Is the Trump Stote SSUSA 44/375 Microcell Ball being used in Rock N Reno?

And is that the only acceptable ball?

Thx G

Excerpt from information being provided to Managers and Tournament Staff ...

BALL POLICY: Managers will receive 6 balls. Managers can pick the balls up at the director table when they drop off their COVID Questionnaires, waiver and hotel forms. We supply one ball per team per game after teams have played 6 games. NOTE: The shipment of our STOTE balls from China has been delayed. Therefore we will be using ASA 44/375 standard balls ONLY for the Reno tournament. Please do not bring previously acquired Microcell and/or The Rock softballs to the event as they will not be permitted for use.

Players or teams can buy balls for $20 for 3, $40 for 6, etc. We are not selling single balls.

Thanks for the update and completely understand the delay. What is the brand of a ASA 44/375 standard ball? Just in case I have a few to bring along. Thanks

NY² ... I don't know ... They have been/are being direct shipped to the HQ hotel in Reno ... Will see what I can find out tomorrow (Monday) or Thursday morning when I get in town ... I "think" they may be the TRUMP® AK-EZ- ASA ball (.44 COR/375 Comp/Synthetic leather cover/Red stitch) but no guarantee until I/we see them ...

Thank you for the response and the heads up.

I will bring an empty ball bag and some petty cash.

Take Care, G

Would that be the same ball used in Utah last years worlds ?

NOPE! ... It's exactly as I had speculated in my immediately prior post in this thread ... Confirmed this morning by cutting open a case and looking ... They're the TRUMP® AK-EZ- ASA ball (.44 COR/375 Comp/Synthetic leather cover) ... Don't bring anything else in the softball realm for this tournament ...

Got it ! T.Y.

Does anyone know if this ball is comparable to the ball we usually use?

JamesLG ... That's an individual (player-by-player) judgment call ... We'll find out today with 51 Men's teams in the 40's and 60's (around 750± players) providing "expert commentary"! ... This is the ball that was recommended by BSN as having the most similar characteristics to our official specification ... Good luck!

At least its a .44 375 ball so it should be good. Time will tell how it holds up in warmer weather as the forecast next in Reno is mid 80's.

Both teams will be hitting the same ball, so cant blame the ball if you lose.

No complaints at all so far on the softballs ... Of course, there isn't any time for that since about 61 minutes of each hour has been consumed complaining about guys being called out of the batter's boxes ... Carpets are new on all six fields at Golden Eagle, the lines are bright and clearly defined and 40's are having more than moderate difficulty staying inside them ...

As long as its not the limited flight yellow pillow we had to use in St George at Little Field or Little Valley.. it should not be too bad..

Complaint about the ball.. $6.67 per ball vs $5.00 per ball for extras..

Just busting your chops Dave...

Enjoy Reno.

Bill Dodge
California Coast Plumbers 55AAA

Thanks Dave;

We appreciate your response.

James

Bill I heard from of the 60’s playing this weekend and the ball they are using is not traveling as well, just a heads up

The balls are NOT good. Please change.

domer ... The 40's seem to think the ball is just fine ... Must be one of those "everyone has an opinion things" where everybody's opinion is perfect1 ...
S24 ... NOPE ... BSN will hopefully have the SSUSA style soon, but until then, this is what we're using ...

I have and always will support SSUSA and Dave but that last response was a real beauty. All you need to do is watch 40s play and then 60+ and you can see where the quality of the ball comes into play. It is true both teams hit the same ball but that does not justify using a sub par ball.

Thanks:

James

Dave, the weather next week is supposedly going to be in the upper 80' - low 90's. Can you arrange to have it around....say upper 70's ? Thanks in advance

AJC, I put an order in for you but seems like everything else...on backorder. Maybe next year. Good luck to you and your guys.

JamesLG ... This still, respectfully, comes back to being a simple matter of opinion ... And that's a "plus" in this anonymous message board environment, despite the broad range of those opinions ... We're not hearing any complaints here so far, but get to see a post about the proverbial "friend-of-a-guy-who's-brother-who-knows-someone-who-might-have-played-in-Reno-or-maybe-will-next-week" (that's a joking exaggeration!) ... Both of those scenarios are absolutely fine, though, mainly because they are examples of irrelevance and aren't going to change anything ...

We can't cure the import from China glitch BSN is experiencing, but they will shortly ... We relied, appropriately, on their recommendation for an acceptable "close" alternative, and that's the ball we ARE using this year in Reno ... We started with about 30± cases of them on site and we're going to continue to use them as the only official softball for this event rather than try to trade them out for something else, as someone suggested ... It flies just fine at the 4,500' Reno altitude (another irrelevant opinion, from me this time) ... And speaking of Reno, it's going to be another glorious day here today! ... Good luck everyone!

Microcell balls are superior to a standard ball when temps get above 75. Microcell balls are banned in USSSA and ASA. I thought ASA stopped using 44/375 balls and the official ball was a 52/300. Trump Stote microcell will will out fly a standard Trump Stote and it is really noticeable in hotter temps.

Hi Nancy, thank you for the well wishes ! Hope your doing well, everything is good here !

Here’s a fact... in our 7 games in the 60AAA group, we did not see a single homerun. That’s very unusual, especially considering the altitude and at times wind blowing out. It actually helped us since we are primarily a base hitting team. Don’t care what ball we use as long as everyone is using the same ball. However it’s nice to see a ball leave the park occasionally.

A restricted flight or mush-ball is a great equalizer. I am not of the school that "everyone is hitting the same ball". A lousy ball helps the weaker teams be competitive. That being said, I am not playing so have no skin in the game this weekend!

This ball is junk especially in the two days of 95 degree heat this week in Reno. HR's in the 65 major bracket were minimal, in the five games we played only ONE. Agree with Wood_1966 that it favors the base hit only teams. Our league here in Arizona has had no trouble ordering Microcell Stotes or Rocks from BSN Sports. Just got 10 dozen delivered today. Maybe Dave Dowell can save many of us a trip to Sacramento if this same ball is going to be used there. Just sayin.

Rock N Reno was a very well run tournament with great umpires but the ball was a dud. It would have been much better to use slightly used SSUSA Stotes than the ball we had for this event. Jusy my $.02

Thanks
James

Thanks for having Reno SSUSA. Love playing at Golden Eagle one of the best softball complexes in the country. With that said the “ball” used sucked. I completely understand that everyone played under the same conditions but it doesn’t take away from the play of that softball. There was no way BSN did there homework on the ball performance compared to the Microcell STOTE. Reno was a perfect example of why you changed balls a few years ago from the one we used in Reno. My only ask is that you give us advance notice before money is due for the upcoming TOC tournaments in 2021. I completely understand supply chain issues these days and that you have no control over them. One suggestion is to use someone else to determine a suitable ball if the Microcell STOTE is unavailable. One thought to solving this would be to BYOB as long as they are stamped 44/375. Everyone would save money. SSUSA not having to buy balls and teams not having to pay for balls.