I will be using folks first names here and I don't know most of their last names but for all intensive purposes I'm sure no one involved would be angry with me sharing this tale.
Before I tell you the tale of this weekend's tourney, I feel it's important to note how I got hooked up with this group. It's a tale that really begins back in Milwaukee.
In April as I announced my return to Vermont I realized I needed a team to play softball on. I put out a post on Facebook proclaiming myself to be the hottest free agent on the Vermont market. Not a Lebron-esque hour special or anything. Just a way to generate a buzz and maybe find someone looking for a player. My oldest friend Jason came calling with an offer to join him and people he knew through work. After playing an early game with "On Tap" Hollie, from our team, mentioned she needed another guy to play the next night in Colchester in another league. I gladly accepted and after every game our coach, Rudy, would always tell me to come back. Now I'm a full-fledged member of the squad. Rudy asked if anyone would be interested in playing in the state tourney and I signed up. (The state tourney is completely separate from our regular league play.)
So on Saturday I headed up for our 11am game and although not our whole regular team was going to be there I expected us to win a few games. I learned it was a 12-team field with a guarantee of 3 games. There were some awkward rules to adjust to, but all-in-all I figured it would be a fun day. The day started annoyingly for me because I had to keep answering questions as to where the other girl was that I was supposed to be bringing and really I had no idea, but as we would all weekend, our team pressed on.
We lined up to play our first game and we weren't hitting that well. The team we played had already played earlier and their lack of rust led them to a last inning victory. We were headed for the losers bracket. We had about a three hour break in between these games so we all sat around, tried to stay out of the sun, and shot the shit. There was a lot of getting to know you type stuff. A good portion of the team had played together for years, but aside from myself, still a relative newcomer, we also had couple others making their debuts, and/or long awaited returns to McKee's play.
Our 3pm game was a bit of a joke. We smoked this team pretty badly and were out of there early due to the 10-run rule enforced after 5 innings. We headed home knowing 2 things. 1. We had to play tomorrow at 8am and 2. if we wanted to keep playing we had to keep winning. Looking at the bracket after day one and see our possible path was a daunting task. In order to win it all we'd have to play 7 games. That would be great foreshadowing if you didn't already know their were 7 games coming wouldn't it?
I woke up at 6am and got my things together and left around 6:30. Oh... did I mention this tournament was in Hyde Park, Vermont? Right near Morrisville just north of Stowe... it's a haul... a little "east bumfuckish" if I may use the term. If you ever get a chance to visit... pass. Stowe is cool and I guess the drive up 100 is scenic... just not my cup of tea. This was the first time I really had left Chittenden County since returning from Wisconsin and it was a great reminder why I don't leave Chittenden County. I like me some civilization. I mean their grocery store didn't even have self-checkout! It's 2010!
Ok back to Sunday... this is the day that makes this a story worth telling. I arrived at the field at about 7:45 and the fog was out of control. It covered all three fields and delayed the start of the days action by at least a half hour.
Finally we started and boy did we start. The team we played had been decimated the day before by injuries and lost players due to their already having lost two games. It showed. We worked them in 5 due to the 10-run rule. This led us to a break that extended a little due to our early finish and the late overall start. It wasn't too long before we were back on the field (little over an hour?) and then we got right back to kicking ass. Another 10-run rule schlacking. This again gave us another favorable break. I saddled up and ran in to town to use a restroom, (the port-o-pottys had long since run out of TP) I needed a change of clothes and I also got a bunch of water for the team and a little snack for myself.
The next game we came out fast and again 10-run ruled them but this time in 6 innings. It was now almost 1 and we had positioned ourselves a spot in the final four! It was time for about an hour break as we awaited our next opponent.
At this time I had seen most of the teams in the tourney and I'd say we were definitely a top four squad so I was glad that despite it taking us three games on Sunday we had made our mark as a top team. It was at this point that it sort of became obvious to us all that we were doing something special. We weren't afraid of either opponent in the game in front of us and thanks to a total team effort even off the field we were hydrated, loose, and ready to give 'em hell.
And hell we gave 'em. I'm not sure if we 10-runned them, but I think so. It was about this time that I lost track of even my own batting statistics for the day. All I knew is that so far I had made only 2 outs, had numerous RBIs, and couldn't stop scoring runs when I was on base. As this game ended we realized we had made the top 3. We were assured a trophy and after 4 do-or-die games it was sweet to think we had made a solid impact and would have something to show for it.
After this game the breaks between games weren't there. It was win then go play again. Maybe a ten minute break but nothing legit. Now teams were waiting for us, and to make matters tougher they were rested. Both of the remaining teams had only played one game before us on this day and it was against each other in the winner's bracket finale. We started to realize that we had nothing to lose and quite frankly we were hot. Literally and figuratively. It was a humid and hot day and we kept hydrated and tried to stay limber. Our bats didn't let us down.
We came out gangbusters and really put it on a good squad. They hung tough but we got them in the end and advanced to the finals! We gained the respect of our fellow teams. They all had known what we'd been doing this day and yet we couldn't be stopped. It was almost laughable... in fact as the finals began we were all getting a little silly from being in the sun all day and giving everything we had.
We would have to beat the team we were playing twice to win it all. They had won the winners bracket and were 4-0 for the tournament... we were 5-0 on the day, but after 5 games we were all pretty wiped and running near empty as the next game began.
We played solid defense as we did for the bulk of the tourney and got clutch hitting. Despite a late inning rally we held them off for an 8-5 win. We now had won a sixth game and were one more victory from an improbable comeback. We were permitted about a 15 minute break between these games. As I walked into the dugout I uttered the following, "What we have done here today is stupid. It is. The pressure is now on them to not choke to the team that's played all-day. We know there's not another game after this one. We have nothing to lose."
It was no "win one for the gipper" speech but I was so giddy, and tired that I had to take a minute to reflect on what was happening.
The next game started and we went back and forth for awhile until they opened up a big inning where they simply hit it where we weren't. It wasn't for lack of runs as we scored 10 but their hitting improved in our second game and they put 16 up on us. It wasn't for lack of defense. Very few errors for the bulk of tourney for our entire team. It just seemed that this team was putting them in the right spots and after keeping teams at 5 or under runs all day we were cracked in a big way and it led to our first loss of the day.
As we came off the field some of us hung our heads a little, myself included, not because we were ashamed by any means... just because we were tired. I'm pretty sure there's still a lot of our team left up in Hyde Park, because we left it all out there on the field. Our tanks just ran dry.
During the post-game handshake the other team commended us for an awesome tournament as we congratulated them on their win. Afterwards we took a team picture with the runner-up trophy and then we all went our separate ways. As we all started to leave I felt a sense of pride at a job well done like I hadn't felt it awhile. As I said good-bye to my teammates I could see some of us on the verge tears emotions were high all day and we could finally take a breath. Maybe it was dehydration. Maybe it was hunger. Maybe it was being tired. I like to think it was a little of all of that, but also a sense that we had all just done something stupid. Not in a smart kind of way... But in a special kind of way.
Before I mention a little bit about the players. I need to preface with this. Everybody on this squad gave it their all. Everyone played great. Fielding. hitting, base-running. We all did the little things and some of the big ones that make streaks like that possible. It was the most evenly matched total team effort I've ever been a part of. There wasn't one person who didn't hit, or make a great play in the field consistently. For every runner picked off there were 5 more taking an extra base. The team support was enormous and I set a new personal record for high-fives in a day... I also lost track of those after game 3. I am so proud to have been a part of this team. I know I'll play with them again during the weeks ahead but the team will have some different faces. Nothing will ever be like the group we had on this day.
The team was comprised of the following folks:
Mike -McKee's Team regular - I had to lead with Mike cause he's our lead-off hitter. No joke, he's the fastest white guy I've ever met and you may not get that from looking at him. But the first time you see him hit, and turn to look for the ball only to look back and see him rounding first, then you know. The guy gets to balls in the outfield a lot of other folks can't and he played solid out there mostly in left field. I felt like he was one of the ones who struggled most in the finals round and after I yelled in support to him, "Ring out the sponge Mike, you've got some more in there," he then hit an inside the park home-run which was the catalyst for our 6th win of the day.
Natalie - McKee's Team regular - Nat looks like that girl you want to hit the ball to in the outfield, but you don't. Her glove work is strong and she made several knee-first slides during the weekend. At the bat she always found a way to bloop out at least a single and with her speed and heads-up base-running she was a terror for teams to deal with.
Jeff - McKee's Team regular - Jeff plays the outfield with reckless abandon, but he made more good plays than silly ones and was a solid lefty bat in our lineup. Jeff split games with Kevin and therefore also did a lot of base-coaching and cheerleading. Maybe he had so much energy due to not playing every inning either... lucky bastard.
Kevin - McKee's Team regular - Kevin has a solid bat and always seems good for a line shot to the outfield. He played well in the outfield despite normally playing 3rd base. I like Kevin a lot and sometimes I feel bad in our regular league because I feel like I took his spot and maybe some of his playing time. However to his credit he's been cool about it and had been a great teammate always encouraging our play. He also seemed to spark us whenever he was inserted to the lineup halfway through games which was a good pick me up for us along the way.
Christine - Non-regular - Christine joined us from Rudy's women's league in which he also coaches. She was a varsity softball player at UVM and had an amazing bat while holding things down in right field. We had many discussions about UVM as a result and she was a great new face to add to our mix. She batted 2nd the whole tournament and I felt like she was always on base. I think she even had 2 home-runs during the weekend (Note: no over the fence homers were permitted so all were in the park jobs).
Nan - McKees Team regular - Nan is the most solid chick first-base-women I've ever seen. Bar-none. She's got a great glove and can scoop or leap to get balls that might normally be overthrown. She also has an excellent arm which got used on a couple of throws across the diamond to pick off silly runners. She was also one of our resident goofballs in the later games and is good at keeping people loose. Her yelling of support for players is still ringing in my head.
Hollie - McKees team regular - Hollie is my link to the team and her overall skill can't be matched. Sadly she is coming back from some injuries which hobbles her but she toughed it out at 2nd in the field and even after her multiple clutch hitting. Hollie always batted after me and when I was on, which was most of the day, I knew it was time to run. She also took charge of the infield and called out coverages and where cut throws should be headed. You couldn't have a more softball savvy player on your team.
Nick - Former McKees Team regular - In our regular league Nick now plays for an opposing team, but for this tourney he joined back up with Rudy and the gang to help replace our missing regular big bats. Nick was known for smoking balls as hard as any I've ever seen hit over or through the infield. He also played some excellent shortstop and even when things got a little crazy he still made plays including swatting a ball out of mid air with his glove to deflect it to a waiting Hollie for a force at second. It was bananas.
Ed - McKees Team regular - Ed is our pitcher and he might have set a tournament record for strikeouts... seriously... he struck out the side one game and had 7 punch outs total in 5 innings.. crazy for slow-pitch softball. The guy has an array of pitches including a knuckler that dances toward the plate. His fielding skills are ultra-sharp and he often snares balls near him. At the plate Ed takes a workman's like approach. He makes up for his lack of speed with placement hitting and whenever he was on base you had to watch. Always an adventure, but a fun one. Also he dropped a gem when asked about his continually reddening face due to a solid burn that was setting in that, "It'll be OK by Thursday."
Jennie - Former McKees regular - Jennie replaced Lynsi who was only there for Saturdays games. Jennie was our catcher and our smallest player. She drew lots of walks, put the ball in play and probably distracted a few fellas with her flirtatious giggles as Ed's pitches danced in. She was a bolt of lightning on the base-paths which was key because she was at the bottom of the lineup and with Mike behind you you have to go fast!
Rudy - McKees Team Manager - Rudy is mostly a coach now but he did pinch run a couple of times and was on the roster. He found the lineup he liked and stuck with it the entire weekend after game one. Aside from really putting the whole team together I think I'll remember Rudy the most for the looks on his face as we kept winning games. He was amazed and elated. Despite not actually being on the field he rode the ride with us and led us to our glory.
Larry - McKees #1 Fan - Natalie's boyfriend, Larry, was a great supporter for our squad. Not only did he keep conversation going during breaks but he also went on water runs and found a way to shade our dugout with a tarp. Without his support off the field, we couldn't have survived on it and that's why we made sure he got in our team photo at the end.
Then there's me. I hate to toot my own horn while talking about how great a team achievement this was, but I also played at a very high level all day. I think I averaged only 1 out per game and I scored a ton of runs. After the first three games on Sunday I was 9 for 11 with 10 runs scored just to give you an idea. I, of course, was even more proud of my fielding at third. Teams really hit a lot my way and I shut them down time after time. I also feel like I did a good job keeping everyone loose with jokes and such. On a day like this one, we all had to be in good spirits and it wasn't tough to be because we all had each others backs... all day long.
So there we were. The players, the coach, even the fan. All a part of an epic day that I'll never forget. Since I hit 30 I thought my days of athletic competition at such a level were going to be more for fun and nothing more. This weekend, nay, this day proved to me that while having fun you can achieve at a high level and get a sense of teamwork I had not yet been apart of. I'd like to thank all of my teammates for a great day. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. It was an honor doing battle with you all on this day. This Sunday where even though God said, "Let there be rest," we played 7 games of softball instead, and nearly did the impossible. In fact I think we all left the field feeling like we did.
