Tournament Update

Final Results:  Monday afternoon 3pm:  Championship Game - The South Florida Mets win the 2005 Miami Open by holding off the never-say-die Fort Myers Hitmen with a 7-6 final score at Miami Dade College.  The Mets took an early 4-1 lead and continued to add a run an inning during the mid-frame to go up 7-1 by the sixth inning.  However, the Hitmen, led by skipper Grayson Huber, scored twice in the bottom of the sixth and then added a run per inning, including a run in the bottom of the ninth, to turn the game into a thriller.  Congratulations to the South Florida Mets for winning another championship!

Update Monday morning 10am:  Semifinal Games - The suspended game between the Fort Myers Hitmen and the Ft. Lauderdale Superstars was not completed by Superstars choice and, consequently, the Fort Myers Hitmen advance to the championship game after they were declared winners by a final score of 5-4 .

Update Sunday evening 8pm:  Semifinal Games - The Miami Lakes Red Sox lose 4-3 to the South Florida Mets after giving up a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning at Miami Dade College.  The game was called because of rain after five innings with the Mets getting the win to advance to Monday's Championship game.  In the other semifinal game, the Fort Myers Hitmen used timely hitting to pull out a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth, after coming from behind down 4-1 in the fourth inning against the Ft. Lauderdale Superstars.  Due to the late afternoon rain, the game ended up getting suspended with the Superstars batting in the bottom of the fifth inning.  The suspended game was scheduled to be completed Monday morning at 9am, with the winning team advancing to the Championship game against the defending champion South Florida Mets Monday at noon.

Update Sunday noon 12pm: Round 3 games - Ft. Lauderdale Superstars stomp on Miami Lakes Red Sox 17-2, as the listless Red Sox had already clinched a playoff spot.  In the other battle of the unbeaten teams, the South Florida Mets held off a feisty Fort Myers team to break an 8-8 tie in the bottom of the 9th.  Mets won 9-8 on a bases loaded shot into the right-center field gap.  In other action, the Miami Red Sox win 1-0 over the South Florida Gators while the Southern Yankees notched their first win of the tournament with a 12-1 pounding of the Miami Aquasox. 

The semifinal matchups:  South Florida Mets take on the Miami Lakes Red Sox in game 1 while the Ft. Lauderdale Superstars host the Fort Myers Hitmen in game 2.  Stay tuned......

Update Saturday evening 6pm:  Again the top seeds all win their respective Round 2 games setting up a "Super Sunday" with two third round games between four unbeaten teams.  The lower seeded teams play for pride.  Congratulations to the South Florida Mets, Fort Myers Hitmen, Ft. Lauderdale Superstars and the Miami Lakes Red Sox!!

News Flash Saturday noon 12pm:  Round 1 games - All of the top seeds pick up early wins with the Ft. Lauderdale Superstars, South Florida Mets, Miami Lakes Red Sox and Fort Myers Hitmen getting the wins.  See results and standings below. 

 Tournament Summary

The South Florida Baseball League is proud to present the eighth annual 2005 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 28-30, 2005.  The tournament features some of the best competition in the area with teams coming from various leagues including the South Florida Baseball League, the Federal League in Broward county, the Hialeah League, and Fort Myers - Naples, Florida.  The winner-take-all tournament is highlighted by a $750 Cash Prize and a tournament trophy for the championship team. 

Players and teams who are interested in playing are advised to contact the League Office immediately at 305.663.2521.

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 Standings

American Division:

National Division:

Tournament Schedule

American Division:

South Florida Mets

Fort Myers Hitmen

Southern Yankees

Miami Aqua Sox

National Division:

Miami Lakes Red Sox

Fort Lauderdale Superstars

South Florida Gators

Miami Red Sox

Playoffs - Semi-finals

2005 Miami Open Championship Game

Tournament Format

The tournament will be limited to 8 teams using an open-division format (18+).  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 28 with the third game played on Sunday morning, May 29. 

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

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

The top two teams with the most points in each bracket after the 3-game elimination round will advance to the semi-finals.  All ties are resolved based on tie-breaker rules listed below.

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 29.  The winners of the two semi-final games advance to the championship game to be played Monday morning, May 30 at Miami Dade College - Dade Kendall Campus.  The winner of the American Division will play the second place team in the National Division in the first semi-final game, while the winner of the National Division will play the second place team in the American Division in the second semi-final game. 

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.  Elimination round games are subject to a 3 hour time limit = no inning shall start after 3 hours has elapsed.  Tie games are permitted - see tie breaker rules.  However, all playoff games will play without time limits.

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 Locations

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

Miami-Dade College, Kendall

Killian High, Kendall

Flamingo Park - Miami Beach

Coral Gables High, Coral Gables

Coral Park High, Miami

Base Hits as of 5/14/05