The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fall to Winehouse to die
by Than Acuff
It’s absolute chaos in the loser’s bracket of the softball playoffs. The Avalanche appears to be peaking taking down the Meatsticks and the Eldo in back-to-back games Tuesday night, while the 12th seeded Winehouse Monkeys are on an historic run and remain alive in the post season.
Speaking of historic, I just had to check back in on the Brew Crew, simply because they have two players on their roster from the original bad boys (and girls) of town league softball, the Airheads. And thanks to reader and former Airhead Rob Aiken, I was reminded this past week that this is the 10th anniversary of the Airheads historic run to the town league softball title.
Question was, could former Airheads and current Brew Crew players Rob Houston and Margie Black inspire some of that same magic for the Brew Crew as they were battling their way through the loser’s bracket of the playoffs this year.
Answer is…no, as they fell 23-19 to the Bonez Thugs (+ Hominy) Tuesday evening at Tommy V Field putting an end to their 2016 title campaign.
Truth is, I always knew Bonez had it in them to do some damage. Sure, the first time I saw them their play was erratic at best, but there was something there and if they could click, they could do some damage. Tuesday night, they clicked, at least against the Brew Crew.
Bonez took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning only to be reeled back in during the bottom of the first when Jerry Heal singled and Nick Velasco cleared the bags reaching Broadway the hard way with a two-run inside the park home run (ITPHR).
Despite Heal’s masterful pitching on the mound for the Brew Crew, Bonez built on their one run lead in the top of the second with a quick two-out rally. Heal fanned three batters early in the game, picking the corners of the mat seemingly at will, but Bonez got a hold of the pitches Heal left in their wheelhouse.
Heather Culey sparked it with a double, Jeff Hern followed with a single and then Jessica Weiss drove them both home with a single. Nick Rodell followed that with a base hit and then Chelsea Veltri scored two more Thugz as a grounder turned into an error-assisted two RBI triple. Morgan Patterson knocked another Thug home, and they tacked on more in the top of the third inning when Philip Bailey doubled to right for a 9-3 Thugz lead.
Following the two-inning debacle from the Brew Crew defense, Brew Crew manager/player Ian Baird suggested the players refuel with some adult beverages and the Crew returned to the plate to come out swinging.
Paul Moscatelli opened with a double, Heal singled and Velasco scored Moscatelli with a single. Wagner singled to load the bases, Houston walked to score two more runs and Andrea Rybarz cracked a two RBI single down the third base line. Baird doubled, Renee “Newtron Bomb” Newton singled and Walt Kretowicz put the Brew Crew on top with a two RBI double to left. The Crew kept on cruising, scoring three more runs to go up 13-9 with just one out when umpires enforced the 10-run rule to stop them dead in their tracks.
Bailey and Hern both used the vast expanse of the Tommy V outfield, and their wheels, to their advantage to connect for solo ITPHRs, but the Brew Crew returned to their hitting ways in the bottom of the fifth to build on their lead.
Base hits from Rybarz, Baird and Newton put ducks on the pond, and Annie Walker and Moscatelli connected for base hits to push the ducks home. Heal drove a sac fly RBI for another Brew Crew run and Velasco capped their latest surge with a two-run ITPHR for an 18-12 Brew Crew lead heading into the sixth inning.
The Bonez woke back up in the late innings for one final surge. Bailey cracked a two-run ITPHR in the top of the sixth and then Bonez rattled off eight more runs in the top of the seventh. Hern tripled and scored on a double from Weiss. Veltri scored two more with a double turned defensive miscue triple to tie the game 18-18. Patterson tripled down the third base line to score one more, Jo Ellipsis followed with a sac fly RBI, Bailey tripled for another Bonez run and Hern stepped back up to the plate for the second time that inning to drive a two RBI triple for a 23-18 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
A small window opened for the Brew Crew when Kretowicz led off with a double and an error led to a Brew Crew run but Bonez clamped down to stave off the Brew Crew heroics for the 23-18 win to send the Brew Crew packing and keep their post season hopes alive.
Unfortunately, those hopes and dreams were soon quashed in their next game that evening as they fell to the Winehouse Monkeys 17-11 to end Bonez’ title hopes.
