Huntsman Final Report:
After all the long ramblings this week, this one will be Short & Sweet, just like the past week hanging out with great teammates and of course our energetic cheerleaders. The guys were excited and prepared for the final, once again against the Voodoo Ball Club out of Oshawa. The bats came alive early this time and the defense was nearly flawless. By the time the Ontario guys came to their last bat in the top of 7 they were down by a whopping 11 runs. They put up little fight in the last inning and when the red shale settled it was a clear victory for the Huff n Puffs 60’s 21-10. A great week of ball and comradery. As I mentioned earlier in the week: HanaPa’a………the Gold is now secure.
Congrats to our 70’s for bringing home a medal and good luck to our 55’s and 65’s this coming week. Bring home more metal to southern Alberta!
Report By Gerard Hittel
Huntsman Playoff Thursday Oct 9
4-3-2-1 Blast Off to winning it all………………...well not quite, but hopefully soon.
4: 4th day of the ever-popular Huntsman Games
3: 3rd playoff game for these Huff n Puff’s from Med Hat
2: 2nd time playing the same team. Remember those Voodoo guys from the other day?
1: The number of wins needed to secure gold
You’d think the older you get the easier and less stress it would be to play a sport you’ve played all your life. Not so much. This was an emotional rollercoaster right from the get go against the dudes from Ontario, the same team that gave the Huffers their only loss just a couple of days earlier. The easterners started out quick with a few but the boys in blue responded with 5 of their own. The game, played under uncharacteristic cloudy skies, was a see saw battle all afternoon. The Gas City boys finally opened up a 7-run lead with timely hitting and some great defensive plays. With just one more at bat the Ontario squad looked defeated but wait. Apparently, their mamas didn’t raise quitters either. They kept chinking hits here and there and before you knew it, they were within 2 with 2 on and 2 out. The cheerleaders were nervous, the pitcher was hyperventilating, hell the umpire was even on edge after a bang bang play at second that would have ended the game but no………………SAFE he yells out! Next pitch? A pop up behind second base that was played superbly by the second basemen of the all-star team from the Hat. What a catch. Game over. Hatters win 20-18. This gives them a silver medal at the very least. The “B” winner now must come back and beat them twice and hopefully that’s not in the stormy clouds that are lurking in Sothern Utah and may be threatening to hamper the completion of the games. Stay tuned. Only the “ball gods” know what’s in store.
Report By Gerard Hittel
Hunstman Playoffs Wednesday Oct. 8th
Is this why we came some 1400 km? Partially. Is it the end all be all? No. Is it more fun to win? Of course, but the stuff around the pool with the 25 people travelling with the Hff n Puff brigade is much more precious. Ok here is how the day shook down.
First game is the “A” quarterfinal against “ Brian’s Brothers” from some where USA. Sensitive story as these guys had a fellow named Brian on their team and sadly passed away a few years ago. So, they continued their trek to the Huntsman in his honor thus the name “Brian’s Brothers”. Awesome for these fellows. The Huff n Puffs 60’s who have been blessed to been able to travel to these championships over the years with all these great people were jacked to be in the playoffs today. Game time. Slow start……… A little bit. Then like the last few days the jets kicked in. Solid hitting and defense and all of a sudden, the desert dwellers from Alberta were up a ton. Enough to hold the “Brother’s” off in the open inning for sure, even with their late push. Final score” Huffers 27 Brian’s Brothers 10.
Game 2 of the day? Somewhat of a grudge match. The Wenatchee boys from Washington were the “A” semi final opposition. These were the guys that not only knocked the Hat boys out of a silver medal in Mesquite last weekend but treated our cheerleaders the way no ladies should ever be treated. Side story some other time. They say karma is a bitch and guess what? Karma reared its ugly head for the Americans. The USA started out strong with 3 in their half of the first. Huffers, who had only time for a Gatorade and a hot rod in between games came out sluggish. 2nd inning featured some great defense for Alberta then like earlier in the day the “Bat jets” lit off. Base hit, base hit base hit, gap, more hits and boom 5 runs across for the northern team. The next few innings proved to be carbon copies. Good defense, stellar hitting and pretty soon the game looked grim for the Washington gang. Justice? Yes. Like mom always said, try hard, play fair and things will fall into place. And fall into place they did. A fairly flawless superb effort by the gang to make the final: HuffnPuffs 19 Wenatchee 6.
So, what this all means is the Huffers are in the “A” final Thursday afternoon against Voodoo out of Ontario. Same team that stymied them yesterday. Can they beat them? Of course. Are they looking forward to it? Certainly. Will they win? Time will tell. Stay tuned. The good news is the guys that play every week at Lorne Holden Field are guaranteed a medal. Just not sure what color.
Report By Gerard Hittel
Preliminary Round Report
Well, the old guys from the Gas City made the trek up the road from Mesquite to the beautiful city of St. George, Utah. For anyone that has never been here and is looking for a beautiful American city, this is it. Red rock mountains, black lava fields and when you are standing at home plate on these outstanding ball diamonds you can add lush green grass in front of that picturesque back drop. But that’s another story. Why did we come here? Ball, more ball and probably the most important thing comradery with our best friends and spouses.
Day 1 at the Huntsman showed zero signs of iron oxide. 😊 Will it show up again? Maybe, but for now you just enjoy the shine of the polish. Game one had the northern slingers up against “Savage 60”, a group from just up interstate 15 in Salt Lake City. This one was never really in doubt as all facets of the game were clicking. Pitching, defense and hitting were all outstanding. The Huffer’s got out to an early lead and when the time clock ran out it was Huff n Puffs “60” 18 Savage “60” 5.
After a quick one game break and the boys from the Hat feeling pretty confident it was now time to take on the energetic, music blasting Hawaiians from Kuai, the “HanaPa’a 60’s. From past experience the guys knew this would be intense and would not be without color. The islanders came out quick with 3 in the top of the 1st. Huffers responded with 2 in the bottom. From there on, the scores were up, down and all around. Some great hitting and defense from both squads. Some quirky plays, some swings and misses but then BOOM one off the fence. To say the fans got their money's worth was an understatement. This may be one of the most intense games the writer has ever played in. Soooooo, the ending. Top of the last inning, Huff n Puffs up by 3. Is this a safe lead? Hahaha, never in the wild woolly game of Slowpitch. The Flyin’ Hawaiians scored 5 in the open inning to go up by 2. Are the boys from the dysfunctional city of Medicine Hat done? Not quite. The guys in their blue uniforms tonight are no quitters. Hit, hit, hit, hit, fly ball, game over. 3 runs in and that’s enough to “SECURE” the victory, 18-17. Oh, by the way do you know what HanaPa’a means in Hawaiian? That’s right…………….to “secure or fasten” and that’s what the northern squad did Monday night, secured win number 2.
Report By Gerard Hittel
Day 2:
Game 3. Hmm what do we say about this one? Can’t use the red stuff as an excuse anymore for sure. We now had 7 games under our belt before we ran out between the white lines against the “VooDoo Baseball” club out of Oshawa Ontario. Were we the better team? Yes. Were we ready to play 7 innings? Probably no. Was this a must win? Definitely not. The Huffers led the entire game but after coming off the emotional roller-coaster the previous night the entire fan base was wondering if at some point something undesirable would happen. And happen it did. The Ontario squad struck a few times in the top of 6 to get close but the boys from the Hat rallied in their half of the 6th to go up by 3 entering the last and opening inning. Top of 7? Not good. The Voodoo Clan obviously did some type of base hitting voodoo ritual in between innings on their sticks and put up a 9 spot to go up by 6 heading into the Hats last at bat. The Southern Alberta team put up little resistance in the 7th thus making the final score 23-17, for the wrong team. Not a great fundamentally well played game by the Huff n Puffs and the worse part was the squad came away with a couple of bumps and bruises.
Wednesday will be a new day, playoffs start and the cheering squad knows that the “Sunday/Monday Team” will resurface once more. Today, rest, relax and cheer on Canadas team to knock off major league’s evil empire in 3 straight.
Report by Gerard Hittel