They lost their three games in the seeding-round of the prestigious Dairyland Classic Tournament ( C2 Recreation division ) , held Sept. 2-3 in Milwaukee, and then lost another.
The Roscoe's Rage softball team was 0-4, one loss away from a complete blanking in the annual tournament—the same event coach ( and shortstop ) Steve Cole's team had won 2005.
'Last year we were undefeated, so this year we were expecting to win it again. But then we lost our first four games,' Cole said. 'After losing our first three games, which were seeding-round games, we were upset and very nervous about the tournament. In the fourth game, that loss really flattened everybody. It was kind of devastating, not a good feeling at all.
'I really thought we were going to go home without a win, and I know others were thinking that, too, though no one was saying so, he added. 'My biggest fear was that we spent all this time and money to be in this tournament, yet couldn't even get one win.'
Well, things turned around for the Rage in its fifth game. And its next six after that. The Rage went the most indirect route to the championship, winning seven straight games over a nine-hour span to defend its title.
'We played well in the first four games, but it just didn't happen,' said Cole, whose team surrendered a seven-run lead in the last half-inning of its fourth game to lose. 'Things happen in softball; the other team can always come back.
'We were in the winner's bracket last year, so we'd play a game, then take a break for an hour or two. We'd play another, then have another break. Not this year. We were immediately in the loser's bracket, so we had to play, then would get a 10-minute break before our next game started, and that went on from 9 a.m until 5:30 p.m.
'We were exhausted; we felt like we were 55 years old, yet our average age is 30. I don't think we could have played another game. We were running on every last ounce of energy we had.'
Cole added that ' [ w ] inning the tournament this year was absolutely amazing. To have done it the hardest way possible, wow, this year's win feels 10 times better than last year. Last year was very laid-back. Once we got in the loser's bracket this year, every game we played felt like a championship game because it was do-or-die at that point.'
The Rage ultimately defeated New York City twice for the title, winning the deciding game 12-7. They won the first game over New York 11-1. 'We were very fortunate to have it play out the way it did,' said Cole.
The Roscoe's team, in its third season, finished second this summer in the B/C1 division of CMSA ( Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ) play. The club features 14 players; all but one is gay.
Ed Marshall joined the Rage from Philadelphia. Other Milwaukee tournament standouts included second baseman Alan Ireland, leadoff hitter and left/center fielder Tommy Nguyen, and first baseman Tom Quicksell.
The majority of the Rage played this summer in the Gay Games.
Roscoe's wasn't the lone Chicago representative to leave Milwaukee with a championship. In addition:
— Hunter's won first-place in the C1-Competitive division.
— P-Flag Majors finished third in the C2-Recreational division.
— Jackhammer Heat won the D1-Competitive Division, defeating Buck's Rockins Robins.
'Chicago teams did wonderful in this tournament. The city was well represented,' Cole said. 'This was a great tournament, by far one of the best in the country. They work very hard to run a truly first-class event and they really take care of the players and teams. They treat us like rock stars.'
Hunter's, in its fifth year of play, defeated the Minnesota Spike 8-7 for its title, winning in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning. Right fielder Anthony Micelli drilled a double off the left fielder's outstretched arm, driving home second baseman Justin Eichman with the game-winning run.
'The championship game was unbelievable, especially since we were down 6-2 at one point. We were able to tie the score, 7-7, in the bottom of the sixth, then win in the seventh,' said Hunter's manager Steve Kasperski, who is the team's lead-off hitter and left fielder. 'We've had our best season. By far, [ this was ] our best season ever.'
This year, Hunter's has also won softball tournaments in Palm Springs, Fla., and Philadelphia. The team will play Thanksgiving weekend in Fort Lauderdale.
Hunter's features outfielders Mark Vild and Tim Worthington, plus shortstop Cameron Turner, who had three home runs in Milwaukee. Hunter's was 16-4 in the CMSA's C1 division.
In other softball news, Chicago Berlin claimed third place at MIST ( the Midwest Invitational Softball Tournament ) , held Sept. 2-3 in Detroit.
