The long season finished up last night and it was exciting! In the semifinal, it was the number three ranked Sticks and Chicks taking on two seeded Just a Bit Outside. JABO was missing quite a few players, which really put them at a disadvantage. They only had three females, which meant that they would have to take an out for the missing one. They also only had five guys, which meant fielding with 8 players was going to be a gruesome task. Sticks and Chicks took full advantage of the depleted roster. They took their lead in the second inning and wouldn’t look back. Both teams had quick 1, 2, 3, innings that made for a quick game. JABO had a big sixth inning, but it wasn’t going to be anywhere close enough to recover the thirteen runs that they needed. S&C advanced with a 14-7 score.

Houtsma’s Heroes were waiting in the championship. HH won the first inning 4-3. Both teams scored 2 in the second. But it was the top of the third that S&C took off. They strung together some good hits that accumulated for six runs. With one out, they hit the ball to the third baseman. It looked like it was going to be a tag and throw to first for the double play, but the fielder didn’t tag the runner with the ball-only an empty glove. The runner was declared safe at third. HH protested the call, claiming that the runner went out of the base path. Even if the runner did go three feet off her line, never leave it up to the umpire to make a huge judgment call. S&C would go on to score five more runs in the inning to cap off an 11 run third.

But the number one seed wasn’t going to back down that easy. They got a rally of their own going, scoring six in the bottom half and bringing the score to 16-12. S&C would be held scoreless in the fifth.

With the time running out, HH had to have a big inning. They scored four runs and loaded the bases. With two out, the next batter hit a grounder that was thrown a little off first. The first baseman slipped on first base and caught the ball for the third out of the inning. HH didn’t like the call. The game would go into extra innings. Both teams scored 1 run to go into the second extra inning. S&C failed to score any runs. The leadoff batter for HH hit a line drive to left center field. It was pretty evident that it was going to be a walk off in the park homerun, and it was. HH won the game 18-17 to take the championship.

Thanks for the great season!