JUNE 2 - The Golden Plungers ended the Magnolia Little League Majors season with a bang as they relied mostly on pitching and defense - Fischer's stock-in-trade - to beat Albert Lee and complete an undefeated 17-0 season. The Plungers jumped to an early lead when Jack McLauchlan (1 for 3, one run, two RBIs) singled home Stuart Fairchild (2 for 3) and Rhys Hiatt (1 for 2, one run, one RBI). But Albert Lee got one run back in the first - after Ben Welch tripled and Matt Deehring drove him in - and another in the third on an RBI by Jordan Dale. In the fourth inning, Fischer took the lead for good, scoring four more runs behind hits by Will Schmidt and Rhys Hiatt. Schmidt then took over the rest of the game from the mound, pitching the last three innings without allowing a run, and striking out six.
After the game, manager Greg Books pointed to the team's cohesiveness and determination to have fun as the keys to the Plungers' championship season, while Coach Jim Johnson explained to anyone willing to listen that he alone deserved full credit for the team's success. Whatever the cause, Johnson and Books have guided the Golden Plungers to an impressive 58-12 regular season record in the four seasons that they have coached together, with a record of 32-2 over the past two seasons.
But the season's not over yet. Fischer Plumbing will have a target on their back heading into the end-of-season tournament as they try to repeat as tournament champs for the second year in a row. The double-elimination tournament, which will also feature Goodman Racing, United Warehouses and Albert Lee, takes place at Raye Field during the second week in June, with most games starting at 6 p.m.
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