POWER SURGE
10/2/02

The Desperados ride a boatload of home runs, timely hits, and a little bit of luck to win two games and capture their first CSA championship

With all games being played at "Little Fenway", Desperados had a clear power advantage over their opponents. In two dramatic games, Desperados knocked off the Independents on a walk off home run and held on over CCRT Ballers.

The Desperados entered the playoffs as their division winner at 7-1 and the second seed. After a bye In the first round they easily defeated AT Monopoles in the quarter-finals  to advance to the semis.

In the semis, they faced the third seeded Independents. In a back and forth game, the issue wasn't decided until the last pitch, literally. After allowing two runs in the top of the first, the Desperados stormed out quick and looked like they would blow the game open. Bart Patterson and Brooks Henderson led off the game with back to back solo home runs. That quickly tied the score, but that was all they would get.

In the top of the second, the Independents started to take control. They put five runs on the board, and after holding Desperados scoreless, the score was 7-2. In the third, the Independents added one more run, but in the bottom of the inning, the Desperados power surge started again. Keyed by a second home run by Henderson, the Desperados scored six runs of their own and after three innings, the game was tied at 8.

In the fourth and fifth innings, the Independents failed to score, and in each inning the Desperados scored two runs, all on homers. The score after five was 12-8 in favor of the Desperados.

The Independents didn't quit though. In the sixth, they cut the lead to one run after plating three and when they kept the Desperados from scoring in the sixth, it was a one run game entering the final inning.

In the seventh, it looked like the Independents were going to pull off the upset. Facing elimination if they didn't score, they had the top of the line-up coming up and they managed to put four runs on the scoreboard and turned the deficit into a three run lead entering the bottom of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, the Desperados also would have the top of the line-up coming to bat.

Bart Patterson led off the inning with his second homerun of the game and the deficit was only two runs. After Henderson was retired for the first out, they key moment of the game happened. Juliane Walker hit a liner straight back at the pitcher, Robert Masoudpour. After hitting Masoudpour, he was unable to retrieve the ball and Walker reached. Instead of two outs and a two run lead, their was a runner on first and only one out, with the heart of the order coming up. After Walker reached, Gregory Calley followed with a single. This brought the winning run to the plate, and in dramatic fashion, Craig Henry promptly blasted the first pitch over the "chain-link monster" for a three run game winning walk-off home run.

In a classic contest, the Desperados advanced to the finals with a 16-15 victory. In the finals they would meet...

...the fourth seeded CCRT Ballers, who playing with only nine, knocked off the top seeded and previously undefeated Team McHuet 19-12.

The game was another classic that featured many intriguing plotlines. First, it was for the league championship. The Desperados were trying to win their first CSA title, while CCRT was going for their second consecutive championship (they won the Spring-Wednesday-Dresden title as Turbo Swiners). The Desperados first basewoman, Guin Hayes, was part of that Turbo Swiner championship, just increasing the intrigue.

The game started with CCRT putting a quick four runs on the board, and after setting down Desperados, 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, they dropped another four runs in the second. After an inning and a half, CCRT led 8-0. With CCRT seemingly in control, "Little Fenway" reared it's ugly head and the game changed.

To lead off the bottom of the second, Gregory Calley walked and the inning started innocently enough. Craig Henry followed with a two run homerun and the Desperados were on the board. Then the dam broke. An out was sandwiched by basehits by Denny Devlin, Guin Hayes, and Jay Weaver. When Bert Dasher went deep, the score was 8-7 and the Desperados weren't done. Bart Patterson and Brooks Henderson reached safely and after Juliane Walker walked to load the bases, Calley was up again. This time he didn't walk, instead he hit a blast over the left field fence for a grand slam. Henry followed that with his second home-run of the inning, and Devlin followed him with another home run. That gave them back-to-back-to-back jacks and thirteen runs in the bottom of the second. When the inning ended, the Desperados had a five run lead and several CSA records.

In the second, they set the record for most runs scored in one inning of a championship game. Most home runs in one inning - co-ed game, five, and became the first co-ed team to hit three consecutive homeruns.

With an inning like that, it seemed the Desperados would cruise to a victory. CCRT had other plans. They got back one run in the third, and after a pitching change, the Desperados scored three more in the third. CCRT began to chip away in the fourth with another four spot, and after holding the Desperados scoreless, the score was 16-13 after four complete innings.

In the fifth inning, the game changed again. CCRT showed their resolve, and put up seven runs. The first scored on an inside the park home run by Bill Grothmann and the last four also scored off the bat of Grothmann. With the bases loaded and two outs, Grothmann doubled and took advantage of a Desperados error to advance all the way home. CCRT now had a four run lead entering the bottom of the fifth. The Desperados responded once again in the fifth, capped by Craig Henry's third home run of the game, they scored four times.

After five full innings, and forty runs, the game was all tied up. In the sixth, CCRT took the lead for the third time in the game with two runs, but they gave it right back in the bottom of the inning. The Desperados had scored two to tie the game, and then they were able to take advantage of several fielding errors by CCRT to score four more crucial runs.

Entering the seventh inning, the score was 26-22. The Desperados simply had to protect a four run lead to win the title. CCRT didn't quit. They scored two runs while recording only one out and after putting a runner on, they were able to bring the tying run to the plate. With the tying run at bat and two outs, Desperados pitcher Jay Weaver was able to induce a lazy flyball to rightcenterfield. When Billy Gingrey squeezed the ball for the final out, the Desperados had won the CSA Summer Wednesday Marietta Co-ed Softball Championship 26-24.

DESPERADOS
starting line-up

1. BART PATTERSON
2. BROOKS HENDERSON
3. JULIANE WALKER
4. GREGORY CALLEY
5. CRAIG HENRY (Championship Game MVP)
6. DENNY DEVLIN
7. GUIN HAYES
8. DESIREE ABBASSI/JULIE WILLIAMS
9. JAY WEAVER
10. LINA CASTELL
11. BILLY GINGREY
12. BERT DASHER