This past weekend I went down to Savannah for the Banana Ball playoffs. Who would be the #1 seed came down to the wire, with the Bananas taking the lead from the Party Animals after the last game of the season. I made sure to get tickets to all 4 games because I wasn’t sure who would be playing in which ones and wanted to make sure I saw everything.
Thursday I flew in with a layover in Baltimore – I had about an hour layover but by the time I got a wheelchair and a pusher (they are notoriously slow in Baltimore) I got to the gate with 6 minutes to spare. I got my rental car, got some lunch and was able to check into the hotel. Then I made my way to the stadium for the game.
Game 1 was Bananas vs Firefighters. Honestly by banana ball standards this game was pretty boring. The Firefighters scored 1 in the 5th and went on to win the game 1-0. This was a surprise especially since they were the #4 seed. After the game I went to the plaza for the first time to meet up with a friend, but didn’t end up talking to any of the players.
Friday I did a Girl Scouts tour of Savannah since I had missed out on doing that my last couple trips. I did a tour of the Juliette Gordon Low house, then went to the first Girl Scouts Headquarters. Unfortunately the Andrew Low house being built way too long ago wasn’t accessible. (The JGL house turned the dumb waiter into an elevator, which was much appreciated!) I managed to “earn” myself some girl scouts patches and learned a lot about Juliette and I think we would have been friends!
That night was Party Animals vs Tailgaters. This game was a lot more exciting. The Party Animals jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with Andy Cosgrove’s home run in the first. They had 4 more walk offs and were leading 5-0 going into the 9th. The Tailgaters ended up scoring 2 in the 9th with an RBI single and a HR from Taylor Justus. (One of the Firefighters was watching the game near us and said it was a “moon shot!”) But the Party Animals remained victorious winning 5-2. After my friend was my personal security and photographer and got a bunch of photos with me and the players for a project I am working on 😉
Saturday was time for the 2nd game in the Bananas/Firefighters match. Before the game I went to VIB and met a bunch of the players. I had on my firefighters hat but bananas shirt and a few of the Firefighters were asking me if I was split or had a team I was rooting for and I told them I was definitely leaning towards the Firefighters. The Bananas scored in the 2nd after a triple and wild pitch and kept the lead for the rest of the game, winning the game 3-2. Since the series was a “best of 3” but there were only 2 games, it went into showdowns to decide who would win. Both teams scored in the 1st round of showdowns. And in the second round… Dalton Cornett of the Firefighters hit a home run. Banana Ball rules state if either team hits a home run in the showdowns, it ends there and that team wins. What an upset! The Firefighters would be going to the Championship game!
Sunday was an afternoon game and it was drizzling when I left the hotel and when I got to the stadium it was absolutely pouring. Thinking the plaza was opening at 10, I started to head to the VIB entrance, only to be told that they had pushed opening back to 10:30. I had my poncho on and just hoped I wouldn’t get totally soaked waiting to go inside. (I didn’t, just my shoes/socks did) They did the VIB in the stands and the ramp is on the opposite side from where they start, so I had to go against everyone to make my way through, but most people and players were helpful in letting me through and moving obstructions out of the way. The Party Animals once again jumped to an early lead with Jake Skole hitting a home run in the 1st and then ANOTHER in the 4th. In the 6th, there was the only fan caught out of the series and it was caught by… Savannah Bananas pitcher Zack Phillips! In the 8th, the Party Animals fell victim to trying to overcome the Tailgaters in trick plays to avoid the new equalizer point that had been introduced (If the away team has more trick plays than the home team after the 8th inning, they get an equalizer point) After a couple of trick play misses, the Tailgaters scored making it 2-1 and then also won the equalizer point making it 2-2 for the 9th. Gotta make it stressful and dramatic, huh boys? The game went into showdowns and after Round 1 both teams scored a run. In the 2nd rounds, Drew struck out the batter and then Jake Skole was walked and scored the winning run! The Championship series tomorrow will be Party Animals vs Firefighters. I hung out a bit at the plaza party to see some of my faves before heading out.
The flight from Savannah to Baltimore was uneventful and I had a 3 hour layover so OF COURSE a wheelchair and pusher were waiting when we landed. The flight to Hartford ended up getting delayed and got us in about an hour late. The crew apologized saying that on an earlier trip a bird flew into the windshield so the plane needed to be cleaned as well as inspected. Since there was no damage to the plane they were able to keep flying, but that’s why there was a delay and they weren’t able to make up for it in the air. Honestly, an hour later than I anticipated is fine with me compared to some of the other flight crap I have had to deal with!
I can’t wait to watch the championship game tomorrow and continue to plan what games I might be going to on the 2026 Tour!