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The
participating teams for the 2006 tournament were:
Columbus
Ohio Pirates Indianapolis
Expos Louisville Redbirds
Chicago
Brooklyn Royals Indianapolis
Stallions Louisville Sluggers
Chicago
Giants
Indianapolis Titans
Terre Haute Cubs
Chicago
Oaks Ft. Wayne
Marlins
Crawfordsville
Orioles Ft. Wayne
Rangers
For
the second year in a row we had a field of thirteen teams. Newcomers to the tournament were the Chicago
Brooklyn Royals, the Indianapolis Titans and the Louisville Redbirds.
Teams
were seeded after the first two games, with all teams making the tournament. The top three teams all received a first
round bye. Using a tie breaker of runs
allowed made for hassle free and accurate seeding as evidenced by the fact that
the semi finals featured the 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds.
Round Robin Standings ...
- Indianapolis Expos 2-0
- Terre Haute Cubs 2-0
- Indianapolis Stallions 2-0
- Columbus Pirates 2-0
- Chicago Brooklyn Royals 1-1
- Ft. Wayne Marlins 1-1
- Louisville Redbirds 1-1
- Indianapolis Titans 1-1
- Louisville Sluggers 1-1
- Chicago Oaks 0-2
- Chicago Giants 0-2
- Crawfordsville Orioles 0-2
- Ft. Wayne Rangers 0-2
First Round Results
Royals 7
Marlins 4 Rangers 11 Sluggers 7
Orioles 5 Giants
0 Pirates 1
Titans 2
Redbirds 10 Oaks 6
Second Round ResultsThe
second round featured contrasts with the Expos and Cubs dominating with
pitching. The Expos shutting down the Sluggers 7 to 0, and the Cubs blanking
the Redbirds 3-0.
Meanwhile
the Royals and Stallions broke out the sticks, with the Royals out-scoring the
Rangers 15-3, and the
Stallions topping the Marlins 15-1.
Semi-Final Results ...
In
the semi finals, the Expos took a 9-8 lead over the Royals into the 9th
inning, only to see it dwindle away with the Royals scoring 3 runs in the top
of the inning and then shutting the door in the bottom half.
The Stallions got
past the Cubs 6-1 on the strong right arm of Tom Bumgardner on loan from the
Indianapolis MSBL Pirates.
Championship Results ...
In the championship the Indianapolis Stallions defended
their 2005 championship defeating the Chicago Brooklyn Royals 19-11.
Hitting highlights were
provided by 2006 Tournament MVP Bryan Foster (4-4, 2 Dbl.), 2005 Tournament MVP John Smith was
4 for 5 with 4 Home Runs and 5 RBI, and
Tim Bragg with a Grand Slam Home Run.
The
Royals jumped out to the early lead picking up 2 runs in the first from 1 hit
and 3 stolen bases. Aggressive on the
bases during the entire tournament, the royals rolled up 7 stolen bases during
the game, with lead off man Chris Yates accounting for three. In the bottom of the inning the Stallions
set the tone with James Pruett leading off with a solo Home Run.
The only low point for the Stallions was in the
4th inning when staff ace Bruce Stanley had to leave the game
with a sore elbow. Reliever Jeff
Johnson was then greeted on his first pitch with a two run shot off the bat
of the Royals El Mc Coy. JJ
held off the run and gun Royals offense for the next four innings to pick up
the win.
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