The field of play is built. The field of teams is set. With a few Spring Training days and team practices under our belts it is time to step up to a slightly more serious level of play, and warm up for the start of league play at the end of this month. The first satellite tournament, in which the winner receives their league buy-in paid in full, is being held April 7th at the Drey. The only thing accurate about this Drey layout are the lines: 90' to LF, and 81.5' to RF. 250' of fence are being used to make a more fun-for-tournament-atmosphere design; including a "mouth" that cuts 30' back into the field of play, dwarfing its 2009 counterpart. The "mouth" is famed for being "the greatest seat in the house," and will not let you down this year. Taking it even further, for this tournament the mouth will house the tournament table from which a game played at the height of the day's events will be called: think a cross between radio play-by-play and home-run derby shenanigans. Video cameras will also be on hand to capture game play throughout the day. Get ready to see some great robs, with any luck a few good shots in the mouth, plink-o off the tree, and have a lot of laughs... those are coming!The format is double-elimination with a single play-in game for each team to determine seeding. The participants and first games of the day are:
| 10:00 am | Jason Mattseals | @ | Belgian Wiffles | |||
| 10:30 am | F'ing Squirrels | @ | Donkeys | |||
| 11:00 am | Thunder Ducks | @ | Punchouts |
Game Day Update: Congratulations to the Manchester Punchouts for winning the first Satellite Tournament. They took the long road through the losers bracket, beating Belgian, the Ducks, the Seals, and finally the Squirrels twice in the championship. Evan, Sam, Craig and Logan impressed in every aspect of the game: pitching, hitting, defense, speed, and doing it all with a smile; fun players, good players. Those last four words really tell the tale of the whole day. The entire field of teams were competitive: no pushovers and no dominant teams. Great tournament, great play, great time, great guys.
That really is the most impressive part of today: six teams who were all competitive with one another. The Mattseals offseason maneuvering has built them into a serious contender: Mike Myers, Adam Cosby, and Chris Paquin bring formidable pitching and bats to their lineup. These are not the Mattseals you remember. The Belgian Wiffles for the first time have a full, steady roster with a lot of talent to play with: Chandler Phillips is a Diamond Digit winner waiting to happen, and David Castle looked great on the mound. Mike Constanti was fantastic on the mound for the Squirrels, who showed they can score more than one run a game. I am sure the Ducks are unsatisfied with the results, but they showed well with the addition of Lewis as number-two pitcher and the D&D boys (Dylan Braden and Dennis Pearson) smashing the ball at the plate.
Here is how the full bracket played out:
Update #1: Chris Paquin, Jason Mattseals game one starter, has posted that he is partaking in Justin Verlander's "night before a start" meal: 2 taco supremes (no tomato), a cheesy gordita crunch, and a Mexican pizza (no tomato). Is it a no-hitter in the making?
