First, I want to thank all of the players who represented Heavy Metal Softball this weekend for their effort, help, and cooperation in making our first tournament of the year a somewhat successful effort -- in the sense that we were very competitive against some worthy teams.  Here are some final tournament statistics for those who actually visit our website and are truly interested in such things.  Unlike in the past, when I published an extensive summary of each tournament regardless of the outcome, I will reiterate here again that I will only do so if we achieve playoff status or have a winning record, with just a bare-bones tournament rundown for those events of little distinction.  So, without further adieu, I present some facts from this particular contest:

Bash-4-Cash Tournament Summary --

Tournament Record:  0-2 (oh, no, not again!)
                                1st game:  Lost 13-14 vs. Total Kaos
                                2nd game:  Lost 3-20 vs. Bang Brothers

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Vern Amaro -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 3 points.
Rich Avery -- 0 for 4; .000 BA; 4 points.
Wes Avery -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 11 points.
Frank Fletcher -- 2 for 4; .500 BA; 8 points.
Lee Garcia -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 11 points.
Gene Hitt -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 5 points.
Paul Lawrence -- 0 for 5; .000 BA; 7 points.
Mike Lujan -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 5 points.
Cruz Onsurez -- 0 for 1; .000 BA; 0 points.
Joaquin Perez -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 3 points.
Steve Stafford -- 4 for 5; .800 BA; 14 points.
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points.
Nelson Vieira -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 9 points.

Team Batting Average:  .456 (26 for 57; we averaged 8 runs/game for the whole tournament.  We need to improve our team batting average, as this current one won't win tournaments....)

Tournament MVP:  Steve Stafford (14 points -- "Sizzlin' Stick" award!)

Manager's Award: I would like to take this time now to recognize a few other players who shined just as brightly this weekend with their contributions to the team:  Lee Garcia, Nelson Vieira, Wes Avery, and Art Tabacco. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their consistency throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all four of you!  

2008 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 0 for 0; .000 BA; 0 points (0 tournaments)
Vern Amaro -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 3 points (1 tournament)
Rich Avery -- 0 for 4; .000 BA; 4 points (1 tournament)
Wes Avery -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 11 points (1 tournament)
Frank Fletcher -- 2 for 4; .500 BA; 8 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 11 points (1 tournament)
Gene Hitt -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 5 points (1 tournament)
Paul Lawrence -- 0 for 5; .000 BA; 7 points (1 tournament)
Mike Lujan -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 5 points (1 tournament)
Cruz Onsurez -- 0 for 1; .000 BA; 0 points (1 tournament)
Joaquin Perez -- 1 for 4; .250 BA; 3 points (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 4 for 5; .800 BA; 14 points (1 tournament)
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Nelson Vieira -- 3 for 4; .750 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)

Year-End Award Progress:  Right out the gate, Steve Stafford initially leads the race for the "Batting Champions: Metal Men" perpetual award bat, based on his current batting average of .800. But remember, a player must have played in a minimum of 5 tournaments to earn this recognition -- something to think about when I ask everyone next time if they want to play some more ball in an upcoming tournament...!  

And that's all, folks!!!