14 YO Titans

Welcome to the site for Kyle Chapman's 14 Year-old Select Team. Kyle Chapman is a PONY league serving the near southwest area of Houston that has a long winning tradition in baseball. Players are chosen based on both ability and their desire to excel at baseball. Kyle Chapman's recent experience has shown that our select program offers a great neighborhood alternative for players who wish to excel by playing competitive baseball in the fall, summer and spring seasons. Our select program offers players a chance to play on a team comprised of players who will go on play on the same or on competing high school teams. Kyle Chapman's 14U Select Team is composed of players whose league age is 14 for the Spring 2004 season and who play regular season baseball for one of the teams in Kyle Chapman PONY League. In the fall, players work on individual skill development and team defense. The team will play in three fall tournaments. Team goals for the fall are to qualify for the USSSA state tournament and to get ready for PONY tournament play in the summer of 2004.

Wow! Still adjusting to the fact that we accomplished so much and Pulled off such a great last inning comeback last night. Thanks to all players for hard work and dedication and to parents for sacrifices and support. All aspects of our team play have improved, and we have accomplished our goals. We won several major tournaments, and we have built a solid foundation on which to build in the spring. We are now several steps closer to the goal that the team set for themselves: a trip to the PONY World Series in Washington, Pennsylvania as South Zone Champions. So, ....it's time to celebrate and take a break. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I would like to have a team party this coming weekend before family schedules get too difficult to coordinate. Friday or Saturday night or Saturday afternoon for 2 or so hours should be ample. Can someone volunteer to host and Coordinate? Everyone should respond to me and Tim as soon as possible to let us know if you have a conflict with one of the three possible times I have posed. Second, to commemorate our success, I would like to have some "KC Titans - Fall 2003 USSSA-14U Texas State Champions" t-shirts (with names of players and coaches on the back) printed for team members, staff and families. After all, it's hard to wear a trophy or a plaque! Need someone to work on design, ordering and printing. Cost would likely be $12-$15 per copy. We could have them printed at Gulf Coast in time to make great Christmas presents! Someone please volunteer to help coordinate this as well. Please repond promptly on both items. Thanks again to all. Coach Cliff Atherton

The Kyle Chapman 14 year old team took another step toward establishing its own legacy of greatness, winning the USSSA Texas Fall State 14 and under AAA Championship in Round Rock, Texas, this past weekend. In order to accomplish that task, the KC 14's had to beat 5 very difficult opponents. Their path to the goal was as follows: Kyle Chapman Titans 9, Round Rock Rangers 1 (qualifier) Kyle Chapman Titans 12, Fort Worth Jackets 0 (qualifier) Kyle Chapman Titans 8, Belton Red Sox 3 (#1 seed vs. #8 seed) Kyle Chapman Titans 9, Texas Lonestars 1 (#1 seed vs. #4 seed in semi-final) Kyle Chapman Titans 6, Bryan-College Station Stealth 4 (#1 seed vs. #2 seed in final). The reports from the first three games are already on the K.C. website (www.kcpony.org). Here are the reports from the semi-final and final game victories. In the semi-final game, K.C. faced a familiar opponent in the Texas Lonestars. Pat Brosch held the Lonestars to one run on three hits in five innings of sensational pitching to earn the semi-final game victory. K.C. tallied 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and never looked back. A Ross Chan single to center, a Kevin McKee double, a Paul Knowlton RBI single to left, a Grant Haynes RBI double to right, a Pat Brosch reach on an infield error to score a run, and a Jared Rothenberg fielder's choice to score a run, gave the Titans a 4-1 lead after 1 inning of play. The Titans added a run in the 2nd on a Kevin McKee single and a Paul Knowlton RBI groundout to make it 5-1 Titans after 2 innings of play. In the top of the third inning, it appeared that the Lonestars were ready to make a run at the Titans. They turned a leadoff double, a walk and a sacrifice bunt into runners on second and third with one out. The Lonestar batter hit a hard chopper to Jared Rothenberg at first base. He leaped into the air, and came down throwing to Jeremy Schaffer at the plate. Jeremy chased the Lonestar runner back to third where Paul Knowlton took the throw. The Lonestar runner tried to reverse field and score, but Paul Knowlton threw a strike to Jared Rothenberg at the plate for the tagout. That sparkling defensive play later helped the Titans to run rule the Lonestars. The Titans padded their lead in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring 2 runs on an Andrew Jones leadoff walk, a Jeremy Schaffer walk, a Jared Rothenberg RBI groundout, and a Matt Kelly single through shortstop to drive in a run. It was 7-1 Titans after 3. The Titans closed out the scoring with 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th on a Paul Knowlton walk, a Grant Haynes walk, an Andrew Jones RBI groundout, and a wild pitch. After Pat Brosch retired the Lonestars in the 5th, the 9-1 game was called due to Run Rule. That victory brought the K.C. Titans to the championship game against the Bryan-College Station Stealth. Paul Knowlton took the ball for K.C. in the championship game, and pitched a breathtaking no-hitter to earn the win. While the Stealth could not manage any hits, they scored runs due to a K.C. defense that had been brilliant so far in the tournament, but was clearly tiring in its 5th game in less than 48 hours. K.C. was held scoreless in the top of the 1st. In the bottom of the first, the Stealth took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly to centerfield. K.C. and the Stealth both went down 1-2-3 in their respective halves of the second inning. K.C. took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning on a Jared Rothenberg single up the middle, a Ross Chan single to right field, a Paul Knowlton dribbler in front of home plate that scored Jared, and a throwing error by the Stealth first baseman. The Stealth tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd when the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on an infield error, then scored on a sacrifice bunt. At the end of 3, the score was tied 2-2. K.C. was scoreless in the top of the 4th, but the Stealth went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the frame on an outfield error and 2 infield errors. K.C. got runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 5th, but could not score in the frame. Neither could the Stealth. It was 3-2 in favor of the Stealth after 5. K.C. was scoreless in its half of the 6th inning, but the Stealth posted an insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff walk, an infield error, and an outfield error. Only a brilliant throw from Ross Chan in center field to Pat Brosch at the plate prevented additional Stealth runners from scoring in the inning. Thus, at the end of 6 innings of play, K.C.'s backs were to the wall, down 4-2. Taking a page from last year's 14 year old K.C. cardiac kids, this year's version of the Titans erupted for 4 big 7th inning runs. Ross Chan was hit by a pitch, Kevin McKee reached base on an infield error, Paul Knowlton reached on an infield error, Grant Haynes had a beautiful bunt single, Andrew Jones plated 2 runs on a hard hit infield error, and a wild pitch scored the last K.C. run of the game. In the bottom of the 7th, a tiring Paul Knowlton faced the heart of the Stealth order, and dispatched them with little effort. A fly ball to right field, a fly to shortstop, and a grounder from pitcher to first base later, the K.C. Titans were the 2003 USSSA Texas Fall State 14 and under AAA Champions. Last night's splendid victories not only brought K.C. another championship, but also a paid berth in the USSSA 14 and under World Series this coming summer. Congratulations to the Titans and especially Coaches Clif Atherton, Barry Kelly and Mike Purcell on excellent efforts and excellent results. GOOOO Titans!!! By Scott Rothenberg

The Kyle Chapman 14 year old tournament team continued its stellar play from yesterday, defeating the Belton Red Sox by a score of 8-3 on Sunday morning, to advance to the semi-finals of the 2003 USSSA Texas Fall State Championship tournament in Round Rock, Texas. Jeffrey Rohrbach took the mound for K.C., giving up 2 quick runs in the top of the 1st inning. Belton thought there might be more, but Jeff slammed the door shut, allowing no more runs in his four remaining innings of work to earn the win. K.C. scratched out a run in the bottom of the 2nd inning to cut the Belton lead in half, 2-1, when Jeffrey Rohrbach was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded. K.C. tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the 3rd inning. K.C. took the lead 4-2 in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Kevin McKee worked a 7 pitch walk and Paul Knowlton launched a 3-0 fastball over the Gatti-Land banner on the left field fence. K.C. put the game out of reach in the bottom of the 6th inning, tallying 4 big runs on a Charles Mann single over 3rd base, a walk to Ross Chan, a 2-RBI double to right field by Kevin McKee, a Paul Knowlton RBI single up the middle, and an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Pat Brosch. Belton scratched out a meaningless run in the top of the 7th inning off reliever, Grant Haynes, with a pair of singles and an infield fielder's choice. Grant induced the very next batter to ground out to third base to end the game and propel K.C. into the semi-final game. With the 8-3 victory, K.C. earned the right to face the winner of the 11:45 a.m., contest between the Texas Lonestars and the Cy-Fair Astros. The winner of that game faces off against either the Bryan College Station Stealth or the Pflugerville Flyers in the championship game at 6pm. The winner of that game earns the right to call itself the 2003 USSSA Texas Fall Champion, and earns a paid berth to the USSSA World Series next summer in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is Scott Rothenberg signing off from Round Rock, saying, GOOOOOOOOOOOO K.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Scott Rothenberg

The 14 year old Kyle Chapman Pony League Titans dominated the first day of the USSSA Texas Fall State Tournament, defeating two North Texas opponents by a combined score of 21-1. In the first game (at 11:15 a.m.), Jeremy Schaffer took the mound for K.C., but not before his teammates staked him to a 6-0 first inning lead. The Titans mounted a furious early game offensive attack courtesy of a Ross Chan single to centerfield, a Kevin McKee single to 3rd, a Paul Knowlton RBI single to right field, a 2 RBI Grant Haynes single to center field, an RBI groundout to third base by Jared Rothenberg, a ground rule double to left by Pat Brosch, an RBI single to left field by Andrew Jones, a single to right by Trey Hibbert, and a sacrifice fly to right field by Jeremy Schaffer. Jeremy Schaffer dominated on the mound, allowing just 1 unearned run in 5 innings of work on seven hits and two walks, while striking out 7 Round Rock Rangers. K.C. added a run in the top of the 3rd when Pat Brosch reached base on a dropped third strike, then courtesy runner Diego Lopez managed to score on a wild pitch. K.C. got its 8th run in the top of the 4th courtesy of a neat Paul Knowlton triple down the right field line, and a sacrifice fly to center field by Grant Haynes. K.C. closed out the scoring in the top of the 5th, tallying its 9th and final run of the game on a single up the middle by Jeremy Schaffer, a wild pitch, sending courtesy runner Diego Lopez to second base, a stolen base by Lopez at 3rd, and an RBI single by Ross Chan to drive him home. The final score in 5 innings was K.C. Titans 9, Round Rock Rangers 1. In the nightcap (8:15 pm start), Jared Rothenberg took the mound against a very tough Fort Worth Jackets team. For those of you who don't know, this is the same team that knocked First Colony American out of the Southwest Super Regional of the Little League World Series 2 years ago. In fact, their starting pitcher tonight, Walker Kelly, was the same pitcher who came within one out of throwing a no-hitter in the 2001 Little League World Series. In the top of the 1st, K.C. managed only a walk to Paul Knowlton. In the bottom of the 1st, Fort Worth went down 1-2-3, including 2 swinging strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd, K.C. went down 1-2-3. In the bottom of the 2nd, Fort Worth got a leadoff walk, a groundout to second (4-3), a swinging strikeout, a hit batter (to put runners on first and second with two outs), when Jared Rothenberg got the Jackets' batter on a called strike 3 fastball to end the inning. In the top of the 3rd, K.C. scratched out a run against tough Walker Kelly on a Diego Lopez walk, 2 stolen bases, and a 1 out single to centerfield by Ross Chan. In the bottom of the 3rd, Fort Worth began the inning with 2 quick groundouts, then received 2 free passes from Jared Rothenberg to make it runners on first and second with two outs. On a 3-2 count, Jared Rothenberg wheeled toward second, trapping the runner between 2nd and 3rd. After running toward the trapped runner, Jared threw to Paul Knowlton at third, who ran the runner back toward second, tagging him for the third out of the inning. That blue star defensive play preserved K.C.'s tenuous one run lead. In the top of the 4th, Fort Worth removed its star pitcher. K.C. responded by blowing the game wide open with 5 big runs. A Jared Rothenberg walk, a Pat Brosch walk, an Andrew Jones single up the middle, a run scoring Diego Lopez walk, a run scoring fielder's choice by Charles Mann, a walk to Kevin McKee, a run scoring helmet hit to Paul Knowlton and a Grant Haynes run-scoring walk put the game out of reach at 6-0. In the bottom of the 4th, Grant Haynes came on to pitch, allowing 2 Fort Worth hits, but no runs. In the top of the 5th, K.C. added 6 more runs on a Jeremy Schaffer walk, a Jeffrey Rohrbach RBI single to right field, a double by Trey Hibbert, a 2 RBI triple by Kevin McKee, a walk to Paul Knowlton, and a 2 RBI single by Grant Haynes. The score in the middle of 5 innings of play was K.C. 12, Fort Worth Jackets, 0. In the bottom of the 5th, Grant Haynes sealed the victory with a bunt out, a single, a groundout to first base, and a groundout to second to end the game. Of special note in the second game was the Titans' flawless defense. Despite recent defensive challenges, K.C. did not commit an error in the second game. In the first game, Grant Haynes made a blue star catch of a sinking line drive to left field, and Pat Brosch spearheaded a strikeout double play with a stunning throw to second base to nail a fleet Round Rock baserunner. By virtue of their effective hitting, stellar pitching, steady baserunning and excellent defense, K.C. earned the #1 seed going into Sunday's playoff round. At 9:00 a.m., Sunday, K.C. will play the #8 seed Belton Red Sox, who lost today 14-1, but won their nightcap 6-1. The winner of that game advances to a 3:45pm semi-final game against the winner of the Texas Lonestars - Cy-Fair Astros game. The finals are scheduled for 6pm on Sunday. Congratulations to the Titans on a great first day of play. We look forward to more Kyle Chapman All-Star baseball tomorrow morning. Gooooooooooooooo Titans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Scott Rothenberg