Maxim Yankee's put themselves on the map with strong showing in Wichita!

The Maxim Yankees made a strong case that they are one of the top summer teams in the country with a 9th place finish at the NBC world series.  The Yankee's won their first three games against top 20 teams ranked by  perfect game (click here).  In the first game of the tournament the Yankee's defeated #5 Vienna Senators of the Clark Griffith league in Virginia.  In that game the Yankee's defeated Pepperdine's Nate Newman (6-0, 1.80) 5-3 to move on to the second round.  Before facing the Yankee's the Senators were 41-6 and had won the Clark Griffith League championship.  In the second round of the NBC tournament the Yankee's faced the representative from the prestigious Alaskan League; Kenai Oiler's.  On the mound for the Oiler's was Matt Thompson of Santa Rosa Junior College.  Thompson was ranked the top junior college pitcher in the state of California and features a fastball that touches 94 mph.  Baseball America ranked Thompson as the 14th best prospect in the state of California (see article).  The Yankee's offense chased Thompson out of the game after 4 innings, while giving up 6 runs on 7 hits.  Brendan Domaracki lead the way going 3-5 with 2 RBI's.  Daniel Terpak was also 3-5 with 3 runs scored, while SJSU local John Shaffer was 2-4.  After losing to the Santa Barbara Foresters in the championship game of the Best of the West, the Yankee's were excited for the opportunity to play them again in the 3rd round of the tournament.  Yankee's veteran pitcher Chris Sherman got the start and held the Foresters to 1 run through 4 innings of work.  Sherman used a nasty slider and hard sinker showing images of his pro days.  Drew Clothier came on in the 5th to shut down the Foresters on no hits for the final three innings.  The game was called after 7 innings due to a run rule created for the tournament.  Offensively the whole Yankee lineup was productive.  Jeff Van Doornum and Daniel Terpak both had 3 hits a piece, while Brendan Domaracki, Gabe Alcantar and Kurt Wideman had 2 hits a piece.  Wideman had 2 doubles and 3 RBI's on the night.  Maxim knocked Texas Longhorn starter Austin Wood out of the game after 3 innings.  The game was called in the bottom of the 7th after Gabe Alcantar singled in the final run of the game.  In Maxim's fourth game of the tournament they ran into Wichita State ace Rob Musgrave and the El Dorado Broncos.  Musgrave held Maxim's offense to 1 run in a complete game effort.  At Wichita State, Musgrave was 10-2 with a 2.59 era in 111.1 innings of work.  Despite a rough 1st inning, Maxim pitchers held the El Dorado Broncos to one run through the final 8 innings of play.  The Yankees lost their first game of the tournament 5-1 and went into the loser's bracket with a 10 am game the following morning.  The final game of the tournament for the Yankee's was against the Junction City Generals of Junction City, KS.  The Yankee's managed to pull together 4 runs in the first 6 innings, but the heat took its toll on the team's short rest from the game the night before.  The Generals put across 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th innings to preserve a 6-4 win over the Maxim Yankees.  With the strong run in the tournament the team finished a best ever 9th place in the NBC World Series.  The Yankees finish their season in Reno, NV with a 3 game series against the Reno Astros on August 17 & 18th.  More on that series will follow.