The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Sorry HUDFW
About the only problem with the competitive league is when one team is on their game and their opponent is not. It makes for one serious slaughter.
This was the case Monday night when the LoBar destroyed the Airheads 25-10 at Tommy V Field to repeat as the competitive league champions.
Granted, even if the Airheads had brought their A-game, it probably wouldn’t have stopped the LoBar from winning as their hitters picked apart almost every square inch of the notoriously expansive acreage at Tommy V Field.
It’s not that the Airheads were completely off. It’s just that you know they’re on when shortstop Dave White is pulling in grounders, line drives and bloop fly balls right, left and center. On Monday night he had no such heroics as the LoBar offense connected for a total of 36 base hits in the game.
The game started out slow as the two teams nickel and dimed their way to five runs total after three innings.
Margie Wagner pushed the first Airhead run in on a power bunt rbi single. LoBar hitter Hillary Buscovick tied the game with an RBI single to score Heather Duryea.
The Airheads built a 3-1 lead in the top of the third inning led by the women and finished by the men.
Lauren Alkire, Wagner and Dalynn Trujillo all singled to load the bases and Dave White tapped a two- RBI single up the middle to go up by two runs, but their lead was soon erased, and then some.
The exact moment of when the game turned could be attributed to two specific occurrences in the top of the fourth inning. First, the LoBar defense turned a 1-6-3 double play. Second, two 12-packs of beer arrived at the LoBar bench.
From then on it was all LoBar starting with an eight-run assault in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The bottom of the LoBar batting order got it started with three base hits in a row, scoring a run and tying the game 3-3.
Duryea tapped a grounder that was left unattended to allow another LoBar run to score. Bob Piccaro found his swing at the plate swatting an opposite field RBI single and scored on a hit from Buscovick. Ashley Allen pushed another LoBar run in with a double and Ian Mason closed the eight-run romp with a two-RBI double to left centerfield.
The Airheads responded with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Wagner and Rob Houston reached base safely and scored when Jacob Parr connected for a two-RBI triple. A sacrifice RBI hit by Trujillo added a third run, pulling the Airheads to within four runs but the LoBar barrage proceeded in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The LoBar hitters seemingly put the ball wherever they wanted. Ronnie Hughes led off with a triple to the gap in right centerfield. Piccaro doubled to the opposite field. Melissa Neuner tapped an RBI single. Michael Villanueva ripped an RBI single down the third base line. Immediately after that, Allen ripped an RBI single down the first base line. Hughes stepped up to the plate to hit his second triple of the inning and Brian Murphy crushed a two- RBI triple off the fence. By the time it was over, the LoBar had racked up 12 runs on 13 hits and was relaxing on a 22-6 lead with two innings left.
Teri Parr and Bruce Winchenbach each singled and scored when Houston stroked a two- RBI base hit but Villanueva ended the inning with a sliding grab to take any wind left in the Airheads’ sails completely out.
The LoBar drove in three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for good measure to go up 25-8.
Rachael Brodsky added two more runs for the Airheads in the top of the seventh inning but the game was well out of reach, as the LoBar capped another season with another title.
