At 7:44, Mo Wiggins delivers the first pitch (a ball to Charlie Connors) and Game 7 is underway. Connors then works a walk but is erased on the next play when Joe Broderick bounces into a fielders choice. The Playwright coach, Jimmy Fitzpatrick follows by working a four-pitch walk. Juan Sanchez then loads the bases when he singles to left. The Playwright bench has come to life and are now standing and cheering for lefty hitting Mike Smith to deliver the games first run. Smith takes a cut at the second pitch and bounces one to the sure handed shortstop, Toco Soto. But Soto misplays the ball, everyone is safe and two runs score. Suddenly, the Hawks find themselves in a big hole to work out of. Jerry Thomes Jr. follows Smith with a RBI single to center making it 3-0 Playwright. Veteran player, Mario Perella, then drives home another run on a single through the infield to give Playwright a 4-0 lead.

Wow! This was not the start that anyone imagined. Frustration can now be seen on the Hawks faces as they know they can't let Playwright get too far ahead. Jack Rogers is then hit by a pitch to load the bases again. A lot of pressure is now put on pitcher Wiggins and the Hawks defense. Al Martin follows by bouncing a one hopper to second that eludes Ramon Mateo to score Thomes from third, 5-0 Playwright. At this point, I can't help but to think back to M Street softball's last game seven final between the Moran Club and the Sidewalk Cafe (1997). Sidewalk had rallied from being three games down to tie the series and force a game seven. But in the first inning of game seven, the Moran club plated seven runs to pretty much put the game out of reach. Right now, the Hawks need to make some plays and get out of the inning before this one gets away.

The Hawks then get a great play from third baseman, Jose Cruz, who cuts a base runner down at the plate keeping the score 5-0. Wiggins then gets Sanchez for the innings final out but the damage was done.

In the home half of the first inning the Hawks were looking for some life and got it when Toco Soto smashed a line drive homerun to right that brought up chalk when it landed. The Hawks were on the scoreboard and feeling good again. Juan Polanco followed Soto and smacked a line drive to the right side of the infield that looked destined for extra bases. But the scrappy Jack Rogers got a glove on it and held on for the inning ending out.

In the second, the Playwright gets a couple of runners on with two outs and begin to make a lot of noise on their bench. They realize that they will need every run tonight to pull off the win as the Hawks have fielded a devastating lineup and are expected to score a bunch of runs. The Hawks left fielder, Jamie Morales (hey, I finally got his name right), then ends the inning when he snares Mario Perella's line drive. The score remains 5-1 in favor of the Playwright.

Morales then gets to work at the plate and leads the bottom of the inning off with a walk and is followed by Ivan Pillott's single. Garry Licabe moves the runners up when he launches a deep drive to center that is tracked down by Connors. Cruz then bounces out to shortstop but a run scores on the play making it 5-2. It's looking like the Playwright will get out of the inning with minimal damage but they walk Pito Ruiz on four pitches. Jeff Neves follows with a single to center that plates two runs and gets the Hawks back in the game, 5-4 Playwright.

Sensing that the momentum is swaying to the other side the Playwright puts a couple of runners on with one out in the third and are looking for more. Just then, a Hawk fan yells from behind the backstop "enough is enough...get that pitcher out!" Apparently she feels that the Hawk starting pitcher doesn't have his best stuff tonight and should be replaced. Wiggins responds by striking out Connors for the innings second out. Fitzpatrick follows a batter later with a double to right that scores Al Martin and the Playwright increases it's lead to 6-4. Wiggins walks the next batter but then retires Smith on a grounder to short.

Playwright's pitcher Domenic Lemarra has a great third inning and retires the heart of the Hawks offense, 1-2-3.

Lemarra's efforts give life to the Playwright attack as they get right to work on Wiggins and the Hawks. Thomes leads off with a bloop single and is brought home by Perella's double to left field, 7-4. Jack Rogers then singles which ends Wiggins' night on the mound. Sammy Acevedo is brought into the game but makes matter worse when he hits his first batter, Al Martin, to load the bases. However, Acevedo is a gamer and bears down to strike out Connors for a huge first out. Joe Broderick follows and rips a grounder to first but Pillot handles it cleanly and fires home to get the lead runner. Playwright is really squandering an opportunity here. Fitzpatrick then steps into the box and works the count to 3-1. The next offering appears high and away so he lays off thinking he has a bases loaded walk but the pitch is justifiably called a strike by plate umpire, Larry Heafey. Acevedo completes the "tight-rope walk" by getting Fitzpatrick to pop up on the next pitch. The Hawks really dodged a bullet here and are still in the game thanks to Acevedo's efforts.

We heard before that great defensive plays usually carry over to the offense and tonight was no different. Feeding off of Acevedo, Ivan Pillot and Garry Licabe both smack one-out single's to center to start the rally. Pillot scores when Jose Cruz doubles to center cutting the lead to 7-5. Pito Ruiz then grounds out to first baseman, Jimmy Fitzpatrick, who alertly holds the runner at third while recording the out at first. With the last batter due up it looks like the Playwright will escape the inning with no further damage. But Hawk batter, Jeff Neves, collects his second hit of the night when he rips a double to left field that scores two and ties the game at 7-7. As the inning proceeds, Playwright's Jerry Thomes begins to warm up on the sidelines. Lemarra and the Playwright get out of the inning when third baseman Mike Smith makes a great play to end the inning.

Neither team gets anything going in the fifth inning and the quiet that first appeared in game six has returned to the field.

Like Neves did before him, Playwright's ninth batter in the order, Al Martin came through when his team needed him most with a one out single in the top of the sixth inning. Martin reached third when the usually very stingy Hawk defense committed their fifth error of the game. The error would prove costly when Fitzpatrick followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that plated Martin with the go ahead run, 8-7. Players high fived Martin as he returned to the bench but realized they still had a long way to go before this one was in the books.

With Lemarra tiring on this hot night Jerry Thomes is brought into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning to try and preserve the one run lead. The move quickly pays off when the first batter he faces chases his first pitch and pops it up for the first out. Thomes gets Ruiz to follow suit but then gives up a single to Neves (3 hits, 3 RBI). With speed and the tying run on first Thomes stays tough and forces Ramon Mateo into grounding out to shortstop, Juan Sanchez for the inning's final out. The Hawks were now down to their final three outs of the season and needing to keep the Playwright from scoring to give themselves a chance in the seventh.

Pitcher, Sammy Acevedo made quick work of the Playwright hitters in the seventh sitting them down in order. With the heart of their lineup due up the Hawks hurried off the field to get ready to take their cuts at Thomes and the Playwright's narrow one run lead.

Ramon Mello led the seventh off with a blistering drive to center field. For a moment it looked as if the Hawks were about to tie the game but outfielder Charlie Connors quickly tracked the ball down for the key first out. It didn't get any easier for the Playwright as the league's most feared hitter, Toco Soto, was up next. Thomes worked the count in his favor then got Soto to hit a ground ball to Sanchez who fielded it cleanly and threw to Fitzpatrick for the second out.

Suddenly, the Playwright could taste the champagne and the Hawks began to question themselves wondering what went wrong. Next up was Juan Polanco who was nursing an injured hamstring but gamely played through it tonight. On a 1-1 count Polonco hit a high drive to left field where the versatile Mario Perella stood waiting. As the ball began its decline Mario camped under it as if he were fielding a punt for the Patriots. The ball came hurtling down from the night and hit Mario in the chest and arms but the veteran was not about to let this one fall to the ground and amazingly held on for the final out. The Playwright were champions again!

In the aftermath, the two very tired (7 games in 4 nights) teams congratulated one another for a well played series. The Hawks Ivan Pillot and Jamie Morales stuck around long enough to chat with each and every member of the Playwright. A gentlemen's move on their part which proved that the two teams have mutual respect and played the series with class.

The Playwright's Jerry Thomes (pitcher), Domenic Lemarra (pitcher), and Jack Rogers (second base) were voted co-MVP's for their all-star play during the playoffs. The Hawks pitcher, Sammy Acevedo also received recognition from the league for the great effort he made throughout the playoffs.

It wasn't long after the on field celebration that members of the tired Playwright began to throw the "retirement" term around. Who could blame them? They're older, wiser, and just won back-to-back championships!

2005 Playwright - front row (left to right): Al Martin, Juan Sanchez, Charlie Connors (with son - Charlie), Domenic Lemarra (MVP), Mario Perella, and Joe Broderick. Standing back row (left to right): Michael Smith, Daryle Alexander, Tommy Russell, Jerry Thomes Jr., Jerry Thomes (MVP), Jimmy Fitzpatrick (Coach), and Jack Rogers (MVP).

MVP's: Domenic Lemarra, Jerry Thomes, and Jack Rogers.