The game of baseball is full of stories which can be just as inspirational as any novel or classic film. Gus Fernandez, songwriter for the Atlanta band Pony League, can attest to that.

The band has a new single titled “Harder Than A Rick Ankiel,” about the titular Atlanta Braves outfielder. Ankiel hit an 11th-inning home run during Game 2 of the 2010 Major League Baseball playoffs, securing the Braves a win against the San Francisco Giants.

Fernandez sat down with Myke Johns to talk about how Ankiel’s fall from being an admired pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, failure in the minor leagues and rise as a home run hitter inspired the song and saved the band from a possible break up.

“Seeing somebody who’d been faced with such failure in front of so many people make it to the major leagues not once, but twice was enough for us to say ‘No, no way. We can do this,’ Fernandez said.

Pony League is performing at the EARL on Mar. 10.

This story was produced in collaboration with Immersive Atlanta. You can find a video of Fernandez’s full performance there.