The South Farmington Blues 15 and Under team did it the hard way, but they found a way to win the Continental Amateur Baseball Association Quality World Series in suburban Chicago.
After falling into the losers bracket in the second game of the championship round, the Blues had to fight their way back to the top and eventually beat Seattle, Washingtons Northwest Titans twice for the Series crown at Lynwood, Illinois.
Blues head coach Rick Tuyn said after the July 31 championship winning, 9-4, victory came on his birthday: That was a great birthday present and that amazing 10-1 record, capped by 5 straight do-or-die victories, was one for the record books. Best of all, every player made a key contribution that was necessary to our success.
The winning Blues team included Dominic Benavides, Kevin Rutkowski, Matt Paul, Stephen Doty, Josh Rebandt, Brooks Tuyn, Jeff Gorecki, Clayton Pack, Harvey Martin, Jonathan Castine and Andy Harris, who was reduced to a pinch running position because of a broken arm until he was needed in the field for the final two victories.
In the first two days of pool play the Blues earned the No. 1 seed in one of two seven-team divisions with four straight wins, defeating Ohio Thunder Express, 8-3, Marysville (WA) Hawks, 4-2, Dupage (IL) Demons, 10-2, and Illinois Sports Academy, 6-0.
The Blues opened the championship round with a 10-2 win over the Madison Grant (IN) Argylls, but lost to the Mt. Greenwood (IL) Brewers as a late rally from a 6-1 deficit fell short, 6-5, dropping them to the losers bracket.
The Blues started their climb back Thursday with a 11-3 win over Patterson Park of Dayton (OH), and beating the Ohio Thunder Express again, 6-1.
Friday morning found the Blues facing longtime, local rival, the WACO Wolves of Dearborn. Gorecki pitched a gem and Castine provided the runs in a 2-0 win. In the bottom of the sixth Pack singled and Castine followed with a two-run homer. Gorecki finished off the four-hit shutout giving up two walks and striking out two before having to board a jet for Greece, a trip planned long ago to attend the Olympic Games in Athens.
With the series down to three teams, the Blues, Marysville (WA) and the Northwest Titans, Marysville drew a bye. The Blues sent Paul to the mound against the Titans and grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first on a single by Pack followed by another two-run homer by Castine and Paul driving in Rutkowski with a single.
The Titans scored one run each in the top of the second and third, but Castine hit his third homer in three consecutive at bats with no one on base in the bottom of the inning for a 4-2 lead. Pack made it 5-2 with a solo bomb in the fourth and Castine didnt get a chance to bat again as Titans intentionally walked him in his last two plate appearances. Doty came in to pitch in the fourth inning and only surrendered a run in the sixth to complete the 5-3 Blues victory.
The Titans then eliminated Marysville, 7-5, setting up the World Series Championship game rematch against the Blues the next morning.
The Blues, gaining home team advantage on a coin flip, started Doty on the mound and the Titans jumped on him for two runs in the first with a double, triple and sacrifice fly. The Blues countered with a six-run first inning, though. Doty got on base on an error, Castine was walked intentionally, Pack loaded the bases on an infield single and Rutkowski scored Doty with a single.
After a fielders choice out at home on a grounder by Martin, Paul followed with a two-RBI single, before Benavides, Tuyn and Doty contributed one-run singles for a 6-2 lead.
In the second Pack tripled and Rutkowski scored him with a single. In the third Castine drove in Tuyn and Doty scored on a throwing error for a 9-2 lead. Tuyn came in to pitch in the fifth inning in which the Titans got two unearned runs, but he closed out the championship over the sixth and seventh. The Titans put two runners on in the seventh on errors, but the final out was caught by the one-armed Harris in right field who was wearing a right handers glove on his throwing hand.
What can you say about Andy, who saved us with his presence, taking extra bases all week, playing a great one-arm outfield and justifiably catching the final out, said Coach Tuyn. It's a team game and our guys exemplified that, coming out of the dugout on every run, never getting down on each other during our few tough moments and always acting with great class, on and off the field. A lot of things have to go right to win a World Series championship and our guys did the little things it takes to win.
An All-World Series team will be announced after the weeks statistics are compiled and posted on the CABA website www.cababaseball.com.
Several Blues players posted impressive stats for the week such as hitters: Castine (.563 average, 3 home runs, 19 rbi); Pack (.471, 1 home run, 7 rbi); Martin (.400, 7 rbi); Benavides (.371, 7 rbi); Rutkowski (.333, 10 rbi). Outstanding pitching performances came from Tuyn (2-0, 1 save, 1ER in 17 innings with 10 hits, four walks and striking out 15); Rebandt (2-0, 5 ER over 12 innngs); Gorecki (2-0, 0 ER in 11.2 innings, seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts) Paul (2-0, 4ER in 8 innings with 12 hits); Doty (1-0, 2 saves, 3 ER in 12 innings, 12 hits, no walks and seven strikeouts); and Pack (1-0, 1 ER in 6 innings, three hits, five walks and 9 strikeouts). And Harris scored seven runs as a pinch runner and stole four bases on five attempts with his right arm in a cast.
Castine, Pack and Martin were named to the All-World Series team. Tuyn was honored with the Leading Pitcher Award and Castine received the Leading Hitter Award in addition to being presented the World Series Mr. Hustle Award, voted on by the umpiring crews.
The Blues ended the 2004 season with a 34-12 record.
