The Field of Dreams proved to be just that for Cougars on Saturday as they hit their way to back-to-back Tamworth baseball competition A and B grade premierships.
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But they were pushed all the way by the Armidale Outlaws.
The two sides matched up in both deciders with Cougars, as they did last season, taking the spoils in both.
B grade edged out the Outlaws 6-4 on the back of a third innings flurry before A grade scored a hard-fought come-from-behind 5-4 win.
It was a tight tussle right down to the final innings with the Outlaws, needing two runs in their final dig to keep themselves alive, managing to drag one run back.
"Armidale have stuck it to us all year and there's been a lot of close games," Cougars coach Andrew Ferris said.
In his after match speech he conceded he was "generally worried" and post match said "there was definitely a lot of tension in the dugout there though the middle of the game when they had us on the ropes".
"[But] The guys just pulled through and did what we had to to get out of that situation," he said.
The Outlaws were first on the board with Josh Shaw batting in Paul Wright the top of the third.
They went two ahead in their next innings courtesy of Urata Takashi, but Aiden Lee and Brian Hopton got home for the Cougars to tie the scores up after the completion of four innings.
Ferris felt there wasn't one specific turning point. They just "stuck with them and stuck with them".
"There was a few points that I think we gave them the momentum early and middle of the game," he said.
"Later on I think we did get on top with a couple of plays and we shut them out in the field a few times."
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Outlaws pulled away again in the fifth but by the bottom of the sixth scores were level again. Lee and Hopton then crossed the plate again in Cougars' seventh dig to put them two ahead, and once they got that lead they defended it well.
"Once we got two on them we knew that it was going to be tough for them to get it back and we just stuck it out through the last of it," Ferris said.
Calling the players together after the game, he told them what an impressive an effort it was, not just on Saturday but right through the season.
"All the guys I am so proud of them. They're a great bunch of guys to play with. I've had the privilege of playing with them for a fair few years now and it's been special," Ferris said.
He closed out the game from the mound, pitching the last five innings after Brock Ridgewell had done the job for the first four and thrown well.
Kris Bird was named the grand final mvp and led the way with the bat for Cougars.
"[But] All of our hitting line-up really shone through," Ferris said.
"There wasn't one guy that stood out and did more than anyone else. I think it was just a really good team effort that got us home."
Earlier Cougars blew open the B grade decider in the third innings. Batting second they got three runners home to turn a 1-all deadlock into a 4-2 lead.
Warriors' Nathan Handsaker and Anthony Bello were named joint A grade mvps for the season while last year's rookie of the year - Sam McKay (Armidale) was the adjudged the B grade mvp and Blake Small (Gunnedah) the rookie of the year.