Cats Dash to Victory

In Madison Sport & Social Club Thursday night play, Sea Kittens (5-0) kept pace with Fingers Don’t Lose (5-0) ahead of the teams’ first-place showdown September 22 with a 16-5 win over Miniature Equine Aficionados (3-2) September 15. The Puma Latzka, Roadrunner Hauer, and Joe Hennessy collected four hits apiece in the Cats’ 25-hit attack, which included a team-record tying four triples.

Hosts for the first time in four weeks, Sea Kittens were ready to play defense from the get-go, with shortstop Dan DynamOele and first basewoman Hilary Dugan closing out the first inning with a slick 6-3 double play behind Hennessy, who was making his fifth consecutive start in the absence of Zen Master Rowe. The Sea Kitten offense set to work immediately with the Puma opening the inning with a hustle double (™ David Rowe 2011) and dashing home on a single from Slash Grutzik.  Roadrunner singled, and Slash came home on a scarify fly from DynamOele.  Hennessy lined a single up the middle to bring Roadrunner home, and Sea Kittens went ahead 3-0.

The little horse lovers answered in the top of the second, touching up the Cats for three runs to tie the game, the big hit a smash near enough to the third base bag to be called “fair,” much to the surprise of flat-footed Kitten onlookers.

Tied for the first time in the Fall season, Los Gatitos answered the bell.  Dave Engeldinger, TayTay Peltier, and The Puma loaded the bases, and Grutzik worked a run-scoring walk for his second RBI of the game.  Hauer knocked home a run, and the DynamOele and Hennessy shook things up with back-to-back triples to push the Cats’ advantage to 8-3.

MEA reared back and charged the Kittens again, bringing home a run and loading the bases, but Engeldinger got on his own full-size horse and galloped into deep centerfield to snag a booming fly ball to end the inning before significant damage to the Kitten cause could be done.

Each team held serve through the others’ next at-bats, but Sea Kittens broke the horses in the fourth.  Roadrunner ignited the rally with a leadoff single, DynamOele doubled, and Hennessy brought them both home with a line drive single just out of reach of the sprawling MEA shortstop.  Hits from AaLo Lomax and Red Shoes Hewitt loaded the bases with Sea Kittens, and Engeldinger knocked home two more runs.  Red Shoes wheeled home from second base on an RBI knock from The Puma added and the Sea Kitten advantage swelled to 13-3.

The Cats padded the lead in the fifth, leading 15-5 entering the bottom of the sixth as the time cap neared.  TayTay beat out a one-out infield single, and then experienced the primal rush of being chased around the bases by The Puma- a rite of Sea Kittens passage when Latzka decides he wants a triple.  Peltier raced to the plate safely, and with that final run home the game was called.

 

Salmon Snacks

• Gretchen because we love you and are still thinking of you!
• Alex, Jami & Joe each went 4-4.
• Dave for subbing and making That Catch.
• Dan & Hilary for their slick double play.
• Laura and Taylor for their dashes- Tay getting the experience of being chased by The Puma!
• Stephen for the steady glove work at 3B and keeping his hitting streak alive on a scuffly night.
• Taylor, Dave, & Aaron to help heal their tweaky bodies.

 

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 Jami for winning the Great Fillet last week for her nifty grab at first base in her career debut at the position.

Next Up

In the Fall League regular-season finale, Sea Kittens (5-0) host Fingers Don’t Lose (5-0) Thursday, September 22 at 8:30 PM on Bowman Park Field 1.  The league’s two unbeaten squads will tussle for the top playoff seed. Fingers Don’t Lose is 21-0 across the three 2022 seasons, and defeated the Cats 12-7 on July 7 in the clubs’ only matchup thus far. Sea Kittens played without DynamOele and Latzka in that game, which saw FDL jump to a 9-2 lead before the Cats scrapped back late.  Provided he’s cleared for softball activities, Zen Master Rowe will get the start for the Cats, who’ll be without a number of last week’s offensive sparks- Latzka, Hauer, and Peltier.

Game Notes

• The Cats’ four triples tied the team record- the only other times Sea Kittens have had quadruple triples in a single game came May 16 (Gretchen, Man-Aaron, Zen Master & Joe) and June 20, 2012 (Detroit Josh Ghena, Boom Boom Magyera, Gretchen, and Erin). That was 169 games ago.
• The 2022 Sea Kittens have the most calendar-year wins in team history.  The Cats sit at 16-3-1 for 2022; the 2016 team went 14-5 in MSCR & Harmony Tournament play, and the 2018 team went 14-4 in MSCR & Harmony games.
• Alex & Jami became the 4th Sea Kittens couple to each collect four or more hits in a game!  Erin & Joe have accomplished the feat three times, most recently April 21, 2022; Dan & Jess each knocked four hits May 18, 2016, and Gretchen & Jon were the first to do it, May 16, 2012.
  • It was the 4th 4-hit game of Jami’s career.
• Jami has scored 10 runs in only three games in the Fall season- a career high.  Erin & Gretchen share the record for most by a Sea Kitten woman (12; Erin has done that three times), and Heidi is the only other woman to score 11 or more in a season..
• Laura’s 1st-inning at-bat was the 300th plate appearance of his career- she started playing softball in 1994 with Nature Conservancy, transferred to Echo Taps Mighty Oaks in the early 2000s. She made her Sea Kitten debut at the Harmony Tournament in 2012, and joined full-time in Summer, 2013.  She’s 7th on the team’s all-time games played list (88).
• Joe matched Dave for most wins for a starting pitcher in a single season with his 5th; Dave had five in Summer 2018.
  • Joe became only the third person to start five consecutive games for the Cats- Doc Kornis started six straight in Summer 2011 and five in a row in Fall, 2010, and Dave started five straight in Fall, 2021.