Lords of Dirt remain in hunt for three-peat

KBUT hit fundraising goal, fall short in softball goal

By Than Acuff 

For what may have been the fourth time in a row during the playoffs for both leagues, it came down to some late game heroics, late game hiccups and extra innings to determine a winner.

Resiliency is the X factor in the post season. Can a team remain in the hunt all game long and rise when it matters? Can an individual drop a routine pop up nearly costing his team the game only to be the one to smash a two-run home run to win the game one inning later?

That is the ultimate question, and the Lords of Dirt answered both to take down KBUT in extra innings and advance to the Wednesday league title game to face Mountain Colors and in search of a three-peat.

Now, of course, by the time you’re reading this you already know who the champion is. But still, the semifinal showdown is worthy of reliving.

KBUT got there by winning their first game of the evening over the Inglorious Batters, so they were plenty warmed up and ready to remain on the winning track. So much so that the strategy laid out by their player/manager was simple.

“This is just a game. Have fun, f*** around, like we did last game.”

Some advice offered to the Lords of Dirt prior to the game was equally succinct.

“Score more runs than the other team.”

Furthermore, I finally found out that the Lords of Dirt are actually a farm team for the Lords of Dirt franchise playing in the Denver softball leagues. 

What ensued was a barnburner as neither team could build any semblance of a sizeable lead on the other, the entire game. A jab here, a jab there but no crushing right hooks, that is until late in the game.

A triple from Adam Westlake and sac hit RBI by Jess Ladwig provided the lone run for KBUT to start while the Lords of Dirt managed just one run in response off hits from Rob Holleran and Dan Brown.

Shawn Harrington set his team up for an early surge when he led off the second inning with a triple and scored on a double by Courtney Welsh. Sonny Burgos followed with a single to put two on with no outs, but KBUT squandered the early opportunity scoring just one more run on a single by Derek Vincent before the Lords of Dirt defense and the pitching of Christian Allen shut the door.

The one and two-run testing continued for the next several innings. KBUT gained some momentum with hits from Carly Webb and Jess Ladwig and an RBI double from Brian Lynch, but the Lord’s defense came through again as Katie McKernan robbed a base hit with a shoestring grab at second base.

The Lords of Dirt did punch back in the bottom of the third inning as former Gunnison Cowboy Bryce W. Miller and McKernan each singled and one scored on a double from Holleran. Dan Brown pushed Holleran home with a single to centerfield and when Isaac Evans punched a grounder through, the Lords of Dirt baserunners got on their horses to score two more for a 6-4 lead.

The back-and-forth continued through the next three innings with the two teams trading the lead but neither building a gap. Miller provided an RBI single for a 7-5 Lords’ lead, but Adam Westlake responded with a two RBI triple to tie it back up. The Lords of Dirt followed to go up by two runs once again and when they turned a 1-6-3 double play in the top of the sixth inning, they were poised to put the game away.

But KBUT being KBUT, they remained composed and remained in the hunt until the top of the seventh inning when they went for the knockout punch. It started with singles from Ahmed Moidduin, Kat Harrington and Webb to load the bases. Westlake then smashed what appeared to be a three RBI triple but some baserunning confusion turned it into a second out and a two RBI hit. Ladwig stepped to the plate down one with two outs in the top of the seventh and delivered a game-tying RBI single.

Then another hiccup occurred as a routine pop up in the infield to end it dropped to the dirt and KBUT took a 12-11 lead. That led to additional RBI base hits from Shawn, Welsh and Brett Biebuyck and KBUT was knocking on the door of the league finals with a 15-11 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

But, and there’s always a but, it’s the Lords of Dirt and they may be the most prolific comeback team in the Wednesday league. Not only did they tie the game on RBI hits by Miller, McKernan and Holleran to force extra innings, but they held KBUT scoreless in the top of the eighth inning and then Sam Evans got his shot at redemption stepping to plate with one on base and smashing a two-run home run to win the game and send the Lords of Dirt to the finals, once again.