Kansas team gets most out of choice

The Busch Softball Classic was too important for the Kansas-based Greenspace/Nally's/ContenderEsportLLC team to pass up.

Greenspace/Nally's rolled through the Fourth of July weekend tournament and won the Men's Major Division championship with a 38-23 five-inning run-rule victory over Arkansas-based Vivid/FBI/PTG/Worth on Sunday at Sherwood Sports Complex.

On June 18, the state of Kansas listed Arkansas as a coronavirus hot spot, and travelers who enter Kansas from Arkansas must quarantine for 14 days. That's a situation Greenspace/Nally's Coach Gary Calhoon was willing to accept.

Calhoon said despite concerns about the pandemic, he and his team -- which features players from Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis; Columbia, Mo.; Kansas City, Kan.; Wichita, Kan.; and Springfield, Mo. -- wanted to travel to Arkansas to play in the 41st annual Busch Classic. Since they did come to Arkansas, Greenspace/Nally's won't be able to compete in the Hooters softball tournament July 17-19 in Shawnee, Kan., Calhoon was told by the event's director.

Players had to sign a covid-19 waiver to play USSSA softball this season.

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"There was absolutely no hesitation," Calhoon said. "We come here to play conference events. This is where we want to be. Local stuff is fun because local sponsors can be there for us. But this is why we play. Our sponsors pay big-time money for us to play in these tournaments.

"We all know the ramifications if we do get it [covid-19]. We're willing to take that sacrifice to come here and play in this. If one of our employers say, 'We heard you were here,' I'll say, 'We play softball.' It's 14 days, then go back to work."

An 18-run first inning got Greenspace/Nally's going Sunday, despite the team not leaving Sherwood Sports Complex until 2 a.m. Sunday because its last game Saturday that was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. didn't start until 11:30 p.m.

"It was huge," Calhoon said. "We didn't come out and take BP. It can go one of two ways. But to come out and put up 18 on a team that has already played a game, that's huge.

"You make them chase early on. That's our goal. We like getting big innings. That's what you have to do at this level, to get those big numbers and make teams chase you early."

Greenspace/Nally's sent 21 batters to the plate in the 18-run inning. In USSSA softball, there are 11 batters in the lineup.

Colton Leet hit one of Greenspace/Nally's six home runs in the inning, and his grand slam gave his team a 4-0 lead. Kyle Harmon's two-run double, Harley Page's two-run home run, and solo home runs from Cody Biermaier and Riley Norris extended the lead to 10-0. Willie Dooley also homered in the inning, and Biermaier's three-run home run capped the 18-run inning.

Joshua Guy hit a grand slam for Vivid/FBI in the bottom of the first inning to pull his team within 18-4.

Greenspace/Nally's added seven runs in the top of the second inning, including a two-run home run by Danny Rodriguez and a three-run shot by Page for a 25-4 lead.

Vivid/FBI cut the lead to 25-9 in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a grand slam by Tim Bowser.

In the top of the third inning, Greenspace/Nally's picked up two runs on solo home runs by John Branum and Dooley to make it 27-9.

Brian Bryles homered and Kolt Robertson followed later in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run shot to pull Vivid/FBI within 27-12.

The onslaught continued in the top of the fourth inning as Greenspace/Nally's tacked on nine runs for a 36-12 advantage. Page had a three-run home run, and Dooley's two-run shot hit the light pole in left-center field.

Vivid/FBI had to score five runs to stay in the game thanks to a 20-run rule after four innings, and the team did so with nine runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 36-21. Bowser, Jeremiah Clardy and Tyler Thomas each had three-run home runs.

But Greenspace/Nally's pushed the lead to 17 runs, 38-21, on RBI singles from Norris and Jesse Skaggs in the top of the fifth inning.

Timothy Howard and Bowser each had solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but that was it for Vivid/FBI as they couldn't overcome the 15-run rule after five innings.

Dooley was named tournament MVP after going 4 for 4 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 5 runs scored.

Vivid/FBI Coach Bobby McGehee credited Greenspace/Nally's for the offensive output.

"They hit it well," McGehee said. "We didn't come back and answer like we needed to. We were fighting uphill the whole game. We fought hard the whole tournament. Give all credit to the Nally's team."

Over three days, Greenspace/Nally's finished 6-0 in the Busch Classic and outscored its opposition 169-119, averaging 28.2 runs per game.

"This is what you play softball for," Calhoon said. "This is awesome."