June 15-17
Fargo, ND
The Circle Tap Dukes captured the North American Fastpitch Association
Open World Series title by winning three games on the final day, two of
which, in ridiculously dramatic fashion. The Dukes were the #2 seed in
pool A which lined them up with a very difficult road through three
ranked opponents to win the championship. Words can't begin to explain
the excitement and unbelievable comebacks the Dukes pulled off on
Championship Sunday. The games have been video archived on
fargofastpitch.com and are well worth a look. The CT Dukes went 5-1 (20-1)
on the weekend
Pool Play
#9 CT Dukes 0 #14 Loggers (Sooke, BC) 4
SL 4 3 2
CT 0 3 2
The Sooke Loggers came out swinging early in this one and took a 2-0 first
inning lead which proved to be enough. Kris Walushka led off the game
with a base hit and advanced on an error. Chad Bryden drove him in on a
base hit and he scored on an Andrew Medwedrich base hit. The same two
scored in the third as there were three walks an error and a couple wild
pitches before the game got delayed because of rain. Rich Haldane of the
Loggers stuffed the Dukes when it counted as they left six runners on.
WP:Rich Haldane
LP:Jeremy Manley (10-1) 3H 14K
#9 CT Dukes 9 Bullets (Winnipeg, MB) 1 5innings
WB 1 3 0
CT 9 10 0
After going quietly in the first, Circle Tap exploded for 9 second inning
runs. Josh Johnson was hit by a pitch, Nick Needham singled, Tom Crouch
doubled in a run, Jim Corbett picked up an RBI single, Chris Delorit had
an RBI single, Ryan Sinclair singled, Kyle Magnusson hit a two RBI base
hit followed by a German Sacks three run bomb. Needham walked and scored
on a Tom Crouch base hit. Winnipeg got on the board in the 4th on an RBI
double by Brady Woods.
Magnusson 2x3, Needham 2x2 BB, Crouch 2x3 2B
WP:Jeremy Manley (11-1) 1H 6K with relief from Johnson 2IP 5K 1BB
LP:Brady Woods
#9 CT Dukes 7 Knights (West Fargo, ND) 2
WF 2 4 0
CT 7 9 0
Circle Tap grabbed a 3-0 lead in the bottom half of the first as Ryan
Sinclair singled, Kyle Magnusson singled, German Sacks picked up an RBI
single and Nick Needham had a two RBI double. West Fargo made it a 3-2
game in the 2nd on a two RBI base hit by Zane Van Lieschout after three
walks. The Dukes sealed the win in the bottom of the 5th as Justin
Colombo singled, Sinclair singled, Magnusson singled and then German Sacks
crushed a grand slam to make it a 7-2 game.
Sinclair 2x3, Magnusson 2x3, Sacks 2x3 HR 5RBI, Needham 2x3
WP:Josh Johnson (3-0) 4H 10K 8BB
LP:Jackson Prime
Playoffs
#9 CT Dukes 4 #6 Diamondbacks (Saskatoon, SK) 3 9innings
SK 3 6 0
CT 4 6 0
I don't think anyone would have predicted that these two teams would have
been paired up in the quarter finals (CT #2 pool A, D'backs #3 Pool B) but
it sure made for a very entertaining game early on a Sunday morning. This
was a scoreless game through four innings. CT knocked on the door a few
times stranding 5 runners but could not push anyone across. The
Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 5th as Climenhaga walked
and would later score on a passed ball after a Devon McCollough base hit.
With CT down to their final out in the bottom of the 7th, Ryan Sinclair
took a 0-1 pitch out of the ballpark to even the score 1-1 and send it to
extra innings. The International Rule was put into effect in the 8th
inning so the Diamondbacks started the inning with a runner on 2nd base.
Two bunt singles and a base hit by Pokoway made the score 3-1
Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the 8th, German Sacks hit a rope up the
middle which caught the international rule runner off guard at 2nd and was
tagged out, Sacks reached on that fielder's choice. After a strike out,
again the Dukes were down to their final out, down 3-1. Jeremy Manley
stepped in and hit a two run shot the other way to even the score at 3.
The Diamondbacks couldn't muster anything in their half of the 9th. In
the bottom half, Josh Johnson sacrificed the runner to 3rd. After a
strikeout, the Dukes again came up with another clutch base hit with two
outs as Chris Delorit picked up a base hit to score the winning run.
Sinclair 2x4 HR Manley 1x3 HR 2RBI, Delorit 2x3 GW RBI
WP:Jeremy Manley (12-1) 9IP 6H 12K 2BB
LP:Devon McCollough 4innings of relief of Dean Holoien
Semi-Final
#9 CT Dukes 5 #11 Kegel Black Knights (Fargo, ND) 0
KB 0 3 0
CT 5 8 1
Circle Tap took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st as Kyle Magnusson drew
a one out walk, followed by a German Sacks walk. Nick Needham knocked in
Magnusson, Manley then doubled in Sacks, but Needham was gunned down 8-6-2
trying to score. CT tacked on three more in the 5th as Ryan Sinclair led
off the inning with a home run, Magnusson doubled and then Needham hit a
two run bomb.
Needham 3x3 HR 3RBI
WP:Jeremy Manley (13-1) 3H 7K 1BB
LP:Jim Hartman
Final
#9 CT Dukes 9 #14 Loggers(Sooke, BC) 8
SL 8 8 1
CT 9 14 2
The Dukes were seeking revenge in this game after the Loggers gave them
the first loss of the tourney, and season but came out very flat and
spotted a very talented Loggers team an early 4-0 lead via three hits, a
walk, an error, and a hit batsman. German Sacks smacked a solo home run
in the bottom half to make it 4-1. The Loggers got the run back in the
2nd on a double followed by an error to make it 5-1. In the 3rd the
Loggers made it 6-1 on a solo shot by Brian Banner. The Loggers made it
7-1 in the 4th on an RBI by Chad Bryden. CT made it a 7-2 game in the
bottom of the 4th as Lewis Weldon singled and would later score. Again
the Loggers got the run back in the 5th on a base hit by Kris Walushka
making the score 8-2. The Dukes made it an 8-3 game on a solo bomb by Jim
Corbett in the bottom of the 5th. CT made it an 8-4 game as Lewis Weldon
singled and scored on a Tom Crouch base hit in the 6th giving the Dukes a
glimmer of hope. We move to the bottom of the 7th, an 8-4 ballgame. Kyle
Magnusson draws a walk. German Sacks steps to the plate and knocks one
out of the park to make it an 8-6 game. The fire is lit. After a
strikeout Josh Johnson steps to the plate and smacks a solo shot to make
it 8-7. Chris Delorit steps to the plate and whacks one to make it 8-8.
More gas, Tommy Crouch steps up and hits one off the top of the fence for
a double. After a pitching change and a pop out the Dukes were once again
in the position to walk off. Jim Corbett stepped to the plate and
delivered a line-drive base hit to knock in Crouch and crown the CT Dukes
the NAFA World Series Champions. The fans and both teams in dis-belief or
shock as to what was just witnessed. Truly one of the most amazing games
all of Dukes have been a part of.
Sacks 2x5 2HR 3RBI, Weldon 2x3, Johnson HR, Delorit 2x4 HR, Crouch 3x4
HR, 2B, Corbett 2x3 HR, BB, GWRBI
WP:Josh Johnson 4IP 3H 2R 3K 3BB, in relief of Manley 3IP 6R 4ER 6K 1BB
LP:Scott Lieph in relief of Haldane
The Dukes will have the next two weeks off and then will host the Boys of
Summer tournament at Circle Tap, July 6-8. If you have never been to this
tournament, it is definitely worth the trip. A solid field of teams in an
old-school setting with the modern convenience of a full service bar and
grill on the first base side.
Zakk
CT Fastpitch
zakkflash(at)greenbaynet.com
