Kansas All Stars Win
Beep Baseball World Series
Flawless champs finish season undefeated

ROCHESTER, MN – The Kansas All Stars put the finishing touches on a perfect season with a convincing 19-5 triumph over the West Coast Dawgs to capture the 2007 Qwest World Series of Beep Baseball title here at Mansour Park. 

Not even the rain that fell steadily throughout the championship game could stop Kansas, which finished its season with an overall record of 18-0 – including an impressive 7-0 run through the World Series. 

The hard-hitting All Stars collected 120 runs in the Series and yielded just 27. While Kansas was scoring at a clip of better than 17 runs per game, its defense was holding every opponent to single digits.

Steve Stambaugh led Kansas at the plate in the title game, scoring 5 runs in six at-bats.  Chad Sumner followed with four runs scored, while Brett Sanders and Doug Biggins scored three apiece.  Defensively, middle infielder Eric Mazariegos collected 7 seven put-outs for Kansas.

The victory concluded a week of intense competition between 14 teams from across the United States.  The Chicago Comets turned in a solid performance in finishing third, while the Colorado Storm improved two notches from last year’s finish in placing fifth.

“The Beep Ball World Series in Rochester was a huge success and the Telecom Pioneers deserve credit for all of their efforts,” said John Stanoch, Qwest's Minnesota President. “For a full week, the Pioneers worked to support and promote the event, showcasing the world class athletes who participated.” 

Following three days of games played in excellent weather on plush fields, early morning sprinkles led to unrelenting rain and wet, slippery conditions in the championship game.  Still, both teams played on without missing a beat. 

“It was amazing to watch these athletes compete to the best of their ability under such adverse conditions,” said John McCullouch, Chairman of TelecomPioneers.  “Their efforts were truly inspiring.”

EXTRA BASES:  Qwest was the primary sponsor for the World Series and delivered from start to finish.  Qwest-generated media coverage was unprecedented for this event, and the company also co-hosted – along with the Minnesota Twins – a group of 45 NBBA players in a luxury suite at the Twins-Royals game.  Prior to the Twins game, NBBA players conducted a demonstration of beep baseball on the field before an enthusiastic crowd…Former Twins catcher Tim Laudner, a member of the Twins’ 1987 World Series championship team, was on hand to throw out the first ball for the championship game.  Laudner was quick to compliment the players, noting in particular how impressed he was by their athleticism…best wishes to Chad Perry and James Michaels for a speedy recovery from injuries sustained in the tourney…Rochester Amateur Sports Commission (RASC) to be commended for providing outstanding support in the planning and implementation of the tourney.  Fields were in fine condition and well maintained throughout.  RASC managed up to six fields per day, ensuring that all had working bases, beep baseballs, and volunteers.  A big thanks to head umpire Kenny Bailey for once again volunteering his services to manage the umpiring crew.  And congratulations, Kenny, for being recognized by players and coaches as the top umpire in the Series.  The Rochester Host Lions Club funded, cooked and served a barbecue dinner for the Saturday night Awards Banquet.