SSUSA NORTH REGION RECREATIONAL DECEMBER DOME TOURNEY HELPS INAUGURATE NEW DOME IN VADNAIS HEIGHTS, MN

Dec. 1, 2010 – Steve Simmons New England & North Regional Director, Clubs & Leagues

TWIN CITIES, MN – The first of three winter dome tournaments, part of the SSUSA North Region Recreational Tournament Circuit, was played on December 9-10 inside of two domes in the Twin Cities, MN. There were 13 teams in the tournament and they were seeded 1 thru 13 based on individual player ratings, established in previous SSUSA North region recreational tournaments, with an adjustment made according to the team’s average age.

The top six seeds played their games in a new dome which is part of the just constructed Vadnais Heights (MN) Sports Complex. The lower seven seeds played all their games in the Academy of Holy Angels Star Dome located in Richfield, MN.

The six teams who competed in Vadnais Heights played a full round robin placement schedule followed by single elimination championship play in both the three team “Upper Division” and the three team “Middle Division”. The seven “Lower Division” teams played a championship round robin schedule to determine the division winner.

Defense ruled the day and was a primary factor in determining the top team in each dome. John Orf’s Ancell team, from the East Metro (MN) Senior Softball League, went undefeated in claiming the “Upper Division” title. They swept through the placement round with a 5 & 0 record and then won the “Upper Division” championship game by 17-6 over the Sabers, another East Metro team.

The six runs given up by Ancell in the championship game was the fourth out of six games where they held opponents to single digits. Those were the only single digit scores recorded in all the games played among the top six teams. All other team game scores reached at least 12 runs and many were in the 20’s. The average score per team, in the 19 games played between the “Upper Division” teams, was 16.2. Ancell’s average runs allowed per game was a stingy 9.7.

Primarily responsible for this air tight defense was the exceptional play of Ancell’s infield. One inning third baseman Mike Marks would make a great play, the next inning shortstop Billy Tills would make an outstanding stop and that would be followed by a sensational grab by middle infielder Jack Martin. This group, complemented by second baseman Butch Parsons, first baseman Ray Brown and Al Karls, who stepped in at third base when Marks went down with an injury, turned several double plays and stifled any momentum the opposing offense tried to muster.

The “Middle Division” champions were the Omaha Godfathers from Nebraska, the only team from outside Minnesota to take part in this tournament. Actually the team they defeated 19-12 in the championship game, the Bombers from the East Metro league, could make a case as being a Wisconsin team since almost half their players reside in that state.

The Godfathers, put together by Ed Tworek and George Scott, a couple of veteran SSUSA North region tournament players, worked off some rust in the placement round and displayed a strong offensive effort in their final game. They don’t have the opportunity to play winter ball in Omaha and really welcome the chance to travel to Minnesota and play indoors.

One of the unique aspects of the Vadnais Heights dome is that a net can be drawn across the width of the dome in left and left center, about 300’ from home plate. The net is approximately 20’ high so to clear the net takes quite a shot. Mike Wech, playing for both the Rochester (MN) Renegades and the MN Lumberjacks from Bemidji, put on a power display and cleared the barrier six times, the most impressive being a ball that one-hopped the back wall of the 420’ long dome.

The Renegades cleared the barrier a total of seven times, five coming off the bat of Wech and the other long balls coming from Ray Glynn and John Bowron. The Bombers lived up to their name and bombed five over the net. Garry Morris smacked three and Gary Stene and Dave Rasmussen delivered one apiece. The Sabers were the other team with players who launched balls over the netting. Steve “Thunder” Thornton and Billy Korman both crushed balls that cleared the webbing.

The teams that finished one-two in the “Lower Division” were responsible for all the single digit scoring in that division. The champion Dirty Dozen team, a West Metro Senior Softball League team, went undefeated at 6 & 0 and held four of their six opponents to less than 10 runs. They allowed just 7.5 runs per game.

The second place Sour Grapes team, another West Metro representative, was even more impressive. They limited five of their six opponents to single digits and allowed just 4.8 runs per game in those five contests. Their only defensive blemish was a 20-5 loss to the champion Dirty Dozen team. That brought their overall team defensive average to 7.3 runs per game.

Bob Hagen, Sour Grapes’ middle infielder, had a fantastic tournament. He tracked down ball after ball in his team’s 5-4 win over Rookie & The Wringers, a West Metro team supplemented with four Iowa players. It was estimated he was involved in 2/3’s of the outs recorded in that game.

Sour Grapes’ shortcoming was their inconsistent offense. The Dirty Dozen team held their opponents to single digits four times and Sour Grapes did it five times but Sour Grapes, on three occasions themselves, could only score in single digits. Those outstanding defensive efforts put forth by those two teams, plus Sour Grapes’ three anemic offensive efforts, constituted all the “Lower Division” single digit scoring.

The Dirty Dozen team had their own dominant middle infielder, Mark Lilledahl. Lilledahl’s play was matched by a tremendous effort from shortstop Wayne Peterson. Beneficiary of this defensive support was pitcher John Meyer who was also very influential in keeping the opponents run total in single digits with some shut down pitching. But, besides the strong defense, the Dirty Dozen also had an offense that was smoking hot. Ken Theisen’s lineup was led by John Hovde, who had an outstanding tournament at the plate and who set the tone for the rest of the batting order. From top to bottom they hit, hit, hit and averaged a solid 15.3 runs per game.

Speaking of offense, the highest single game offensive output in the “Lower Division” came from the Screwballs, a West Metro team. The Screwballs defeated the Rochester Relics 22-12.

As in most recreational tournaments, teams borrowed players from other teams when needed. Paul Palmer, shortstop for We’ve Got The Runs, a West Metro team, also played shortstop for just about every other “Lower Division” team on Friday and played in seven games that day. Ken Koch, from the Sour Grapes team, was also a seven gamer on Friday but the total game title might belong to Steve Simmons who played 12 games for the MN Lumberjacks, the Omaha Godfathers and the Rochester Renegades over the two days of the tournament.

The oldest team in the tournament was the Coffee Cup team from the East Metro league who averaged 73 years of age, just about eight years older than the next oldest team. This veteran group held their own in the “Lower Division” with one win, four losses (three by just one run) and a tie. They also boasted the oldest player in the tournament, 79 year old Dick Anderson.

The youngest player in the tournament was John Bowron (50) of the Rochester Renegades. Rochester teams have provided some unique tournament combinations. The only father-and-son combination that has played in a SSUSA North region recreational tournament came from a Rochester team and now the first husband-and-wife combination, Dave Warnke and Deb Dimler, were part of the Rochester Relics roster in the “Lower Division”.

There are two more dome tournaments planned for this winter season. The next dome tournament will be played on Thursday and Friday, January 20-21, in Rochester, MN at the dome on the campus of the Rochester Community & Technical College. There is room for just 10 teams so if your team intends to participate please contact Steve Simmons immediately… (H) 952-470-9250, (C) 952-239-7674, (E) stnlsimmons@aol.com.

The final dome tournament of the winter season is planned for Thursday and Friday, March 3-4, in the Twin Cities, MN. There is a possibility some of the games may be played in the Metrodome.