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Men's 55
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| Aug. 11, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Saint George Temp Rising I appreciate the answer-- I do hope your referenced site is more accurate than the multiple other ones I looked at. Even at 107 on Saturday per Accuweather, that's enough to cause problems if everyone doesn't take proper precautions. If the schedule does not allow for flexibility, then it just doesn't. |
| Aug. 11, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Saint George Temp Rising If we were allowed to attach things, I could show you multiple credible sites that show higher temps I eluded to. We all wanna play, just want to do it at the best times of the day to do so safety. |
| Aug. 11, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Saint George Temp Rising BTW, good thing playing in Mesquite was cancelled-- 112 Saturday, 115 Sunday |
| Aug. 11, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Saint George Temp Rising Tried posting this a bit earlier, but ran into some difficulty. The forecasted temp in Saint George has risen significantly in the last 24 hours (Sat-109, Sun-110). Is there a contingency plan to possibly start play at 7am and play into the evening to avoid daytime highs? We are all happy to be playing, but 109-110 is freakin' hot. I know you do not control the weather (although it'd be a lot cooler if you did), but you possibly can control game times. Is this a possibility? I played in Yuma earlier in the year and saw a couple umpires go down (one hauled off in an ambulance) due to heat, and I would hate to see a repeat of this. |
| Aug. 9, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Runner on 2nd helping batter with inside/outside pitches. As a hitter, that's the last thing I want to see/hear when trying to focus on the pitch. |
| Aug. 2, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Las Vegas World Series I would not assume the Western Nationals (moved to St George) is in trouble just because Mesquite closed down and Huntsman was canceled. There are so many other Huntsman Games sports besides softball (although the biggest at the games) and the impact on the community (thousands of visitors) would be tough. The Huntsman Games usually has over 300 teams attend for softball, plus all of the other sports. Considerably more people than this tournament. Also, the Huntsman Games is a world event, meaning many, many competitors from outside the US come to compete. Given the climate, getting into and out of the US is problematic for many, which would have turned the games into just a US event, which is not what the Games are about. I know in Softball there are a ton of teams from Canada that come to play and there was just no way they could come given the closing of the border. As of right now, Saint George is ok. When I am there, masks are worn now daily in stores, people are trying to social distance. (Knock on wood) We have not seen the crazy rise in cases when compared with neighboring States NV and AZ. We do have cases and all is not perfect, but comparatively speaking we are hanging in there. |
| Aug. 1, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: SSUSA's WESTERN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 Back to the parking lot comment H Squared had-- the parking lot at the fields in Little Valley are small. The overflow lot is not big as well and is shared with a larger park with splash pad, soccer fields, etc. There is a middle school next to the fields that some people park at, but for tournaments like huntsman the school puts out warnings that they will tow player cars. I am not saying that sign will definitely be out, but the past few larger tournaments when school is in session they put it up. School actually starts the day before the Friday session, so that could be an issue. If you are playing at Little Valley, get there a few minutes early. The fields are in an area surrounded by very nice homes, so if you have to walk from a side street to the field it will not be too bad. Little Valley is a wonderful complex-- it's a fun place to play. |
| Aug. 1, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: SSUSA's WESTERN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 someone asked on the thread that was closed a question on whether or not the baseball fields at Pioneer and Hunter were being used. In looking at the schedule, they are definitely being used. There are 6 total fields in Mesquite at Pioneer and Hunter combined-- 2 softball fields and 1 baseball field at each park. I see at both locations all three fields are in play. In the past, temporary fences have been put up at Pioneer Park to help out. It's harder to do at Hunter since it's turf. Has anyone ever seen temporary fences at Hunter Park on the Baseball field? |
| July 27, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Western Championships HSquared-- https://youtu.be/teJ79djpgjM https://youtu.be/lCcG1d2Zklo https://youtu.be/lqVCIjij2Ss Those links are field/Venue reviews that hopefully give people a better understanding of how to prepare if your team is playing at any of these fields. I had almost finished the Mesquite reviews but the work was derailed by an auto accident and I have yet to finish them. I hope to at some point. Obviously, Covid changes some preparation, but hope this helps. |
| July 27, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Western Championships Coolers totally ok. I can't speak to concessions, but I would be surprised if they were available during Covid. There are no entry fees at any of the parks being used. All Saint George fields are in neighborhoods and convenience stores/Grocery stores are a couple miles away from each of them, so stock up before you get there. Hunter has a convenience store right on the corner before you get there and Pioneer is super close to a grocery store and convenience stores, so you are good there. |
| July 27, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Western Championships One more thing-- some of the fields (Bloomington, Hunter, and Pioneer) do not have covered bleachers, so bring sun protection. Mesquite is traditionally 5 degrees hotter than Saint George, so it will be especially important if you are playing in Mesquite. Dave is right about the Saint George average temperatures (he states them above), but there was no mention that Mesquite is hotter. If you are playing at the Canyons or little Valley, covered bleachers are provided and are nice. Bring canopies and tons of water if you are playing in Mesquite. |
| July 27, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Western Championships H Squared-- none (Mesquite and Saint George) have clubhouse/pavilion seating. All have bleachers and room up/down the fence line to use for social distancing. Personally for me the new normal is not bringing family to tournaments until things improve, but that's a personal decision all have to make individually. |
| July 19, 2020 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Softball Tourneys and COVID-19 I have been in Saint George over the weekend and drove by fields and saw the actual tournament discussed above. Here are a couple observations: 1) The parking lots and fields were full of complete families and social distancing was almost totally ignored. My opinion is that the number of people that would attend a senior softball tournament is far fewer people (based on my past tournament experiences) and my hope is folks would be more responsible about keeping distancing. 2) It's my understanding that the female athlete came to the games sick, which put everyone at risk. She was quickly found out to be sick and to be safe they shut down that whole division because it was difficult to know who she came in contact with at Gubler park. Lesson here-- stay home if you are sick. I know other divisions at other fields continued to play. The sad thing is it appears the parents knew she was sick, but continued to the tournament because the hotel would not refund their deposit or something like this. Covid 19 is everywhere. Saint George is no exception, but things have not been as bad here as other places where tournaments have been canceled. League nights play here without issue. The heatstroker tournament took place (USSSA, I believe) took place last weekend without issues. I am no doctor, but I am looking forward to playing (as I was in Yuma) this tournament and understand there is a risk that I could get sick. If you are personally worried, the choice is simple. Do NOT come. Stay home and wait it out. If you are not feeling well, do NOT come. |
| July 23, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: How does a 55 major team who has their own 55 major division end up playing in a 50 major division I am a member of the Vegas Strong team, but I do not speak for anyone other than myself. There are several points you bring up, and I will address a few so you have this side of the story. We were approached by the tourney management and asked to move to the 50 Major bracket due to some cancellations to help balance out the tournament. It was never our intent to move and had planned on playing in the 55 Division, which is the one we entered. It was at the urging of the tournament management that we moved. It's important to note they asked us that morning just prior to us starting our first seed game to move. We are a 55 Major team. When a 55 Major team plays a 50 Major team, 5 runs are given. This is the rule. The spotting of runs didn't seem to deter 4 The Fallen from kicking our trash in the championship game (congrats to them by the way-- great team, good guys, they beat us twice). I agree with you that playing 6 straight games in that heat is not safe. I sincerely hope your teammate is doing better. The schedule, as you pointed out, really put your team in a bad spot. No one should have to play 6 games with no break. |
| April 4, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Centennial Park Kingman Thinking out loud here... maybe Phoenix isn't an option because we play winter worlds there already, which makes sense not to have the first two big tournaments of the year in the west both in Phoenix. I keep going back to Saint George.... Those amazing fields not being utilized at all by SSUSA. As a player, I would pay a little more to play there again versus Kingman/Bullhead City. I did play this time around in Bullhead and it was ok, but seeing ball after ball fly out on fields 3&4 and the quality of the facility does not even come close to the Canyons, Little Valley, and other facilities in Saint George. I think there is a case for senior tournaments to be held in Kingman/Bullhead City, but a big tourney like Spring Worlds is better held in Saint George. It's just a shame the pricing for these fields became a huge problem. I realize that Mesquite had been the traditional host of the tourney and Saint George was not the host city, but it was worth the flip of the coin to go play hoping we'd get assigned the Canyons. Am I alone in thinking it's worth paying a little extra to play in Saint George? I have been wrong many times before, so it won't hurt my feelings... just curious what other tournament players really think. In speaking with many folks during the games in Bullhead, many shared this same sentiment, but curious about how others think. |
| April 1, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Top Gun Yuma Tournament Jan/Feb we go. We were close to signing up this year, but had a few guys who couldn't make dates. I really want to play there. |
| March 26, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: PLEASE CHANGE THIS RULE!! This ruling definitely made it's way around Bullhead City portion of the tournament and talked about a lot.... it was discussed by our team and I overheard many others discussing it. According to our manager, it was discussed at length at the managers meeting and the consequences were spelled out. With that said, we had an ump come to our dugout after we hit one inning to give us a warning on this very same thing BEFORE doing something that could have really hurt us. One of our guys apparently did a similar brushing/smoothing motion with his feet and the opposing catcher tried to get him ejected like what happened to the Old School guy. We were warned and never came close to trying to smooth out box again that game. I didn't see the old school thing happen, so I have no idea how deliberate that was. I guess only the player knows, but it turned out to be very punitive late in the game for them and dropped them into the losers bracket, making it harder to win the tournament. |
| March 26, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Centennial Park Kingman I played the weekend in Bullhead City, and we had the exact same issues on fields 3&4, which were used. Fields 1&2 were normal sized fields, but 3&4 are definitely way short like Kingman. 50 AAA teams and 55 Major teams were blasting mistake HR's on fields 3&4 left and right. I did not play on 5&6, so I can not comment on them. This is my opinion.... as a player, I would GLADLY pay a few extra $$$$ to play in Saint George on normal sized fields than play on such short fields. Maybe others might not agree, but it's just weird we do not have a SSUSA option on those world-class fields any more. Now, I don't want this to come off as a complaint-- I still enjoyed the tourney and would rather play there than not play at all. The short fences, combined with the new balls and the viagra bats we use definitely changed the game. It was just a different different game on fields 3&4 than it was on fields 1&2. |
| March 20, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Centennial Park Kingman Saint George has so many girls softball, little league and other tournaments (soccer, etc) this time of year with anxious snow-fatigued people from up in SLC/Northern Utah they probably feel like they don't need to be very accommodating this time of the year and can get whatever they want to charge. My friends there have been unable to find fields to hit on for the past few weekends because of all of these tournaments. It's sad we can't get a SSUSA tournament on those great fields, but I get it-- SG priced themselves out of this thing. I guess we all still have Huntsman tourney, which SOLD OUT of 50-55 division teams before Feb was over (not bad for an October tourney). I know for a fact any 55 age team will be unable to sign up for huntsman because all of the slots taken. The good news is older divisions (65-70's) will love playing at Centennial (although I see they are all in Mesquite, so scratch that). It's not too bad. The 50, 55's, and 40's (if they are scheduled there-- didn't look) will feel like supermen hitting balls into the street or the school, which had a locked gate and it was impossible to retrieve balls the tournament weekend I played there in 2018. Still-- I would rather play on short fields in Kingman and/or Bullhead City (with crazy wind) than not play. Good luck to all going this weekend. |
| March 20, 2019 Jon44 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Centennial Park Kingman Centennial Park is a great park with lots of things (mature trees, shade, scoreboards) that make it fun to play at. With that said, 285 is optimistic-- I agree that they look shorter. The elevation in Kingman is 3333', which will make them play far shorter. It's amusing to me that the Platinum 50/55's scheduled there and not Bullhead City, with more traditional field dimensions. The team that wins this tourney will be the team that saves their HR's until the end. With senior bats and the balls we are using, hitting balls out will be super easy. The fences are taller, which will help, but not too much. The moral of the story is brush off your base hit bats if you want to win this tourney. This tourney will be a test of discipline. If your lineup is full of solo HR hitters, you will quickly exhaust them and won't have them when you need them in the open inning. |
