'A strong desire to play the game': Lilly continues dominant run in Altoona Greater City Baseball League
· Yahoo Sports
The Conrad Chiropractic/Lilly American League team has faced many obstacles during its remarkable run in the Altoona Greater City Baseball League over the past near quarter century.
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Facing a 2-0 deficit to Sheetz in the best-of-5 championship series, Lilly rebounded to win the next three games, including a 2-1 nine-inning victory in Game 3. Ryan Ickes provided a walk-off single.
The squad, made up of players from the region, prevailed 6-0 in Game 4 and 9-1 in Game 5 Aug. 8. Lilly rose to the challenge and earned its eighth consecutive league title and 21st in a 24-year span.
Sheetz took the first two games by 7-6 and 6-5 scores.
Lilly, which receives solid support from the town itself, went 18-2 during the regular season and won 11 straight games before the title series. The adult baseball league team has made winning look routine since 2003, the year of its first crown.
“It was a good series,” said Lilly player/manager Lucas McCoy, a Penn Cambria graduate. “It’s been a little while since we were down 2-0 in a playoff series. It’s win or go home at that point.
“In Game 3, we got a great performance from Shane Suter. He gave us 81/3 of one-run baseball. What the big thing was, and it finally clicked from that point on, we finally got the RBI there in the bottom of the ninth. We started playing the game we’re more accustomed to. I think Game 1 and 2 could have went the other way if we could have picked up some runs with runners in scoring position. Looking back at the series, that Game 3 was pivotal.”
Despite taking every team’s best shot, Lilly finds a way to prevail with a selfless brand of baseball.
“We are able to stay on top because we have great team chemistry, a team of guys that still have a strong desire to play the game,” said Cody Gallaher, a Forest Hills graduate. “We have been able to mix in some younger guys over the years who fit that same mold and that helps a lot, too.
“You’re not going to find the ‘me’ guys on our team. We try to play very unselfish, complementary baseball.”
Lilly’s players were inducted into the National Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in November. When parity reigns supreme throughout most sports, the Lilly squad has bucked the trend by advancing to 23 of the past 24 city league championship series.
Since 2003, the only years Lilly did not win it all were in 2009, 2017 and 2018. Locker Room upended Lilly in the 2017 and 2018 championship series. Lilly claimed six titles in a row from 2003-08, seven straight from 2010-16 and eight consecutive from 2019-26.
Other team members this year include Josh Bracken, Aiden Coleman, Jace Davison, Jim Dunlap, Tim Fabbri, Preston Farabaugh, Pat Gully, Jake Hillard, P.J. Holberg, C.J. McCoy, Matt Minor, Ian Olsavsky, Landon Sinclair, Aaron Smith, Alex Yost and Derek Younker.
‘The right guys’
Lilly was not always the top team in the Altoona Greater City Baseball League.
During its first five seasons, the squad went 31-100 between 1998 and 2002.
Brent Davison, Gallaher, Brandon Ickes, Ryan Ickes, Brent Matish and Lucas McCoy formed the nucleus early on. As some players left the team, Lilly was able to make key additions to keep its dominant run humming in high gear. Luckily, the squad has not had to completely remake its roster every offseason.
“I think the biggest part is that there hasn’t really been a severe overhaul on the roster,” Lucas McCoy said. “We’re able to supplement when guys fall off or if there’s other commitments that you can’t rely on them to be everyday-type of players. We’re able to supplement them with the right guys that fit the brand of baseball that we play. There has been some guys who have been here a long time. There’s guys on our roster that’s been playing in this league for 20-25 years. As crazy as it sounds, those guys have been playing in this league longer than some of our opponents have even been on earth.”
Augmenting the lineup with team-first players is key. Lilly does not just add the most talented players.
“You can’t just pick up anybody,” Lucas McCoy said. “Good talent isn’t enough.
“They have to buy in to winning. Say whatever you want about adult-league baseball, but we’re still out there competing. We’re out there to win. We’re having fun doing it, but at the end of the day, wins and losses make a difference. We’re out there to win as many ballgames as we possibly can, playing it the right way. We’re still getting out there and hustling, taking the extra base, fielding the baseball, picking up runners in scoring position, moving up on passed balls. We’re still able to play a good brand of baseball that I think a lot of people enjoy watching.”
‘Want to win’
Despite an aging roster, Lilly’s attention to detail and solid fundamentals have been the blueprint to success.
“We are able to play consistent, fundamental baseball,” Gallaher said. “Our pitchers throw strikes, our fielders make the routine plays and our batters have competitive at-bats. We might not have the physical abilities that we did in our 20s, but we play a much smarter game now.”
A burning desire to keep playing remains strong within each player.
“I love the competition,” Gallaher said. “I think it is the main reason we all still do it.
“From top to bottom, we are all very competitive guys and we all hate losing.
“Let’s face it, there are not too many activities where guys in their 40s can compete against guys in college and be successful.
“Baseball has given us the opportunity to put age aside and just play the game.”
While Lilly’s collective skills have dwindled in some facets, the squad still finds a way to outlast its opponents with its baseball acumen and heart.
“I speak for a lot of the older guys, you don’t take your ability to play for granted anymore,” Lucas McCoy said. “We’re grown men playing a kid’s game. Our skill levels have diminished. A lot of us are probably not even near three-quarters of what we used to be.
“That competitive edge is there.
“The want to win is still there. That’s what separates this group from our opponents.”
Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.