From the outset of AWA's first season, the team was inconsistent and unpredictable. Game to game, examples of great promise were followed by efforts of comical ineptness. No one knew from week to week just which AWA team would show up.
P&J Air Conditioning was one of the league's top clubs, and as the second half began, they were considered the favorites to finish in first place. AWA had one of its better games in beating P&J 13-10 earlier in the year, but most saw that game as an aberration, a true upset. When the two teams met in week three of the second half, AWA was coming off one of its typically futile efforts, a 16-11 error-filled thrashing. P&J, as expected, was sitting on top of the standings with a 2-0 record.
Tom Sukup gave AWA the early lead when he smashed a three-run homer in the first, but P&J answered that with some power hitting of their own. Aided by AWA errors, P&J eventually built an 8-3 lead that they confidently took into the bottom of the seventh. No one imagined what would follow.
Steve Barrett opened the seventh with a hit to right and Pat Koeplin followed with a single through the right side. It seemed to be the last hurrah, however, as Earl Yagi flied out and Gary Matsushita popped out. AWA was down to its last out. But Mike Applegate worked out a walk, and Tony Franklin smoked a drive to deep right center field that rolled for a grand slam homer.
It was an exciting moment for the AWA faithful, but the team stilled trailed 8-7 and now the bases were empty. But Tom, eyeing the right field line, shot a grounder to first that the first baseman booted for an error. Neil Christie then lined a single to right, sending Tom to third. With the game on the line, Dave Jackson then hammered a hard grounder to short that ate up the infielder for an error. The tying run was across and now the potential winning run was at second in the form of Neil.
Phill Blake stepped into the box and topped a slow roller between the pitcher and first base. The pitcher made a stellar bare-handed pickup of the ball, but in his effort to get the speedy Phill, hastily lofted an underhanded throw over the first baseman's head. Neil raced to third on the play, but as he rounded third, neither he nor the third base coach could clearly see where the ball was, having been impaired by the setting sun that was right behind first base. AS the AWA bench screamed for Neil to run, he finally made the break for home, crossing the plate just ahead of the throw. Scoring six times after two were out in the bottom of the seventh, AWA had pulled out the 9-8 victory!
This game marked a huge turning point for the team. AWA never looked back, running the table on the rest of the schedule to tie P&J for the second half championship. The guys then went on to beat P&J 10-7 in an extra inning thriller in the playoffs, and then won it all by upsetting mighty Mohawk Packing in the championship game.
Never again would the AWA players doubt their talents, and winning league championships became a standard goal for the next few years, as unrealistic a goal as that eventually came to be. But that was for later. After this night, AWA would no longer be defined by its failures.
