Senators relish the moment, title

The Jim Lineweaver trophy sat alone in its own seat, bathed in the soft green light of the Haymarket Senators’ chartered bus overhead lights.

The players bustled in the back of the vehicle, still basking in their unprecedented postseason run.

And assistant coach Phil Myers couldn’t stop smiling or repeating one phrase nearly the entire ride home from Covington: “Champions. I can’t believe we’re champions.”

The Senators accomplished what two years ago would have been unthinkable, given their situation. Rising from near extinction, the organization is a testament to never surrendering and nowhere was that spirit more evident than on the field over the last week and a half. Haymarket won 11 of its last 13 games, including seven out of eight playoff games, to secure the program’s first Valley Baseball League title in history.

“There were so many highs and lows during the summer,” head coach Ryan Fecteau said, “and it was kind of a roller coaster. I think the guys had to get hot at the right time.”

Squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed on the final day of the regular season, the Senators were determined to win a title.

When No. 8 Covington handed Haymarket an ugly 10-1 loss that saw the Lumberjacks score seven runs over the final four innings of Game 1, that could have easily deflated a club that felt lucky to have earned a postseason berth. With the organization’s recent history, the Senators could have been happy with what they accomplished.

But they weren’t.

“I actually think the score being what it was, was probably the best thing for us,” Fecteau said. “It was real easy to wash and just come out tomorrow and the next day. They were so resilient. I’ve never seen a group like this.”

Haymarket won the next three games, outscoring Covington 19-7, including an 8-3 Game 2 win in 13 innings.

After the finals opener, the bullpen was virtually perfect, shutting out the ’Jacks over 17 innings. Left-hander Mark Andrews gave up just five hits in 8 2/3 innings of relief work and was on the mound when the final out was recorded Wednesday in Covington.

Along with a defense that committed just one error in the championship round, the Senators were a team built to complement each other in every way.

“I was trying not to talk about the defense because we played such good defense all year,” Fecteau said. “The big theory is with fielding, pitching and hitting, if one can be among the best, you’ll be all right. If you’ve got two, you’ve got a shot at being really good.”

Haymarket finished the year just two percentage points behind Fauquier in fielding with more than 400 more chances than the Gators — and by the end of the tournament, two-thirds of the Senators’ outfield was made up of infielders.

“Everyone was ready for every play,” third baseman Greg Hopkins said. “That’s what it takes, to be in the moment and ready for anything on every play. Everyone was doing their job.”

In the finals, shortstop Sam Greenberg put on a show, erasing what would have normally been sure hits up the middle of the diamond. He even ended Game 3 when he snared Junior Arrojo’s low liner that appeared destined for the outfield grass.

The Southern Connecticut State rising sophomore frustrated Covington further in Game 4, nabbing two grounders and turning them into outs.

“Honestly,” Greenberg said, “I’d rather make a great defensive play than get a hit.”

“Our fielding made the difference this year, for sure,” Fecteau said. “We plugged guys in at positions and no matter where they were, they get it done.”

After the win, which culminated in a celebratory dogpile just in front of the Casey Field mound, Bernie Schaffler, a member of the team’s ownership group, told the players that their performance during the finals confirmed the character each had, something the owners and Fecteau targeted during offseason recruiting.

“We do a lot of work to put the team together and get the organization together,” said Scott Newell, another owner. “But it was Ryan Fecteau.
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“When we were 1-3 at one point. I drove the bus that night and he gave a speech . . . These guys, a lot of them play for schools that probably aren’t going to compete for a national championship. This could be the only taste of a championship they get. Maybe it didn’t turn the team around at that point, but that attitude stayed with them. They were not going to lose this thing.”

Staff writer Joe Conroy can be reached at 703-878-8047.