There were plenty of Most Valuable Players for the Lefty's Bar & Grill slow-pitch softball team Saturday during its first-ever triumph in the Ketchum Coed Softball Tournament.
Second-seeded Lefty's (11-4 season) nipped #1-seeded Casino (10-4) by scores of 11-10 and 7-6 to capture the title of the two-day, six-team tourney at West Ketchum Coliseum.
Pitcher Tony Mallane was one Lefty's MVP for his three straight wins in the circle Saturday—the nail-biting victories coming by just five runs. Right fielder Levie Smith had two huge hits in the finale and scored the game-winning run.
Left fielder Jeff Burrell of Lefty's (.706) was the tournament leading hitter. Second sacker Kyle Rushton (.529) was a steady hand throughout. Third baseman/coach Wendy Speth was the straw that stirred Lefty's drinks all year.
And Speth, who stabbed a bunch of wicked liners, was the tournament women's MVP.
Fortunately for Lefty's, the player who was named the official men's tournament MVP was the player at the plate with the game on the line Saturday.
Veteran Anthony Anderson delivered with a walk-off drive off the outfield fence that lifted Lefty's over Casino 7-6.
Anderson, the Lefty's shortstop, was a defensive stalwart in the infield and just about a sure thing at the plate—with 14 hits in 19 trips to lead the Lefty's attack that hit .443 in five tournament games and averaged 14.8 runs per game its 15 softball games this summer.
Lefty's, last year's tourney runner-up to Color Haus, dropped an earlier game to the Casino 12-3 Saturday and had to fight back through the loser bracket to play Casino again.
The eventual winners might not have played the Casino at all if pitcher Mallane hadn't enticed KECH slugger Sean Harrington into a double-play line drive with the bases loaded and KECH threatening in the final inning of the semi-final. Lefty's advanced 8-5 and third-place KECH (6-8) ended its Cinderella run in the tourney.
It put Lefty's and Casino on the field again to settle things.
The first championship game was a sloppy affair, 10 of the 21 runs unearned. Lefty's grabbed a 6-2 lead after three innings and stayed ahead 9-7 after four. Anderson's fourth hit of the game, a two-run single, made it 11-8 after five.
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Casino, needing one win for the title, chipped away and cut its deficit to 11-10 in the visitor seventh—only to have Lefty's pitcher Mallane entice Casino hitters to lift two can-of-corn fly ball outs to Burrell with runners in scoring position.
The decisive game put Lefty's in the somewhat different position of needing to rally when the amped-up Casino batters bolted out to leads of 3-0 and 5-1, after four frames. Down to its final nine outs, Lefty's stitched together a rally.
Catcher Nicole Buckwalter walked on four pitches and #10 hitter Levie Smith painted the left field line with a one-out single. That brought up leadoff hitter Buffalo Rixon, another MVP Lefty's player who batted .556 for the tournament and went 6-for-7 in the title games.
Rixon ripped an RBI single cutting the deficit to 5-2. A Casino error followed by a two-run single by Anderson made it 5-4. Then, with two outs, Burrell lifted a towering drive to center field that turned into a two-run double and a 6-5 lead.
The Casino, out-hitting Lefty's 16-13, certainly had its chances to win the game and the title but left 13 runners on base, nine in scoring position. Mallane secured a foul-ball strikeout with the bases loaded in the sixth, then Casino scored once for a 6-6 tie after a leadoff Craig Morse double in the visitor seventh. But two outs by Anderson at short kept it there.
In the home seventh, Smith singled to left and moved up on Rixon's fourth hit. Smith stayed at second when Casino left fielder and Idaho Steelheads skater Cody Lampl made a great running catch of Brenda Blackwell's line drive.
That brought Anderson to the plate and Lefty's breathed easier having him there. Anderson found the outfield fence and Smith scampered home to start the Lefty's celebration.
Women's tournament leading hitter was Sarah Torres of the Casino (9-for-14, .643). For complete tournament results and final league standings, check today's Express Web site.
Hailey Coed wrap-up Friday
Check Friday's Express for a wrap-up of the Hailey Coed Softball League tournament held July 24-25 at Lions Park.
Boasting a millenium of West Ketchum Coliseum softball experience, five Atkinson Park veterans came together during last weekend’s Ketchum Coed Softball League tournament. They are, from left, Willi Huxford, umpire Brian Shields, chief scorekeeper Vicky Graves, Casino Hall of Famer Franny Hjort and Cathy Butterfield, who was videoing the proceedings to send to River Street Retreat’s Jack Lennon. Photo by Willy Cook
