Fontana, CA — There has never been a young player who has not dreamed of playing in the final game of the year. Not just the final game for his team. The final game period! The championship game! The winner take all! At the beginning of every season, every player on every team believes this might be the year he will do just that. If his team can play to their potential, overcome the odds, make the clutch plays at just the right moment, get the crucial hits, keep their game steady, …….. then, who knows? Why not? Most people who know the game, know it will take much more than that. A team must come together, must have multiple players step up at different times, must have a determination and perseverance that grows in spite of disappointing defeats and disheartening mistakes. More than anything else, they must begin to believe in themselves and each other. They must put aside selfish priorities and become a unit with one heart. A family that stands together. A team! At the beginning of the 2019 season, if one of the Fighting Irish had expressed a dream out loud of going to the CIF finals, there would have been silent chuckles and condescending smiles. Everyone knew that was beyond their reach. It had been decades since a Kennedy team had performed to that level. But the season began and this team began to play. And they began to grow. It became apparent that they were enjoying themselves. It became obvious that they were beginning to love each other. Their joy at each others accomplishments was genuine. They encouraged one another, laughed with one another, goaded one another. They spread the credit around. Above all else, they played baseball. Good baseball. Winning baseball. When the regular season ended, every one was pleased. It was the best year in recent memory. It was time to kick back and get ready for summer. But this team was not satisfied. They had come too far to stop now. The same fortitude that had carried them this far, now became the drive that propelled them forward. Their first playoff game they unleashed a fury of offense against Mayfair, beating them 15-4. Then they had to scratch and claw to edge Carter 2-1. Then, with Loara, they faced a fine team that required them to combine strong pitching with crucial hits and spectacular defense, and they walked away with a 5-0 shutout. That brought them to Tuesday, their biggest test of the season. They traveled to the Inland Empire to take on the Summit Skyhawks at their Fontana campus. They came to play one game. They ended up essentially playing two. The first game, which lasted 5 innings, was all Kennedy. With two outs in the first inning, Johnny Soto drew a walk and advanced to 2nd base on a botched pickoff attempt. After Wyatt Johnson was walked intentionally for the first of 2 times in the game, Sebastian McSherry ripped a single into left-center and Soto scampered home with the first run of the day. Coach Tom Monahan then had McSherry take off for second while the Summit pitcher was in his stretch leading him to balk in the 2nd run. McSherry then proceeded to steal third and a few pitches later tried to score on a wild pitch. Although the return throw to the plate had him dead to rights, his agile, leaping evasion of the tag resulted in the 3rd Kennedy run. In the 4th inning, the Irish loaded the bases with no outs and Jaelyn Edds laid down a perfect squeeze bunt and the Irish now led by four. They came right back in the 5th when Chase Leonard was hit by a pitch and Johnny Soto doubled. Johnson was walked intentionally again and one out later, Tyler Beckler singled to left bringing home the final 2 Irish runs. It looked like Kennedy, now leading 6-0, was going to breeze to a comfortable victory. But that is when the first game of the day ended and the 2nd game began. As joyful as the first 5 innings had been for the Irish fans, the final 2 were the most miserable of the year. Sam Moctezuma had no-hit the Skyhawks through the first 3 frames and at the end of the 5th had allowed only 3 hits while shutting them out without a run. His strong performance had drained him however, and when the first 3 runners reached base in the 6th inning, he departed to a strong ovation of appreciation from the Irish faithful. Wyatt Johnson took over for him but had a hard time regaining control of the game. The game-tying run was standing at 2nd base when he was able to finally record the 3rd out, escaping with a narrow 6-4 lead. Then came the bottom of the 7th and the most difficult 3 outs of the year for the Kennedy fans. With 1 out, the next 2 batters reached base safely and the winning run was at the plate. The Summit batter fouled off 6 straight pitches before Johnson was able to get him to fly out to Evan Anderson in center. That set up the final at bat of the day. With the count 1-1, the Summit hitter smashed a screaming liner toward left field. Tyler Beckler, who had been a main stay defensively all game starting 3 double plays at crucial moments, had only enough time to lunge to his left and attempt to snare the missile. But snare it he did and the game was over! In addition to his save on the mound, Johnson was an offensive presence. He was on base 4 times in 4 plate appearances, 3 times by walks, 2 of which were intentional. In the only opportunity he had to swing the bat, he ripped a triple to deep right-center, demonstrating why they preferred to walk him the other times. He also scored two runs. Johnny Sotto had a double and scored twice. McSherry singled and had an RBI. Beckler drove in two with a single and Edds had one RBI with his clutch squeeze bunt. 
Now, the scene is set for the final chapter of this remarkable story. On Saturday afternoon, the fighting Irish will take the field at the UC Riverside stadium, to play the final game of their year. It will also be the final game of the CIF championship, the winner take all, the dream come true! Whatever the outcome, these players will have accomplished what no-one believed they could. They are the team future generations of Irish players will hear stories about. They have come a long way. They have come the WHOLE way. For those of us who have loved baseball forever, who have watched literally hundreds of thousands of innings over the years and count this sport as one of the great pleasures of our lives …… it is difficult to remember a season that brought more joy and delight than this year has. It was worth each nail-biting moment. And all we can say is ……. Thank You Irish! We are …..so, ….so….. proud of you!