The 2020 season in the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League, though abbreviated, was rewarding not just for me as a podcaster, but also for the Covenant Speed/Power, who won that fourth consecutive championship, which is a feat that had not occurred since 2011 when Lebanon A won four in a row from 2008 to 2011.
Here’s what I learned while podcasting games this past summer:
1. The New Life Saints’ championship window is slowly closing. The New Life Saints have only one player left from their 2016 championship team, and that is Zach Cyrus. Proven power hitters such as Tom Dobos, Walt Novosel and Mike Wilson did not return in 2020. As a result, the finals of the 2020 tournament were the first since 2015 where New Life was not involved, although Zach Cyrus did not go home empty handed as he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
2. The Covenant Bengals are in need of a once-in-a-generation talent. Ryan Daniel Zippie must acquire a talented power hitter in the rookie draft during the winter months to teach their team how to win games in the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League.
3. Marc and Dave Stonebreaker both saw their seats cool off with the Lebanon Raiders’ unexpected Cinderella run in the tournament. Although they were 3-7 in the regular season and lost their first tournament game, they won five consecutive games to reach the finals, where the clock struck midnight on them at the hands of the Covenant Speed/Power.
4. Could the Grace Chapel Blues be a team on the rise? That’s the $64,000 question that their congregation is asking after Steve and Shannon Neral led their team to a surprise third place finish in the regular season. That question will likely be answered in seasons to come.
5. The New Wilmington Angels proved once again that they can perform magic in the postseason. Although they did not win a trophy, they received a nice consolation prize in the form of the Sam Blake Sportsmanship Award.
6. Jim Bombeck’s job as Covenant Speed/Power head coach is secure in the long-term. What else can you say about the players who have won championships with the Covenant Speed/Power from 2017 to the present? Bombeck has done a masterful job in building the team into a championship-caliber unit. And as I said in my call of the final run batted in: “Oh, what a party they’ll be having on Windsor Court!” If the Lawrence-Mercer County Church Softball League had a hall of fame, former players such as Jeff Newell and current players such as Tyler Allen would be locks, and Bombeck would go in as a builder. I would possibly qualify as a contributor.
What will the 2021 campaign bring? As Jimmy Buffett put it to music, only time will tell.
