Nike Outlaws News-2010
Good Times, Bad Times in Atlanta
(7/24/10) The Outlaws took their game to Atlanta to challenge the best of the best in the Perfect Game Wood Bat Tournament. In the end, there were good times (two wins), bad times (a blowout loss) and some so-so times (two close losses). Sometimes the hitting, fielding and pitching were excellent, and sometimes not. The bottom line is that while the Outlaws did not achieve all of their goals down in Atlanta, they did some good things and learned a lot about where their strenghts and weaknesses lay. Good defensive games were vs the Teaneck Titans, the East Cobb Dodgers, and the Rochester Grays. Good offensive games were against the Virginia Canes and the East Cobb Dodgers, and good pitching games were at times against all of the opponents, and other times not. In the end, the Outlaws had a good season against some very tough competition, and this will help a lot down the road.
Outlaws Rally at Illinois State
(7/10/10) The Outlaws went 3-1 in the Illinois State Redbirds Tournament in Bloomington, Illinois. The first game vs. the Midwest Hawks saw the Outlaws recover from a 6-0 deficit after 5 innings to tie the game with three runs in the bottom of the 6th and then win the game with a walk-off homer in the 7th to win 8-6. The Outlaws never really got going against the Dupage Legion team and lost 12-2, effectively knocking them out of the running in the tournament. However, they staged another rally coming back from deficits of 4-1 and 5-3, scoring another walk-off home run victory in 8 innings, 8-6. Finally, against the Illinois Voodoo they blew a 7-1 lead but wound up winning 12-9 with the tying run at the plate. Some wild games over the weekend!
Outlaws Roughed Up, Chicago Style
(7/4/10) The Outlaws came out of Chicago, loosely defined as fields within 2 hours of the city, with a 1-3 record. They fairly breezed through the first game against the Illinois Predators that had them score 7 runs in the first inning en route to a 13-4 pasting. But that would be most of the run-scoring for the weekend.
In the second game of pool play, the Outlaws were shut out for the first time since 2008, 10-0. Not much to say about this one since they were one-hit and made numerous mistakes. The last game of pool play was close for a time, but eventually mistakes took their toll again and they lost 6-1 to the Winnetka Tide.
The Outlaws were relegated to a consolation game, and despite out-hitting Easton Illinois 6-3, they lost the game 6-3.
Outlaws Lose, Then Find the Luck of the Irish
(6/26/10) The Outlaws went 2-2 in South Bend, IN this past weekend. They did not advance to the knockout round of the tournament, but did show they they can compete at the elite 16U level if they eliminate mistakes.
The first game against a team from Madison, WI had the Outlaws take, then lose a 6-1 lead. The game see-sawed from there and eventually Madison scored two in the bottom of the 7th to prevail 11-10. In the second game against the powerful Indiana Chargers at Notre Dame stadium, the Outlaws scored two in the first but gave up 10 unearned runs bottom of the inning. All 11 runs Indiana scored were unearned, but the Outlaws made a game of it, eventually losing 11-6.
The second day proved much better for the Outlaws. They overmatched the Indiana Vipers 10-5 in the early game with power and pitching. The last game ironically matched the Outlaws against the 16U St Louis Gamers Grey. After going down 5-1 early, the Outlaws rallied to beat them in 7 innings, 7-6.
Great hitting, decent pitching and poor fielding adds up to a 2-2 mark for the weekend. It could have been better, but this was a good learning experience at an institution of higher learning!
Outlaws Hang Tough at SLU
(6/21/10) The Outlaws went 3-2 in the curiously-named SLU Tournament this past weekend with good pitching against some tough opponents. The first two games in pool play the Outlaws breezed past the Gamers Blue (9-1) and the Memphis Batters Box (11-1). They next met their counterpart, A Game Outlaws and outlasted them 9-7. Their final pool game was against a team the Outlaws already played, the St. Louis Raiders. In a darkness-shortened game they fell 5-2. Brandon Minor pitched all the way and only gave up two earned runs.
The last game saw the Outlaws Moore and Huesmann strike out ten and give up three runs, all unearned. The Outlaws fell 3-1 with the tying run at the plate, a great result against a very tough 16U team.
Mixed Results in Arkansas
(6/13) The Outlaws travelled to Fayetteville, Arkansas this past weekend in a showcase featuring 15U and 16U teams. In the first game against AEP Millhouse of Kansas City, the Outlaws built a 9-1 lead and hung on to win 9-8 in seven. The second game featured the Dallas Patriots, and Josh Moore struck out 14 to erase them 12-2. In the third game, the Outlaws took a 4-3 lead in the third inning on Brandon Minor's three-run homer, but eventually got slammed 14-4. Finally, the top Dallas Patriots team walked away with an 11-2 victory over the Outlaws. Tough pitching competition and a long journey, but the Outlaws are hanging in there.
Outlaws Slammed at SLU
(6/6) The Outlaws were 2-2 in the Pastime Tournament at SLU this past weekend. Two convincing wins over the St. Louis Sox (14-1) and the American National Eagles (10-2) were bracketed by a pool play loss to the Evansville Huskies (8-4) and the Raiders (9-1). This was the only the second time in two years the Outlaws have not finished first or second in a tournament.
Co-Champs In Forest Park
(5/31) The Nike Outlaws opened the summer with a first place finish in their own PAL Invitational Tournament held in Forest Park. The Outlaws took the first two pool play games over the Johnny Mac Thunder (10-0) and a surprisingly-tough St. Louis Browns squad. In elimination play the Outlaws steamrolled the American National Eagles 11-1. They were down 4-3 in the third inning to the Mizuno Eagles before erupting for 6 runs in the bottom of the frame to take a commanding 9-4 lead, eventually winning 13-8.
In the semis, the Outlaws were down 1-0 after 1.5 innings, but cruised to a 9-1 win on the pitching of Brian Howard and balanced hitting through the lineup.
The final game was rained out, so the Outlaws had to settle for co-championship.
2010 ROSTER SET
The Outlaws have added two new players for 2010, Justin Campbell and Michael Potter. Also, the practice schedule starting December 5th is on the "Schedule" portion of the website. Please check back for updates on tournaments and other news!
Nike Outlaws News-2009
TOURNAMENT NEWS STORIES
July 19, 2009 FINE ENDING TO A FINE SEASON
The Outlaws concluded the 2009 season in fantastic style at the AAYBA World Series tournament in Chesterfield, MO. While rain messed with the early schedule, in the end the Outlaws did what they always have done: get to the Championship game.
Pool play saw the Outlaws beat up on the Hillsboro Hawks 9-1 and the Clinton County Cruisers 9-2. The first elimination game was won on a walk-off home run over the Frankfort Square Raptors after blowing a two-run lead in the 7th, 8-7. The next elimination game was a fairly benign 9-1 win over Highland to get the Outlaws to the semifinal game against the Rawlings A's.
Outlaw fans will note that the A's, long the best team at our age group in St. Louis, have beaten the Outlaws every single time the teams have met over the past 7 years. In fact, this season the Outlaws blew a league game to the A's 11-10 after being up 10-5 in the last inning.
Frustration no more, as the Outlaws annihilated the A's 9-0 in only 5 innings. The Outlaws outpitched, outhit, outran, and out fielded their nemesis. At least on this day, the Outlaws were finally the better team. Surely we will meet again, but there is a long winter to wait for the next time.
The win propelled the Outlaws to their 11th Championship Game in 12 tournaments. Alas, the Naperville Renegades were too much on this day and, after the Outlaws had closed the game to 5-4, the Renegades won it going away, 11-5.
More stats later, baseball fans, but here are a few. The Outlaws only once did not place first or second in 12 completed tournaments, winning 7 of those 11. In 78 games played, they were NEVER shut out. Of the 14 games they lost, they beat those same opponents 6 times. Winning at home is great, but the Outlaws also won in Kansas City, Memphis, Indianapolis, and Columbia.
June 28, 2009 WHAT'S THIS BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH?
The Outlaws played in a variety of O'Fallon, Ill. venues in the Midwest Regional Tournament this past weekend and, for the 10th time this season made the Championship Game. However, for the second consecutive Sunday, they laid an egg.
Wins in the pool round against the Edwardsville Tigers and the Jr. Mustangs put the Outlaws in as the second seed, (or the third seed if you are an incompetent tournament director). In knockout play the Outlaws defeated the Edwardsville Tigers again in a 9-0 game punctuated by a walk-off three-run homer. The semifinal pitted the Outlaws against the tough Rawlings Red Sox, and great pitching and timely hitting produced a 2-1 win.
The final was played against an Illinois Braves team that has lost to the Outlaws twice already this season. Revenge for the Braves was sweet as they scored 4 in the first and 7 in the last to win a laugher 11-1. This does mark the 10th time in 11 tournaments that the Outlaws played in the Championship game, and the motto 'you can't win them all' was certainly evident today...
June 20, 2009 SOUTHERN OPPONENTS GRATEFUL TO OUTLAWS FOR THE ST. LOUIS HOSPITALITY
The Outlaws travelled to Atlanta, Georgia to compete in the Perfect Game major tournament this past weekend. The tournament was stocked with the best major teams the South has to offer, and the Outlaws competed very well in three of the four games they played. Unfortunately, the Outlaws allowed two opponents to literally walk away with wins and failed to advance to the Championship game for the first time this season.
The first game against last year's USSSAA Florida Champion, the Central Florida Jr. Patriots, saw the Outlaws go down 7-3 before rallying to tie 7-7 in the 7th. Unfortunately Florida won the game in the bottom of the 7th. The Outlaws walked 12 batters (2 intentional) and hit two batters, and this stat was tough to overcome.
A different day brought the opposite approach, as the Outlaws carried a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the 6th. Unfortunately, they gave up 4 in the 6th, then tied it in the top of the 7th 7-7, but again gave up the winner again in the bottom of the 7th, 8-7.
The Outlaws used good pitching and great hitting to finally notch a win against Nashville's Hit After Hit Academy, 9-4. In a consolation game the Outlaws laid an egg by walking 10 in their worst loss in years, 9-1 to the Knoxville Stars.
It was a tough trip against excellent competition, and the results could easily have been very different. It was bound to happen sometime!
June 14, 2009: Outlaws Win Outlaws Tourney. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!
The Outlaws won it's 7th out of 9 tournaments, this time by winning their own tournament in Forest Park. The Outlaws pounded the SLABA Eagles 16-0 first. They managed to blow a 6-0 lead but escape with a 6-6 tie with the St. Louis Reds (thanks to superb umpiring and some restraint by Coach Howard). After beating the strong Lee's Summit Dirt Dogs 8-2 and clobbering the Gamers 15-3, the Outlaws were ready for knockout play.
The first round pitted them again against the Gamers, and the Outlaws prevailed 10-1. The tough Illinois Braves were next, and the Outlaws held them off 7-4. The final was against one of the teams to beat the Outlaws this year, the Rawlings Legends. After a scoreless couple of innings, the Outlaws erupted for 7 runs in the 3rd inning and won in convincing fashion, 8-0 after 5 innings. The biggest achievement of the tournament was, perhaps, the fact that the Outlaws kept the opposing 'yaaaays' to an absolute minimum, for which the parents were all very grateful!
Off to Atlanta!
June 7, 2009: OUTLAWS RUN OVALS AROUND INDY
Ok, maybe the racing metaphor doesn't work all that well, but what does work is the Big Hitter Outlaw team at tournament time. For the eighth consecutive tournament, the Outlaws made it to the championship game. And for the 6th time, they came away with the big hardware.
The first couple of games against the US Athletica Nationals and the Lafayette Bronchos, both of Indiana, produced convincing 15-3 wins. The third pool play game was a tight affair against the Chesterton Slammers, but the Outlaws pulled out a 4-2 win.
Championship play found the Outlaws down 2-0 in the 5th inning to the Summit City Storm (yes, the team that knocked the Outlaws out of Cooperstown). The Outlaws rallied for 3 runs in the 6th and pulled out a 3-2 victory. The Outlaws were down 1-0 to the Indiana Irish in the semifinal game until scoring 3 in the 4th and 2 in the fifth to win 5-1. The final pitted the Outlaws against the Michiana Knights, winner of all their previous four tournaments. The Outlaws took a quick 3-0 lead in the first, and the Knights clawed back to 3-2 in the fifth. But the Outlaws shut the door and scored a couple more runs to take the title 5-2.
The Tournament-Tough Outlaws will host teams in Forest Park this weekend. Now if the Outlaws can just figure out how to win in the Chesterfield League, that would really be something!
May 31, 2009: YIKES!
The Outlaws only gave up 15 runs in the entire Founders Tournament this past weekend in Lake St. Louis. Unfortunately, all 15 runs were in the championship game as the Outlaws lost 15-14. Prior to the championship, the Outlaws played almost flawlessly as they beat the Southern Illinios Panthers (9-0), JCBI (3-0), Decatur Commodores (5-0) and they avenged two close losses to the Gateway Tigers by beating them in the semifinal game (8-0).
It looked like the trend would countinue, but the Outlaws could not hold leads of 8-0, 12-9, or 14-13 in the Championship against the Rawlings Redbirds. Apparently the Outlaws saved all their flaws for one game, and they lost in the bottom of the seventh inning to take second place. The Outlaws continue their run of championship appearances, and aside from the tough last game, they continue to play good baseball. Next up: Indinanapolis!
May 24, 2009: NEWS FLASH-WE DIDN'T WIN
For the first time this season, the Outlaws did not win a tournament that was completed. After pounding the South County Rivals and eventually getting past a tough O'Fallon Thunder team, the Outlaws faced the very tough Rawlings Red Sox in the semifinals. Down 1-0, the Outlaws came back and went up 2-1 before being tied 2-2 in the top of the last inning. However, the Outlaws got a bases-loaded infield hit to win the game 3-2.
The Rawlings Legend from southeast Missouri proved too much to handle in the championship as the Outlaws were held to 4 hits and their lowest run total of the season. It was a close 1-0 game through 4 innings, but after a rain delay the Legend scored four and held on to win 5-1. The Outlaws did get lovely 2nd place trophies for the first time this year...
May 10, 2009: FIVE FOR FIVE AT THE POND
The Outlaws gave a gift that only a mother could love: another tournament championship day that started at 7 am and ended at 8:30 pm with a win. Mother's Day 2009 proved to be fruitful for the Outlaws as they extened their tournament-winning streak to 5 in a row.
The Outlaws romped through pool play shutting out three straight opponents (Meramec Valley Falcons 1-0, Gappers 9-0, and St. Gen. Riverdogs 12-0). The semifinal was decidedly more difficult as the Outlaws found themselves down 3-1 in the fourth. They rallied in the last two innings in a game shortenend by time to win 4-3 in their last at bat.
The final came against the Eureka Jr. Wildcats, a team they had barely beaten recently. After going up 4-2, the Outlaws found themselves down 5-4 going into the bottom of the sixth. They rallied to tie and, after a scoreless seventh inning, went to an extra eighth inning to rally for a 6-5 win.
The Outlaws have won all five tournaments they have played that have not been shortened by rain. They seem to save their best for the weekend...
April 26, 2009: OUTLAWS PLAY HARDBALL IN COLUMBIA
The Outlaws made it four for four in tournament play by winning the USSSAA Hardball Classic in Columbia, MO. After sweeping through pool play in efficient fashion by beating Starpath (10-1), Chesterfield Bullets (4-2 in a tight game) and Southwest Pride (7-1), the Outlaws were seeded first for the championship round. They started by first blanking the Falcons 9-0 with excellent pitching and timely hitting.
The Championship game was against a tough Jefferson City Crusaders club. After spotting the Crusaders a 2-0 lead, the Outlaws pulled ahead 4-2. The Crusaders hung tough but were dealt the death blow with a titanic home run and some excellent pitching and fielding to close out the game 9-6. For those scoring at home, the Outlaws are 21-1 in tournament play.
April 5, 2009: OUTLAWS MARCH THROUGH MID SOUTH
The Outlaws took on their toughest challenge of the young season by travelling down to Southaven, Mississippi to take on the best Major teams the Mid South had to offer in "The Best of the South" USSSA tournament.
Saturday's play opened early as the Outlaws hit early and often to overwhelm Team Collierville, 9-1. Their second game against the Memphis Tigers, one of the top teams in the area, was a difficult war of attrition. Tied going into the last inning, Memphis scored the winning run on a bloop single to eke out the victory, 3-2. The last game of the day saw the Outlaws complete pool play with a 9-0 thrashing of Dyersberg River Bandits.
The quarterfinals against a tough Jackson Coyote team, who had previously beaten the Tigers, proved to be no match as the stout pitching and defense carried the game for the Outlaws, 6-1. The Mississippi DC Stars would not quit in the windy semifinal. The Outlaws took a commanding 10-4 lead into the last inning and hung on to win 10-8 with the tying DC run at second base.
The Championship game pitted the Outlaws once again against the Memphis Tigers, the team that had defeated powerhouses Memphis Travelers and Germantown Giants earlier in the day. The Outlaws went down 1-0 and 3-2 before bursting for 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning and 4 more in the bottom of the 5th. Great pitching, defense and relentless offense carried the Outlaws to their third consecutive and most prestigious title so far. They scored 45 runs and gave up only 16 in 6 tournament games. The final score, reached at about 9:30 pm, was 10-3. If you're going to be stuck in Memphis with 30 mile an hour winds in the freezing cold, you might as well win it all to make the drive home a little easier!
March 22, 2009: OUTLAWS OPEN IN GATEWAY CITY
The Big Hitter Outlaws did not have their best stuff on hand but still managed to keep their record perfect and win another tournament, the BC Baseball Gateway City Open in O'Fallon, MO.
The team left its hitting prowess somewhere on the road back from KC, but still managed to win all three of the pool play games. The first, against the Mizuon Reds saw the Outlaws take a 7-1 lead but struggle to win on a walkoff sacrifice bunt to score a man from first. The second game, a 5-4 win against the St. Charles Rush, again had the good guys take a 4-1 lead only to be tied but eventually eke out the victory. The last pool game was a struggle as the team needed all seven innings to scratch out a 2-1 victory over the Patriots.
In the knockout round the team used some timely hitting, aggressive baserunning, and finally solid defense to overwhelm the Warriors 9-1. The Championship game saw the team lose a 4-1 lead and fall behind 5-4 in the 5th inning. In the end, the cream rose to the top and the determined Outlaws scored 8 runs in the 5th and 6th to close it out for another championship, 12-5.
March 15, 2009: OUTLAWS DEFROST KC
The Big Hitter Outlaws burst out of the gate for 2009 with a four-game sweep in Shawnee Mission, Kansas to win the Iceberg Open. A huge offensive showing, strong pitching and good defense were all part of the equation as the Outlaws put their months of practice to good use.
They opened the season by overwhelming the BC Giants in four innings, 15-1. The Outlaws pounded out 15 hits and yielded only 3 in the win. In the next game versus the KC Prospects they opened up a 5-1 lead and eventually closed the game 6-4 in 6 innings. Sunday morning the hit parade continued against the Missouri Heat when the Outlaws scored 10 runs on 13 more hits for a 10-5 win.
The Championship game brought back the KC Prospects. The Outlaws opened the game with 4 straight doubles and they built a 7-1 lead after 2 innings. Excellent pitching and defense, and some creatively aggressive baserunning helped them close out the game with a 9-4 win. All in all, an impressive start!
