Kvelve's Comments: Memory lane

One of the best things about sports is the memories they can generate.

Be it good or not so good, these are often moments that last a lifetime. 

I remember striking out with the bases loaded in a Little League game like it happened yesterday.  It doesn’t haunt me, but it does creep into my mind now and then. 

Dang, if only I had just made contact with the ball.  At least I took a healthy swing at the incoming pitch, but when you’re 10 years old and your eyes are closed as you swing, the odds go down that you will make the afore mentioned contact. 

But I also did not just stand there and take a strike three looking. 

The best memories are obviously the ones that produce a mild smile even years later. 

Winning some big football games does that to me to this day. 

So, it was extra cool for me to be at the Eureka at Plains fastpitch softball game the other day in Plains.  No, I did not declare as an oversize female and join the team. 

But I watched an epic game, complete with a stirring comeback by the hometown girls from Plains and realized from the spectator (actually I was “working” the game for the newspaper) that bucket loads of memories were being created on the wind-swept field at Plains High. 

It was similar to another incident at Plains High a few years ago when the Horsemen cashed in a last-minute touchdown in the fog for their first win in a long time.  That ball disappeared for an instant into the fog, then fell into the hands of the Horsemen receiver who hauled it in and raced across the goal line, through the fog. 

I doubt anyone involved in playing that game will ever forget that moment. 

And there were lots of those moments in the Eureka-Plains softball game. 

The Trotters, who had just three wins for the season in what was a win-or-go-home “play-in” game for the right to participate in this past weekend’s Western Divisional tournament in Florence (see accompanying story). 

After falling behind by a 7-1 score after the top of the third inning, the ladies in from Plains began a big-time comeback, scoring four in the bottom of the third, then four more in each of the next two innings to give them a 13-10 lead.  With softball songs of support ringing from the dugout, the Trotters tacked on three “insurance” runs in the bottom of the sixth, then held Eureka scoreless in the top of the seventh to secure a 16-10 win that sent them to Florence. 

Along the way were several awesome clutch hits as the seemingly out-of-reach game became a dramatic comeback win. 

As the final out was recorded, cheers erupted from the home team and head coach Jon Zigler, who had been one of the biggest cheerleaders in the dugout during the process. 

The team en-masse took a victory lap around the outfield as their fans, including lots of proud parents and grandparents hooped and hollered their joy and approval. 

That win gave their otherwise disappointing season validity, and a trip to Florence for a shot at going to the state tournament in Glasgow. 

And while those dreams were sidetracked by the powerful team from Florence in the first round of the playoffs two days later, this team of underclassmen (only one senior on the roster), earned a pocketful of memories and a boost for next season when all but senior Trysten Larsen will be back. 

That, my friends, is what was meant by the phrase “the thrill of victory”. 

May those moments be with the Trotters forever.  That kind of thing is the big reason I love sports and often root for the underdog. 

It was a memory I will always remember also.  Good things can be very contagious.