Crested Butte softball team takes Gunnison spring league title

“Walk off walk” to win

While the Crested Butte slow pitch softball leagues are slated to start on Monday, June 6 (mark your calendars, sports fans!), a team of Crested Butte softball enthusiasts, primarily Airheads, spent the pre-season honing their swings and loosening their arms in the Gunnison spring league.
Think Cactus League, or rather, Cow Pattie League.
After spending the first couple of weeks of the season nursing their way through the soreness of the start-up of the spring softball season, the local team, dubbed the Crested Butte Cookie Ticklers, closed the regular season on top of the standings and entered the post-season the number one seed.
The Ticklers made their way through the playoffs, knocking off each and every opponent to reach the championship game Monday night under the lights against the Sloptarts.
The last time these two teams met, the Ticklers destroyed the Sloptarts by 20 runs, so the title was there for the taking. But anything can happen in the world of recreational softball, or any rec sport for that matter, and after the first four innings, things looked a bit grim for the Ticklers.
The Sloptarts opened the game with a 1-0 lead when Tommy Holler doubled and scored on a sac fly by David Cortez.
The Ticklers responded with authority as Bruce Winchenbach scored a run with a sac fly, Andrea Schumacher dropped a double in shallow right and Josh Schumacher crushed a three-run shot to straightaway center for a 4-1 Tickler lead.
The Sloptart bats turned red hot in the top of the second inning spraying the gaps with base hits. Chris Chandler tied the game with a two RBI single and the Sloptarts added one more to take a 5-4 lead.
This is where things got squirrelly for the Ticklers as power at the plate proved to be their downfall.
Teams are allotted three home runs per game to start off. Any subsequent home run is an out. That is until both teams hit their limit—then they can match each other, dinger for dinger.
The Ticklers maxed out their home run limit in the bottom of the second, generating only three runs.
Brian Murphy punched a two-run shot and Jerry Heal’s solo shot put an end to the Ticklers’ home run show early. Cole Stanford added in a solo inside the park home run (ITPHR) to put the Ticklers back on top 8-5, but like I said, the dinger derby was donedar.
The Sloptarts climbed back into the lead over the course of the next two innings. A combination of continued base hits and some fielding miscues by the Ticklers defense resulted in six Sloptarts runs.
RBI hits from Ormiston and Chandler closed the Ticklers’ lead in the top of the third and put two runners on with one out. But Winchenbach turned a double play at third base, tagging a runner and firing to second base to end the inning.
Winchenbach followed his defense with some offense, slapping an RBI triple to right center for a 9-7 Ticklers lead before the Sloptarts capitalized on power and errors to build a two-run lead.
Error-assisted base hits by the Sloptarts scored a run and put two runners on for Holler. Holler stepped to the plate to deliver a three-run shot and the Sloptarts were on top 11-9 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
A solo shot by Ormiston and an RBI double from Bree Shelton put the Sloptarts up 13-10 before the Ticklers defense clamped down. Anchored by the play of Dave White at shortstop, the Ticklers stopped the bleeding and put the Ticklers back at bat just three runs down.
The Ticklers returned to classic Airhead base hit softball to retake the lead. Three singles in a row capped by Kristi Miller loaded the bases for White. White stroked a three RBI opposite field triple to tie it up and Lynelle Stanford singled to score White for a 14-13 lead.
The Ticklers were poised to blow the game wide open but Schumacher just couldn’t help himself at the plate. Try as he might, Schumacher just couldn’t keep the ball in the park this evening and crushed another home run turned out due to the three home run limit.
The Sloptarts took a 15-14 lead paced by hits from Rana Clark and Pam Carbari. Their defense, led by a 6-3 double play turned by David Cortez, then shut the Ticklers down as they took a one run lead into the final inning.
The Ticklers held the Sloptarts scoreless in the top of the inning setting them up for the comeback win in their final at bat.
Margie Wagner led off with a single and a throwing error put runners on second and third with no outs. Brigid Heckel tied the game with an RBI hit and Cole was at the plate with runners on and no outs. Cole stood at the plate and watched three bad pitches for a “walk off walk” to win the game for the Ticklers 16-15 and the Gunnison spring league title.