The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
John is smiling down
The Rent-A-Gades put the finishing touches on their miracle run, defeating the Airheads twice last Wednesday to take the 2011 competitive league softball title.
The run was actually more of a hobble for the Rent-A-Gades as the frantic pace of the post-season had every guy but Jeff Snyder hampered by some sort of injury.
Pulled calves, pulled hamstrings, pulled groins—you name it, a Rent-A-Gade suffered from it.
After sustaining an early loss in the post season, the Rent-A-Gades battled their way through the losers bracket to advance to the finals to face the two-time defending champion Airheads.
Women win titles in the comp league. So it certainly didn’t help the Airheads that they were short a woman when they took the field on Wednesday night.
Nevertheless, the Airheads are the Airheads and they typically can find a way to win, no matter what.
Due to the double-elimination format of the playoffs, the Rent-A-Gades needed two wins to take the title while the Airheads needed just one.
In their first meeting of the evening the Airheads came close to the three-peat.
After falling behind 10-3 early in the game, the Airheads came charging back to tie the game 11-11 on a solo inside-the-park home run (ITPHR) from Brian Murphy to force extra innings.
Justin Wheeler doubled in the top of the eighth inning and scored on a RBI power bunt double from Andrew Butterfield for a 12-11 Rent-A-Gades lead.
The Rent-A-Gades defense did the rest to hold the one-run lead and force a second game for the 2011 title.
Still, the finish of the first game was too close for comfort for the Rent-A-Gades and as the two teams took a brief break before the second game the Rent-A-Gades fired up their stoke.
The rally call was answered immediately as the Rent-A-Gades opened the game with a six-run outburst in the top of the first.
Jeff Banford and Peace Wheeler knocked consecutive base hits and scored on a single by Josh Schumacher and a triple from Justin.
Leah Fischer dropped an error-assisted two-RBI double, Butterfield cracked another RBI double and the Airhead fans could be heard grumbling at their teams demise.
Airhead Patrick Cashion continued his hitting streak in the second game; he would go seven-for-eight over the two games, cracking his second ITPHR of the evening to score two runs.
The Rent-A-Gades maintained their six-run cushion through the next two innings as the Airheads struggled to find their bats. Airhead fan Karl Trujillo took matters into his own hands delivering ingredients for margaritas to the Airhead bench to “liven them up,” but nothing could remedy the situation.
The Rent-A-Gades added six more runs to their lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Schumacher roped a RBI double to score Banford, who was eight-for-nine at the plate that night, and Justin crushed a three-run ITPHR. Fischer and Butterfield added two more runs with base hits and the Rent-A-Gades were on top 16-6 after four innings.
But no lead is safe in softball, especially at Tommy V Field, and the Airheads were due one last rally before giving up the title.
Lynelle Stanford led it off with a RBI double, Murphy scored her with a triple and Lauren Alkire added another Airhead run with a single.
Down nine with no outs and runners on, the Airheads were poised to play the spoilers but crafty pitching by Elise Wages and fundamental defense from the Rent-A-Gades combined to retire the next three hitters in a row.
The writing was on the wall at that point and the Rent-A-Gades tacked on three more runs to finish the Airheads off 21-10 for their first title in the history of the Rent-A-Gades franchise.
