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Elkland Fastpitch Team (Elkland, PA)
2005 Record- 33-10, 4 tournament 1st place finishes, 7th place finish at NAFA A-Major World Series, 17 game win streak to start the season
Key Losses – Pitcher Brad Porter (11-6, 2.49 ERA)(as a full time player), 1st Baseman John Dry (.406, 8 HR’s, 31 RBI’s), Outfielder Donny Schmidt (.333, 3 HR’s, 11 RBI’s)
Key Acquisitions – Pitcher Scot Adams (TNT South Lebanon Team), Utility player/Pitcher AJ Oosterkamp (Erie, PA), Outfielder Mike Rohrer (Keatings), Pitcher Gord Scott (Palermo Athletics), Outfielder Jeremy Miller (Erie, PA), Infielder Cody Orchowski (Elkland, PA),
Official Elkland Fastpitch 2006 Roster
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Joe Cevette – Manager/Outfielder
Rob Hulsinger – Scorekeeper
Bruce Hackett – Assistant Coach/1st Baseman
Hugh Hillhouse – Pitcher
Scot Adams – Pitcher *(select tournaments)
Gord Scott – Pitcher *(select tournaments)
Chris McColl – Pitcher *(select tournament)
Brad Porter – Pitcher *(select tournaments)
Justin Cevette – Outfield
Russ Cooley- Outfield
Grant Sherman – Catcher
Tony Bruce – Outfield
Ryan Wood – Shortstop
Bryan Miller – Infielder
Mike Makoweic – 3rd Baseman
Mike Rohrer – Outfielder *(select tournaments)
AJ Oosterkamp- Utility/Pitcher
Jeremy Miller – Outfielder
Cody Orchowski - Infielder
2006 Elkland Fastpitch Schedule
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1.) May 13th, Elkland Round Robin Tournament (Elkland, PA)
2.) May 27th-28th, Erie Memorial Tournament (Erie, PA)
3.) June 3rd-4th, Jersey Shore Tournament (Jersey Shore, PA)
4.) June 24th, Elkland Round Robin Tournament (Elkland, PA)
5.) July 8th-9th, Williamsport Tournament (Williamsport, PA)
6.) July 15th-16th, Dunkirk Tournament (Dunkirk, NY)
7.) August 12th – 13th, Niagara Falls Tournament (Niagara Falls, Ontario)
8.) August 17th-20th, NAFA World Series (Wisconsin)
9.) August 25th-27th, Elkland 1st Weekend Tournament (Elkland, PA)
10.) September 1st-4th, Elkland Labor Day Tournament (Elkland, PA)
Player Profiles
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1. Joe Cevette (5th Season) – Cevette will stay on as head coach this season with Elkland, where he has compiled a managing record of 108-72-4 over the last 4 seasons. Cevette will also serve as a back up outfielder, and pinch hitter for the team.
2. Rob Hulsinger (2nd Season) – “Big Rob” as he is called by the team will be back for his 2nd season with the team. Hulsinger serves as the team scorekeeper, as well as a bench coach.
3. Bruce Hackett (5th Season) – Hackett will start a new position with the team this year, as he will help with coaching duties, in addition to playing first base for Elkland. Hackett has a career .332 batting average with the team in 165 career games.
4. Hugh Hillhouse (3rd Season) – Hillhouse will again be back as Elkland’s go to guy on the mound, only this year he will have many more to help out with pitching duties. Hillhouse has a career 29-8 pitching record with the team.
5. Scot Adams (1st Season) – Adams spent one weekend with the Elkland team last season, and he is back in 2006 to help out when his schedule with the TNT South Lebanon Team permits. Adams was a 1st Team ASA Class C All-American last year.
6. Justin Cevette (5th Season) – Cevette will be counted on to be one of the big Elkland bats this season. A career .343 hitter with the team, Cevette will have to build up his offensive numbers, much the way they have increased in years past. Cevette will also be moving to a new position this season, the outfield, and will more than likely spend a great deal of time in centerfield. Cevette is 2nd on the Elkland all-time list for homeruns (18), and 1st in all-time RBI’s (98).
7. Bryan Miller (4th Full Season) – As Miller goes, so goes the Elkland offense. Miller is a force at the top of the Elkland lineup, with a career .377 batting average, and 24 homeruns in the past 3 seasons. Miller will be moving to 2nd base this season, giving the Elkland infield a bit of a new face. Miller scored 43 runs, and had 52 hits last season from the leadoff spot, and when hot at the plate, he can carry the team.
8. Tony Bruce (5th Season) – You cannot ask for a better team player than Tony Bruce. Tony will again be in right field this season for Elkland and will bat at the bottom of the lineup, giving the team a boost out of the #9 spot in the batting order. Last season Bruce hit 7 homeruns will driving in 20 RBI’s. Tony is also a team leader on the Elkland squad, and will be counted on as much for that role as his outfield play.
9. Grant Sherman (5th Season) – Sherman had a rebirth at the plate last season for Elkland, batting .287, with 4 homeruns and 27 RBI’s. Sherman also was able to catch nearly every inning for Elkland behind the plate, giving himself a fastpitch softball “Carlton Fisk” type reputation for durability. Sherman will again nail down catching duties for Elkland this season, and is expected to bat near the end of the batting order.
10. Ryan Wood (3rd Full Season) – Wood will be counted on more than ever to answer the call offensively for Elkland this season. Wood is the Elkland all-time batting average leader at .392, but for the first time will be batting up in the middle of the batting order. Wood will also be back at shortstop this season for Elkland, and hopefully his work schedule will allow him to be around for most of Elkland’s tournament schedule this season. Wood is a team leader and captain of the infield when in the lineup, when he’s in uniform Elkland is a better team.
11. Russ Cooley (2nd Full Season) - The New York Mets have Julio Franco, but Elkland has its own version of a veteran leader in Russ Cooley. Cooley, 50 years young, was a shot in the arm for Elkland last season, batting .290, with 2 homeruns and 12 RBI’s. Cooley will more than likely be in the outfield again this season, but could see some action at 3rd base, and also at the DH role. A healthy Cooley spells trouble for opposing teams with his base running havoc.
12. Mike Makoweic (2nd Full Season) – Signed on as a fill in player last season, “Muck” as he is known to teammates became the everyday third baseman for most of the season. His first full season back in fastpitch in many years, Makoweic improved both at the plate and in the field as the 2005 season progressed. Makoweic will be a full time player this season, and his gutsy style of play from the plate, to running the bases, to fielding will benefit Elkland this season.
13. Mike Rohrer (1st Season) – Rohrer, a veteran of 18 years of fastpitch, Rohrer will help make up for the loss of Donny Schmidt when in the lineup. Unable to play full time for the team due to other team commitments, Rohrer gives the Elkland squad a veteran bat in the top of the lineup when available. Rohrer spent last season with Keating Fitness, and will play this season with TNT South Lebanon.
14. AJ Oosterkamp (1st Full Season) – The future of the Elkland team may someday hinge on the development of this young man. Oosterkamp, just 19 years old, will enter his 3rd season of pitching, and early reports show him developing as a hurler. Oosterkamp, when not pitching, will serve as a utility player for the team, and his versatility in the field will give Elkland many late inning options as well as pitching options.
15. Jeremy Miller (1st Full Season) – Miller is another young pickup for Elkland this year, and may just have the fastest wheels on the team. A speedster from the Erie (PA) league, Miller will serve as a reserve outfielder, and possible personal catcher of AJ Oosterkamp this season. Miller played in two games with the team last season, and he is not intimidated at the plate by any means. Miller will also give the team a runner off the bench in late innings when not in the lineup.
16. Cody Orchowski (1st Full Season) – Orchowski joins the team this season, looking for experience in fastpitch, after being just one year removed from the Elkland High School baseball team. Orchowski, a 2nd baseman by trade, will give Elkland a runner off the bench, and also a back up infielder. Orchowski has fastpitch in his bloodlines, his father Andy was a tournament player for many years with various Elkland teams.
17. The Extra Pitchers – Elkland has 3 Canadian pitchers who will be joining the team at various tournaments throughout the season. Pitchers Brad Porter, Chris McColl, and NAFA Hall of Famer Gord Scott will all be putting on the Elkland uniform this season at various times. Both Porter and Scott have played with Elkland before, and with both the team knows that it’s getting pitchers who will be keeping them in games. Reports of McColl seem to sound as though he will be a good fit with the team as well, and the squad is happy to have him on board this season.
Elkland opens it's 2006 season on May 13th with 4 games scheduled in the 2006 5th Annual May Elkland Round Robin Tournament.
Team Website - http://www.eteamz.active.com/ElklandFastpitchteam
Thanks,
Bruce Hackett
The Elkland Fastpitch Team
<brucehackett61(at)hotmail.com>
