After three consecutive beat-downs, Sea Kittens (0-2) put up a spunkier fight at Bowman Park September 21, but Run Like Mad (1-0-1) used a late rally to pull away with a 13-8 win over the Cats.
The Cats scuffled early, managing only two hits in the first two innings- one of which was Slash Grutzik’s first home run of the season- as the feline fish found themselves in a 5-1 hole midway through the 3rd inning. Making his Sea Kitten debut, Bradd Catfishh Sims provided a spark with a double in his first Cat at-bat to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. With one out the Cats followed with five consecutive hits to even the game at 5-5, but couldn’t push the go-ahead run across the plate.
It was as close as the Kits would get, as RLM extended its advantage to 8-5 before Grutzik slashed a run off the deficit with his second home run of the contest in the bottom of the 5th. Alas, the Cats couldn’t make the defensive stand it needed, and RLM added five runs in the top of the 6th to go up 13-7.
Down to their final life as the game’s time limit neared, the Cats tried to make the most of it with Boom Boom Magyera, Sunshine Curtis, and Sims opening the bottom of the last inning with hits to load the bases. Kari Fenske drove home a run with a fielder’s choice, and Alex Latzka re-loaded the bases with a hit. Joe “The Pup” Bevington legged out a hit to draw the Cats within 13-8, the bases still loaded with Mama Cat O’Brien and Grutzik due up. The Sea Kitten faithful sensed a miracle finish in the making… but the RLM pitcher induced a pop-up from Mama Cat’s bat, and while the infield fly rule was in effect, an alert RLM fielder noted the Pup straying from first base and tagged the rook for the game’s final anticlimactic out. These things happen, even to a squad as savvy and grizzled and tested as Los Gatitos del Mar!
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Kittens | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Run Like Mad | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
Sea Kittens
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex The Puma Latzka | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Pup | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mama Cat O’Brien | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen “Slash” Grutzik | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Hennessy | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| Jami “Roadrunner” Hauer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boom Boom Magyera | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sunshine Curtis | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Catfishh Sims | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kari Fenske | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 33 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
Run Like Mad
| AB | R | H | RBI | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SF | IP | RA | WK | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Salmon Snacks
- Bradd for making his Kittens debut and going 3-3
- Also Bradd for the non-slide into 3rd in the first inning
- Katherine for a spectacularly confusing at-bat in the 4th that she concluded with a hit
- The Pup to help him remember to *stay* on infield flied
- Stephen for his 2 HRs.
- Joe and Alex for each going 3-3
Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game
You didn’t have to see it to believe it. Vote here for the Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Game!
Next Up
Game Notes
- The loss marks the first time Sea Kittens have lost 4 in a row since August-September 2015
- Sea Kittens have not lost 5 or more consecutive games since… The Schneid
- Sea Kittens’ opponents have scored runs in 25 of the past 27 innings, including the last 14
- I’ll be back to noting more interesting tidbits next week!