh. After holding the BBL offense to a scoreless at-bat in the top of the eighth, Marchio Sausage Co. pieced together three singles from Chase Thompson, David Reiter and Sam Nieman to plate the game-winning run-in walk-off fashion. The Marchio Sausage Co. offense combined for 13 hits while the pitching staff of Cody Gibbons and Joel Cooley tallied six strikeouts in the win. The walk-off victory advanced the Marchio Sausage Co. to the 8 p.m. winner’s bracket contest where they suffered a 7-0 loss to Hill United Chiefs to drop to the loser’s bracket.
Posting a 9-0 shutout over the Midland Explorers and a 5-1 win over the Hallman Twins was the AWP Lumberjacks, advancing them to tomorrow’s 4 p.m. winner’s bracket matchup against the Hill United Chiefs.
The 2020 Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Champions, Kegel Black Knights, kicked off the 2021 tournament with a 7-2 win over Fishers Softball while the Circle Tap Dukes pulled out a 2-0 shutout over Rio Grande Senators to pit the two winners against each other in an 8 a.m. winner’s bracket contest tomorrow morning. Claiming a 14-1 win in the 8 p.m. game on INTEGRIS Field was the NY Gremlins who will face the Omma Tigres in the winner’s bracket tomorrow morning after posting a 12-3 win over Bar on the Avenue – Buzz 2021.
Only four teams remain after Day Two of the 2021 USA Softball Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship with Championship Sunday kicking off at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. Advancing through the winner’s bracket with an undefeated record was the NY Gremlins, clinching their spot in the Championship game after defeating Hill United Chiefs 3-2 in their third straight win of the day. Hill United will take on the winner of Kegel Black Knights and Circle Tap Dukes, who will face off in the loser’s bracket tomorrow at 8 a.m. CT on OGE Energy Field.
The NY Gremlins had a strong showing in the winner’s bracket, edging their three opponents of the day in competitive contests. Combining for a total of nine runs in their contests, it was timely hitting and solid defensive work that allowed the Gremlins to shine. Ladislao Malarczuk played a key role with a 6-for-7 day at the plate, scoring three runs and hitting the go-ahead home run to give the Gremlins the win in their first game of the day. The Gremlin pitching staff dominated the circle giving up only two earned runs and striking out 25 batters in three games with Andrew Kirkpatrick accounting for 14 K’s. The NY Gremlins will play for the title of the 2021 Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship tomorrow at 12 p.m. CT on OGE Energy Field.
In their first game of the day, Hill United Chiefs took down the AWP Lumberjacks 4-1 after falling behind in the second inning. They quickly answered back, however, when a double from Steve Mullaley scored Brett Larson in the bottom of the frame. After tying the game 1-1, Hill United continued to tack on runs, scoring in three of the next four innings to seal the victory. The Chiefs failed to string enough hits together in their next game as they fell to the NY Gremlins 3-2, suffering their first loss of the tournament. Hill United Chiefs will play on OGE Energy Field tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT in the loser’s bracket semi-final game for a chance to compete for the trophy.
Suffering a 2-1 loss in their first game of the day against the Circle Tap Dukes, the Kegel Black Knights won three straight games in the loser’s bracket to send them to Championship Sunday. Marchio Sausage Co. put up an impressive fight by winning two back-to-back 10-inning games before being knocked off by the Knights, 5-2. In their run through the loser’s bracket, the Knights also sent home the Hallman Twins in a three inning, 18-1 run-rule victory. The Kegel Black Knights scored a total of 32 runs on 36 hits in their four games of the day.
The Circle Tap Dukes won their first game of the day but were sent to the loser’s bracket after a 3-0 loss to the NY Gremlins. It was there they were met by the San Antonio Glowworm who were on their fifth game of the day and had battled through the loser’s bracket with four straight wins. The Dukes took care of business though as Jorge Segura threw a complete game shutout with nine strikeouts. Circle Tap Dukes came out with a 9-0 victory over the Glowworms and will take on the Kegel Black Knights in a win-or-go-home game on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. CT.
After losing two games in the double-elimination tournament, AWP Lumberjacks, Bar on the Avenue Buzz, Bear Bottom Lodge, Fishers Softball, Hallman Twins, Marchio Sausage Co., Midland Explorers, Omma Tigres, Ray Rays Sports Bar Misfits, Rio Grande Senators and San Antonio Glowworm were sent home today, ending their run in the 2021 Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship.
After three days of fierce competition, the NY Gremlins claimed the 2021 USA Softball Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship title with a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over the Hill United Chiefs. Dominating through bracket play, the Gremlins outscored their five opponents 30-9 while posting an undefeated record in route to their sixth Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship contest after finishing in second place last year.
To kick off Championship Sunday, the Kegel Black Knights defeated the Circle Tap Dukes 2-1 in a tight game to advance to the semi-finals. The Knights wasted no time in getting on the score board with a single, a walk, and smart baserunning to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the first. Both offenses remained quiet until Circle Tap Dukes got on the board in the fourth inning to tie the game 1-1. The Knights answered back with three singles of their own to plate another run and pull ahead 2-1 in the fifth inning. The score remained 2-1 through the next two innings of play as the Knights pitching staff successfully kept the Dukes off the base paths while combining for a total of 10 strikeouts to seal the victory.
The Kegel Black Knights went on to face the Hill United Chiefs in the semi-final contest but came up short in a 10-3 (five innings) loss. Both teams came out swinging with the Knights scoring two quick runs and the Chiefs using a handful of walks, singles, and a sac fly to plate four runs, putting them ahead 4-2 after one inning of play. The Chiefs extended their lead in the second inning with a RBI single from Steve Mullaley and a three-run home run from Blake Hunter. The Knights tacked on another run in the top of the third, but back-to-back groundouts ended the rally. Mullaley went 2-for-2 on the day with four RBI as the Chiefs kept their foot on the gas and walked away with a 10-3 run-rule victory to send them to the Championship game.
The final game of the tournament was an exciting matchup between the Hill United Chiefs and the undefeated NY Gremlins. After coming off a 10-run game, the Chiefs stayed hot with three home runs in the first two innings to give them an early 4-0 lead. The Gremlins got on the board in the bottom of the third, but a pitching change would bring in Devon McCullough for the Chiefs who forced two pop outs to retire the Gremlins and hold the score 4-1, Chiefs. That lead didn’t last long though, as a pair of walks and string of hits allowed the Gremlins to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Brad Ezekiel broke the tie in the fifth inning with his second home run of the game to put the Chiefs ahead 5-4. It looked as if the Chiefs would come out with the win until Ladislao Malarczuk drove a ball to left field and sped around the bases for a three-run inside-the-park home run to give the Gremlins a 7-5 lead heading into the seventh inning. The Gremlins shut down the Chiefs in the final three outs of the games with Andrew Kirkpatrick fanning his twenty-second batter of the tournament to seal the win and earn the Gremlins the 2021 USA Softball Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship title.
- MVP – Ladislao Malarczuk, NY Gremlins
- Batting Leader – Ladislao Malarczuk, NY Gremlins – 0.769
- Home Run Leader – Shea Bryant, Kegel Black Knights
- Home Run Leader – Brad Ezekiel, Hill United Chiefs
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
P – Andrew Kirkpatrick, NY Gremlins
P – Pablo Migilavacca, Hills United Chiefs
P – Rob Schweyer, Kegel Black Knights
C – Bruno Motroni, Hills United Chiefs
IF – Ladislao Malarczuk, NY Gremlins
IF – Blaine Milheim, Kegel Black Knights
IF – Steve Mullaley, Hill United Chiefs
IF – Erick Ochoa, NY Gremlins
OF – Yusef Davis, San Antonio Glowworm
OF – Alan Parker, Kegel Black Knights
OF – Kristopher Waluska, San Antonio Glowworm
UT – Shea Bryant, Kegel Black Knights
UT – Jerome Raemaki, NY Gremlins
UT – Matthew Roy, NY Gremlins
FINAL STANDINGS
1. NY Gremlins, Clifton Park, NY (5-0)
2. Hill United Chiefs, Machias, NY (3-2)
3. Kegel Black Knights, Amboy, MN (5-2)
4. Circle Tap Dukes, Denmark, WI (3-2)
5t. AWP Lumberjacks, Fairview Heights, IL (2-2)
5t. San Antonio Glow Worm, San Antonio, TX (2-2)
7t. Hallman Twins, Chesterfield, VA (2-2)
7t. Fischers Softball, Lancaster, PA (1-3)
9t. Marchio Sausage Company, Little Canada, MN (3-2)
9t. Bear Bottom Lodge, Denver, PA (1-2)
9t. OMMA Tigres, Midland, TX (1-2)
9t. Ray Rays Sports Bar Misfits, Houston, TX (1-2)
13t. Bar on the Avenue Buzz, Kimberly, WI (0-3)
13t. Midland Explorers, Midland, MI (0-3)
13t. Rio Grande Senators, Midland, TX (0-3)
