Kits Look to Rewrite Records in Final Tune-up

Harmony Sea Kittens (8-1, 4-0) square off with Wisco Kids (1-8, 0-4) in the conclusion of MSCR Monroe League regular season play, 7:30 PM Wednesday at Olbrich Park. In the midst of a 6-game winning streak, Sea Kittens look to extend the franchise record for wins in a season and get some tune-up action for Zen Master Rowe and Boom Boom Magyera in advance of the team’s August 15 Championship game against Swingin’ Eagles. Rowe returns to action after a 4-game stint on the disabled list and Magyera from a 3-week European food & drink bender.

While Harmony dispatched Wisco 19-8 in the 2018 season opener and the latter’s single win came via forfeit, the Cats will strive to continue to play an efficient defensive game and continue last week’s re-start of offensive momentum. However, long-time Sea Kitten followers know the club has a knack for playing to the level of its competition and a cat-like tendency to play with its opponents rather than dispatching them quickly. Sea Kittens can make anything exciting. While the game will not impact the league’s final standings, it will provide the team and a number of individuals the opportunity to make a significant re-write of the Sea Kitten record book. In what is becoming an annual tradition, we’ll dedicate space to the chase and see who gets inspired and who gets all screwed up by the information!

Team Records Within Reach

2018 Sea Kitten Records Pursuit
Category	Record	Current
Doubles	36	34
Home Runs	16	13
Extra Base Hits	61	56
Batting Average	0.533	0.526
On-base PCT	0.551	0.541
Slugging PCT	0.788	0.824

Last week the 2018 summer squad eclipsed the 100-run mark, and its 103 runs scored are #3 on the all-time list, trailing only the high-octane 2016 club (144 runs scored in 10 games) and 2012 Championship team (130 in 11 games). Recall that this year’s Kits benefited from a forfeit win, so its 12.9 runs/game is currently #2 on the all-time list. Catching the 2016 team is a tall order, and matching the 2012 team’s championship is the primary goal, but a number of other offensive marks-all established in 2016- are there for the 2018 team’s taking.

Dynamo Chasing Mercury

Dan DynamOele has provided a substantial amount of firepower to the Sea Kitten offense, and the veteran third baseman stands within reach of a number of marks set by Andy “Mercury” Stevens in Summer 2016. The re-write could come just in time, too, as Stevens signed a Fall League contract August 7 and will return to Sea Kittens in September. Oele currently sports an 0.852 batting average- well above his career-best 0.794 and just ahead of Mercury’s 0.829 Summer League record. Oele is within reach of Joe Hennessy’s 0.875 all-time mark, established in Fall, 2016 when he did little else but care for newborns, sleep, lift, and take BP. Oele’s 23 hits and 10 doubles are just behind Stevens’ records of 29 and 12, respectively, and by scoring four more times, Oele would eclipse Hennessy’s 2016 record 22 runs scored. With 14 extra-base hits, he’s also got a shot to top his own record- 18 in 2016. After homering in five consecutive games to open the season and driving in 20 runs in that span, Hennessy seemed poised to supplant Oele on two record book lines, but Hennessy’s pace has cooled and he sits at five HR and 25 RBI, needing a big two-game finish to match or pass Oele’s Summer 2016 8 HR/ 33 RBI. Still, Hennessy has matched his career high in HR and could top the 29 RBI he collected in Fall 2016– though he could also see one of his and one of the team’s oldest records fall. Alex “Polish Puma” Latzka has collected three triples this summer, one shy of matching the four Hennessy notched in Summer, 2013.

Mama Cat & Schultzy continue co-authoring

On the women’s side, Mama Cat O’Brien is in the midst of another solid Sea Kitten campaign. She sits at 12 hits through 8 games, and once again has a shot to top the 15-hit team record- a number she’s achieved twice (2012, 2014) and shares with Gretchen G-bomb Hansen (2012). Both Mama Cat (7 RBI) and Schultzy Oele (8) have a chance to top O’Brien ( 2010) and Hansen’s (2012) 9 RBI Summer League record, but have more work to match the 14 RBI O’Brien collected in Fall, 2017. Similarly, the pair could erase one of the strangest Sea Kitten records: no SK woman has managed more than two doubles in a single summer season. O’Brien hit three triples in Summer, 2012 and 9 doubles in seven games in Fall, 2017, but has not hit more than two doubles in a single summer. Slaminn’ Ellen Hamann (2016) was the only other woman to hit two doubles in a summer until Schultzy joined the club in 2018. Both Schultzy and Mama Cat have collected two in 2018.

Individual Highlights Abound

• Jami Roadrunner Hauer could become the first Sea Kitten woman to hit 0.400 or better in her first Summer season. After a slow start, Roadrunner picked her pace considerably and has gone 8-14 over her past four games to raise her batting average to 0.417
• Sweet Thing Harkins has bounced back-and then some-from his 2017 sophomore slump. The 2016 Rookie of the Year has collected six extra-base-hits (including his first home run) after hitting extra base hit in each of his first two summers. He’s also matched his career high with 12 runs scored and established a new career best with 8 RBI- and counting. His 0.696 batting average is a lot closer to the 700 Club than it is to his current career-best 0.568.
• Zen Master Rowe, despite missing a month of action, has collected four doubles and could match or top the six he hit in 2012. His 0.692 batting average is also ahead of the 0.655 mark he posted as a rookie in 2011.
• Heidibadger Nelson is also working on a 0.400 season. With her average sitting at 0.417, her career-best 0.438 is within reach.
• Boom Boom Magyera has whacked two homers, matching the two he hit in Fall, 2017. His 0.941 slugging percentage is ahead of the 0.923 he slugged in Summer, 2013.
• Playing his first full summer season, Latzka could join Stevens, DynamOele, and Hennessy as the only players to post a 10-run/ 20-hit/15-RBI season. He’s at 8 runs/ 15 hits/ 12 RBI.  With two more extra base hits of any variety, he could join the same trio as the only Cats to have collected 10 or more extra-base hits in a single season.  Earlier this summer Panthera latzka became to 10th Sea Kitten to double, triple, and homer in one season.

Red Shoes Hewitt– our feature player of the week! Check out her updated player page. Laura “Red Shoes” Hewitt has set new career highs in runs scored and RBI this summer. Her daring dash in Sea Kittens 7-6 win over Caribou Bou Crew July 18 was a pivotal moment in that game and the team’s season, bringing life to a slumbering offense and sparking a four-run rally that secured the game and Harmony’s spot in the Monroe League Championship Game.