|
Wiffle
Wars® Memorial Day Tournament Recap
Game 1 was quite heroic as Matt Carey of
Team Marsha hit a last inning clutch walk off homerun blast to
defeat the Forest Hills Lacrosse(F.H. Lacrosse) team and placed
the F.H. Lacrosse team into the loser's bracket.
Team
Marsha would play the winners of the Larry Lager's and Candy Cane
Jiggs. A first inning rally by the Larry Lager's put them in the
lead and they went into cruise control riding on the strong pitching
of Cy Young candidate Matt Lapinski and the great defensive play of
Gold Glove candidate Josh Steiger defeating the Candy Cane Jiggs.
The
matchup was set for two very alike teams for a championship berth.
But once again, the Larry Lager's rode their workhorse Matt Lapinski,
with not only his pitching but also his hitting which included a
towering smash over the right centerfield fence to take the lead. This was all
that was needed for the Larry Lager's as Lapinski owned the likes of
Zach Jones (1 for 11 against Lapinski with 8 k's) and contained big
bopper Matt Carey.
The
Larry Lager's advanced to the Championship without a loss meaning
for any team to win they would have to go through the Larry Lager's
twice. Team Marsha would have to face the winner of the Candy Cane
Jiggs and Farmington Hills Lacrosse.
The
Candy Cane Jiggs could not get their bats going against a tough
“never say die” F.H. Lacrosse team, as Matt Sutter and Adam Dove
seemed to enjoy the pitching of the Candy Cane Jiggs as they had a
breakout game in what included a tape measure Grand Salami by Matt
Sutter. The Candy Cane Jiggs were eliminated and sent home with a
sour taste in their mouth as going into the tournament being one of
favored teams to win.
Team
Marsha would now have to face a red HOT F.H. Lacrosse team. It was
now or never for both of these teams.
Team
Marsha could not do a thing as Zach Jones could not help out
teammate Matt Carey whatsoever. Adam Dove thoughts about Team
Marsha, “Carey was the whole team! We just hoped to keep Carey in
the ballpark because Jones was pretty much an automatic out.” The
late hot hitting of F.H. Lacrosse and good pitching got them the win
to set up the championship game between the Larry Lager’s and F.H.
Lacrosse.
Whoever
would make the least mistakes would win the game. The F.H. Lacrosse
team knew what they were up against and were up for the challenge.
The F.H. Lacrosse
team had great chemistry “brad portis” style and played
excellent wiffle ball and hardly made any mistakes. The Larry Lager’s shot themselves in
the foot in the late innings with an error by Lapinski, he dropped a
perfect throw from Steiger on a grounder. Though the
game seemed out of reach, Steiger nearly tied it with a screamer
that got caught in the top of a tall pine tree in right center that
would’ve tied the game if it had made it over the fence.
This
set up the finale. With each team with a loss, everything was even
steven now.
For the first 6 innings neither team could produce offensively as
each teams pitching was dominant. In the top of the 7th
the F.H. Lacrosse team sent Matt Sutter up to the plate. Due for a
big hit, his time had come. Sutter hit a perfectly placed
ball to right field but it seemed to hang for a little too long.
Meanwhile, Steiger at the crack of the bat known for robbing hits,
tracked it down and went full extension and reached for the ball but
couldn't seem to hold onto it and hurt his arm and shoulder very badly
in the process. After that, the floodgates opened with Dove
and Sutter ripping balls left and right over the fence, doubles,
singles, they couldn’t be stopped. This was all too much for the
Larry Lager’s as Matt Lapinski looked like a tired 98 year old man
with too many hairs sticking up from his arm, ready to give up, and in that aspect he did. The Lager’s did get
one back on a Steiger homerun to lead off the inning but it was just
too much and the F.H. Lacrosse went home, Champions!!!
The F.H. Lacrosse team showed they had lots of heart and
never gave up and found ways to win. They are truly an elite team.
Now the only question is can they repeat?
- Back Row from left to right: Wilkins, Coop,
Steiger, and Lappy
- Front Row from left to right: Dove and Sutter
- Not Pictured: Jones and Carey
| 
