By Nathan Mayberg
MONTICELLO — July 26, 2005 – Ma’s & Pa’s rallied late to defeat Giant Mobile 12-11 on Wednesday night in a Monticello Men’s Softball League game thanks to a walk-off single by Matt Klemm.
Until Klemm’s single, Giant Mobile led throughout the contest. The team scored four runs in the first inning, and was not matched until the third inning, when Ma’s & Pa’s evened matters out at 5-5.
Giant Mobile regained the lead in the fourth with a two-run single by the squad’s leading slugger, Dez Williams.
Williams tacked on another two-RBI hit in the sixth to give Giant Mobile an 11-7 lead.
But Ma & Pa’s struck back in the bottom of the sixth. Leadoff batter Brian Kowal blasted a three-run homer to close the gap to 11-10. Ma’s & Pa’s also took advantage of two miscues by Giant Mobile outfielders. 
Entering the bottom of the seventh, Ma & Pa’s was still down by one run. Vinnie Radesca started off what would become the game-winning rally with an infield single and Mike Fleming followed with a sacrifice bunt. Mike Degroat then drove Radesca home with a single to tie the contest at 11-11.
A single by John Corrie moved Degroat over to third. Degroat crossed the plate with the winning run on Matt Klemm’s clutch hit.
Although Klemm’s single was the most important hit of the game, Williams was clearly the star of the game, albeit in a losing cause. He went 4-for-4, which included a triple in the third inning. Before stepping to up to the plate for the at-bat, Williams called a long shot to left-center and then promptly hit the ball to that area of the field. It was nearly long enough for a home run.
Williams did not stay on third base for long, however, as teammate Brian Babcock drove him home with a single.
Later in that inning, Kowal, Ma & Pa’s talented outfielder, showed off an outstanding arm with a sharp throw to catcher Josh Card, who tagged out Babcock at the plate.
Both pitchers had different approaches. The winning pitcher was Ma & Pa’s Chris Bugach, who threw many off-speed pitches, which started high and often stayed high. Giant Mobile hurler Jimmy Crowley did not use the off-speed pitch nearly as much, but induced many groundball outs.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ma & Pa’s shortstop Josh McCann completed a nice inning-ending double play by tagging out Williams on the base paths and then throwing out Chris Bates, who was running to first.
With the win, Ma’s & Pa’s improved its record to 10-4 and maintained second place in the league’s Bickham Division. The team holds a two-and-a-half game lead over Sullivan Fire.
Giant Mobile dropped to 4-8. The squad is currently in fourth place the six-team Bickham Division.