CB Extreme peaking for town league softball post season

What the what?

by Than Acuff 

I’ve heard of this betting app Kalshi where you can bet on anything and after watching CB Extreme in their opening playoff game and hearing of their exploits in their second game of the playoffs, my suggestion, place a bet on CB Extreme.

CB Extreme faced the Adult Softball Club (ASC) in the first round of the Wednesday league playoffs on Wednesday, July 15 and while it wasn’t a close game between the eighth and ninth seeds, in fact far from it, there was some rain, there was a double rainbow and we may have a dark horse in the Wednesday league playoffs.

CB Extreme finished the regular season in eighth place out of 10 teams with a record of 2-5. But, if you look a bit closer, actually I did so you don’t have to, they lost some close games to some of the top teams in the league. And on Wednesday, their potential was on full display, as was their full roster, as they cruised to a 21-2 win.

In fact, CB Extreme had a doubleheader that night and after beating ASC, they went on to pummel the number one seed in the playoffs, Mountain Colors, 41-15. Tying Mountain Colors for the most runs scored in a local softball game ever.

Hold on, given my oversight regarding the Talk of the Town and titles, I better trust but verify.

Yep, I was wrong. Mountain Colors scored 41 runs earlier this season, so they hold two records. Scoring the most runs and getting the most runs scored on them.

Trust but verify is actually a Russian saying President Ronald Reagan popularized during the Cold War.

For those of you newer to the world, the Cold War and threat of nuclear annihilation was my generation’s stressor as kids, teenagers and young adults. Kids, teenagers and young adults now get trump, AI taking over the world and the climate disintegrating.

I’ll take immediate annihilation over death by a thousand cuts.

And we’re back.

The saying goes, offense scores (runs, goals, etc.) but defense wins games. But, if one offense scores more than the other, they win. And there really wasn’t much ASC could have done.

Maybe some misplays led to some runs, but CB Extreme was hot at the plate and fundamental in the field and pitcher Andrew Tower went the full seven innings fanning four in the effort.

Just like most games, it started out innocently enough as singles from Luke Vandenburg and Haleigh Vigil set up Chris Ellis for an RBI single and a 1-0 ASC lead.

Tower and Addison Ives combined for base hits to tie the game 1-1 and after holding ASC to no hits and no runs in the top of the second, CB Extreme started clicking. Hits from Hannah Valian, Mick Demi and Vickie Hormuth scored two runs. Carlos Velado, last seen on the softball field 13 years ago in a hairnet and a Rasta colored tank top, then singled off the handle to put two more on for Sara Reese. But ASC pitcher Luke VandenBerge had something to say, or rather do, as he chased down an infield fly ball by Reese and then sprinted to dive and tag third base for a double play.

Problem was that his heroics were soon overshadowed by Jade McLaughlin two batters later as she connected for a three run Inside the Park Home Run (ITPHR) for a 6-1 CB Extreme lead. Granted, she had some help from some ASC fielding miscues but still.

The ASC defense shook it off and remained on point holding CB Extreme to just three runs over the next two innings. Unfortunately, ASC’s offense struggled, and CB Extreme decided enough was enough by the fifth inning. After more fundamentally sound defense in the top of the fifth, they stepped to the plate and turned what was a rather harmless eight run lead midway through the game into an 19-1 pounding.

I could go play-by-play with this one, but I will summarize it.

Base hit, Base hit, three run home run by Tower.

Base hit, two run homer by Ives.

Solo shot by Tyler Burchfield.

Base hit, two run home run by Brett Hubert.

Home run limit met, 10-run rule limit met.

At which point I wrote in my notes, “if they hit like this all post-season, they gonna F some S up.”

CB Extreme closed it out in the bottom of the sixth inning scoring three more runs as Tower hit for the cycle with an RBI single, Ives tagged an RBI double and Emily “Crooks” Velado stroked a two RBI single.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that May Lamb did connect for an RBI single for ASC’s second run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. I would also be remiss if I did not point out that while ASC does struggle on the softball field, they have a heart of gold as most of them also work for the Adaptive Sports Center. Unfortunately, a good heart sometimes doesn’t translate to great hitting, but it does translate to a greater humanity.

Yeah, I just wrote that, and I stand by it.