Sportsmanship on display at Cooperstown baseball tournament
July 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under baseball, the latest
Reader Melinda Powelson, of Littleton, Colorado, writes, “We just got back from the 12U Cooperstown Dreams Park tournament. Our team, ranked #102 of 102 teams, experienced an incredible display of sportsmanship from the #1 ranked team at the tournament…It felt like were were living in the movie “Rudy” when these events transpired.”
Here’s Melinda’s story:
West Chester Sluggers Play with Hearts of Gold
Nestled in a lush valley in the Catskill Mountains, New York’s Cooperstown Dreams Park is nostalgically called the Field of Dreams. Last week, the Dakota Ridge Eagles from Colorado and the West Chester Sluggers of Ohio were among the 102 teams who played in the jewel of 12-year-old baseball tournaments. On these hallowed grounds, the Eagles and Sluggers exhibited a brand of sportsmanship that proves that it’s not always winning that matters, but how you play the game.
The West Chester Sluggers are one of youth baseball’s elite, called a “northern powerhouse” by Travel Ball Select (TBS) magazine, a publication that ranks teams across the country. When the Sluggers arrived at the Dreams Park complex on June 12, the buzz was they were a team loaded with quality pitching and hitting and could easily be battling for the championship trophy at the end of the week.
The Dakota Ridge Eagles, on the other hand, came to Cooperstown with a less celebrated pedigree. The team hadn’t played a game together before arriving at Cooperstown, much less competed in a major tournament. In fact, the Eagles team was formed only to give its 11- and 12-year old players the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in the shadows of the Major League Hall of Fame. Parents and players alike were cautioned by Head Coach Patrick Mallett that the competition would be unlike anything the players had seen before. But even if the Eagles did not come away with a victory, Mallet said everyone involved will have memories to share for the rest of their lives. It’s that kind of place.
As Mallett predicted, the competition in Cooperstown was tough. By the second day of the tournament, the Eagles had already lost games to teams from Florida and Georgia, with scores that looked more like football games than baseball. While the Eagles struggled, the Sluggers breezed through the first day of competition and hadn’t allowed their opponents to cross home plate.
So, when the Sluggers and Eagles met on Field No. 1 during the second day of pool play, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind about the outcome. Sporting their Navy Cooperstown-issued uniforms, the Eagles played the role of visitor. Lead-off batter David Parker demonstrated patience at the plate, and earned a walk off Slugger’s pitcher Rodney Hutchison, who has earned a ranking as one of the top players in the country. Parker stole second, and then advanced to third off the bat of Harrison Quintana. When Steven Santaniello smacked a ball down the first base line, Parker scored what proved to be the only run against the Sluggers in six games.
Next it was the Sluggers turn at the plate, and they showed everyone why they were the team to beat. The first “Slugger” smashed a home run off the second pitch of the game. A bugle trumpeted “C-H-A-R-G-E” to celebrate the run. The Eagles would hear that trumpet fifteen more times in the next four innings. Equally impressive, Slugger’s pitcher Hutchison did not allow a hit for the entire game, which ended with the Sluggers defeating the Eagles 16-1.
The Eagles and The Sluggers
Despite the game’s lopsided nature, players from the Eagles and Sluggers seemed to form a bond. This was especially true for the Eagle’s third baseman Alex Haussmann, who quickly recognized that his team was outmatched. Haussmann couldn’t help but show his admiration for great hitting, as one Slugger after another put the bat on the ball. “Great hit,” he remarked to Sluggers third-base coach Denny Hollstegge with a smile. “Nice home run,” he told each of the five Sluggers who hit the ball over the fence as they rounded third base. And, when Slugger base runner Justin Hilliard made four attempts to score from third base, Haussmann gave him a “high five” for effort. By the end of the game, a genuine rapport was building between the teams.
When the Dreams Park Officials posted the seeds for single-elimination tournament the following evening, the Sluggers were seeded atop the list of the 102 teams, while the Eagles were at the very bottom.
But the Eagles luck was about to change. The next morning’s tournament bracket pitted them against the 101-ranked team, the Westerville Warriors, also from Ohio. Much to everyone’s surprise, the entire West Chester Sluggers team– and their coaches — filled the bleachers for the Dakota Ridge Eagles. The team even brought their bugle to trumpet each run scored. Why were they here? “We had fun playing your team, and wanted to see you get a win before heading back to Colorado,” said one of the coaches.
For the next six innings, the Eagles played a game that had the electricty of a tournament championship. The Sluggers players cheered every hit, run, and pitch, and the Eagles responded. Starting pitcher Domenic Guiterrez and reliever Lucas DeSantis held the Warriors to two runs. The Eagles scored five runs off of hits by DeSantis, Santaniello, Mark Mallett, and Taylor Sperry. Each time an Eagle would cross the plate, the Sluggers would trumpet “C-H-A-R-G-E” to mark the run. At the end of the game, one Slugger coach remarked that watching the Eagles win this game was as meaningful to him as coming home with the Dreams Park trophy. It was a Cooperstown moment to remember.
After the game, the Sluggers and Eagles took pictures together and the kids all hoped to meet in the championship game. “It could happen,” they joked with each other. But the fairy tale was cut short when the Eagles were knocked out of the tournament by the Florida’s West Boca Panthers a mere two hours later.
In the evening, it was the Eagles team to return the favor and cheer for the Sluggers as they competed against the Santa Clarita Crush. The Sluggers invited third baseman Haussmann to join them in the dugout — presenting him with an honorary Slugger’s t-shirt. The game turned out to be a close contest, and the Eagles routed for the Sluggers with unmatched enthusiasm and passion. In the end, the Sluggers showed great tenacity and came away with a 4-3 victory. In the quarterfinals game, however, the Slugger’s quest for the title came to an end when the Florida Panthers staged the upset of the tournament, defeating the Sluggers 13-to-5.
Like most coaches, the Slugger’s Hollstegge discussed the ups and downs of the game in the dugout with his players, and tried to put the loss in perspective. He reminded his team that they would take the field for another tournament next weekend. Then, Coach Hollstegge awarded Jordan Poore, who pitched in the final inning, the game ball for smacking three balls out of the park during the game.
In a meaningful gesture of friendship, Poore autographed the ball, (including his AOL email address), and handed it to the Eagle’s Haussmann. “Now we can keep in touch,” he smiled. “I’ll be sure to email you when I get home,” replied a cheery Haussmann, who along with his Eagle teammates, is likely to remember the Sluggers and their hearts of gold for the rest of his life.
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Thanks to Melinda Powelson for photos and story.
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