SRV Nationals’ season comes to an end

By Ray Rodriguez - Independent-Enterprise
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:05 PM PDT

The scene was set for something magical.

The bases were loaded.

Bottom of the seventh inning.

Two outs.

Full Count.

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Elks-SRV National slugger Brady Baker digging in at the plate, with his team down 8-7 to Centralia, Wash. in the final round of pool play action at the Babe Ruth regional tournament and the season on the line.

Next pitch was fouled off by Baker, who had a wicked cut.

Timeout was called by head coach Dave Parsons to give instructions to one of his top hitters.

On the payoff pitch, Baker hit a slow roller to the Centralia shortstop, who scooped up the grounder, tagged second base and recorded the final out.

And just like that, an incredible, record-setting run by the Elks-SRV Nationals quickly fizzled away into the night.

“If that ball would have rolled to the fielder’s right by six or 12 inches, we score two runs and win the game,” Parsons said. “That’s baseball. Just one of those things where we didn’t get that one bounce to push us to finish the deal. Every kid dreams of a situation like that. The game on the line, a full count and a chance to win the game. We had a chance, but the Centralia kid made great play and ended our season.”

A season where the Nationals had entered regional play, winners of a district and state championship and posted a 17-0 record, didn’t go as planned for Parsons.

At the regional tournament, the Nationals finished with a 2-2 overall record and chalked up wins over Wyoming and Alberta, Canada by a combined 21-6 margin.

The two losses were by a combined four runs — A 7-4 loss to Southern Oregon and the 8-7 loss to Centralia, Wash.

Although not a fairy tale ending, Parsons was happy to be a part of an monumental streak.

“Anytime you get on a ride like this it’s going to be incredible. We knew it was going to be a wild ride,” Parsons said. “This is a good baseball team. I told them anytime you become invested emotionally in a team you begin to believe in that team. You know if you come up short, it is going to be painful. It was really painful. I wouldn’t trade these kids for anything. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.”