With bolstered rosters from the recent Hunlock re-draft, the Red Rooster and the Black Widows were looking to settle the Series stalemate once and for all. Early predictions favoured the Widows, who beat the Roosters in each of their qualifying matches… but counter-rumours ran rampant as former Blue Dogs donned Black or Red and joined their respective new teams.
The Championship Game was postponed from the week before. But on Saturday – in a complete reversal of fortunes – Mother Nature smiled down upon Grovehill with unrelenting sunshine. Players and their families arrived early to set up the field and get the Rooster-Widow showdown underway. Following a few words in memory of Kyle and a brief moment of silence, the Roosters took the field and the umpire called “Play.”
The first four innings showed everyone that this Final was going to be close. Rooster starting pitcher Darrin Ward kept the Widows at bay, and although he surrendered three hits in the top of the first, a ground out, pick-off and strikeout quickly sent the Widows back to their bench. The Roosters struck first in the bottom of the inning as Dave Hamilton walked against Widow starter Aspi Dimitrov, and then advanced all the way to home plate on a series of wild pitches and passed balls.
Complicated pitching restrictions in the Hunlock Series allowed only three innings of work per pitcher, and so it was quickly time for Ward and Dimitrov to relinquish the mound to their successors. Ward allowed five hits over three innings with two strikeouts and no runs allowed. Dimitrov settled down in the 2nd and 3rd, delivering 4 walks and 3 strikeouts overall.
The game's later pitchers fared less well. Rooster Mark Hoffman pitched only two innings – giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks – before manager Hunter Devine yanked him in favour of veteran Humberto Goncalves. Goncalves surrendered a further two runs, but soon settled down and prevented any further bloodletting by the Widows.
Rookie pitcher Marty Cullen took the mound for the Black team, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 4 walks. By the 6th inning Cullen was dealing breaking balls for strike after strike, and leading his team toward the victory line with a commanding 7-3 lead. But when starter Arnie Longboy hyper-extended his hamstring attempting to steal second base, things started to slip away for the Widows.
Reliever Luis Goncalves took the mound and, over the next 2.33 innings, watched the game slip away from his team. A series of infield errors, wild pitches and passed balls allowed 4 Roosters' runs on only 2 hits… and the game was tied at 7-7.
With Andy Cornish standing on third base and only one out, veteran slugger Darrin Ward came to the plate. Widows' manager Marty Cullen instructed his hard-throwing, 14-year old ace to intentionally walk Ward (for the second time that day!), but the strategy did not go according to plan. After three balls had been thrown, Goncalves allowed the fourth and final pitch to sit out over the plate and Ward – to everyone's amazement – reached high and 'tomahawked' the ball into left field to score the winning run.
Some pundits have said an intentional walk in the Hunlock Series is a cowardly move. Others blame Ward for taking advantage of a young pitcher by refusing to accept a base on balls with grace.
But one thing is for certain: the 2008 Hunlock Series ended in epic style. The entire experience – from the thrilling live draft to the deadlocked qualifying matches to the delayed, one-run Championship finale – has capped an already historic year in the history of Herts Baseball. After the Falcons AAA Championship Title and the birth of the Herts third team, the Raptors, no typical post-season series would do.
Sadly, now, the diamond is vacant… the bats and balls are stowed-away until spring. So hopefully everyone savoured that last breath of crisp autumn air… that final trip round the bases… that Championship Game in which everyone (Raptors, Hawks and Falcons alike) got to 'walk off' in victory.
| Herts Black Widows at Herts Red Roosters | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Herts Black Widows | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 5 |
| Herts Red Roosters | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| Herts Red Roosters 8, Herts Black Widows 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Red Roosters | Herts Black Widows | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Nick Russell lf | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Luis Goncalves ss-p | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Hamilton cf | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Aspi Dimitrov p-3b-ss | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Andy Cornish c | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Dave Westfallen c | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Darrin Ward p-3b | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | Marty Cullen 1b-p | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Peter Kikel 3b-ss-p | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Greg Bochan 3b-1b | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Oliver 2b-1b | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Tim Elkins cf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Humberto Goncalves ss-2b-p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Arnold Longboy 2b-rf-lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Hoffman 1b-p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chris Barnes lf-2b | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| (t6) Ilya Dimitrov rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Reagan Wood rf-lf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Slater rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (b7) Liam Green rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (t5) Hunter Devine rf-2b | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 36 | 8 | 9 | 3 | TEAM TOTALS | 39 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
| E: Hunter Devine(3), Darrin Ward, Peter Kikel, Luis Goncalves, Dave Westfallen, Marty Cullen, Greg Bochan, Tim Elkins. LOB: Herts Black Widows 14, Herts Red Roosters 16. 2B: Darrin Ward, Andy Cornish, John Oliver. SB: Andy Cornish, Humberto Goncalves, Luis Goncalves(2), Dave Westfallen, Tim Elkins. CS: Arnold Longboy, Chris Barnes. |
| Herts Red Roosters | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Humberto Goncalves | 3.67 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Darrin Ward | 3.00 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mark Hoffman | 2.00 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Peter Kikel W | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Herts Black Widows | ||||||
| Aspi Dimitrov | 3.00 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Marty Cullen | 3.00 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Luis Goncalves L | 2.33 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| HBP: by Darrin Ward (Aspi Dimitrov). , by Mark Hoffman (Reagan Wood). . . . . . WP: Mark Hoffman, Luis Goncalves(5). PB: Andy Cornish(2), Dave Westfallen(5). Balk: Marty Cullen. T: 3:45. A: 45. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 1st: Luis Goncalves grounded out. Aspi Dimitrov singled, picked off. Dave Westfallen singled, batted forward to 2nd. Marty Cullen singled. Greg Bochan struck out swinging. 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 1st: Nick Russell struck out swinging. Dave Hamilton walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to home on passed ball. Andy Cornish popped out. Darrin Ward walked, batted forward to 2nd. Peter Kikel singled. John Oliver grounded out. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 2nd: Tim Elkins popped out. Arnold Longboy struck out looking. Chris Barnes singled. Reagan Wood popped out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 2nd: Humberto Goncalves singled, batted forward to 3rd. Mark Hoffman walked, batted forward to 2nd. Andrew Slater struck out looking. Nick Russell popped out. Dave Hamilton walked. Andy Cornish struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 3rd: Luis Goncalves popped out. Aspi Dimitrov hit by pitch, forced out at 2nd. Dave Westfallen reached on fielder's choice, batted forward to 2nd. Marty Cullen singled. Greg Bochan popped out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 3rd: Darrin Ward grounded out. Peter Kikel singled, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, tagged out going to 3rd. John Oliver reached on fielder's choice, advanced to 2nd on passed ball. Humberto Goncalves flied out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 4th: Tim Elkins singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd. Arnold Longboy struck out looking. Chris Barnes singled, batted forward to 2nd. Reagan Wood hit by pitch. Luis Goncalves popped out. Aspi Dimitrov grounded out. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 4th: Mark Hoffman walked, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd. Andrew Slater walked, batted forward to 2nd. Nick Russell flied out. Dave Hamilton walked. Andy Cornish out by infield fly rule. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 5th: Dave Westfallen singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch. Marty Cullen reached on error, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to home on error. Greg Bochan flied out. Tim Elkins reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on passed ball. Arnold Longboy walked, caught trying to steal 2nd. Chris Barnes struck out swinging. 2 runs, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 5th: Darrin Ward ground rule doubled, advanced to home on error. Peter Kikel reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, tagged out going to 3rd. John Oliver flied out. Humberto Goncalves reached on fielder's choice. Mark Hoffman popped out. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 6th: Reagan Wood walked, batted forward to home. Luis Goncalves walked, batted forward to home. Aspi Dimitrov singled, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd. Dave Westfallen singled, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to home on error, 2 RBI. Marty Cullen singled, advanced to home on error. Greg Bochan reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on error. Tim Elkins struck out looking. Arnold Longboy grounded out. 5 runs, 3 hits, 3 errors, 0 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 6th: Hunter Devine called out by interference. Nick Russell singled, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on balk. Dave Hamilton struck out looking. Andy Cornish doubled, advanced to 3rd on balk. Darrin Ward walked, advanced to 2nd on balk. Peter Kikel popped out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 7th: Chris Barnes walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, batted forward to 3rd. Reagan Wood out by infield fly rule. Luis Goncalves walked, batted forward to 2nd. Aspi Dimitrov grounded out. Dave Westfallen grounded out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 7th: John Oliver doubled, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted forward to home. Humberto Goncalves walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd. Ilya Dimitrov struck out looking. Hunter Devine grounded out, 2 RBI. Nick Russell grounded out. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 8th: Marty Cullen singled, forced out at 2nd. Greg Bochan popped out. Tim Elkins reached on fielder's choice, forced out at 2nd. Arnold Longboy reached on fielder's choice. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 8th: Dave Hamilton grounded out. Andy Cornish walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch. Darrin Ward singled, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch. Peter Kikel reached on error, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch. John Oliver struck out looking. Humberto Goncalves walked, stole 2nd. Ilya Dimitrov struck out looking. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Black Widows – Top of the 9th: Chris Barnes singled, caught trying to steal 2nd. Liam Green grounded out. Luis Goncalves walked, stole 2nd, stole 3rd. Aspi Dimitrov walked. Dave Westfallen grounded out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Red Roosters – Bottom of the 9th: Hunter Devine walked, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on error. Nick Russell grounded out. Dave Hamilton walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home. Andy Cornish reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd. Darrin Ward singled, 1 RBI. 2 runs, 1 hit, 3 errors, 2 LOB. |