By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan

“The game aint over til it’s over.”

Yogi Berra had it right. Just ask the Final Score Coed softball team.

The Tuesday Night “Jim Barden” Coed Softball League’s end of year tournament at Moore Barn Memorial started last night. Two games were played. The losers were done for the year. The winners advanced to the championship game on Aug.15.

The first game of the tourney was also the best game of the year. This was the situation: the visiting Final Score vs the home team Central Door Solutions. Final Score led, 8-3, heading into the seventh and final inning. Three more outs and they win the game. CDS had their #9, #10, and leadoff batters coming up. The leadoff batter had been 0 for 3.

The #9 batter made an out. One out. Two to go. Nobody on base. What happened next was incredible! Robby Armatoski singled. No biggie. Then Abby Rottier singled. Still no big deal. Then Adam Lee singled and Robby scored. 8-4. Then Meg Lee came up and singled. That loaded the bases.

James Marthaler , a CDS player on injured reserve, said, “We had Garrett Karnowski coming up. I did the quick math and knew that this game would be tied if he could knock one out of the park”.

Karnowski did not hit a home run. He singled to center and Abby Rottier scored. 8-5. Still one out. Sue Gruba came up next. She singled and drove in Adam and Meg Lee. 8-7. Then Kyle Brooks doubled to left and Karnowski scored to tie the game at 8-8. With Brooks on second and Gruba on third, Brianna Dobbratz stepped up and smacked a solid single to drive in Sue Gruba with the winning run! CDS won, 9-8!!

NOTE: Two of the singles in that final rally were ruled to be hits although they also were borderline errors on Final Score’s infielders.

Final Score led 1-0 after one when Codi Klismith doubled and scored on Bobby Sullivan’s single. CDS tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when Josh Swan’s single drove home Brianna Dobbratz who had doubled one batter earlier. Klismith’s single and Sullivan’s double gave Final Score a 2-1 lead in the third. The score remained 2-1 going into the fifth inning.

Sullivan, Final Score’s manager, said, “We thought we had the knockout punch in the fifth.”

And it did seem like that was the case. Final Score picked up five huge runs to go ahead 7-1. Kassie McGettigan, Sullivan, and Morgan Oppor each singled while Dalton Wriedt and Cory Blake homered. 7-1 was looking pretty good.

CDS pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Kim Schmitz and Robby Armatoski plus Josh Swan’s triple. Final Score was ahead 7-3 after five.

Final Score added another run in the top of the sixth when Jake Mortimer singled and came home on Klismith’s double. The Score then led 8-3. A walk to Meg Lee and singles by Sue Gruba and Brianna Dobbratz loaded the bases for the Solutions in the sixth but Mortimer and the Score got out of it unscathed. Final Score failed to score in the seventh, and the bottom of the seventh came and the rest is history.

“I’ve been involved with coed softball for a long time, and that was the best comeback I ever saw,” umpire Jesse Higgins said.

The Solutions had 19 hits and the Final Score came up with 15.

FINAL SCORE BATTING STATS: Codi Klismith: single, two doubles, two runs; Kassie McGettigan: single, run; Bobby Sullivan: two singles, double, run; Morgan Oppor: single, run; Dalton Wriedt: double, two-run homer; Kelly Arndt: single; Cory Blake: solo homer; Kristin DeVogel: single; Jake Mortimer: two singles, run. CENTRAL DOOR SOLUTIONS BATTING STATS: Abby Rottier: single, run; Adam Lee: two singles, run; Meg Lee: walk, single, run; Garrett Karnowski: two singles, run; Sue Gruba: two singles, run; Kyle Brooks: two doubles; Brianna Dobbratz: double, three singles, run, drove in winning run; Game MVP; (Brianna would’ve won a broasted chicken dinner certificate from RD’s Diner but we ran out of them); Josh Swan: single, triple, run; Kim Schmitz: single, run; Robby Armatoski: two singles, run. TIME OF GAME: 53 minutes.

The second game saw Joe’s Bar breeze past Papa Joe’s to the tune of 15-3. Joe’s Bar crashed three homers (two by Kyle Salzman and one by winning pitcher Casey Bielen). Bielen, Salzman, and shortstop Travis Kempf each had three hits while Rob King and Ryan Gleesing added two apiece. Joe’s outhit Papa’s, 16-9. Jeremy Studinski was the big stick for Pa Joe’s as the veteran player doubled in the first and crushed a two-run homer in the third.

Jeremy and Matt Bauman each had two hits. It was a long season for Papa Joe’s, and manager Studinski explained: “We really wanted to get in a league this year. Some of our players had things come up so we really had to scramble. I was proud of the guys and gals who kept our team going.”

Joe’s manager Casey Bielen said, “Our hat’s off to Papa Joe’s. They never quit. They kept showing up and they always gave it their all. Also, they seemed to have some fun out there, and that’s what it’s all about”.

Joe’s Bar had 16 hits and turned two double plays. Papa Joe’s had nine hits in the game.

PAPA JOE’S BATTING STATS: Ashley Radmer: single, run, played outstanding at third base; Matt Bauman: two singles, run; Jeremy Studinski: double, two-run homer; Brandon Wojtalewicz: single; Laura Mattek: single; Jake Kluck: single, Jason VanDeWalle: single. JOE’S BAR BATTING STATS: Rob King: two singles, run; Courtney Nelson: walk, run; Casey Bielen: double, homer, single, three runs; Brianna Dobbratz: single, run; Travis Kempf: three singles, three runs; Bailey Hinderman: single, run; Kyle Salzman: single, two homers, edged Bielen for Game MVP; Taylor Mains: single, run; Ryan Gleesing: two singles, two runs; Beke Blue: single, wants to get team in next year.

NOTE: Beke Blue also did a fine job taking pictures during most of the games.

NEXT UP: Tuesday, Aug. 15, 6 PM: Championship Game (Central Door Solutions vs Joe’s Bar). League Party starts at 7 PM.