SAN DIEGO—It was the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Chicago Raw Energy Majors leading 8-4 in a must-win softball game here Aug. 24 in the annual Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) World Series.
The Dallas Outkasts had runners on base in this early morning C-Division game in the loser's bracket pool play. Chicago pitcher Maryann Baran delivered a pitch, and with seemingly dramatic affect, the umpire paused, and then called the Outkasts' hitter out on strikes.
It was the final out of the game, sealing the Chicago win.
"Our team went nuts. It really was a special moment that we're still talking about [hours after the win,]" said Courtney Roberts, the Chicago Raw Energy Majors coach.
The celebration ended shortly thereafter, though. The Raw Energy Majors lost their next tournament game 4-0 to Portland GirlPlay, thus ending their World Series run.
"We had a good tournament. … We just didn't get the clutch hitting that, at times, we needed," Roberts said. "We got knocked out of the tournament earlier than we wanted [to be,] but we're OK with that, though not happy.
"We're already talking about the 2013 World Series in Portland."
The Raw Energy Majors went 3-1 in round-robin portion of the tournament, earning the No. 5 seed, "which we were really excited about," Roberts said.
The team; however, lost its first game in pool play on Thursday, Aug. 23, falling 6-3 to Deiderich's Diamond Divas from Orlando. "We definitely were within reach in that game, but didn't get the hits we needed," Roberts said.
The other Chicago team in C-Division also lost its first game in pool play, as the Dallas Aftershock defeated the Chicago Breeze.
The Breeze won one loser's bracket game, and then was eliminated from the tournament following a 17-8 setback to Los Angeles Really Though.
In D-Division play, the Chicago Raw Energy Minors and the Chicago Thunder T's each lost their first two pool play games, thus ending their Series.
"Typically, for whatever reason, the Chicago teams don't do very well in the ASANA World Series," said Roberts, 35, who has played in the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA) women's softball league for about 14 years and five World Series. "We always play in divisions that challenge us. Still, we always have fun."
That was true on and off the field. Baran, for instance, got engaged to her girlfriend, Olga Prutnikov, while at the San Diego Zoo. Ironically, the only game of the Series that Prutnikov missed was the Friday morning game, highlighted by Baran's strike out. "We re-enacted that strike out many times for her," Roberts said. "That [strike out] really was exciting."
Second baseman Megan Gibson was one of the offensive stars for the Raw Energy Majors, often connecting with hard-hitting singles. "She was really consistent and had some clutch hits in the Series," Roberts said.
Gibson earned Series MVP honors from her team.
Outfielders Amber Unruh and Katie Rutter led the Majors defensively. "Each normally plays shortstops, but stepped up big in the outfield," Roberts said.
