Championship Post

I've been busy with slo-pitch playoffs all weekend as the team I play on is in the midst of trying to win a championship. While Friday's games were rained out, the sun was out yesterday and today, and I have the sunburn to prove it. That being said, the Castaways were working towards a perfect round-robin record with the hopes of gaining a berth in the final. According to some of the veterans on the team, the last time the Castaways won was ten years ago! Needless to say, there was some push to try and erase that drought without a celebration, and the team came ready to play yesterday. Would we see the same effort today?

Because of the rain on Friday, all teams that were scheduled to play against one another were given a tie. The team that we were supposed to play against likely was the best of the teams we were to face all weekend, so there was some disappointment in not measuring ourselves against what could be a finalist. However, the defensive effort on Saturday morning was rather impressive, and a rally in the latter stages of the afternoon game against a second team that had its heart set on being on the final pushed the Castaways to a 2-0-1 record through Saturday.

I can officially say the Castaways went 4-0-1 through the round-robin with two more convincing wins on Sunday. That effort earned us a berth in the final against the 3-0-2 opponent who we should have faced on Friday night. The Castaways hit well all weekend, but, more importantly, they used the "defence wins championships" mantra throughout the four round-robin games to advance to the final. Could that effort last for one more game?

For the first time in league history, the final ended with a shutout as the Castaways defeated their opponents by a 12-0 score! The drought is over, there were adult beverages consumed, and the trophy was hoisted by all the Castaways who can officially call themselves champions!

I'm not going to lie - I'm sore, I'm tired, I'm sunburned, and it's taken me considerable effort just to write this. But we won. And that's a pretty good trade-off for the muscle pain and exhaustion right now. With that, I'm calling it a day. I'll write something hockey-related tomorrow. Tonight, I'm basking in our victory and not apologizing for it!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!