With a share of the Castle Rock League title on the line, frontrunners Wilson’s Coolers (5-0) jumped to an early lead and held on to beat Harmony Sea Kittens 21-16 on a brisk October evening at Olbrich Park Wednesday. With the win Wilson’s locked up the Castle Rock championship and dropped Harmony (3-2) into a respectable bronze-medal tie in its return to top-level Wednesday night fall play. After playing sub-0.500 fall ball for the first six seasons of its existence, the Harmony franchise has now posted three consecutive winning records in autumn play.
Zen Master Rowe, remembering the words and lessons of his sensei. “Hitting is a ballet..” Rowe doubled twice and went 3-3. Let the haters hate.
Only a week removed from an elegant evening gliding gracefully around the diamond, Sea Kittens turned back the clock in the early innings of this week’s affair, playing a confusing and slapstick style of defense not displayed by Team Tuxedo since the Steal Your Base Debacle or perhaps even The Schneid. By the time the scuffling, scurrying, hurrying and fur-ruffling subsided and Harmony secured six outs the team found itself in a 12-0 hole. That, manager Joe Hennessy pointed out, “is only one run more than the 14-3 first-inning hole we climbed out of a few weeks ago!” Indeed the Harmony side played with much vim and vigor over the next three-and-a-half innings, posting 16 runs on just 13 hits, but assisted by 11 free passes issued by the Wilson’s pitcher, and outpaced the Coolers by seven runs in that stretch.
With one out in the third inning, Alex Latzka drew a walk, and the Polish Puma used the one speedy burst his gimpy hammy would allow this evening and dashed home on David Zen Master Rowe’s follow-up double. Dynamo Dan Oele and Roadrunner Jami Hauer followed up with two-out walks to load the bases for Hennessy, who lined a laser-like shot over the center-field fence for a grand slam- his first home run of the fall season- to pull the Cats within 12-5.
The Sea Kitten defense cleaned up its act in the third, but that alone wasn’t enough to prevent Wilson’s from taking back the five runs it had just allowed, and the Cats went meekly and scoreless in the fourth, but slowed the Cooler Express even further, capping the damage at two measly runs in the bottom of that inning.
Down 19-5 entering the fifth- still only three runs more than a comeback of proportions Sea Kittens have proven capable- the Puma padded to first base after an inning-opening walk, and sparked another rally. Rowe delivered a hit, and he and pinch-runner Sweet Thing Harkins raced home on an Oele single. Hauer and Hennessy loaded the bases, and Helen Boo Rabbit Bradley drove Oele home with a groundout to second, bringing Man-Aaron Jossart to the bat with two out. Jossart skipped a worm-burner triple to the left field fence, and suddenly the Wilson advantage was fewer then 10 runs. After a Candy Sievert walk, Harkins plated Jossart, but Wilson’s caught Sievert trying to slip to third and ended the rally.
“I didn’t walk anybody.” -Zen Master Rowe, describing his experience on the mound
After another pair of Wilson’s runs in the bottom of the fifth, Sea Kittens marched to the plate down 10, and by umpire’s announcement of time limit, down to the final three outs of a sublime 2018 campaign. Never one to care much about pressure, KC Sunshine Curtis banged a single to open the inning and show the Cats how it’s done. An out later, Rowe initiated a string in which seven consecutive Sea Kittens reached safely, including three walks- one of which to Oele drove home two runs- and RBI singles from Roadrunner and Hennessy. The Wilson’s crew did manage the remarkable, however, catching Hauer attempting to take an extra base, but Jossart again delivered a big two-out blast, doubling home a run and setting up Los Gatitos with runners on second and third, down by a mere five. Alas, Sievert’s subsequent line drive to the right side was an at ’em ball, and the Cooler’s second basewoman snagged it to end the rally, the inning, the game, the Sea Kittens’ hopes, and the season. Still all wonder, “why did she do that?”
It was the first time the Kits have allowed 20+ runs in a game since July 8, 2015- the Steal Your Base Debacle.
For the uninitiated, at the time the game was just a run-of-the mill Sea Kitten debacle. First Dan hit a runner with a throw. Then things went awry, then wrong, then sideways, and then got comical, and maybe a little sad. It was the first time Sea Kittens and SYB met on the diamond. SYB next eked out a 4-3 win over the Cats in Fall 2015. Since then Sea Kittens have beaten SYB seven consecutive times, by a combined score of 148-39. It was truly the Cats’ last whole-game debacle
The 12 bases on balls Sea Kittens drew topped the team’s 10-game summer league total of 10
The 5-run loss is the Cats’ worst loss in MSCR league play since dropping a 14-9 game to Infield Flies June 29, 2016. The Cats haven’t lost an MSCR game by more than five runs since… say it with me now… The Steal Your Base Debacle
Joe’s grand slam was his 5th career salami and 3rd of 2018. He hit grand slams in the Sea Kittens’ 2018 Summer Opener, the Cats’ Harmony Tournament finale, and the Fall finale.
“I like hitting with the bases loaded.” -Silent Joe Hennessy
Fall Ball Notes
The 2018 fall squad’s 16.4 runs-per-game was the second-highest in team history, trailing only the 2016 fall team that averaged 17.0 runs/ game
Sea Kittens collectively posted a 585/631/906 triple slash (batting average/ on-base percentage/ slugging percentage)- all are top marks for a season in team history
The team’s 10 triples doubled the previous fall league record of 5, and are tied for 3rd-most in any season
The Cats drew 25 walks in five games this fall, a Fall league record, and fourth on the all-time list, trailing only three 10-game summer seasons
Jami set a new fall record for run scored by a Sea Kitten woman, taping the mat 8 times- seven times previously a woman had scored 7 runs in fall ball
Jami also matched Erin’s 2013 record with a 0.600 batting average. Katherine’s 0.583 batting average is 3rd-best fall ball mark evah.
Katherine set a new record with her 0.667 on-base percentage, adding three walks to her seven hits in 15 plate appearances. Jami’s 0.647 is #2 all-time for fall ball, ahead of the old mark (0.600) held by Erin (2013) and Stephanie Jolitz (2010). KC’s 0.667 matched Erin’s summer OBP record, set in 2015.
Jami and Katherine have secretly pledged to do 5,000 pushups and 5,000 sledge hammer swings between now and May to add extra-base hitting to their repertoires. 😉
Katherine further promised to access an even more primal, guttural softball-crushing bellow. One that at once both unnerves and inflames Man-Aaron, evoking his inner Groundskeeper Willie.
Sea Kittens for another fabulous year of fun. I love you all, and even more for being part of this tomfoolery.
Scott Sauer & Angela Woodward, Sea Kittens Superfans of the Year!
Kyle, Jess, Erin, Alex, Karli, & Andy- all of our injured & ill Sea Kittens!
Candy for subbing and making her Sea Kitten debut, and even throwing in her best Sea Kitten impersonation a time or two.
Brenna, for endlessly working the count.
Joe for the grand slam.
Sea Kittens for playing like it was a new ball game every time Wilson’s cleared the bases.
Dave for a 3-3 night at the plate, including two doubles. And for not walking anybody.
Dan for notching 4 RBI.
Katherine for her elocutious slow-pitch softball equivalent of pitch framing. Think it’s entirely by chance Dave walked zero and the other guy walked 12???
And kudos to the Wilson’s photographer for knowing how to get a great team shot!
Squirt bottle
Haven’t busted out the squirt bottle in a long time- maybe only once before… in the wake of the Steal Your Base debacle.
Base coaches for sending Jami and Candy to their respective doom at 3rd base
Joe for jinxing Brenna, Candy, and Helen… we have three sweet strikeout videos.
