2003 Season Recap
It never hurts to have a little luck.
But Lady Luck wasn't on the Hays Larks side at the 69th annual National Baseball Congress World Series.
Every time the Larks hit the ball hard, it was right at someone or was chased down for a spectacular catch.
Or the opposing team would get a key hit just out of the reach of a Hays fielder.
And the key hits never came for the Larks as well, ending the team's run shy of the title game.
"We might have been the best team in this tournament, and we're not in it any more," said veteran shortstop Dan Schwartzbauer after the team finished in a fifth-place tie. "We just didn't catch any breaks and didn't get the luck at the right time."
He couldn't have said it better.
Hays won its first three games of the World Series before falling just short in a pair of one-run losses to end its title hopes.
But along the way, the Larks lived up to their reputation as a top-tier team in the NBC.
Nine different players earned all-Jayhawk League honors as the Larks won the league title for an unprecedented third straight season.
While Hays manager Frank Leo was disappointed with the season ending short of the team's goal of a World Series title, he still wasn't about to change any of the journey along the way.
"When you reflect back É you can think about the whole picture," said Leo, whose team finished the year with a 43-12 overall record. " É We won three Jayhawk League championships and had another great run in the World Series. We're one of the top six teams in the nation, and we can't be disappointed there."
Here's a look back at the Larks' 2003 NBC World Series:

GAME 1
HAYS LARKS 7, NATCHITOCHES (LA.) BRAVES 2
It may have served as a wakeup call. The Larks fell behind early, then came back to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hays finally got the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Shawn Smarsh eventually scored on a throwing error to give the Larks a 3-2 advantage.
From there, Hays would tack on four more runs to win going away.
Tommy Hottovy earned the victory on the mound in a relief appearance on the hot afternoon day. He allowed no runs on two hits in 31/3 innings, with four strikeouts and no walks.

GAME 2
HAYS LARKS 9, SEATTLE (WASH.) STUDS 2
Hays starter Chris Ofat turned the Studs into duds while lifting the team to its second win in the series.
Seattle had scored 11 runs in its opening win, proving to the Wichita crowd its offensive firepower.
But Ofat, who didn't give up a run until the eighth inning, allowed only one run on five hits in eight innings. He walked two and struck out nine.
By the time the Studs cracked the scoreboard, the game was well in hand. Hays built a 6-0 lead before Seattle got its first run off Ofat.
The Larks went on to score three more runs to lead 9-1 entering Seattle's final at-bat. But the Studs could only muster one more run to set the final margin.
Craig Cooper and Aaron Batlle both went 2-for-4 at the plate, with Cooper scoring two runs and Batlle scoring once and driving in another.

GAME 3
HAYS LARKS 3, NEVADA (MO.) GRIFFONS 2
The Larks got a good look at their bullpen against their Jayhawk League foe. That look was pleasing to the eye as well.
Hays starter Jim Popp allowed a run in the first inning before leaving the game after the third with a shoulder problem. Then the Larks went to their bullpen. And it delivered.
With Hays leading 2-1, Andy Pape and two other relievers all but shut the door on the Griffons' chances.
Pape allowed no runs on three hits in four innings while striking out one. Randy Curtis drove in the eventual winning run in the seventh on an RBI single to put the lead at 3-1.
From there, Tommy Hottovy and closer Jim Miller did the rest, limiting Nevada the rest of the way to preserve the one-run win.
Miller picked up his eighth save of the season, tying him for second place on the all-time single-season list.
Shawn Smarsh and Curtis both had RBI doubles in the third to give Hays the early momentum on the way to the win.

GAME 4
PRAIRIE GRAVEL (ILL.) 2, HAYS LARKS 1
The Larks led 1-0 early after a sacrifice fly by Shawn Smarsh in the third inning before things started to unravel.
In the sixth inning, a pair of hits, an error and a balk led to both Prairie Gravel runs as Hays fell into the losers' bracket.
Starter Ryan LaMotta was the hard-luck loser, allowing two runs Ñ one earned Ñ on four hits in eight innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Hays stranded a run at second base in the seventh and eighth innings. A pickoff for the second out in the ninth eventually spelled doom for the Larks.

GAME 5
SANTA BARBARA (CALIF.) FORESTERS 3, HAYS LARKS 2
The quarterfinal game seemed to follow a similar role for the Larks at the World Series. The key hit never came in the nip-and-tuck battle.
Hays stranded runners on the base paths in eight of the nine innings, including five in scoring position.
Santa Barbara took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-out double that drove in two runs off Hays starter Chris Ofat.
Shawn Smarsh pulled the Larks within 2-1 in the third on a one-out single after Mark Lyons tripled to lead off the inning.
Adam Cox, the only Hays player to be named to the All-American team, knotted the game at 2-all in the sixth with a two-out double.
But Santa Barbara pushed across the eventual winning run in the eighth on a two-out, RBI single.
Ofat allowed the three earned runs on seven hits in 72/3 innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.
Cox and Dan Schwartzbauer both finished the game with two hits.
By NICK SCHWIEN