Take me back to the DOBSON SOFTBALL SELECTION page.
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... Take me back home.By Craig Morgan
The Arizona Republic
May 15, 1998
To borrow a line from Simon and Garfunkel, "Time it was and what a
time it was, it was."
Nine months and seemingly 3 million games later, the prep grind is coming to an end. This weekend will mark the coronation of the 1997-98 season's final high school state champions.
Prep fans around the East Valley can't wait to see which schools will bring home the spring prizes, adding a bit of clout to their respective bragging rights when the 1998-99 season opens.
Thanks to the Arizona Interscholastic Association's condensed, one-week format, fans will get their wish in a hurry. In the present 4A/5A format, one day you're celebrating a huge win, the next you're lamenting what might have been.
But in our mad rush to crown the final champions, we may have lost something.
You've probably heard the common American phrases, "everybody loves a winner" or "nobody remembers a loser."
Maybe so. But to those teams and players that didn't win the state championship this year, the memories -- and disappointments -- of the postseason will last a lifetime. And for the rest of us, a couple losing moments from this spring's state playoffs leave as indelible an impression as any winner's celebration.
Who can forget the the looks on the faces of the Corona del Sol baseball players when they lost a nail-biting 2-1 decision to Mountain View on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals?
Some faces displayed sorrow, some anger and some utter shock.
How could this happen? Corona had it all this year. Pitching, defense and timely hitting. The Aztecs were consistently unflappable all season long.
But in a single-elimination format, it still didn't matter.
"We had some chances, and we just couldn't cash in on them," said Corona Coach Ron Davini, trying to remain upbeat.
But the hurt went far deeper.
In the softball quarterfinals, Corona eliminated Red Mountain 1-0 in a duel between two of the state's top teams that probably shouldn't have taken place until the finals.
In the end, Aztecs' pitcher Mo Woodmansee was hailed as a hero, while the Mountain Lions, winners of 19 straight games, went home with a strangely empty feeling.
"I hate to end the season on a sour note because we've accomplished so much," Red Mountain Coach Rich Pikosz said. "We went farther than any team has in Red Mountain history. Unfortunately, only one team wins it all."
As Red Mountain fans filed quietly out of Desert Vista with Corona's whoops and hollers filling the air, many stopped to congratulate senior pitcher Jenny Kipp one last time.
"Nice game", "great season" and "keep your head up" were some of the kind thoughts that came to mind, but it didn't matter. Kipp, eyes and cheeks stained with tears, didn't believe a word of it.
How do you tell someone as competitive as Kipp that her season was a success even though she lost in the state playoffs? To her way of thinking, there was no tomorrow. This was the last opportunity and she hadn't achieved her dream.
But as gut wrenching as it is to watch a kid suffer that kind of disappointment in any phase of life, therein lies the beauty of high school sports.
Unlike its professional or college counterparts, there is no solace to be taken in national recognition, summers off from work or a huge paycheck. For many seniors, there is no next season, so they play with reckless abandon, hoping for the smallest of odds to work in their favor just this once.
In a time when so much is wrong with with sports, this week's high school playoffs have been a reminder of what is so right.
Pessimists may point to the unruly parents of some teams or spells of immature behavior on the field as further sign of sport's decaying image. But anyone who stuck around about 15 minutes after the Corona/Red Mountain softball game would have experienced a wholly different feeling.
With tears still trickling from her eyes, Kipp walked out to the middle of the now deserted diamond, seeking out Woodmansee. In her final gesture as a high school athlete in Arizona, Kipp embraced the junior phenom in an extended hug.
The words exchanged may have been soft and private, but the message rang loud and clear.
*** Craig Morgan can be reached via email at craig.morgan@pni.com or
at 602-497-7973.
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... Take me back home.