- April 24, 2024
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It’s always cool to win a championship. But how much cooler is it to win in comeback fashion on a walk-off run? Well, the Ormond Beach Spikes 12U even took it a step further by winning for a cause greater than themselves on Saturday, May 20, in Ormond.
The team played for a cause that often centers around fighting against the odds: The players decided to dedicate their tournament performance to team mom April Minaberry, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Heading to the bottom of the third inning, the Spikes trailed the Orlando Scorpions 9-1 for the USSSA Beach Bash Championship Game, and the Spikes could’ve easily mailed in the rest of the game and called it a day. After all, they’re young, and no one would’ve cared in a few weeks.
But the Spikes were playing in pink shirts with a cancer symbol and a message that read “Strike Out Cancer” with April’s name on it. And while that alone was probably enough to warm April’s heart when she heard about it, the Spikes played hard and delivered another gift in the form of a win that carried a message.
Ormond would go on to score five unanswered runs to get the game to 9-6 before Aiden Bowers hit a three-run home run to tie the game. Jake Vollinger’s single in the bottom of the seventh sent the winning run in for the championship.
Justin Minaberry (who was injured for the game), Blake Boda, Jake Vollinger, Cole Long, Henry Dickmann, Ayden Bowers, Christian Koch, Garrett West, Carlos Gonzalez and Thomas Davidson learned an invaluable lesson from that performance, and it’s one that April might be able to take heart in: When things get tough, you’ve got a team of people cheering you on.
I wonder what kind of feat these young men will have to accomplish in order to trump a moment like this. Some athletes compete their entire lives but never get to experience anything like this.
I hope all involved will forever use that moment to give them strength when they face obstacles going forward.
