FABULOUS? Yep.

A cool, crisp March night found a Fabulous Yep Nopes team hungry, with a #1 seed and with their eyes on the prize. They would still have to win three straight games for that to happen, however, and things took a negative turn early in game one at Snedigar Park in Chandler. Pitching stalwart and quiet team leader Ramon Rivera-Diaz suffered a painful dislocated shoulder charging into second base, attempting to stretch a single into a double. As paramedics set up a triage in the Nopes’ dugout, the distracted team re-concentrated their efforts and dispatched a woefully overmatched Richard Cranium squad, 31-7.

Game two found a 500 Club that would prove to be a tougher test. Clutch-hitting and some stellar defense allowed the Nopes to erase an early deficit and up the lead to nine by the time all was said and done, knocking off the feisty 500’s, 19-10.

It came time for game 3, the one for all the marbles, and this match-up was going to be the toughest yet. The Rip It Bombers came into the championship game having split the regular season with the Yep Nopes, their win being an emotional last-inning rally that propelled them to a 24-23 victory. A crafty, good-hitting team with deceptive speed, the Bombers made it known right off the bat that they were in it to win it, jumping out to an early lead.

The Nopes started slowly, partly due to nerves, but never got down. Playing for their fallen leader, the dugout became verbal, players urging their teammates to not get down and to focus. Starting off the 6th inning in an 11-4 hole, the Nopes knew it was now or never. Pat MacDonald walked early in the inning, bringing Jim Stringham to the plate. Stringham promptly hit a two-run moon shot that would serve as a catalyst for a furious rally that saw clutch hitting from every single spot in the line-up, catapulting them to a 14-11 advantage.

Defense was now at a premium and the Yep Nopes held up in this regard. They gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth but still held a two run lead as the final inning loomed. The top of the 7th saw three more very important runs tacked on with some more clutch hitting by a very determined Yep Nope ball club.

As they took the field in the bottom of the inning with a17-12 lead, the players could reflect on an up-and-down season and the adversity they’d dealt with that night, but realized there was a task at hand that needed to be accomplished. The Bombers were spent, however, getting two quick outs on fly balls to centerfield. The final play of the game saw a lazy fly ball sent over the 2nd baseman into short right center. As he’s done all year long, utility-man Brian Gorsuch charged hard, clinching the game with a sliding basket catch worthy of a Sportscenter “web-gem”.

As the teams shook hands and the fields began to clear, chants of “mustache, mustache” could be heard among the high-fives and congratulatory hollers. The Fabulous Yep Nopes had dug down deep, had played hard for a fallen teammate and had earned the right to call themselves “CHAMPIONS”.