Fifteenth-seeded Bethany/Calvary, a team that did not initially qualify for the tournament, scored seven runs in the final two innings and beat top-seeded Schmidt & Bartelt 'A', 8-1, for the Wauwatosa Recreation Men's City Tournament softball championship at Hart Park on Aug. 19.
The win was huge for manager/first baseman Ted Blankschein who won his first championship on his 41st birthday. Blankschein singled twice and doubled and drove in two runs to lead the BC attack.
"It is exciting," Blankschein said of the win, which was played in a steady rain. "Unfortunately a couple of their key players were playing down in County (another tournament). It's a little empty, but it still feels good."
BC scored in the first inning on Blankschein's RBI single, and SBA tied the game with a run in the second on a walk and two singles.
But then 62-year-old pitcher Jimmy Haas shut down the SBA offense the rest of the night, while BC scored four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to win going away, snapping SBA's six-year title streak.
"The difference in the game was Jimmy Haas and our defense," Blankschein said. "We had great defense through the entire tournament. We weren't even supposed to be here. Originally we were right on the cusp, but then a team dropped out and we got in the tournament. That makes it even more sweet."
"I've been playing in the league 40 years, and this is the first time I got to the championship game," Haas said. "My pitching was pretty good when we needed it this year. I was pretty happy with it. Everything kind of came together. It's the 'Miracle on State Street.' "
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