Mullin Hopes His Bad Luck in OTL Ends With Men’s Open Title Today

So many bad things have happened to Keith Mullin when he has played in the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Over-the-Line World Championships that he shudders to think what could be next.

He lined the first pitch he saw in last year’s men’s open final into the crowd, where the ball hit his mother square in the mouth.

On Tuesday, while playing a practice game, he dislocated a vertebra in his back. On Wednesday he lay on the floor and waited to see a doctor. But on Saturday, Mullin was not only playing OTL, he was playing some of the best OTL of his life.

Mullin’s team, Club Sportswear, was one of four undefeated teams entering today’s semifinal winners’ bracket round. Club Sportswear will face Clam Gear, and Mossimo Bong Adas will play Team Mossimo at 7:30 a.m. on Fiesta Island. Club Sportswear, at No. 2, was the only seeded men’s open team among the four.

It is doubtful that Club Sportswear would have been there without Mullin, 29, who, on the advice of his doctor, made six visits to a chiropractor before Saturday and managed to rehabilitate himself in time for the biggest tournament of the year.

Mullin, who plays the front position, made a seemingly impossible catch of Lee Secciani’s line drive for the last out of Club Sportwear’s 12-9 quarterfinal victory over seventh-seeded Echo Sport.

As soon as the ball left Secciani’s bat, Mullin hurled his body headlong to his left and snared the ball off the top of the sand. He moved so quickly and made such an impact that his body bounced after he hit the ground. But without a wince, Mullin jumped back to his feet, knowing that he was just three victories away from his first world championship.

“I didn’t know until (Friday) afternoon whether I’d play or not,” Mullin said. “I figured if I could swing the bat, they could hide me at least for today. I had to decide what was fair for my teammates. That was a tough call.”

Mullin took pain pills, wore a back brace and iced his back between games. He said the only time he didn’t feel pain was when he was on the court. Club Sportswear rolled in its first three games, beating the Big Sticks, 11-0, Ain’t Cheatin’, 16-2, and State of Unconsciousness, 15-4. But then Mullin sparked Club Sportswear in its closest and most important game against Echo Sport not only with his defense but his offense.

He had nine hits in 12 at-bats in the game, drove in five runs and started five- and four-run rallies with singles.

“I think the adrenaline has taken over,” teammate Chuck Cromar said about Mullin. “He’s such a competitor. He burns inside. I would love to win him a championship.”

Cromar has won a record nine OMBAC world titles. Mullin is still chasing his first. In the 1989 final, Mullin, Cromar and Dennis Navarro, the third man on Club Sportswear, went flat after Mullin’s mother was hit (she suffered only a cut and a bruise) and lost to Beachcomber, 23-10.

“It seems like every year something bad happens here,” Mullin said. “You’ve got to play good, get a good draw, and you’ve got to get some breaks.”

Today could be the day Mullin’s perseverance outlasts his bad luck. Top-seeded Beachcomber, the two-time defending champion, was eliminated in four games Saturday.

Four teams in the women’s open division remained unbeaten through the quarterfinal round and will also play at 7:30 a.m. today. Captain Morgan’s will face the fourth-seeded Lady Rynos. Third-seeded MGM Realty will play B-100.