The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
My Dogs and Italian ice
It was a stellar evening of softball, complemented by a tasty bratwurst from My Dogs, a start-up industry created by a couple of young local entrepreneurs. My Dogs can be found setting up shop at all Mustache Basher games Mondays and Wednesday nights, offering hot dogs or bratwursts with the perfect selection of toppings. Follow that up with one of Drew Canale’s Italian ices and you’re living large at a local slowpitch softball game.
Such was the case at Monday night’s comp league showdown between the Wine-O’s and the Mustache Bashers at Gothic Field.
The Bashers made a handful of big acquisitions prior to the 2012 season, seizing on the break-up of the Airheads over the winter. They’re poised for a big year but stumbled in the opening week, dropping their first two games.
The Wine-O’s, on the other hand, are same ol’ same ol’. They’ve got a core of solid women (including Molly Keating, who reportedly blasted one over the fence in Gunnison), a couple of big hitters and then a host of players who can get on base. It’s a recipe for success in any league.
Yet, the Bashers came to play Monday night, rising up to their pre-season expectations.
They opened with hot bats as Willy Coburn led off with a single, Michael Ryan doubled to put two on with one out, and Nick Catmur drove them home, crushing a two-run double off the fence in left field.
Dalynn Trujillo tapped an error-assisted single and the Bashers were sitting on an early 3-0 lead.
The Wine-O’s immediately erased the lead in the bottom of the first and then some, providing a glimpse of the offensive potential.
CJ Hoigaard and Molly Keating led off with back-to-back singles. Tom Consentino cracked a two-RBI triple and Jay McArthy cleared the bags with a crushing two-run shot over the netting in left center field to put the Wine-O’s on top 4-3.
Both teams’ bats then went suddenly silent for the next inning as the bottom of the order for both squads struggled to produce at the plate.
Once the top of the order was back at the plate for the Bashers, they rattled off another four runs, taking advantage of some classic early season confusion by the Wine-O’s defense.
Coburn led off with a single and scored when a seemingly routine grounder by Brigid Heckel turned into an error-assisted RBI double.
Ryan pushed Heckel home with another double and Catmur and Trujillo connected again for RBI base hits retrieving the Bashers’ three-run lead.
But the Wine-O’s returned the favor with the top of their line-up as Hoigaard and Keating knocked base hits and Consentino tied the game with a three-run home run to straightaway center.
The next inning and a half paved the way to victory for the Bashers as they combined continued production at the plate with tight defense.
Brian Murphy led off with a solo shot, Heckel dropped a RBI double in shallow center and Catmur drove in two more runs (five total so far), punching a single through the infield for an 11-7 Bashers lead.
Catmur led the Bashers defense with a series of stand out plays at third base to hold the Wine-O’s to one run in the bottom of the fourth. The Bashers tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth on a key RBI double from Mellie Lusk and a RBI double off the fence by Coburn.
Stout defense by the Wine-O’s held the Bashers within striking distance; they threatened to pull back into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Consentino tripled and McArthy drove his second home run of the game over the netting to cut the Bashers lead to three but the Wine-O’s offense sputtered in their final at bat as the Bashers held on for the 13-10 win.
