The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Canadian mic drop
By Than Acuff
As the regular season comes to a close, I like to check in on the cellar dwellers of the local softball leagues because, barring an act of God, they probably won’t be making it far in the post season and thus have less opportunity at press coverage…As was the case on Wednesday, July 9 when the Inglorious Batters, currently in sixth place in the Wednesday league, faced the Irwin Tuckers, who came into the game in seventh place, at Tommy V Field.
Before we go there though, I must point out that while the Adult Softball Club did not score many runs two weeks ago, they did score several runs in the game prior to the one I was covering last Wednesday. They didn’t win, but they scored runs.
Just trying to cover my bases.
As for the Inglorious Batters/Irwin Tuckers showdown, the two teams combined for 15 runs before the Batters eked out an 8-7 win.
Hints of a low-scoring affair were immediately apparent as Batters’ pitcher Jack Foersterling set the mood fanning two of Irwin’s four batters in the top of the first inning with Alec Sterkel the lone Irwin to reach safely with a double. Conversely, the Batters had little pop in their first try at the plate with a strikeout, a ground out, a pop out with Mallory Briggs the lone base hit stroking a single.
Irwin’s CJ Hoover, who is still recovering from an ankle injury, did manage to knock a base hit to the gap in right field and hobble his way around the bases for a solo inside the park home run (ITPHR) and when Mike Yeager doubled and scored off another base hit from Sterkel, the Irwin Tuckers were out front 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
The Batters turned it up a notch, as they randomly can, in their next chance at the plate as a leadoff single from Dylan Wood and a single from Sophie Jacobson had runners in the corners. Grant Robbins pushed both home on a two RBI triple to right and soon followed them home when Connor Beard connected for an RBI double for a 3-2 Batters’ lead.
The three-run Batters’ burst poked the Irwin Tuckers into overdrive in the top of the fourth inning opening with singles from Hoover and impromptu roster addition Emily O’cañas. Phil White singled to score one followed by Rhyann Lowery single to load the bases with no outs. Batters’ third basewoman Nicole Bogenschuetz, German for bow hunter, did rob Gio Aguirre of an RBI base hit with a shoestring grab but that did nothing to slow down the Irwin Tuckers as Lauren White, Yeager, Gigi Jensen and Sterkel followed with RBI base hits to put Irwin out front 7-3.
The Batters positivity keeps them going no matter what the circumstance though and they can and do make things happen when needed. Enter Ahley Bouey and Bobby Crimi. Bouey connected for a single and then Crimi cleared the bags with a two-run ITPHR and then the Batters turned strategical, borderline cerebral, when they returned to the field in the top of the fifth inning.
Mindful of Foersterling’s climbing pitch count and the playoffs just a week away, the Batters handed the ball to the Canadian closer, Annika Engholm to finish things out, or oot, on the mound. Engholm lured the Irwin hitters into a false sense of security as all three of the hitters popped out, thanks in part to some heroic work by Wood in the outfield.
Wood followed up his defensive heroics with a two-run ITPHR in the bottom of the fifth and when Robbins singled and scored on a double by Kate Wasson, the Batters were all of a sudden out front 8-7 with two innings to go.
Engholm’s pitching helped hold the one-run lead through the sixth inning, but Irwin looked to provide some late game heroics of their own in the top of the seventh inning. Jensen and Sterkel led off with singles to turn the screws on the batters but the Batters defense got a key force out at third base, Engholm struck out the next Irwin hitter and then the Batter’s defense came through one last time to throw out a runner stretching for home to put the finishing touches on Engholm’s Canadian mic drop in her final appearance as an Inglorious Batter.
