The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Playoffs start next week
By Than Acuff
Here we go again.
Pitas avenged a loss to Kochevar’s earlier in the season taking them down 16-11 on Tuesday at Tommy V Field and will finish the regular season at the top of the league standings heading into the playoffs next week setting themselves up for the 13th title in the franchise’s history between the two local leagues if they win again this year.
It’s not quite, when they win the league again, because in sports, especially recreational level sports, anything can happen. But it’s pretty close.
It’s their consistency that kills opponents and Tuesday’s game against Kochevar’s was a prime example of that as Pitas scored in every inning but one.
Kochevar’s had a solid start taking a 4-0 lead as Holly McFadden pushed their first run home. Granted, Pitas turned a 1-5-3 double play at the same time, but a run still scored and Kochevars scored three more as Spencer Noel punched an RBI double through and Mark Krause overcame his atomic “I forgot to reapply” neck burn, to scoop a low pitch to centerfield for two more runs. I don’t think the sun is quite as strong on the shores of Lake Michigan.
But Pitas being Pitas, came right back in the bottom of the first inning as Scott Sanders and Heather Duryea led off with back-to-back base hits and scored on a double by Rhett Yarbrough. The Kochevar’s defense did step up to make the routine outs but not before Emily Crooks (Velado?), hitting for two, pushed a third Pitas run home.
Kochevar’s managed just one hit in the top of the second, but their defense picked them up turning a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning and hold Pitas scoreless setting them up for success on the wings of stoke.
And they did just that as John Duffy led off with a double, Kristen Tyson singled to shallow leftcenter, and Noel scored one of them on single to leftcenter. Krause swatted an RBI single to right field, Robin Yost tapped an RBI single right after that and when Andrew Arnold drove another run home, Kochevar’s was on top 8-3.
Pitas did manage two runs in the bottom of the third inning thanks to Duryea and Molly Zimmerman, but Kochevars’ defense turned the routine outs again and had a chance to build on their lead once more in the top of the fourth.
Unfortunately for them, they did not, and that was all the window Pitas needed to do what they do, which is hit, run and score.
A series of singles set up Frank Magri for an RBI single and Sanders for a two RBI triple. Duryea followed with an RBI single to shallow right-center and Yarbrough and Zimmerman each knocked RBI base hits to put Pitas out front 11-8.
Then disaster struck at the plate for Kochevar’s as they hit just one base hit through the fifth and sixth innings while Pitas remained calm, cool and consistent to knock seven base hits and score five more runs for a 16-8 lead heading into the seventh inning.
With their backs against the wall, Kochevar’s caught a little fire and flirted with a late game comeback as Prawit Durgan and Kristen Tyson started off with singles. Noel scored Durgan with a double and Heather Lucas followed with an RBI hit but Pitas pulled off a 6-3-5 double play to stem the surge. Yost connected for an RBI single looking to restoke the rally fire, but Pitas turned the third and final out for the 16-11 win.
