Sea Kittens returned to action in a MSSC Falcon Division semifinal tilt against Dairyland Dingers at Bowman Park June 19. Two weeks ago the Cats saw a 12-0 first-inning lead evaporate into a 15-14 loss to DD, but this time the team was ready for the test. The Dingers jumped to a slim early lead is this one, but Sea Kittens clawed back in the 4th inning to climb on top, and then salted the game away in the 6th.
There was no first-inning outburst for Sea Kittens this week, as the team went down 1-2-3 in the first inning- the first time this season the Cats did not score at least two first-inning runs, but the SK defense answered with a goose egg of their own. That zero ended a string of 17 innings in which the Cats had allowed at least one run.
John “Sea Beast” Corrigan opened the top of the Sea Kitten 2nd inning with a triple to right and dashed home on a productive back-side groundout from All Day Kendra Haight, but it was all the offense the Cats could scratch up. The 1-0 lead did not last long, as DD matched it in the bottom of the frame. The damage against starting pitcher Joe Hennessy could have been worse, but left-fielder Corrigan combined with shortstop Braden “Gas” Furness and catcher David “The Ringer” Engeldinger to cut down a runner at the plate for the inning’s final out.
Despite putting their first two runners on base in the top of the third, Sea Kittens could not push a run across, and Dingers jumped ahead with a deuce in their half. But the Cats came back- they wouldn’t stay away. They came back in the very next inning that they played. Engeldinger opened with a booming triple off the right-field fence, and Megan “Slam” Salm ripped a single to center to bring him home. Corrigan singled, and Haight loaded the bases with a walk. Josh “Rusty” Weber dug in and evened the game at 3 with a sacrifice fly that brought home Salm. One out later Erin Mama Cat O’Brien delivered a clutch two-out single, scoring Corrigan and putting Sea Kits up 4-3.
Megan slammin’ home a run in the Sea Kittens’ 4th.
The game hun on the balance of that slim margin for the next two innings. Furness made a nifty pick as he ranged behind second base to end the Dingers’ 4th, and after the Cats ingloriously went down in order by strikeouts in the top of the 5th, Man-Aaron Jossart, Zen Master Rowe, and Salm turned a textbook 6-4-3 double play to preserve the Cats’ advantage in the bottom of the inning.
Shaking off the ignominy of the previous inning- as any Cat would do- Rowe opened the Sea Kitten 6th with a walk and Engeldinger mashed a no-doubt homer to left to give Los Gatitos some breathing room. One out later Sea Kittens finally strung together a rally. The Sea Beast doubled, Haight singled, and Weber knocked home a run. A fielder’s choice followed, but the Cats weren’t done as Mama Cat and Furness each delivered huge two-out hits to extend the Cats’ advantage to 9-3.
With room to breathe Sea Kittens cruised through the game’s final two innings, holding Dairyland scoreless and punching their ticket to the club’s 7th league championship game in the last 3+ years. The Cats just had to sit back and wait for the 7:30 semifinal between top-seeded and unbeaten Foul Territory (6-0) against fifth-seeded Duckblind NASCAR Divorce (4-3).
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Kittens | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Dingers | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen Master Rowe | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David “The Ringer” Engeldinger | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Megan “Slam” Salm | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Corrigan | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendra All Day Haight | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh “Rusty” Weber | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Braden “Gas” Furness | 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 |
| Man-Aaron Jossart | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Abi Fredrich | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
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
- Erin & Braden’s huge back-to-back two-out RBI singles in the 6th
- Erin also for her go-ahead 2-out single in the 4th
- Aaron, Dave & Megan turning a nice 6-4-3 double play to end the 5th
- John-Braden-David’s 7-6-2 putout at the plate to end the 2nd
- John was 3-3 with a 2B & 3B and 3 RS
- David for the 5th-inning homer
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!
What's your pick for Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game?
- Erin's two-out single in the 6th that gave the Cats much-needed breathing room (0%, 0 Votes)
- John-Braden- David's 7-6-2 putout at the plate to end the 2nd (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 0
Game Notes
- The victory secured the Sea Kittens’ 10th Championship game berth
- When the Cats held Dingers scoreless in the 1st, it ended a string of allowing runs in 17 consecutive innings- matching but not breaking the longest such streak in team history, set in Summer 2024.
- Josh had an arcane achievement: he was 1-1 with a walk and sacrifice fly- it’s only the second time a player has had a hit, walk, and SF in only 3 plate appearances. Aaron did it May 23, 2012.
- It occurs to us that every time Megan reaches base we can say “Salm on…” as in Salmon… which is pretty awesome.
- Joe’s hitting streak ended at 73 games, 4th-longest in the Sea Kittens books.
- Stephen’s is still the longest, and active at 80 games
- Josh has the next-longest active streak at 40 games. It dates back to 2014- his Infield Flies days when he subbed for the Kits.
- Joe went 0-5 this season against that guy from DD and hopes he never faces him again!
Sea Kittens’ longest hitting streaks
| Player | Games | Start Date | End Date |
| Stephen Slash Grutzik | 80 | 8/19/2018 | current |
| Joe Hennessy | 77 | 5/13/2015 | 7/31/2019 |
| Dan DynamOele | 76 | 6/10/2015 | 10/9/2019 |
| Joe Hennessy | 73 | 10/26/2021 | 6/19/2025 |
| Zen Master Rowe | 46 | 5/18/2016 | 5/22/2019 |
| Dan DynamOele | 42 | 6/2/2021 | 7/6/2023 |
| Josh Rusty Weber | 40 | 7/9/2014 | current |
| Alex Puma Latzka | 37 | 5/15/2019 | 6/9/2022 |
| Zen Master Rowe | 33 | 8/25/2022 | 8/22/2024 |
| Jonny Jon Jon Shabidu Hansen, Jr. | 30 | 6/20/2012 | current |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 29 | 8/4/2021 | 9/22/2022 |
| Sweet Thing Harkins | 23 | 8/17/2014 | 6/7/2017 |
| Tommy Seahorse Shabidu Cichosz, Jr. | 22 | 7/24/2013 | 5/27/2015 |