Class 1A Regionals (@ Avon)
United vs. West Prairie
Abingdon vs. B-PC/A
Originally, this doubleheader was scheduled to be played in Colchester, the host (West Prairie) of the regional. Due to the amount of rainfall the area received, there were still puddles in the outfield there. The site was moved to AVCOM Park in Avon, which also has lights at the field, a plus for playing two games.
With the first game starting at 4:00, it was a tough to get to Avon on time. According to Garmin, it is 57 miles from Monmouth to Avon, which seemed farther than I thought. I went down a back road, that Garmin actually directed me down when covering the North Fulton/Lewistown softball game in Fairview a few weeks ago. Little did I know, this road takes me right past the FS station, outside of Roseville. I have an FS gas card, and fill up at the pump there every once in a while. It's about 2 miles east of Roseville.
I pulled into AVCOM Park shortly after 4:00. West Prairie boy's basketball coach Kellen Fernetti was manning the gates, and spoke briefly. After parking, and gathering my materials, the United Red Storm had already scored twice in the first inning and led, 2-0. As I made my walk down the road, lining left field, Augusta Chandler smoked an RBI single to give the Red Storm a, 3-0 cushion.
Avon athletic director Dick Brown was sitting in the shelter behind home plate with B-PC/A coach Stephen Schaeffer. Schaeffer looked up at me and said, "It's about time you made it," since I was making my first swing to a Spartans softball game. A couple of previous scheduled attempts were derailed by either a scheduling conflict on my part, or rain.
In the 2nd inning, Katie Bertelsen sat down the side, notching her 5th strikeout in just two innings. The scoring barrage opened up for United in the bottom of the frame, with Gina Long and Sommer Foster hitting back-to-back home runs. Kaitlyn Winkler and Bertelsen then each reached on singles, and would score. Ashlynn Winkler hit a 2-run double to give United a, 9-0 lead.
I saw an interesting shirt a United fan was wearing. I believe these shirts were made last year, because I kind of recall seeing them at the State Finals last summer. The shirts are entitled, "Top 10 Reasons To Play United Softball." I only read that final five reasons because the woman was sitting in a chair, and I didn't want to ask her to read her shirt. Anyways, here are reasons five through ten.
10. Eating at practice
9. Stealing Rick's peanuts (assistant coach Rick Bertelsen, Katie's dad)
8. Become a professional stealer (I think, unsure)
7. Pregame feasts at Bre's house (last year senior, Bre Christian)
6. Fluff's bubba tank (assistant coach Jeff "Fluff" Tyrell)
5. Bert's call (Katie Bertelsen)
4. Singing.... (didn't read the rest)
3. thru 1. unknown at this time
United looked to assure a short game in the 3rd inning, when the Red Storm plated three more runs. Sommer Foster led off with a single and scored on Kaitlyn Winkler's RBI double. Winkler scored on Bertelsen's RBI single, and Michelle Ravel reached on an E4.
I had an extensive conversation with Spartans softball coach Schaeffer. He was telling me a story about an interesting play where his opponent, earlier this season, had a runner at third advance on a pop fly. The Spartans made the catch, and the opposong baserunner had already crossed home plate and was heading to the dugout, then made a beeline back to third base. I think that's how the story went, it's now been two days and I didn't take good notes. This sparked a conversation on some of the rules, and we talked about the dropped 3rd strike rule, and the imaginary line that can't be crossed to make a run to 1st base on a dropped ball.
Bertelsen struck out the side in the 4th inning, notching her 10th strikeout. In the 4th inning, United scored their final run, when Gina Long reached on a base hit, advanced to second on a passed ball, and to third on a wild pitch. She would also score on a wild pitch.
Dave Norton showed up towards the end of this game, as he was preparing to shoot some photos of the following game. Norton works for the McDonough Democrat and Spoon River Press. He joked that he's been there for a long, long time. The only difference is now, he's signing the checks.
Katie Bertelsen finished off the West Prairie Cyclones, 1-2-3 in the 5th inning, ensuring a no-hitter, and finished with 13 strikeouts.
There was about a 45-minute wait between games, as the "grounds crew" re-lined the field and prepared them for the B-PC/A vs. Abingdon game. I went over to the car to grab some sunflower seeds. I did a quick count in my head, and I am now at 6 bags of sunflower seeds consumed this spring, dating to about April 1st. Here's the count...
2 bags barbecue
2 bags ranch
1 bag nacho cheese
1 bag dill pickle
Still seeking out those jalapeno seeds, but waiting for my current supply to dwindle a little more.
The umpires for the evening were Joe Thompson and Dana Nissen. Joe and I were in the same gym about 3 nights a week during basketball season, and Dana and I have shared quite a bit of professional wrestling talk over the years. In fact, a few years ago, Dana, Macomb football coach Kelly Sears, and I went to Keokuk, Iowa to watch Harley Race's pro wrestling circuit. Normally, these small pro wrestling federations are filled with guys that will never make it, but not that event. We saw a young Ted Dibiase, the very one that is starring in the WWE today, the son of "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase. Dibiase wrestled in the main event that night, and was head and shoulders above (talent wise) the rest of the grapplers there that night.
Looking out over AVCOM Park, I noticed some of the signs hanging on the outfield wall. One in particular stood out, the Peoria Chiefs. Not because it was a sign advertising a minor league baseball team, but because of the logo. This was a classic Chiefs logo, featuring the Indian, when it was the mascot. The organization, to be politically correct, went with a dalmation for a mascot several years back. If I were a betting man, I would say this particular Chiefs sign in Avon would be about 15-20 years old, maybe more.
When Abingdon took the field, umpire Thompson told the girls to take the field passing home plate in a straight line. I have never heard this before, but I also don't make it to many games on time. One girl, running past home plate, kicked dirt all over it.
Beep Jones gave the Commandoes the early lead, 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Jones finished, 3-4 on the game, upping her season batting average to .564.
Rick Bertelsen came over and we had an extensive conversation that lasted the entire ballgame. I asked him how long Katie had been working with coaches, etc. on her pitching. He said she has been pitching since she was in Kindergarten, and started honing the craft around third grade.
He was also telling me a lot about the Midland Magic, ASA team, and about their showcase that will be coming to Springfield this July. This should be a premier event with the top players and teams from all over the midwest in attendance.
One of our most in-depth conversations was about the IHSA football playoffs, and the possibility of the increase from 256 teams to 512 teams. We were both in agreement, that it would be bad for the state of football for such an increase.
The runs came aplenty for the Commandoes in the 3rd inning, putting the bat on the ball, and taking advantage of fielding errors by the Spartans. In one sequence, the Commandoes dropped two bunts just a couple feet in front of home plate, with no Spartan defender getting to the ball. Abingdon plated five runs in the 3rd, highlighted by a 3-run triple by Cierra Moshier. Beep Jones also had an RBI triple in the frame. Abingdon would go on to win the game in five innings, 12-0, setting up a United/Abingdon regional championship game.
The regional championship venue was still up in the air on Wednesday night. After the games, I talked with West Prairie athletic director Nancy Calvert, and she said that if the rain would come as predicted on Thursday and Friday, there would be no way any softball could be played in Colchester, Saturday. Back up venues were already being discussed with Macomb and Knoxville. In the end, Carl Sandburg College would end up hosting the game in Galesburg, as the rains did fall all day Thursday.
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