By Doc Elder
OK, go ahead and call me Stimpy. I totally biffed on my prediction that Florida would win a national championship this year. My amazing powers of prognostication deserted me when it came to NCAA Division I basketball, and I have to own up to that. My bad.
However, the sting of Florida losing was mitigated somewhat by the circumstances surrounding me as I followed their defeat.
I was out at Greyhound Field broadcasting Greyhound baseball while the NCAA basketball semifinal was taking place, and, in case you aren’t aware of it, the ‘Hounds definitely took care of business Saturday. They swept a doubleheader that day, and those wins coupled with a victory Friday night gave the ‘Hounds a series sweep against Tarleton State. In the process, the ‘Hounds showed that they could win three different types of games.
On Friday, the ‘Hounds proved that they could withstand the psychological shock of losing leads. They lead 2-0, but Tarleton tied it. They led 3-2, but Tarleton knotted it up again. And then, in the proverbial bottom of the ninth, the ‘Hounds won in walk-off fashion courtesy of a clutch two-out hit by Brett Ackerman.
In the first game Saturday, the ‘Hounds demonstrated that they could come from behind. Down 2-0 with only two innings to go, they got some timely base hits to plate three runs. They then got a 1-2-3 last inning defensively and held on for the 3-2 win.
Finally, in the finale, the ‘Hounds proved that they could win from the word go. They got a four-run lead, saw Tarleton cut it to two, and then tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. As it turned out, those runs were a moot point—to borrow a phrase from Jesse Jackson—as the game was called due to weather at that juncture. The point is the ‘Hounds never relinquished the lead at any point, nor would they have if the game had gone into the ninth.
With those wins, the ‘Hounds played themselves into playoff contention. They moved by Tarleton State into fourth place in the Lone Star Conference, and, if they can hold that spot, they will be playing some postseason baseball for the first time since 2009.
As I said in the beginning, it killed me to hear updates about how UConn was coming from behind and getting a lead on Florida. But as I saw the Hounds doing something that I had never seen before—sweep a series against Tarleton—it sure took the edge off of my pain.
Still, I think it will be a while before I shoot my mouth off again about how smart I am in predicting the future.
Call the Psychic Hotline because I’m officially retiring my crystal ball.