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News Flash - Monday May 26, 2003:

Miami Open Final Update:  

The third and final day of the Miami Open proved to be loaded with fabulous baseball.  Fantastic baseball. Simply outstanding individual and team performances.  Here's how the day went:

Semi-finals:

In the first semi-final game, the second-seeded Miami Red Sox rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth only to leave the game-tying runner stranded on second and lose to the wildcard entry Miami Miracle 5 - 4.

In the second semi-final game, the South Florida Mets earned a rare 5 - 0 two-hit shutout win over the perennial powerhouse and top-seeded South Florida Sea Dogs.

Championship:

In the best game of the tournament, the Miami Miracle first survived a two-run game tying rally in the bottom of the ninth by the defending champion South Florida Mets before erupting for two runs in the top of the tenth inning to win the 2003 Miami Open championship 6 - 4.  The game featured three Mets runners thrown out at the plate and five home runs at Flamingo Park Stadium as each team traded home runs throughout the game.  Congratulations to the newcomer Miami Miracle on their first title!

Most Valuable Player:

In the most dominating individual performance in Miami Open history, Eric Enriquez of the Miami Miracle, slugged five home runs and two doubles (no singles) in a five game tournament set.  After slamming a home run and a double in the semi-final game against the Miami Red Sox, he crushed another home run and a double in the championship game to claim the MVP trophy.  Eric was part of a back-to-back first inning home run combination in two consecutive preliminary round games as well.  In all, Eric hit a home run in each of the team's five games played to go along with three doubles and 15 RBI.  Wow! Congratulations Eric!  You da man!

News Flash - Sunday May 25, 2003:

Day Two of the Miami Open proved to be exciting as several teams remained in the playoff hunt.  

American Division:  Four-time Fall Classic champions, South Florida Sea Dogs (3 - 0), earned the top seed in the playoffs with a 2 - 0 win over Miami Miracle, who finished 2 - 1.  However, the Miracle advanced as the tournament Wild Card, barely edging out the South Florida AquaSox (2 - 1) by one run in the runs allowed tie breaker.  

National Division:  The South Florida Mets (2 - 1), having clinched the division on opening day, suffered a forfeit loss to the Miami All Stars (1 - 2), but advanced to the playoff round as the third seed.  The Miami Red Sox played the All Stars instead, winning 5 - 2.  In the division's other game, the Miami Hurricanes (1 -2) beat the Miami Blue Jays (0 - 3) by a score of 9 - 2.

Central Division:  A potential 3-way tie in the Central Division was quickly snuffed out when the Miami Red Sox eliminated Ft. Myers (1 - 2) by a score of 4 - 1 the final game of the Preliminary Round.  That left the Miami AquaSox on the bubble with a 2 - 1 record after their 8 - 0 shutout win over SouthCom (0 - 3).  However, they were left at the alter missing out on the tie-breaker after the South Florida Seadogs beat the Miami Miracle 2 - 0. Two more Sea Dog runs and the AquaSox would have advanced to the playoffs as the Wild Card entry ahead of the Miracle.  The Miami Red Sox (3 - 0) advanced to the playoffs as the second seed.

Semi-Finals:

Monday May 25, 2003 

2003 Miami Open Championship:

Monday May 25, 2003 

Miami Open Update (Saturday May 24, 2003):

Opening Day of the tournament was wet and wild.  All but two games were completed in spite of the rain. However, because the two games had to be rescheduled to Sunday, the remaining tournament schedule had to be altered - see below for schedule changes.  First day successful teams were South Florida Mets (2-0), Miami Red Sox (2-0), South Florida Seadogs (1-0) and Miami Miracle (1-0).  After the elimination round is completed on Sunday, semifinal games will take place Monday morning at 9:30am at Miami Beach and Coral Gables.  The 2003 Miami Open Championship is scheduled to take place Monday afternoon at 1:30pm at Miami Beach.

See below for complete game results and standings.

Revised Schedule - Sunday May 25, 2003 :

Revised Schedule - Monday May 26, 2003 

Tournament Summary

The South Florida Baseball League is proud to present the sixth annual 2003 Miami Open Baseball Challenge.  This tournament, which is open to any and all teams in the region regardless of affiliation, takes place in Miami, Florida on Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, 2003.  The tournament features some of the best competition in the area with teams coming from various leagues including the South Florida Baseball League, the Nicaraguan League, the Federal League in Broward county, Fort Myers and the Bahamas.  The winner-take-all tournament is highlighted by a $1,000 Cash Prize, a tournament trophy and individual gold medals for the championship team. 

Tournament Format

The tournament brackets consist three divisions with a 10-team tournament field..  All teams are guaranteed a minimum of three games played in round robin format against teams within their respective division.  Two games are played on Saturday, May 24 with the third game played on Sunday morning, May 25. 

Playoff Qualifiers:  Teams qualify for the playoffs based on the following point system:

Points:    1 Win = 2 points, 1 Tie = 1 point, 1 Loss = 0 points.  

The team with the greatest number of points wins its division. However, in case of a tie, use the tie-breaker rules detailed below.  The first place team in each bracket after the 3-game elimination round will advance to the semifinals along with one wild card team.  The wild card spot will be awarded to the team with the best second place finish based on the tie breaker rules:

Tie Breaker Rules:  Tie breakers are applied in the following order:

1.  Head-to-head result

2.  Fewest Runs Allowed:  If no head-to-head result, the team with the fewest runs allowed will win the second tie breaker.

3.  Net Runs:  In case of another tie, an equation of net runs will be employed and the team with the greatest number of net runs wins the third tie breaker.  Net Runs = (Runs Scored - Runs Allowed).

4.  Coin Toss:  In case of a third tie, a best-of-three coin toss will determine the final tie breaker.

Playoffs:  The two semifinal games are scheduled to play Sunday afternoon, May 25.  The winners of the two semifinal games advance to the championship game to be played Monday morning, May 26 at Flamingo Park in Miami Beach.  The playoff team seedings will be determined by a ranking system.  The four teams making the semifinals will be ranked according to the tie breaker criteria listed above.  The top team as determined by the tie breaker system will play the wild card team while the other game matches up the second and third ranked teams.  The only exception to this playoff scheme is when two teams from the same division draw each other in the semifinal match-ups, in which case the tournament director has the option of reversing the match-ups.

Tournament Seedings

The tournament seedings have been established by the tournament director and are based on past tournament performances as well as current records and other objective and subjective factors.

Tournament Brackets

Tournament Locations

The Miami Open will be played in five different locations in Miami, Florida as detailed below.  To view a map of the field of your choice, simply click on the underlined name.

Miami-Dade Comm. College, Kendall

Killian High, Kendall

Flamingo Park - Miami Beach

Coral Gables High, Coral Gables

Coral Park High, , Miami

Tournament Rules

The Miami Open is played under the rules undertaken by the South Florida Baseball League.  A copy of the SFBL Official Rules and Regulations will be provided to each participating team.  To access the rules immediately, click on the underlined reference.  Some imperative rules are as follows:

1.  In each team's offensive line-up, a minimum 10 batters must be used.  You may add to this minimum at any time during the game but you may not shrink the line-up once expanded.

2.  Free defensive substitution.  As implied, no restrictions on defensive changes except for the pitcher re-entry rule.

3.  Pitcher Re-entry Rule:  In the case of a pitching change, once a pitcher is removed, he can only be re-entered as a pitcher after one complete inning  has been played.  This move can only be done once per game.

4.  No deliberate physical contact between base runners and defensive players, i.e. NO BARRELING INTO THE CATCHER, SECOND BASEMAN, etc.  Automatic ejection penalty.

5.  3 hour time limit = no inning shall start after 3 hours has elapsed.  Tie games permitted - see tie breaker rules.

6.  In case of rain, official game only after 5 full innings completed.  Games started but not registering 5 complete innings will be suspended and completed later.  Offensive line-ups remain frozen and the suspended game must pick up where it left off.

7.  All team managers must call in game results - win or lose- to the SFBL office 305.663.2521 within 10 minutes of game completion or suspension.  All results will be posted to this website page live throughout the tournament.

Tournament Standings

American Division:

National Division:

Central Division:

Tournament Schedule

American Division:

South Florida Sea Dogs

Miami Miracle

Miami All Stars

National Division:

South Florida Mets

Miami Hurricanes

Miami Blue Jays

Central Division:

Ft. Myers Hitmen

South Florida AquaSox

Miami Red Sox

SouthCom Mariners

Playoffs - Semifinals

2003 Miami Open Championship

Base Hits as of 4/25/03