A tough lesson for reporters: It's not over til it's over

You will have to forgive me. As a reporter, I like to write as much of the story as I can during the game. And when Remsen St. Mary's was down 7-1 in the third inning to the defending state champs, well, I'm holding my breath until the deficit becomes 10 runs and I have to inquire about what went wrong from what will surely be a surly Jim Klein.

Newman Catholic of Mason City should have had it nailed down. The Knights were seeded first, ranked second and hadn't lost to a Class 1A team since 2008.

But I was wrong. I overestimated the Newman pitchers (give me a break, their team ERA was under 2.00). I underestimated the Remsen St. Mary's bats.

But most glaringly, I underestimated the Hawks' heart.

Yogi was right: It ain't over til it's over. I couldn't lead a game story with that cliché, so there it is.

When the Hawks came to the plate down 7-1 in the bottom of the third, they had 18 outs left. They plated four in that frame to prove they wouldn't just go away.

There's that heart, that never-say-die mentality a team needs to win it all in a win-or-go-home tourney.

But I was concerned about Tanner Kockler's control and pitch count. It's a good thing he wasn't, because he settled down and allowed only two hits and an unearned run the rest of the way. Klein told me afterward that Kockler struggles when he wants it too bad and overthrows. Klein has told me that about Kockler since he started coaching in 2009 and that seems to be a common ailment of high school pitchers who throw in the mid-to-upper 80s.

I wasn't the only one thinking about the pitch count. The IHSAA rep announced it at every half-inning. Even Henry Ortmann, the RSM alum working for KLEM with Denny Callahan and the right fielder on RSM's first state championship team in the fall of 1980 couldn't believe Kockler's pitch count when he asked.

But as the contest progressed, Kockler began to rely more on his location and his off-speed pitches.

And his hitters battled back. RSM scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth as it got RBI singles from its No.7 and No. 8 hitters.

That was all Kockler needed as he went out and nailed down the win when Newman couldn't.

Just how confident was he in his curveball? He broke one off on a 3-1 count with the tying run on and one out.

It was a strike and the hitter popped out on the next pitch.

I had more or less abandoned my original story angle in the bottom of the third, when the Hawks showed it was going to be close. But what should I do with this?

I wanted to do justice to the story and the comeback.

It was indescribable. It was the gutsiest effort I've ever witnessed in person.

I took some time and ate some dinner. Then it came to me and you can find it elsewhere on the page.

This profession requires its practitioners to maintain objectivity, even when the sister-in-law of the coach drops off a state qualifier t-shirt at your office.

Sometimes we're rooting, internally, for the home town team, even if it ruins a half-written game story.