Springtime arrived in Madison for a third and perhaps final time, and with it idyllic evenings for Sea Kittens softball. Los Gatitos tangled with Roughneck Maulers last Thursday night and scurried away victorious after a tough scrap, rallying late to win 11-8 and move to 2-0 on the spring season.
As the team did in its opening-night win, Sea Kittens came out swinging. The Cats put their first four runners on base, plating two runs on RBI hits from Alex Puma Latzka and Dan DynamOele. One out later, Joe Hennessy & AaLo Lomax drove home two more, and Sea Kittens jumped to a 4-0 first-inning lead.
But Roughneck Maulers answered, and answered big. The Maulers peppered the Kitten defense, finding enough gaps and grass to match the Cats’ tally- and then some. By the time the bottom of the first inning ended, the Maulers had made a statement and staked a 6-4 advantage.
Dave Rowe deliver his first of two hustle doubles to drive in the Cats’ fifth run.
Man-Aaron Jossart led of the Kitten second with a 2-base walk and dashed home on a one-out single from Zen Master Rowe to trim the club’s deficit to one run, but the Cats couldn’t drive home another as the Maulers stymied the Kittens’ hitters. The teams’ next two half-innings went quietly, but Maulers nicked Hennessy- making his first start of the season- for two more in the bottom of the third to extend their advantage to 8-5.
Time and innings ticked by. The Cats went down 1-2-3 in the 4th, but after a lead-off hit in the bottom of the inning, Oele & Roadrunner Jami Hauer combined for three straight 6-4 putouts to hold serve.
With the game’s time limit approaching, Sea Kittens faced their final chance to get something going. Rowe dug in to lead off the Cats’ fifth inning and blooped a hit to short center field. Seeing how deep the Maulers’ outfielder was, the Zen Master rounded first and dug for second, sliding in just under the tag with one of the hustle doubles that have been a trademark of his Sea Kitten career. Slash Grutzik stepped up and smashed a rocket to third, but the Maulers’ third baseman snagged the shot, checked Rowe back to second, and retired Grutzik for the first out of the inning, leaving the Cats with two outs to play with.
Roadrunner batted next and hit a roller to short, but wheeled down the line and beat out an infield hit that extended the Cats’ lives. The Puma drew a walk to load the bases, and Oele ripped a single to left-center, scoring Rowe & Hauer and bringing Sea Kittens within one. Mama Cat erin O’Brien followed with a sharp grounder up the middle into center field, and Latzka raced home to tie the game at eight. Hennessy followed with a go-ahead two-run triple, driving a pitch left on the outer half to the right-center field fence, and trotted home an out later on a single from Chil Hil Dugan.
Down by three runs and down to their final three outs, Maulers battled back, loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth. But even with pressure building, the Kitten defense held on to preserve the come-from-behind victory.
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Kittens | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Roughnecks | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen “Slash” Grutzik | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jami “Roadrunner” Hauer | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex The Puma Latzka | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan DynamOele | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron “Aa-Lo” Lomax | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chill Hil Dugan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sweet Thing Harkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Man-Aaron Jossart | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sunshine Curtis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zen Master Rowe | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 30 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Roughnecks
| 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
- Jami for the first 4-4 night of 2023
- Alex for the Cats’ first quadruple of the year
- All the cats who just kept hitting
- Laura for ending a bases-loaded Prairie Dogs rally in the top of the 1st with a forceout at home
- Hilary for an outfield assist at 3B- through Stephen to AaJo
- Stephen for a rangy play up the middle in the 4th & a nice scoop by Erin at first to complete the play
- Dave for issuing zero walks in the first start of the season
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 the trio of Hilary-Stephen-Man-Aaron on their Great Fillet last week- a outfield assist from LF to 3B.
What's your pick for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game?
- Joe's tie-breaking triple in the top of the 5th (67%, 2 Votes)
- Dan's nice sliding stop at shortstop to end the Maulers' 4th inning (33%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 3
Next Up
The Cats (2-0) next take the field against high-scoring Busch Lattes (1-1) in the Thursday nightcap- 8:30 PM, May 11, Bowman Field 1.
Game Notes
- By erasing a 3-run deficit in the 5th (and final) inning, the win was the biggest final-inning, come-from-behind victory for Sea Kittens since August 18, 2018, when the Cats trailed 16-11 entering the 7th inning of a Harmony Tournament game against Andrea’s Team. Sea Kittens plated 8 and held on to win 19-16- this was also the game that saw Sea Kittens claw their way out of a 14-3 first-inning hole.
- In last week’s game, Erin notched career hit #300.