Back-To-Back Titles By MARTY MILLERHernando Today correspondent Published: May 1, 2008
BROOKSVILLE – In sports, there are dynasties, teams who have won so many titles that it is hard to keep track of them. Teams like the Boston Celtics or the New York Yankees or the UCLA basketball team.
Now, there may be a team to add to that group.
For the second straight year, Coney Island's men's softball team won the City of Brooksville Recreation Department Softball Tournament Monday night when it bested Beef O'Brady's, 18-3, and then beat Cemex, in the title game, 13-12.
In the two wins, Todd Goetz, Mike Welch and Chris Parrish each had five runs batted in as Coney Island improved its record this year to 13-0 and stayed unbeaten for the last two seasons.
In the first game Monday night at the Jerome Brown Community Center, Coney Island had an easy time beating Beef O'Brady's after six innings due to the 15-run mercy rule.
Designated hitter Welch led Coney Island to the win by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five runs batted in.
Parrish added four RBI in the game while Goetz and Mike Bedwell each drove in three runs.
Later in the loser's bracket game, Cemex scored seven runs in the fifth inning to come back and beat Beef O'Brady's, 13-12.
In the game, Danny Middleton, Chad McGee, Nuno Goncales, Joey Johnson and Chris Harvey all had two RBI while a double in the seventh by Brad Davis and an RBI double by Robert Allen scored the game-winning run.
The loss for Beef O'Brady's came despite the efforts of Theron Patrick, who went 4-for-4 in the game with two home runs and six batted in.
In the title game, the score was tied 8-all going into the top of the seventh when Coney Island scored five times. Goetz and Greg Kirby had run-scoring triples while Bedwell hit a two-run homer and another run scored on an error by Cemex.
But Cemex came back in its half of the seventh.
Davis hit a run-scoring single, Johnson drove in another run with a sacrifice fly and Harvey hit a solo homer. But with two outs, Coney Island got the final out of the game to win the tourney.
"We've been undefeated for two years now and besides, we've come back from being 14, 15 runs down," said Parrish, who works for Central Florida Land Services during the day.
"This team has a lot of maturity and we've got 10 guys back from the team that won this tournament and the league title last year."
But when asked why he did it, Parrish had a simple answer. "There's nothing on TV that I like."
Coney Island 18, Beef O'Brady's 3
BOB 010 101 -- 3 10 2
CI 422 055 --18 20 0
W - Vance. L - S. Middleton.
2B - J. Garman (BOB); Shiver, Sikes, Goetz, Bedwell (CI).
HR - Patrick (BOB); Welch 2, Goetz, Bedwell (CI).
Cemex 13, Beef O'Brady's 12
CEM 300 117 1 -- 13 17 0
BOB 250 050 0 -- 12 16 3
W - S. Middleton. L - A. Garman.
2B - Johnson, Goncalves, Fulks, Davis, Allen (CEM); Carter, J. Garman, Knowles, Stocker, Patrick (BOB).
3B - Patrick, Knowles (BOB).
HR - Harvey (CEM); Partick 2 (BOB).
Coney Island 13, Cemex 12
CI 131 012 5 -- 13 19 2
CEM 025 001 4 -- 12 18 3
W - Vance. L - Stocker.
2B - Parrish, Shiver, Vance (CI); Harvey, S. Middleton (CEM).
3B - Kirby 2, Bedwell (CI).
HR - Shiver, Bedwell (CI); Harvey (CEM).
