OKLAHOMA CITY – The final game of the 2023 USA Softball Men’s Class B Slow Pitch National Championship came down to the wire as Stoop/Schmidt Roofing reigned victorious in the 25-23, nail-biting battle against Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF. The undefeated squad dominated throughout the tournament with five-straight wins and 120 runs scored in pursuit of the prestigious title.
Stoop/Schmidt Roofing entered the Championship contest through the winner’s bracket with a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament after opening up with a 21-19 victory over Comatose/S2N/Monsta on Friday, Sept. 1 at 12 p.m. CT. The squad advanced to face Dirty Vegas/Steel/Envy, pulling out the 29-28 victory before capping the night with a 21-18 win over The Herd. Claiming its spot in the winner’s bracket semi-final matchup on Saturday morning, Stoop/Schmidt Roofing came to play in the back-and-forth battle, walking it off in the seventh with a solo shot to center field to defeat Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF, 24-23, and move on to the title game.
Rolling through the tournament with a 4-1 overall record, Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF kicked off its run with a 37-29 win over Northwoods Elite/Pure in Friday’s noon matchup before claiming back-to-back wins over JEC/Kevitt/P5 Sports and Ductech/Budweiser to advance to the semi-final game against Stoop/Schmidt Roofing on Saturday morning. The squad suffered its first loss in the nail-biting matchup, dropping to the loser’s bracket before bouncing back with a 38-19 victory against The Herd to clinch a spot in the title game for a rematch against Stoop/Schmidt Roofing.
Staying hot after a loser’s bracket semi-final win, Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF came out swinging with a solo blast to left to start the game followed by three singles, a double and three home runs to tally eight runs on the board after a half inning of play. Responding with five runs of its own in the bottom of the first, Stoop/Schmidt Roofing cranked out three singles, a double and two home runs to close the gap, 8-5, heading into the second inning. Each team put up three runs in the second inning with Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF tacking on two more in the top of the third before Stoop/Schmidt Roofing opened up with an offensive explosion with nine runs on two outs to take the lead, 17-13, after three. Proving to be another competitive game between the two squads, Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF quickly answered back with a handful of base hits capped with a three-run shot over the left field fence to pull ahead 18-17. The lead didn’t last long, however, as Stoop/Schmidt Roofing led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to tie the game before the Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF defense shut it down – limiting the damage to one run.
Situational hitting from Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF in the top of the fifth paid off as a walk, single and a fly out put runners in scoring position – allowing a groundout and a double up the middle to plate two and break the tie. The pinball continued to bounce as Stoop/Schmidt Roofing came back with three to take the lead once again with a 21-20 score in the fifth while Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF also plated three in the top of the sixth to steal back the lead as the end of the game drew near. Coming down to the wire, Stoop/Schmidt Roofing passed the bat with four singles, a triple and a walk to string together four runs and pull ahead by two. Despite a single from Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF in the top of the seventh, the Stoop/Schmidt Roofing defense kept runners off the base paths, making three quick outs to close out the game and seal the 25-23 victory and claim the 2023 USA Softball Men’s Class B Slow Pitch National Championship title.
Stoop/Schmidt Roofing put up impressive numbers throughout the weekend, staying consistent with a .625 team batting average and a .626 on-base percentage. A 1.157 slugging percentage saw the squad crank out a total of 155 hits with 91 singles, 28 doubles, four triples and 32 home runs through five games played – remaining as the only undefeated squad through the two-day tournament.
The Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF offense also stayed hot with a batting average of .638 on 187 hits – including 106 singles, 37 doubles, three triples and 41 home runs. The runner-up squad tallied 179 runs through six games played while recording a .672 on-base percentage and reaching first via a walk 36 times.
2023 Men’s Class B Slow Pitch First Team All-Americans:
Anthony Acevedo (Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF) – IF
Hunter Gomez (Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF) – IF
Brady Marsh (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing) – IF
Zach Ranta (Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF) – IF
Erik Zentzis (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing) – IF
Joseph Capparelli (Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF) – OF
Jagger Harjo (The Herd) – OF
Ryan Lindgren (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing) – OF
Seth Vanwyk (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing) – OF
Matt Carney (The Herd) – UT
Kyle Clark (The Herd) – UT
Terry Lambright (RoofX/Revolution Athletics) – UT
Jason Madsen (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing) – UT
Brandon Yoder (RoofX/Revolution Athletics) – UT
Mitch Carriger (Chosen/Thunder/Beloli/RF) – P
2023 Men’s Class B Slow Pitch Second Team All-Americans:
Justin Barber (Ductech/Budweiser) – IF
Alex Bremer (JEC/Kevitt/P5 Sports) – IF
Erik Hilgren (Comatose/S2N/Monsta) – IF
Josh Marlowe (Ductech/Budweiser) – IF
Zack Woodside (Comatose/S2N/Monsta) – IF
Tristan Johnston (Comatose/S2N/Monsta) – OF
Chad McCarty (Ductech/Budweiser) – OF
Eric O’Connell (JEC/Kevitt/P5 Sports) – OF
Matthew Stefanski (Comatose/S2N/Monsta) – OF
Nick Lemke (The Herd) – UT
Cory Neugebauer (Ductech/Budweiser) – UT
Scott Novak (JEC/Kevitt/P5 Sports) – UT
Seth Sullwold (JEC/Kevitt/P5 Sports) – UT
John Mark Troyer (RoofX/Revolution Athletics) – UT
Richard Buck (Comatose/S2N/Monsta) – P
Most Valuable Player: Ryan Lindgren (Stoop/Schmidt Roofing)
Batting Champion: Richard Buck (Comatose/S2N/Monsta)
HR Champions: Jake Freeman (Ductech/Budweiser), Jeremy Fry (RoofX/Revolution Athletics), Zack Woodside (Comatose/S2N/Monsta)
Twenty teams battled it out in the Men’s Class B Slow Pitch National Championship Sept. 1-2 as the focus now turns to Class A action set to take place Sunday and Monday, Sept. 3-4. A total of 18 teams will take the field tomorrow at 9 a.m. CT with double-elimination bracket play running through Monday afternoon – closing out Labor Day weekend with the title game set for 12 p.m. CT and the “if-necessary” game taking place at 1:30 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow the action with free live stats and streaming on USASoftball.com. Parking – along with entry for children ages five and under – is free for the event while tickets will be available to purchase on-site starting at $10 for a daily pass and $30 for a weekend pass (Fri. – Mon.). Tournament t-shirts will be sold at the front gate of the complex for $20 each, and the National Softball Hall of Fame Museum and gift shop will be open for fans on both Sunday (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.) and Monday (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.).