Final 4: John Riso vs Alex Hernandez

The top 4 seeds of bracket play advanced to the Final 4. Four great teams, two great games. The stage was set for Wiffle Ball's final showdown of the season. Early Sunday morning Team Longball and the Swingers took the field and provided the crowd with a classic game. The stakes were high. The winner would advance into the championship game and face either the back to back defending champs, the Vipers or the powerhouse from NY, In the Box. It was time to play.

During warm ups you could tell both pitchers were "on" and ready to throw their best game. Both pitchers cruised thru the first few innings. John had his drop pitch working and Alex was hitting his spots perfectly. The game was scoreless midway thru until John took it upon himself to give the Swingers the lead. John turns on one of Alex' pitches and hits the ball into the trees. Swingers took a 1-0 lead. The Swingers would threaten in the next few innings but Alex kept the door shut and gave his team a chance to come back. John remained in top form after his solo blast, throwing strikes like a machine. Alex did as well, Painting the low corners and then putting you away with something upstairs. Pitching was at its finest in this game.

The 6th inning rolls around and the score was still 1-0 Swingers. The boys from Florida would not quit. In fact they didn’t wait long at all to make a comeback. Alex, a one man show himself, lead off the inning with a solo bomb that tied the game. He pulled Johns slider right into the trees and tied the game at 1-1. It was one of the clutches homers I have seen. John settled down and got out of the inning and gave the Swingers a chance to end it in the bottom of the 6th. John continued to be a one man wrecking crew. He set the table for the Swingers by getting on with a walk. Alex then struck out the Swingers most dangerous hitter, Jerry. Alex would hit his spots again against Anthony but couldn't close him out. Anthony would foul off a few pitches to keep the at bat alive. Anthony's next swing would be the game winning swing. His double to the fence propelled the Swingers to the championship game and knocked out a great team. 2-1 Final.

The Team Longball / Swingers game was a great game. It was a pitchers duel with a few clutch hits thrown in. Unfortunately one team had to lose. Team Longball is a great team who will always be at the top. They have great pitching and can mash. Just look at some of their scores throughout the day. Both teams lived up to their reputations and provided the crowd with a great semi - final game. Hope to do it again next year.

Date: October 9, 2004     Time: 12:00am      Venue: BRIEF SWINGERS HISTORY