BE OUR GUEST: SPORTSMANSHIP DISPLAYS BEAUTY OF GAME

"The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." I feel it is important that I share with the people of Southeast Missouri the experience that I had May 21. I am the assistant baseball coach and athletic director at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau. Notre Dame and Chaffee were hooked up in a classic high school baseball game for the district championship. We were winning 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning-that is when the lightning struck. The rain began to pour down and the umpires called for a delay.

After a short period of time, we were told to take the field and proceeded to lose our lead. Chaffee scored three runs and with two outs, the rain came again. We were then notified that if we could not continue, we would lose the game 4-2. As I looked at our players on the bus, I realized this is not the way we wanted to end our season.

We asked the umpires, Larry Kitchen and Tim Heuring, if we could attempt to get the field in playing condition ourselves. We went to Cape and picked up 50 bags of oil dry from Auto Tire and Parts. On the way to Cape, as the rain began falling harder, Coach Grim told me that I was crazy and he might have been correct. But there was a small patch of light in the dark sky - there was still some hope that we might be able to play. Our players deserved the chance to finish the game.

We returned to Scott City, as a light rain was still falling, and began to experiment with the oil dry. The Chaffee fans apparently thought we were nuts (maybe we were). As we emptied the absorbent on the wet dirt, it began to dry - WE have a chance! Under the watchful eye of the umpires and the Chaffee fans, the Notre Dame people cam together - the players unloaded the 50 pound bags as coaches, parents, students and alumni began spreading the oil dry on the field.

Our only chance to continue our season was to get the field in playing condition - Quick! Finally, it happened, the game was allowed to continue. We took the field and retired the first batter in the bottom of the sixth - three outs. It was now our turn to bat - our last chance! As I stood in the first base coaching box, I thought to myself - was this worth it? All of this work might have been useless after all. Auggie stepped to the plate and singled to left - Ryan walked - first and second and nobody out - OH NO! David grounds out to second, the runners advance. Men on second and third, two outs and two strikes on Phil - please don't end the game with a strikeout!#@*# Base hit - two runs score - the game is tied!!!! Tim steps to the plate and hits a long fly ball to center - the center fielder has lost it in the lights - inside the park home run. The score now reads Notre Dame - 6 Chaffee - 4, God has answered our prayer!

But wait! Chaffee has one more at bat. First man - ground out. A walk, a single and another walk - bases loaded and only one out. The next young man steps to the plate and drills a triple to right field - three men score - Chaffee wins!

This means we lose - or do we? As we slowly exit the park, I am a man of mixed emotions. This had been one of the most wonderful and painful athletic experiences of my life. As we head north on I-55, I realized some valuable lessons had been learned. I realized that experiences like this one is why I decided to enter the coaching profession. But we lost, you might say - did we? We learned several lessons that are far more important than losing a baseball game.

We did not quit! We knew that if the game was going to continue, we needed to get the field ready. I gained reinforcement of how much I love athletics. High school athletics are a great means of teaching our youth not just athletic skills but also life skills. These experiences are for the benefit of the students - too often we forget this. I doubt that either team will ever forget this game - a game of highs and lows. We lost the game - but we finished the game. Chaffee won the game fair and square - I can accept that. This game displayed the beauty of competition. Why even play a game if you know who is going to win? Why live life if we know how it will end?

I salute the Notre Dame players, parents and fans for their loyalty. I love my job and am proud to be a Bulldog!

Congratulations to Coach Qualls and the Chaffee players and fans. I hope you win the state championship.

My thanks to the umpires for their patience. It would have been easy for them to pack their bags and call the game earlier but they wanted to give everyone a fair chance. These guys make $25 a game - wow! They obviously do not umpire solely for the money, they too have to love the game.

Notre Dame - we did not win the game but we fought a great battle. We will benefit from this experience. Maybe next year is our turn. We will continue to compete and live life to its fullest. Thank you God for athletics!!!

Chris Janet serves as athletic director and assistant baseball coach at Notre Dame High School.