March 30, 2007 — Wyatt Heat punched their ticket to the Bob Owens Softball League finals with a 20-16 come-from-behind victory over Speak the Word Ministries on Thursday evening at D.C. Canegata Ball Park.
Batting first, Speak the Word got on the board right away with a two-run shot off the bat of Norbert Pickering.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Heat would score seven runs to take a 7-2 lead. The scoring came on a three-run home run by Adam Harris, a two-run shot by Paul Medlin, a solo shot by Spencer Hendrickson and an RBI single off the bat of Andre Ponce.
Speak the Word retook the lead, at 9-7, in the top of the third when they answered with sevens runs of their own on a three-run shot by Cedric Joseph, a two-run shot by Karim Robles and a two-run double by José Robles.
A Martin Charles two-run round-tripper in the top of the fourth extended Speak the Word's lead to 11-7 after four innings.
Ulric Benjamin’s solo blast in the top of the fifth again extended the Speak the Word lead and they now led 12-7 after five innings of play. The Heat then erupted for 12 big runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 19-12 lead. Heat scoring included three-run home runs by Stephen Rosario, Freddie Carrasquillo, and Medlin; a two-run single by Hendrickson and an RBI single by Andre Ponce.
After Speak the Word failed to score in the top of the sixth, the Heat would add their final run of the game in the bottom of the inning on an error.
Speak the Word could only muster three runs in the top of the seventh, which was not nearly enough. They dropped into the losers bracket and had to wait for the winner of the second game to play for a chance to be in the finals.
David Oetken picked up the win on the mound for the Heat, while Mark Beharry took the loss for Speak the Word. The Heat’s attack at the plate was led by Rosario (2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs), Medlin (2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI) and Carrasquillo (1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs). For Speak the Word, it was Charles (3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs), Robles (2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs) and Benjamin (2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI).
In Game two of the night, contested in the losers bracket, defending champions Seaborne Stealers doubled up Claudio Enterprises, 12-6, to advance to the third game of the night against Speak the Word Ministries to play for chance to get into Monday’s finals.
Samuel Ramos pitched the win for the Stealers, while Julio Carmona took the loss for Claudio. The Stealers attack was led by Enrique Soto (3-for-3, three home runs and five RBIs), Owen Pimentel (3-for-4, with a home run and three RBIs) and Eustace Davis (2-for-3, with a home run and two RBIs). For Claudio, Luis Moreno was 2-for-3, with a home run and one RBI; while Wilfredo Ferraras and Juan Santana were both 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs.
The third and final game of the night would decide who would face Wyatt Heat on Monday. When all was said and done, Speak the Word emerged victorious, beating the defending champions Stealers, 19-17, for another go at Wyatt Heat. The Stealers loss meant that there will be no repeat champions this year.
