That’s pretty much what I took away from this game. The way we were playing and what we had going on was what mattered to me most after absorbing this defeat.
Verdugo takes its first defeat of ’92….final score Burbank 6 Verdugo 4.
Was I thinking we were going to go undefeated in League play coming into this one? No.
Were we doing all the right things and riding high coming into this one? HELL YEAH
I distinctly remember what happened BEFORE the next game we played when I gave the scorebook to Nancy shortly before the game.
She said “Kelly that game we lost was so nerve-racking…you were so calm in the dugout the whole game. I couldn’t believe how you stayed so calm”
Yeah…I was. Because win or lose I was LOVING what I was seeing out of you guys.
We had some bad breaks. Got behind early. They had a feisty ball club. Their pitcher threw a great game. And Legion is a lot like the NFL…..”on any given Sunday…..”
But yet I couldn’t question the fire you guys played with getting back into the game. Maybe we pressed a little but that’s what great Teams do in my book.
We were down 6-1 after five innings and scrapped back. Cowsill hit a huge home run that got us back in it. Huge. Fucking Clutch.
And in the top of the seventh….Hack led off. Verdugo trailing 6-3. He draws a walk.
Moreno steps up….base hit.
And just like that….the tying run is now at the plate.
Evans steps up….base hit. Not enough to get Hack home and I was playing it safe because a.) we were down still and didn’t want to run us out of the inning and b.) the next three hitters are Bull, Turner, and “B”….who had already hit a monstrous home run.
You could literally see the little beads of sweat forming on the foreheads of the Burbank team at this stage.
Josh drove in a run when he reached base on a fielders choice making it 6-4.
Turner grounded out into a double play to end the game. I still thought we played a great game. I was still LOVING what I was seeing out of you guys.
And I loved how you guys took the loss. Turner standing just off the foul line past first base shaking his head. Evans walks over to Turner. Canale walks over to Turner. Picking him up. The three of them standing there in disbelief ….just looking out at the field while Burbank celebrated.
Our dugout quiet. All of us shocked.
As far as I was concerned, that’s all I needed to see. What I was seeing told me you guys were for real. And we were gonna be just fine.
And I stayed calm in the dugout for pretty much the entire next two seasons…..
Hack took the loss on the mound. He gave up six runs….but only three were earned and only gave up five hits. He threw well for us that day.
Our next two games were going to be against both Woodland Hills Teams. The East Team we already had plenty of bad blood with. They were the only team that ever dogpiled on us…and although it happened two years prior….that defeat was still as fresh as ever in my head ….and General’s head….and Henry’s head….and Weapon’s head.
The West Team we had never faced before. They had Dan Cey. They had Randy Wolf. Their program had even WON the American Legion World Series during the late 80’s…..
These were two powerhouse teams we were coming up against. But I was confident. Bull was gonna get the start on the mound Sunday against West at Stengel.
We needed a win. I didn’t wanna go into Sunday night against West riding a two-game losing streak. I could have gone with Evans or Cowsill on the mound against East in the next game…..
I thought about it and thought about it…and either of those two guys I know would have answered the call and thrown a great game for us.
But as we got closer and closer to game time….a Saturday afternoon nine-inning game.
I remember I made the decision late Thursday night…..staring at the ceiling in the dark before falling asleep. A little smile came across my face that nobody else in the world saw.
And I thought to myself…..”this is a huge huge pivotal game for us ….and you know what? I’m giving the ball to VO” and I went to sleep.
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