Last Man Standing: Mason Phillips Outlasts Competition In National Anthem Standoff
Before the Nighthawks finished off a 6-2 win over the Keene SwampBats on Thursday, Upper Valley relief pitcher Mason Phillips got a win of his own.
By Thaddeus Sawyer
There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the playing of the national anthem on Thursday night at the Maxfield Sports Complex.
Sure, the start of “The Star-Spangled Banner” cut out over the speakers, creating an abrupt intro a few seconds into the song. Still, everyone remained standing across the ballpark for the 90-second anthem before taking their seats.
The only peculiar exception came from two individuals with the number 13 on the back of their jersey who stayed standing just a little bit longer; two and a half innings to be exact.
Nighthawks reliever Mason Phillips and Keene SwampBats pitcher Eamon McDermott spent around 70 minutes standing down their respective foul lines waiting for the other to blink. Phillips never did, taking a commanding victory in the impromptu national anthem standoff.
Phillips said that there was never a doubt in his mind that he was going to come out on top.
“I'm not gonna quit for the guys,” Phillips said. “We said from the beginning of the year, we're not going to lose, and we haven't lost.”
While Phillips stayed facing the field with his hand over the left side of his chest, McDermott spent much of the latter half of the faceoff looking into the woods in left field.
Phillips said that he couldn’t have started the season 1-0 had it not been for the support of his teammates in the bullpen.
“I had guys giving me maple creemees all day,” Phillips said. “I had water, Skittles, everything I needed. The guys really backed me up today.”
Though umpires generally have a quick trigger for standoff ejections, Phillips said that the umpiring crew of Larry Reigert, Devin Rhodes and Michael Borghi were cool about the situation.
“They said it was a good way to teach a lesson,” Phillips said. “A lesson was taught. My calves were hurting, but glad we got it done.”
With Phillips burning an estimated 150 calories, the right-hander said most of that was in his calves.
“I think my calves got about 100 of it,” Phillips said. “Got a couple bug bites from it. Had to itch those, so that might have been 50 calories right there.”
Phillips expects a rematch later this season, though he may spend a little more time stretching next time around.
“I think we're gonna get back out there, especially when we see these guys again,” Phillips said. “They're gonna want their revenge, so I think we're gonna do it again.”