Cougars
Walk Off With a Win
For the first time in the 2006 regular season, the arch rivals
Colehamer Cougars and Poestenkill Bums faced off. The Cougars
were in search of their 40th win in franchise history, and the
Bums had their eyes on a half game lead in their division. An
important game it was, and also one where you wish nobody had to
lose. Today set history. The first walk-off home run in
wiffleball history, and the farthest home run was also hit
today, as well as the first triple play...one player
accomplished all this. If you missed it, well, shame on you.
Scott
Fitzpatrick took the hill for Colehamer, and Fischer for the
Bums. Early, the Bums jumped ahead on an RBI single into the
gap which brought home two runs in the first. The Cougars came
to the plate flat. Three up, three down in the first. Again,
the Bums tried to pile on the lead. After scoring another run
in the top half of the second, Mike Triscari took his first
hacks of the game for Colehamer. The first pitch, he took over
the centerfield wall and across the street. It was measured at
exactly 150 feet, 4 inches, longest in wiffleball history. An
absolute rocket started the Cougars offense for the game.
Poestenkill knocked in one more in the third and after a routine
bottom half, went silently in the top of the fourth. With the
score 4-1, Connor Dowd drew a walk and Scott Fitzpatrick
followed with a base hit leaving the tying run at the plate.
The Cougar faithful watched intently as slugger Mike Triscari
stepped into the batters box. Fischer served up a good pitch on
the inside corner that Triscari just ate for lunch. The ball
was crushed into the upper deck and the game was tied, just like
that. As Scott Fitzpatrick got into his groove, the Bums failed
to score in the fifth. After a few errors, Triscari drove home
yet another RBI and the Cougars now led the contest 5-4 after
five. Fitzpatrick once again mowed down the Bums lineup and got
them out of the sixth unscathed. Fischer got back on his game
though, preventing any further damage in the bottom half, as we
headed into the final three frames of the ballgame with the
score at 5-4.
In the seventh,
the Bums finally got to Fitzpatrick and brought home the go
ahead run on a rally put together by Poestenkill. The Cougars
went down without much of a fight in the seventh, and got out of
the top of the eighth without any further runs scored for the
PoeBums. The Cougars then had a runner on first and were five
outs away from defeat. Then, the ghosts came out, as they have
many times for the hometown Cougars. A rally was strung
together, and after an RBI single for Connor Dowd, the game was
tied in the ninth inning. Could this be the first extra inning
game in the history of wiffleball?
The only
certain thing was that someone was going to leave this game a
hero. But who? Nick Haggerty led off with a single. Followed
by a Nick Hendrickson infield base hit. No outs, runners on
first and second. They were sure to score. Next came the most
amazing and clutch play in Cougars history that succeeded in
getting the Cougars out of the inning without any runs scored.
A line drive, falling fast, was hit to the gap between second
and third. Mike Triscari snagged it as a shoestring catch and
recorded the first out. Both runners ran on contact, assuming
it would fall in, and Triscari tagged second and fired to
first. Nick Hendrickson scrambled to return to the base, but
was not in time to beat the throw. The first triple play ever
recorded was by Mike Triscari. He led off that next inning and
a new spark was in the Cougar dugout. The first pitch he saw
was a blast that ended the game. Yes that's right, can you say
walk-off. The first walk-off home run in the history of the
GKWL, the first triple play in the history of the GKWL, and the
longest home run in GKWL history, all accomplished in nine
innings by one player. The first thing that comes to my mind is
Hall of Fame.
A day for the
ages was the game that was played today. Unbelievable. Scott
Fitzpatrick pitched a complete game giving up six runs and
striking out seven. Good job. Congrats to the Bums for putting
up a heck of a fight to stay in that game. Matt Fischer was
outstanding on the hill and the Bums had 17 total hits but
managed only 6 runs in a thriller at Triscari Field. |