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AP Wire-There's No Time Like PrimeTime

Miller's Wins 3rd Straight Title on
Farrell's Dramatic "Walk-Off" Homer

         There are those who have called him the greatest all around player in the History of Clinton Township Men's Softball. He won multiple Playoff MVP's in the early 90's while leading The Flemington Elks to 4 consecutive Championship's playing many different positions. After a long hiatus from the League, he has now helped Miller's Tavern to their 3rd straight Playoff Championship also while playing many different positions. In 2007, he added another Playoff MVP to his resume` and on Friday, September 28th in the Championship game, he added to his legacy.

         Scott Farrell broke a 12-12 tie in the Bottom of the 7th of the Championship Game by hitting a "Walk-Off" Home Run to deep RCF at Bundt Park and it made Miller's Tavern a 3-Time Defending League Champion. "It never gets old" said Farrell afterwards who has hit no less than 4 Game-Ending Championship Home Runs in his storied career "I've been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and hit a few of these and they just keep getting better." Farrell was also the winning Pitcher and went 3-for-3 in the game.

         "I laughed when I heard the 'All-Around' comment" Farrell added "This League is more of a fun Friday Night deal so that has to be taken with a grain of salt". Although normally the Clinton Twsp Playoff Championships have always been two-out-of-three, it was determined that because neither team could field their entire team this late in year on the weekend that this would be a one game winner-take-all scenario.

         A little dicey of a proposition perhaps considering the Miller's opponent would be The Tap Masters. A team that had edged Miller's on a walk-off HR in their first Regular Season Meeting and then swept the Doubleheader that night with a two out RBI single in the Top of the 8th. "One game for all the marbles is always dangerous" said Asst. Coach Jim Mannion "but if we win, nobody will care."
         And for 6 innings on Championship Night, Miller's was in total control. Mannion, Farrell and Coach Bill "Full" Nelson all had three hits the week before as Miller's won their Semi-Final matchup against the Young Guns (who are also known as AJ Jersey/Jimmy Kelly Sports) 12-4. And this time Captain Nelson was right in the thick of things again as he got two hits in his first two AB's despite pulling his hamstring in his first AB of the night.

         The tone was set right away as Farrell raced from the Parking Lot and took the Mound with his cleats untied and didn't take any warm-ups and immediately threw a first pitch strike to start the game. The Tap Masters were a little stunned and after Tommy Von Spreckleson grounded out, there was one out and nobody on and it was 'Game On.'

         After that, it was a typical Miller's team effort as they got things started in the 1st with a 4-spot. Farrell singled and hustled to 2B when the LCF bobbled the ball. Kevin "If the Shoe" Fitzsimmons (.571 for the Year) walked and then a 1-out RBI single by Nelson (who finished 2nd on the team at .621 in '07) was followed by a Sac Fly by Mark "Oscar Meyer" Deiner (.569). Clutch two-out singles by Jim "Morgan" Stanley (No Dean Witter did not play this game) and John "Rhino" Rinald gave Miller's a 4-run cushion early.

         "Cousin" Brucie Whittemore led off the Miller's 2nd with a basehit and he was chased home by a long triple off the bat of Rich "Dancing on the" Ihling. A Sac Fly by Farrell scored Ihling and Miller's led by a TD and with Farrell dealing on the Hill, it looked like that might be all Miller's would need as once again the Miller's "D" was solid in the early going despite missing two of their best OF's with Mannion being hurt and Vasil "Missing" Hlinka not being able to make the game.

         The Tap Masters did squeak across a run in the Top of the 3rd but Miller's got it right back in the bottom of the frame when Nelson singled as did Deiner and then one out later Rinald (.507), who was 3-for-3 in the Championship Game, continued to live up to his original nickname as "The Bald Assassin" and singled in another run to make it 7-1 Tavern Folk after 3 full innings.

         The Masters got two more in the 4th but again Miller's answered with three in the bottom half as Whittemore again got it started with a single and then "Richie" Rich Talian, who quietly finished a very nice 5th on the team in avg for the year at .558, promptly laced a single to RCF that chased Whittemore to 3rd. Ihling hit a Sac Fly and then Farrell and Fitzsimmons had RBI Singles and Miller's had lengthened their lead and it was 10-3 after 4.

         Looking into a brutal setting Sun at Bundt Park, the Miller's Infielders must be given "props" for fielding almost everything in sight. Stanley at 3B, Mike "Mount" McKinney at SS and Joey "I Dream of" Eugenio at 2B were huge in keeping the TM runs to a minimum for most of the game. Things weren't exactly peaches and cream for the OF's either but the combo of Ihling, Deiner, Whittemore and Fitzsimmons was solid all night.

         Miller's kind of relaxed a bit for two innings knowing this one should've been in the books as only 6 men came to the plate the next two inning with no runs being scored. The Tap Masters meanwhile scratched and clawed their way to three runs over the next two stanza's to get within striking distance at 10-6 heading into the all-important 7th inning. Miller's was three outs away from their 3rd Consecutive Title but a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum.

         A Solo Home Run ignited the Masters rally as it was now 10-7 with nobody out. A couple of key Miller's errors and a 4-Pitch walk to a guy who had 1 hit all night almost proved lethal."Sometimes I will walk a guy unintentionally to get around him to get to the next guy but this was not one of those occasions" Farrell lamented "they had the heart of their order coming up and it was not what I had in mind." Sure enough a clutch two-out single and a long triple to deep LCF plated the go ahead runs and all of a sudden, after dominating the entire game, The Tavern Boys were on the verge of blowing the whole thing.

         12-10 Tap Masters as they went to the Bottom of the 7th. Whittemore drills a laser but it is hit right at the 2B for his only out of the night, 1 down and the Tap Masters grew louder as they knew they had the Dynasty on the brink. That brought up Mr. Talian, he was cooler and more calm than Mark Wahlberg in the movie "The Italian Job" as he looked at a brutally close 3-2 Pitch. It just missed the inside corner of the mat and Talian was awarded 1B. "It wasn't as close as people thought" said a smiling Talian afterwards.

         That brought up late arriving Rich Ihling. He had to bat 12th because of his late arrival and although some wanted to illegally move him up in the order figuring the other team wouldn't notice, they were talked out of it and Ihling remained right where he was. Many times, crime doesn't pay and it would not have here because Ihling was right where he needed to be for his team on this night.

         Ihling has plenty of Championship experience especially in Clinton. He was a big cog in the Arnold's - Voller's Dynasty of the late 90's. Clinton Township had changed the rules and made it so that team's rosters were supposed to be at least 75% Clinton area residents, that's the rule that finally got The Flemington Elks out of the League after their 4 straight Titles and cleared the way for Voller's. Now Ihling has had a big hand in helping Miller's to a 3rd straight Title but to be fair, he did not have his best year.

         Ihling hit only .554 (6th on the team) in the 3-Hole with only 6 HR's and many times apologized to the team and took sole responsibility for certain Miller's losses even thought they were not entirely his fault. He had already tripled and hit an RBI Sac Fly and was determined to get something good done in this AB with the season, and a possible three-peat, on the line. "I knew who was coming up behind me and I just wanted to hit the ball hard" said an ecstatic Ihling in the Post Game " I didn't try to pull it and that made a big difference." Indeed it did.

         Ihling took out a whole season's worth of frustration in one swing as he launched a long, Game-Tying Home Run to straightaway CF and the game was knotted at 12. "That one felt good" Ihling admitted. A now back-from-the-dead Miller's team was now one swing away from a three-peat, and that swing would come from one of their smallest guys. Their are many in the League, and we won't name names, who wonder aloud how Miller's continues to win. They aren't exactly the youngest team. They aren't the fastest or the strongest and are not exactly physically imposing. But they are smart and do play as a team and they love to win.

         Enter 'PrimeTime'. It was the Deion Sanders nickname he garnered back in the heyday of The Flemington Elks and it has stuck ever since thanks to moments like the one he was about to have. He waited patiently for a 1-1 Pitch up and out over the plate and as NFL Network Host Rich Eisen used to say when he did ESPN's SportsCenter he "Got it". The drive to RCF was helped by a serious September wind and when the ball carried over the fence, Miller's had won their 3rd straight Championship.

         "I knew if I got the ball up in the wind towards RCF, it should carry out" admitted Farrell afterwards "I didn't want to go extra innings and two of the next three guys in our order were hurting with injuries so I definitely wanted to win it right there." And win it he did. Miller's only got to play two Playoff Games after receiving a forfeit win in the 1st round. Farrell finished the year hitting .766 and went 6-for-7 in the two Playoff Games and the only out he made was when Miller's was up 12-4 a week earlier and he tried to jack one out for fun. "That still bugs me but life goes on" Farrell said "In truth though, as impatient as I was a week earlier, it might've helped be more patient in that last AB this week."

         Partner-in-Crime Rich Ihling has now been on both sides of the fence of Farrell Championship 'Walk-Off's'. A Season earlier in Readington Twsp., Farrell hit one over Ihling's head and over the wall to help Phoenix Tube win their first of what would become two consecutive Championships on Thursday Nights. This time, Ihling was on the right side. "I knew it was gone when he hit it" said Ihling "and it is great to be on the other side of that this year."

         Miller's wins because they play as a team and nobody understands that more than the Playoff MVP. "I run teams so I know what it is like and outsiders don't understand the job that Bill (Nelson) and Jimmy (Mannion) did every week" said Farrell "Without their efforts, we don't have guys every week and we don't get the #1 seed and Home Field Advantage throughout the Playoffs and anything any one player does may not matter."

         And that doesn't even take into account the guys who are selfless like Ihling, Talian, McKinney, Rinald, Nick Dworski or any of the OF's who will play different positions if asked and bat anywhere in the order. "That's one of the great things about this team" said Ihling "guys will play and bat wherever. They will do whatever it takes to help the team win."

         Thanks in part to that 'team-first' attitude, Miller's has now not lost a Post Season Game in the last two years and next year hopes to join the rarified air of Clinton Township Dynasties like Vollers/Arnolds and The Flemington Elks by winning their 4th Straight League Championship. Miller's has a chance to pick up another outstanding young OF who can flat-out hit and make every game next year and if that happens, the sky might be limit and might make Title #4 a distinct possibility.