Excalibur Skewers Kittens

Hoping to make a splashy debut in its first-ever Madison Sport and Social Club league game, Sea Kittens instead flopped helplessly in the deep, dry sand of Bowman Park Tuesday night.  Pitted against the MSSC Tuesday night summer league champion Excalibur (1-0), the Cats (0-1) came out flat and got flattened 25-6 in a game in which all possible breaks broke in favor of Excalibur.

Puma opens the fall season with a double

Playing without star infielder Dan DynamOele, who remains on the injured list with a non-softball injury, the Cats still entered the game with swagger, fielding a solid lineup bolstered by the additions of Slash Grutzik and Joe “The Pup” Bevington to the full-time roster, as well as rookie outfielder Kari Fenske.  Indeed, things started hot for the Sea Kitten side, with Alex “Polish Puma” Latzka burning for a double to open the game- the first-ever official at-bat for the Cats at Bowman Park.  Unfortunately, a hit is not enough to constitute a rally, and the Cats didn’t manage another one until two were out in the next inning.

Meanwhile, Joe Hennessy made the pitching start for Los Gatitos, and worked to exorcise the walk-demons that haunted him in his last outing.  Hennessy threw strikes, and Excalibur thanked him by slicing, dicing, popping and pounding the ball all over the field against the beleaguered Kitten defense.

Kari Fenske with a loud flyout to left in her first Sea Kitten plate appearance.  The rookie legged out her first career hit her second time up.

Playing in front of one of its largest crowds of the 2021 season, the Cats stayed in the cage for almost three full innings- a testament to the clubs’ grit, considering how poorly things looked like they were going. Sea Kittens even drew within 7-4 in the top of the third- an inning that ended with Sea Kittens stranding the bases loaded.  When Excalibur answered the Cats’ stalled rally with six runs in the bottom half of the inning-capped by a two-out grand slam after several dinks and dunks barely escaped the Kits’ mitts- the rout was on.

Bevington’s controversial interview:

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There were glimmers of the good Kittens- Grutzik and Mama Cat O’Brien turning a double play, Fenske singling and scoring her first run, Hennessy didn’t walk anybody.  The Pup made a splash with two hits and two runs scored. While Bevington also rapped his first extra-base hit, though observers overheard Mama Cat chiding the rook for not running the bases as brazenly as he ran his mouth in his pre-game interview, in which The Pup suggested “Oele might not have a job when he comes back.”  Upon seeing footage of the brash rookie’s chatter, Oele grimaced and said, “don’t make me laugh.”  It’s the kind of drama Sea Kittens have avoided organizationally; time will tell if tensions start to build in the clubhouse.

Salmon Snacks

• Dan a sack of salmon snacks to help him heal fully & swiftly!
• Kari for making her debut with a whole bunch of strangers! And for going 1-2 with a run scored in her debut.
• Stephen & Erin for completing a slick double play, and Erin for her valiant stretch to try to reach an errant throw
• Joe for a nice leaping snag on a line drive up the middle
• Alex & Bev for a throw-and-catch to nab a runner at third base
• Man- Aaron and Alex for each going 3-3 with a double and run scored
• All the Cats, to hopefully give us power to complete all the plays we *almost* made, next time!

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 Man-Aaron for winning the Week 10 Great Fillet for making a catch while dramatically falling into a hole in left field.

Game Notes

• The game was the first-ever for Sea Kittens in Madison Sport & Social Club play
• The game was the first official contest for the cats at Bowman Park- the team played its first-ever game at Bowman in a scrimmage at Bowman in 2010, and again scrimmaged at Bowman against magnetic Monopoles in 2012.  The ghosts of Hennessy and Tommy Tom Tom Seahorse Cichoz are still trying to complete the “grounder to pitcher, toss to third base” play.
• Sea Kittens had not played on a Tuesday since September, 2011, and are now 2-5 on Tiu’s day.
• Sea kittens are not good when starting games before 7 PM:
  • 3-7 in last 10 6:15/6:30 games, spanning the 2019 and 2021 seasons. The team in 12-4 when starting at 7 PM or later in the same years.
• Sea Kittens have always been bad in early games:
  • Between 2010-2016, the Cats went 11-23 when starting before 7 PM, and 35-34 when starting at 7 or later.
  • All time, Sea Kittens are 24-32 when starting before 7 PM, and 65-45 when starting at 7 PM or later.
• SEA KITTENS HAVE NO MORE 6:30 GAMES THIS FALL!!!
• Of the many ignominies Sea Kittens have suffered, this loss marks the first time the team has ever lost 3 consecutive games by double-digits.
• The 19-run loss matched the team’s third-worst ever, and was the biggest drubbing since May 22, 2013- a span of 129 games.
• After scoring more than 10 runs in each of its first 11 games of 2021 and averaging 14.9 runs/game in that stretch, Sea Kittens have scored a total of 9 runs in its last two games.
• The Cats had won their previous 4 fall league openers, and six straight opening nights overall (Summer + Fall) before the Tuesday loss.