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Last updated
11-23-09 08:00 PM
Knoxville Stars 14's - 2009
Tim Crowe
865-988-7179
Knoxville, Tennessee

 
Stars 14's: 2004 Memory Lane
Stars 14's

A Trip Down 2004 Memory Lane
We hope you enjoy our 2004 Memory Lane page. Take a trip down memory lane where you can re-live the then Stars 9's, successful 2004 season. You can read about all the eight great tournament wins, the undefeated Knoxville Area Willie Mays Open League championship run, and the BPA World Series Championship on the way to an overall season record of 55-7!

God Bless America

Stars 9's - 2004 World Series Champions!
BPA World Series Champs
The Stars 9's traveled to Marietta, GA July 13-18 for the 2004 BPA World Series. The tournament was held at beautiful Oregon Park.

The Stars enjoyed the exciting Opening Ceremonies with team introductions, invocation, the singing of the national anthem and the throwing of the ceremonial first pitch. The Stars then got straight to work in the four opening ceremony skills competitions. The Stars grabbed two first place medals for the Home Run Derby and the Road Runner Race and finished second in the Throw Around.

Then the Stars got busy taking care of the competition on the diamond. The Stars were placed in the obviously most difficult Round 1 Pool. The Stars responded to the challenge with the following wins:

Stars 4 - Alabama Young Guns 2
Stars 14 - Sharpsburg Cardinals 1
Stars 8 - Powder Springs War Eagles 5

The Stars earned the #1 seed and advanced on to the Championship Division. In Championship Pool Play the Stars once again faced a difficult draw. And once again the Stars responded with the following wins:

Stars 20 - East Cobb Scorpions 4
Stars 8 - North Alabama Vipers 4

Winning the Championship Pool advanced the Stars to a Sunday match with the North Gwinnett Bulldogs in the World Series Championship Game. The Bulldogs had proven all week to be a very sound ball team with great pitching and excellent bats and the desire to win it all. The Stars knew they would have a battle on their hands.

The hot Georgia sun beamed down on the beautiful Oregon Park field with red, white and blue banners strung on the fences. The players from both teams chanted with excitement in the dugouts, the fans from both teams looked on with great anticipation of what victory would feel like as the umpire bellowed "play ball". In the top of the 1st the Stars bats started fast to gain a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st the Bulldogs loaded the bases and looked to come right back. But with one out, the Stars turned a double play to foil the Bulldog rally and maintain a 3-0 lead. From there the Stars picked up a couple of runs in what proved to be a pitching and defensive duel. The Bulldogs managed a run in the 5th inning. The Stars took to the field with a four run lead in the bottom of 6th and final inning. The Bulldogs managed a base runner, but the Stars defense would not falter. The Stars made a couple of spectacular defensive plays and as the atmosphere in the park reached hysteria the final scoreboard read: Knoxville Stars 5 - North Gwinnett Bulldogs 1

The Closing Ceremonies and Awards Presentation proved to be a very emotional scene. The very classy North Gwinnett Bulldogs team had one of their young men lead both teams in a glorious prayer recognizing Jesus Christ our Savior. The trophies and patches were awarded and team pictures were made. A lot of tears and hugs were exchanged.

The Stars 9's played the entire tournament with heart, great batting, excellent pitching and sound defense that included many spectacular plays. Congratulations to: Kyle Anders, Josh Babcock, Ben Breazeale, Drake Byrd, Wil Crowe, Matt Cunningham, Kevin Elliott, Micah Hodge, Dakota Hudson, Christian Kidd, Hagen Owenby and Ben Redden - The 2004 BPA World Series Champions!

Then, just like that, the Stars 9's 2004 season came to an end. In 2004 the Stars 9's managed 8 tournament wins, an undefeated league championship, an overall record of 55-7, and a World Series Championship!

Stars 9's Regain Championship Form with Fireworks in July
Team La Grange
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The Stars 9's travelled to La Grange, GA July 9-11 for the 2004 Grand Slam Sports' Fireworks In July Baseball Bash. The tournament featured many select teams from all over Georgia. It also featured middle Georgia summer heat with temperatures in the upper 90's.

In Saturday pool play the Stars scrapped out two straight victories. A 12-10 win over the Columbus, GA Sidewinders and a 10-8 win over the Columbus, GA Cougars. The Stars earned the #2 seed headed into Sunday's 8 team single elimination tournament.

On Sunday, the Stars bats caught fire. In the Quarter-finals, the Stars smoked the Columbus, GA Sidewinders with 3 inning slaughter rule, 18-3 win. In the Semi-finals, the Stars rolled through the scrappy Perry, GA Predators with a 10-0 win.

That placed the Stars in the Championship Game against the very talented #1 seed, Victory Bandits of Winder, GA. The Stars jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. The Bandits battled back to cut the Stars lead to 8-6 in the 5th inning. The Stars bats took over the game with 4 runs in the top of the 6th inning. The Stars, obviously tired from 3 straight games in 97 degree temperatures, made the defensive plays they needed to finish out a 13-9 victory. The Stars hauled the 5 foot tall Championship Trophy back to Knoxville. Congratulations Stars 9's on a great weekend!

The Stars 9's pushed their overall season record to 49-7 and now prepare for the BPA World Series, July 14-18 in Atlanta, GA.

Stars 9's Finish Strong In USSSA Tennessee State
The Stars 9's travelled to Cookeville, TN June 25-27 for the USSSA Tennessee State Championship Tournament. The field featured the best teams from Middle and East Tennessee.

The Stars raced through pool play with two great wins. In the first game the Stars faced the always tough Brentwood (Crieve Hall) Sharks. The Stars pulled off a hard fought 4-3 victory. In the second pool game, the Stars cruised with hot bats to manage a 15-8 win over the dangerous Greeneville Marlins. The Stars 2-0 pool play performance earned them the #3 seed for Sunday's single elimination tournament.

In the quarter finals the Stars played the Tennessee Rockhounds. Once again the Stars bats were on fire and the Stars rolled to a 21-6 victory. What happened after will never be forgotten by the Stars' nation.

First, the tournament bracket showed the Stars' advancement would place them in a semi final match-up with the Mt. Juliet Bearcats. However, just prior to that match-up, the tournament director announced the bracket was set up wrong and the Stars would play the Clarksville Orioles. The problem was not in playing the Orioles, but that they also had to play against the USSSA Umpires.

The Stars played a terrific game. The Orioles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. But the Stars battled back to take a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the final inning. Unfortunately the USSSA umpires were determined to do all they could to keep the Stars from winning. The Stars had overcome numerous and obvious wrong calls the entire game. There were numerous and obvious strikes called balls. In the bottom of the final inning the Stars lead 7-6 - the Orioles were at bat with 2 outs and the bases loaded - with a 2-2 count the Stars pitcher threw a perfect pitch, yet the umpire called ball three - then with a full count the Stars pitcher threw a perfect pitch, straight to the mitt, the catcher never moved the glove and the batter did not swing - and just like that the Stars won the game. Then the plate umpire, to the astonishment of everyone in the entire park, calmly stepped out and said "take your base" and handed the Orioles the tying run. The Stars managed to get the final out to force extra innings. The Stars battled for 2 extra innings before the game was officially GIVEN to the Orioles. Following the game, coaches and fans from other teams watching the game, came up and said it was obvious the Stars had won and that the umpires had intentionally taken it away. One bystander stated, "I have seen over 700 youth baseball games in my life, but that is the first time I have ever seen an umpire intentionally disallow a strike". The Orioles had a good team, but unfortunately on that day, the umpires were allowed to determine the official outcome. The Stars will count this game as a win.

The Stars will claim a tie for 1st place in the USSSA State Tournament as the true final was never played. The Stars were clearly the best team that weekend, in a tournament that will never be forgotten.

Stars 9's Shocked In Smoky Mountain Classic NIT
The Stars 9's played in the Smoky Mountain Classic USSSA NIT June 4-6 at beautiful Caswell Park in Knoxville, TN. The tournament featured 12 teams and awesome competition from Tennessee and Georgia.

The Stars played awesome through pool play with 3 straight run-rule victories over the Tennessee Tigers, the Sandtown Pirates (Atlanta, GA) and the Germantown Giants. Their Pool play performance earned the Stars the #1 seed for Sunday's 8 team single elimination tournament.

In the Sunday morning quarter final the Stars were once again seeded to play the always tough Germantown Giants. The Stars got out to a great start and built a 6-0 lead. Unfortunately the Giants refused to die,and battled back to steal a 9-7 win over the Stars in the final inning.

Congratulations to the Greeneville Marlins, who battled through the Sandtown Pirates, the Mt. Juliet Bearcats, and the East Cobb Astros on Sunday to claim the tournament championship.

Stars 9's Finish 9-0 in Knoxville Area 10U Open League
The Stars 9's completed league play Thursday night May 27th in exciting fashion.

In their final game the Stars faced the Knoxville Impact Gold 10 year olds. The Impact Gold 10's grabbed an early 4-1 lead. But the Stars scrapped back to tie the game at 4-4 after 6 innings. In the top of the 7th inning the Stars grabbed the lead and held on for a dramatic come from behind, extra inning 6-5 victory. The Impact Gold went on to win the AABC 10U State Championship.

The Stars 9's finished 9-0 with multiple wins over the other 9 year teams and 5 total wins against the 10 year old teams. Congratulations Stars 9's on great league play this season!

Stars 9's fall short in Viper's May Classic
The Stars 9's traveled to Hunstville AL May 21-23 for the always competitive Viper's May Classic. Unfortunately the Stars forgot to pack their intensity and emotion, which resulted in the Stars 1st tournament loss of the year.

The Stars lost their pool play opener Friday night to a very talented North Alabama Giants team. The Stars jumped out to an early lead, but quickly lost their fire and the game. In their 1st Saturday game, the Stars faced the Oregon Park Dragons for the 2nd time this season. The 1st time being a victory in the Championship Game of the Border Wars Tournament. Well, an excellent Dragons team came for revenge. It was the most exiting game of the weekend. A back and forth battle that ended with the Stars scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to claim a 6-5 victory. Then in their 2nd game on Saturday, the Stars beat the Tennessee Valley Titans 15-10.

The Stars pool play performance was rewarded with a Sunday morning quarter-final game with the Memphis Tigers. The Stars jumped out early to score 6 runs in the 1st inning. But, as they did on Friday night, the Stars seemed to go into hibernation. Well, they did it against the wrong team. The Tigers consistently pounded the baseball and proved to be too much that day for the emotionless Stars.

The Stars 9's still managed to have a fun weekend in Huntsville and are looking forward to being off and resting Memorial Day Weekend!   

Stars 9's Win Mid-State Classic USSSA NIT 10U Tournament
Cookeville
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The Stars 9's travelled to Cookeville, TN May 14th-16th for the 5th Annual Mid State Spring Classic USSSA NIT 10U Tournament. The tournament featured 10 teams, all of which were 10 year olds, except the Stars 9's. The Stars 9's decided to play up against older and tougher competition in preparation for a tough home stretch of tournaments including: The Viper's May Classic in Huntsville, AL, the Smokey Mountain Summer Classic USSSA NIT, the USSSA State Tournament, the USYBA World Series, and the USSSA World Series in St. Louis, MO.

In pool play the Stars faced three very talented 10 year old teams. The Stars managed a 13-3 Friday night win over the Upper Cumberland Vipers. Then on Saturday, the Stars dropped two tough losses to the Tennessee Thunder and the Knoxville Yard Dogs.

On Sunday the Stars were seeded in the AA Division in a single elimination bracket. Sunday proved to be the Stars day with Stellar pitching, very hot bats and excellent defense. In the semi-final the Stars rolled 16-0 over the Park View 10's from Cookeville, TN.

In the Championship Game the Stars faced a very talented Murfreesboro, TN Warriors team. The Stars played perhaps it's best game in team history. Wil Crowe tossed a perfect game from the hill. Behind the "Big Montana's" tremendous pitching, the Stars played perfect defense, never allowing the Warriors a base runner. And, the Stars bats pounded the baseball off of some very impressive Warriors pitching. The final score was Stars 12 - Warriors 0.

In addition to bringing home the Championship Trophies and extending their season record to 32-4, the Stars 9's qualified to play in the 2004 USSSA 10 Year Old AA Nationals. Congratulations Stars 9's!

Stars 9's Win 2nd Annual Volunteer Classic
Vol Classic Trophy
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The Stars 9's rolled through the 2nd Annual Volunteer Classic, held April 30 - May 2nd at beautiful Caswell Park in Knoxville, TN.

The Stars' tournament play included four straight slaughter rule victories. The wins came over the Winning Edge (Maryville, TN), the Knoxville Impact Gold, the Knoxville Yard, and the Brentwood Braves (Nashville, TN). The Stars hot bats produced 50 runs, while their pitching and error-free defense allowed only 3 runs.

Three highlights of the weekend included:

* A towering Home Run by Wil "Big Montana" Crowe.

* A 1-6-3 double play in which Wil "Big Montana" Crowe snagged a grounder in front of the mound and wheeled and threw to Micah "Bib" Hodge, who stepped on 2nd base and gunned to Drake "Big Country" Byrd at 1st base to complete the double play.

* A 6-4-3 double play in which Micah "Bib" Hodge fielded a hot grounder and flipped it to Matt "Superman" Cunningham", who spun on 2nd base and gunned to Wil "Big Montana" Crowe at 1st base to complete the double play.

In the process of earning the Champion's Trophies, the Stars 9's extended their season record to 26-2. Congratulations Stars 9's on a fantastic weekend!

Stars 9's Open League Play With Two Wins!
The Stars 9's, playing in the Knoxville Area Open League 10U Divsion, opened league play this week. The league features three 9 year old teams and six 10 year old teams. While playing against the 10 year old teams will be demanding for the Stars 9's, it will provide stronger competition in league play.

On Tuesday night the Stars 9's beat the Knoxville Sand Gnats 9's 22-1. Then on Thursday night, the Stars 9's beat the Knoxville Thunder 10's 9-1. Congratulations Stars 9's!

Stars 9's Win Reds Invitational in Woodstock, GA
GAREDSINVTEAM
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The Stars 9's traveled to Woodstock, GA April 16th-18th to play in the 2004 Annual Reds Invitational. Twelve select teams from Georgia and Tennessee participated at a beautiful park facility.

The Stars 9's played their first pool game late Friday night. The Stars 9's won 18-4 over the Sandtown Pirates (College Park, GA) in a game that ended at 1 AM on Saturday. The Stars would pay the price from the late-niter. Later Saturday morning, the Stars struggled through a 10-9 loss to the Sandy Plains Wildcats (Marietta, GA). And then, the Stars slept through a 3-2 loss to the Collins Hill Eagles (Lawrenceville, GA).

The exhausted and disappointed Stars, reeling from a 1-2 pool play performance, were forced to wait until Saturday night to hear if they would play a Sunday consolation game or somehow sneak into the single elimination tournament. In the meantime, they headed to Turner Field for the Saturday evening Braves vs. Marlins game. In the 1st inning, Chipper Jones hammered a home run into the Stars outfield seats. Brad Hodge tried to catch it with one hand (poor technique) and dropped it, then Jim Redden laid a nice forearm to Micah "Bib" Hodge and muscled over him to grab the prize home run ball. Then, the call came in, and the Stars had qualified for tournament play on Sunday.

Well a different Stars team showed up on Sunday. The Stars played awesome defense in a 7-2 quarter-final win over the Greeneville Marlins. The Stars rolled in a 16-6 semi-final win over the talented East Cobb Scorpions. And, just like that the Stars were headed to the "ship".

In the 6 inning Championship Game, the Stars faced a very talented North Gwinnett Bulldogs team. The Bulldogs jumped out in the top of the 1st inning to a 3-0 lead. Matt "Superman" Cunningham got the Stars' offense started with and inside-the-park Home Run and the Stars's battled back to a 3-3 tie after 1 inning. From there the game went back and forth through 3 innings and a 6-6 tie. In the fourth inning, the Stars bats exploded and the Stars grabbed a 12-7 lead. This game featured excellent team pitching from Dakota "Wild Thing" Hudson, Josh "Jish" Babcock, and Wil "Big Montana" Crowe. The defensive play of the game was a play in which Kyle "Bullet" Anders threw from center-field to Matt "Superman" Cunningham, who turned and relayed to the plate, where Dakota "Wild Thing" Hudson made nice catch, block and tag for a much needed out. From there the Stars locked it up with a 15-7 win!

Congratulations Stars 9's for showing great heart and battling back!

Stars 9's Win 2004 Stars Early Bird
EarlyBirdChamps
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The Stars 9's were at home April 2-4, 2004 to host the Knoxville Stars Early Bird. In addition to the Stars, the tournament featured the Knoxville Impact Gold, the Knoxville Thunder, the Knoxville Sand Gnats, the Crossville Blue Angels, and the Greeneville Marlins.

The Stars started fast, rolling through pool play with three straight convincing wins and a total score of 51-3.

The Stars pool play performance advanced them to a semi-final against Knoxville rival Impact Gold. The Stars jumped out in the top of the first to a 3-0 lead. However the Impact Gold battled back to cut the lead to 3-2. The Stars bats remained hot, allowing the Stars to pull away and secure a 14-5 victory and a trip to the "ship".

The Sunday afternoon final presented what seems to have become an East Tennessee tradition, the Stars versus the Greeneville Marlins. And, this one, like many times before, was a 6 inning classic. The Stars jumped out early to build a 5-0 lead. By the bottom of the 6th inning the Stars had built an 11-5 lead. In the bottom of the 6th and final inning, the never say die Marlins went to work with the bat. The Marlins kept chipping away until the score board read Stars 11 - Marlins 10 and "no" outs. Finally, a strike out and two nice defensive plays later, the Stars 9's secured the win.

Congratulations Stars 9's!

Stars 9's Shine in Smoky Mountain Round-Up
SmkyMtnChamps
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The Stars 9's played in the Smoky Mountain Round-Up USSSA NIT, March 19-21 at Knoxville's Lakeshore Park. The Stars faced some great teams from Kentucky and Tennessee.

In the Friday night opener the Stars faced the McMinn, TN Warriors. The Stars bats were hot and the result was a 16-2 win.

On Saturday, the Stars faced a scrappy Louisville, KY Giants team. This turned out to be the game of the weekend. A talented Giants team, after trailing early, battled back to take a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the 6th and final inning. The Stars came to their final at bat. The Stars first two batters grounded out. The Stars were now staring their 1st loss of the season in the face. With two outs, Micah "Bib" Hodge drew a walk. A slight glimmer of hope? Next up, Matt "Superman" Cunningham stroked a single up the middle, placing runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. The crowd, that just minutes earlier was packing up their chairs in defeat, came alive. Next up, Drake "Big Country" Byrd laced a double in the gap, driving in both runners to tie the score at nine. Pandemonium baby! Then, Wil "Big Montana" Crowe calmly walked to the plate, chewing ever so gently on his big wad of gum, and popped a single into right field, driving in the winning run. Final score: Stars 10 - Giants 9.

On Sunday the Stars came to play. The Stars faced a solid Louisville, KY Southside Bulldawgs team. A 9-1 win advanced the Stars to a championship final against their arch-nemesis, the very talented Greeneville Marlins. In a very cold and windy Sunday night final, the Stars jumped out to an early lead, and battled inning after inning. Wil "Big Montana" Crowe pitched a great game, and very timely hitting and sound defense allowed the Stars to secure a convincing 10-3 win.

The Stars 9's, while claiming the tournament championship medals, pushed their season record to 10-0, and qualified for the USSSA World Series to be held July 18-25 in St. Louis, MO.

Congratulations Stars 9's!

Stars 9's Take No Prisoners in 2004 Border Wars
BorderWarsChamps
2004 Knoxville Stars 9's
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The Stars 9's traveled to Chattanooga, TN March 12-14 for the Border Wars Tournament. This annual spring classic features the best teams from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The Stars 9's, playing in their first tournament of the season, rolled through the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record and hauled the championship hardware back home to Knoxville Sunday night.

The Stars 9's road to the "ship" included impressive wins over some great teams:
Pool Game 1 - Stars 10 - N. Gwinnett, GA Bulldogs 4
Pool Game 2 - Stars 8 - Chattanooga, TN Colonels 2
Pool Game 3 - Stars 4 - Ringgold, GA Rebels 1
Quarter Finals - Stars 6 - Woodstock, GA Cherokee Reds 3   
Semi-Finals - Stars 11 - Chattanooga, TN Colonels 1

In the 6 inning championship game the Stars 9's faced an outstanding Oregon Park Dragons team from Marietta, GA. The Dragons jumped out early in the top of the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. By the end of the 2nd inning, the Stars 9's had battled back to a 6-6 tie. Then, in the 3rd and 4th innings, the Stars 9's bats exploded for 8 unanswered runs. The Stars 9's defense shut down some very impressive Dragon hitters in the top of the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings for a slaughter rule victory. The final score was Stars 14 - Dragons 6.

The Stars 9's 6-0 tournament run resulted from solid pitching and hitting and spectacular defense. Congratulations Stars 9's for outstanding team play and on being the 2004 Border Wars Tournament Champions!

Knoxville Stars Lead Off Banquet
The annual Knoxville Stars Lead Off Banquet was held Wednesday, February 25, 2004 at 6:30 PM at the Knoxville Expo Center. This years banquet was a huge success, with a buffet dinner, banquet t-shirts, team and player introductions and a special guest speaker. All the Knoxville Stars organization teams participated.

Stars Welcome New Players
The Stars 9's would like to welcome the following new players and their families to our family:

Kyle Anders #12
Josh Babcock #7

Please check back soon for updated roster information on our team roster page.

2004 Stars 9's Begin Winter Workouts
On Sunday, January 3, 2004 the Stars 9's began winter indoor workouts in preparation for the rapidly approaching 2004 spring season. A solid roster of eleven 9 year olds were all fired up and ready to work on hitting, fielding, pitching, conditioning and other aspects of the game. With only a couple of months until the first tournament, there is much to be done. Good luck Stars 9's on a successful 2004 spring season!


 
 
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