Even rain can’t ruin a good baseball game
Well, I think my curse for rainy Brewers’ games has now extended to include state championship games as well. Sorry Edgar fans, but as soon as I was signed up to cover the Wildcats in their first appearance at the state baseball tournament, your fate was sealed. The conditions were doomed to be less than ideal and the weather did not disappoint. It was so soggy yesterday that the initial 9 a.m. start was moved all the way back to 5:30 p.m.
I don’t know if that helped. If it was any other game, I am fairly certain yesterday’s matchup between Edgar and Ithaca would have been cancelled. But the WIAA has some semblance of a schedule that it needs to keep, so even with sheets of misty precipitation continuing to come down when the new start time came, it was still time to play ball.
And it seemed that it was a good thing that it did. Despite the weather, or maybe partially because of it, the state semifinal between the Wildcats and the Bulldogs was a classic. A big offensive inning for Edgar immediately answered by their opponents, clutch defense, solid pitching, and nerve-racking, high leverage situations throughout, the game was an excellent example of what makes baseball such an interesting sport.
After both teams scored three runs in the second inning, it would be seven innings before either would score again. However, both teams needed to work themselves out of a number of jams in order to maintain the 3-3 tie and with each passing frame, the intensity of these situations only increased. There were a number of times that both teams had multiple runners on base with no outs, only to be denied.
These high leverage moments are some of the greatest that baseball, and sports in general, have to offer. Anticipation and tension builds with each pitch, the knowledge that perhaps it will be the next play that defines the outcome of the game causing each delivery to be filled with apprehension and excitement.
And eventually, one of them finally did.
The rain continued to fall in the bottom of the ninth, continuing to defy the weather predictions that suggested it would stop at some point during the game. Ithaca had worked themselves into a very solid position, getting runners to second and third with no outs, but with how the game had proceeded before, it was hardly a sure thing that those runners would find their way home. But as Ithaca’s Sammy Clary connected on a pitch from Edgar’s Lucas Stahnke and lifted it out to left field, the end had abruptly arrived. Clary was swarmed by teammates at first base as the winning run came home to score while the Wildcats were left to watch and commiserate.
Every single team, save either Ithaca or Pecatonica, the Bulldogs’ opponent in the championship game, has had or will have a similar ending to the Edgar Wildcats, looking on as another team celebrates. It’s a somber moment, even from a bystander that has no connection to the team like myself, but one that nearly every team must go through. It’s a strange system we’ve set up for ourselves, when you think about it that way.
But eventually, one will probably be able to look back on the events with some fondness and pride in what was accomplished. As the saying goes, sometimes it isn’t about the destination, but rather the journey.
Regardless, I believe both teams should be very proud of the effort they put forth, and despite it being one of the wettest baseball games I have attended, it was also one of the best. If you don’t want it to rain WIAA, you probably shouldn’t invite me next time.
A C ertain Point of V iew
