June 16, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Finish was real blast

by Keith Peters

It was one of those situations that ballplayers of any age dream about: bottom of the final inning and your team is trailing and the opportunity is there to be the hero. Or the goat.

That's what 12-year-old Colin Byrne faced on Sunday. His team, Edwards Luggage, was trailing Hengehold Trucking by a run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the Palo Alto Little League City Tournament championship challenge game at Middlefield Ballpark.

Teammates Kyle Bullington (walk) and Wade Hauser (intentional walk) were waiting on base with one out. Hauser had been given a free pass in order to get to Byrne.

The same thing happened in the bottom of the fourth when Hauser was walked intentionally and Byrne grounded into a fielder's choice for the final out.

Hengehold manager Dave Siegel figured if it worked in the fourth, why not try it again.

"It's part of the game," Siegel told his assistants in the fourth. They agreed. When Byrne grounded into the fielder's choice, Siegel's decision looked all the better.

But now it was two innings later and the stakes were much higher. Hengehold was holding on to a precarious lead and putting Hauser on base represented the potential winning run.

Hengehold starting pitcher Matt Jost went to a 3-0 count on Byrne, who had no intention of getting on base with a walk. Jost delivered and so did Byrne, depositing the offering just over the fence in left field to give Edwards Luggage a 7-5 victory and its second straight city tournament title.

"I've hit homers before, but never a game-winner," said Byrne, whose game-winning blast left his brother Brett quite unhappy. Brett, you see, plays for Hengehold.

So, it was a happy - and sad - day for the Byrne household. At least both brothers came home with a trophy. Hengehold won the regular-season title in the American League with a 15-2-1 record while Edwards captured the regular-season crown in the National League with a 14-4 mark.

Both teams, then, came into the week-long double-elimination tournament as the top two seeds. As defending city champ, Edwards carried the No. 1 seed and Hengehold the No. 2 seed.

Both lived up to those seedings early with impressive victories. Edwards opened with a 10-0 pasting of Palo Alto Partners while Hengehold outscored Hagemann, 13-8. Round 2 saw Edwards down In2Change, 9-2, while Hengehold advanced with a 15-7 triumph.

That put both teams in a showdown on June 8, with Hengehold remaining perfect with a 5-3 triumph. Edwards was knocked into the consolation bracket, but eliminated LPM, 5-1, to reach Saturday's championship game. Hengehold, however, wasn't there. Hagemann handed the trucking company a 7-5 loss on Thursday - throwing Hengehold into Sunday's challenge game to await the winner of Saturday's showdown between Hagemann and Edwards.

Byrne got the start and received plenty of support in a 14-7 triumph, highlighted by a grand slam by Freddy Avis. That assured the defending champions of one more shot at Hengehold.

Edwards sent nine players to the plate in the bottom of the second Sunday and erased a solo homer by Jost in the top of the frame with four runs for a 4-1 lead. Victory, it appeared, was all but locked up.

In the top of the fourth, however, Travis Bowers led off with a walk and Jon Zeglin ripped a pitch over the left-centerfield fence for a two-run homer. A few pitches later, BJ Boyd hit it nearly in the same place and the game was tied at 4.

Hengehold went ahead, 5-4, in the top of the sixth when Sam Putney was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. After Hauser registered a strikeout, a potential big inning by Hengehold came to a crashing end. On a pop fly to the first baseman, Putney ran off the base and was called out for obstruction with the fielder. With the ball still live, Jost wandered off second and wound up being picked off.

Still, Hengehold had a 5-4 lead and was just three outs from claiming the city title.

But then Bullington walked to open the bottom of the sixth and Hauser came to the plate. No way Siegel was going to let him hit.

"Wade's one of the best hitters in the league," said Edwards manager Charlie Avis. "He hit like .600 for the year and only struck out, I think once. But, if you intentionally walk someone, it puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher."

Sure enough, Jost threw three straight balls to Byrne and was one pitch away from loading the bases. Byrne, however, made sure it didn't come to that. One pitch later, it was all over.

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