Rasta Hairnets rise up to beat down KBUT

What in the hell is a Rasta Hairnet?

It just occurred to me Thursday night at Gothic Field after watching the Rasta Hairnets for who knows how many years that I never did get the story behind their team name.
There’s not a single dreadlock on the team. But, as we all know (don’t we?), “Not every dread is a Rasta and not every Rasta is a dread.” Or, “It’s not the dread upon your head, but the love inna your heart, that mek ya Rastaman.”
The hairnet part, I believe, has something to do with health code in the Brick Oven kitchen, the team’s sponsor.
Ironically, Dan Loftus, co-owner of the Brick Oven, is a “crazy bald head.”
Regardless, the Rasta Hairnets are in the midst of a quizzical regular season. Which has been their modus operandi for years.
Furthermore, despite giving up 100 runs and only scoring 89, they have a winning record of 6-2 including their latest win over KBUT.
Thursday’s win was also the first time in recent memory that the Rastas had taken KBUT down in regular season play.
When the two teams met in the first week of the 2012 season, KBUT cruised to a 12-5 win but things were different the second time around.
KBUT came in with a diversionary ploy, several actually, in an attempt to get inside the head of the Rastas. While the Hairnets are notorious for their reggae music at every game, KBUT came with their own cacophony in the form of a concertina, i.e. squeeze-box, a hand-held bellow-driven instrument and other instruments of noisemaking.
The Rastas defense set the tone in the top of the first inning. Pitcher Aaron Tomcak chased down a foul ball and Sarah Smith stepped back to the fence in left centerfield for a sno-cone grab to rob Tucker Roberts of an extra base hit.
The Rastas then stepped to the plate to build an early 3-0 lead off hits from Damien Teitelbaum and Tomcak.
KBUT knocked in three runs in the top of the second inning with a brief two-out rally. Katherine Hargrave led off with a single and Chad Reich flared a double to right field, putting two on with two outs.
Amelie Kastning stepped up to the plate and caught the Rasta outfield playing shallow crushing a two RBI double to the fence in left. Carson West pushed Kastning home with a double to tie the game 3-3.
The Rastas echoed the two-out rally effort in their next at bat and then some. Carlos Velado drove two runs in with a double to shallow left, Nicky O’Connor tapped a RBI double and Roman Kolodziej cracked an error-assisted two-run inside the park home run (ITPHR). A diving play by Roberts on the mound stopped the bleeding as the Rastas took an 8-3 lead into the third inning.
KBUT came right back in the top of the third inning to cut the Rastas’ lead back down to two runs as Roberts and Hargrave connected for a couple base-hit RBIs.
Both teams then stalled for a couple innings at the plate as defense and pitching dominated play. KBUT brought in John Hopper to pitch and his work on the mound held the Rastas silent at the plate until the bottom of the fifth.
Ironically, the Rastas music had fallen silent as well but once the tunes were tended to and Bob Marley was wafting through the air, the Rastas found their groove.
O’Connor and Kolodziej ripped base hits and scored on a single by Betsy Kolodziej down the third base line. Tomcak drove a RBI double to left and Scott Tyree capped the rally with a two-run ITPHR for a 14-7 Rastas lead heading into the sixth inning.
KBUT then began the slow process of chipping away at the Rastas lead piecing together base hits through the sixth inning and then putting together a legitimate threat in the top of the seventh. Jeremy Rubingh led off the seventh inning blasting a double high off the fence in left field. Dixie Riddle followed with a big hustle infield single. Kelly Jensen walked to push one run home and Kastning struck once again to push two more KBUT runs in with another double pulling KBUT to within four runs with no outs.
It all came to a screeching halt though as the Rastas retired the next three KBUT batters in a row to seal the 14-10 win.