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Las Vegas Road Trip X
Game results can be viewed by clicking on the following division link.
A Division Schedule
A-Major Division Schedule
AA/AA-Major Division Schedule
To view team stats click here.
A1 Bombers and J&B Painting merger creates super team with big goal
Written by Bob on April 13th, 2017
J&B Bombers - Champions
LAS VEGAS – Both Jerry Zimmerman and Bob Berger look back with pride on the accomplishments of their respective ball clubs during the 2016 season.
Zimmerman’s A1 Bombers of Saskatoon, SK, CA finished fifth (4-2) in the ISC World Tournament, while Berger’s J&B Painting club of Agoura Hills, Calif. took 11th (2-2). And just a year prior, they finished third and fifth respectively.
Adding to those accolades, the Bombers also took second (5-2) in the 2016 ASA Men's Major National Championship.
And during the regular season, both teams were ranked in the top-ten by the ISC.
Very good ball clubs? Certainly. Great? Close, but not quite.
While both were competitive, capable of and often beating the best in the game, neither had quite the firepower to grasp the brass rings – which in men’s fastpitch equate to winning the ISC world tournament and ASA major national championship.
So, if you come close but can’t quite win those titles, what can be done? Merge. Exactly what the two men decided to do.
By combining forces, they significantly raise the odds of winning those two coveted championships. And it appears they’ve created a ball club – the J&B Bombers – that must be considered one of the favorites to win it all.
Zimmerman and Berger left no doubt about their expectations.
“We’re going to win the world,” Berger said, “win everything. That’s our goal.”
In the merger, Zimmerman brings to the Bombers a stable of superstars from his 2016 squad – Kris Walushka, Devon McCullough, Derrick Kennedy, Freddy Carmona, Bryan Erwin, Gil Saenz, Tyler Dudley, Scott Nehaj, Mike Hoadley, Tyler McGaughey, and Marshall Kronk.
Adding to this star-studded cast, Berger contributes Tony Mancha, Blake Hunter, Eli Salazar, Jesse Palacios, Patrick Burns, Cameron Schiller, and Mark Aranda.
Of that elite group, Saenz, Carmona, Dudley, Walushka and Nehaj were chosen ISC All-World in 2016. But that’s not all.
“Walushka, Hunter and McCullough are on the Canadian national team,” said Zimmerman of Ephrata, Pennsylvania. And representing the USA National Team are Mancha, Schiller, Dudley and Saenz. that’s seven J&B Bombers who will play for one or the other national teams at the 2017 WBSC World Championship in July.
No doubt the J&B Bombers have the talent, but Zimmerman and Berger have set their new ball club on a challenging mission of eight elite tournaments in which to live up to their “win everything,” declaration.
Can they pull it off?
Well, at least for one weekend, the Bombers turned in an undefeated performance by going 4-0 in the Las Vegas Road Trip X tournament, April 7-9.
They started slow in their first two games, squeezing by Team Marquez of Mexico, 1-0, and then rallying to defeat Marchio Sausage Co. of St. Paul, Minn., 6-4, after trailing early.
From then on, they showed prowess at bat and in the circle by twice beating the Northeast Naturals 7-0 in the winners’ bracket final, and then rolling to a 11-0 victory in the championship of the AA/AA-Major Division.
“We started slow in the first game and got down 1-4 in the second, but the bats opened up after that,” Zimmerman said.
Northeast Naturals - Finalist
The workhorse leads A1 Rockies to Las Vegas Road Trip championship
Written by Bob on April 10th, 2017
LAS VEGAS – In men’s fastpitch lingo, pitchers who shoulder the load are referred to as the workhorse, the guy that takes the ball inning after inning, game after game.
He doesn’t look to the bullpen for relief. He doesn’t complain that he’s tired, or that his arm aches a little.
He just goes out and does his job.
David Beets, a big, hard-throwing right-hander from Oklahoma fits that description most assuredly.
And he proved it Sunday afternoon in the 2017 Las Vegas Road Trip X tournament championship pitching for the A1 Rockies of So. California.
Dropped into the losers bracket by All Star Auto of Grass Valley, 6-0, in the winners bracket final, the Rockies fought back through the losers bracket to defeat All Star Auto twice to take the A-Major Division title.
And Beets hurled both games: an eight-inning 7-4 victory in game one, followed by a seven-inning 2-1 gem in the deciding contest.
Rockies manager and catcher Tony Acedo had a good view of Beets’ performance from behind home plate.
“Dave Beets was pretty much the man of the day,” said Acedo. “He was lights out for sure.”
Beets had everything working – rise ball, drop, curve and a change-up off his riser. In the second and deciding game, he allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one.
“He was getting tired in that second game,” Acedo said. “But he’s a workhorse and will give you 110 percent.”
A1 Rockies - Champions
All Star Auto took the early lead when Kody Kencke launched a solo home run over the centerfield fence in the third inning.
But the Rockies answered back in the fourth with a pair of runs. Joe Janicke led off the inning with a double down the left-field line and came around to score on two wild pitches.
Two outs later, Andy Martinez was hit by a pitch, followed by a walk to Charles Andurdy. Then an infield error allowed Martinez to score the go-ahead and winning run.
Beets gave up but one hit the rest of the way, a two-out triple by Justin Nicholson in the sixth. But he toughened and got a ground ball to end the inning.
Right-hander Mike Milligan turned in a workhorse type performance himself for All Star Auto with a three-hitter, four strikeouts, two walks and two hit batters. But two errors proved his and the ball club’s fatal downfall. Milligan also defeated the Rockies in the winners bracket final.
“He pitched well,” said All Star Auto manager Tom Allen. “We couldn’t come up with the big hit, but I’m happy with our guys. This is a great experience for our young guys that don’t have a whole lot of fastpitch experience, much less playing in a major tournament.”
All Star Automotive - Finalist
ROCKIES TAKE GAME ONE WITH EXPLOSIVE EIGHTH
In the first title contest, All Star Auto’s Travis Kunz and Beets locked up in a scoreless pitchers duel through seven innings. And both were tough on the batters.
Beets hurled a three-hitter with 14 strikeouts and no walks, while Kunz fired a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts and a walk.
But then came the eighth and the international tiebreaker that starts each half inning with a runner on second base. When the rather explosive inning came to an end, the Rockies had held on for the 7-4 win.
The Rockies roughed up Kunz for six hits, led by Andy Martinez, Andurdy and Cory Wertz who all hit safely, followed by Jason Obregon’s booming triple into deep left-centerfield that plated two runs.
Then Ruben Lopez and Chris Paiva hit back-to-back singles that brought in the final two scores.
But All Star Auto refused to quit.
The Grass Valley, Calif. ball club answered back in its half of the inning with four runs on four hits. The big blows coming from Bobby Porter, Curtis Campbell, Russell Brackett and Kencke.
But Beets put an end to the uprising by getting an infield popup to end the game.
“We were a little rusty in the morning coming out,” Acedo said. “But we were ready to play in the championship.”
The Rockies finished with a 6-1 record in the 16-team tournament that drew teams from Canada, Mexico and the United States. While All Star Auto was 4-2.
Coyotes overcome huge deficit to claim A-Division Las Vegas Road Trip title
Written by Bob on April 10th, 2017
Coyotes - Champions
LAS VEGAS – The Beaumont Coyotes had dug themselves a hole, a huge hole.
Now, could they dig themselves out of it?
Of top priority, the man in the circle had to stop the hemorrhaging. That’s exactly what Jesse Martinez did.
Trailing 5-0 in the fifth inning in the A-Division championship game of the Las Vegas Road Trip X tournament, Martinez told his teammates he wouldn’t give up any more runs.
Now all they had to do was show some offensive punch. And like lighting a fuse, the Coyotes bats caught fire in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the fifth, George Valdivia coaxed a walk, Johnny Ray laced a double, and Damon Valdivia hammered a homer to pull the Coyotes within two.
Then in the sixth they used the same formula. Gilbert Valdivia led off with a walk, Jesse Mullen doubled, and with two out, Martinez helped himself by blasting a home run to cap a dramatic, come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Budmen of East Los Angeles.
Prior to that uprising, the Coyotes had been held hitless and struck out eight times.
But if not for Martinez’ resolve it may not have happened.“He just said, ‘I’m not giving up anymore runs,’” said Coyotes manager David Valdivia. “He hung in there and he helped himself with that three-run homer.” Martinez pitched well, giving up three earned runs on five hits, striking out six, and walking one.
Wilmar Lopez led off the game with a double for the Budmen and later came around to score. Then in the fourth, a pair of doubles, coupled with an error allowed three more runs to cross. And in the fifth, Orlando Herrera scored the Budmen’s final run.
But that would be all Martinez would allow.
Over the final two innings, he was near perfect with three ground balls in the sixth, and two strikeouts in the seventh.
The final strikeout was a big one.
Lopez opened the inning by reaching first base on an error, stole second, and moved to third on a passed ball. He stood poised as the tying run, but Martinez ended the threat and the game with a strikeout.
Mullen, who catches and plays first base, is one of the few veterans on this young Coyotes team. He likes what he sees of the youngsters – several who are under or barely over 20.“They have heart,” said Mullen. “We were down 5-0 and we had struck out a lot. But the young guys fought back. This is a neat club. They’ve grown up around the game and they are a tough team to beat now.” The Coyotes rolled through the 16-team tournament undefeated at 5-0, while the Budmen reached the final the hard way: through the losers bracket.
After dropping their first game, they won six straight before the Coyotes ended that exemplary streak.“We started a little flat,” said Budmen manager Juan Contreras. “But we said we are here to make it happen and have fun. We hit the ball pretty well, and this tournament is a great start to our season.” 
Budmen - Finalist
Contreras said that Monty Wells (4-1) and Ryan Webb (2-1) both pitched well, adding that the entire lineup contributed offensively from one through nine.
As for the Coyotes, David Valdivia plans on returning to the NAFA World Series in Fargo, North Dakota in August to make a run at an A Division title after taking fourth in Mankato, Minnesota last year.
And he thinks his club has the potential to make it happen.“I’m just proud of all our young guys,” he said. “They have stepped it up and are coming through for us.”
NAFA and the SCIFL are pleased to announce the tenth edition of the “Las Vegas Road Trip” men’s fast pitch tournament. The event will be held April 7-9, 2017 with the first round games starting Friday at noon, and the Championship games scheduled for 3:00 PM on Sunday; the "IF" games will immediately follow if necessary.
PLAN EARLY AND LATE
Teams flying in and out should make plans to be ready to play early on Friday and late on Sunday in the event the brackets are running late.
While this tournament is a NAFA sanctioned event, it is run by the SCIFL and any questions regarding this tournament must go through the SCIFL Tournament Director Jesse Ortiz.
NAFA DIVISIONS
Teams will be separated in the following divisions:
A
A-Major (depending on amount of teams)
AA/AA-Major (depending on the amount of teams)
The split in the higher classifications will be based on the amount of teams that enter.
NAFA PITCHER’S LIST
The NAFA pitcher’s list will be used to monitor pitchers in the tournament as well as the team’s current classification. No open class pitchers are allowed to pitch in these three divisions. Confirmation into the tournament will be based on the entry fee and roster being received.
The classification list posted on the NAFA web site on January 31, 2017 will be the list used to classify pitchers. There will be no appeals for pitchers after that date for this tournament.
ENTRY FEE AND REGISTRATION
The entry fee for the tournament is $440, if paid through the SCIFL website. Those who mail their check will receive a discounted price, $430. It is open to all fast pitch teams and it will be your responsibility to pay the Annual NAFA $30 Team Registration Fee directly to the NAFA sports office. You can pay the team registration fee online by clicking on this link Players Choice Sports.
The NAFA 3-GAME GUARANTEE BRACKET will be used for all divisions. With a minimum of eight (8) teams in a division, the winner will have their 2017 NAFA World Series entry fee paid for the division they played in.
Also, to help keep tournament costs down, if your team books at least five (5) rooms at our host hotel on Friday and Saturday nights you will receive $25 back on your entry fee.
CONTACT AND PLAYING INFO
Teams interested in participating should contact Jesse Ortiz by email, as soon as possible, at scifastpitch (at) gmail.com or by cell at 661-510-8928 and inform him if your team can play all three days.
Teams that can play all three days will be placed on the priority list, teams that say they can only play on Saturday and Sunday will be placed on the secondary list. No one will be given a "selected" game time as everyone is traveling to the event.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Collecting entry fee starts January 2, 2017 and once it’s received you will be sent an email to confirm your entry. Once the tournament is full, teams providing their entry fee will be placed on a waiting list and entered if any teams drop out.
All teams will need to submit their entry fee along with their team’s roster listing all their players and identifying their pitchers to ensure teams are placed in their proper classification.
Checks can be made out to "SCIFL" and mailed to:
SCIFL
PO Box 6572
Burbank CA 91510
ARIZONA CHARLIE’S BOULDER
For the 10th year the host hotel will once again be Arizona Charlie’s Boulder. The rate will be $50 per night for Friday and Saturday and $35 for Thursday and Sunday nights, if you book directly with the hotel using their 800 number.
In order to receive this rate you must book by midnight of cut-off date March 23, 2017.
Arizona Charlie’s Boulder offers a casino, buffet and sit down dining along with live music in the casino bar/lounge. Please help the tournament by booking with Arizona Charlie’s to receive the special rate.
MAKE RESERVATIONS THROUGH THE 800 NUMBER
The number is 800-362-4040 and the reference code is C-SCIFL or mention So Cal Independent Fast Pitch League. Rooms booked any other way (Priceline, Expedia, etc…) cannot be confirmed through the hotel and are not used toward our count and you will not receive the team credit if you book five rooms or more.
If you need to book more than three (3) rooms on the same credit card, please contact Kathy Brennan at 702-951-5942 in the group sales department and she will be more than happy to assist you. Also, if the 800 say’s they do not have the SCIFL listing, please call Kathy to book your room. If she is not there, leave a message and she will get back to you.
SUNSET AND WARM SPRINGS PARKS
Information regarding the event, game results and player statistics will be posted on this website. This year's tournament once again will be played at Sunset Park and Warm Springs Park; both are located with 1/4-mile of each other and are located by the Las Vegas International Airport.
Game times will be available once the tournament is filled or two weeks after March 13, 2017, which is when we will start working on the schedule.
Please feel free to contact Jesse if you have any questions regarding this tournament. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas
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