Wild final game sees 72 runs scored
It was a great tournament, but a not-so-dramatic final. The winner of this year?s Nautical Festival tournament Cal?s Pizza of Sterling Heights (5-0) claimed the men?s trophy with a 49-23 victory in the finals. Cal?s defeated Sports Factory of Detroit, last year?s runner-up. ?We had fun,? said manager Manfred Budnarski. He said they?re used to playing serious softball, but the two-day Rogers City tournament offered the visiting players something a ?little bit different.? What made it so much fun?
?The fans,? he answered. ?The atmosphere.? A larger-than-expected crowd, even with the threat of thunderstorms, filled the area beyond the outfield fence at Sportsmen?s Park. Visiting players, as well as fans, parked mobile homes and RV?s out beyond the fence, with some onlookers watching the games from the roofs of trailers. Many fans had to dodge out of the way of home runs dropping out of the sky. Home runs have always been a major attraction at ?the Hole,? and Cal?s Pizza hit homers when it counted most. One would think they planned it that way.
IN THE FIRST inning, the first two hitters for Cal?s got on with a pair of singles, which were followed by a three-run homer by tournament MVP Bob Walldike. Walldike made only one out in the tournament, finishing 19-for-20. He scored six runs in the final. The first inning rally continued with four more runs, and Cal?s did it again when they got to the bottom of the order. The number 10 hitter got on board and was brought home on a two-run homer by first baseman Matt Mallcheski. The next batter was out, but 12 hitters had come to the plate.
Sports Factory started on the comeback trail with three homers in the first inning, part of a five-run first, and Cal?s was ahead by only four, 9-5. After Cal?s scored only three the next two innings, including a one-two-three, third, it looked like there was a chance of one more game, which most of the fans every year want to see in the finals.
SPORTS FACTORY, with one out, scored 12 runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 19-12 lead. It would serve as a wake-up call for Cal?s. The first batter in the fourth flied out, but the next 17 batters got on and scored. It was all part of a 18-run inning, to make the score 30-19. Sports Factory would get three in the bottom of the inning to keep it within eight, but Cal?s wouldn?t let up, with 19 over the next three innings.
Budnarski said the best team they faced in the tournament was Mio Body Shop, who his team h
THE SEMIFINAL game between Mio Body Shop and Sports Factory to decide third place, was all Mio early, as they took a 13-4 lead into the fourth. But Sports Factory scored nine runs to tie the game. Mio could only muster one run in the bottom of the inning, and Sports Factory would run away with the contest, outscoring Mio 8-5 the rest of the way. There were few problems, other than a hitter having a home run taken away because he carried his bat to first base. On future at bats, the batter would drop his bat just as he was about to touch first base.
Tournament organizer Karl Grambau was pleased with the way things went and said some teams already have signed up for the 2004 tournament.