Color Haus finally closes the deal
Wins Ketchum coed tourney, beating View Point 16-9
Color Haus shortstop Bryan Burrell makes the play, while second baseman Shannon Webb looks on. Photo by Willy Cook
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It was a championship clash between the best two teams in the Ketchum Coed Softball League over the past decade?but Color Haus had some demons to destroy and managed to seal the deal Sunday.
Getting off to a strong start in the championship game and ripping a bunch of two-out hits, Color Haus (4-1 tourney, 11-3 season) nailed down the championship of the nine-team double elimination tournament at West Ketchum Coliseum.
It was Color Haus? seventh tour-nament title in the league?s 15 sea-sons. They?ve been known as Cheers, Sprinkler Supply, Whitehead Land-scaping and McCoy?s Painting over that span. View Point, the former Park Rats, has five titles.
Color Haus defeated two-time defending tournament king View Point 16-9 in Sunday?s decisive game, after falling badly to View Point 21-7 in the first of two title games.
View Point nearly pulled it off again, but its momentum didn?t carry through.
The last two years, View Point (161-31 over 11 seasons, .838) came through the loser bracket to beat Color Haus (128-22 since 1995, .853) twice in the finale. View Point won 23-10 and 4-2 in 2002, and 14-13 and 13-9 in 2003.
The ?Killer Bees? Color Haus (Burrells, Bensons, Bulcher, Black-well, pre-Webb Baker) was deter-mined that it wouldn?t happen again.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Jeff Burrell, the Color Haus left fielder, launched a two-out, grand slam homer giving Color Haus a quick 5-1 lead over View Point in the first inning of the deciding game.
Then Color Haus held off View Point?s pesky comeback bids with a combination of timely hitting and strong defensive play?particularly from shortstop Bryan Burrell and female MVP Bonnie Burrell, the Color Haus first sacker.
When View Point cut its deficit to 8-7 with a four-run fourth, Bryan Burrell prevented further damage. He took an outfield relay throw and cut down View Point runner Sue Mul-cahy at the plate for the third out, catcher Twyla Bulcher applying the tag to end the threat with dangerous slugger Rod Watson waiting to hit.
Then, Bryan Burrell turned a dou-ble play in the fifth after View Point threatened again with four hits from the bottom half of its batting order?and the score still tight at 10-9.
View Point went quietly in the sixth and seventh, letting scorekeeper Francis Gilbo make his pre-arranged tee time. But you have to score to win?and Color Haus scored.
Color Haus, tallying nine of its 16 runs with two outs, kept applying the pressure with three-run innings in the third, fifth and sixth, and two runs in the fourth on a home run by tourna-ment leading hitter Josh Jacobson (.813, 4 HRs in the two title games). Eight of 10 Color Haus players drove home runs.
For the final game, Color Haus finished with 20 hits led by Jeff Bur-rell (3 hits, 4 RBI), Jacobson (3 hits, 4 RBI), Kathy Harper Seal (3 hits), Bonnie Burrell (3 hits) and John Rathfon (3 hits, 2 runs). Color Haus batted .538 for the tourney.
Distinguishing themselves in the field and at the plate for View Point were ageless shortstop Rod Watson (.709) and left fielder Robin Sarchett (.750 with 6 HR). They made all the fielding plays and sparked View Point?s 25-hit assault in the 21-7 pre-liminary victory.
Sarchett?s two-run homer lifted View Point into an 8-4 lead in the third inning, then both Sarchett and Watson belted homers as View Point batted around in an eight-run, six-hit sixth. For the game, Watson and tour-nament leading hitter Wendy Hosman had four hits apiece, and Robin Sar-chett drove home five.
Coach Gene LeClaire?s View Point squad batted .545 as a team for the two-day tourney.
The third-place team last weekend was the Ketchum/SV Firefighters.
Looking to be the Cinderella squad, the Firefighters (.490 team batting) won three games and held an early lead over View Point in the semi-final contest before falling 16-11.
Topping the Firefighters with an astounding .810 tournament average was Lindsey Vanbramer, with 17 hits in 21 trips. She probably should have been awarded the leading female hitter prize, but it traditionally goes to a player from one of the final two teams.
Matt Christian (.762) and Keith Potter (.572) were also strong at the Firefighters plate.
