Sea Kittens Return to Title Game

Sea Kittens roared back to the Madison Sport and Social Club Championship game with a pair of playoff victories at Bowman Park Thursday, August 17.  The Cats will vie for the title against either third-seeded Bat & Boujee or second-seeded Busch Lattes at 7:30 PM August 24 on Bowman Park Field 1.

Sea Kittens 15, Hot Pitches 6

Four teams tied with identical 3-3 records during the Thursday night regular season; by virtue of run differential, Sea Kittens earned the number four seed and opened the playoffs as hosts to Hot Pitches.  A week after cruising past HP 21-5, the Cats turned on the jets in the middle innings and surged to a 15-6 win, which set up a semi-final showdown with top-seeded Da Hittas.

Early in the opening game, the Sea Kitten offense sputtered and fell behind 4-1 through two and a half innings, but the second time through the lineup went electric.  Alex Puma Latzka opened the bottom of the third with a double and hits from Slash Grutzik, Jami Roadrunner Hauer, and Joe Hennessy brought the Cats within a run.  With one out, starting pitcher David Zen Master Rowe helped his cause with a loud two-run bases-loaded single to center, giving Sea Kittens a lead they’d not relinquish.  AaLo Lomax singled, and  Chil Hil Dugan extended the advantage with a hit, setting up Latzka to cap the seven-run rally with a two-out, two-run double.

Rowe’s bases loaded go-ahead single vs. Hot Pitches

From there, Rowe and the Kittens’ defense were in lockdown mode and held HP scoreless through the next two innings while the offense kept clicking.  After the Cats’ opened the bottom of the fourth with four consecutive hits, Dugan added a fifth- a crushing two-run double that extended the Sea Kitten lead to 13-4.  Hennessy punctuated the Kits’ scoring with a long home run down the left field line in the fifth, and despite allowing two runs in the top of the 6th, Sea Kittens closed the 15-6 victory without fanfare.

Sea Kittens 9, Da Hittas 5

All warmed up and ready to go, the Kittens pounced on Da unsuspecting Hittas in the first inning of the semifinal game.  Latzka walked to open the proceedings, and Grutzik promptly mashed a no-doubt home to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.  Four more Kitten hits followed and Dugan lofted a short sac fly as Adrienne A-Train Howard took advantage of an unsuspecting Hitta defense.

But a 5-0 lead against the top-seed and Spring League champs is noting one can take to the bank against Hittas, and true to form their offense got to work, but only managed to bring home a single run thanks to solid defensive play from the Cats.  Roadrunner knocked home a run with a single in the second to extend the Kitten advantage, but the Da Hittas found their feet and stood poised to hit back.

Two runs in the bottom of the second cut the Sea Kitten advantage to 6-3, and things looked dicey when Da Hitta shortstop opened the 3rd with a home run, as he’ll do, and the next batter reached first after an overthrow.  That runna turned and headed for second base, but Grutzik was on the ball quickly and fired a strike to Hauer, who tagged out the incoming bogey,  The play proved pivotal, as two more Hittas reached base in the inning, but when the second guy tried to go first-to-third, Dan DynamOele took the relay and fired a wicked seed to Howard at third, who put down and held a tag as the runner overran the base and could not get back.

The teams traded zeroes in the fourth as tension mounted, and another Hitta solo homerun cut the Cats’ advantage to 6-5 in the 5th.  But starting pitcher Hennessy continued to keep Da Hitta lineup a little off-balance, and the Sea Kitten defense remained absolutely flawless.

Clinging to a 6-5 lead the Cats got some breathing room in the 6th, with Rowe and Dugan singling to open the inning.  Josh “Rusty” Weber grounded a single through the middle to bring home Rowe, and Dugan dashed home on a groundout from Laura Red Shoes Hewitt. 

Given a little breathing room and smelling the upset, Sea Kittens did not waver, and held Da Hittas in check the rest of the way, while tacking on a run in the 7th to complete the well-played 9-5 upset.

Salmon Snacks

• Dan & Adrienne combining for two 6-5 putouts at 3rd base after relays from the outfield
• Jami for The Hot Potato tag after a great throw from Stephen
• Dave & Joe for excellent pitching
• Jami was the only Sea Kitten to have 3 or more hits in both games.  She was 6-8 with 4 runs scored and an RBI on the night
• Stephen & Joe for playing longball
• Dave for going 3-4 with 4 RBI against Hot Pitches
• Dan was 4-4 with 2 RBI against Da Hittas

 

 

Sea Kittens Great Fillet of the Week

   You didn’t have to see it to believe it!  This week, we present an impossible choice.

Next Up

Sea Kittens (5-3) enter their third consecutive MSSC Thursday Night Championship game, 7:30 PM August 31 at Bowman Park. Third-seeded Bat & Boujee (4-3) will battle second-seeded Busch Lattes (3-3) in a 6:30 PM semifinal match; the winner will host the Sea Kittens in the title game.  After winning MSCR Summer League title in 2012 and 2018, Sea Kittens have dropped their last three chances at a crown, falling 28-16 to Excalibur in Fall 2021, 29-8 to Fingers Don’t Lose in Fall, 2022, and 12-9 to Da Hittas in Spring 2023.  Sea Kittens have split four games with Bat & Boujee in 2023, and have squeaked past Busch Lattes twice.

Game Notes

• Sea Kittens will appear in their 6th league championship game, and currently have a 2-3 record in those contests
• The Cats’ 4-game winning streak is their longest of 2023
• It’s the first time Sea Kittens have held four consecutive opponents under 10 runs since Spring 2022. The team record is a remarkable 14 games, set between September 2017 and August 2018
• The 3rd inning is pivotal for this Summer’s Cats:  the team has been outscored 26-11 in the 3rd, but has righted that ship in the four most recent games

On the Catwalk- recognition of career achievements

• Stephen made his 200th career plate appearance
• Hilary collected her first Sea Kitten extra-base hit
• Dan collected career hit #350
• Alex notched career extra-base hits 100 & 101- the third person to do so after Joe & Dan
• Joe scored career run #350 and Dan #250