Beacons robbed of comeback; Cook cries foul

ROLLINSFORD – The Beacons found themselves trailing P. Hussey, 12-7, in the top of the sixth with two outs and the bases loaded after Bob Cook lined a sharp single to centerfield. With Jason Claffey on deck, the team thought it was on the verge of a big inning when everything came to a grinding halt.
“Out!” shouted home plate umpire Dave Williams after Beacons first baseman Rick Coughlin was tagged at third base. Cook, the Beacons manager, immediately raced toward Williams from first to argue the call.
The Beacons skipper said Coughlin had been pushed away from the bag by the P. Hussey fielder and tagged out, which should have resulted in a safe call and possibly a run. Instead, the Beacons mounted another courageous comeback attempt in the top of the seventh inning. Once again, the Beacons had the bases loaded with two outs and they were trailing, 12-10, with Darryl “Extreme” Cauchon at the plate.
Cauchon flied out to right field to end the game, but some Beacons players and their coach were still fuming over the controversial call.
Cook was nearly ejected from the game when he blurted out an expletive during his exchange with Williams, who felt the P. Hussey third baseman did not force Coughlin off the bag and tagged him out after Coughlin’s momentum took him away from the base.
“That call could have gone either way, but when a call like that goes against you during such a critical point in the game, it makes it especially painful,” Cook said.
Although the loss dropped the Beacons to 2-14 on the year, the team still played a very good offensive and defensive game.
At one point, the Beacons trailed 6-3 and came roaring back on a number of singles and a towering homerun by Beacons leftfielder Jeremy Knowles that sailed just out of the reach of a P. Hussey outfielder.
The Beacons also helped themselves when centerfielder Jason Claffey and first baseman Rick Coughlin combined on a double play where Claffey caught a fly ball and threw a strike to Coughlin to double up the runner.
Husband and wife combo Justin and Molly Palmer also shored up the Beacons infield with some strong play at shortstop and second base. Cook and Cauchon shared the pitching duties.
With three games to go before the regular season ends and a playoff tournament looming on Aug. 22, the Beacons front office is already looking at this season as a building block for next season.