First, as always, I want to thank all of the players who represented Heavy Metal Softball this weekend for their effort, help, and cooperation in making our third tournament of the year a somewhat successful effort -- in the sense that we were very competitive against some roughly comparable teams.  Here are some final tournament statistics for those who actually visit our website and are truly interested in such things.  I would like to state here again that unlike previous seasons a couple of years ago -- when I published an extensive summary of each tournament regardless of the outcome -- 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:

Team Clutch Softball Tournament Summary --

Tournament Record:  1-2 (the ice is broken!)
                                1st game:  Lost 3-13 vs. Youngbloods
                                2nd game:  Lost 2-14 vs. Slow Motion
                                3rd game:  Won 29-18 vs. 2nd II None (frustration release!) 

Team Statistics (alphabetically):

Donny Aguiar -- 5 for 7; .714 BA; 19 points.
Vern Amaro -- 4 for 7; .571 BA; 6 points.
Aaron Dawes -- 2 for 7; .286 BA; 15 points.
Lee Garcia -- 3 for 5; .600 BA; 22 points.
Gene Hitt -- 5 for 7; .714 BA; 18 points.
Paul Lawrence -- 6 for 8; .750 BA; 27 points.
Johnny Lopez -- 1 for 5; .200 BA; 8 points.
Mike Lujan -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 11 points.
Cruz Onsurez -- 3 for 5; .600 BA; 11 points.
Joaquin Perez -- 4 for 9; .444 BA; 28 points.
Steve Stafford -- 3 for 8; .375 BA; 28 points.
Nelson Vieira -- 1 for 6; .167 BA; 8 points.

Team Batting Average:  .488 (40 for 82; we averaged 11.3 runs/game for the whole tournament.  Of course, most of this production came in the last game...!)

Tournament MVP:  Joaquin Perez (28 points [.444 BA] -- "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:  Donny Aguiar, Lee Garcia, Gene Hitt, Paul Lawrence, and Steve Stafford. Their stats above speak for themselves, but their overall effort throughout the tournament is what I noticed most and appreciated greatly -- here's a "hats-off" to all five of you!  

2008 Season Statistics (alphabetically; all players):

Donny Aguiar -- 5 for 7; .714 BA; 19 points (1 tournament)
Vern Amaro -- 11 for 21; .524 BA; 17 points (3 tournaments)
Rich Avery -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 17 points (2 tournaments)
Wes Avery -- 5 for 15; .333 BA; 23 points (2 tournaments)
Frank Fletcher -- 6 for 13; .462 BA; 22 points (2 tournaments)
Aaron Dawes -- 2 for 7; 286 BA; 15 points (1 tournament)
Lee Garcia -- 12 for 17; .706 BA; 41 points (3 tournaments)
Gene Hitt -- 7 for 19; .368 BA; 24 points (3 tournaments)
Paul Lawrence -- 10 for 21; .476 BA; 50 points (3 tournaments)
Johnny Lopez -- 2 for 12; .167 BA; 10 points (2 tournaments)
Mike Lujan -- 10 for 21; .476 BA; 26 points (3 tournaments)
Cruz Onsurez -- 5 for 14; .357 BA; 15 points (3 tournaments)
Joaquin Perez -- 10 for 24; .417 BA; 54 points (3 tournaments)
Matt Soares -- 0 for 9; .000 BA; 1 point (1 tournament)
Steve Stafford -- 7 for 13; .538 BA; 42 points (2 tournaments)
Art Tabacco -- 3 for 6; .500 BA; 9 points (1 tournament)
Nelson Vieira -- 4 for 10; .400 BA; 17 points (2 tournaments)

Year-End Award Progress:  Donny Aguiar has now taken over the race for the "Batting Champions: Metal Men" perpetual award bat, based on his single tournament batting average of .714 -- but Lee Garcia is close behind during the 2008 tournament tour with his three-tournament batting average of .706 (Steve Stafford has dropped to third with a two-tournament batting average of .538). Please remember -- just in case everyone forgets -- a player must have played in a minimum of 5 tournaments to earn this recognition, which is something to think about when I ask everyone next time if they want to play some more ball in an upcoming tournament...!  

And, once again, that's all, folks!!!