13U Storm Team:

 The Storm 13U team is now 33-13 this season!  

Storm Players:  Keep in mind, since we have been together(Oct. of 2005) we have an overall record of:   88-25-3(as of March  5, 2007)

13U Tournament Results:

Tournament: 2nd Place in TC March Qualifier(3/4/07)

Tournament: 5th Place in Super Series Pres. Day(2/18/07)

Tournament: 3rd Place in USSSA State Championships(1/28/07)
               

Tournament: CHAMPIONS of  Dec.USSSA ourney (12/3/06)

Tournament: 2nd Place in Thanksgiving USSSA(11/26/06)

The Road To Omaha...
Monday, June 18th and Tuesday, June, 19th:
As Willie Nelson would say, "On the road again...."  The Rieks and the Servens are doing it again!  The Servens headed to Vegas on Monday while the Rieks went to Arizona. The Servens stayed at the Tropicana.  On the marquee was some act, "Ricky Ricardo and Lucille McGillicudy"(get it, the "Tropicana"?).  Who are they?  We passed...We headed into Utah by way of the best scenery in the world.  One highway sign actually said, "Watch for Eagles Landing on the Highway".  The rental van we got(it's a Grand Caravan--the Clarks know how good they are)had a cassette player!  So we listened to tapes by:  the Alarm, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker(ask Dennis Devlin about him), Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi, Patty Smythe, the Clash, the Righteous Brothers, Thin Lizzy, etc.  More names of tapes will follow...   The most ironic tape we heard was by Counting Crows.  The song was "Omaha".  What are the odds?  We ended up in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Tuesday night.  What a beautiful town. It stayed light until after 9:00 PM. We tried to hit but no L-Screens.  We are off to North Platte, Nebraska, tomorrow and then Omaha on Thursday.  End of days.

Wed., June 20: 
Forget to mention that Jonathan and Brian both played a few arcades in Vegas and won a couple of prizes, i.e.: stuffed animals.  But, of course, with limited space in the van, they go out and win GUITARS!(I almost went El Kabong).  Also, forgot to mention we listened to the Partridge Family, too.  We stayed in Sterling, Colorado with the Reiks.  We found a nice field to hit...right by the PRISON.  Lots of signs said to "not pick up hitchhikers".  End of day.

Thursday, June 21:
We arrived in Omaha at about 3:30 and went to our hotel.  The Toros were all there(except one family missing was the Alvarez's--we heard they were in England). The Toro family had dinner at a nice monastery-like steak house: Sebastians.  They had chanting music, monks, flowing robes(striking).  The waiters said, "gunga, gunda, la gunga". As we left the steakhouse we were granted everlasting life...which is nice.  The waiter asked us for "something for the effort"... Whatever that means...End of day. P.S.:  We found out that the Desert Angels won the 9 year old division in Omaha.  Congrats.

Friday, June 22nd: 
Both the Storm and the Toros played pool play games.  The Storm gave up 4 in the first and never got anything going against the Arizona Young Guns and lost. Connor, Joey, Casey got our hits.  Not too many, huh? The Toros won two today.  Brian Serven went yard in the 2nd win(a 250 ft. shot).  At night there was an opening ceremonies in Papillion(Steve McQueen movie?)  At the festivities they had games, booths, jumpers, contests, fire works, fireflies(yes, real fireflies), a monster thunder storm, a bon fire and All-Star games.  Jordan, Jose and Joey all were on the 13 year old team.  Brian Serven and Steven Cuevas played for the Toros.  The 13 year old game got rained out but the 11's waited it out and played until 10:30 pm. End of day.

Saturday, June 23rd:
  The Storm played the Bally Bearcats in Lincoln.  It was a great game.  We lost 4-2, but had the tying runs on in the last two innings.  Ryan, Jose, Joey, Zack and Jonathan(he hit a shot down the 3rd base line that you wouldn't believe) all hit the ball very hard.  Jordan and Jonathan only gave up 5 hits, but they were at opportune times.  Joey threw out both runners trying to steal 2nd! We continue pool play tomorrow with the playoffs set for Monday and Tuesday.  All of these Division 1 teams sure are BIG.  The Toros go 3-0 in pool play and await playoff implications... On a more academic note we are still trying to figure out where the name "Omaha" came from.  More intriguing is Coach Novis' quest to trace the origin of the name "Lincoln".  He's thinking it's an Indian name...By the way the name "Monkey Wrench" originated because the man who invented it was named "Monckey".  Look it up.
Lots of our group went to the College World Series at 6:00 pm.  End of day(not yet).

Sunday, June 24th:
The Storm played the Bulls and started off shaky by giving up 3 in the 1st. The game was played on the shore of the Missouri River.  But, against one of the top teams in the tourney, the boys, behind 6 sparkling innings by Ryan Clark, lose in the last inning, 7-6. Joey, Jonathan, Ryan, Zack, Jacob(driving in the tying run against their fireballer), Jose and Josh(3 hits) all got hits for us.  Casey was nails at 3rd Base.  Pool play is over and the playoffs start on Monday.  Unfortunately, the Toros lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs against a good team from Joysie(in the last inning).  Brian went yard again and almost tied it up in the last inning(hitting the fence).  We found out about the origin of "Omaha".  It IS a Native American word. It means, "dwellers on the bluff". We also found out where the "Hekawis" got their name.  The head of the tribe once stood over the North Platte River and looked around and said, "hmmm...where the HECK AH WE?"  We heard the driving age is 14 here...Ryan Clark is all over that.  He's a good driver too.  But the stop lights are sideways here.
Interesting, huh? Taylor is still checking on "Lincoln".  By the way, why is there a street named "Clinton" in Indio.  It's been there for at least 30 years.  Was someone clairvoyant?  The answer will follow....He was the Vice-President of the United States for Jefferson and Madison. 
 
Monday, June 25th:
The Storm opened the playoffs against another good team from Indiana, the Flyers.  The boys lost 9-4 after leaving the bases loaded the first two innings and leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd in the next two.  We did push across 4 but obviously it was not enough.  We had a great trip, saw a wonderful town and got to experience the excitement of the College World Series, which was in the air everywhere we went.  Did I mention how BIG these other teams were?
Next up....PONY All-Stars 

Post script:  The Bulls WON Div.1. On the final stretch home we got to visit: Colorado Springs(the Seven Falls), Durango, Flagstaff, Sedona(natural rock water slides) and Phoenix.  Throw in Grand Junction and there can't be too many nicer places in the U.S.


President's Day Tourney Results:
The Storm 13's ended up in 5th place out of 12 teams by going 2-2 for the weekend.  TWO BAD INNINGS out of 28 doesn't sound so bad, but it was enough to lead to our two losses.  The boys ended up as the 5th seed(qualifying for the Major Playoffs) by defeating the West Coast Pirates and the NBC Angels "B" Team and losing to the always tough, On Deck Threat.  Three of the teams from our pool made the top six to give you an idea how tough the pool was.  In the first game, after walking the first three batters(and subsequently, seemingly having two of them picked off--only to commit two errors and letting them off the hook) the On Deck Threat scored five in the 1st inning.  John Clark then took over on the mound and pitched the game of his life-only giving up one more(unearned)run the rest of the way.  Unfortunately, we didn't produce anything offensively and lost, 6-0.
The second game was against one of the top teams in SoCal, the West Coast Pirates. Joey Mills pitched 6 great innings and Jonathan came on to close out the 7th, with bases loaded and their #4 hitter up.  In the bottom of the 7th, John Clark's little dribbler pushed across the winning run. On Sunday, Jordan and Zack shut out the Angels, 6-0, only giving up 3 hits.  Sunday afternoon we played the Longhorns in the Playoffs.  After letting the first three hitters reach base, Jonathan entered the game and, after a solid hit, didn't allow another Longhorn to reach 2nd base the rest of the game. But the damage was done and the boys lost, 3-0. The three runners who did get to first base were immediately picked off!!  But, the boys learned that if you don't produce on offense, it really doesn't matter how many runs our pitchers give up.  We are now 30-12 this season!




USSSA State Championships Results:
The 13U Storm ended up in 3rd Place after coming into the playoffs as the 3rd seed.  We came within a basehit(with the hottest hitter in the tournament up) of reaching another Championship game and beating the Black Widows, in the semifinal game, which we lost 4-3.  The semi's was an incredibly well-played game against a very, very good team.  We had numerous opportunities to win, but in the end, it just didn't happen.  After a little bloop hit dropped in the infield in a tough spot to field, the Widows capitalized and scored to go ahead.  Joseph and Jordan pitched very well against a hard hitting team.  Connor did a great job at SS and was a great leadoff and #2 hitter. Ryan Clark hit the ball like usual and played through some pain to play a great 1st base(nice back picks in the semi's). All our outfielders did a fantastic job(Jose, John, Zack and Tre). Jordan caught A LOT this weekend and worked hard with our pitchers to control the running game. Jonathan just hammered the ball all weekend. Once again our boys got to experience many different scenarios and situations which will only make them better in the future.   This was one of the strongest fields of any tournament we have ever played in.  From top to bottom there were solid teams.  We beat a very good Yucaipa Mavericks, 7-1, behind great pitching from Joseph and Jonathan.  (Jonathan then left and helped his basketball team). After that we lost to a powerhouse, the Revolution, 6-1.  Jordan, Zack(3 GREAT innings) and John Clark all pitched well and kept the game close.  We scored in the 7th inning(on Jordan's shot to right) and had the bases loaded, but came up empty.  On Sunday we won our quarterfinal game vs. the #6 seed, the Crush.  Jonathan and Joey did the job on the mound. Joey Mills went 4-4 in the quarterfinal game(after winning all of his track events on Saturday).  A special thanks goes out to Tre, our youngest(and smallest)player!  We are now 28-10 this season!








MLK Results:  The Storm 13's ended up as the #1 seed in their pool and qualified for the playoff round and ended up in 5th place after losing to the SunDevils in an extra inning, very exciting game.  After mercying both teams on Sat.(both 8-0)the Storm lost a tough one to the Stallions but still were the #1 seed.  After dealing with pulled muscles, sore feet and some stiff arms(it sure was cold)the boys still battled to the end. Both of the games(against the Stallions and our playoff game) gave our boys great practice dealing with baseball situations and should only help our players in the future, hopefully raising their baseball I.Q. even higher. We are now 26-8 this season, with 3 of our losses in games where we had already made the playoffs.  Congrats to the Storm 12's and to the Toros(another Championship) and to the Sun Devils!

13U STORM WIN USSSA DECEMBER WORLD SERIES QUALIFIER!!!!!!

 

ATTENTION: STORM BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's deja vu all over again as the Storm 13's are the #1 Ranked team in USSSA!!!!!!!

The 13U Storm reached another Championship Game and WON the Championship at the USSSA December Tournament, going in as the #1 seed, after going 3-1 against very strong teams in pool play. It was an impressive run, considering we were without one of our top players, who was injured(Connor). 
 
Game 1:  Storm  7     Mission Viejo Jaguars   2 
Game 2:  Storm  4     SoCal Gamecocks    2
Game 3:  Storm  4     Desert Crush  3
Game 4:  Storm  1     On Deck  4

Championship:  Storm   5        Crush   1
 
We had incredible pitching all weekend by Scotty,  Zack,  Joseph, Jordan, Joey, and Jonathan.  The Storm all hit the ball, exemplified by Ryan Clark, who was in Cooperstown form, and hammered the ball all over the field. There were defensive gems turned in by all:  i.e. John(diving catches), Jose(diving catches), Cody(solid defense all weekend) and Ryan(rock solid at 1st base--just like usual), Joey Mills going deep in the hole in the Championship to take away a basehit and still get the out, Zack deciding to throw the hitter out at first(from right field) to save a run and end the inning, Jordan, Joey and Scotty doing a great job behind the plate, our pitchers picking off runners the whole tournament(even in the Championship).  Don't forget Scotty's bare handed grab of a ground ball that was incredible!!!.  EVERY player contributed to the Championship, as it takes the entire team to accomplish what we have.  This year we are now 24-6 with 2 straight appearances in Championship games.

Thanksgiving Tourney:
Storm 13's Reach Championship Game in USSSA Thanksgiving Tourney!
The Storm went 4-0 through pool play, beating very good teams(Venom, HB Vikings, Imperial Valley and our buddies, the SunDevils) and getting a rematch with the Venom.  Although we had great pitching from Jonathan and Scotty(they may have hit 4 balls hard the whole game) the Venom pushed across a run in the 8th inning to earn the victory, 4-3.  We battled against one of the best pitchers we have ever faced, exemplified when Joseph drove home Jose to tie it in the 7th. We received GREAT pitching ALL weekend from Jordan, Joey, Joseph, Jonathan and Scotty.  All the players contributed with big hits(i.e. Jose and Ryan's BOMBS), and defensive gems: Connor's short hop play(one of many), Zack throwing out runners at 1st base from the outfield, and John Clark making a difficult running catch to end our game against the Sun Devils.

Game 1:  Storm 7    Venom  2
Game 2:  Storm 8    HB Vikings  0(Jose hit a mercy rule Walk-Off HR--completely out of Des Moines Stadium--300 ft. plus)
Game 3:  Storm 8    Imp Valley  5
Game 4:  Storm 4    Sun Devils  1
Championship Game:  Storm 3   Venom  4  


    

Veteran's Day Tourney Update:
The 13U Storm end up in 3rd place, going 3-2, and make it to the semifinals of their 1st Tourney as a 13U team. We came up two outs short of reaching the Championship, losing in the 7th inning, as the Crush staged an impressive rally.  Congrats to the Crush players on their Tourney Championship.
 

  
 

Triple Crown Fall Nationals FINAL Results: 
The Storm go 4-1 against some top competition(Division 1) and get 3rd Place out of 42 teams!!!
  After finishing an incredibly successful 2005-2006 season, the Storm went into the Fall Nationals hoping to build on our past success and compete for the Championship.  As the Director of the Tournament made very clear to the Storm players and parents, the Fall Nationals is the culmination of a year's worth of Tournaments, as teams try to qualify for this prestigious National Tournament.  There are over 1000 teams nationally who vie for this opportunity! Only teams who have won or came in 2nd place in a Triple Crown Tournament qualified.  Considering that we have taken some time off to rest and play other sports and, that we have only practiced a handful of times, the  Storm went into Saturday's playoff schedule as the #1 seed out of 42 teams based on Friday's results!!!!! 

***Incredible hitting from EVERYONE, great defense, nice double plays, picking off numerous runners, excellent baserunning, fantastic pitching and very few mental mistakes all added up to a great weekend of baseball.  Being in Las Vegas didn't hurt either! 
 

Friday's Pool Play:
Game 1:  Storm 13     Albuquerque Lightning  0
Highlights:  Shutout by Joseph and Zack.  By leading off the game with a shot to left, Scotty set the tone for the game.  Shot after shot by the Storm ended the game in 4 innings.

Game 2:  Storm 12     Las Vegas Knights  0
Highlights:  Shutout by Jordan and Ryan.  Bombs by John Clark, Jose and Zack paced the Storm after a slow couple of innings.  Another mercy.


Saturday's Playoffs:
Game 3:   Storm  6   L.A. Warriors   4
Highlights:  Scotty and Jonathan shut them down.  Ryan Clark had a big hit against a very good team.
Game 4:   Storm  4   Highlander Vipers   2
Highlights: Joseph, Joey and Scotty combine to shut down a big hitting club. John Clark and Tommy come through with BIG hits.  Joey Mills turns around left handed and hits a shot up the middle.  Joey was on base all tournament.  It was Zack who made the incredible(Circus, Circus like) catch to win the game that led us into Sunday.
 

Sunday's Playoffs:
Game 5:  Storm  1    Culver City Twins:   8
Highlights:  Jonathan, Joey, Jordan and John all pitch well.  The score was only 4-1 entering the 6th when the Twins got a few breaks mixed in with a couple of hits to score 4.  When Jonathan's 280 ft. shot is caught early on it wasn't a good omen.
The Culver City Twins are one of the top teams in the nation and this "very mature"(SuperSeries) looking team went on to win the Championship of the Tournament, 16-4.  As many said, our Semi-Final was the real Championship Game.

So far this season(2006-07) the Storm are 13-2! Every one of the Storm players contributed to our success this weekend...Except for the bowling alley attendant.