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St. Louis Kickball Association
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UPDATE - JULY 2: ANNUAL KEG-A-LEG-A-DING-DONG
Come-one-come-all to the annual Ghostrunners versus Awesome keg game is this Satruday, July 4th at 3 PM on Field SB8.
This annual event is open to anyone/any team who wants to play, watch, have fun, and/or drink beer (isn't that everyone in SKA?).
It's also likely one or more teams could use some substitutes.
UPDATE: SKA vs. BIGBALLS CHALLENGE RESULTS
First, thanks are in order to those who helped make the challenge a reality.
1) Mother Nature for great weather
2) BigBalls for continuing this new tradition (started last fall) and playing two challenging games against SKA. It was fun.
3) SKA All-Stars who were able to come out on Saturday (see below). The league thanks you.
Men
Brian Thilenius - Purple People Eaters
Dan Fritz - Thunder Thighs
Chris Leonard - Purple People Eaters
Jason Struttman - Team Zedonk!
Jay Huelsing - The Longballs
Matt Riggins - Ghostrunners
Ryan Glasscock - Club Storm
Wes Steel - BallDozers
Women
Amy Stotler - Doctor Kreitner & Associates
Christy Straatmann - Liquid Courage
Jessie Kuryla - Purple People Eaters
Mahrya Fulfer - Club Storm
Tiffany Mercurio - Ghostrunners
A shout out as well to Tim Crawford for providing the basis of this write-up.
SKA vs. BigBalls Kickball Challenge
SKA retains St. Louis bragging rights.
Saturday June 13, a contingent of SKA All-Stars faced off against the BigBalls pro team in a best-of-three game series. After BigBalls lost to the FallBall/SKA All-stars last November, they have been set on revenge.
BigBalls assembled a team that holds regular practices, and travels for tournaments (e.g., their Pro team). The BigBalls team had just returned from a big win in a highly competitive kickball tournament in Little Rock the week before. Going into the game it appeared as though the BigBalls team was ready to finally notch a victory over the dominant and more popular SKA league.
Game 1
It was apparent from the very start that pitching would be the deciding factor in the three game series. Realizing the importance, SKA selected Dan Fritz from Thunder Thighs to start the first game.
BigBalls, serving as the home team for the first game, went silently in the first inning; one, two, three. In SKA’s first-at-bat, Ryan Glasscock (Club Storm) laid down his classic “man bunt” to become the game’s first base runner. Amy Stotler (Doctor Kreitner & Associates) moved Ryan to second with a single, and Chris Leonard (Purple People Eaters) drove Ryan in for the first run of the game.
The SKA defense put another zero up for BigBalls in the top of the second inning. Dan Fritz (Thunder Thighs) helped his own cause with a single in the second inning. Two more singles by Christy Straatmann (Liquid Courage) and Matt Riggins (Ghostrunners) moved Dan to third. A two-out single by Jason Struttman (Team Zedonk!), the fourth of the inning, drove Dan in for SKA’s second run.
BigBalls notched two runs in the top of the third inning to tie the game, and another run in the fourth to take the lead. The lead was short lived as SKA tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh inning when Chris Leonard (Purple People Eaters) led off with a single and was able to exploit a mistake by the BigBalls defense, which enabled the speedy runner to come all the way around to score. Chris’ run put SKA up 4-3 and proved to be the game winning run.
Final: SKA – 4, BigBalls – 3
Game 2
For the second game SKA selected Jay Huelsing from the Longballs to take the mound. Jay has a wide array of nasty pitches that allowed him to pitch five scoreless innings.
Runs were even more important in the second game and SKA got their first run in the top of the fourth. In that inning, Jason Struttman (Team Zedonk!) got things started with a single and then took second on a wild throw. In his attempt to take second base, Jason was injured on the play. Fearing an impending run if a pinch runner was allowed to replace Jason, the BigBalls commissioner would not allow a pinch runner in an attempt to keep SKA off the board. Following singles by Brian Thilenius (Purple People Eaters) and Jay Huelsing (The Longballs), the bases were loaded for Ryan Glasscock (Club Storm), who came up big with a single that allowed Jason to limp home.
Wes Steel (BallDozers) took over pitching in the top of the sixth inning and closed out the game with two scoreless innings.
Final: SKA – 1, BigBalls – 0
SKA wins in two games and no third game was needed. All of BigBalls practices and preparation made them a better team, but once again SKA showed why it is the most challenging and popular (i.e., “best”) league in St. Louis.
BigBalls, we’ll see you again in the fall.
SKA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Another great tournament in the books. The weather cooperated once again and there were plenty of highlights to talk about. Plus there were 20 kegs on hand and countless hotdogs, hamburgers, and snow cones. Umm, yeah!
SATURDAY MAY 16 (aka, the Losers Bracket)
Twenty-eight teams started their tournament play on Saturday, with the top-ranked team that day, ranked 29th out of 56 teams, being Kick ‘em Where it Counts. As the top-ranked team, Kick ‘em Where it Counts received a first round bye and needed just two wins Saturday to move on to the Sunday bracket.
Seemed simple enough on paper, but we’re talking about Kick ‘em Where it Counts, whose nickname during tournament time is “One-and-Done.” Kick ‘em had to have liked their chances on Saturday facing a very drunk 44th seed, River des Peres Yacht Club. Players for Kick ‘em are still wondering what the hell happened, losing once again 10-9 in their first and only tournament game for 2009. Well, there’s always 2010.
The other top seeds on Saturday, each also receiving a first round bye, were (30th) A Team Named ‘Sue,’ (31st) Vagtastic Voyagers, and (32nd) City Ballers.
Several teams stood out on Saturday.
A Team Named ‘Sue,’ ranked 30th, or second in the Saturday bracket, won both their games on Saturday and their first game on Sunday against the 2nd seeded team, A Shot to the Balls. A Team Named ‘Sue’ has consistently played very well during the tournaments, and in fact, the victory by ‘Sue’ marks the first time a Saturday team has beaten a Sunday team in the tournament.
American Mustache Institute, ranked 40th, managed to find their offense, scoring an average of 13.3 runs in their three wins on Saturday. The three wins enabled the team to move on to the Sunday bracket.
(Side Note): One of the American Mustache Institutes’ three wins was against Texas Walker Rangers, where a budding rivalry appears to be blooming. Earlier this season, Texas Walker Rangers spanked the American Mustache Institute, 17-0. Apparently a fact that was not overlooked when these two teams faced each other in the tournament on Saturday. Additionally, the American Mustache Institute defeated Texas Walker Rangers in one of the semifinal games in last year’s Saturday bracket.
This is the second year in a row that the American Mustache Institute has won all their Saturday games and moved on to the Sunday bracket. On Sunday, the American Mustache Institute faced the 3rd overall seed, Thunder Thighs, playing them very tough but eventually losing 4-2.
The Strugglers fell short by one game to the American Mustache Institute in their bid to move on to the Sunday bracket. With just four wins all season, the Strugglers won their first two games on Saturday in impressive fashion; 12-6 and 19-3.
The Superfoots are another “tournament team” that seems to come together at the right time. The Superfoots averaged 10 runs per game in their three wins and solidify their spot as one of the four teams to move on to the Sunday bracket.
The Mother Cluckers, a new team this year that branched off of Kicken Chicken (Mother Cluckers, get it!), was ranked 37th in the tournament after posting a 5-9 record. Also notching three wins on Saturday – 12-0, 11-5, and 9-4, the Mother Cluckers earned the right to play #1 seeded Liquid Courage in the Sunday bracket. Despite an 18-0 loss to Liquid Courage, the Mother Cluckers had a successful first year overall.
SUNDAY MAY 17 (aka, the Stud Bracket)
Any team with aspirations of taking home the SKA Cup needed to win five tough games on Sunday, with no byes.
The first round on Sunday produced only three upsets:
1. 30th seed, A Team Named ‘Sue’ defeated 2nd seed Shot to the Balls, 11-9
2. 21st seed, The Meatheads, beat 12th seed Bare Bodkins, 8-2
3. 19th seed, South City Salamanders of Pain beat 14th seed Awesome, 17-8
Beginning in the 2nd round, the games became very competitive, with several games pitting closely-seeded teams. By the quarterfinals however, only one double-seeded team was still around, the 15th seeded Redneck Ninjas, who lost in the quarterfinals to eventual 2nd place winner, Club Storm.
For additional information on the Sunday brackets, read the Championship Game write-up.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The 2009 SKA Cup Championship game was sponsored by Murray's Shaved Ice. Yes they were the ones providing free snow cones to all the little kiddies out there. Thanks Murray's.
Actually they are really inexpensive so if anyone wants shaved ice/snow cones for an event I recommend calling Murray's at (314) 458-5084 or (314) 952-6255.
PRELUDE
In what proved to be a truly entertaining affair, the 12-1-1 Purple People Eaters faced the 12-1-1 Club Storm for the 2009 SKA Championship. There is nothing better than two great teams going at it.
PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS
In 2009, in their third SKA season, the Purple People Eaters won their first division trophy. In 2008, they finished the season as the second-place team after losing in the SKA Cup Finals to Tower Pub. Since joining the league, the Purple People Eaters have had no fewer than 10 victories each season and have amassed a very impressive overall league record of 35-5-2 (.833).
CLUB STORM
Club Storm, in their second SKA season, has been equally impressive, posting a 26-1-1 record (.929). Club Storm, in their first season last year, went undefeated and won the Red Division trophy and made it to the quarterfinals of the SKA Tournament of Champions.
MARCH TO THE FINALS - PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS
The Purple People Eaters, in their first game on Sunday, were to face one of the four Saturday bracket winners at 10:00am. However fate intervened on the Purple People Eaters behalf and their opponent for the first game was unable to make the second day of the tournament. So instead of beginning play at 10:00am, Purple People Eaters didn’t have to play their first game until 12:45pm. It seems that the extra rest played in the Purple People Eaters favor and may have made a difference in the day’s outcome.
In their first real game of the day, the 4th seeded Purple People Eaters faced the 13th seed, Gotham, in what would prove to be their toughest challenge of the day. Many may remember Gotham as a dominating three-time SKA Cup Champion, but that was back in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The last few seasons Gotham has struggled, but in 2009 the team appears to have found their swagger again, finishing the season a respectable 11-3. However Purple People Eaters proved too tough for Gotham, winning 6-4.
Despite facing two tougher opponents, at least on paper, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Purple People Eaters had little trouble dispatching of their challengers in those games.
In the Quarterfinals, Purple People Eaters faced the 5th seed Team Zedonk!, who was one play from finishing the regular season as the only unbeaten team. Team Zedonk! appeared to not have fully recovered from the season-ending loss as they struggled to beat the 28th seeded team, Blue Kickballs in the first round, and the 21st seeded team, The Meatheads in the second round. Given the close outcome of both games it probably shouldn’t have been a shock that Purple People Eaters defeated Team Zedonk! 9-0, but the score certainly came as a shock.
In the semifinal game, Purple People Eaters had the opportunity to face the 9th seeded BallDozers, who finished 2nd in the Blue Division behind the Purple People Eaters. When both teams faced each other during the regular season the teams tied 2-2. In the quarterfinal game against Liquid Courage, who was the top seed in the tournament and a team many expected to make a run for the SKA Cup, the BallDozers defeated Liquid Courage 8-5. Based on the stats, the BallDozers/Purple People Eaters game should have been one for the record books but once again the Purple People Eaters seemed to have little trouble with the team, winning easily, 8-1.
MARCH TO THE FINALS - CLUB STORM
Club Storm, seeded 7th in the tournament, faced some tough competition during their four wins. In the first round, Club Storm faced 26th seeded Toe Jamz. Despite their seeding in this year’s tournament, the Toe Jamz has been impressive in SKA tournaments, dating back to 2001. In fact, Toe Jamz has more tournament victories than any other team except Gotham, who won three straight SKA Cups. Ok, so maybe their first game wasn’t so tough, but 11-1 is below Club Storm’s season average of 12.5 runs a game.
In the second round, Club Storm faced a more formidable opponent in the Ghostrunners, a team seeded 10th in the tournament and who won 11 games this season, one less than Club Storm. In the first round, Club Storm faced a team with the second-most tournament victories. In the second, round Club Storm faced a Ghostrunners team who has won more regular season games than any other team (90) in the history of SKA. Surely this game would prove to be a tougher task for Club Storm, right? Well if you count an 11-3 outcome in Club Storm’s favor as proof of a tougher opponent, then yes, Ghostrunners gave Club Storm a run for their money.
Round three, the quarterfinals: Club Storm faced the 15th seeded Redneck Ninjas who had no problem defeating their first two opponents, the 18th seeded Fearless Freaks, 19-2 and the 28th seeded A Team Named ‘Sue’, 14-6. (SIDE NOTE: A Team Named ‘Sue’ was one of the four Saturday teams that advanced to the Sunday bracket and also defeated the 2nd seed team, A Shot to the Balls in the first round on Sunday. So defeating A Team Named ‘Sue’ was no small feat for the Redneck Ninjas). The Redneck Ninjas definitely gave Club Storm a run for the money, limiting Club Storm to just six runs, half their league average of 12.5 RPG. Despite the hard fought effort by Redneck Ninjas, Club Storm prevailed 6-1.
In their semifinal game, Club Storm played The Longballs, who had three impressive wins against some difficult teams to reach the semifinals. The Longballs, who branched off of Gotham in 2007 (remember them, three-time SKA Cup winners), have averaged 13 wins in their three seasons, and they don’t call them The Longballs for nothing (they kick the ball far, duh!). Since it's the semfinals, The Longballs provided slightly stiffer competition for Club Storm than the Redneck Ninjas did in the quarterfinals, losing by four runs instead of five. Club Storm 6, The Longballs 2. On to the finals we go.
2009 SKA CUP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Given that it was Club Storm’s first championship game, the ever generous El Presidente, Ken, allowed Club Storm to call the flip for home field. Club Storm – tails, outcome – heads.
Kicking first as the visiting team, Club Storm put up an impressive three runs in the first inning. It looked like déjà vu all over again when Club Storm played Purple People Eaters during the regular season, a game which they won 12-7.
Ah, but don’t count the Purple People Eaters out just yet my friends. They made it to the finals so you have to imagine they can bounce back. Well, bounce back they did, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. After one inning it was Club Storm 3, Purple People Eaters 2. It looks like we have ourselves a good ‘ol fashion shootout.
The teams settled down a bit, keeping each other scoreless the next two innings before both teams put one more run on the board in the 4th inning. After four innings – Club Storm 4, Purple People Eaters 3.
Inning 5 was also fairly quite with no runs scored for ether team but it was not for a lack of trying. Both teams had base runners but the opposing team’s defense proved too strong and no one crossed home plate.
In the 6th inning things changed dramatically for both teams. The Purple People Eaters kept hammering away at Club Storm, who began to fall apart and make some uncharacteristic mistakes. The game was beginning to look like the quarterfinals in 2008 when Club Storm played Liquid Courage close through five innings before starting to commit errors, allowing Liquid Courage to run away with the game. Purple People Eaters scored three runs on Club Storm in the 6th inning putting them ahead 6-4.
Purple People Eaters kept Club Storm scoreless in the 7th inning before scoring two more runs in the bottom of the 7th, putting them further ahead 8-4 heading into the 8th and last inning.
Down four runs with just three outs left in the game, Club Storm tried their best to overcome the run deficit, falling short by three runs.
Final score: Purple People Eaters 8, Club Storm 5
2009 SKA CUP CHAMPION
Congratulations to Purple People Eaters on their first SKA Cup.
2nd PLACE - CLUB STORM
Earning a well-deserved 2nd place in the SKA Tournament of Champions – out of 56 teams – is Club Storm. This is only their second season in SKA. They made it to the Quarterfinals last year and the finals this year. We’ll see what next year has in store.
3rd PLACE - THE LONGBALLS
After losing to Club Storm in the semifinals, The Longballs faced the other semifinals loser, BallDozers, in a game to determine 3rd and 4th place. The Longballs prevailed in the 3rd Place Game, reaching their highest finishing position as well as their first tournament trophy.
4th PLACE - BALLDOZERS
Obviously if The Longballs beat BallDozers in the 3rd Place Game, that automatically makes the BallDozers the 4th place team. Congratulations on a well-played season and tournament. The 4th place finish is the BallDozers’ highest finishing position in just three seasons playing in SKA.
Unfortunately we don't have a team picture of the BallDozers so we put the picture of the BallDozers shaking the hands of The Longballs after losing the 3rd Place Game (they probably prefer we don't put any picture up then).
2009 SKA All-Star Games
Something new this year, given the expansion to 56 teams, was to add another set of all-star games so each all-star would get a chance of some quality playing time.
The format was the All-Stars from the Blue Division playing against the Yellow Division, and the Orange Division All-Stars versus the Red Division All-Stars.
The winners from each game faced each other, as did the losers, all in an attempt to see which division is the “best.”
Based on the format, it looks as if the Red Division came out on top, winning both their games, while the Yellow and Orange finished 1-1, and the poor Blue Division finished 0-2.
Game 1:
Yellow Division - 7
Blue Division - 5
Game 2:
Red Division - 14
Orange Division - 8
Game 3:
Orange Division - 10
Blue Division - 5
Game 4:
Red Division - 8
Yellow Division - 7
All-Star Games Highlights
Tim Crawford, captain of Shot to the Balls and the Red Division All-Stars, is 3-1 lifetime as an All-Star Coach. Tim previously served as a division all-star coach a few seasons ago, winning that game. So if Tim never makes it in the kickball hall of fame as a player he may get in as a coach.
Matt Riggins of the Ghostrunners, a rookie this year, made his first all-star game appearance for the winning Red Division. Matt started the game with a lead-off homerun. Pretty impressive!
Adam Ketterer, from A Team Named ‘Sue,’ kicked a three-run homerun in his first at bat to bring the Red Division back from a three-run deficit and tie the game against the Orange Division. Adam started the rally that carried the Red Division to 14-8 win.
2009 SKA ALL-STARS
Red Division All-Stars
Blue Division All-Stars
Yellow Division All-Stars
Orange Division All-Stars
2009 SKA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
The results of the Saturday and Sunday tournament games are below.
SATURDAY MAY 16 TOURNAMENT BRACKET
SUNDAY MAY 17 TOURNAMENT BRACKET
THANK YOU
SKA wants to thank all the people that helped make the tournament a success, especially the Alcoballics (see below). Without these friends helping us, Michelle and I would never be able to put on the tournament.
(In alphabetical order, by first name)
Brian ‘BT’ Thilenius (Purple People Eaters)
Dessa Williams (Alcoballics)
Dixie Benge (Kick ‘em Where it Counts)
John Hellige (Texas Walker Rangers)
John Keaveny (Alcoballics)
Kent Defosset (Kick ‘em Where it Counts)
Kim Counce (Alcoballics)
Kristin Tunis (Alcoballics)
Lara Anderson (Alcoballics)
Leslie Keaveny (Alcoballics)
Ryan Maher (Club Storm)
Sarah Grantham (Alcoballics)
Steven Hawkins (Texas Walker Rangers)
And finally, thank you to the 56 teams that played in our 10th season. Without you there wouldn’t be a SKA.
2009 SKA SEASON - FINAL RESULTS
First place in each division was up for grabs on the last week of the regular season on May 10. The results of those games and a list of the eventual 2009 division champions is below.
Red Division
In one of the “games of the week,” the 12-1 Shot to the Balls defeated the 11-1-1 Ghostrunners 5-4. The defeat for the Ghostrunners eliminated their chance to capture their fourth division title (2003, 2004, 2005). The loss also dropped Ghostrunners from 2nd to 4th in the final standings in the Red Division.
Ah, but don’t cry for the Ghostrunners. They’ve amassed an impressive 90-18-2 (.818) overall league record since joining the league 8 seasons ago. They’ll bounce back.
The win for Shot to the Balls marks their first division championship.
Shot to the Balls, in their fourth SKA season, have improved each season, going from 8 wins in their first two seasons to 12-2 last year and now 13-1 this year. Way to go.
Blue Division
Also a first time division winner, and the second-place team in last year’s tournament, the Purple People Eaters went 12-1-1 overall to capture the Blue Division championship.
The Purple People Eaters are in their third season and have no fewer than 10 victories each season. They also have a very impressive overall league record of 35-5-2 (.833).
A shout out also goes to the Kitshickers who won their first game of the season on Sunday. Apparently they anticipated a win as I noticed they brought cupcakes to the field (I love cupcakes).
[No picture of Purple People Eaters with their Blue Division Trophy. See picture of team above with the SKA Cup]
Yellow Division
In another “game of the week,” undefeated 13-0 Team Zedonk! took on 12-1 Thunder Thighs to determine the Yellow Division winner.
In what can probably only be described as heartbreaking, Team Zedonk! lost the game, perfect record, and Yellow Division championship on one play in the 7th inning, allowing Thunder Thighs to score from third base and win the game 4-3.
A victory for Team Zedonk! would have enabled them to win their first division championship. Instead, Thunder Thighs captured their third division championship (2006, 2008, 2009).
Despite the loss, Team Zedonk! is well-positioned for the tournament, having scored 121 runs and giving up just 22 runs, second behind Liquid Courage.
Orange Division
Liquid Courage needed to win both their games on Sunday to retain first place in the orange division, a position they’ve held all season. They managed to do so and win their first division championship, which is hard to believe considering how consistently good they’ve been over the years. But I double checked, it’s their first.
Not only did Liquid Courage win the Orange Division championship, they also ended up with the best overall record in the league at 13-0-1, and thus will be seeded #1 in the tournament. Congratulations. You deserve it.
And as if the riches couldn’t get any bigger for Liquid Courage, they also gave up only 15 runs all season – in 14 games! Holy shit, that’s amazing.
2009 SKA DIVISION CHAMPIONS
Red Division
Team: Shot to the Balls
Record: 13-1-0
Runs Scored: 135
Runs Allowed: 32
Blue Division
Team: Purple People Eaters
Record: 12-1-1
Runs Scored: 162
Runs Allowed: 36
Yellow Division
Team: Thunder Thighs
Record: 13-1-0
Runs Scored: 134
Runs Allowed: 31
Orange Division
Team: Liquid Courage
Record: 13-0-1
Runs Scored: 150
Runs Allowed: 15
2009 SKA STATS
Ever wonder how many people are "officially" in the league? Ever curious how many women versus men are in the league? What about individual teams? Well wonder no more folks because that information is now available.
It may come as a surprise to many out there that women make up 49.4% of all the players in the league, only because it seems like more men than women play each week. But this isn't surprising to us since this is a co-ed league. This figure is in-line with past years.
This year we have 1,168 players signed up to play kickball in SKA. The unofficial number is probably closer to 1,300, but who's counting.
Toe Jamz take home the fictional prize for the largest roster with 36 players, and I think about half show up every week!
The smallest confirmed roster (that's actually how many players they have) goes to Club Storm with 14 players (7 men and 7 women). Maybe that's what makes them so efficient.
Now these are numbers for people who signed the individual roster/waiver forms. We know there are more who did not (rule breakers).
2009 SKA TEAM ROSTER NUMBERS
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