Hares cruise to 15-7 win over Meatsticks

Wind blows

by Than Acuff

How about that heat? How about that wind? How about that single-use bag ban? I seem to recall a letter to the editor explaining that we don’t need a ban on single-use bags (i.e. plastic shopping bags) because there aren’t bags blowing around town, so it’s not a problem.

When I first read that I thought, what an idiot. He is obviously missing the point of the reason for a single-use bag ban, which I will not get into.

But now, after watching the town league softball game at Pitsker Tuesday night between the Hares and Pitas Meatsticks during a summer evening windstorm, we should also ban single use bags because they are now blowing around town.

At any rate, despite the winds and the blowing bags the Hares appeared unfazed as they cruised their way to a 15-7 win over the Meatsticks, which is also impressive given that the Hares played the entire game a player short.

They took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Zane Wrisley doubled and scored on a double by Frank Stichter.

The Meatsticks responded immediately, tying the game up when Ali Yanni (any relation?) punched a base hit up the middle and then scored off a single by Jessica Thomas.

Then, as the winds picked up so did the Hares as they proceeded to score six runs on seven hits in the top of the second inning. Brian Brown opened the rally with a big hustle infield single, Sam Lumb drove a double down the third base line and then Kent Fulton drove one runner home with a bloop single to shallow right.

The Hares took an automatic out as they were missing a woman from the line up but continued to spray the field with base hits and score runs. Luke McMullan followed with a bloop RBI single to right, Wrisley tapped a RBI base hit and then Stichter caught the infield playing shallow and drove a two RBI triple to center. Taylor Britton capped it off with a RBI single and the Hares were up 7-1 as the wind kept on blowing.

Phil Escue took a page from Stichter’s playbook by opening the bottom of the second inning with a solo inside the park home run and proud father of a brand new baby boy Justin Marting scored another Meatsticks run with a double.

But when Wrisley walked with the bases loaded, two more Hares scored and Stichter drove in a couple more RBIs with a double for an 11-3 Hares lead in the third inning.

The bats of both teams quieted down over the next two innings with each team scoring just one run until the top of the sixth inning when the Hares tacked on two more runs. Britton tripled to deep centerfield and scored on a base hit by Brown up the middle. Lumb singled to load the bases and Fulton drove in another run before an automatic out stopped the Hares in their tracks.

LeeAnne Mason added one more insurance run to the Hares lead in the top of the seventh inning, showing incredible patience at the plate as the wind kept on blowing.

The Meatsticks looked for one final rally in the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, they opened their comeback run by giving up a double play. Nevertheless, they still showed some signs of life as Yanni and Bryan Densmore each singled. Thomas stepped up and blasted a two RBI triple to right field and then scored on a double to shallow left by Sam Frausto but that would be the end of things as the Hares retired the next Meatstick batter to seal their 15-7 win.