Logic dictated that Archbishop Mitty High party planners for coach Bill Hutton's retirement wingding should have picked a game a little easier to win.
But in a stroke of genius no Hollywood script writer could have conjured up, the Monarchs played none other than Bellarmine College Prep on Friday, the Monarchs' long-time rival who was, until the bottom of the seventh inning, in the thick of the WCAL pennant chase.
Then Hutton's heroes went to work, delivering haymakers like in one of those campy old Batman fight scenes Hutt probably watched in his youth back in Seal Beach.
Pow! Hadyn King singles to center field and goes to second on an error.
Crack! Kris Bubic scalds a double to right, driving in a run.
Boom! Brooks Allen pounds a single to right, scoring two runs and sending the Monarchs into delirium and a dog pile at midfield after a 3-2 victory.
"Baseball is an agonizing game," said Hutton who was honored for his 33 years as the Mitty coach -- he's retiring after this season -- with a post-game dinner attended by 400. "We were in agony for six innings and they were in agony for one inning."
In the space of three days Hutton went from the utter despair of a 2-1 loss at Serra that nearly eliminated the Monarchs from the title race to the sheer joy of Friday's win which has put Mitty -- along with Serra and Valley Christian -- just one game behind league-leading St. Francis with five games left.
That's baseball, as Hutton has known it for the past 33 years.
"Former St. Francis coach Chris Bradford once said winning is just a reprieve from the next agony and losing is just agony," Hutt said.
What followed Mitty's inspiring comeback Friday was a two-hour lovefest of tributes, anecdotes and light roasting of Hutton, the guy from the beach town in SoCal who turned WCAL afterthought Mitty into a perennial state power.
"He's a great coach," said the Stanford-bound left--handed pitcher Bubic. "He has such a great mind for the game of baseball. He pushes us so hard and he knows how to connect with his players. He preaches hard work and perseverance throughout the program."
Said Thursday's starting pitcher Kyle Mora who shined after a rocky first inning: "He just said to bear down now and get yourself a ground ball and get out of (the jam). He's a great coach. He's got 33 years under his belt so he knows a lot."
That knowledge includes which former players to invite to his own party to pay homage and gently needle him. Former Monarch greats Ryan Seto (1980s), D.J. Condit (1990s), Nick Epidendio (2000s) and Sean Edgecumbe (2010s) all returned to provide an interesting romp down memory lane.
"The first time I met Hutt was as a freshman," Condit said. "It was our second practice and people said he was coming out to watch us and sure enough he did and as it turned out he headed straight toward me. He chewed me up one side and down the other because I had my hat on backwards. He said to never step on the field like that again."
As a parade of speakers did their thing, photos of the man they call "Hutt" flashed onto a screen -- a teen-age Hutton playing for the Huntington Beach High Oilers, Hutton as a 20-something Mitty freshman football coach and Hutton in a garish yellow and black Mitty uniform from the 1980s, purchased by former Mitty and Serra coach Pete Jensen. There was also a more recent shot of Hutt with his beautiful wife Leandra and equally adorable three children, Grace (10), Billy (8) and Mary (4).
Soon Hutton will be trading the "agony" of prep baseball for more normal pursuits, like driving his kids to baseball or drama practice.
"I'm at peace with the decision," Hutton said. "There aren't enough hours in the day to be a full-time teacher and head of a fairly large high school program and to keep up with all the things my kids are doing. I'm excited to get a glimpse of what the other side has to offer."
But not before Hutt's former players got their licks in on Friday night.
Seto, now a San Francisco police officer, recalled the horror of Hutton making the team do aerobics to stay flexible back in the 80s. Leg warmers and Spandex were optional.
Epidendio wryly recalled that in the 2000s Hutton "still actually used to walk all the way out on the field to coach third base."
Hustle, uniform decorum and doing the little things right were constant concerns for the 57-year-old coach. Departures from the norm drove the man nuts.
Said Hutton: "We were playing a summer league game against Bellarmine one year and Max Blankenship singles and then doesn't go to second when he had a chance. Then he doesn't slide into second or third base on close plays and I say 'Max, what the heck is going on? He says, 'Hutt, I just got these pants at Charlie Rose (sporting goods) and they don't fit right and I have to return them tomorrow."
That broke up the assemblage, as only the glib Hutt can.
Edgecumbe remembered leaving a fungo bat up in San Francisco after a game and sending Hutt into a tizzy.
"He taught us to respect ourselves and respect the game," Edgecumbe said. "So it wasn't just a $10 fungo bat, it was the idea that if you mess up, you pay for it. There are consequences for your actions."
Hutton has been teaching his charges such lessons for more than three decades, piling up 645 wins, six league titles, four section titles and a mythical national title in 2010 when three publications deemed the Monarch's the nation's best after a 31-3 record.
Soon the magical mystery ride will end for Hutt and Monarchs. That will be a sad day indeed for prep baseball.
John Murphy is the Web Content Manager for Prep2Prep. Reach him at jmurphy@prep2prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat
