Three-peat for 3Cheers

September 2, 2014

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ORIGINAL STORY by Robin Short - The Telegram

Three-peat for 3Cheers

Defending champs defeat Kelly’s Pub Molson Bulldogs in final for third straight national fastpitch crown

It was the third straight Canadian crown for 3Cheers, as that club now tinkers with the “dynasty” label.

“We spent years and years trying to win a senior men’s nationals,” said Hill, who enjoyed a Hall of Fame playing career before taking over as a field general. “Everybody knows that story by now. We were always there flirting with a championship, but we could never seal the deal.

Video: Players celebrate three-peat

“So no, winning doesn’t get old. And this third win was a big one. They say a team which wins three senior men’s nationals in a row has a good chance to go into the (Softball Canada) Hall of Fame.

“That was certainly on everybody’s mind.”

Plenty of praise was heaped on 3Cheers, Kelly’s Pub and Newfoundland softball in general this past week in Charlottetown. That’s easy to see, especially when you consider 3Cheers’ gaudy win-loss record in the past three nationals — an eye-popping 28-1 in the round-robin and playoffs.

So what’s been the secret to success? Pretty simple, actually, says Hill.

“It’s two things,” said the 3Cheers skipper. “First, we’re finally getting all of our ball players to play for their home province (Sean Whitten of Petty Harbour, now living in Alberta, and Freshwater’s Stephen Mullaley, now a Toronto resident, joined the team in P.E.I.).

“No. 2, a lot of these guys are playing on the ISC travel circuit so they’re getting a lot of games. I think our Hill United Chiefs team (based out of Ontario) has 50 or 60 games played. So it’s no secret. To play with the best, you have to play a lot, and you have to play against the best.

“We’re used to seeing a lot of top level pitching, and we’re playing a lot of games, a lot of tight, well-played, big-event games.”

As a result, there’s a culture of winning that’s becoming engrained in Newfoundland softball players. No longer are they happy just to be at nationals.

“You see it in the guys. If we’re down a couple of runs early on, there’s no panic. They know a game is seven innings, and they know how to win. We lost for so many years, and we tried to get to the top for so many years — and that took a lot of hard work — that these guys now won’t settle for anything less than winning.”

At least eight players on this year’s 3Cheers team — Whitten, Mullaley, Jason Hill, Brad and Blair Ezekiel, Ryan Boland, Sean Cleary and Colin Walsh — played on the ISC travel circuit this season, trucking around small-town America and Canada playing weekend tournaments for various club teams like the Chiefs.

Sunday’s win also capped another Triple Crown season for Jason Hill, Brad Ezekiel and Mullaley, along with coach John Hill. The four won the North American, ISC (International Softball Congress) and Canadian senior men’s nationals in the same season.

In the final game, Sean Cleary twirled a two-hitter and fanned eight as 3Cheers dusted off Kelly’s 8-1. Cleary was the championship round MVP after allowing one run in winning all three games. He had 33 strikeouts and a 0.41 ERA.

3Cheers scored in each of the five innings en route to victory. Mullaley cracked a three-run home run in the third, while Ryan Boland and Brad Ezekiel each had solo shots. Boland and Mullaley also singled and scored twice.

Jason Hill was the round-robin MVP with a .381 batting average, two home runs and nine RBI. He also pitched a win. Mark Lewis of Kelly’s tied with Jeff Ellsworth of the host team and Kris Walushka of B.C. with a .500 batting average to lead all hitters in the round-robin, while Whitten was the top pitcher in the round-robin. Ryan Boland was named all-star catcher.

 

rshort@thetelegram.com