23 Athletes from the local Special Olympics program arrived at Currie
Stadium for the annual game vs the "ISC All Stars" on Aug 15 at 5pm.
The game was
officially labeled "ISC All Stars vs. Midland Dragons", and the ISC
guys had no chance from the very start of the game. The Dragons had
far superior pitching, hitting, and baserunning ability, literally
running circles around the ISC team for an easy 4-1 victory.

It was not a lack of depth in the ISC line-up that was the difference.
The team was littered with ISC stars such as Rhys Casely, Nick
Shailes, Dale Levy, and even managed by HoF coach Denny Bruckert.
But both ISC pitchers, Steve Horning and Derek Pukash were hitting
every bat the Dragons brought to the plate. Combining that fact with
the inability of the ISC defense to record outs, this was truly a
David and Goliath match-up. In fact, one of the Midland Dragon
athletes summed it up best during the group photo by saying he
"couldn't tell which was the Special Olympics team by the way the ISC
guys played."

But this game was not so much about the failures of the ISC players as
it was the talents displayed by the Dragons. Excelling at defense and
the pitchers utilizing all sides of the plate, the Dragons truly
outplayed the ISC team in every way.

The game was officiated by every off-duty ISC umpire, and one would
think that with so many eyes on each play they would get every call
right. There was a controversial call at 2nd base early in the game
that almost cost manager Denny Bruckert of the ISC team severely.
Believing the ISC 2nd baseman Rowan Lam tagged the base ahead of the
Dragon's runner, all of the umpires (nearly in unison) signaled
"safe" when sent Bruckert into his now infamous tirade, slamming his
hat to the ground and voicing his displeasure with the Blue crew.

All in all it was a fantastic game, once again organized by Kyle
Beane. Where he finds time to do so many things is beyond me..
player, tournament director, and S/O game organizer. Everyone who
participated is owed a huge thank you. We were able to secure enough
donations to get every player an 8x10 picture from the game and
everyone got a souvenir from the generous donations by the teams of
hats, shirts, jerseys, etc. Teams from coast to coast and even New
Zealand donated some items for the Dragon athletes to wear as memories
from the game. There will also be a sizable donation made to the
local Special Olympics organization with the left-over monies
collected. A few photos from the game are on their way and an "open"
Facebook album will be created for everyone to see the highlights.

--
www.HouseofPitching.com