By Rob Potter
LIBERTY — August 27, 2002 – This year’s Liberty Slow Pitch Softball League playoff series was a friendly rivalry.
Since a majority of the players on both the C. Edwards Realty and the Country Pub softball teams hail from the Livingston Manor area, the players were very familiar with each other.
But that didn’t stop the teams from having a competitive, five-game series. Two of the games even went into extra innings.
On Sunday night, however, the fifth and deciding game ended in regulation as Country Pub of Parksville defeated C. Edwards Realty of Livingston Manor, 11-4. The victory gave Country Pub a three games to two series win.
Back-to-back home runs by George Helms and Scott Edwards in the bottom of the third broke a 3-3 tie and gave Country Pub the lead for good.
Country Pub added two runs in the bottom of the fourth when Sean Fredenburg and Joe Staudt each had an RBI single.
Edwards added another home run, a two-run shot, in the fifth to give Country Pub a 9-3 lead.
After Country Pub took an 11-3 lead in the sixth, C. Edwards Realty tried to rally in the top of the seventh. John Mills and Adam Hauser each singled to put two runners on with no outs. Ed Gorr followed with a sacrifice fly to allow Mills to score and make it an 11-4 game.
But that was as close as C. Edwards Realty would get.
“We were hitting tonight,” Country Pub Player/Coach Edwards said. “It makes all the difference in the world when you get hits.”
Edwards noted that while he and many of his teammates have been playing together for a number of seasons, this was their first season sponsored by Country Pub.
“These are two teams of all friends,” he said. “But the games were tension-filled.”
C. Edwards Realty Player/Manager Kevin Hendrickson called the series “one of the best he has ever been involved in.”
C. Edwards Realty won the first game, which went nine innings, 11-6. Country Pub won the second game, 12-8, and C. Edwards Realty prevailed in game three, 16-10, in nine innings. Country Pub recorded a nail-biting 10-9 win Friday night to force the deciding game.
“Of course, we would have liked to win,” Hendrickson said. “But I guess if you have to lose to somebody, losing to your friends isn’t that bad.”
Hendrickson added that the C. Edwards squad had a successful season overall.
“Second place for our first year is pretty good,” he said. “We’ll be back next year.”