All Tournament Team:

Chris Malay – 22-37, .595 Avg,  23 Runs, 18 RBI

Andy “Chief” Gebelt – 28-38, .737 Avg, 13 Runs, 24 RBI 

Mike Hughes – 25-39, .641 Avg, 23 Runs, 14 RBI

10:54 AM Tuesday August 15, 2006

Associated Press Guest Columnist

Taylor Mill, KY

Motivation? Maybe. Maybe Two-N-Out.com/Easton should thank the yahoo who reminded them all morning Saturday that they were not a softball team, they were just a website. After all, the first game out Saturday morning against a newly formed Blue Collar team, they played like it.

With former  teammate “Rat” Coleman on the hill against them in their first game of the 2006 USSSA”Class D” State Championship, Two-N-Out gave a very uninspired effort, grounding into 3 double plays and falling to the Blue Collar boys 12-6.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton : 0-1

Suffice it to say not a good start. Win this game; they don’t play again until 6 PM that evening. Lose and you play at 2, 4, and 7, provided they win each of those games. If they were to make any noise at all, they were going to have to fight all the way through the Loser’s Bracket.

Next up they would face M&M Construction, who, come to find out, had to forfeit due to lack of players. So a break after all for the Two-N-Out squad.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 1-1

4 PM rolled around and despite there being an open field for close to two hours there was a delay in getting started, the 4PM game started close to 5 PM, pitting Two-N-Out against American Legion Bomb Squad. Two-N-Out’s defensive backbone Chad Johnson made it down for the next two games to provide a spark.  Two-N-Out took this one 9-4.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 2-1

In the finale for the night Two-N-Out looked to avenge an embarrassing defeat to Renegades Softball, an “E” team who in a qualifier earlier in the year had defeated the Two-N-Out squad rather easily.  Two-N-Out took this one down by the same score as the Bomb Squad game 9-4.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 3-1

So they have made it to Sunday with a very long road still ahead of them.

First game Sunday morning saw Two-N-Out against the #1 seed in the tournament, NKY Thunder. Two-N-Out came out ready to play, behind some very strong play at shortstop by Jimmy Evans Two-N-Out jumped out early with a 13 run first inning. They never looked back and took this one with ease, 23-4.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 4-1

Two-N-Out then met up with their old pals the Good Guys. The boys from Good Guys put up a fight but could not get the sticks going, this was a very spirited battle with both teams jawing back and forth the whole game. Pitcher Tony Pompilio had the Good Guys off balance and off their game.

Two-N-Out talked the talk and walked the walk and then put the Good Guys away 10-3.

Side note: It should NEVER get personal. Act the same, winning or losing.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 5-1

Pridecast was next up. The last time these two teams hooked up Pridecast laid the smack down on the Website boys. This game was a bit different. Solid defense, timely hitting led to a Two-N-Out victory, 16-8.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 6-1

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 7-1

This set up a classic battle between the 4-time State Champion Nasty Boys and Two-N-Out. Two-N-Out would need to win this one to force a final winner take all Championship game.

The game was an offensive struggle back and forth the whole way. With Two-N-Out down 20-16 in the bottom of 7^th, Michael Daniele led off with a double, was pinch run for by Doug Buford, and then followed by consecutive hits by Mike Sellet, Mike Hughes, Chris Malay, Andy Gebelt and Shawn Donaghy, Gebelt scored the tying run, but Two-N-Out could muster no more in the 7^th. Neither Two-N-Out or Nasties could score in the 8^th and Two-N-Out got the Nasties out without harm in the 9^th. Jimmy Evans, with one out in the bottom of the 9^th doubled down the left field line, Daniele was intentionally walked and then Mike Sellet grounded a liner to the shortstop, it took a big hop right over his head and Jimmy Evans came across the with emotional come from behind 21-20 victory.

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 8-1

Coming off of such an up and down game one would expect one of the teams to come out flat and take advantage in the final game. In their 6^th game of the day, Two-N-Out came out flat and looked tired. Falling behind 19-8, this one appeared to be over.

In the championship game Two-N-Out trailed by 11 after 3 ½  innings, 9 after 4 ½  innings, 6 after 5 ½  innings, 10 after 6 ½  innings, and never gave up. They came in each inning and answered. They never gave up, so in the bottom of the 7^th you expected nothing less than a rally to make this one close. Jimmy Evans, with one out, came through with a base hit to left. Michael Daniele followed with a hit to right, putting runners on 1^st and second. Mike Sellet was up next and lined a laser to the right side of the infield where the second baseman from the Nasty Boys made an amazing full extension grab of the liner. 2 outs, still two on. Mike Hughes, who didn’t seem to get out all day, then grounded out to end the game. Final Score, 30-26, and the miracle run was over. 

Two-N-Out.com/Easton: 8-22

97 runs scored in the final two games of this tournament. That is simply amazing in a D tournament where there are no home runs. 10 games in 32 hours. WOW! I have never witnessed two more incredible games in my life than those final two. Those final two games are what softball is all about, two teams putting everything they have into each game, leaving it all on the field. This was my most incredible experience ever on a softball field, and the mutual respect shown by both teams afterwards was incredible. We showed a lot of heart and hope to carry on our momentum into Divisionals in 3 weeks and the World after that.