TOP ROW (left to right): Brandon Stover, Stephen Shewmaker, David Pittman, Ryan Quidley, Corey Patterson, Nathan Sanders, Jonathan Sharp. BOTTOM ROW: James Mayo, Garrett Sublette, Ryan Ware, Blaine Martin, Steven Rizzotto. NOT PICTURED: Jeff Campbell, Mark Lavender.
HGH secures 2nd straight fall title with fantastic finish
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is not a game story. This is a season recap. Therefore, it is not subject to the season-long ban on game stories that was imposed by the World Softball Congress after “NewHopeGate.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is not a game story. This is a season recap. Therefore, it is not subject to the season-long ban on game stories that was imposed by the World Softball Congress after “NewHopeGate.”
By Bump Wills
Softball Times
Softball Times
ABILENE — More than two weeks have passed, yet the electricity is still in the Abilene air after what at least one slow-pitch softball publication is calling the greatest performance in the history of team sports.
Let’s set the stage:
Heading into their Nov. 2 season finale against first-place PDBC Green, the slumping HGH Syringes had dropped two of their last three games. Six days earlier, they had managed just six measly runs in a loss to the last-place stumblebums from FBC Abilene Blue. Dead opossums have more momentum than these dudes did.
Now to claim another fall title, HGH would have to somehow upset a PDBC Green team that had smacked them around in their first meeting. But just winning wouldn’t be enough — the Syringes had to win by more than three runs, or else PDBC would claim the title by virtue of the margin-of-victory tiebreaker.
Then came the back-breaker: the Syringes would have to do it all without veteran reserve third baseman Mark Lavender, who had hit a blistering .125 in two games but made up some lame excuse so he wouldn’t have to come.
Needless to say, Vegas bookmakers made HGH’s odds only slightly better than Bernie Madoff being named Time magazine’s Man of the Year.
And then — POOF — softball magic happened.
After two innings, an energized HGH lineup had jumped out to an improbable 10-0 lead thanks to 12 hits and back-to-back home runs. Could it be? A Cinderella story? A fairy-tale ending?
Well, maybe not: two innings later, the PDBC powerhouse had rallied to jump ahead 15-14. Nice try, Cinderella. Time to go home and start scrubbing floors again.
But the story wasn’t over yet. For instead of sinking under the pressure, the Syringes jumped right back with six runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. Meanwhile, veteran pitcher Jonathan Sharp likely punched his own Hall of Fame ballot by blanking the Green Machine the rest of the way. And when the final fly ball nestled into outfielder Steven Rizzotto’s glove, the miracle was complete.
HGH 21, PDBC Green 15.
A second consecutive ASSA Fall League championship — this time at an even higher level (Church II) than in 2008 (Church III).
Roll credits. Fade to black.
“I still barely believe it myself,” HGH coach Nathan Sanders said while sitting on a rusty lawn chair at his winter home — a plastic tarp at the KOA Campground. “Six days before, we looked worse than the Cleveland Browns practice squad. Then we play those PDBC suckers, and we just tore into ‘em like a pack of hungry turtles. I can’t explain it.”
On a team filled with MVP candidates, five stood out:
– Blaine Martin
Martin led the Syringes in virtually every major category, including batting average (.683), runs (23), hits (28), doubles (six), forfeits caused (one), ridiculous hats worn (one) and uses of the word “tight” (far too many to count).
– Ryan Ware
The rookie had a Elvis Andrus-esque breakthrough debut season after being promoted from the Syringes’ minor-league affiliate in Richland Hills in August. Ware hit .607 with 10 RBI, three of which came on an emphatic three-run home run that smacked off the scoreboard in left field during HGH’s seven-run second inning in their title-clinching victory. It helped atone for an Aug. 31 game against New Hope when he went hitless and failed to make any noticeable impact — mostly because he forgot to come.
– James Mayo
The big fella graciously stepped down as coach after a horrendous 3-9 spring season to pave the way for Sanders’ return to power. Before the high-stakes rematch with PDBC Green, Mayo suggested a lineup change that led to the Syringes setting a season high for runs (21) and hits (25). He then made HGH’s chance at victory even greater by not playing.
– Brandon Stover
Stover pulled a Michael Jordan and returned to the Syringes after using last spring to try out as a defender for Real Madrid. Stover returned to his natural sport this fall and hit a legitimate .656. He also went 3-for-3 with 4 RBI in the critical season finale.
– Nathan Sanders
Where to begin? As manager, he pulled the franchise back out of the dumpster and guided it to a 6-0 start — extending his winning streak as a coach to an unheard-of 16 games. Then when HGH lost two of three to put the season in jeopardy, he humbly implemented Mayo’s lineup changes. Finally, with the title on the line, Sanders took things into his own hands by blasting two home runs to right-center field against PDBC Green.
Where to begin? As manager, he pulled the franchise back out of the dumpster and guided it to a 6-0 start — extending his winning streak as a coach to an unheard-of 16 games. Then when HGH lost two of three to put the season in jeopardy, he humbly implemented Mayo’s lineup changes. Finally, with the title on the line, Sanders took things into his own hands by blasting two home runs to right-center field against PDBC Green.
How clutch is Sanders? Consider: In the three games HGH has played with a share of a title or an outright title on the line, Sanders is a combined 10-for-12 with three home runs, two triples, four doubles and 14 RBI. Still, he had his own opinion about the most important member of his Syringes team.
“I just want to give credit to the true MVP of this championship run: Garrett Sublette’s bat,” Sanders said. “I’m not talking about Sub’s hitting — I mean his actual bat. We didn’t have it the first time we played those dudes from PDBC Green, and all 21 of our hits were singles. Twenty-one singles! We might as well have been hitting with a toothpick wrapped in wet paper towels. That white piece of metal made all the difference the second time around.”
Now the Syringes get to enjoy the adulation that comes with being among the elite teams in softball lore. The team’s photo has already appeared on the coveted back page of the Highland Church of Christ bulletin on Nov. 15 and made its way onto the projection screen before Sunday morning service on Nov. 8. There are also unconfirmed rumors of an appearance in the publication reserved for Abilene’s sporting elite: the Abilene Reporter-News’ “Say Cheese” page.
Sanders said the championship ring ceremony is on hold until he can get enough quarters to get the rest of them out of the Wal-Mart vending machine.
