Banana Ball – Playoffs Wednesday afternoon I made my way to ...

2026-10-16T04:27:55Z

Banana Ball – Playoffs

Wednesday afternoon I made my way to Charlotte and we drove down to Savannah for the Banana Ball Playoffs that would kick off Thursday night.
Thursday we had tickets in another new section (to me) at Grayson, ABR. This is a porch between 3rd base and left field that includes all you care to eat food, drinks, alcohol and any of the purchased items throughout the ballpark. They had a catered meal (our night was tacos) and we also had some of Leopold’s ice cream. Most of the seats in this section are high tops and the lower seats are in the back, but we were able to get them to move a lower seat to the front for me to be able to see if I stayed seated. Overall I liked this section more than the drink rails, but once people in the picnic area start crowding in front of you (which in our case ended up being some of the other teams players!) it can be harder to see home plate.
The first game of the series was Bananas vs Party Animals. We were obviously rooting party animals all the way – and they kicked off the first inning with homeruns from Andy Cosgrove and TJ Reeves. When KJ ended up hitting one as well in the bottom of the 1st we were wondering what kind of game we were in for. There were 3 more home runs for the bananas – Oberst in the 3rd and 6th and RAC in the 4th. The second inning both teams scored 1 so no point awarded. The 3rd inning home run tied things up at 1. In the 4th the Party Animals scored 3 taking a 2-1 lead. In the 7th inning we got to see Achuff get his 400th trick play. In the 8th the Party Animals got another run AND the equalizer point making it 4-2 going into the 9th inning. Party Animals scored 3 more and the Bananas only scored 1 – making the Party Animals victorious in game 1, wining 7-3. Nate Tellier had an AMAZING 3 innings to finish out the game and we want to know where that Telly had been all season!
Friday I had ordered donuts from Aussie Gluten Free and they were delivered by Dan Oberst! We also went to pick up our “prizes” from the Visit Savannah scavenger hunt – you got points for each spot in the city that you visited. 100 points earned you a sticker and 400 earned you a Bananas koozie and 700 let you enter for a signed KJ jersey. Unfortunately the visitors center was not very accessible so it took us a bit longer to get around and we also got there about 10 minutes before closing and they were not too pleased with us… but if it was easier to get me around we’d have been in and out a lot faster!
We started out in ADA but were getting a little bit too wet with the rain so we ended up moving more inside the stadium with the rest of the group. Of course we had another rain delay to endure but only for about an hour. Tailgaters took an early lead with a walk off ball 4 spring in the 2nd, Coconuts tied it back up in the 3rd, Kyle Martin’s home run gave the tailgaters back the lead in the 4th, Brett Carson’s home run against his former team tied it back up in the 5th, Coconuts scored 2 in the 8th to the Tailgaters 1 giving them a 3-2 lead going into the 9th which is how the game ended with Coconuts taking the first game. Both my favorites, up 1-0!!
Saturday it was absolutely pouring buckets all day. We went to go pick up cookies from Dan’s Big Back Bakery and everything was puddles and rivers. We ended up not doing anything else because we didn’t want to deal with the rain. For this game we opted to not deal with the ADA section at all and try to move more inward to be more under cover. The ushers were fantastic with helping us to find a spot for us all.
Bret Helton was pitching for the Party Animals so we figured we’d be in good shape. He gave up a run in the 1st which gave the Bananas an early lead, but then settled in and kept them scoreless in innings 2-8. The Party Animals scored in the 5th to tie it and took the lead in the 6th. They also very dramatically got the equalizer point and it was 301 going into the 9th inning. Bret had a couple of guys on with no outs and at that point if I was the coach, I would have pulled him. But he was left in and there was a close play at the plate which tied it and while everyone was on the field calling for a challenge, Bill Leroy ended up stealing 3rd and the Bananas won the game 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th in THE most dramatic fashion. It was a devastating loss with the Party Animals just 2 outs away from sweeping.
With the series tied 1-1 we had to go into showdowns, Jake Skole was thrown out, Dan Oberst struck out. Second round of showdowns Reece Hampton struck out and then DR Meadows walked it off – Porter’s throw to Cosgrove was pretty good but he couldn’t get a good handle on the ball to tag him out. Absolute devastation. Bananas would be heading to the championship game. Talking to the guys after everyone was on the verge of tears and it was absolutely awful. We had dessert reservations and even our waiter realized we were not our usual selves. (It was our 3rd time seeing him)
Sunday was a day game and we had BBB so we had to be there early. My friend took my cards to get them signed by the Tailgaters and the last couple coconuts we needed to track down so I just kind of wandered around talking to whoever I wanted. Ashby had been on my case about also liking the Party Animals all season so I was prepared for him to say something to me.. but he was very nice and only said “So you’re ride or die for the Coconuts now right?” and I told him of course. I had really wanted a Party Animals v Coconuts Banana Bowl. This game was a pitcher’s duel which I find to be quite boring. Tre Jones fouled out to a kid in the 4th, Tailgaters scored 1 in the 6th, then a 2nd on a Kyle Martin Home Run in the 7th. Brett Carson had a home run in the 8th but the Tailgaters also scored 1 giving no points for that inning. It was 2-0 in the end in favor of the Tailgaters.
With another series tied 1-1 we had to go to Showdowns. Tanner Allen flew out and then Nick Lopez was able to score making the Tailgaters victorious and heading to the Bowl vs the Bananas. Worst case scenario but not nearly as heartbreaking of a loss as the night before!
We made our way back to Charlotte where my accessible hotel room had a.. conference room in it? That was definitely something new for me. I got a little bit of sleep before heading to the airport for my 7am flight home and then dove right back into work!

https://blog.concertkatie.com/banana-ball-playoffs-2/

Nostr notes by Katie (Unofficial)

Banana Ball – Playoffs Wednesday afternoon I made my way to ...