Miller's Builders dethrone Kitty's in slow pitch game
BY JOSH GALVIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It was a heated battle between two of the league's top teams as Don Miller's Builders hosted Kitty Murtaugh's at the Boys and Girls Club softball field Thursday night in the adult rec league showdown of the week. Don Miller's dethroned the previously undefeated Kitty's by a 5-1 margin, knotting the two teams atop the league standings with 3-1 records.

Christina Ransom keeps her eye on the ball MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent

Don Miller's featured solid defense for all seven innings and a balanced offensive attack that took advantage of scoring opportunities as they were presented, spreading out their scoring with one run in the second, two in the third, and two more insurance runs in the fifth. Kitty's suffered from a few costly and uncharacteristic defensive woes and a lack of offensive clout, going down in order in five of seven innings. Kitty's one run came in the top half of the sixth on an RBI groundout by Susan Hardy that plated pitcher Leo Cuello who tripled to lead off the inning.

The first run for Don Miller's came as a result of the aggressive base running of left fielder Chris Kroughs. After a one out double down the left field line, Kroughs moved to third on an infield single by teammate Maggie Carro. Although the ball was hit to third, Kroughs slid into the bag safely, putting him on third for Andy Moyer who hit a high fly ball to Kitty's center fielder Rob Franceschi that was deep enough for Kroughs to tag on the catch and cross home plate. The next batter for Don Miller lined out to Cuello ending the inning.

In their half of the third, Don Miller's continued to add to its lead, bringing home two more runs again as a result of aggressive baserunning. This time outfielder Chris Hayes got things started by singling with two outs. Hayes was followed by Bobby Joe Cote, who also singled, putting runners on first and second for shortstop Mike O'Neill. O'Neill hit what should have been an inning ending ground ball to the right side of the infield, but miscommunication resulted in the balls rolling into shallow right field allowing Hayes to come home from second while Cote moved all the way to third from first. Jen Decker followed with a single of her own to bring home Cote and extend Don Miller's lead to 3-0.

After retiring Kitty's in order in the top half of the fifth, Don Miller's offense came alive again for two runs featuring a similar cast of characters as were included in their third inning two run rally. Hayes led off the inning with a double that included a headfirst slide into second base to beat the throw from right field. Cote followed with a double of her own that brought home the speedy Hayes. O'Neill then hit the third straight double for Don Miller's, but a brilliant relay from Franceschi in center field to Cuello covering home beat Cote who was tagged out trying to score. O'Neill would move to third on a groundout before being plated by Kroughs for the team's final run.

"It was a good win for our team," said O'Neill after the contest. "That was just a competitive game and we had solid, timely hitting and our defense didn't skip a beat. It's also a big confidence booster to come out and take down the first place team even when it is this early in the season." I