SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Lions, Tigers, & Barons—Oh My!

The howls and roars were not from the nearby zoo animals but from athletes and fans enjoying great softball competition.

The 2009 National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA) staged its championship tournament in August at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The Wisconsin Paralyzed Veterans of America (WPVA) hosted the event.

Tournament director Al Neu and his able team of "zookeepers" and volunteers staged this championship event on the same site as the 2007 National Veterans Wheelchair Games. While cages and bars may have restrained the Milwaukee Zoo's jungle animals, the NWSA's Warhawks, Cubs, Rays, and other beasts freely roamed the tri-field competition site and exhibited incredible displays of speed, skill, strength, and athleticism for all who dared to watch.

In opening-round action of this three-day tournament, the higher seeds dominated as the Rollin Red Sox defeated the reorganized Kansas City Diamond, 16-6. The host WPVA Warhawks soared over the New York Yankees, 14-3, and the Tampa Bay Rays glided over the Minnesota PVA Flamethrowers, 15-1.

In the only closely contested game of the first two rounds, the number-four seeded RIC Cubs almost stepped in a bear trap set by their crosstown rival, Midwest Flyers, who would have surely treasured the prize. The Flyers had defeated the RIC Cubs II, 20-2, in round one. In their second game against a team from RIC, the Flyers trailed by a single run, 6-5, in the fourth inning but had the bases loaded with two out. Power-hitting Paul Smith came to bat with a perfect five hits in five at-bats on the day, including a home run. But Cubs ace pitcher Alex Parra kept his team safe by striking out the heavy hitter on three pitches to end the threat. The Cubs offense, led by Kurt Smith's four-hit and five-RBI performance, went on to score four more runs over the last few innings to secure the 10-5 win.

In the first quarterfinal match, the Courage Rolling Twins, fresh from their 8-1 win over the Warhawks in the second round, met the St. Paul Saints, who had defeated the Rollin Red Sox, 13-1, in round two. The Saints took the lead in the third inning when Hall of Fame (HOF) member Manny Guerra doubled in two runs and scored on Joe Arends' single. With a 6-5 lead, pitcher Jerry Anderson and the Saints young but able defense retired the Twins hitters in order the final four innings.

While the Saints won the game, 9-5, the Twins were left to wonder how their fate would have changed if their power-hitting shortstop, Wyatt Halvorson, had been with the team. An automobile accident and the recent death of his father kept the 2008 NWST all-tournament shortstop, and best hitter, at home.

The top-seeded Nebraska Barons used the momentum from their 14-4 win over the Rays to take a commanding 6-1 lead over the upset-minded Cubs in the first inning of their quarterfinal game. The confident Barons built a 9--6 lead after four innings, but after adding one run in the fifth the Cubs awoke with the ferocity that would send the Barons to an unpleasant place. In the sixth inning, after a double by Angelo Cruz and an intentional walk to Paul Moran, Curtis Lease ripped a two-run double to right center and scored the game's final run on a single by Dino Ramirez to give the Cubs a 10-9 lead.

The Cubs held on to win this fierce battle, banishing the two-time defending champion Barons to a familiar place-the bottom of the double-elimination bracket.

Check out the complete article in the November 2009 S'NS.

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