McKie solves Stokes dominance to claim ASA Crown

Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA

 For 10 innings spanning two championship games, Dave Stokes dominated McKie Sports of Oswego, New York. His pitches nipped corners, rose above or dropped sharply below bats. And with a 4-0 lead heading into the fourth inning, Stokes and Keating’s Fitness Center of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, appeared on the verge of claiming a national title in the “if necessary” game of the 2004 ASA Class A national championship.  

But then McKie solved the Stokes’ riddle. Behind a barrage of hits and some disastrous fielding errors, they finally got to Stokes. And it was vintage comeback as McKie scored four runs in the fourth, four more in the sixth and one in the seventh to claim a 9-5 victory and the ASA Class A national championship in Lancaster, Calif., Sunday, September 5.  

“That guy over there (pointing to Stokes) is the most valuable pitcher,” said McKie manager and catcher, Mike Cutro. “He did one helluva job. It was a snowball effect for us. We finally got the train going.”   

Stokes was good, but McKie had their own ace to counter with: Rod Bunge. Bunge, a big Iowa right-hander was drafted for the tournament from the Cedar Rapids Brew Sox. And it appeared that he would be catching an early flight home as Keating shelled him for three runs in the first. But Bunge got tough after that. Allowing but three hits and two runs over the final six innings.

 “Rod wasn’t settled in at the start,” said Cutro. “We changed and went with the down ball and the rise for the chase. We kept the ball in on the hitters. That was the difference.” Bunge’s only mistake after the first was hanging a change up to Jay Herr, who took it out of the park in the fifth.   

“McKie is a quality team, especially with Rod (Bunge),” said Stokes who picked up the tournament’s Outstanding Pitcher award (4-2 record, 0.51 ERA, 41.3 innings, 34 strike outs.) “They had confidence with him. He’s a quality “A” pitcher. We play good defense, but we had some errors and I wasn’t strong enough to get the strike out or pop up when I needed it.”  

The two teams met in Saturday’s quarterfinals with McKie pulling out a 2-0 victory on the strength of Bunge’s 3-hit, 8-strikeout gem. Dropped to the loser’s bracket, Keating’s began their march back to the finals in explosive fashion by defeating CR/Adidas 6-4; The Santa Barbara Bucks 8-0, and the Duncan Bullets of Elkhart, Indiana, 7-0, to set up the rematch with McKie.  

After making short work of McKie, 5-2, on Stokes’ five-hitter in the first championship game, Keating’s looked like a betting man’s favorite in the final. With three quick runs in the first inning, they exuded an air of confidence. Stokes, who bats number four in the line up, and swings the bat as well as he pitches, delivered a clutch two-out double to score two runs. And a deathly quiet settled over the McKie bench. McKie garnered but one hit off Stokes over the first three innings, but then broke loose in the fourth benefiting from some shoddy fielding and timely hitting.   

Five hits and three errors wiped out the Keating’s lead and recharged a dormant McKie. Chad Hodkinson broke the drought with a single scoring two, a third run scored on Mike McKie’s single, and a throwing error scored the fourth run to tie the score. And that sent McKie into a frenzy with Cutro the vocal leader. “I know we’re going to win this!” shouted the fiery Cutro as he marched up and down the McKie bench. “I know we’re going to win this!”  

But Keating’s didn’t quit. They came right back in their bottom of the fifth on Jay Herr’s home run to retake a 5-4 lead. But it was short lived. McKie’s Mike Sorzickas delivered a two-out single scoring two, and tournament MVP, Charlie Walsman, iced the game with a monstrous two-run home run.   

After the game, Cutro huddled his team together and said: “There’s two trophies out there. One says Runner Up. I’m sure glad we got the other one.”  

McKie claimed the number one seed from Friday’s pool play by knocking off the Savala Painters of Stockton, Calif. 2-0, and the Bucks, 8-1.  In Saturday’s double knockout, they defeated Keating 2-0 and the Duncan Bullets, 7-5, to reach the finals.   

McKie’s climb to the A championship has been steady and sure, said Cutro. “Since 1999 this team has come together. We were the Class C national champions in 2000 at Aurora (Colorado). In the “B’s” (ASA Class B) we finished 13^th in 2001, ninth in 2002 and third last year.”  

And who stopped McKie in 2003? Keating’s who won the “B” national title. “This is sweet revenge,” said a jubilant Cutro.