2010 ISC World Tournament (Midland, MI)

The Lightning finished the tournament with a 4-4 record. The four victories were against the Shakespeare Falcons (4-3), Quyon Flyers (5-1), Cobourg Force (3-0) and Bakersfield Silverhawks (3-1). The four losses (3 of them coming by just 1 run) were against the Kitchener Rivershark Twins (4-0), Ingersoll Crush (4-3), Pete's Blues (2-1) and Wellington Sox (1-0). It's a bit of a disappointing end to a very successful season. Full results from the tournament can be found on the ISC website. Trevor Kelly led the team in hitting for the tournament with .400 average (8/20). Sean Kelly went 3-3 on the mound with a 1.44 ERA. This will be the final tournament for the Lightning team this season.

Lightning Finish 4th at ASA Major

     The Lightning had a great weekend at the ASA Major National Championship in South Bend, IN. The opening game was a 7-0 victory over the Anderson Lawmen of Anderson, IN followed by a 2-1 victory over the ISC #13 ranked Minnesota Angels. The Lightning then faced the defending ISC Champion Kitchener Rivershark Twins and dropped a 9-0 decision. Kitchener went on to win the tournament with an 11-2 victory over the Broken Bow Travelers. The next game for the Lightning was a 2-0 victory over the ISC #6 ranked Midland Explorers. The Lightning finally scratched out 2 runs in the top of the ninth inning off of All-American pitcher Frank Cox to earn the victory. The following game also lasted nine innings as the Lightning were eliminated from the tournament in a rematch with the Minnesota Angels by a score of 1-0. The Angels pitcher, Mitch Hardy, did not allow a hit in the game.
     This was the best finish for the Lightning in three appearances at the ASA Major Tournament and a great step up after winning the Class A National Championship in 2009. The Lightning finished ahead of several teams that have much bigger budgets and bring in players from all over the world. Adam Saylor was named 2nd Team All-American as an outfielder (5 for 15, .333 avg) and Sean Kelly was named 1st Team All-American after pitching all 5 games for the Lightning (3-2 record, 35 2/3 IP, 2.16 ERA, 41K).

Tournament Website

Schwab Memorial Tournament in Frankenmuth

The Lightning finished second at the Pete Schwab Memorial Tournament this weekend in Frankenmuth. For the third year in a row they faced the Alvinston Indians in the final and lost a one run game. The Lightning finished the weekend with a record of 5-1 including victories over the ISC #17 ranked Alvinston Indians (3-0), ISC #26 ranked Ashland Stockpack (2-0), Munger Volunteers (7-0), Jack Daniels (2-0) and Goshen Gators (5-2). Chris Rivard was named the Most Valuable Hitter in the tournament after coming up with several big hits including a 2-run homer in the championship game. The Lightning will have the next two weekends off before travelling to South Bend, IN for the ASA Major Championship.

Full tournament results are posted at Al's Fastball

Lightning Win Marquardt Memorial Tournament

The Lightning won the Marquardt Memorial Tournament in Petoskey for the 2nd straight year. On Saturday the Lightning defeated the Goshen Gators 8-0, Up-to-Date Painting 9-0, and Tiffany's Food & Spirits 3-0. The championship game on Sunday was a rematch against Tiffany's and the Lightning came away with a 7-0 victory. Bill Kunkel was named the Most Outstanding Outfielder for the tournament (.444 avg, HR). Sean Kelly was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher (3-0, 14IP, 0R, 3H, 26K's, 1BB). A recap of the tournament is posted at the MASA District 21 website and there was also an article in the Petoskey News Review. There is also another article and some great pictures at the UpNorth- Sports Blog. The next tournament for the Lightning will be in Frankenmuth on July 16-18.

Rough Weekend in Decatur, IL

The Lightning dropped 3 close games after winning their opening game in Decatur.  The weekend started with a 7-0 victory over Pete's Blues. The Lightning then dropped a 5-4 decision to the Belleville Stallions in 8 innings and lost 2-0 to Aurora Dolan & Murphy (ISC #17) in their final game of pool play. The Decatur Pride (ISC #9) knocked off the Lightning 2-1 in 8 innings on Sunday morning. The leading hitters for the weekend were Sean Kelly (5/9, 3B) and Brian Skirka (3/8, HR). The leading pitchers were Sean Kelly (1-2 record, 20 2/3 innings, 2 ER, 42 K's, 8 hits) and Josh Gray (0-1 record, 7 1/3 innings, 3 ER, 6 K's, 6 hits). Josh Gray and Craig Scott from the Duncan Outlaws helped the Lightning out this weekend. The next scheduled tournament is in Petoskey over the July 4th weekend.


Tournament Wrap-up
Story from Decatur Herald & Review
Tournament Preview Story

Lightning Fall in Semi-Finals of Midland Tournament

The Lightning traveled to Midland, Mi this weekend to compete in the Boulevard Lounge Tournament featuring some of the top teams in the world.  The Lightning finished 3rd in Pool A with a 1-2 record.   This included a win over the Owen Sound Jr. Selects (2-1) and losses to ISC #4 ranked Chicago/NY (1-0) and the ISC #6 ranked Midland Explorers (4-1).  In the single elimination bracket on Sunday the Lightning knocked off the #2 seed from Pool B, Mickey's Sleds (2-1), before falling to the Midland Explorers in the semi-finals (5-3).  The Chicago/NY Dominicana team defeated the Midland Explorers in the Championship game of the tournament.  The Lightning will travel to Decatur, IL next weekend for the Decatur Shootout.


Full results are posted HERE

Lightning Win Shootout, Qualify for World Tournament

The Lightning went 5-0 this weekend to win the Bay City Riverfront Shootout and earn a spot in the ISC World Tournament that will be held August 13-21 in Midland.  The Lightning defeated Jack Daniels (8-3), Etobicoke Royals (8-0), Munger (4-0), ISC #43 ranked Shaw Chiropractic (8-1) and ISC #17 ranked Ashland StockPack (9-2) in the final.  This is the 2nd year in a row that the Lightning have won the Riverfront Shootout.  

Adam Saylor was named the Most Valuable Player after going 11 for 18 at the plate with 5 triples and 7 RBI.  Sean Kelly was named the Most Valuable Pitcher with a 5-0 record, 27 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 13 hits allowed and 51 strikeouts.

Lightning Win Coldwater Early Bird Tournament

The Lightning finished their first tournament of the season with a 5-0 record and a 1st place finish.  This is the 3rd year in a row that the Lightning have won the Coldwater Early Bird Tournament to start the season.  In the first game the Lightning defeated Neitzert's/Kelly's by a score of 2-1.  They then defeated the Hastings Blues (6-4), Wright Way Tree Co. (11-7), Crouch Electric (6-5), and the Duncan Outlaws (6-4).  Lee Noel picked up the first two victories on the mound and Trevor Kelly pitched the final three games.  Trevor Kelly was named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament.  Adam Saylor was named the Most Valuable Hitter of the tournament (.444 avg, 2HR, 6RBI).

Link for full tournament results

2010 Season

The Lightning will compete in the Coldwater Softball League (24 games) as well as several tournaments this year. The Lightning will also enter a team in the Eaton Rapids League. The Eaton Rapids team will consist of several new players and a few members of the Lightning tournament team. The Lightning will begin their season at the Coldwater Early Bird tournament April 30th-May 2nd.