by: Tom Hannon
Let's start this post regional article a little differently with some back-round on how we got to where we are now. Over the last two years I have played for the BWBL, HVWBL, and once again BWBL. Some criticized the move to the HVWBL in 2016 not knowing the story and just going on hearsay. Not taking anything away from the Hudson guys in Cruz, Morse, Tozzi, etc. but it wasn't the same for me. It almost felt as I took the easy way out and didn't have the same fire and desire to win when I arrived in Dublin, Ohio. I didn't have to worry about qualifying for 2016 since they were a top 8 team. Beyond that, I was dealing with some personal things most notably the anniversary of the loss of my child 9 years prior (July 16th) and not having the support of my wife at the tournament caused me to become distant and enigmatic from my HVWBL teammates. Once I saw the dates for the 2017 tournament, I knew I couldn't be away yet again so I chose to give my spot up for the national team. I have been called a cancer from outsiders of the league when it comes to being a good teammate, but that can't be further from the truth. If you don't believe me ask the 2017 BWBL team, HVWBL Mets, PWBL Astros/Knights.
Early in 2017, I sent Jay Jay Neely and Daulton Shearer messages saying I wanted to be on the BWBL team. They obliged and sent the message on the team chat. It was met with mixed emotions since I had the stigma of being cocky, arrogant, asshole --you name it, I have been called it. Still I continued my quest to get back on the team for the league I helped start. Finally, late April maybe even early May, I was given a chance with stipulations "don't be a jerk -- its not going to look good for the league." I wanted to be a part of this team and agreed to the terms if you want to call it that.
As the BWBL sent out feelers to see who else wanted to be a part of the team, we were surprised to get 12 responses. With only having a roster size of 8, it was up to Kevin Sickle to pick the top 8 players he felt would give the BWBL a chance to make it to Michigan this year. As the deadline began to creep up on us and our roster not being yet finalized, players started to get nervous on whether or not they would make the cut. Some continued to work hard down the field with our practices while others tried to make deals and play elsewhere. Not knowing if I was even going to make it and Kevin being busy, I tried to take over the role of a captain from trying to get everyone together for BP, pitching, you name it I was trying to help this team succeed. At this point, I still didn't know if I was wanted but it didn't matter because I always worked hard and wanted the same from these group of guys.
Fast forward to June 6th. Kevin sent out text messages to the 8 members of the team to see if they would play for the BWBL as they were the selected 8. I was happy to receive my text and I waited to find out who else received that same message. Once finalized the roster of Hannon, Steve Dotzel, Shearer, Brett Rooney, Drew Slater, Steve Homza, Doug Novitski, and Chris Faulkner was in place and now it was time to get to work.
The night before the tournament, we used to have a social event, but this year it was just our team with a chance to sit down and chat about the upcoming games, life, anything we wanted and we took advantage of that. Outside the restaurant a big discussion between myself and Dotzel happened. I had asked Dotzel who he felt would pitch tomorrow in our games and he stated "I don't know me and Chris maybe," and I had fired back "well you forgetting about me." I proceeded to remind him that I came on in relief of Tozzi in 2016 and got the win against WWF -- a team he had never beaten. Also that I had beaten the BWBL in 2016 and was 3-0 in regional play as a pitcher. That didn't seem to matter or change his opinion that night but the next day that would all change maybe.
Saturday morning the day of the games we had a goal to be 2-0 to start off the day and get a win or tie vs. WWF and we might be good to get in nationals. We opened up against W.I.L.L. out of the Pittsburgh area. Both pitchers were on to start the game as Dotzel kept weaving in and out of jams. Doug Novitski finally broke the scoreless game with a solo shot that scraped the backside of the green monster in left field. Dotzel continued to get the outs needed as we extended our lead to 2-1 with just over 8 minutes to play. However, W.I.L.L. would tie the game up in the top of the 6th with a bases loaded sacrifice fly as time ran out. Knowing we had secured at least 1 point we wanted to go out and get the other with the win. A couple of walks and a couple of hits later and the road to Morenci was underway with a 3-2 victory. The BWBL team showed a lot of resiliency in the first game from getting out of jams while on the field and not settling for a tie while batting.
Next up was a match-up against HWL out of Huntington, WV. Kevin elected to go with myself on the mound against HWL's Jeremy Ray. After a couple scoreless innings we finally broke through and put up a 2 spot on the board. HWL would fight back and earn a run when a routine pop-up hit a jet stream of air and the ball went from near 2nd base all the way over to 1st base. Getting out of that jam in the 3rd inning was huge for the BWBL. As a veteran of the tournament, I kept a close eye on the clock and figured if we could extend some at bats I would most likely only have to pitch 1 more inning. But be it as it may, we couldn't string anything together and HWL's Horton Hears a Who blasted a solo shot to tie the game up at 2 and it seemed to spark the guys from WV. I once again wiggled my way out of it and we headed to the 5th and final inning tied at 2. Just like the 1st game, we felt at the very least we were going to tie but we were hungry and wanted more. As I walked over to our tent/bench I told the guys "All I need is 1 run give me 1 and we win the game." Well they did better than that they proceeded to give not only me but the team 3 runs and we took a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of 5. With my arm feeling fresh and 2 guys I could depend on in the field in Novitski and Rooney, I knew it was all we needed to secure the win and be 2-0. Next up on our road to Morenci was WWF.
Heading into this pivotal game, we knew it was going to be a hard fought game. WWF came in 1-1 and we were 2-0 with the winner of this game basically punching their ticket into the next round. WWF would start Zach Artim and we would go back to the well and go with Dotzel. Career wise, Dotzel was 0-2 against Artim in the PA regional losing 1-0 to SRL in 2015 on a Mark Belles HR and last year losing 3-0 against this same WWF team. Once again both pitchers were dominant, not getting into any real trouble throughout the game. To be honest I don't know if a runner reached 3rd base the entire game from both teams. The play that changed the complexion of this game though came late with Belles on 1st and Joey Dougher batting with nobody out. Dougher hit a pop up and the wind played havoc pushing the ball out of the reach of a diving Homza. The 3rd base umpire ruled that Homza's foot drug across 2nd base forcing Belles out. He had asked for help from the 1st base umpire and to no avail the call on the field stood. After that call, things got a little bit chirpy from both teams. Heading into the final inning and knowing a tie would give us around an 85% chance of advancing, we started to get a little excited. Dotzel once again went out there and shut them down and we walked away with a 0-0 tie giving us 5 pts. Not really the outcome either team was hoping for, but when two teams know each other very well, things like this happen.
While we waited a little bit to play AWAA for the regional title, some of our players watched the game between HWL and WWF. If WWF were to lose or tie, we would 100% be going to Morenci for a chance to play for a national title. The game was very close and WWF had the lead heading into the last inning if I recall, but HWL even knowing they were headed to that dreaded death bracket fought their way back and defeated WWF. As we celebrated on the outside of the fence, we knew we still had a shot to shock everyone and beat the best team in the region -- AWAA.
Kevin walked up to me and asked me if I wanted the ball in the last game and as any competitor would do, I obliged and said hell yeah. Probably the biggest mistake I could have made after not throwing since 12:45pm and its now around 4pm. AWAA's Jimmy Cole took an 0-1 pitch over the monster to give them the early lead. Following that up in the top of the 2nd, Nate Cruz hit a 1-2 pitch over the monster to push the lead to 4-0 AWAA. Things did not look good for me but more importantly BWBL. I decided to take myself out of the game a couple batters later as I didn't have what I took to beat such a formidable team. In came Daulton Shearer and got us out of the jam that I created. In the bottom half of the inning the guys did what BWBL is known for and that's being fighters, gritty, and hard working. So much so we put up 5 runs and took the lead on AWAA -- something nobody in this tournament thought was possible except for the guys on the BWBL. Daulton gave up the lead and Kevin made a choice to bring in Chris Faulkner with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd. At this time, BWBL trailed 8-5. Faulkner, who had just learned how to throw a new ball 4 days prior, mowed down the AWAA players using only 7 pitches and recording 2 strikeouts. 6 out of the 7 pitches hit the strike zone -- something not a lot of veteran pitchers can do. Just like with every other BWBL game in this tournament, we fought and clawed to within 8-6 with 2 outs and Faulkner up to bat with 2 runners on. The BWBL had a chance to walk it off, however Josh Camp settled in and got Faulkner to strikeout looking. All in all, it was a great game by everyone. Whether the AWAA wants to admit it, they took us for granted and got a bit nervous in the bottom of the last inning. At the end of the day we were 2-1-1 -- enough to qualify for Nationals and that's all that mattered to us.
A couple takeaways from the regional tournament. Even though I won't be joining this group of guys to Michigan, I want to wish them the best of luck. They are a very gritty group of guys and if they play like they did this past Saturday the sky is the limit. Keep motivating each other and strive for greatness and get that RESPECT we deserve as a league. Too many times we have let opportunities slip away, but I believe this team can and will shock some people in a month. Now will they win it all? Most likely not, but they could easily be a top 8 team given the right match-ups and utilizing guys in the right spots. Everyone has a role to fill its up to the manager and players to decide who gets what role. For my teammates, thank you for giving me the chance to play along side of you and putting up with my antics. I know sometimes it can be hard to deal with me, but you got to know its in the best interest of not only you but the league. Always give 100% and nothing less so that way you can't look back and say, “I wish I would've done this or that.”
With all this being said good luck – I'll be watching.
Let's start this post regional article a little differently with some back-round on how we got to where we are now. Over the last two years I have played for the BWBL, HVWBL, and once again BWBL. Some criticized the move to the HVWBL in 2016 not knowing the story and just going on hearsay. Not taking anything away from the Hudson guys in Cruz, Morse, Tozzi, etc. but it wasn't the same for me. It almost felt as I took the easy way out and didn't have the same fire and desire to win when I arrived in Dublin, Ohio. I didn't have to worry about qualifying for 2016 since they were a top 8 team. Beyond that, I was dealing with some personal things most notably the anniversary of the loss of my child 9 years prior (July 16th) and not having the support of my wife at the tournament caused me to become distant and enigmatic from my HVWBL teammates. Once I saw the dates for the 2017 tournament, I knew I couldn't be away yet again so I chose to give my spot up for the national team. I have been called a cancer from outsiders of the league when it comes to being a good teammate, but that can't be further from the truth. If you don't believe me ask the 2017 BWBL team, HVWBL Mets, PWBL Astros/Knights.
Early in 2017, I sent Jay Jay Neely and Daulton Shearer messages saying I wanted to be on the BWBL team. They obliged and sent the message on the team chat. It was met with mixed emotions since I had the stigma of being cocky, arrogant, asshole --you name it, I have been called it. Still I continued my quest to get back on the team for the league I helped start. Finally, late April maybe even early May, I was given a chance with stipulations "don't be a jerk -- its not going to look good for the league." I wanted to be a part of this team and agreed to the terms if you want to call it that.
As the BWBL sent out feelers to see who else wanted to be a part of the team, we were surprised to get 12 responses. With only having a roster size of 8, it was up to Kevin Sickle to pick the top 8 players he felt would give the BWBL a chance to make it to Michigan this year. As the deadline began to creep up on us and our roster not being yet finalized, players started to get nervous on whether or not they would make the cut. Some continued to work hard down the field with our practices while others tried to make deals and play elsewhere. Not knowing if I was even going to make it and Kevin being busy, I tried to take over the role of a captain from trying to get everyone together for BP, pitching, you name it I was trying to help this team succeed. At this point, I still didn't know if I was wanted but it didn't matter because I always worked hard and wanted the same from these group of guys.
Fast forward to June 6th. Kevin sent out text messages to the 8 members of the team to see if they would play for the BWBL as they were the selected 8. I was happy to receive my text and I waited to find out who else received that same message. Once finalized the roster of Hannon, Steve Dotzel, Shearer, Brett Rooney, Drew Slater, Steve Homza, Doug Novitski, and Chris Faulkner was in place and now it was time to get to work.
The night before the tournament, we used to have a social event, but this year it was just our team with a chance to sit down and chat about the upcoming games, life, anything we wanted and we took advantage of that. Outside the restaurant a big discussion between myself and Dotzel happened. I had asked Dotzel who he felt would pitch tomorrow in our games and he stated "I don't know me and Chris maybe," and I had fired back "well you forgetting about me." I proceeded to remind him that I came on in relief of Tozzi in 2016 and got the win against WWF -- a team he had never beaten. Also that I had beaten the BWBL in 2016 and was 3-0 in regional play as a pitcher. That didn't seem to matter or change his opinion that night but the next day that would all change maybe.
Saturday morning the day of the games we had a goal to be 2-0 to start off the day and get a win or tie vs. WWF and we might be good to get in nationals. We opened up against W.I.L.L. out of the Pittsburgh area. Both pitchers were on to start the game as Dotzel kept weaving in and out of jams. Doug Novitski finally broke the scoreless game with a solo shot that scraped the backside of the green monster in left field. Dotzel continued to get the outs needed as we extended our lead to 2-1 with just over 8 minutes to play. However, W.I.L.L. would tie the game up in the top of the 6th with a bases loaded sacrifice fly as time ran out. Knowing we had secured at least 1 point we wanted to go out and get the other with the win. A couple of walks and a couple of hits later and the road to Morenci was underway with a 3-2 victory. The BWBL team showed a lot of resiliency in the first game from getting out of jams while on the field and not settling for a tie while batting.
Next up was a match-up against HWL out of Huntington, WV. Kevin elected to go with myself on the mound against HWL's Jeremy Ray. After a couple scoreless innings we finally broke through and put up a 2 spot on the board. HWL would fight back and earn a run when a routine pop-up hit a jet stream of air and the ball went from near 2nd base all the way over to 1st base. Getting out of that jam in the 3rd inning was huge for the BWBL. As a veteran of the tournament, I kept a close eye on the clock and figured if we could extend some at bats I would most likely only have to pitch 1 more inning. But be it as it may, we couldn't string anything together and HWL's Horton Hears a Who blasted a solo shot to tie the game up at 2 and it seemed to spark the guys from WV. I once again wiggled my way out of it and we headed to the 5th and final inning tied at 2. Just like the 1st game, we felt at the very least we were going to tie but we were hungry and wanted more. As I walked over to our tent/bench I told the guys "All I need is 1 run give me 1 and we win the game." Well they did better than that they proceeded to give not only me but the team 3 runs and we took a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of 5. With my arm feeling fresh and 2 guys I could depend on in the field in Novitski and Rooney, I knew it was all we needed to secure the win and be 2-0. Next up on our road to Morenci was WWF.
Heading into this pivotal game, we knew it was going to be a hard fought game. WWF came in 1-1 and we were 2-0 with the winner of this game basically punching their ticket into the next round. WWF would start Zach Artim and we would go back to the well and go with Dotzel. Career wise, Dotzel was 0-2 against Artim in the PA regional losing 1-0 to SRL in 2015 on a Mark Belles HR and last year losing 3-0 against this same WWF team. Once again both pitchers were dominant, not getting into any real trouble throughout the game. To be honest I don't know if a runner reached 3rd base the entire game from both teams. The play that changed the complexion of this game though came late with Belles on 1st and Joey Dougher batting with nobody out. Dougher hit a pop up and the wind played havoc pushing the ball out of the reach of a diving Homza. The 3rd base umpire ruled that Homza's foot drug across 2nd base forcing Belles out. He had asked for help from the 1st base umpire and to no avail the call on the field stood. After that call, things got a little bit chirpy from both teams. Heading into the final inning and knowing a tie would give us around an 85% chance of advancing, we started to get a little excited. Dotzel once again went out there and shut them down and we walked away with a 0-0 tie giving us 5 pts. Not really the outcome either team was hoping for, but when two teams know each other very well, things like this happen.
While we waited a little bit to play AWAA for the regional title, some of our players watched the game between HWL and WWF. If WWF were to lose or tie, we would 100% be going to Morenci for a chance to play for a national title. The game was very close and WWF had the lead heading into the last inning if I recall, but HWL even knowing they were headed to that dreaded death bracket fought their way back and defeated WWF. As we celebrated on the outside of the fence, we knew we still had a shot to shock everyone and beat the best team in the region -- AWAA.
Kevin walked up to me and asked me if I wanted the ball in the last game and as any competitor would do, I obliged and said hell yeah. Probably the biggest mistake I could have made after not throwing since 12:45pm and its now around 4pm. AWAA's Jimmy Cole took an 0-1 pitch over the monster to give them the early lead. Following that up in the top of the 2nd, Nate Cruz hit a 1-2 pitch over the monster to push the lead to 4-0 AWAA. Things did not look good for me but more importantly BWBL. I decided to take myself out of the game a couple batters later as I didn't have what I took to beat such a formidable team. In came Daulton Shearer and got us out of the jam that I created. In the bottom half of the inning the guys did what BWBL is known for and that's being fighters, gritty, and hard working. So much so we put up 5 runs and took the lead on AWAA -- something nobody in this tournament thought was possible except for the guys on the BWBL. Daulton gave up the lead and Kevin made a choice to bring in Chris Faulkner with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd. At this time, BWBL trailed 8-5. Faulkner, who had just learned how to throw a new ball 4 days prior, mowed down the AWAA players using only 7 pitches and recording 2 strikeouts. 6 out of the 7 pitches hit the strike zone -- something not a lot of veteran pitchers can do. Just like with every other BWBL game in this tournament, we fought and clawed to within 8-6 with 2 outs and Faulkner up to bat with 2 runners on. The BWBL had a chance to walk it off, however Josh Camp settled in and got Faulkner to strikeout looking. All in all, it was a great game by everyone. Whether the AWAA wants to admit it, they took us for granted and got a bit nervous in the bottom of the last inning. At the end of the day we were 2-1-1 -- enough to qualify for Nationals and that's all that mattered to us.
A couple takeaways from the regional tournament. Even though I won't be joining this group of guys to Michigan, I want to wish them the best of luck. They are a very gritty group of guys and if they play like they did this past Saturday the sky is the limit. Keep motivating each other and strive for greatness and get that RESPECT we deserve as a league. Too many times we have let opportunities slip away, but I believe this team can and will shock some people in a month. Now will they win it all? Most likely not, but they could easily be a top 8 team given the right match-ups and utilizing guys in the right spots. Everyone has a role to fill its up to the manager and players to decide who gets what role. For my teammates, thank you for giving me the chance to play along side of you and putting up with my antics. I know sometimes it can be hard to deal with me, but you got to know its in the best interest of not only you but the league. Always give 100% and nothing less so that way you can't look back and say, “I wish I would've done this or that.”
With all this being said good luck – I'll be watching.