With 276 games under the Sea Kittens’ belt, the time seemed right to take a look back at some of the remarkable single-game accomplishments in team history. In this special edition of On the End of the Line, we’ll look at the individual single-game records. All sorts of fun trivia bits in here, and for those who are paying attention and find themselves in a position to make history the information they need to know to seize the moment is here.
Among the Cats’ single-game records are some singular performances that likely will never be topped. Foremost among those are 6 hits in a game- first accomplished by Erin “Mama Cat” O’Brien in August 2010, Matched by Jonny Jon Jon Shabidu Hansen, Jr. in 2012, and again by Alex “Puma” Latzka in 2021. Why a record unlikely to ever be broken? Never in Sea Kitten history has a player batted 7 times in a game. Some special mention should be given to Tommy Tom Tom Seahorse Cichosz and Stephen “Slash” Grutzik, who also reached base 6 times in a game with 5 hits and a walk, a feat also accomplished by Latzka on another occasion.
In the same game as O’Brien’s record six hits, Cichosz and Doc Kornis each scored 5 runs- also a mark that may never be beaten, though it’s been matched four times since. Cichosz, JJ Hansen, and Latzka are reached base 6 times in their 5-run games, so the possibility has been there.
The opportunity exists, but it’d take a magical night for any future Sea Kitten to drive home more runs than the TEN Dan DynamOele did on July 28, 2021 against Olbrich Offenders. It was the first time a Sea Kitten ever hit 3 home runs in a single game, and his 14 total bases broke Joe Hennessy’s mark of 13- that October 2016 performance was the only game in which a Sea Kitten ever notched five extra-base hits (3 doubles, a triple, and a homer). But Hennessy and Grutzik joined Oele quickly, each mashing 3 home runs in a single, epic showdown with Harmony Dogs 24 days later. In a game with a 3-over-the-fence limit, the duo burned up the bases for three of their six homers, and Hennessy also reclaimed the single-game total bases record with a double and single in addition to his homers, for a grand total of 15.
Dan DynamOele cracks a 3-run homer en route to collecting 10 RBI vs Olbrich Offenders July 28, 2021.
Another feat we might not see again? One of the Sea Kitten women mashing 3 doubles in a single game, as O’Brien did September 13, 2017. Hitting 3 doubles has only been accomplished by seven different players (Oele six times), and O’Brien is the only woman to have done so.
Erin “Mama Cat” O’Brien, one of only seven players to double three times in one game and the only Sea Kitten woman to achieve the feat to date.
Some of the Cats’ rarest achievements: Gretchen “G-Bomb” Hansen and Helen “Boo Rabbit” Bradley are the only Sea Kitten women to hit a home run. Detroit Josh Ghena blasted two grand slams in a single game. Hennessy was credited with hit three sacrifice flies July 23, 2014, and only Oele, Hennessy, and Grutzik have ever hit for the cycle.
The pinnacle of Sea Kitten patience is shared by four players: Heidibadger Nelson (3x), Hadley “Boomer” Boehm (twice), G-Bomb Hansen, and Brad “Sweet Thing” Harkins each drew three walks in a game- will someone ever dare take a 4th? Nobody has drawn more than two walks in a game since Harkins in 2018.
And who will be the player who just… goes for it? Twenty times a Sea Kitten woman has tripled… but none have done it twice in a game; and in fact none have done it at all since September 2023, when All day Kendra Hight dashed for a three-bagger. And among the guys, 14 times a guy has hit two triples (Latzka 5x, Hennessy twice), but none has a triple-triple to his credit. Latzka overran the target in May 2023, adding an inside-the-park homer to his two trips! On seven other occasions a guy has a double to go with his two triples. And 12 times- including O’Brien’s- a player has hit three doubles. Will we ever see a quadruple-double performance? Hennessy overran that chance in 2016 with a triple…
But the oldest mark on the books- matched, but not broken- dates to one of the most memorable wins in Sea Kitten history- July 28, 2010: Packer Inn II (link). Down 11-1 in the first, the Cats rallied fiercely to a 15-14 victory sparked in no small part by Katie “Sunshine” Curtis’ bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the 3rd inning- the first three of her 5 RBI, a mark that Boehm and O’Brien later matched, but none has ever topped.
The beauty of rec league softball- and Sea Kitten softball in particular- is that *anything* can happen, but after 15 years of play how long will it be before we see a player etch their name all alone atop any one of these lists?
Click here to see the full list of Sea Kitten individual single-game performances