The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Hold off bombing run to stay alive
Before there was KBUT, there was Earth Station Radio. Born May 10, 1978, Earth Station Radio was the first local origination cable radio station in the world, with “Air Marshals” running the airwaves. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, or take a look at the freaks that inhabited the north end of the valley in the ’70s, I would highly recommend you check out the Earth Station Radio videos on You Tube.
Local softball team Earth Station Radio (ESR) and their offspring are paying homage to the slice of Crested Butte history in the recreational league and carrying the torch proudly.
They took a hit last week, missing a couple of key players in their opening postseason game and losing to the Whetstoners, but the team was back to full strength for the battle with the Bombers in the losers bracket.
The Bombers struggled with Earth Station Radio all year, losing twice to them during the regular season, but were looking to remedy the affliction with a playoff upset.
They opened hot, firing off six base hits in the top of the first to build a 5-0 lead. Elise Wages drove the first Bomber home with a single. Steve Graham added a second run on a double and two more Bombers reached home on an errant attempt at a double play.
Earth Station Radio recovered in the bottom of the first to cut the Bombers lead to one. Ben Reaman and Maggie Dethloff tapped back-to-back base hits and Henry Linehan drove a double deep to the gap in left center to open the ESR scoring. Erica Kelleher pushed another “Air Marshal” home and Jim Schmidt, a man with over 30 years in the local leagues, yanked a RBI base hit. Mark Reaman pulled ESR to within one with a bloop RBI single to shallow right center.
The next three innings presented an Air Marshal assault on the Bombers as they continued to rack up runs. Mike Montano and Nolan Blunck did most of the damage offensively in the bottom of the second as each Air Marshal connected for two RBI hits.
The Bombers defense did some damage control in the bottom of the third inning, turning an incredible 1-3-2 double play. With Ben on third, Dethloff dribbled a grounder to the pitcher. Charles Bond, Jr. scooped and fired to Katrina Birdsall at first for the initial out. Birdsall saw Ben looking to sneak home and fired to the catcher to catch him by half a step to finish the play, sending the Bomb Squad and their fans into an uproar.
But the play did little to stop the ESR attack as they continued to pound the Bombers through the fourth inning.
Dethloff, Scott Yost and Kelleher all connected for additional RBI hits and at the end of four, ESR was sitting on a 17-5 lead.
Never ones to give up, the Bombers mounted their first of two comebacks in the top of the fifth inning. Backed by the Bomb Squad and a five-gallon bucket of beer on ice, the Bombers strung together a series of base hits and were poised to close the lead down significantly. And had it not been for the efforts of ESR catcher Perdie Linehan, the game could have turned for the worse for ESR.
The ESR defense could do little to stop the Bomber bats but Linehan did what needed to be done behind the plate, chasing down two pop fouls and diffusing the Bomber bats.
The Bombers defense held ESR scoreless the next two innings, led by an unassisted double play by Julie Frerichs.
With runners in scoring position, Kelleher knocked a dropping line drive that sent the runners moving. Frerichs charged on the ball from her deep spot at second base to make the shoestring grab and stepped on second base to finish the inning.
The Bombers rallied one last time in the top of the seventh to turn the heat up. Bond and Birdsall drove in three runs with base hits cutting the ESR lead down to five with runners on and things clicking. But Linehan stepped in once again with the help of Kelleher as Kelleher charged on a ground ball to third and fired to Linehan at home to catch a Bomber trying to sneak home—to finish the game.
