Airport Remains Undefeated; Kim’s Squeaks By

By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan
Two games were played Monday night in the “Buddy Berry” Co-Ed Softball League at beautiful Moore Barn Memorial Park. The first contest was a defensive battle in which both teams flashed some great glovework.
Web gems were plentiful as Kim’s Barrel Inn scored a paltry three runs and still beat the Sloppy Swats, 3-2. The game only lasted 42 minutes and was easily the fastest outing of the season.
“Our outfield was tremendous,” said Barrel’s infielder Cassie Nelson. “Nothing got past Kevin (Hurd), Nic (Dulmes) and Morgan (Oppor) all night.”
And she was correct. The three KBI outfielders hauled in eight fly-balls while shortstop Josh Barnes grabbed three popups.
The Swats took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Jake Roy singled and eventually scored on a base hit by Evan Volm. Fly-outs to Oppor and Dulmes ended the rally.
KBI’s Nic Dulmes tied it at 1-1 with a solo homer in the bottom of the first.
The Swats couldn’t get anything going in the second and third innings and two more of their hitters flew out to Morgan Opper in center.
KBI was held scoreless also in the second and third as most of the Barrel batters grounded out to Evan Volm and Nate Pezewski.
The Swats went ahead, 2-1, in the top of the fourth when Volm doubled, moved to third on Katie Maultra’s single, and scored on Pat Scheele’s RBI single to left. That ended the Swat attack for the evening.
The Barrel scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the fifth. Walks to Jack Mortimer and Morgan Oppor and singles by Kevin Hurd and Jake Mortimer did the trick as the two runs gave KBI a one-run lead that held up the rest of the way. The Swats didn’t get any hits in the final three innings.
In a Moore Barn first, the game had three umpires with Jesse “The Legend” Higgins, Bobby Sullivan, and Cody Tokarski doing the honors. KBI manager Jake Mortimer noted, “The umping was outstanding. It was a perfect night for softball, and our outfielders were sensational.”
Jake Roy of the Swats said, “We gave up three runs — three. Nine times out of 10 that should win.”
Both teams are now at 6-5 but KBI would earn a higher seed since they defeated the Swats thrice (three times).
SLOPPY SWATS STATS: Jake Roy: single, run. Rachel Graves: single. Evan Volm: single, double, run. Katie Maultra: single. Pat Scheele: single. Trish Dakins: walk. TOTALS: Six hits (five singles).
KIM’S BARREL INN STATS: Jake Mortimer: two singles. Morgan Oppor: walk. Nic Dulmes: Inside-the-park solo homer in the first. Jazmin Soto: single. Megan Pollack: single. Jack Mortimer: two singles, walk, run. Cassie Nelson: single. Kevin Hurd: two singles, run. TOTALS: Ten hits (nine singles).
Great catches: Oppor, Hurd, Rachel Graves, Matt Barden.
The second game was pretty much over after three innings. Airport Bar (11-0) amassed 21 hits, five doubles, two triples, and two home runs as they clobbered Team BAMF (2-10), 15-3. BAMF had six hits and an equal number of walks.
The Bammers led 1-0 when they scored a run on a walk to Danita Ashland and singles by Graham Edwardson and Erin Laffe.
Then Airport came back with six. Their big rally included a walk to Meg Lee, singles by Kelsey Holderman, Sue Gruba, and Stefanie Jackson, and booming two-run homers by Kyle Brooks and Josh Swan. Brooks’ home run was so high it almost hit a duck flying towards MotoMart.
BAMF pushed across two runs in the second thanks to walks by Lakyn Lloyd and Morgan Edwardson and singles by Chris Ashland and Jake Bailey. A potential rally was snuffed out in the sixth when Airport’s Meg Lee and Kyle Krieger turned a double play.
Airport Bar put the game away in the third with four more runs. The key hits were singles by Kyle Krieger and Josh Swan and doubles by Tyler Mader and Stefanie Jackson. Three additional runs came in during the next two innings on Sue Gruba’s single, Adam Lee’s double, and triples by Tyler Mader and Josh Swan. Airport ended the tilt with two runs in the sixth on consecutive hits from Mader, Gruba, Brooks, Jackson, and Swan.
NOTES: Airport’s Sue (Glodowski) Gruba had her own cheering section of about ten fans. Lakyn Lloyd’s two walks gave her ten for the season. It was announced that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was traded to Chicago for Jay Cutler but that rumor proved to be false.
TEAM BAMF STATS: Graham Edwardson: single, run. Danita Ashland: walk. Brad Ashland: single. Erin Laffe: single, RBI. Corey Blake: double. Lakyn Lloyd: two walks, run. Chris Ashland: single, run, walk. Kimberley Brockman: walk. Jake Bailey: single. Morgan Edwardson: walk. TOTALS: six hits (five singles).
AIRPORT BAR STATS: Kelsey Holderman: three singles. Adam Lee: two doubles. Meg Lee: walk, run, turned double play. Tyler Mader: two doubles, triple, three runs. Sue Gruba: three singles, two runs. Kyle Brooks: two-run homer in first, single. Stefanie Jackson: two singles, double, two runs. Josh Swan: two-run homer in first, two singles, triple, 4 RBIs. Kyle Krieger:
single.
TIME OF GAME: 51 minutes.
LEAGUE STANDINGS: Airport Bar: 11-0. Kim’s Barrel Inn: 6-5. Sloppy Swats: 6-5. Shoe Crew: 3-8 (they had the bye). Team BAMF: 2-10.
NEXT WEEK SCHEDULE: (Monday, August 22 (final week of regular season): 5:45: Airport Bar vs Sloppy Swats. 6:45: Kim’s Barrel Inn vs Shoe Crew. Bye: Team BAMF.
League Tournament is August 29, September 12, and September 19.