Sea Kittens (2-0) continued Spring League play with a decisive 8-1 win over Walking Tacos (1-1) April 29 at Bowman Park. The Taco-Cat game was the first Palindrome Game in Sea Kitten history and either way one looks at it, the Cats were up to the task.
A strong north wind blew in from left field for the evening’s late game and the Tacos parlayed a pair of early miscues into a 1-0 first inning lead, but the Kitten offense struck back in the bottom of the first. With one out, Le Nouveau Quatuor des Chatons- David “The Ringer” Engeldinger, All Day Kendra Haight, John “C-Beast” Corrigan and Megan “Slam” Salm- collected consecutive singles to plate the equalizing run, and Man-Aaron Jossart put the Cats ahead with an RBI ground out.
Megan “Slam” Salm flips an RBI single to right for the Kittens’ first run of the night
Staked to a 2-1 lead, pitcher Joe Hennessy and the Kitten defense settled into a groove in the second, putting the Tacos down in quick order. Hennessy came around to score the Sea Kittens’ third run in the bottom of the inning on a double from longtime Cat Alex “Puma” Latzka, filling in for one of four absent roster-ees, and Josh “Rusty” Weber laced a one-out single to put the Cats ahead 4-1. But with the wind blowing in and some stingy infield defense, the Tacos made it difficult for the Kittens to sustain a rally.
That defensive stinginess put a little extra pressure on the Sea Kittens to match it, and while there were occasional bits of dramatic touch the Kits met the challenge. Mama Cat Erin O’Brien made a slick shuffle step back to first base after collecting an errant throw in the second, Man- Aaron Jossart made a shoestring catch in left field in the 3rd, and Weber turned a double play with O’Brien after fielding a hot grounder off Hennessy’s foot to end the 4th– the combined effects of which were a trio of scoreless Taco innings.
In only his second at-bat of 2025, Josh “Rusty” Weber lashes one down the left-field line to give the Cats’ a 4-1 lead.
Corrigan and Salm paired for another run in the Sea Kitten third- The C-Beast tripled off the right field fence and came home on Slam’s sacrifice fly to right to give the Cats a 5-1 advantage. Jossart sent a missile to the left field fence with one out, and back-to-back run-scoring singles from Hennessy and Latzka pushed the lead to six.
The Tacos clamped down in the fourth, and with two out and (I Play Softball) All Day Kendra Haight on first, Corrigan ripped his third hit of the game. Base coaches and the Kitten faithful implored Haight to go to third, but she held up at second, and there was stranded.
“I heard you, but I wasn’t emotionally ready.” Explained Haight.
Still The Cats’ defense held firm despite some tests, with Engeldinger and Jossart (this time at shortstop) contributing noteworthy plays that may or may not have been “inspired” by throws from Hennessy, and the string of zeroes continued for the visitors. The zest with which the cats embraced defense nearly turned tragic- or at least tragically painful- in the game’s final inning. With a Taco runner on first, Jossart took a throw from Hennessy for a force at second base. In his zeal for a game-ending twin killing he came up firing, not seeing that the Taco batter-runner was already standing quite peacefully on first base, and O’Brien was already retreating to her fielding position. The throw may have been the only chest-high bullet thrown by a Kitten infielder this night. Somehow O’Brien saw it, go-go-gadgeted, and picked it off before it could drill the unsuspecting fellow in the solar plexus. Just a little extra adrenaline before the game’s actual final out.
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking Tacos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sea Kittens | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | 8 |
Walking Tacos
| AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh “Rusty” Weber | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David “The Ringer” Engeldinger | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendra All Day Haight | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Corrigan | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Megan Salm | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Man-Aaron Jossart | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex The Puma Latzka | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jami “Roadrunner” Hauer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Salmon Snacks
- Alex & Jami for subbing in the late game
- John was 3-3 with a 3B and 1 run scored
- Alex was 3-3 with a 2B, run scored, and 3 RBI
- Joe for a solid game on the bump
- Erin for a nifty step back to 1B to turn an errant throw into an out
- David for his scoop of a spike ball at 3B to record a force out
- Aaron for a stellar shoestring catch in LF in the 3rd, and a dive to 2B to net an out in the 7th
- Joe*-Josh-Erin for turning a double play to end the 4th-… Joe’s “assist” coming when the hot grounder bounce off his foot
Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game
You didn’t have to see it to believe it. Vote here for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game! Congrats to Kendra, whose dodgeball Championship + Sea Kitten opener combo won last week’s prize.
Next Up
The Cats’ 8:30 slate continues with a matchup against Duckblind NASCAR Divorce (1-1) on Thursday May 1. The game will be on Bowman Field 2 and the second half of a Duckblind double-header.
Game Notes
- The Cats moved their all-time April record to 6-0
- Sea Kittens last held an opponent to one run September 19, 2024- a 12-1 win over Busch Lattes