Tom, Dave, John and I won a hard-fought 3-1 victory in the Kelly's Playoff Finals Saturday afternoon in Neptune, NJ. We were up against Doyle's team, which beat us once in the regular season, and we knew we would have to throw our best to make up the seventeen marks that we would give up each game in the best of five match.
We got off to a great start in the first game, with all of us shooting a few marks above average. Still, it came down to a big ninth inning that put the game just out of reach by a four mark margin.
The second game was one of the best of the season. EVERYONE on both teams was hitting well, but Doyle's team was especially hot. Their high scoring made it difficult for us to make headway against the handicap, and they managed to survive our late surge in the eighth and ninth innings. We never like to lose, but it was one of those games where you had to acknowledge that everyone shot well and they deserved the win. We put in a team score of 154 marks, nine marks above our average, and still lost.
The third game proved to be pivotal. At first we thought we were cursed. You know the story, bad deflections, good darts falling out of the board, many shots just outside the wire. Tom, Dave, and John eventually got out of their funk, but I shot an awful nine marks under my average. Nevertheless, they covered me with a huge eighth and ninth inning that brought us back from the dead. With Doyle's team left to shoot in the ninth, they needed about 12 marks, if memory serves. This was the crucial inning.
Their opening shooters hit well, leaving Doyle, their final shooter, only needing two marks to tie and three to win. At that point, we figured it a likely loss, since Doyle lead the league averages and had shot brilliantly all season. I figured the odds of him not getting three marks were, at best, 1 in 10. Doyle lined up the first shot, and it flew high, just outside the triple wire. His second shot fell low, just under the single. You could have heard a pin drop as he launched his third dart straight into the red double. Their team breathed a sigh of relief, as Doyle's two mark at least tied the score of the third game. The four of us looked at each other in surprise at the unexpected opportunity. This game would go to the tenth inning to decide the winner, with us to throw first.
It's an interesting emotional roller coaster ride to go from resignation of a likely defeat, to hope, to confidence of a win, but that is exactly what happened. Despite my dismal performance earlier in the game, I hit a huge seven mark in the deciding tenth inning. Tom, Dave, and John also obliged for an untouchable 25 mark team performance in the tenth. Doyle's team was not able to match it, and we won the game for a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth game, my confidence was a bit restored. I managed a slightly over average performance. Dave, John, and especially Tom were hot. Doyle's team shot well, but just a bit under their previous level. It was enough for us to take the game and the victory by a 3 games to 1 margin. Man of the match has to go to Tom, who was hot after the first game.
What a great season! The team won the playoffs and the regular season. Tom shared honors for high game in the league (56 marks). Dave got high series. Doyle had the high average for the season. As for myself, I learned how to play a new dart game. Great thanks to Laser, who runs the league, and to Kelly's for showing a lot of dart players a really good time. I look forward to next season.
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