Call from the Bullpen by David Maull
The Bullpen | Sports Front Page
State Title Holds Personal Meaning
From the June 11, 1998 TV Times
But once upon another time, it didn't matter what they said
Didn't matter if we fell behind, we'd still come out ahead
'Cause we believed in heroes in that old hometown
Hey, you could be a hero in your own hometown
-Mary Chapin Carpenter
Until last Saturday, I never knew a high school softball game on a sweltering late-May afternoon could hold so much personal meaning.
But when a young, left-handed first baseman named Shawn Browne caught a foul pop in front of her own dugout, and the rest of her Indian River teammates erupted in celebration over their 2-0 defeat of St. Mark's in the Delaware State championship game, an unmistakable feeling of satisfaction washed over me. It was a feeling shared by many in the huge throng of IR supporters that packed the bleachers at Polytech High School.
It was a feeling born from having seen a number of IR players since their youth league days, from my nearly 20-year friendship with coach Steve Botchie and from the fact that I'm an Indian River graduate.
As the Indians made their slim two-run lead hold up over the game's final four innings, I was flooded with memories of watching Browne, pitchers Cara Deldeo and Angela Robinson and catcher Sarah Lyons play as little leaguers at the Pyle Center in Roxana.
On this day, the fireballing Deldeo, a mere freshman, mowed through the competition in a fashion reminiscent of her little league career. She fired a two-hit shutout at the defending state champs and helped her own cause by driving in IR's first run with a first-inning double.
Then there was shortstop Christi McHale, who will leave IR as one of the finest female athletes in school history. The senior who excelled at field hockey, basketball and softball came up huge with a state title on the line. McHale went 3-for-4 and scored IR's second run when she singled to right and circled the bases on two St. Mark's errors in the third inning.
She punctuated her stellar career with a beautiful leaping grab of a line drive off the bat of Morgan Hlywak for the second out in the bottom of the seventh.
The next batter, Tini Scherer, popped out to Browne and the Indians were state champs.
Botchie, meanwhile, couldn't contain his emotion upon winning the first state title of his long coaching career.
As an assistant football coach at Indian River, Botchie made trips to the Division II state final in 1979 and 1980, only to see the Indians lose each time.
Nine years ago, he took over a softball program that was perhaps the worst in the Henlopen Conference.
After winning just two games combined in his first two seasons, the Indians improved steadily under Botchie's direction, reaching the pinnacle this season with a 21-1 record.
His tears of joy after the championship game were a far cry from the boisterous shaggy-haired, tobacco-chewing football coach who once took running leaps into the team's huddle before every game.
But this state championship also held special meaning in that it was the school's first for a girls sport. (It was only the fourth overall, with the basketball team winning in 1980 and 1981 and the football team in 1988.)
Downstate girls athletics have traditionally been at a competitive disadvantage and IR is one of few schools in Southern Delaware that can hang a championship banner. The victory over St. Mark's may have been a huge step toward shifting the balance of power in the state.
More importantly, however, the title is a reward to the girls who spent countless hours refining their skills. In addition to regular practices with their school, little league and ASA teams, many worked with private coaches and attended weekend clinics in an effort to improve.
It was a work ethic that began in their preteen years and paid off when they reached the high school level.
Rare is the team that displays the determination and team unity IR possessed the past few seasons.
It's what makes the state title so special.
And deserved.
CAFE LOCALE HOME PAGE
User Pages | Business Profiles | Chat | Classifieds | Entertainment | Forums
Restaurant Profiles | Sports | Weather
Brought to you by:
Mid-Atlantic Beach Guide
Copyright© 1998 Coastal Images Inc.