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Winner-Take-All and a Winning Ticket
– by Mario Crescibene
I found myself standing in line for a hotdog at Classic Park. But I wasn’t there for a Lake County Captains game. No, I was there for the NCAA DIII Baseball Championship. Denison was playing Endicott in the second game of a three-game series, with Denison having won the first, 6-0. Today we had the second game, with a double-header being played if necessary. I couldn’t miss all that action taking place at Classic Park.
My final college decision actually came down to Kenyon College and Denison. I visited both on the same day and went to Denison first. I walked all around the beautiful campus and talked to the head track coach about pole vaulting there. And when I left, I thought I was going to run track for Denison. But in the end, Kenyon gave me more scholarship money so I went there instead. It was one of the worst decisions of my life, but an important life-lesson not to let money control me. And there’s still a part of me that wonders what would have been if I’d gone to Denison instead.
As I waited in line, there was a bit of a commotion from behind me as someone hurriedly pushed their way toward the counter through the current of moving bodies. A vibrant, coffee-fueled voice shot out, “Make it 2 hotdogs and a coffee — black!”
I spun around, and there was Gus in all his glory. The red flannel, the crooked ‘C’ cap, and that gray handlebar mustache.
“Gus! What are you doing here? I swear, it’s like we’re tied at the hip.”
His eyes sparkled, “Oh, I wouldn’t miss a championship game at Classic Park! And boy! Did you see that first game yesterday? Denison was all over ‘em.”
We grabbed our food and walked together towards the lower section behind home plate. As we sat down, Gus continued his game recap:
“Denison came out swinging and scored 3 in the first. But once they had the lead it was all over. Cooper Marrs pitched 7 shutout innings and sent down 7 batters to boot. And you shoulda seen the bats! Everyone was hitting up and down the Denison lineup. Their leadoff guy makes good contact every time he comes up. Eron Vega. Played a good second base too.”
Gus took a pause to take a long sip of his coffee before setting it down under his seat so he could begin devouring his hotdogs. They didn’t last long.
“You know I almost went to Denison,” I said as he ate.
He managed to get out a muffled — you don’t say — as the hotdogs quickly disappeared.
“Yeah, and I still regret not going there. Kenyon was such a depressing place to study at. I mean who’s ever heard of Gambier, Ohio?! I’m telling you Gus, I should have gone to Denison.”
But Gus was already distracted as the teams had just taken the field. He reached over and grabbed my arm. I’m not sure he’d even heard anything I’d just said.
“Now look at that whippersnapper there!” he pointed to a Denison player wearing the number 13. “That’s Cade Nowik. You’re gonna want to keep an eye on him.”
Gus rubbed his hands together excitedly as Denison came to bat as the away team. True to Gus’s scouting, Eron Vega led the game off with a single, but despite early chances, the Big Red finished the inning without getting him across the plate.
The game went back and forth from there with each team scoring 2 runs through the first 5 innings. But then in the top of the fifth, Cade Nowik came to the plate with bases loaded and no one out.
Gus’s intensity reached a level I had never seen before. But it was the opposite of what I would have expected. Rather than becoming even more animated, his whole demeanor calmed. His body went still and his eyes focused on Nowik with a hawk-like vision…
And then, on the very first pitch of the at-bat — with a swing that looked like Bazzana batting from the right side of the plate — Nowik sent the ball to the moon. Gus didn’t react to the grand slam at first. He just kept observing as the ball soared over the fence. Then his head slowly turned in my direction with that glint in his eye and a knowing grin on his face. Classic Gus. Somehow he always knows.
But Endicott didn’t wait long as they answered with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 6th. It was quickly becoming a heavyweight knockout match: Denison scored 2 in the 7th with yet another homer by Nowik, followed by a home run hit by Jack Lutte. Then Endicott scored another 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to take a 10-8 lead heading into the ninth. And in the top of the ninth, down by 2, and with one out, Cade Nowik came to the plate once again.
Gus leaned over, looking for trouble. He prodded me with his elbow. “Five bucks he hits a third homerun.”
I looked over audaciously at Gus. “Make it ten!” And I took out a ten dollar bill from my wallet, holding it in the air in front of Gus.
“You’re on!” he said.
No sooner had Gus uttered those words than I heard the crack of Nowik’s bat — this time sending a bomb to right field off one of the signs beyond the fence. Gus’s smile could not have been bigger as he victoriously swiped the ten dollar bill from my hand.
But Nowik’s third home run of the game wasn’t the craziest part of the inning with it ending in the most bizarre of fashions — a crazy game of pickle taking place between third and home which led to an inning-ending double-play during the rundown, but also resulted in Denison scoring the tying run to make it 10-10.
But Endicott got the final laugh in the bottom of the 10th, when with the bases loaded, they were able to hit a ball to deep center, with the runner on third tagging-up to score the winning run.
Gus leaned over overjoyed, “Looks like we got a twofer today.”
As we waited for the third game in the series to get underway I thought I’d see what prospect knowledge I could glean from Gus.
“You got any Guardians prospects you want to spill the beans on Gus?”
He loved the question. “Oh, have I got a promising prospect for you, Mario,” he said sitting up in his seat. “The brightest prospect I’ve had my eyes on this season is… Bryan Rocchio!”
I looked over confused, “Rocchio? He’s already on the team, Gus. Heck, he just might be looking at an All-Star selection this year!”
“Oh, I’m not talking about being a prospect for the Guardians, Mario — I’m talking about Rocchio being a legitimate prospect to play starting shortstop on Team Venezuela for the next World Baseball Classic.”
I shot back, “Team Venezuela? Man, I’m hoping he stays on team Italy with my fellow Italian, Matt Festa. Italy’s soccer team hasn’t made the World Cup since 2014. Ferrari hasn’t won a Formula 1 constructors’ championship since 2008! At this point baseball might be Italy’s best sport given their performance at this year’s Classic.”
“You might be right, Mario. That would be a fun storyline to follow: Rocchio, Festa, and Team Italy taking on the world! But you gotta admit, Mario, he’s been the best player to start the season. There’s been no one more consistent at the plate. He had maybe one bad week at the plate all season. And have you seen his recent defensive plays?! If I’m a GM for Team Venezuela, or Team Italy, you better believe I want that glove and bat on my team. Mark my words, Mario, we are just seeing the start of Bryan Rocchio.”
As visions of Italian baseball glory on the world stage raced through my mind, Denison took the field to start the last game of the championship series. And while the term “instant classic” gets used far too much in sports journalism, that’s what this game was.
Endicott scored first, getting out to a 3-0 lead early, but Denison got a run in the 5th and then Eron Vega doubled in the bottom of the sixth to score another run, and eventually crossed the plate himself later in the inning to even the score 3-3.
Gus could barely take it as he anxiously shifted in his seat for every pitch. The tension was palpable when the game went to extra innings tied at 3. Kelly Crittenberger started things off with a single to left, and then Vega singled as well, moving Crittenberger up to second.
Gus was gripping the armrest at this point. But as Endicott made a pitching change, the announcement for the 50/50 raffle came on the intercom. Gus whipped out a ticket.
“I always play the 50/50,” he said to me as he followed along number by number as the winning ticket was read out. His hand shook more and more as more numbers were read out. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the number combination or the coffee. But once the announcer read the last digit, Gus shot up out of his seat, holding the ticket above his head, “I got it! By Jove, I’ve got the winning ticket!”
I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye as he rushed to the nearest usher, still holding the ticket high in the air. And just as he disappeared into the crowd, I heard it — that sound you never forget — the crack of Jack Lutte’s bat that sent the ball careening off the wall in right field. Crittenberger flew around third, the throw came in late, and Classic Park erupted as Crittenberger crossed the plate — giving Denison their first National Championship in baseball.
I should have gone to Denison.
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