Beacons stage dramatic comeback, but fall to Shirts Happen, 17-14

ROLLINSFORD -- The Beacons played their best game of the young 2008 softball season Tuesday night and staged a dramatic comeback before ultimately losing to Shirts Happen, 17-14.
The game didn't look that promising when the Beacons fell behind, 7-0, in the first inning with Jessica Singer on the hill thanks to a combination of sharp Shirts Happen hits and a few bases on balls.
The Beacons nearly wiped one of those runs off the board when Beacons left fielder Sonny Ecker threw a strike to catcher Bob Cook who applied the tag to a Shirts Happen runner who was called safe at home.
As the game wore on, the Beacons started playing better defense and relief pitcher Bob Cook managed to hold the home team to four more runs through the 5th inning.
At that juncture, the Beacons were down, 11-3, and needed some offense in a hurry if they were going to make a game of it. Then suddenly the Shirts Happen relief pitcher lost her control and started walking some Beacons hitters to load the bases.
Beacons third baseman Justin Palmer, Cook, Josh Rosenson stroked some singles to drive in some runs along with speedy center fielder Jason Claffey. Left fielder Sonny Ecker, still nursing an injured hamstring, struck the big blow that helped propell his team to a 14-11 lead with a bases clearing double in the left-center field gap.
But as fate would have it, the Beacons defense faltered in the bottom of the sixth when they lost the lead after getting two outs. Shirts Happen was suddenly sitting on a three-run lead in the top of the seventh. The Beacons went quietly in their last at-bat, but Beacons Coach Bob Cook said there are a lot of good things the team could take with them.
"I think it was amazing that we staged such a great comeback and generated some big hits when we needed them. I thought our defense and pitching grew stronger as the game went on and some of our new players really made a positive impact in their first game with the big club," said Cook, who pitched two scoreless innings.
The Beacons are now 0-3 and have one game to make up against Post 47 later this season. Cook said he likes what he sees at this point in the season and that Beacons fans should be assured the team will only get better as the season goes on.
"The pieces are starting to fall into place," Cook said.
Next on deck for the Beacons is a Monday game against Moore Construction at GoldStar Park at 6 p.m.