The Clubhouse

The United States overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Denmark today by the score of 9-4. Denmark got the on the board early with timely hitting but in the end the US bats decided to wake up and score. Omar Moraga led the charge with three hits including a solo shot to get the US on the board. When asked how he was seeing the ball, Moraga said,  ”The ball was looking real big today. It had a cowboy hat on it.”

Frank Degroat continued his power surge with a bigger blast than yesterday, giving the United States its second run of the day. The crowd, estimated to be around 200 people, rose to their feet as the ball traveled well over 350 feet. As Degroat crossed the plate the home fans cheered, showing their appreciation for the bomb.

The US pitching staff struggled with control early but were able to minimize the damage and hold off the surging Denmark team. Travis Price came in relief to shut the door and record the victory. Next up for the United States is japan at 8:00PM Tuesday night.  

The United States Men’s Fastpitch Softball team won its opening game in dominating fashion on Monday over DEMO EHS of the Netherlands by the score of 9-2. The red, white and blue rode the offensive train to get the win. Blake Miller led the team with three hits and Frank DeGroat silenced the DEMO crowd with a monster blast to left. Travis Price got the win with a strong outing, striking out 9.  

Well, we finally made it to Prague. What a journey so far. The plane ride was about seven and a half hours and we got our first taste of, or should I say smell of, Europe in the line. Apparently deodorant isn’t as high a priority to some. Not to say Europeans are stinky people, but the seven in front of us were. It was the first time I could look at sonny Perkins and say, “Damn, you’re the best smelling guy around.” The worst thing was leaving at 4:30PM on Saturday and touching down at 6:00AM on Sunday. Where the hell did my Saturday night go? Usually I would have been buffaloed ten times by now. We’re here for business though, and playing for your country, no matter what country that may be, is very serious business. Not to mention a tremendous honor.
Driving from the airport was rather uneventful. I was expecting to be immediately submersed into Czech culture but to my disappointment it was much like a typical urban city in the United States…graffiti everywhere ! The one thing I did learn is that a fellow who goes by the name of “Spord” must be the hardest gansta in Prague…maybe even Central Europe. His “tag” is everywhere, like the McDonald’s of gangsta’s. Well, after this article, he may be the most notorious gangsta in the World. Hmmm, maybe I should have waited until I was gone to let out the secret of “Spord”. Maybe he doesn’t want to be on the internet…….what if he’s at the tourney….nah…”Spord” has better things to do, more buildings to tag.
Our hotel is huge. Its full of people from all over the world. Maxim Magazine was right. The women here are beautiful. The people must be on a tight budget here because no one is fat. With all the beer here, you would figure someone would have a beer gut. I’m beginning to feel self conscious. This place is also home to some of the classiest mullets. Seriously……….business in the front, party in the back. They run it real tight on the front and sides and then let it flow on the back. Put a hat on and you would never know he had short hair.
What….practice?….we’re talking bout practice? Yeah, in a few hours. We just arrived at the hotel and were all delirious and we have to practice. Coach Turner runs a tough practice. Mike, our trainer is assigned to warm ups. Ok, well usually my warm up consists of a chew and me trying to be a pitcher on the sidelines. By the time the “warm ups” were over, I was ready to cool down. We actually stretch here, for real. I didn’t realize I had muscles in some places.
The town has already shown some promise. There were fans at our practice, which means there might be fans at the games. The fields are in great shape, plush green grass and soft dirt infields. After a two hour practice it was time to head home for the night and try to sleep. Eating was no problem. To my surprise the food has been great. I recommend the gratinated chicken steak with ham and cheese. Sleeping, that’s another story. It’s 3:30AM right now and I can’t sleep. Maybe it’s because it’s 6:30PM in California or maybe I’m just a little excited. Probably the latter, after all, I am playing for my country….and that… is more than I thought it would be.
Well, its DEMO EHS tomorrow at 2:00PM. Finally we can talk about games.   

From The NPF Website 

June 3, 2007 - The Comcast Chicago Bandits kicked off their home season with a 2-1 win tonight against international foe, Venezuela. The Bandits swept the Venezuelan National team during their four game home series last year.Superstar Jennie Finch took the mound for the orange and black and dominated striking out 13 Venezuelan hitters and walking only one.The Bandits heated things up in the bottom of the second off of a Nicole Trimboli double…….For more of this story click here

From Fastpitchwest 

For the second year in a row, the California Lumberkings, the top ISC II ranked team in the west, will be headed to Chicago, Illinois for the AFSA Classic. 

Lumberkings’ skipper David Weldin had this to say about the team’s upcoming trip: 

“Last year was our first year to attend the AFSA Classic. We were looking for a tournament to play last year and our players wanted to go to Chicago. We had a good time last year, so we decided to go back again this year. We were pleased with our play in last year’s tournament, defeating some good teams, before losing to Bloominton Stix in the semi-finals.” 

Here’s the list of teams and schedule. 

AFSA CLASSIC - Four game guarantee - July 13-15, 2007 

Pool A

Tap
2 Aurora Dolan & Murphy
3 Benton Harbor Plangger’s
4 Thomson Merchants 

Pool B
1 Green Bay Townline
2 Quad City Sox
3 Bloomington Stix
4 California Lumberkings 

Friday
7pm Aurora vs. Thomson
9pm Denmark vs. Aurora 

Saturday North Field (A)
9am Benton Harbor vs. Thomson
11am Denmark vs. Benton Harbor
1pm Denmark vs. Thomson
3pm Aurora vs. Benton Harbor
5pm Green Bay vs. California 

West Field (B)
9am Quad City vs. California
11am Bloomington vs. California
1pm Green Bay vs. Quad City
3pm Green Bay vs. Bloomington
5pm Quad City vs. Bloomington 

Elimination bracket play begins Saturday night at 7pm, with games continuing through Sunday’s 2pm Championship game. (EST). 

Unfortunately the DiamondBallers.com Forum has been experiencing some technical difficulties. The good news is…..It’s Back!!!! Make sure to drop by the forum and check out the topics. Feel free to start your own or chime in with your input. Hope to see you there.

From Fastpitchwest 

Top seeded Innovative Communications team from Utah capped a perfect weekend with a 13-5 win over second seed Panteras of Southern California, running their record to 5-0 on the weekend, and claiming the 2007 Best of the West title in Santa Barbara, CA. The win by Innovative Communications marked the second year in a row the champion has come from Utah, with last year’s title being captured by the High Desert Dawgs. Steve Black was the winning pitcher in the title game, with the Panteras Ron Rupp suffering the loss. The Utah squad mounted a well balanced offensive attack to score 13 runs, aided by a number of defensive miscues by the Panteras.  Innovative’s Jason Littledyke was 3-5 in the championship game, while teammate Ryan Briggs was 3-3. Jason Littledyke of Innovative Communications, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, winning an Easton CNT Stealth bat, while the championship game starter Steve Black won Outstanding Pitcher honors. Each member of the championship team won a Locker bag embroidered with “2007 Best of the West Champions”, gear generously donated by AIS/ Sportsrobe.  The Best of the West is the longest running open tournament in California, 17 years and counting. It has been headed up for most of them by the ISC’s streaming media maven, David Blackburn. Blackburn will be in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in that role for the 7th consecutive year. After five years of extensive live audio broadcasts, the 2006 ISC World Tournament marked the first year of extensive video broadcasts, on “ISC-TV”. More information for this year’s broadcasts will be posted in August at the official ISC website, http://www.iscfastpitch.com.  

From Fastpitchwest 

The 2007 edition of the 17th Annual Best of The West Tournament will take place at Field #1 and Field #2 at Pershing Park in Santa Barbara. Berths will be awarded for the ISC World Tournament, and the ISC II, Tournament of Champions.  Teams Competing: 

Pool A
Innovative Communications
Young Bucks
Panteras 

Pool B
SoCal Tribes
Tri-County
Romie’s Angels