June 13, 2018
Sweet Thing Harkins led off the Sea Kitten offense with a sweet double to left-center, his first of the season.
A week removed from suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Swingin’ Eagles (2-2 MSCR Monroe League, 0-1 second half), Harmony Sea Kittens (3-1, 1-0) struck back for a satisfying 12-5 victory.
The rematch started much the same way as the first contest ended, with the Eagles’ offense methodically posting runs in each inning while Sea kittens struggled to string together hits after Sweet Thing Harkins and Schultzy Schultz opened the Sea Kitten first with back-to-back doubles. Starting pitcher Zen Master Rowe (2-0) did his part to keep the contest close, snuffing an Eagle rally in the first with two strikeouts and the Sea Kitten defense was solid behind him, but the Cats still trailed 4-2 when three-and-a-half innings were in the book.
Dan Dynam-Oele opened the Sea Kitten 4th with a double and advanced to third one out later on a Boom Boom Magyera single. Mama Cat O’Brien stepped to the plate and delivered a much-needed RBI single to pull Harmony within a run. The Polish Puma followed that with bloop to center to score Magyera and tie the game, but O’Brien — having to wait to see if the ball would drop- was forced at second.
The one-man Eagles’ crowd got boisterous in the fifth inning, heckling the Zen Master relentlessly and forcing the Kitten twirler to dig deep into his Well of Serenity. A pair of Eagles infield singles from the bottom of the Eagle order didn’t help, and the team took a 5-4 lead with a third hit. With one out and runners on first and second, Rowe recorded another big strikeout and induced a fly to left to end the rally and- momentarily- quiet The Fan.
Joe Hennessy did his part to end the Eagles’ chirping for good, swatting the first pitch of the Harmony half of the inning for a vicious game-tying home run to left. Flash Marsicek- called up to replace the injured Karlin Younger- ripped a double to center and came home on a Rowe double. When Harkins followed with a run-scoring hit, it marked the first time since the team’s May 16 opener that the offense managed to record 4 consecutive hits. Schultzy pushed the Kitten lead to 8-5 with an RBI groundout. Oele singled to re-set the table, and with two out in the inning Boom Boom provided the fireworks and a 10-5 Harmony advantage with a lofty home run to left.
Buoyed by the offensive outburst, the Cats set down the Eagles 1-2-3 in the 6th, and the Puma rocked a liner to right-center to open the Kitten sixth, circling the bases for an inside-the-park home run, hist first of the season. After tacking on yet another insurance run, the Sea Kitten defense snuffed the Eagles’ last gasps with a pair of nifty fielders’ choices to end the game.
Next Up
With its June 20 contest washed out by a week of rain, Sea Kittens will next play familiar foes Steal Your Base at 8:30 PM June 27 on Olbrich Field 3.
Game Notes
The win brought the Sea Kittens overall record in MSCR play to 64-64- the first time the team has been at the break-even point since defeating Goodman Goons 9-1 August 10, 2011.
Sea Kittens have not yet drawn a base on balls in 2018. It’s the first time the team has played 3 consecutive summer league games without walking; the Fall 2014 squad finished its season swinging away for its final 3 games.
The last time a Sea Kitten walked was in the team’s win over South Side Badgers September 27, 2017 when Dan took a free pass in the 6th inning. Since then the team has sent 153 free-swinging batters to the plate.
It’s the longest stretch Los Gatitos have ever played without resorting to lawyer ball, topping a 140-plate appearance string to close the 2015 season (Kyle took a walk as the first Sea Kitten batter of 2016). Coincidentally, that stretch also began with Dan drawing the BB.
The game marked only the second time in team history that it played the same opponent in consecutive games- Sea Kittens topped South Side Badgers July 13 and July 20, 2016.
Happy when it rains? All-time, Sea Kittens are 16-14 in games following a rainout- consistent with its all-time 0.500 record. Since 2016, the team is 9-5 in those contests (0.643 W%), but overall is 25-10 in the same span for an 0.714 winning percentage, and between 2016-present the team has played 0.762 ball (16-5) in games that don’t follow a layoff.
Missed it last week, but when Dan grounded out to third in the 5th inning June 6 it ended a streak of 16 consecutive plate appearances in which he’d reached base safely, dating to last fall. He hadn’t made an out since the 2nd inning of the team’s September 13, 2017 game… when he had a foul-ball strikeout against Steal Your Base.
Salmon Snacks
Kyle went 3-3 with a home run and made a nifty toss to Jami for a force-out from the outfield
Kyle & Erin also teamed up for a 9-3 double play, catching an Eagle straying from first after a slick grab in the outfield
Brenna for subbing and doing so with style- handling the hot corner and going 2-3 with a 2B and run scored
Jess for collecting 2 RBI & launching a first-inning double deep down the LF line
Joe for homering in his 3rd consecutive game
Dave for another steady night on the bump, walking only 1 and strikeout out 3
