| AWA Enterprises-17,
Curtis Machines-16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ab | r | h | rbi | po | a | e | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Matsushita, ss | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N.Christie, rf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barrett, rcf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown, lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| J.Sammut, c | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| M.Applegate, 2b | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sukup, lcf | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jackson, 3b | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yagi, p | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S.Applegate, 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simonds, 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team Total | 43 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 27 | 9 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2B- M.Applegate (2),
Sammut, Sukup. 3B- Sammut (2). HR- Brown. K- None. BB- N.Christie (2), Yagi, Sukup. SF- Brown. DP- Sukup to Jackson. Game Winning RBI- Jackson. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On a cold and wet September evening, in which nothing was at stake except for survival in a trivial end-of-season tournament, the boys of AWA Enterprises played one of the greatest games in team history.
The final tournament of the 1982 season was troubled from the start. An early winter storm had been dumping water on Cupertino's Memorial Park for a week prior to the scheduled first game, and by game time the infield had been reduced to a muddy mess. A ground ball was more likely to find a puddle than an infielder's glove. The outfield was even worse. Unmowed because of the week-long storm, the field resembled a swamp.
The sun poked out from time to time, allowing the tournament to get under way, but the rains continued to fall periodically, and games were delayed until the sun appeared again. Our first game was scheduled for 9:00 AM Saturday. We finally played it five hours later, and lost 15-13. A downpour immediately followed the game, and the tournament was again delayed several hours. It wasn't until Sunday morning that we could play our second game, a narrow 5-4 win that kept the team alive.
But by now, despite the fact that this was our last action of the year, we all wondered, "why bother?" Everyone was on hold throughout the weekend, never quite sure when we would play next. By late Sunday, bored, tired, and frustrated, nobody cared.
News that AWA's next game would be played Sunday evening wasn't received very well, and we toyed with the idea of just walking away. The temperature had dropped considerably once the sun went down, and it was still drizzling. Nobody really wanted to play. Why we even did is still a mystery. What spectators remained huddled under blankets, hoping that, win or lose, this one would end quickly.
We had to play a team called Curtis Machines, and while their players couldn't have been any more satisfied with the conditions than the AWA guys, it wasn't evident from the outset, as they scored three times in the top of the first. AWA didn't get a hit in the bottom of the inning, but we still manufactured a run anyway as an error, a walk, and two flyouts got a run home.
But AWA quickly returned the favor in the second, as a pair of errors in the sloppy infield and a sacrifice fly allowed Curtis Machines to score a run without a hit themselves. In the third, a Curtis home run made it 5-1. Outfielder Tom Sukup made a nice play to end the inning when he picked off a runner at first who had rounded the bag too far. It would be the first of a team record three outfield assists for Tom this night.
In the fourth inning, three singles, a throwing error by shortstop Gary Matsushita, and a double brought in three more runs as Curtis Machines opened up an 8-1 lead. Tom again ended the carnage with his arm, gunning out a runner at third to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, three more Curtis singles had another run home, and runners at first and third. The next guy lofted a fly ball to left center field where Tom put it away. The runner from third tagged and scored easily, but on appeal he was judged to have left too soon, and he was called out to end the inning. But AWA was still dying the slow death, and trailed now by a score of 9-1. Only Tom's arm and Curtis Machines' foolish baserunning prevented this from being much, much worse.
As AWA came to bat in the bottom of the fifth, the situation was clearly hopeless. Everyone was miserable. We not only trailed by eight runs at this point, but the offense was still looking for its first hit! Losing by the ten-run rule couldn't come soon enough. We were done.
The official scorekeeper in the booth next to the AWA dugout had been annoyingly cheerful all game. As we shuffled into the dugout to start the bottom of the fifth, he offered a little pep talk. "You guys have just got to go mental!" We weren't interested.
Joe Sammut batted first in the bottom of the fifth, and broke up the no-hitter by lining a drive to left center that one-hopped the fence for a triple. Mike Applegate then stung a hit to right, and a run was across. Tom blooped a hit into a pond in left center field, and when the outfielder had trouble getting a handle on the ball, the runners ended up at second and third.
After an infield out, Earl Yagi walked to load the bases. Sherman Applegate then lined one over second for a hit that scored Mike and kept the bases loaded. Gary Matsushita then rolled one to short. The force was made at second, but the speedy Gary beat the relay to first by an eyelash, allowing Tom to score. More importantly, it kept the inning alive.
Neil Christie walked, loading the bases again, and then Steve Barrett picked on the first pitch he saw, lining a single to right, scoring two and sending Neil to third. The score was now 9-6, and we were clearly becoming "mental" in the dugout.
 Greg Brown Greg's fifth inning homer tied the game, and his two defensive gems in extra innings kept the team alive to win it. |
The fans, who were content to hide under their blankets to this point, became more involved in the game, and as power-hitting Greg Brown came to the plate, someone from the stands yelled for the AWA slugger to get hold of one. Greg took a strike, and then tied into the next pitch, sending it deep to right center field. The screams from the stands said it all as the ball cleared the fence for a three-run homer. The game was tied 9-9!
Greg was still being congratulated in the dugout when Joe stepped up to the plate for his second at bat of the inning. On the first pitch, Joe drove one deep down the right field line. The ball crashed off the fence as the AWA catcher raced into third with a triple. When the relay to the infield was misplayed, Joe sprinted home with the go-ahead run.
Mike then smashed one over third, legging it into second for a double. Tom walked, and the Curtis Machines' pitcher raged at the umpire over the ball four call. The entire Curtis team was becoming rattled. Dave then stepped up and rolled one wide of first. The first baseman dove for the ball and made the stop, but he had no play anywhere as Dave legged it out for a hit. Mike took a wide turn around third, and might have been picked off, but the throw from first sailed high and wide past the third baseman. Mike scampered home while Tom and Dave moved up to second and third. Earl then followed with a rope to right for a hit, scoring both runners. A 12-run inning! When Sherman flied out to end the outburst, AWA charged out onto the field with a most improbable 13-9 lead. We had definitely gone mental.
But the players from Curtis Machines were also fired up. And angry, as the shouts and exchanges from the visitor's dugout clearly indicated. AWA was certainly alive, but Curtis Machines was not dead. Not by a long shot. And they took their wrath out on Earl in the top of the sixth.
 Tom Sukup Tom played the left center field swamp brilliantly, gunning down three baserunners. |
With one out and a runner on first, Earl was tagged for six straight singles, good for five runs and a 14-13 Curtis lead. After a popout the next hitter drove one off the fence in dead center field. Two more runs scored, but the batter was gunned down at the plate on a perfect relay from Tom to Gary to Joe, who practically tackled the runner as he slid home. It was Tom's third outfield assist of the game, and it ended the inning, but the damage was done. Seven runs had scored, and Curtis Machines had retaken the lead 16-13.
AWA went out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth. And it started raining again. It was fun for a short time, but now we were truly done.
Curtis Machines failed to score in the top of the seventh, the first time they had failed to score all game, and the AWAs had one last shot. The scorekeeper leaned out from his box toward the AWA dugout and said, "You guys have just got to go mental again!" But when Greg popped out to open the inning, our spirits were about as damp as the frigid night air.
But Joe roped a liner off the glove of the diving second baseman, who deflected it enough for Joe to leg it into second with a double. Mike then sent a high popup into short left field. The tall, wet grass made things just sluggish enough for three players to converge on the ball but fail to catch it as it dropped with a splash for a hit. Joe, holding up to see if the ball would be caught, only advanced as far as third, while Mike hustled into second with a double.
Tom then sliced a drive into right center field for a hit. As the ball sloshed in the wet outfield, both runners scored while Tom slid into second with a double. The tying run was at second!
Dave, in the midst of a terrible slump and not playing particularly well this weekend, stepped up to the plate. With wife Terry hiding her eyes under her blanket, and everyone else roaring to do something, Dave popped out. We were down to our last out.
Up next was Earl, the unimposing lefty with the limp. He carefully picked out his pitch and rifled it over the first baseman's head for a hit. As the fans screamed and the players whooped, Tom crossed the plate with the tying run. We had extra innings! Tired? Wet? Cold? Nobody noticed.
Up to this point the AWA defense had been fairly shaky. The damp conditions didn't help, but the team had committed five errors and had made some other poor decisions. But in extra innings, the defense was brilliant. In the eighth, Greg made two outstanding plays up against the left field fence, the second one a grab over the fence to steal away a home run. In the ninth, Gary got the first out with a brilliant dive and throw from shortstop, but it was Barrett's diving catch in the wet grass of right center field that ended the inning and prevented Curtis Machines from scoring.
However, AWA was facing the same defensive excellence as the Curtis left fielder made a diving catch to rob Joe of a hit to open the ninth. But Mike made sure no one could catch his ball as he scorched a single over second base, his fourth hit of the game. Tom then lined one that ricocheted off the pitcher's leg toward first base. Tom was thrown out at first on a close play, but Mike moved up into scoring position.
The Curtis Machines' defense then huddled around the pitcher to discuss their next move. The slumping Dave was now up, and the clutch-hitting Earl, who delivered the tying run in the seventh, was on deck. They decided they wanted no piece of Earl. They elected to pitch to Dave.
The AWA fans were screaming, except for Terry, who again hid her eyes in her blanket, not bearing to look. The players in the dugout were all on their feet, shouting and shaking the dugout screen.
Dave wasted no time, lining the first pitch over the shortstop's head for a hit. Mike broke from second with the crack of the bat, and never hesitated rounding third and racing home. The left center fielder charged in, but the swamplike conditions slowed the ball, which he then fumbled. Mike scored standing up.
Dave was mobbed. AWA had pulled out an incredible 17-16 win. We were freezing. We were soaked. But we had also won an amazing game. And despite the late hour and the fact it was Sunday night, the team ended up at Ken Morse's house for one of the best parties the team has ever had. Which was fitting for perhaps the greatest game AWA ever played.
