When it comes to coaching with integrity, it doesn’t get any better than Stagg’s Bob Dillon.
Now, he’s out to prove that nice guys can finish first.
Dillon cleared his bench in the middle of the anticipated 10-1 rout of Public League champion Washington Thursday in the Class AA softball quarterfinals at Mineral Springs Park. No. 5 Stagg (30-8) will take on Morton (32-6) in Friday’s 11:30 a.m. semifinal.
Two years ago, Dillon made mass substitutions and played his reserves extensively in losing a meaningless third-place game. Catcalls and boos rained down from the Stagg bleachers, where winning was everything for angry parents and fans.
“Sometimes, there are more important things than winning and losing,” Dillon said then. “These kids have worked just as hard and deserved a chance to play.”
On Thursday, with Stagg in control 5-0, Dillon did it again. He wound up using all of his benchwarmers as either pinch-hitters or replacements for his regulars.
The savvy Stagg coach with a four-year record of 127-28 realized this would probably be the last chance for his reserves to contribute.
“I got all 22 players into the game!” Dillon said, thrusting his right fist into the air. “I wanted everybody to play in a state tournament game. It took me 4 1/2 hours to figure out how to do it, so I’m not that smart.”
Stagg wasted little time in disposing of the Minutewomen (22-11). The Chargers combined a Jenny DiGiacomo single with a walk, two errors and two wild pitches for three runs in the first inning. They made it 5-0 in the third on Paige Shemoski’s two-run triple after singles by Laurie Markatos and Abby Booth.
“I was hoping we’d play Stagg, because I knew coach Dillon wouldn’t run up the score,” said Washington coach Beth Raspopovich as the Public League representative lost in the quarterfinals for the 13th straight time.
“In previous years, teams would be ahead by eight runs and continue to steal bases and take three bases at a time. I knew he would hold the score down, and I appreciate that.
“A lot of other coaches would have tried to bury us. There’s no need to embarrass another team.”
A huge highlight for the beleaguered Public Leaguers was Michelle Artis’ home run over the left-field fence in the seventh inning. It was an early present for Raspopovich, who is getting married Saturday.
“It felt great,” said Artis, who was one of the top basketball players in the city last winter. “I just wish there were 20 runners on base. It was a fastball on the inside. I had to do something, because I’m missing my graduation being here.”
