Hi there,
Just thought you might be interested in this out of Kingston, Ont. It is posted on my local sports Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sportsgate.kingston
Thanks for your consideration,
Tim Gordanier
Editor
Sportsgate Kingston
SOFTBALL: Veterans lift A's back to top of KMFL
The JAKK Tuesdays A’s spotted RJB Photography a 5-0 lead and then, in dramatic fashion, came roaring back to take the deciding game of the Kingston Men's Fastball League final series on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at Garrigan Park in Kingston, Ont.
Veteran Rich Lenart’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the eighth inning drove home fellow team stalwart Rick Wright to give the A’s a stirring 6-5 victory and return them as league champions after a two-year reign by RJB. The A’s won the best-of-five series 3-2.
"(Wednesday) night's improbable win was probably the most exciting game I have ever played in in my 35 years of playing ball," Lenart wrote in an email. "I am proud of our team for the determination and perseverance to come back from a 5-0 deficit."
Getting to extra innings didn’t look remotely possible for the A’s in the early going as they trailed 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. A modest single run in the bottom of the fourth broke the shutout and then ageless diamond warhorse Barry Van Hooser launched a solo home run in the fifth that ignited a three-run rally, narrowing the margin to one run.
In the bottom of the seventh, RJB was one strike away from breathing a huge sigh of relief and claiming its third straight title. Another longtime Athletic, Chad Miller, dashed that idea, however, when he beat out an infield single that scored Scott MacDonald and sent the game into extra time.
For RJB, Rob Boucher opened the scoring in the second inning with a single. He followed with a two-run home run in the third to put his team up 4-0. Jason Loney’s run-scoring single in the top of the fourth made it 5-0.
The A's franchise has won the league championship eight times in 11 seasons since 2002 — including six in a row from 2004 to 2009 — with Lenart, Wright, Van Hooser and Miller part of all 11 title-winning teams. RJB won the other three titles — in 2003, 2010 and 2011.
