The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Early lead holds
The Avalanche came into Thursday night’s rec league softball game against the Eldo hot, opening the 2013 season with two comeback wins, including a 10-inning triumph over the Talk of the Town.
Perhaps the team is inspired by the Bo Jackson-esque comeback of team sponsor/player Todd Barnes. Barnes suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon last season and was seemingly done with his softball career, much like Bo Jackson who suffered a hip subluxation and was seemingly finished with sports.
But Bo knows comeback and made a return to the ball field to play for the Chicago White Sox. And apparently Barnes knows what Bo knows and is back in action this year.
Or perhaps it was the call put out to the youth of Crested Butte by their parents who play for the Avalanche as the team picked up Ben Reaman, Sam Reaman, Ian Dethloff, Nolan Blunck, Elisabeth DesMarais and Jack Linehan for all or some of the 2013 season.
Regardless, the Avalanche’s recent success had players more than ready to extend their winning streak to three games.
“Win a couple games and people come out of the woodwork,” stated Avalanche player Mike Montano.
That is except for John Norton. Norton provides deceptive power to right field and equally deceptive speed on the base path but was recovering from a day of fishing and unable to make the game.
“He likes to go home, drink a warm glass of milk and take a nap,” explained Avalanche captain/manager/occasional player Jim Deli Schmidt.
The Avalanche dodged an early bullet in the top of the first inning as their defense committed a handful of errors but gave up only three runs.
Montano got one run back, slapping an RBI double up the middle but the Eldo put on a hitting clinic in the top of the second inning, rattling off seven base hits to drive in five runs.
Jake Kozel and Kristen Van Hoesen tapped base hits up the middle to start things off. Sean Crossen followed with another base hit up the middle to score Kozel. Jess Ladwig popped a base hit to shallow center field and Matt Laut drove a RBI base hit through the infield to put the Eldo up 5-1. Jess Johnson added a sixth run, dropping an RBI hit in shallow center and Justin Howard and Brian McLain topped the rally off with RBI hits to give the Eldo an 8-1 lead.
Barnes tempered himself in the second game of his comeback, taking a walk and getting a pinch runner, who then scored off an RBI by Mark Reaman.
The Avalanche defense came up big in the top of the third inning as Perdie Linehan chased down a pop foul behind the plate for one out and Paula Dietrich dropped back into shallow right to make a grab and hold the Eldo scoreless.
But the effort was all for naught as the Avalanche bats remained silent and the Eldo tacked on two more runs when Howard cracked a two-run home run over the center field fence.
After a couple of inconsequential base hits by the Avalanche youth movement earlier in the game, Blunck finally provided some power and speed, two things you look for out of a young guy, knocking a solo inside-the-park home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning.
But Blunck’s effort failed to light a fire in the rest of the team and the Avalanche soon fell behind 13-3 after a three-run blast from Zach Marquis in the top of the sixth and a barehanded, behind the back effort from McLain to toss out a runner at first.
Then, it started happening again. The old, or actually new, Avalanche magic that comes on out of nowhere—kind of like, well, an avalanche.
It all started with ace reliever Ron Chlipala, who always brings a quiet resolve to the field. Throughout his prolific local softball career, Chlipala has seen teams come back from far bigger deficits, and that confidence can catch hold.
Ben Reaman led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single and scored on a double by Blunck. Gabi Prochaska popped a single, Montano walked to score another run and after a two-RBI single from Barnes and an RBI base hit from Chlipala, the Avalanche was back to within striking distance.
The Avalanche held the Eldo scoreless in the top of the seventh inning and was primed for more late-game heroics. Scott Yost led off with a double and scored on a base hit from Reaman but before they could turn it on for good, the Eldo defense turned the final two outs to save the 13-9 win.
