Lightning Fastpitch

2010 ISC World Tournament (Midland, MI)

2010-08-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

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

2010-08-08T19:00:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-06T19:00:00.003-04:00

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

2010-06-20T19:00:00.007-04:00

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

2010-06-13T19:00:00.007-04:00

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

2010-05-31T19:00:00.007-04:00

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

2010-05-04T19:00:00.005-04:00

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

2010-04-30T19:01:00.002-04:00

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.

2010 Tournament Schedule

2010-04-30T19:00:00.001-04:00

Coldwater- Early Bird (5/1)

Bay City- Riverfront Shootout (5/29)

Midland- Boulevard Lounge (6/12)

Decatur, IL- Decatur Shootout (6/19)

Petoskey- Marquardt Inv. (7/3)

Frankenmuth- Schwab Memorial (7/17)

South Bend, IN- ASA Major (8/7)

Midland- ISC World (8/14)

***Other tournaments may be added at a later date***

2009 ASA CLASS "A" NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

2009-09-07T19:00:00.043-04:00

Decatur, IL

The Lightning defeated the host team, Decatur Pride, 3-2 in the opening game of the tournament in front of a nice crowd. The Lightning then picked up a 2-0 victory over KC Lee's Sports and defeated New Image 2-0 in the winner's bracket final on Saturday. New Image made it back to the championship on Sunday and the game was scoreless heading into the 7th inning thanks to an unbelievable leaping catch by Brian Skirka over the center field fence to bring back a home run ball. (Picture below)

The 7th inning was delayed due to lightning for about an hour until the rain came and made the fields unplayable. The Lightning were declared National Champions based on their unbeaten record and previous victory over New Image.

All-American award winners for the Lightning were Matt Shook (catcher), Adam Saylor (outfield), Chad Knox (second base)and Sean Kelly (pitcher). Sean Kelly was also named the Most Valuable Player.

Link for picture gallery from championship game
Link for game summaries
Link for complete bracket
Link for article from Decatur newspaper
Link for final order of finish
Link for tournament awards

Lightning Finish 2nd at NAFA AA Major

2009-08-10T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning went 4-1 in Bay City, MI to finish 2nd at the NAFA AA Major World Series. This included wins over Keating's Fitness 6-4 (Wilkes-Barre, PA), Tiffany's Food & Spirits 3-2 (Frankenmuth, MI), Hickson Reds 3-0 (Hickson, ON) and Twisters 9-2 (Midland, MI). The Lightning lost the championship game against New Image 2-0 (Montfort, WI).

All-American Awards:

Chris Rivard
Trevor Kelly
Steve Myers
Sean Kelly (Most Valuable Pitcher)

Link for full tournament results

South Bend Results

2009-08-03T19:00:00.001-04:00

The Lightning had a tough draw for the ASA Major National Championship in South Bend, IN. We lost the first game of the tournament 6-0 to Broken Bow/Patsy's from Broken Bow, NE. Broken Bow won the 2007 & 2008 ASA Major National Championships . Next, the Lightning lost to Ashland Stock Pack 3-2. The Lightning were then knocked out of the tournament by the eventual 2009 ASA Major National Champions, The Farm Tavern from Madison, WI, by a score of 3-0. The Farm lost their first game of the tournament and then won 10 in a row to win the championship.

Link for full tournament results

Frankenmuth Results

2009-07-20T19:00:00.005-04:00

The Lightning finished in 2nd place this weekend behind the Alvinston Indians from Alvinston, ON at the 16 team Schwab Memorial Tournament in Frankenmuth, MI. The Lightning went 2-1 in pool play with wins over Gillies (10-0)from Midland, MI and DC Current (8-1) from Bremen, IN. The Lightning then defeated the Blues (3-1) from Hastings, MI in the first round of the single elimination bracket on Sunday followed by a victory over Stockpack (8-0) from Ashland, OH and a close 1-0 loss tothe Alvinston Indians in the championship game.

Link for full tournament results

Trevor Kelly was named the Most Valuable Hitter

Petoskey Results

2009-07-06T19:00:00.006-04:00

The Lightning won the 2009 Class A/B State Tournament in Petoskey, MI with a record of 4-0. The Lightning beat Tiffany's Food & Spirits 6-2, Homer Fast Pitch 1-0, Alchin's Disposal 1-0 and The Blues 7-0. This was the Lightning's 5th State Championship in the last seven years.

Award Winners:

Trevor Kelly- Most Valuable Player
Ryan Saylor- Most Valuable Infielder
Sean Kelly- Most Valuable Pitcher

Link for full tournament results at MASA District 21 web site

Link for Marshall Advisor article

Rice Lake Results

2009-06-22T19:00:00.002-04:00

The Lightning went 4-2 this weekend and finished in 3rd place at Rice Lake, WI. We won our first two games Saturday against The Bar of Appleton (Appleton, WI) 8-1 and ASB Villard (St. Paul, MN) 7-6 in 9 innings. We then faced New Image (Montfort, WI)and lost a close game 2-1. On Sunday we beat The Bar of Appleton again (3-2) and then Jordan Realty (St. Paul, MN) 8-4 and finally lost to the Minnesota Angels (Waverly, MN) 7-4. New Image ended up beating the Angels 6-4 in the championship game. This was a very well run tournament consisting of 12 teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.

All Tournament Team:

Bill Kunkel
BJ Gulick
Sean Kelly

Link for full tournament results at Wisconsin NAFA web site

Argentina Exhibition Game

2009-06-11T19:00:00.004-04:00

The Lightning would like to thank the Argentina National team for visiting Coldwater on June 10th. Argentina won the exhibition game by a score of 6-1. There was a nice crowd at Waterworks Park and they got to see some quality fast pitch softball.

We would like to thank SpeedshifterS Wheel Club, Coldwater Family Dentistry, and BluFish Consulting for helping to sponsor this event.

Link for Argentina Softball Blog

Twister Invitational

2009-05-25T19:00:00.001-04:00

The Lightning won the Twister Invitational in Bay City, MI.

Awards:

Sean Kelly- Most Valuable Pitcher

Link for full results

Early Bird Results

2009-05-11T19:00:00.003-04:00

The Lightning won the Early Bird Tournament in Coldwater, MI.

Awards:

Brian Skirka- Most Valuable Hitter
Sean Kelly- Most Valuable Pitcher

Link for full results

Link for post on Al's Fastball

2008 ASA A National

2008-09-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

The Lightning finished 5th at the 2008 ASA A National in Gladstone, MO.

2008 Michigan ASA A/B State Champions

2008-07-27T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning won the 2008 Michigan ASA A/B State Championship in Coldwater, MI.

Lightning Host Argentina National Team

2008-07-15T19:00:00.001-04:00

The Lightning hosted the Argentina National Team last night in Coldwater for an exhibition game.

Lightning Finish 2nd at Schwab Memorial in Frankenmuth

2008-07-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning finished 2nd at the Schwab Memorial Tournament in Frankenmuth.

2008 Coldwater Early Bird Tournament Champions

2008-05-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning won the 2008 Coldwater Early Bird Tournament in Coldwater, MI.

ASA "A" National Results

2007-09-03T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning finished 9th at the ASA "A" National in Rockford, IL.

2007 ISC World Tournament Results

2007-08-18T19:00:00.000-04:00

The Lightning competed in the 2007 ISC World Tournament in Kitchener, ON.

Lightning Finish 9th at ASA Major in South Bend

2007-08-05T19:00:00.001-04:00

The Lightning finished 9th at the the ASA Major in South Bend, IN.