Player of the Game:
Pianolegs Hanley (3-3, 2B, R)
This
year’s softball season got off to a rocky start Friday night with the new kids
on the block, Club Tap, losing a tough one to Thumbs Up-Stefaniak 19-7 under
the lights at West Milwaukee Park.
The Tappers went out 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st and failed to put any pressure on the Uppers, who then came out with bats flying to score 5 quick runs in the bottom of the inning. Club Tap came back in the top of the 2nd to score 3 runs of their own with back-to-back smash doubles by player-manager Jimii “Pianolegs” Hanley and the manbeast known as Triebs, a key walk by Donnie Wadewitz, and masterful back-to-back singles by Matty “Goggles” Christel and Dave “Glove” Eskra.
Thumbs Up slowly but surely built their lead by scoring in all but one inning in the game, the most costly inning of which was a 7-run debacle highlighted by three costly Tap errors. The lights at West Milwaukee Park seemed to wreak havoc with the Tap outfielders as Erik “E” Voight and Goggles Christel both had trouble tracking fly balls in Right-Center and Right Field respectively. The men of Club Tap tried to mount a comeback late with a 3-run triple by James “Dunn” Riebe, but Riebe was sent at 3rd base by base running coach “Windmill” Wadewitz and consequently tagged out at home, ending the inning and Tap’s hopes of chalking up a W in the first game of the season.
A key aspect of the game not highlighted in the box score was a tough base running injury to Triebs in the bottom of the 1st inning that seemed to put quite a damper on the Tappers. Triebs finished out the game in the field, but was unable to make a plate appearance late in the game due to the injury.
The boys of Thumbs Up seemed to have a deep down hatred for fat people, as they held the two fattest Club Tap players, Donnie “Cy” Wadewitz and Nate “Dizzle” Adams, hitless. On a positive note, the three remaining fulltime members of last year’s 1-15 Real Chili team (Hanley/Christel/Triebs) went 8-8 at the plate with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
The plate discipline for the Tappers has to improve next week if they hope to win a key early season showdown with Concours Motors. This week’s game saw the Tappers draw only 2 walks, a stat which must improve if the Tappers hope to be a force to be reckoned with.
NEXT WEEK: Club Tap v. Concours Motors (6:30 PM)–West Milwaukee Park #1 [50th and Burnham]
--® Written by Skip Adams ™