2004 Youth Benefit Tournament, March 27-28

U.S. EXPORTERS NEARLY NO-HIT FREE TRADERS AT YOUTH BENEFIT TOURNEY!

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Kelvin Foreman Finished Off The Free Traders With Historic Shutout ----------

Andrew Kessler Ruins No-Hitter With Clutch Base Hit A "Kessler Break?" ----------

Greg Mecher Pitched First Inning Of Free Traders Shutout ~ Now On Loan To Chicago ~ ----------


For the third time in three years, the U.S.
Exporters defeated the Free Traders in their
traditional Youth Benefit Tournament 
confrontation.

This time the U.S. Exporters team dominated the 
game by a score of 10-0, and was only two outs 
away from scoring a no-hitter against the Free 
Traders!

With one out in the top of the fifth (and final)
inning, Andrew Kessler saved the day for the Free
Traders by swatting a solid shot up the middle
for a single to break up the no-hitter.

Perhaps, since Andrew has already coined the phrase 
"Kessler Split" (defined as a win and a tie in a 
double header), the Free Traders can call this new 
situation a "Kessler Break."  

Has a nice ring to it.

Pitchers Greg Mecher and Kelvin Foreman of the U.S.
Exporters combined to earn the historic shutout.

John Gulisano debuted as the new field manager of
the U.S. Exporters and comported himself well 
despite some late personnel arrivals and some
unclear umpire calls during the long weekend 
tournament.

See the results and tournament stats below!

Greg Mecher Leaving For Chicago
Because the political silly season has heated up
earlier than usual this presidential election year,
U.S. Exporters' Best Glove outfielder Greg Mecher
has been selected by the Democratic National 
Committee to carry out some essential fund raising 
work in Chicago this year.

As a result, Greg will be forced to miss the 2004 
softball season.

"This is a great opportunity for me," Greg told 
team general manager Jay Hatfield after the Humble
Flies game on Sunday.

We all wish Greg the best of luck in this new 
endeavor, and look forward to seeing him back 
in town after the Republican victory in the fall.


                          U.S. EXPORTERS RESULTS

SAT  3/27    9:00   Virginia H/L #4  Shooters               (T,  9- 9)
SAT  3/27   11:00   Virginia H/L #4  Consolidated Const.    (W, 12- 2)
SAT  3/27   12:00   Virginia H/L #4  Owls                   (W, 21- 9)


SUN  3/28    9:00   Virginia H/L #3  Free Traders           (W, 10- 0)
SUN  3/28   11:00   Virginia H/L #3  Old Corps              (L,  3-27)
SUN  3/28    1:00   Virginia H/L #4  Humble Flies           (W, 15-14)
SUN  3/28    3:00   Virginia H/L #3  Harvey's Wallbangers   (L,  6-14)

                    (Final Tournament Batting Stats)

BATTING             G AB  R  H 2 3 H RB W S E  AVG  OB%  SLG GW DP K PA
Boudreau, Mark      5 17  3  6 1 0 0  3 0 0 1  353  412  412  0 0  0 17 
Callahan, John      4 13  5  9 3 0 2 11 0 0 0  692  692 1385  0 0  1 13 
Cohen, Erik         3  9  1  2 2 0 0  1 0 0 0  222  222  444  1 1  0  9 
Foreman, Kelvin     6 10  0  2 0 0 0  1 1 0 0  200  273  200  0 0  0 11 
Frank, Ed           7 20  8 12 2 0 0  7 1 0 1  600  667  700  1 0  0 21 
Gulisano, John      7 18  3  7 1 0 1  6 1 0 0  389  421  611  0 0  0 19 
Huckleberry, Chris  7 24 13 13 5 0 4 11 2 0 1  542  615 1250  0 0  1 26 
Mecher, Greg        5 15  6  7 0 0 2  8 1 1 1  467  529  867  0 0  0 17 
Niehaus, Kevin      7 22  9 12 2 2 2 12 1 2 0  545  520 1091  1 0  0 25 
Rogers, Vincent     7 21  4  6 0 1 0  3 0 1 2  286  364  361  0 0  1 22
Scott, Wes          3 10  2  4 0 0 0  1 0 0 0  400  400  400  0 0  1 10     
Solattolo, Andy     3 11  2  8 4 0 0  5 0 0 0  727  727 1091  0 0  0 11
Stanley, Brandon    7 20 10 11 1 0 0  2 1 0 1  550  619  600  1 0  0 21
Thompson, John      7 22 10 15 4 0 0  4 2 1 0  682  680  864  0 2  0 25 

                    (Final Tournament Pitching Stats)                

PITCHING         G   IN   R ER  H BB SO W L T  ERA  WIN%
Cohen, Erik      3 16.00 44 38 51* 5  3 1 1 0 16.63  500 
Foreman, Kelvin  4 25.00 31 31 14* 1  1 3 1 1  8.68  750  
Mecher, Greg     1  1.00  0  0  0  2  0 0 0 0  0.00    0 
 *Incomplete, based on three Sunday games only

MVP= Not Yet Determined


                          FREE TRADERS RESULTS

SAT  3/27    9:00   Virginia H/L #3  Old Corps              (L,  3-13)
SAT  3/27   10:00   Virginia H/L #3  Humble Flies           (W,  7- 6)
SAT  3/27    1:00   Virginia H/L #3  Harvey's Wallbangers   (L,  3-16)


SUN  3/28    9:00   Virginia H/L #3  U.S. Exporters         (L,  0-10)
SUN  3/28   12:00   Virginia H/L #3  Consolidated Const.    (W, 17- 9)
SUN  3/28    1:00   Virginia H/L #3  Harvey's Wallbangers   (L, 10-26)

                     (Final Tournament Batting Stats)

BATTING              G AB  R  H 2 3 H RB W S E AVG OB%  SLG GW DP K PA
Allen, Darrell       6 18  3  4 1 0 0  2 0 0 0 222 222  278  0  0 0 18
Battista, Brad       3  8  1  3 0 0 0  1 1 0 1 375 625  375  0  0 0  9
Bayersdorfer, Jordan 6 16  8 11 2 0 0  8 0 0 0 688 688  813  0  0 0 16
Boyd, Alan           4 10  5  6 3 0 0  5 1 0 0 600 799  900  0  0 0 11
Buttner, Dave        6 19  5 10 1 0 0  1 1 0 0 526 579  579  0  0 2 20
Donald, Jeff         5 12  2  6 0 1 0  6 0 1 0 500 500  667  1  0 1 13
Hargreaves, Barry    6 17  5  6 0 0 0  5 1 0 0 353 389  353  1  0 0 18
Haydasz, Greg        5 10  3  2 0 0 0  1 2 0 1 200 500  200  0  0 0 12
Kessler, Andrew      5 12  1  7 0 0 0  7 0 0 0 583 583  583  0  0 1 12
Meldrum, Tom         6  9  0  4 0 0 0  1 0 0 0 444 444  444  0  0 0  9
Rohrbach, Dave       2  4  0  3 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 750 750  750  0  0 0  4
Sanford, Dave        6 16  4  3 0 0 0  1 0 0 3 188 375  188  0  0 0 16
Schneider, Alan      3  7  2  3 1 0 0  2 0 0 0 429 429  571  0  0 0  7
Ybarra, Aaron        3  6  1  2 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 333 333  333  0  0 0  6

PITCHING          G    IN   R  ER  H  BB SO W L T  ERA  WIN%
Haydasz, Greg     4  19.00 55  51 36* 10  6 1 3 0 18.79 000 
Meldrum, Tom      2  11.00 22  17 13*  0  2 1 1 0 10.82 500 
 *Incomplete, based on Sunday games only


MVP= Jordan Bayersdorfer