David and Goliath a Pleasant Hill Baseball Story

Goliath is  the Junction City AAA.  Junction City is a very good, dedicated team of Babe Ruth baseball players. This team was the only Willamete Valley Babe Ruth tripple A team to go unbeaten since the beginning of the regular season.

David is the Pleasant Hill AAA Navy baseball team. These are also a very talented and dedicated team of players though since the beginning of the regular season they had only won a single game.

Coach Forest Tomlinson and his assistants Coach Leigh Baker and Coach Jason White have been dedicated towards teaching the Pleasant Hill AAA Navy team strategy, technique and positive thinking.

Since before the beginning of the Spring season the  Pleasant Hill players have worked hard. These boys have been participating in a practice or playing in a game almost every day of the week rain or shine. In addition these players have also had homework assignments to better help them understand the techniques of winning in both baseball and life.

In the pre-season the AAA Navy team was winning on a regular basis. Once the regular season started it seemed as if they could no longer win regardless of the amount of practice they had or the dedication they showed. Then a couple of games back they had their first win when they played the Pleasant Hill Gold AAA team which is another team of excellent players. Unfortunately that win was  followed by a very big loss and the spirits were low.

On May 5, 2010 the match between David and Goliath finally came. The Pleasant Hill team arrived early, was in a very positive mood and understood the challenge they were to face. Before the Game Coach Tomlinson once again stressed the importance of strategy and staying in the game. Coach Baker and Coach White stressed the importance of both containing and directing their emotions and thinking positive even when behind.

From one inning to the next the fight was close as bats were swung, balls were pitched, errors and runs were made. Both teams practiced the strategies and techniques that they had learned and both teams maintained positive attitudes from inning to inning.

In the 6th inning the score was 6-7 and suddenly you heard the roar of the crowd as a Junction City player made a short bunt, the ball was thrown over the head of the first baseman and went far out in the field , this severe error on the part of Pleasant Hill resulted in the Junction City player making a home run off of a bunt. But wait!  It was not a home run for the Junction City player had also made an error and had not touched 3rd base on his way to home. Though the player was now home the pitcher threw the ball to third base and the runner was out. Two more outs and Goliath lost to David by a single run and a final score of 7-6.

Congratulations AAA Navy on a very good game against a very good team. As you play the game remember the words of Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.”

To see photographs of the game Click Here