(TBO) As the 6/7 playoffs began, the Humble Toast Turkeys were clearly facing an uphill battle. Following a somewhat disappointing regular season, they entered the playoffs as the sixth (of seven) seed, knowing that to win a championship they would most likely have to beat the top three seeds along the way. But the playoffs are a new season and the Turkeys were up for a challenge.
In the first round, they squared off against the #3 seed Panthers. In an evenly matched game, the Turkeys were able to squeak past with a 5-4 victory (with a little help from a well-timed thunderstorm). Behind solid pitching and great baserunning all around, the Turkeys advanced to the semifinals, keeping their championship hopes alive.
Waiting for them in the semifinals were the #2 seeded Bulldogs. Both teams were very familiar with each other, having faced three times in the regular season. Despite losing two games to the Bulldogs, after their win in the first round, the Turkeys were playing with new confidence. In a back and forth game, thanks to some timely hitting and great defensive plays the Turkeys were able to pull away for an 8-5 victory and advance to the championship.
To make the dream come true, the Turkeys would have to beat the #1 seeded, undefeated Bears, a team that had beaten them three times during the season. Despite the Turkeys jumping out to early leads in the first and second innings, the Bears kept coming back. But as the game progressed, the Turkeys slowly pulled ahead. And as the final out was recorded in a 7-4 win, the Turkeys had their unlikely championship.
The best part of the championship was that the team got contributions from everyone. Menachem Becker and Eitan Fisher provided outstanding pitching and great baserunning. Yonah Last and Eli Forman got rallies going with hits and stolen bases and played amazing defense all over the field. Ben Fein and Moshe Stein provided key hits in the semifinals and championship that helped put the game away. Eli Mazin had timely hits and RBIs all while keeping opposing runners honest from behind the plate. Yehoshua Kossin and Shlomo Shulman had great at-bats keeping the lineup moving while providing solid defense to keep runs off the board. Guiding the team were coaches Howie and Ari Mazin. It was truly a team effort with each player having a role and culminated with an incredible championship run.
