Dave Hess Drives Seventh Inning Comeback with Leadoff Single and Game Winning Homer For So Cal Hustlers
There are comebacks, and then there are COMEBACKS. After dropping their opening round game to Tuscon, 4-2 Friday morning, the So Cal Hustlers (aka the editor’s team) were playing for survival at the 50 team ASA “C” Nationals in Prescott, Arizona. Playing against a fast young team from Pennsylvania, they fell behind quickly and started to dig — in the wrong direction. A couple of home runs later, and they were looking at a mountain of a deficit, 9-2 headed in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Hustler’s leadoff batter David Hess led off the 7th with a base hit up the middle. Inauspicious enough, considering his team trailed by seven runs. When his single was followed by a run scoring triple, one player was heard to say “Get those life support machines back on, there is still a pulse”. Then a double. Then a walk. And another hit. And a hit batter. A triple to gap by Matt Shaw trimmed the lead to 9-5, and Hustler players started to joke about the comeback. Another double, and it was 9-7. A ground out to first put the tying runs in scoring position — but with two out. The Hustlers had batted around and it was up to leadoff hitter David Hess, who had started the remarkable rally. Lefty Hess went the other way with a long drive that carried over the left fielder’s head. The tying runs scored easily, while Hess labored coming around third. Third base coach Steve Profitt waved wildly for Hess to go home. The throw was headed to the plate as Hess dove head first — a good 10 feet from the plate. But the throw sailed to the backstop, and Hess scampered on his hands and knees with the game winning run, capping the wild, amazing 10-9 comeback.
The Hustlers lived to play another day, starting at 8am Saturday morning, against Lumpy’s of Salt Lake City, UT.