by O.B.

BEAT TAKES FIRST ! ! ! Late Rally Tops Dudes

In a game reminiscent of it's first championship season, The BEAT scored five runs in it's last at bat to defeat the Cool Dudes 5-4 at Jackson #1 giving the team sole possession of first place for the first time in "C" League.

At 3-0-1, the boys in gray moved past the previously undefeated Dudes, who dropped to 2-1. They also guaranteed themselves their best record in upper division city-league softball

"I was shaking when I handed the scoresheet to the Blue," said defensive coach Anne Spoon, summing up the tension that built from the first pitch. Moreno led off with a single for the Dudes, scoring on a sacrifice fly after a rare outfield error by Butts. That play kept looming bigger, as each defense played shutout ball. The Dudes squeezed out one more run in the fourth after a lead-off triple. A two out single threatened to widen the score, but as the throw came in toward the advancing runner at third, the batter tried for two. 'D' Moody whipped the ball over to Mark St.Georges at second who applied the tag to end the inning. Then the game changed.

In the bottom of the inning, Denny "O.B." O'Brien, who had been pitching solid, pulled a calf muscle while making the third out to end the inning. The BEAT had scraped together only two hits in the first four innings and had now lost their starting pitcher. The team called on Kevin Austin, who had been EP through the first four innings and had no time to warm up, to take the mound. Austin walked the first two batters he faced, both of whom scored on a hit and fielder's choice. Suddenly, it was 4-0, with the game and the season slipping away.

But Austin and the defense rallied, starting with an inning ending 6-4-3 double play and shutout ball the rest of the way. And in the bottom of the sixth, the offense finally woke up.

Greg DeMaestri started the rally with a single. Lefties, Peter Wenner and Mike Laffey followed with the same, Laffey driving in DeMaestri to break the ice. Jeff Ricketts walked to load the bases. With the bench and fans screaming and the offensive pressure the greatest, the Dudes finally cracked.

B.J. Bateman hit a double play grounder to Berry at second base, who chose instead to come home. The throw was wide, everyone was safe, and suddenly it was 4-2 with no outs.  J.J. Anlicker singled home another run, and a batter later, Eric Schoenauer, batting for O.B., hit a fielder's choice to plate Ricketts with the tying run. Austin came up and squibbed a two-out dribbler toward third and it looked like we were going to the seventh tied. But Rece at third overthrew first base, all the runners advanced and Bateman crossed the plate to give The BEAT the 5-4 lead before the inning ended.

But this is baseball (well, softball actually) and the Dudes had one more at bat. Another leadoff walk, a fly ball, an error by the usually sure-handed Moody at third, another fly, then another walk left the bases loaded with two outs. Johnson, trying to make amends in the cleanup spot, hit the hardest shot of the day to left. But Ricketts played the wind and flagged it down, and The BEAT had taken a giant step towards a championship.

View The BEAT's 1997 Final Batting Statistics

See the game scoresheet in pdf (211k) or
On The BEAT News Archive