Several player absences forced Sea Kittens into some novel defensive alignments in their matchup against Foul Territory last week, but in the end the defense shined and the Cats (2-1-1) breezed past Foul Territory (0-4) 18-5 at Bowman Park July 24.
The Cats opened the contest a bit short-handed, as not all of the player absences were expected [let’s just get this out of the way; not like we’re going to give her grief about it for a while…] as Kendra “All Day” Haight missed the memo about the 7:30 start time, and her name may have been mildly besmirched when the first Foul Territory batter found grass between two Kitten outfielders. But really, who besmirches Kendra when it comes to softball? Either way, a defensive gem turned that frown upside down when Man-Aaron Jossart, Jami Roadrunner Hauer, and David The Ringer Engeldinger spun a 5-4-3 double play behind Sea Kitten starting pitcher Joe Hennessy to erase the FT baserunner.
Alex “Puma” Latzka and John “Sea Beast” Corrigan opened the Sea Kitten first with a pair of walks as the Foul territory pitcher had a little difficulty calibrating his chuckin’ distance. The Roadrunner- not one to wait around for a walk- plunked a single into center to open Sea Kitten scoring, and David Zen Master Rowe brought home another run on a fielder’s choice.
Foul Territory cut the Cats’ 2-0 lead in half in the top of the 2nd, but Hennessy induced a strikeout with one out and the Sea Kitten defense ended the threat one batter later.
In the bottom of the 2nd the Sea Kitten offense found its groove and starting pumping out the hits. the first five Kittens to step to the plate singled and expanded the Cats’ lead to 4-1. The rally slowed for a moment but didn’t stall, and four more Sea Kittens delivered two-out hits to put Sea Kittens ahead 9-1.
After a quick top of the 3rd– during which Kendra arrived and raced to the outfield, still wiping nap-time sleep from her eyes- the Kitten offense picked up where it left off. Corrigan, Engeldinger, and Hennessy all delivered doubles among the Sea Kittens five hits in the frame and the Kitten advantage grew to 14-1.
The Sea Beast rips his first of two doubles. Through 4 games he leads the Cats with 7 two-baggers, most since Stephen “Slash” Grutzik hit 8 in Summer 2023. Only three players- Mercury Stevens (12,9), Dan DynamOele (12,11), and Mama Cat O’Brien (9) have ever hit more than 8 in a season for Sea Kittens.
Hennessy took a seat for the 4th and passed the ball to Man-Aaron for his first pitching appearance since 2021. Jossart also needed a moment- and the fuel of some sideline mockery from sometime-Sea Kitten Spencer Hesse- to calibrate chuckin’ distance, but found his rhythm and held Foul Territory to four runs which the Cats promptly answered with a 4-spot of their own in the bottom of the inning. MAJ cruised through the 5th, and the Sea Kittens cruised home with an 18-5 win.
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Kittens | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | x | 18 |
| Foul Territory | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex The Puma Latzka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Corrigan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jami “Roadrunner” Hauer | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zen Master Rowe | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David “The Ringer” Engeldinger | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sunshine Curtis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Man-Aaron Jossart | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Red Shoes Hewitt | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Braden “Gas” Furness | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kendra All Day Haight | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 36 | 18 | 23 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Foul Territory
| 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
- Kendra for making the game!!! 🙂
- Everybody who helped keep track of the batting order while we waited (for) All Day
- Aaron, Jami & David for the 5-4-3 double play in the 1st- that was slick
- Jami & David also each had 4-hit games
- Aaron for finding his groove on the pitching bump
- Josh, to help his lil baby stop screaming so he can come to the next game
- Laura for getting on base 3 times- two hits & a walk
- all the people who filled in around the infield- Aaron, Dave, David, Joe- even John took a spin at 3rd base!
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! Last week Erin & Megan garnered 7 votes to earn the Great Fillet (that’s a huge total by GFG standards) for their tie-preserving 3-2 putout at the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning.
What's your pick for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game?
- aaron, Jami & David going around the horn for a 5-4-3 double play in the 1st (80%, 4 Votes)
- Kendra arriving (20%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 5
Next Up
Sea Kittens (2-1-1) host The Hitmen (2-2-1) Thursday July 31 in a 7:30 contest on Bowman Field 1. It’s a Zen Master Rowe birthday special! In 2019- the last time the Cats played on July 31- Rowe was absent and Silver Eagle mauled the Kittens 18-3.
Game Notes
- The past two games mark the first time Sea Kittens have hit 5 or more doubles in back-to-back contests since a double header on September 7, 2023.
- Two career milestones were achieved in the 2nd inning this week:
- Dave’s RBI was the 200th of his career; he’s the 3rd person to reach that benchmark.
- Man-Aaron made his 400th plate appearance! He’s the eighth member of that club.
- Aaron last pitched August 25, 2021, in mop-up duty in a game in which Silver Eagle mauled the Kittens 19-3. That was the Cats’ last game in MSCR play.
great 4 hitting J!