The 7 & 8 year Chelsea All-stars won the District 9 Championship in dramatic fashion on Friday, July 12th. However, the road to the championship was no less dramatic. In order to qualify for the District 9 tournament the Chelsea All-stars had to first get through the sub-district played in Pelham the prior week.
In the sub-district the Chelsea All-stars dropped the first game of the tournament to Helena, thus placing them in the losers bracket. However, it did not deter this group of resilient kids. They battled back through the losers bracket to reach the championship and face the hometown favorite, Pelham. In order for the Chelsea All-stars to reach the District 9 tournament they would have to defeat Pelham twice, which is exactly what happened, in convincing fashion. On to the District tournament.
The Chelsea team drew a bye in the first round of the District 9 tournament played in Calera. Their first game was against McAdory in which they were defeated in convincing fashion. So once again the Chelsea team found themselves in the losers bracket after one game. Following the defeat, Chelsea won the next two games over Montevallo and Pleasant Grove respectively, to find themselves back in the championship game against McAdory. However, Chelsea had to defeat McAdory twice in order to win the championship.
In the first game Chelsea trailed the entire game until the top of the 6th inning when they scored seven runs to take a 17 to 13 lead. In the bottom of the 6th McAdory went three up three down to end the game. One down and one to go for the championship.
The final game of the championship was nothing, but exciting. The first inning was played and McAdory lead 4-0, then the rain set it. After an hour and a half delay the game resumed with Chelsea coming out flat. In the bottom of the 4th inning McAdory was on the verge of a victory leading 13-4 with two out and runners in scoring position. One more run and the game would be over. But the next batter popped up to end the inning. At this point the ending looked all but finalized, but no one told the 13 ballplayers from Chelsea. Chelsea came to bat in the top of the 5th inning and scored three runs making it 13-7 in favor of McAdory. Chelsea held again in the bottom of the 5th and came to their last at bat of the game. In the top of the 6th Chelsea scored 7 runs to take a 14-13 lead. McAdory then came to bat in the bottom of the 6th needing only two runs to win. The first two batters grounded out and flied out. The next batter hit a single and the fourth batter grounded out to end the game. Game, Set , Match, Chelsea WINS!!!
This story is not just about a group of 7 & 8-year-old boys winning a baseball game, but about having fun playing a kid’s game. As adults, we sometimes forget that these are kids playing a game and become to involved with just the outcome. It was not because of coaches or parents that drove these kids to win, but simply the fact that they had fun playing a kid’s game.
Congratulations boys!
Michael Orr
Submitted by Michael Orr
Posted 07/15/2002