Win Clinches Second-half Title & Championship Berth
Harmony Sea Kittens twice rallied from one-run deficits and held on to outlast Caribou Bou Crew for a 7-6 victory at Olbrich Park Wednesday night. The win was the fourth straight for Harmony (6-1 MSCR Monroe League, 4-0 second half) and clinched a berth in the Monroe League Championship game- the Sea Kittens’ first summer league title game berth since claiming the Denver League crown in 2012.
With the league’s two top-scoring offenses squaring off on a sublime mid-summer evening, the inevitable pitching-and-defense battle ensued. Each team’s starting pitcher issued a leadoff walk, but neither team’s two-through-four hitters could advance that runner from first base.
Roadrunner Hauer’s walk for the Cats was amazingly the team’s first of 2018.
Bou Crew (3-4, 2-1) pushed the game’s first run across in the second, with Jon Olson doubling home Kayla Wardlow with two out, but Sea Kitten starting pitcher Joe Hennessy induced the first of his five strikeouts to end the threat and the inning. Harmony responded in the bottom of the frame, with Dan Dynam-Oele scalding a one-out double just inside the third-base line and coming home on a two-out single from Joe Hennessy, his 21st RBI of the season matching his career summer-league high.
The Sea Kittens struck a strong defensive pose and held Caribou at bay in the second, and while the offense couldn’t deliver a big Cat rally it did enough to scratch out another run and gain a 2-1 advantage, with Sweet Thing Harkins sending
Heidibadger Nelson home with a two-out hit.
But the Caribou crew answered and retook the lead in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk set the Caribou offense in motion, and the Crew had plated two runs and put runners on first and second with nobody out in the inning. But Dynam-Oele and Man-Aaron Jossart teamed up to record back-to-back force outs at third, and Hennessy induced one more groundball to staunch the bleeding and keep Sea Kittens within a run.
Both teams squandered scoring opportunities in their next at-bats, Sea Kittens unable to capitalize on back-to-back two-out hits from Dynam-Oele and Schultzy Oele, while Caribou put runners on second and third with one out but could not push a run across.
Still trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the fifth, Red Shoes Hewitt gave the Harmony offense a much-needed jolt, legging out an infield single and dashing to second on an errant throw. Hewitt held at second on a Jossart infield hit- only the second time Los Gatitos managed back-to-back hits in the game- but got the Red Wheels turning when Nelson smacked a hot grounder into right-center and scored the equalizer. One out later Harkins and Mama Cat O’Brien notched consecutive RBI singles to give Harmony a 5-3 lead. With Sweet Thing on third, the Bou pitcher induced a towering pop from
Polish Puma Alex Latzka, but seeing a backpedaling SS, Harkins tagged and scored to earn the Puma a sacrifice fly (for which he probably owes Harkins a beer) and give Sea Kittens a more comfortable 6-3 lead.
Down to its final six outs, Caribou regrouped and charged back in the sixth. A hard leadoff double to left-center followed by a walk got the Crew’s inning started, and two more hits narrowed to score to 6-4 with runners on the corners and none out. But Dynam-Oele snagged a hot shot to third and caught Abbey Foulker breaking for home, where she met Ropes Curtis waiting with the ball. The run saved proved pivotal, as Caribou followed with two more hits to draw even at 6 runs apiece.
Oele & Oele connected for hits to set up the Sea Kittens with runners on the corners to open the bottom of the sixth, and Hennessy lofted a high fly out to the center-field warning track to bring home Dan and give Sea Kittens a new one-run lead. It was all the offense the team could muster, and in the end, all it would need.
Taylor Prechel blooped a hit to the short-left Bermuda triangle, plopping the ball between Oele, Jossart, and Harkins, but three straight groundouts sealed the win- and the second-half title for the Kittens.
Next Up
First-half play resumes at 8:30 PM vs Steal You Base next week, on Olbrich Field 3. Speculation is that Man-Aaron Jossart will make his first career pitching start. He would become only the 7th person to appear as a Sea Kitten starting pitcher. Steal Your Base is coming off back-to-back wins, upending Swinging’ Eagles 13-12 and thumping Wisco Kids 28-1.
Mark you calendar- Monroe League Championship August 15!
Game Notes
- Jami’s first-inning walk was the first of the season for Sea Kittens
Sea Kittens’ 5 sacrifice flies for the season are second only to the 8 the team collected in Summer 2012
- The win was only the sixth time the Cats have managed to win while scoring 7 runs or fewer- the team is 6-20 in those games all time. On the flip side, the team is only 9-11 when allowing 6 runs or fewer. Poor hitting is apparently contagious.
- Sea Kittens ended a stretch of 6 consecutive games in which they’d allowed at least one first-inning run, and moved to 33-19 when holding opponents scoreless in the first
- Laura has a new career best for RBI in a season (4), and has tied her career high for runs scored in a season (4, in 2015 & 2017)
- Dan has matched his career high for doubles (8, in Summer 2016)
- Jess has a new career high for RBI with 8- her previous best was 6 in Fall, 2017
- Joe topped his best summer league RBI total- 22 thus far, ahead of 21 he collected in Summer 2012. His career high is 29 in Fall, 2016. His 5 HR have also matched his career best, also set in Fall 2016.
Salmon Snacks
Where to begin???
- Snacks all around for the team grinding its way to a close win in a big game!!!
- Laura’s heads up, smart, aggressive base running was a huge spark, and she played a really nice game at 2B
- Heidi for punching through a clutch base hit to tie the game in the 5th. She was 2-2 with a run scored and RBI- including also hustling home from 2B on a single in the 3rd
- Dan for actually hitting- 3-3 with 3 doubles and 2 runs scored, including tagging up for the decisive run on Joe’s fly out
- Brad for his tag up & run scored in the 5th
- Dan & Kathering for their big play at the plate
- Man-Aaron for Man-Arroning SS for 7 solid innings
- And another great game from the Sea Kitten outfield- Alex, Brad, Jess, Jami, Heidi
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