News and Announcements
In the fall of 1998, I went to the Eastern Region Umpire School. That was a great experience. Since then, I have umpired several Little League games in the last 18 years. I umpire throughout the regular season in both baseball and softball, as well as the All-Star games for Little League. In 2006, I attended Umpire School in Williamsport, Pennsylavia for 1 week. It was the best training I have ever been to in my career.
In the fall of 2006, I applied for a regional assignment through the East Region in Bristol, Connecticut. I received a letter from the Eastern Region in February of 2007 informing me that I had been chosen to umpire at the 11-12 Little League Softball East Regional Tournament in Albany, NY. I worked this tournament in August of 07. In the fall of 2007, I applied for another East Regional Umpire assignment. In February of 2008, I received a letter from the East Region advising me that I had been chosen to umpire at the Big League Softball Eastern Regional Tournament. in August of 2008.
When the opportunity to apply for a World Series assignment with the Eastern Region came up in the fall of 2008, I sent in my application.. In January of 2009, I received a letter from Little League International informing me that I had been chosen to umpire in the Big League Softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I will be leaving for Kalamazoo on Aug 5th at 8:30 am and arriving in Kalamazoo just before 1 pm.
My first official duty for the World Series will be on Wednesday, August 5th at 4:00 when I attend the Umpires Meeting. Later that evening, I will attend the Tournament Meeting with Coaches, Officials and other Umpires. The Opening Ceremony will be held at 11:30 on Thursday. The first game of the tournament is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm that day.
For the complete schedule, you can visit the Big League World Series site: http://www.softballworldseries.org/html/schedules.htm
Day Four: Back on Track...sort of...
Well, Saturday's games were a wash out. Kalamazoo hasn't had rain in 30 days and today it poured!! All of today's games have been moved to tomorrow. We'll see what happens!
Since I had no games, Kelli and I headed to the Crossroads Mall to check it out. Did a little shopping and then headed back to the hotel to hang out with the other umpires. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.
My umpiring day started at 3:30 pm with the Southwest (Texas) vs Latin America (Puerto Rico). I was assigned to umpire 1st base. This game started out close and stayed 0-0 until the 4th inning. Latin America loaded the bases and scored 4 runs on hit to right field and a throwing error. They got three more runs on a 3 run home run that just stayed fair by hitting the foul pole. I've never seen a home run hit the foul pole in my 18 years of umpiring. The Southwest team scored there only run on solo home run that was crushed and hit the score board, WOW. Final score Latin America 7 and Southwest 1.
My second game started at 6pm between Southwest(Texas) and the East(Pennsylvania). This game started out with a girl from the East hitting a home run on the 5th pitch of the game. The ball was hit to left field, hit the top of the fence and then bounced over. The Southwest team struggled for the second straight game. The East hit the ball well, scoring 8 runs. Once again, the Southwest scored their 2 runs on solo home runs. Final score East 8 and Southwest 2. I do have to mention the catch that #8 from the Southwest team made. The ball was hit down the left field line and was going out of play. She reached over the fence, caught the ball and started to fall over the fence. She regained her balance and kept herself from falling out of play. That was an amazing catch, probably the best I have ever seen!
Day One was amazing ! The day started at Vanderberg Park on Wilson Field at 11:30 with the opening ceremonies which was a great experience. I got to meet all of my fellow umpires and trade pins with them. All 10 teams marched onto the field with the Volunteers following them. They saved the best for last with the umpires entering the field between the 2nd and 3rd baseline. After we marched off the field, it was time to get ready for the first game of the Series!
My first assignment was behind the plate for the 1 pm game between the Southeast (Georgia) and West (California). I was nervous at the beginning, but after a couple of innings, I settled down. The games was uneventful as far as any contraversal plays. These girls could hit the ball. The first batter from the West hit a homerun on the 4th pitch of the game - WOW! The girls could pitch too. I have not seen this type of pitching in my 18 years of umpiring! This will be a news flash for most; the catcher from the Southeast was not so happy with most of my calls. However, I was on the same page with the catcher from the West. The game ended West 7 - Southeast 2.
The next game started at 3:30 pm and I was assigned to 3rd base. The 2 teams were EMEA (Poland) vs Southwest (Texas). This game was not so good. Once again, everything went smoothly. The girls from Texas had some heavy hitters; they hit 4 homeruns. They pitched 3 different girls and they could bring it. The score of the game after 4 1/2 innings was Southwest 23 - Poland 0. The only issue I had with the game was that the Southwest team scored 6-7 runs more then they should have. There was no need to run up the score when you up 16 to 0.
This covers the first day in Kalamazoo, can't wait for tomorrow! MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT MY ALBUM FOR PICTURES FROM THE FIRST DAY!!
