Members of the LeMars baseball team came to Principal Park to watch the 3A game they had to forfeit to Bishop Heelan, who defeated Williamsburg 1-0 in the 2013 State Baseball Championships Tuesday at Principal Park. Coach Trent Eckstaine is at far right. / Mary Willie/Des Moines Register
Parked along the left-field line Tuesday at Principal Park sat proof that sports is not always win or lose, black or white, heart-bruising gloom or intoxicating elation.
Sometimes, two teams win. Sometimes, championship mettle walks away from both dugouts. Sometimes, lessons provided by heart and mind prevail over the electronic wiring of scoreboards or emotionless ink in rulebooks.
Sitting there, wrapped in baseball caps, T-shirts and shorts, was the LeMars baseball team. The same team that beat Class 3-A No. 1 Sioux City Heelan 8-5 in 11 innings last Wednesday, only to hand over its first state tournament banner an hour later because it used an ineligible pitcher.
When the team met Sunday to turn in uniforms after a record-setting season — a season momentarily ticketed for the rich backdrop of Sec Taylor Field — they decided to make the trip to Des Moines.
“They all wanted to go,” coach Trent Eckstaine said. “I’ll tell you what, they’re a great group of kids. I can’t tell you how much respect I have for them.”
LeMars’ players decided to watch the Class 3-A games, including Heelan’s 1-0 win over Williamsburg — even though there’s little doubt untidy feelings bubbled painfully close to the surface.
Eckstaine strained to talk about the decision to throw pitcher Parker Rolfes against Heelan, two days after he had worked nine innings. That meant Rolfes failed to receive the proper amount of state-mandated rest — and transformed a historic win into history of another, more uncomfortable kind.
Would anyone blame those in LeMars red for watching with hands clamped over eyes, peering between tightly bunched fingers? It would have been understandable if everyone who packed into the school SUV on Tuesday wanted to peel away in any direction other than central Iowa.
Instead of moping, though, the group hit the road one more time as a team. Instead of wringing hands, they joined their coach for more baseball, more pings from bats, more scorecards and popcorn.
The united front created a testimony to the power of team, the resilience of youth, the inspiring ability to look forward as a group rather than backward as individuals.
The most emotional discussion as LeMars watched Heelan’s win revolved around dinner. Like a caucus room filled with won’t-budge supporters, Jethro’s used grassroots lobbying to build a slim lead over Joe’s Crab Shack, with the poll’s margin of error a hungry teenager or two.
Eckstaine initially preferred not to talk about the whole, messy thing — wishing it all could fade into the mid-summer breeze. The decision of the team to travel to Des Moines reinforced something, though, that helped him fight to find the words.
Maturity and class come easily in the easiest of circumstances. When dreams are dented most profoundly, however, true character reveals itself.
“To be honest, I’ve had a hard time with it,” Eckstaine said late Monday, his voice beginning to crack. “This is a pretty special group.”
Heelan, too, showed that the situation created wins of all shapes and jersey colors through humility and compassion molded by an opportunity renewed.
“We went through a range of emotions,” Crusaders coach Andy Osborne said. “Trent’s a friend of mind. I felt bad for him; I felt really bad for his kids. And I think if LeMars had made it down here, they would have done some damage.
“Kind of the message (to the team) has been, you don’t get too many second chances in life. We got one. We’re going to try and make the most of it.”
What if roles were reversed, Osborne was asked?
“I think it would have been tough,” he said. “I can only imagine what thoughts are going through their heads.”
The rules related to pitchers and rest, all agree, exist for right and important reasons. The Des Moines Sunday Register recently published a story on safety related to high school pitchers. ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” aired a segment about the massive pitch counts recorded by Japanese players and the injury peril that followed.
Eckstaine heard the whispers, too, that he tried to manipulate the system and sneak in a few more innings from a top star. He swears nothing could be farther from the truth.
“It’s on there (rules). I just goofed. Totally my mistake,” said Eckstaine, 42. “I’m the one solely responsible.”
Eckstaine also must be responsible for a team that showed beyond-their-years DNA by facing pain and tough circumstances head-on — proving along the way that success in life is measured in all kinds of ways.
Not just on scoreboards.
