Beacons stave off shut-out; rally for seven runs in last at bat

ROLLINSFORD – The Beacons were on the verge of writing another chapter in their storied two-year history, the wrong kind of history.
The team found itself down 11-0 in the top of the seventh on the road and only able to muster a scattering of hits versus Chumley’s.
A somber Coach Bob Cook told his cadres, “Guys (and girls), we are on the verge of getting shut-out for the first time in franchise history. We can either just let it happen or do something about it. It’s up to you…”
With those words, Beacons hitters scored seven runs on five hits, including a towering inside-the-park, grand-salami homerun struck by leftfielder Justin Palmer.
All of a sudden, the lifeless Beacons were knocking at Chumley’s door and threatening to crash their victory party and Chumley’s players looked worried.
But alas, it was too high a mountain for the Beacons to climb. The team eventually fell to Chumley’s , 11-7, but showed a lot of heart in the face of what would have been a new level of humiliation and lethargy.
“I told everybody I was really proud of them for rallying and scoring those runs against one of the toughest teams in the league,” said Cook, who had two hits. “We could have just packed it in and gone home with our tails between our legs, but we showed some heart and some resolve.”
For the previous six innings, the Beacons looked pretty dead on offense.
When third baseman Bob Dawber struck a thunderous shot to centerfield and tried to stretch a double into a triple, he was gunned down by Chumley’s fielders with a perfect relay throw.
Dawber also ran the Beacons out of another inning when he forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off second.
The Beacons were also victimized by another questionable call when shortstop Steve Clegg was called out for being out of the baseline when he got caught up between second and third base.
“There was no way I was out of the baseline. What was I supposed to do? I had to try to avoid the tag, right,” Clegg said.
Beacons hurler Phil Fernald pitched another strong game and went sixth innings. One of the biggest blows struck by Chumley’s hitters came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Fernald surrended a grandslam that sailed over the leftfield fence.
“That ball looked like it had a comet tail as it left the yard,” said Cook from the dugout.
All in all, it was a tough game for Beacons fans to watch, but exciting for those hung around for the seventh inning instead of turning off the high-definition TVs in disgust.
The Beacons have 10 games left to play as they reach the half-way mark of the 2009 season and little by little the team is starting to play better and get its act together. No one should be surprised if this team starts winning its share of games.