1998 tournament site unknown.
Champion – Wessel/Hague/SoJern, Cincinnati, Ohio
Runner Up – Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno, Albertville, Minnesota
- MVP – Jim Burbrink, Wessel (14-22, .636)
- HR Leader – Ken Bean, Extreme (15-25, .600) – 9
- Batting Leader – Rich Courtney, RPM (11-14) – .786
- Defensive MVP – Richie Aliotti, Long Haul
- Offensive MVP – Brett Helmer, Wessel/Hague (14-21, .667, 4 HRs)
1998 USSSA ALL WORLD TEAM
- Jim Burbrink, Wessel/Hague (14-22, .636)
- Brett Helmer, Wessel/Hague (14-21, .667, 4 HRs)
- Howie Krause, Wessel/Hague (.667, 2 HRs)
- Tim Cocco, Wessel/Hague
- Joe Foley, Wessel/Hague (3 HRs)
- Mike Much, Wessel/Hague
- Dale Sensenig, Wessel/Hague
- Rob Darhower, Long Haul (18-26, .692)
- John Keigley, Long Haul
- Chaun Demars, Long Haul
- Mike Stanley, Long Haul (.625)
- Ken Beane, Xtreme (15-25, .600, 9 HRs)
- Lamar Echols, Xtreme (5 HRs)
- Chris Alvarado RPM
- Rich Courtney, RPM (11-14, .786)
- Alex Lavorico, Hendu’s (.750, 8 HRs)
OTHERS
- Scott Alley, Resmondo (.727)
- Kenny Pruitt, Xtreme (.682)
- Chaun Demars, Long Haul (.667)
- Bill Garber, Resmondo (.643)
- Brian Arnold, Resmondo (.643)
- Greg Schulte, Xtreme (7 HRs)
- Tom White, Wessel/Hague (3 HRs)
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Wessel/Hague/SoJern/Ohio Transport/TPS, Cincinnati, OH (4-1)
2. Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno, Albertville, MN (5-2)
3. Xtreme/Hinson/Worth, Little Rock, AR (4-2)
4. RPM/TPS, Concord, CA (3-2)
5t. Resmondo/TPS, Lake Wales, FL (2-2)
5t. O&S/TPS, South St. Paul, MN (1-2)
7t. Hendu’s 42/TPS, Seattle, WA (2-2)
7t. Brandon’s, Wilmington, NC (1-2)
9t. Gil’s Arizona Heat/Easton, Phoenix, AZ (2-2)
9t. Adams/RSH/Worth, Ridgeland, MS (1-2)
9t. Tiger/ChecKing/AirTransat/TPS, Somers, CT (1-2)
9t. JWM/Easton, Riverside, CA (0-2)
13. Joe Black’s/TPS, Chicago, IL (0-2)
Wessel/Hague/SoJern/Ohio Transport/TPS of Cincinnati won two of three meetings with Long Haul/Grover/Mizuno of Albertville, Minn., to win the USSSA Class AA championship Sunday (Sept. 6) at the Mid-America Complex in Shawnee, Kan. Wessel won 16-10 in the finals of the winners bracket, but Long Haul forced an extra game with a 13-11 win. Wessel built up an 8-0 lead in the first three innings and went on to win 10-4 in the deciding game. Two of Long Haul’s runs came in the bottom of the seventh. Wessel pitcher Jim Burbrink was an overwhelming choice for the MVP award. The tournament was played on two baseball fields. The dimensions on the main field were 325-400-325. The second field was the same except for a 310 left field that had a 24-foot screen. Ken Bean of third-place Xtreme/Hinson/Worth of Little Rock, Ark., won the home run trophy with nine. Alex Lavorico of Hendu’s 42/TPS of Seattle had eight. Greg Schulte of Xtreme had seven. Wessel’s big Brett Helmer was the Offensive MVP. He batted .667 with four home runs. Other Wessel pace-setters were Howie Krause at .667 with two homers, Joe Foley and Tom White each with three HRs. Burbrink helped his own cause with a .636 mark. Long Haul shortstop Richie Aliotti was the Defensive MVP. Long Haul had the tournament’s leading hitter (based on 20 at-bats). Rob Darhower went 18-for-26 for a .692 average. RPM/TPS of Concord, Calif., was fourth. O&S/TPS of South St. Paul, Minn., and Resmondo/TPS of Lake Wales, Fla., tied for fifth, while Hendu’s/TPS of Seattle and Brandon’s of Wilmington, N.C., tied for seventh. Lavorico had five of his homers in the first game. It was on the short left field fence, but all over his homers cleared it with plenty to spare. Plus, he had a double that hit high off the screen in left center. Lavorico homered 7 times in his first 9 swings, and 8 in his first 13 (out of 18). Lamar Echols was another Xtreme HR producer with 5. The Xtreme squad by far hit the most home runs — 35 in six games. In addition to Krause, who batted .667 with 2 homers, left fielder Dale Sensenig stood out on defense for Wessel. Long Haul’s Doug Johnson and Chaun Demars each had 4 homers. RPM opened with a 16-12 win over Brandon’s. RPM took an 11-5 lead in the first two innings as Ken Dain and Scott Purcell each had a homer and another hit and Bob Newman had a homer. Larry Grant had two hits in the first two innings and wound up 4-for-4 with a home run. Newman added another home run. Brandon’s managed only one run over four innings, then put on a 6-run rally in the top of the seventh as Eddie Foust homered and Keith Roberts and Chris Graves tripled. Jerold Smith had a 3-run HR in the first inning. Graves and Chris Calcutt each had three hits in a losing effort. Hendu’s dropped Resmondo into the losers bracket (31-18). Lavorico smacked home runs in his first three trips to the plate, totaling seven RBI, as Hendu’s moved into a 14-9 lead. He finished with a 6-for-6 game, with 5 HRs and 11 RBI. His only non-HR at-bat was a double off the screen in left center. Kent Johnson chipped in with five hits and Ken Briggs and Billy Wallace four each. Hendu’s totaled 11 HRs, with Joe Sposi hitting two. Jeff Vargo, Marty Dailey, Scott Alley and Ron Howard homered for Resmondo, which led 16-14 and was within 19-17 after five innings. Long Haul was a 9-3 winner over Joe Black’s of Chicago. Leading 4-1 after three and 7-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, it was an easy game for veteran pitcher Ted Larson (47). Long Haul did not have a home run. Jeff Franks, Rob Darhower and John Keigley had triples. Darhower had three hits for four RBI. Mike Stanley had two walks and a hit. Jeff Ross was 3-for-3 for Joe Black’s, which did not have a home run either. Adams/Worth of Mississippi knocked Xtreme into the losers bracket (12-10). Xtreme had a 6-2 lead after two innings on the strength of a homer and triple by Lamar Echols, but did not score again until the top of the seventh. Adams won it with a 9-run bottom of the fourth. Richie McAlister singled, Jody Hurst doubled, Scott Holman singled, Clay Hudson singled and Bobby Fowler doubled before the first out. Cleveland Dortch then singled, Craig Upton doubled and Richard White tripled. Fowler added a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth before Xtreme scored four runs, then left the bases loaded. Tiger was a 23-6 winner over Gil’s Arizona Heat/Easton. Ten runs in the third and 10 more in the bottom of the fourth made it a run-rule game. Rich Lonquil homered in each inning, while Chris Santucci had three hits in the two innings. Mark Gabourel and Dave Koser also homered. It was Koser’s second of the game. Gabourel had two other hits, Koser another. Lonquil walked twice for a perfect game at the plate. Randy Noe drew three walks. Tiger had to play without three of its Canadian players, including Jacques Millier. Santucci was 4-for-4. Manager Alan Walker had to play, and produced a 3-for-3 game. Glenn Flood homered and doubled in a losing cause. RPM beat California rival JWM/Easton for the second weekend in a row. The score was 9-6. RPM built up a 9-4 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Chris Alvarado and Bob Newman had hits, along with two errors and two sacs. Alvardo had three hits. Tim Jones and Dennis Rulli each had three hits for JWM. Wessel/Hague opened with a 29-5 hammering of Hendu’s. Wessel pushed across 11 runs in the top of the fifth for the run rule win. Howie Krause had a 3-runner, Joe Foley a 2-runner and Tom White a grand slam. It was the second HR of the game for Krause. He was 4-for-4, plus a walk. Foley and Tim Cocco each had 4 hits. So did Chris Lashley, one of them an inside-the-park job with the bases loaded. Pitcher Jim Burbrink had 3 hits. Lavorico, Ruben Gonzalez and Rob Crane homered for Hendu’s. O&S/TPS of Minnesota turned back Adams 16-6. O&S owned an early 8-4 lead, then exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh. R.J. Olson had a pinch hit double, Scott Brown and Doug Berfeldt singles, Lance Peterson a 2-run double, Mark Crandall and Tedd Lindgren singles and Scott Logan an inside-the-park homer with two on. Derrick Williams had a 2-run HR in the first and Peterson a 3-runner in a 6-run third. Brown had three hits. Long Haul rolled over Tiger 26-5 in 4 innings. Tiger was missing French Canadian slugger Jacques Millier, and a couple other Canadians. Doug Johnson had 2-run homers in the first two at-bats. Butch Smith and Shawn Demars also homered in the second inning. In fact, it was three in a row. Long Haul led 16-0 after two, then hit for 10 in the top of the fourth. Jeff Franks had a 5-for-5 game, Richie Aliotti 4-for-4. Rob Darhower had three hits, plus a walk. Demars added a double and triple. Pitcher Ted Larson had three hits. Mark Gabourel and Randy Noe homered for Tiger. Gil’s eliminated Joe Black’s 15-9. Gil’s pushed across six runs in the top of the seventh, then Joe Black’s drew a blank. Gil’s big seventh saw hits by Tim Kellner, Dan Semiento, Mike Aquila, Chuck Henniger, Raith Adair and Kelly Radcliff. Adair had three hits and Curt Gleaton had a first-inning homer. Mike Bombardier, Bob Woldyk and Burgess Watts homered for Joe Black’s. Xtreme sent JWM packing 25-23. James Beane’s 3-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh sent JWM reeling with an 0-2 record after a third-place finish last year. Xtreme plated 10 runs in the second inning as Chris Butler and Ken Bean hit 2-run homers. Beane had two hits in the inning. Bean homered in the first and he homered again in the fifth as he had a 4-for-5 game. Beane had another homer in the fifth as he went 4-for-5 too. Rick Goyette had an inside-the-park homer and Lamar Echols homered in the 6-run fifth. Another HR was hit by Greg Schulte. For JWM, Andy Alvis and Ed Martin each had two homers and Mike Moore, Larry Carter and Bryan King each had one. JWM scored seven runs in the top of the seventh for a short-lived 23-21 lead. Tim Jones had four hits. Alvis added tow hits to his two HRs. Wessel sneaked past RPM 9-8 in an extra inning. Wessel did not score in the fifth, sixth or seventh, and had to win it with two runs in the bottom of the first extra inning. After one out, Howie Krause tripled to deep right center and Tim Linson’s hit went for a triple when the right fielder misplayed the ball. The next two batters (Tim Cocco and Joe Foley) were given free passes and Dale Sensenig produced a short sac fly to left. Tom White homered in the first for Wessel and Cocco homered in the fourth. RPM tied the score with two in the top of the seventh as Larry Grant singled and, after two outs, Rich Courtney tripled and Chris Alvardo doubled. Courtney had four hits, Alvarado three. RPM got a run in the top of the eighth on a singles by Bob Newman, Ken Ritter and Grant. The latter two came after two outs. Long dropped Minnesota rival O&S into the losers bracket (29-13 in 5 innings). Scoring 10 in the second, seven in the third and eight in the fourth, Long Haul won easily. Nine of the O&S runs came in the third inning. Chaun Demars had three of Long Haul’s nine HRs. Tim Magner had two, Mike Stanley, Rob Darhower, Doug Johnson and Butch Smith one each. Jeff Franks had an inside-the-park homer, two triples, a double and a walk, Smith a single, double and a walk in addition to his homer and Johnson two singles and a walk in addition to his homer. Lance Peterson had a homer, triple and walk for O&S. John Whaley, Scott Bailey and Derrick Williams homered. Brandon’s ousted Adams 17-14. Brandon’s pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh, and Adams did not answer. Hits by Chris Beck, Randy Calcutt, Chris Absher and Gene Lewis led to the winning runs. Calcutt and Lewis each went 4-for-4. Eddie Foust was 4-for-5 and Jerold Smith homered. Chris Gambrill had a homer and two singles and Jody Hurst a homer and single for Adams. They combined for 11 RBI. Tiger had to forfeit to Resmondo when Mike McColman left to catch a plane, leaving his teammates miffed. Resmondo was a 43-28 winner over Brandon’s. Resmondo went into the bottom of the third on the short end of a 14-2 count, then went crazy with 12, 17 and 11 runs over the next four inings. Gar King had three home runs, a single and two walks. Scott Alley and Brian Arnold each had two homers and seven RBI. Arnold added a triple and single, Alley two singles and a walk. Resmondo had four triples (Marty Dailey had two and Ron Howard one). Resmondo was helped by eight free passes and three Brandon’s errors. Dailey, Jeff Vargo and Charlie Brown also homered. Jeff Haag was 6-for-6. Garber, Marty Lanoux, Dailey and Howard each had four hits. Gene Lewis had four hits for Brandon’s, while Eddie Foust, Chris Calcutt, Chris Graves, Chris Roberts and Chris Absher homered. Three were 3-runners, the other two 2-runners. Hendu’s eliminated Gil’s 14-12. Lavorico had a single, double and homer and Ruben Gonzalez a double and two homers for Hendu’s, which built up a lead with five in the third and four in the fourth. Gil’s accounted for seven of its runs in the fourth. Joe Sposi and Briscoe Baker also homered for Hendu’s. Chad Sylte had a inside-the-parker and Tommy Shinn a double and triple. Kenny Briggs had two triples. Glenn Flood had two homers and Tom Kellner one for Gil’s. Randy Medina had three hits. Hendu’s then was kayoed by Xtreme (25-11). Greg Schulte had three homers for six RBI to set the pace for the Xtreme team. Chris Butler had two HRs.
