A seemingly swift stop to the summer sports season

So what did I do with my summer?

Me? Well, I watched nine people stand around a field while a few others in different colored shirts ran around in a circle on that same field.

Of course, there might have been a little more than that going on, but I think that was the gist of it, and my point is, I saw a lot of baseball and softball this summer. When it wasn?t raining that is.

Even though it was limited by those rainouts that jumbled up the schedule and kept me away from area games more than I would have liked, I think one would be hard pressed to find someone that took in more games, and thus, more of an authority on this topic. Or something. I dunno.

But after a solid month-and-a-half of following area teams, tournament play began, and within a week, it was all over. I was left standing around like a left fielder with nothing to fill my sports page, and quite frankly, a little bored. It all just seems a little sudden that for teams running a rigorous schedule through June ? when it?s not raining ? everything can come crashing down in one night.

And the quality of teams certainly isn?t to blame, that?s just the way it works. Baseball and softball teams in the Ledger?s coverage area from Cardinal, Fairfield, Pekin and Van Buren put together a combined 132-102 record this year. Not bad.

But when the rubber hit the road, only one squad ? the 12th-ranked Pekin softball team ? advanced past the second round of tournament play before it was ultimately upset by Mid-Prairie in the substate game. A loss that was easily the most surprising for me.

As I tried to stay as objective as possible, I still couldn?t help but think it was the Panthers? year to break the state tournament drought. Led by a tremendous senior class and a terrific coach that could talk softball all day if there was someone listening, they had pitching, defense and, most of the time, offense. Then Mid-Prairie got fourth-ranked Wilton out of Pekin?s way to elevate hopes a little bit more, but unfortunately, the Golden Hawks had one more upset in mind.

Oh well, that?s sports.

That loss came after witnessing the gauntlet that was the Class 2A baseball district area teams had to plow through. The district featured two teams that were undoubtedly worthy of a state tournament berth ? Van Buren and Davis County ? a Pekin team that struggled with inconsistency, but I believe had the potential to beat any team in the state on a given night, as well as Cardinal and Albia squads that were certainly no slouches. And whichever survived, ran into another machine in the form of No. 6 Wilton to play for a trip to Des Moines.

In short, pretty ridiculous. It?s a tough draw, but I?m really not sure there?s much that can be done about it. Come basketball season, northwest Iowa usually has to deal with the same problem.

The season-ending losses that followed weren?t so much surprising as they were just a result of tough match-ups. What was shocking, to me at least, was the way Davis County disposed of the 22-4 Van Buren team that had been rolling like a runaway freight train since the first pitch of the season. Even though I wasn?t wearing one, I had to tip my hat to Mustang pitcher Calvin Mathews for the damage he did to the Warrior lineup finishing with 17 strikeouts ? 11 straight to start the game. It was impressive to say the least.

And then there are the teams that I saw the most of this summer right here in Fairfield. Final records indicate rough seasons for the Trojans, which they probably were, but it wasn?t without some positives from my vantage point. From everyone involved with the softball program, I saw about twice as much enjoyment over the course of the season compared to the year previous that had provided more victories.

And to cap it off, a good run to finish the year led to every person in the dugout honestly believing they could upset Keokuk ? a team that is now in its second-straight state tournament ? in regionals. It didn?t work out, but it was no doubt a step in the right direction from what I could see.

On the baseball diamond, there was definitely talent in spots, but there may have just been a little trouble putting it all together at the same time. While suffering 22 defeats, the Trojans lost a total of one inning in one mercy-rule shortened contest over the entire season. To me, that says Fairfield definitely had its chances, but fell into a routine of coming up short.

Before I was the wise man that I am today (pffft!), people would describe a team as one that ?just didn?t know how to win,? and I didn?t understand it. I just figured the better team was the one that was going to win games. I think I now appreciate the importance of experience and knowing what it?s like to pull out games at the end, especially in a sport like baseball where the inexperience for Fairfield was glaring at the most important position.

Again, that?s sports. Or it really was just people standing around on a field. I dunno.