Tempe South Baseball

After thinking about it, I want to tone down a little of my frustration with the Elite 32. The reality is that living in Arizona we have amazing opportunities to play baseball at all skill levels. One of the reasons I’m so passionate about Little League is that it is one of the few organizations that strikes a balance between competitiveness and inclusion. USSSA, USTSA, and Triple Crown serve other needs. On the whole USSSA in Arizona is an outstanding organization that many members of our community have enjoyed and benefited from being a part of.

Like most national organizations consistency is an issue, and I was surprised by the different approach employed by the headquarters operation in Florida. While I’m glad we had a chance to go, I would have serious reservations about doing it again.

It feels like USSSA (FL) is essentially profiting from the halo of quality that surrounds Disney and ESPN. It’s a shame too, because given the venue there was so much opportunity to make it a special event and set up a truly impressive tournament. I wish the guys in Orlando had the same commitment and consideration that we see every weekend from the guys in Arizona.

Having said that, I’m happy that we have the quality organization we do here in Arizona and we look forward to seeing all our kids advance to the highest levels they are able to attain.

– Scott

For those of you who were following the Chandler Rangers 13U progress (three former Tempe South players played on that team). They traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Facility in Orlando Florida to compete for the National Title. The Rangers suffered two devastating injuries to key position players (one prior to the tournament, the other at the tournament) which unfortunately left them without the defense they were accustomed to relaying on.

That added to the brutal schedule, (The rangers drew 3 8AM games in a row) resulted in the Rangers dropping an 8-7 game to the eventual national champions after committing an uncharacteristic 5 errors in the field. The Rangers rallied from a 5-1 deficit to take the lead 6-5 but were unable to make it stand up. As we’ve seen over and over again at very high levels of play, if the other team gives you an out, you have to take it. Extra outs usually result in disappointing losses.

After that loss, the team was forced to march 1/2 a mile across the complex in the high heat and humidity to face a well rested CBA Cyclones who immediately capitalized on the Rangers fatigue and built a commanding lead. They eventually routed the team 10-2. It was not the outcome they wanted but everyone was proud of the effort the players.

The complete link to the rangers schedule is: http://www.usssa.com/sports/Bracket.asp?Type=Winners&Tournament=729849

The Rangers Schedule is (all games are on field 24):
- [CA] The Show, Sunday at 5:15PM Final 8-0 Show.
- [GA] The Roadrunners, Monday at 2:45PM
- [CT] Gooses Gamers, Tuesday at 10:15PM

Bracket games depend upon seeding. Right now the Rangers are the 8 seed, so they play Wed at 10:15AM. However we are optimistic that they will climb higher than 8 in the Pool D standings which means they could play a double header Tuesday.

Tier one games for pool D:
1 vs 8 Wed @ 10:15AM
4 vs 5 Wed @ 8:00AM
2 vs 7 Tue @ 4:30PM
3 vs 6 Tue @ 2:15PM

The bracket is double elimination.

The Chandler Rangers who have 3 alumnus of last years District 13 12U champs are playing in Florida for the USSSA national championship the highly rated team (#3 in the country) will be scorecast daily. Use the same link that you used to follow the All Star Teams.