There are two paths to the finals of a softball tournament. The most difficult route is the exhaustive grind through the losers' bracket, as the team battles fatigue, injuries, and a progression of games against teams in the same mode of desperation. The way through the winners' bracket is much more attractive. A team plays fewer games to get there, giving the club an advantage of freshness as the final game approaches. A team just needs to make sure that its freshness doesn't go stale in the wait.
AWA Enterprises got a huge scheduling break in the 1982 Morgan Hill Umpires Tournament, drawing a first round bye. The team then found itself in great shape at the end of the day by posting afternoon victories of 17-7 and 4-3, vaulting AWA into the semifinals.
Arriving at the park late Sunday morning, AWA took on Pepperidge Farms, the only other undefeated team in the tournament. The game was a rout, and AWA came off the field 11-1 victors as pitcher Earl Yagi masterfully tossed a five-hitter. Now, with the spot in the championship finals secured, the players retired to a nearby hillside to relax and watch the teams remaining in the losers' bracket to slug it out under the sun for awhile. It would be almost three hours before AWA would have to take the field again.
The elimination games were spirited and hard-fought. In all, the guys got to see some very well-played games before them. The most entertaining contest was the one for third place between two teams that seemed to know and dislike each other., and which featured late rallies and controversial calls that affected the outcome. The team that finally emerged with the victory was none other than Pepperidge Farms, and the losing team didn't leave the field without crudely protesting its misfortune. They were convinced that they had been robbed.
Meanwhile, the guys from AWA had been whiling away the time -- napping, eating, even enjoying a beer or two -- and the relaxing hours spent on that sunny hillside may have taken something out of the team that nobody could see right away. No one was really very worried. After all, AWA had easily manhandled Pepperidge Farms earlier in the day. And AWA was fresh, or so the guys thought. As it turned out we were not the least bit prepared to take on a team that was playing exceptionally well and who still very much had its edge.
That edge showed itself from the outset. In the top of the first inning, with the help of a couple of errors, the hitters from Pepperidge Farms poured across four runs before the first out of the inning could be recorded. Earl finally worked himself out of trouble, but the last two outs were hard-hit lineouts.
The AWA offense seemed to be ready to play, at least in the first inning, as singles by Gary Matsushita, Brian Christie, and Greg Brown loaded the bases with no outs. A sacrifice fly by Steve Barrett, followed by a run-scoring single by Joe Sammut and another sacrifice fly by Kip Kipke got three of those runs back.
But more mistakes on defense allowed Pepperidge Farms to build its lead. Some really sloppy play in the outfield gave the quick Pepperidge Farms runners the confidence to take extra bases at will. Brian was able to throw one runner out at the plate, but that just stopped the bleeding a little bit. Scoring three times in the second and four more in the third, Pepperidge Farms opened up an 11-3 lead.
The team that had been eliminated in the previous game was seated on the hillside behind the AWA dugout, and they were viewing AWA for the first time. One spectator couldn't believe what was going on before him. "Those guys are the undefeated team?" he complained loudly. "They're lousy!" A hearty round of laughter cascaded down from the hillside.
Well, he was right. We were playing lousy softball, no doubt about it. But that insult came at the team like a resounding wake-up call. And the players responded.
Joe and Kip opened the home half of the fourth with hits. Tom then rifled a single to center to drive in the first run of the inning. Dave Jackson got another run home with a single through the middle. Earl then shot a hit to right, and Tom crossed the plate. Mike Applegate then stepped up and rifled a hit to center which skipped past the outfielder for an error. Two more runs scored and Mike pulled up at second. Gary walked.
Things were looking bright with AWA's big boppers coming up, but Brian flied out and Greg popped out, and the inning appeared to be all but over. But Steve drilled a clutch hit to center, and Mike slid home safely just ahead of the throw, which got past the catcher. As the ball rattled around the backstop, Gary, who had raced to third, made a daring break for home, scoring with a slide. This was a brand new ball game! AWA had closed the gap to 11-10.
The AWA fifth featured only three hits, but the team still put up a five-spot on the scoreboard, aided by a couple of walks and a pair of infield errors by Pepperidge Farms. Brian walked with two out and the bases loaded to give AWA the lead, and then a two-run single by Greg to extend the advantage. An RBI single by Steve made the score 15-11. Pepperidge Farms had lost its composure and AWA made the most of its chances.
But it was too soon to celebrate just yet. Pepperidge Farms picked up two runs in the sixth, and in the seventh seemed poised to make a new game of it as they put the potential tying runs on first and second with only one out. Earl got a flyout for the second out of the inning, but that brought up the most dangerous hitter in the Pepperidge Farms lineup. Stepping up with the game on the line was their #3 hitter, who was already a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBIs in the game.
The imposing lefty hitter waited out a couple of pitches before lining a sharp drive to right. The team held its collective breath as Steve broke at the crack of the bat, racing toward the line. The AWA right fielder, who had struggled defensively all day, snared the drive at his knees for the play of the game.
It was over! And although AWA showed the sluggish effects of its layoff, the guys got the wake up call in the nick of time. In one of the team's best comebacks ever, AWA erased an 11-3 deficit to win it 15-13.
Who's lousy now?
