South Side Badgers (2-3, MSCR Fall Winona League) backed the Harmony Sea Kittens (6-0) into an early 6-run hole, but these Cats were not to be denied and roared back for a 20-7 victory to complete the first-ever perfect season in franchise history.
The undefeated Fall 2017 Sea Kittens
Los Gatitos looked flat in the game’s early goings, uncharacteristically squandering scoring opportunities in both the first and second innings while the Badgers sprayed the ball around the diamond and took full advantage of walks and minor defensive miscues offered by the Cats. When shortstop Dan Dynam-Oele and the Polish Puma- outfielder Alex Latzka- collided in the second inning, some in the stands may have wondered if the Cats’s magical ride had come to a screeching halt. But the Puma got up and loped back to the outfield and Harmony finally got out of the inning.
When the dust settled in the middle of the third, the South Siders had built a 7-1 advantage and Harmony hadn’t had two consecutive baserunners reach safely since its first two batters of the game. Having pushed the Kittens around, the Badgers proudly rumbled onto the diamond for the bottom of the third, perhaps unaware these Cats had twice puffed up and fought back from deficits of 5 or more runs this season.
The bottom of the Sea Kitten order changed the nature of the game. Ross “Stir” Frey blooped a double into right, and pirate-Erin Rodell followed with a sizzling single just inside the third base line. David Rowe, savvy in the ways of Zen and the Art of Slow-Pitching, worked a two-base walk, scoring Frey and planting a seed of doubt in the Badgers’ pitcher’s mind.
While the Sea Kittens’ power remained largely absent this night, the squad remained efficient and relentless. The Triple-J combo of Jess Schultz, Joe Hennessy, and Jami Hauer delivered successive singles, cutting the gap to 7-4 and loading the bases. After a force at home, Brenna “Flash” Marsicek re-ignited the scoring machine with an RBI single and one batter later Dynam-Oele evened the slate at seven as the Badgers’ confidence slowly unraveled. Unfinished, Rabbit Bradley and Mama Cat O’Brien swatted hits to give Harmony a 10-7 lead.
Buoyed by the rally, Hennessy settled into a groove on the mound, finding the strike zone more consistently while the Kittens’ defense settled in behind him. Offered no wicker line drives to snare, Bradley turned a bobble and one-handed grab into her weekly web gem, firing a low strike to first that Marsicek deftly picked.
A missile off Schultz’s bat in the fourth looked like it would blow the game open, but the Badger shortstop intercepted and caught Rodell cartoon-running through soft sand at third, desperate but unable to return to the bag before being doubled off.
Instead, the Cats sent the Badgers scurrying in the fifth, flicking nine more hits and converting them to eight runs and a 20-7 edge. After screwing around with a knuckleball for the first two batters of the Badger sixth, Hennessy stopped that and retired three straight to end the game.
Wednesday night Sea Kitten girl power highlights- Jess Schultz finishes off a record 0.692 BA, Erin Rodell collects three hits in the 6th softball game of her life, Brenna Marsicek hit 0.429- less than 6 months after delivering a baby- and Erin O’Brien collects her team-record 8th double & 13th RBI.
Game Notes
Sea Kittens scored 10+ runs for the 6th consecutive game for the first time in team history, and the six-game winning streak is the team’s second-longest all-time
Sea Kittens won 7 straight MSCR games: 7/13/2016 – 9/21/2016, losing 19-16 the following week to Soft’s Balls
Including Harmony Tournament games, Sea Kittens also won 7 straight 7/13/2016 – 8/21/2016, before losing 8-6 to Soft’s Balls in the Harmony Tourney Final
Friggin’ Soft’s Balls
The Cats moved to 9-3 all-time against South Side Badgers, the most wins the Kits have against any opponent
In MSCR play, Sea Kittens are now 61-62 all-time, but have outscored opponents 1238-1134
Erin established a new record for RBI in a season by a SK woman (13), topping the mark (9) she set in Summer 2010 and matched in Summer 2012 (both 10-game seasons).
Helen matched the old RBI record in her rookie campaign.
Jess established a new record for batting average for a Sea Kitten woman, posting a 0.692 mark in 4 games, topping Erin’s 0.632 (Summer 2015)
Dan posted the #2 all-time single season batting average, hitting a career-best 0.842, just a few ticks behind Joe’s paternity-leave enhanced 0.875 mark in fall 2016
Erin also tied the #3 all-time mark for doubles in a season, and #2 for fall league:
Andy “Mercury” Stevens- 12 (Summer 2016)
Stevens- 9 (Fall 2016)
Erin “Mama Cat” O’Brien – 8 (Fall 2017)
Dan Dynam-Oele- 8 (Summer 2016)
Dave hit a career-high 0.818, but didn’t gain much ground on Kyle, who notched a personal-best 0.750 average. The line:
Dave 96 games 572/589/706 (BA/OBP/SLG); 39 2B, 110 runs scored- and still waiting for that first home run Temple of Bogey, man, Temple of Bogey. Just ask Kyle…
NEXT UP- Sea Kittens (6-0) vs. Pitches be Trippin’ (4-0); October 11, 8:15 PM???
The Sea Kittens have completed their slate of scheduled games, which didn’t include Pitches Be Trippin’. While every other team in the Winona League has at least 3 losses, PBT has run its table thus far but has been rained out twice. Sea Kittens have made overtures to PBT management, who is interested in the game. The cause will be taken to MSCR and the most logical scheduling would be 8:15 PM, October 11, at Olbrich. Looking at the teams’ four common opponents to date, Sea Kittens have a 69-36 run differential while PBT’s is 72-43. It’d promise to be a doozy!
Salmon Snacks
All the Sea Kittens for a successful-and more importantly- super fun season!
Erin R for her sweet grab of a foul ball- had to move and avoid fence!
Erin R for also notching her first 3-hit game
Dave for reaching 4 times & scoring 4 runs
Brenna for taking the cake. Literally.
Helen & Brenna for the slick 5-3 putout
And Brenna and Erin O for the nice 3-2 putout at home
Dan & Alex for emerging from their collision unscathed
Erin O for doubling again. And again.
Ross for filling in again and going 2-3 with a pair of runs scored, double, and RBI
Jami & Jess for providing a nice tandem at second base
While the Sea Kittens’ power remained largely absent this night, the squad remained efficient and relentless. The Triple-J combo of Jess Schultz, Joe Hennessy, and Jami Hauer delivered successive singles, cutting the gap to 7-4 and loading the bases. After a force at home, Brenna “Flash” Marsicek re-ignited the scoring machine with an RBI single and one batter later Dynam-Oele evened the slate at seven as the Badgers’ confidence slowly unraveled. Unfinished, Rabbit Bradley and Mama Cat O’Brien swatted hits to give Harmony a 10-7 lead.
Buoyed by the rally, Hennessy settled into a groove on the mound, finding the strike zone more consistently while the Kittens’ defense settled in behind him. Offered no wicker line drives to snare, Bradley turned a bobble and one-handed grab into her weekly web gem, firing a low strike to first that Marsicek deftly picked.
A missile off Schultz’s bat in the fourth looked like it would blow the game open, but the Badger shortstop intercepted and caught Rodell cartoon-running through soft sand at third, desperate but unable to return to the bag before being doubled off.
Instead, the Cats sent the Badgers scurrying in the fifth, flicking nine more hits and converting them to eight runs and a 20-7 edge. After screwing around with a knuckleball for the first two batters of the Badger sixth, Hennessy stopped that and retired three straight to end the game.
