Bull Durham, 2010 Post 129 team have many similarities
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Bull Durham and the 2010 Hillsboro Post 129 baseball team may be a couple decades apart and the latter is an actual baseball team but this summer, they have looked like one and the same.
The first sentence in the movie "Bull Durham" has it right on the money (at least for me): "I believe in the church of baseball."
And though some may agree with that sentence and some may not, it sums things up for me.
Hillsboro Post 129, though they have struggled at times during the summer months, showed what teamwork can accomplish in the past four games.
Just like the guys in the movie.
Before making their run to the state tournament, Hillsboro stood at 15-15 overall, going .500 after a loss to Portsmouth Post 23 in the top half of a twinbill.
If you remember correctly, the Bulls of Durham (in the movie) lost a few games at the start of their season.
After losing the first game against Post 23, all it took was one hit, a bloop shot to shallow right field at Shaffer Park, by Logan Wise to completely change the way this Post 129 season would be remembered.
I swear to you, after that lead-off hit by Wise in a game where Hillsboro was listed as the away team, something clicked.
The only Bull Durham quote that comes to mind is when Crash Davis said in describing a moon shot: "Well, he really hit the (stuff) outta that one, didn't he?"
I can't explain it, but the team just went into a complete turnaround after that ball landed on the grass of Shaffer Park.
The day before that bloop hit, which turned into two bases as Wise hustled and dove head-first into the bag at second, Post 129 lost two straight to Lancaster Post 11 at Shaffer Park. They were on a three-game skid; in fact, they lost four out of six at that point of the summer from July 10-12.
One swing of an aluminum bat, and before the ping sound has stopped ringing in your ears, a season can be changed.
Post 129 went on to break their skid of three straight losses and proceed to (including that game) win four in a row to get to where they stand now: District 7 champions and members of the Ohio American Legion baseball tournament for the first time since 1998.
There is something about this team that has clicked, and since that game where they defeated Post 23, 7-3, the game seems different.
It seems fun again.
In the words of fake pitcher Nuke LaLoosh: "It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
After their second district win, Post 129's first of two against Chillicothe Post 62, head coach Ritchie Butler told me, "This is the third game in a row we delivered on playing as a team."
And that is the word of the day, or season: TEAM. The way Butler emphasized the word "team" spoke volumes on what the team had accomplished.
Those four letters together, along with some solid pitching, have expanded the Post 129 season for at least another week.
And what is better than more baseball?
OK, the answer to that is simple: baseball with great pitching.
And the show the Hillsboro Post 129 staff put on at the District 7 tournament at VA Memorial Stadium was a gem. You could say it was a diamond in the rough that was finally shined to perfection.
In the district opener for Post 129, ace Tucker Hughes took the baseball, stepped onto the mound and didn't leave for 7 2-3 innings.
Two days later it was Wise's turn, against Post 62 of Chillicothe.
Again, Wise took the baseball, and he went 8 innings on the hill.
And the capper?
The following day, against the same Post 62 ball club, Sam Louden takes the baseball, rears back and tosses a nine-inning game for Post 129 of Hillsboro.
Every out, except for one strikeout, recorded while Louden was on the hill was either via ground ball or fly out.
Which brings up another Bull Durham quote: "Quit trying to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring, and besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. They're more democratic."
Hillsboro also had some nice relief pitching from Nathaniel Miller and Jacob Dillon in those games.
As you can tell, I am not a "chick" who digs the long ball, but I am a "dude" who loves watching pitchers work their magic by forcing hitters to swing at pitches they dislike in times that matter most.
Don't forget about the 20 runs scored in the three games played in the district tournament.
Scoring totals of four, eight and eight runs also helped put Hillsboro Post 129 in the state bracket.
Sixteen of the runs came in game just hours apart, against the same team.
Amazing how this has happened.
But what makes it fun is to witness this team go from 2-5 after seven games, finish the regular season at 16-15, have a winning streak of four in a row (twice), regroup, and take charge when it mattered most.
They overcame their wooden bat demons, rain delays, and fielding woes to reach Lancaster this coming week.
Which brings up the best Bull Durham quote of them all; no, not the "Hit the bull" quote, but: "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for a while."
What a summer it has been, and this team ain't a bunch of lollygaggers!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The first sentence in the movie "Bull Durham" has it right on the money (at least for me): "I believe in the church of baseball."
And though some may agree with that sentence and some may not, it sums things up for me.
Hillsboro Post 129, though they have struggled at times during the summer months, showed what teamwork can accomplish in the past four games.
Just like the guys in the movie.
Before making their run to the state tournament, Hillsboro stood at 15-15 overall, going .500 after a loss to Portsmouth Post 23 in the top half of a twinbill.
If you remember correctly, the Bulls of Durham (in the movie) lost a few games at the start of their season.
After losing the first game against Post 23, all it took was one hit, a bloop shot to shallow right field at Shaffer Park, by Logan Wise to completely change the way this Post 129 season would be remembered.
I swear to you, after that lead-off hit by Wise in a game where Hillsboro was listed as the away team, something clicked.
The only Bull Durham quote that comes to mind is when Crash Davis said in describing a moon shot: "Well, he really hit the (stuff) outta that one, didn't he?"
I can't explain it, but the team just went into a complete turnaround after that ball landed on the grass of Shaffer Park.
The day before that bloop hit, which turned into two bases as Wise hustled and dove head-first into the bag at second, Post 129 lost two straight to Lancaster Post 11 at Shaffer Park. They were on a three-game skid; in fact, they lost four out of six at that point of the summer from July 10-12.
One swing of an aluminum bat, and before the ping sound has stopped ringing in your ears, a season can be changed.
Post 129 went on to break their skid of three straight losses and proceed to (including that game) win four in a row to get to where they stand now: District 7 champions and members of the Ohio American Legion baseball tournament for the first time since 1998.
There is something about this team that has clicked, and since that game where they defeated Post 23, 7-3, the game seems different.
It seems fun again.
In the words of fake pitcher Nuke LaLoosh: "It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
After their second district win, Post 129's first of two against Chillicothe Post 62, head coach Ritchie Butler told me, "This is the third game in a row we delivered on playing as a team."
And that is the word of the day, or season: TEAM. The way Butler emphasized the word "team" spoke volumes on what the team had accomplished.
Those four letters together, along with some solid pitching, have expanded the Post 129 season for at least another week.
And what is better than more baseball?
OK, the answer to that is simple: baseball with great pitching.
And the show the Hillsboro Post 129 staff put on at the District 7 tournament at VA Memorial Stadium was a gem. You could say it was a diamond in the rough that was finally shined to perfection.
In the district opener for Post 129, ace Tucker Hughes took the baseball, stepped onto the mound and didn't leave for 7 2-3 innings.
Two days later it was Wise's turn, against Post 62 of Chillicothe.
Again, Wise took the baseball, and he went 8 innings on the hill.
And the capper?
The following day, against the same Post 62 ball club, Sam Louden takes the baseball, rears back and tosses a nine-inning game for Post 129 of Hillsboro.
Every out, except for one strikeout, recorded while Louden was on the hill was either via ground ball or fly out.
Which brings up another Bull Durham quote: "Quit trying to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring, and besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. They're more democratic."
Hillsboro also had some nice relief pitching from Nathaniel Miller and Jacob Dillon in those games.
As you can tell, I am not a "chick" who digs the long ball, but I am a "dude" who loves watching pitchers work their magic by forcing hitters to swing at pitches they dislike in times that matter most.
Don't forget about the 20 runs scored in the three games played in the district tournament.
Scoring totals of four, eight and eight runs also helped put Hillsboro Post 129 in the state bracket.
Sixteen of the runs came in game just hours apart, against the same team.
Amazing how this has happened.
But what makes it fun is to witness this team go from 2-5 after seven games, finish the regular season at 16-15, have a winning streak of four in a row (twice), regroup, and take charge when it mattered most.
They overcame their wooden bat demons, rain delays, and fielding woes to reach Lancaster this coming week.
Which brings up the best Bull Durham quote of them all; no, not the "Hit the bull" quote, but: "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for a while."
What a summer it has been, and this team ain't a bunch of lollygaggers!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]