Harmony Sea Kittens (2-0) cruised through the first two games of the 2018 MSCR Castle Rock Season, upending Baldwin Street Grille 23-7 and grounding Annihilation in Flight 22-2 in wins sandwiching a rainout September 5.
Sea Kittens are one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the league, but the final three games of the schedule will provide much sterner tests of the Kittens’ mettle than the season’s first two games provided. With another rainout tonight, the fall regular season will extend into October for only the second time in nine years. La llueve may have been advantageous for Los Gatitos, who were slated to play fellow unbeaten Wilson’s Cooler’s without the red-hot duo of Jami Roadrunner Hauer and Helen Boo Rabbit Bradley, who have posted a 0.692 combined on-base percentage through two games, with two extra-base hits from Bradley, and gave relief to the under-the-weather Man-Aaron Jossart and Brenna Flash Marsicek.
Cats Upend Grille
August 29, 2018
Playing in their first top-tier fall league game since 2013, Harmony Sea Kittens passed the test with aplomb, jumping to an 8-1 lead and recovering from a shaky defensive inning en route to a comfortable 23-7 win over Baldwin Street Grill August 29. The cats- Mama Cat and Polish Puma Latzka- led the Kittens’ attack, each notching four hits, with Latzka collecting a team- high six RBI in the process behind a triple and two inside-the-park home runs, the second of which froze the BSG right fielder in place with its awesomeness.
After spotting BSG a run in the top of the first, Latzka gave Harmony a 2-1 advantage with a line drive inside-the-parker through the right-center field gap that plated Kitten starting pitcher David Zen Master Rowe. Rowe buckled down and held BSG scoreless in the second, assisted by a slick 6-2 putout from shortstop Dynamo Dan Oele to Mama Cat at the plate. The bottom half of the Sea Kitten lineup got to business in the bottom half of the inning, punching through seven hits and scoring six runs, punctuated by a two-run triple by Boo Rabbit and a two-run homer from Stephen Grutzik in back-to-back at-bats that gave Harmony an 8-1 lead.
The comfortable advantage was short-lived, however, as the Sea Kitten defense exhibited a bit of Sea Kitten-ness in the top of the third. The miscues weren’t necessarily egregious, but some misreads in the outfield and an off-target throw here or there opened the door for BSG to strike back with six runs of their own and cut the Cat advantage to 8-7.
The unruffled Kittens turned around and won the inning, with four of the first five Kitten batters mashing extra-base hits en route to a 7-run tally that ended only when an exuberant O’Brien was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second after a Rowe single.
Harmony cruised after that and Rowe pitched shutouts in the final two frames, aided again by Oele & O’Brien, who tuned a nifty 6-3 double play in the fourth, and the Cats kept posting runs until the game was ended by some unclear combination of time cap and mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth with Sea Kittens up 23-7.
Kittens Ground Flight
September 12, 2018
Showing no ill effects of a rainout-caused layoff, Harmony Sea Kittens (2-0) strolled past Annihilation in Flight (0-2) 22-2 September 12 at Olbrich Park. Reports from the game suggest mosquitoes were the only flying vessels of annihilation present at Olbrich Park that warm September eve.
Polish Puma Latzka and Flash Marsicek set the tone for the Sea Kitten evening, opening the bottom of the first with back-to-back walks, the first of eight Sea Kittens would accept from the startlingly erratic AiF pitcher. Dynamo Dan Oele opened the Kitten scoring with a run-producing single, but when AiF retired the next two batters it looked like the Harmony rally would stall before it really began. But Roadrunner Hauer drew a base on balls to load the bases, and Sweet Thing Harkins patiently accepted three straight wild ones for a two-run two-base walk. Ropes Curtis took a stroll to re-load the bases, and then Zen Master Rowe surprised the bejeezus out of the AiF defense by swinging the bat and lacing a bases-clearing triple. Helen Boo Rabbit Bradley brought Rowe home with a hit and gave the Cats a 7-0 lead from which they never glanced back.
After Harmony scored three in the second inning- without drawing a walk- AiF got on the scoreboard in the third with a pair of runs to make it a 10-2 ballgame.
The Puma and Boo Rabbit recreated their famous chase around the bases in the bottom of the third- again with the rabbit (thankfully) winning as Latzka cranked his third inside-the park home run of the season in two games. With two out in the inning, the Kitten offense got on an unprecedented roll, and 11 straight Sea Kittens- every batter in the lineup- reached base safely via 10 hits and a walk. They mayhem on the bases led to 10 additional runs and a 22-2 Kitten advantage. When Rowe and the defense held AiF scoreless again, the game was halted by 20-run mercy rule.
Game Notes, through two games
- The first two fall games were the teams 18th & 19th times scoring 20 or more runs
- It’s the first time Sea Kittens have achieved 20+ runs in back-to-back games since the first two fall league games they ever played, August 26 and September 9, 2010
- Sea Kittens have averaged 20 runs/ game on Olbrich 1 in the past six games they’ve played there, despite a 4-run effort (and win) against KL Engineering in that stretch
- The 12-run 3rd against Annihilation in Flight ties the 5th-biggest inning in Sea Kitten history.
- It’s the first 10+ run inning for Sea Kittens since September 13, 2017, when the Cats put up 13 in the 4th against Steal Your Base
- Sea Kittens have scored 10 or more runs in an inning 13 times, and are 12-0 in games in which they’ve accomplished the feat
- Sea Kittens have allowed 10 or more in an inning 8 times, and are 2-6 in those games
- Sea Kittens scored 10 in the 3rd against Annihilation in Flight the first time the two teams met- September 26, 2012
- The team’s eight walks in game 2 were two shy of the summer squad’s season total!
- It’d take a bit of archive-combing, but I am 99% certain Sea Kittens have never sent 10 or more consecutive hitters to the plate without making an out, as the 11 players in the game 2 lineup did. Amazing!
- Joe’s absence in week 2 ended his record consecutive games-played streak at 60, including 51 MSCR games and nine Harmony Tournament games
- Dan has played in 54 consecutive MSCR games, the longest active streak
- Overall Dan has played 38 consecutive games, also the longest active streak. The second-longest active is Laura (who doesn’t play fall ball) at 27 games; among those on the fall roster, it’s Alex at eight.
- Erin & Heidi are the only players besides Dan & Joe who have ever played in 30 or more consecutive games
- Not naming names, but five Sea Kittens have yet to make an out this Fall
- Alex became just the seventh player to collect six or more RBI in a game
- Alex’s 3 inside-the-park home runs are tied for most in team history in a single season (Joe in Summer, 2010, and matched by Alex in Summer 2018)
- His 3 HR are tied with Andy for #2 of the fall league all-time list, trailing only Joe’s 5 in Fall, 2016.
- Helen joins Erin, Hadley Boehm, Stephanie Jolitz, and Kendra Haight as the only women to collect a double and a triple in the same season
- Erin notched her fifth career 4+ hit game
- It was the first time a Sea kitten woman has played a full game in the leadoff spot and had a perfect night at the plate. Heidi went 2-2 on July 17, 2013 before Hadley subbed in and went 0-1; Christie Ralston went 2-2 June 9, 2010 before Michelle Zoom Zoom Szomi subbed and went 0-2, and Erin subbed in for an 0-2 Szomi June 16, 2010 and went 2-2.
- Erin (5) and Jami (2) are the only two women to have 4 or more hits in a single game multiple times
Salmon Snacks
- Just help yourselves
Game 1:
- Stephen for subbing, even though in the end Aaron was able to stay. Stephen batted three times and ended up only a double short of the cycle
- Dan & Erin for the heads-up, run-saving 6-2 putout, shortstop to catcher
- Dan & Erin for completing a nice 6-3 double-play
- Katherine for a 3-3 night, even if Man-Aaron hit into three consecutive fielder’s choices behind her, and went on to score 3 runs 🙂
- Alex for a big night, going 4-4 with a triple, 2 HR, and 6 RBI
- Erin for a 4-4 night in the leadoff spot
- Brenna for a 3-3 night
- Helen for the big 2-run triple
Game 2:
- Dan for managing and Alex for lugging all the gear around, and Potter for scoring!
- Kyle for his first inside-the-park HR on a fenced diamond since 2013!
- Dave for his bases-loaded triple, which was apparently very exciting
- Alex for carving up right field again for another triple and inside-the-parker
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