"Grand Finale" - Game Recaps
Championship - Thursday, 11/20 - 9:15pm - Nickajack Park - Field 3

Pay Attention, It's Free (12-1) at Team Hot (10-0-1)
Result: Pay Attention, It's Free 23, Team HOT 9

Runners Left on Base - Pay Attention, It's Free 4, Team HOT 5

How they got there:
Team HOT continued their undefeated season with a come from behind victory in a slugfest with Infomart Mavericks. After trailing 8-3 after two innings, Team HOT scored 27 runs in the next four innings and finally took a lead at the end of five innings. Up 21-17, Infomart came back in the sixth with five runs to retake the lead, but Team HOT secured the victory with a 10 run sixth inning. They held on to advance 30-25 in the second highest scoring playoff game in CSA history.

The 10 run sixth inning was the third time in the tournament that Team HOT had scored the maximum number of runs in one inning.

Pay Attention, It's Free won in much different fashion. Playing with only eight fielders and taking an automatic out, they faced the defending league champions Smell the Glove in the semis. It was a defensive battle. After the teams combined for nine first inning runs, only six total runs were scored in the rest of the seven inning game.
After Smell the Glove opened the game with four runs in the top of the first, Pay Attention responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Smell the Glove hung in and finally tied the game at six in the fifth inning. Smell the Glove was unable to take the lead (in fact they never led during the game - the first time in 40 games that Smell the Glove did not have a lead at the end of inning at some point) and in the bottom of the sixth inning Pay Attention scored three runs. The go ahead run scored on an inside the park home run that was almost a spectacular catch by the rightfielder. After Pay Attention added an insurance run they sealed the game with a crucial third run on a two out single. The three run lead was more than enough in the seventh inning, Smell the Glove was only able to put one runner on and was eliminated 9-6.

Pay Attention won for a CSA record tying 12th time in one season and would face the only team that defeated them all season.

What happened:

Pay Attention, It's Free capped off the greatest playoff run that any team has ever had. Once again they had only eight fielders, but they found the offense right away in this game and never looked back. PAIF had the advantage of being warmed up and Team HOT had to wait around in the cold to find out who they would play.

The game started and Pay Attention quickly posted six runs, the last two coming on a foul ball flyout. A deep fly ball in left field was foul but caught and Pay Attention was able to score the runners from third and second and when the inning ended with an automatic out, it was already 6-0. Team HOT had an early response though. After an error made it first and second with no one out, they scored the first run on a single and then a three run home run inched them closer. It was 6-4 at the end of one inning.

Pay Attention, just as they had in the five previous playoff game, had an answer, and scored three runs to extend the lead to five. But Team HOT was also resilient and they matched the three runs. It could have been more though, the Team HOT player who homered in the first, lined out sharply to shortstop to end the inning.

From there on in, Pay Attention took control. PAIF scored three runs in the top of the third and kept Team HOT from scoring when they left two runners on base. With four more runs in the top of the fourth, three on a home run, Pay Attention had extended to a 16-7 lead and was firmly in control. Team HOT started the bottom of the fourth with a single and a two run homerun by the first two batters and looked to have a rally going.

That was short-lived though, Pay Attention got the next three batters out  in order and the comeback was subverted. It was 16-9 entering the fifth.
Filled with confidence Pay Attention's offense blew the game wide open. They sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. It was now 23-9 and Team HOT had to worry about extending the game, much less winning the title. It wasn't going to happen. Pay Attention had taken control of the game and Team HOT was spent. It took three pitches to retire the batters in order and Pay Attention had completed a seemingly impossible run.

In what can only be called one of the most amazing runs Pay Attention, It's Free stormed through six playoff games in four days and won them all. First they swept three games in a row in "The Gauntlet" to advance to the Round Robin section. In group play they had to win one game to advance to the final four and did that. Then a semi-final victory over the defending league champion was followed by another win over the only unbeaten team left.
Along the way Pay Attention, It's Free outscored its playoff opponents 99-35, never allowed more than nine runs in any game, defeated both the Spring league champ (Liquidated Damages) and the Summer league champ (Smell the Glove), and trailed at the end of an inning only once.

They also became the first co-ed softball team ever to win 13 games in one season.