Bat Attitude

First Place

Fall Co-ed Softball at Queen Anne Sundays

Top-seeded Bat Attitude took the field feeling confident, ready to finish their season after two weeks of rainouts. After 2½ innings, though, it wasn't looking like their day—the MasterBatters weren't going to go quietly and had set out to an early 4-1 lead. The Attitude asserted itself, though, and struck for five runs in the bottom half of the frame. They added four more in the 4th to extend their lead to 10-4 and were in the driver's seat. MasterBatters weren't done, though—they plated three runs in the next two innings and kept Attitude from adding to their tally, sending the game to the 7th down by just three. After making two quick outs, the MasterBatters cranked out consecutive hits to plate two more runs and were this close to playing on, but it wasn't to be, as Bat Attitude squeaked by with a 10-9 win. They managed this without the stellar services of their energetic second basewoman Amanda "Pint" Bonner, a defensive whiz during the regular season and potent force from a small presence at the plate, as she had chosen the Mariners' final game of the year over her own squad's. A sound choice? Aspen Schindel performed very well at the position in Pint's stead, making catches of line drives and showing good range, leading some to wonder if Pint is to be the Wally Pipp of Bat Attitude. "Hey," Aspen said, "I'm here and she's not. What, I'm not going to take her gig for myself? Ha!"

The skin-of-their-teeth win in the semis got them to the finals against PB Army, always a tough opponent. Army shot out to a quick 4-0 and then 7-0 lead, but Bat Attitude would not be denied and struck back for seven runs in the home 2nd to tie the game. Attitude never looked back from that point on, scoring max runs in the 3rd and adding on the rest of the way as they cruised to a 25-11 win to take the championship. Right fielder Stacy Crandall took player of the game honors with the catch in foul ground to end the game. Team captain Ryan Hollis also contributed with several big hits and defensive plays, but insisted the honor go to his right fielder. "She's the straw that stirs the drink," sad Ryan, comparing Stacy to Reggie Jackson even though her jersey sported the name of Roberto Clemente.

The pitching tandem of Jonathan Crandall and Vinny Minichiello served the Attitude well in the two games despite an off day for Crandall. "Hey, sometimes I'm like Mike Leake and never miss the zone. Other times I'm like Mike Leake on that one start a month where he gets smacked around. You never know which Mike Leake I'm going to be." Jonathan also made a highlight-reel play at first base, stretching out to snag a short-hopped wide throw from third base to end an inning. "They get lazy when I'm at first," he said, "they think I'm eleven feet tall and can reach anything when I'm really only eight-foot-four."

In the semi, POTG was awarded to shortstop Nick Johnson for his own potentially game-saving catch in the 6th. "That was fun," Johnson said. "Now I'm going to grab a shower and drink heavily."