Sea Kittens (1-1-1) made their first mark in the win column in Fall 2025 with a breezy 17-2 win over upper division newcomers Dairyland Dingers (1-2) September 11 at Bowman Park. On yet another idyllic eve for softball (though the mosquitoes can just heck right off now), the Cats’ offense purred and the defense kept its claws on the Dingers start to finish.
After Megan “Slam” Salm recorded all three outs in the top of the first, the Sea Kitten offense took its turn and set the tone for the night. Alex “Puma” Latzka walked to lead off the game, but then the next six Cats singled and plated five runs. Two outs later, Laura “Red Shoes” Hewitt worked a walk to re-load the bases, and Latzka mashed a double to the left-centerfield fence to score two more.
Down 7-0, Dairyland tried to work its way back into the game, putting runners on base and scoring two on a wicked hard liner to deep center, but the Sea Kittens stemmed the rally, with pitcher Joe Hennessy ending the inning on a strikeout.
Twenty-eight Sea Kittens reached base, but the Camera Curse was in full effect. No hits were filmed, so we stopped trying. Instead, mourn with Erin as she’s robbed of a hit by a great dive in the bottom of the 4th.
In what appeared to be a repeat of the first inning, the first five Cats reached base- three singles, two walks- to extend their lead to 9-2 and load the bases for Erin “Mama Cat” O’Brien. O’Brien went backside, guiding a soft liner to short right, but an “infield fly! ruling triggered mayhem. Stephen “Slash” Grutzik scrambled back towards first, but was tagged by the alert DD fielder for the second out of the play. Hennessy, underestimating just how alert said fielder was, broke from third to home and was beaten badly by a perfect throw that somehow slipped from the Dairyland catchers’ mitt and prevented an inning-ending triple play. Never in 276 games of Sea Kittens existence has there been one, and the streak lives. Barely. Given the extra life, Josh “Rusty” Weber started a brand-new hitting streak and knocked home the 4th Sea Kitten run of the inning.
After another quick up-and-down for the Dingers, the Cats strung together another string of hits in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring three more but ending with a delightful pickle in which “Coach” Emalie Thern was run down by the Dingers’ frighteningly fast third basewoman. But with two touchdowns on the board the Sea Kittens just enjoyed the show.
Again the Cats’ defense held serve in the top of the 4th & 5th innings, with nary an out recorded by the outfield. The Cats’ bats stayed hot in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the first six batters reached base before the game’s time limit was called and all retired to watch the second half of Packers-Commanders.
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Kittens | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Dingers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex The Puma Latzka | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jami “Roadrunner” Hauer | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan DynamOele | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Megan “Slam” Salm | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Emalie Thern | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen “Slash” Grutzik | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh “Rusty” Weber | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red Shoes Hewitt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Dingers
| 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 |
Salmon Snacks
- The outfield for standing out there so patiently (and Dan occasionally retrieving a foul ball) while the infield made all 15 outs in the game
- Emalie & Dan for 4-hit games
- And Em again for an entertaining pickle
- Dan, Megan, and Joe each with 4 runs scored
- Megan and Joe also got on base 4x each
- Stephen with 5 RBI
- Erin & Jami for catching all of Joe’s spiked throws
- Between 7:15 – 8:30 PM: Sea Kittens 17, Packers 14
Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game
You didn’t have to see it to believe it. Make your pick for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game! Last week’s relay from Josh-Stephen-Erin-John was unanimously honored as the Great Fillet!
What's you pick for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game?
- By the grace of a dropped ball, the Cats were not victims of a triple play (50%, 2 Votes)
- Emalie entertaining us with a pickle (50%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 4
Next Up
Sea Kittens (1-1-1) play a rematch with Dairyland Dingers (1-2-0) in a 8:30 PM contest at Bowman Park September 18. The Dingers are expected to have their team captain back next.
Roster notes and transactions
OUT
Emalie Thern- wedding
Slam Salm- wedding
Sunshine Curtis- concert
Man-Aaron Jossart- concert
Game Notes
- Sea Kittens 17 runs were the second-most the team has ever scored with 1 or fewer extra-base hits. The Cats scored 18 May 21, 2025 in an 18-0 win over Whomping Willows
- The Cats did draw a walk in their first two games of Fall League, but drew 6 in this one
- Last time Sea Kittens had 6+ walks in a game? Against Dairyland 6/5/2025, when the Cats drew 7 walks, built a 12-0 lead, and lost 15-14.
- With 22 hits and 6 bases on balls in 38 plate appearances, the Sea Kittens’ 0.737 on-base percentage was the 3rd-highest ever posted in a game in club history. Only a 0.774 mark in the cosmic 34-11 win over Steal Your Base in October 2016 and a 0.750 OBP in a 22-2 victory over Annihilation in Flight in September 2018 topped last night’s.
- This was only the 4th time three or more Sea Kittens scored 4 runs in a game (Dan, Megan, & Joe). Last time it happened was the Spring 2022 Opener- April 21, 2022, when Stephen, Jami & Joe each scored 4. Before that- the 2016 Fall SYB game, when five players scored 4 or more, and in the Cats’ first fall-league game ever, August 26, 2010 (Erin, Seahorse Cichosz, and Doc Kornis)
- Stephen recorded his 200th hit as a Sea Kitten in the 1st inning!
- With his single in the second, Joe reached 1,000 total bases as a Sea Kitten
- Megan became only the 6th woman to score 4 runs in a game for the Cats- Jami has done it 6 times, Erin twice, and nobody else more than once.
- There in a new section under the “Records” tab for Sea Kitten single-game individual records!
- Emalie became the 11th woman to knock 4 hits in a game, and the first one other than Erin or Jami since May 15, 2019, when Helen “Boo Rabbit” Bradley had 4.
- Curiously this was the first time Emalie has played in a Sea Kitten game that didn’t end in a tie.
- Dan recorded his 6th game with at least 4 hits and 4 runs scored. Joe has 10 of those, Alex 4, Jami 3, Zen Master Rowe & Stephen two each.