Hall of Fame NIT

The 2007 USSSA Conference NIT was played this past weekend, and Resmondo went 5-0 to capture the championship. “The Sod Boys” left no doubt that they are out to win it all again in 2007. This may be the best team that Travis has ever put together. I know this team will go down as one of the greatest defensive teams in history. The infield with Martin at 3rd, Dedonatis at short, Baker over the middle, Beggs at 2nd.and Bumgardner at 1st.it doesn’t get any better with Purcell being the best pitcher in the game makes this the very best defense in the game. I also know with Kendrick, Striebel and Rainwater in the outfield, makes this the best three outfielders to ever play together. The Rich’s outfield was awfully good, but didn’t have the speed that these three have. “The Sod Boys” also have one of the most potent offense the game has ever seen. I think we will see just how good this team can be in a few more tournaments. Resmondo was led by MVP Jeff Wallace and the rest of the Resmondo team. Congratulations to Resmondo on winning the first NIT of 2007.

Team Combat/Dalsanders showed the softball world that they will be reckoned with in 2007. This team is so much better than last year. They have people who can catch it, base hit it and hit it for power. I look for this team to be in the hunt every weekend. I give Cooper, Pat and Cropper a lot of credit for putting this team together. Make no mistake, you better be ready to play your best, if you want to beat this bunch. “The Bat Boys” took on the #2 team coming into this season Bell Corp, and after falling behind early, and then being down 8 going into the bottom of the 7th. scored 9 to beat “The Chimers”. “The Bat Boys” then played Resmondo in the first game of the finals and gave them all they wanted, but came up a little short. Congratulations on a great tournament.

Bell Corp/Belcher/Backman got beat by a run keeping them from getting back to play Resmondo, who had beaten them in the winner’s bracket final. I’m here to tell you this is a very talented softball team who will be knocking on the door all season long. “The Bell Boys” did not hit it very good this weekend. I also believe they will have to pick it up defensively if they expect to win. I thought Kirby did a pretty good job at short defensively, but I believe it might take a little away from his offense, we will see. The power hitters for Bell just did not get it done this weekend. Cocco, Helmer, Kirby and Wegman did not hit like they can. Make no mistake, when this bunch does it they will be in the hunt I guarantee you. Congratulations on a good tournament.

Aubrey’s finished fourth in this one. I believe this team will get better along the way. They have some talented players and will need to play a few more tournaments to show their talents. Resmondo, Team Combat and Bell Corp are the top three teams. Aubrey’s, Jean Shoppe and Fence Brokers are the next top three teams. After these six teams mentioned, the next ten teams are a notch below. I think it will make for a great Class A Worlds the way softball is today. Congratulations to all the teams who played in this USSSA Conference NIT. There were 16 conference teams in this one and 4 non-conference teams. The tournament was ran very good, the games were on time, the umpiring was very, very good and the fields were great. This my friends is how bigtime softball should be played. I talked to some of the softball fans who were there about how they liked watching softball being played on the baseball fields. I can tell you that almost everyone said they would rather watch it on baseball fields than softball fields at this level, and I agree. Remember this is only my opinion!