The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Hares have nuts!
Speaking of nuts, I gotta say the single wall bats men are forced to use at Pitsker Field can be a bit emasculating. And the sound they make, horrific. But I’d hate to see a high fly ball over the left field fence land on a car’s windshield forcing an equally horrific accident.
Speaking further of emasculation, how about that World Cup semifinal match between Germany and Brazil. Yikes! Unless you’re a fan of Germany, in which case, Oh Ja!
Now bringing it all back to softball, there were more goals in the World Cup match Tuesday than runs in the softball game between the Eldo and the Whetstoners Tuesday night at Pitsker Field as the Eldo eked out a 5-2 win (for those of you who don’t follow the World Cup, Germany beat Brazil 7-1).
It was especially surprising because the Eldo team is averaging more than 23 runs per game so far this season. I’d like to think it was the masterful pitching of Whetstoner Brian Pierce. When asked if he wanted to start the game pitching, Pierce uttered nothing, proving he was in the zone and thus was sent to the mound.
But the reality is, it was the twitchy single wall bats of the Eldo that really hampered their offense. Turns out the same was true for the Whetstoners, who have a penchant for scoring as well but struggled to muster any action at the plate. In fact, the Whetstoners connected for just eight base hits all game long. In their defense, Eldo pitcher Vince Scola does have some tricks up his sleeve, and on the towel hanging from his waist, which he goes to every time before he tosses a pitch.
But twitchy single wall bats and masterful pitching are only part of the story. Because while the offenses for both teams was lacking, the defense for both teams was quite good, especially at second base. Whetstoner second basewoman Sarah Cheseborough and Eldo second basewoman Andrea Rybarz traded off highlights in the field as both women chased down pop flies in shallow right field to make over-the-shoulder grabs, among other great plays.
The Eldo opened the game as they have most of the season, knocking the ball around the infield and running around the bases. Matt Laut led off with an infield single and scored on a base hit by Scola. Will Jones drove another run home with a single and Justin Howard’s RBI base hit had the Eldo on top early 3-0.
The Eldo added to their lead in the bottom of the second when Sean Crossen wheeled home on a double by Patrick Henry Cashion, claiming his open beer on the bench as the impetus for his hustle.
Singles by Robin Yost and Ryan Caufield provided a small spark for the Whetstoners in the top of the third and Yost scored when Chuck McKenrick walked.
The next couple of innings flew by as each side struggled at the plate but the Eldo added an insurance run to their massive lead when Cashion cracked a stand-up triple and then scored on a sac fly RBI from Jess Johnson.
The Whetstoners had a comeback in the making heading into the top of the seventh inning. Down 5-1 with the top of the order stepping up to the plate, things were looking good. Alex Mattes-Ritz opened the door with a lead-off double up the middle. Barb Winter punched an RBI single through the infield and Chris “Rocky” Durante singled to put two runners on with no outs and the tying run stepping to the plate. Cheseborough popped out but Will Camcro picked her up in his at-bat. While Scola actually walked him, no one noticed, and Camcro eventually popped up a single behind first base to load the bases.
Just as the Whetstoners were heating up though, they soon cooled off as the next batter popped out and Caufield hit into a force out at second base to end the game.
