Monday, August 9, 2010
by Dan Kadlec
The Organ Donors claimed their third consecutive championship in the New Castle men’s softball B league on Tuesday night, August 3. Emerging from the loser’s bracket, the Donors swept past the Water Buffaloes by scores of 2-1 and 3-2.
Both games were well-played defensive battles. Donors’ shortstop Andrew Mirable and Buffaloes’ shortstop Ron Rubin gloved everything near them while both outfields played shallow, challenging hitters to go deep. The strategy worked as both teams snagged line drives at critical moments.
The championship was decided in extra innings in the second game, when Kyle Kadlec of the Donors laced a walk-off RBI single in the hole between second base and first base in the bottom of the eighth inning. Donor pitcher Eric Fromm scored the winning run from third base.
Both games of the B-League championship were close
In the first game, the Donors jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. The Buffaloes tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth. The Donors scored one run in the seventh for the win.
In the second game, it was the Buffaloes who took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the top of the first inning. The Donors scored twice in the fifth inning, but the Buffaloes tied it at 2-2 in the seventh. The Donors earned the game-winning run an inning later.
“These were two of the best softball games I can recall,” said Donor manager Dan Kadlec. “Our hat is off to the Buffaloes, who played like champions. Every run felt like a marathon.”
This is a double-elimination tournament, meaning each team must lose twice before being pushed out. The Donors finished the tournament at 6-1, while the Buffaloes finished 3-2. Interestingly, the Buffaloes defeated the Donors early in the tournament to send the Donors into the loser’s bracket, where in order to win a team must play more games than the team that gets to the championship game without a loss.
The Donors finished the season with an overall record of 15-6, the best in the B league, and a few percentage points ahead of the regular season winners, The Wings, who were 12-5 after going 1-2 in the playoffs. The Buffaloes ended the season at 13-6.
Dan Kadlec lives in Chappaqua and co-founded the Organ Donors softball team 11 years ago.
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