Pewamo-Westphalia at Portland St. Patrick – – Second Game of Softball Doubleheader – – The Bleacher Denizen – – April 22, 2024 – – by Chuck Krafft
The Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia are visiting the Shamrocks from Portland St. Patrick in a softball doubleheader. Now that Game 1 is in the books, we are getting ready for Game 2. Here is the play by play of Game 1.
In the second game, even though we are playing at St. Patrick, Pewamo-Westphalia (generally abbreviated as P-W so that the Bleacher Denizen’s aging fingers don’t permanently cramp) will bat last and be considered the “home team.” Of course this means that St. Patrick will be the visiting team on its home field. I guess this is standard procedure for most league doubleheaders in most leagues, but the Bleacher Denizen can be confused by the concept. The mind boggles!!
Here are the starting lineups for Game 2.
ST. PATRICK
Rylee Scheurer cf
Grace Rockey ss
Addie Scheurer 3b
Tori Sandborn p
Laynie Meredith lf
Megan Myers dp
Hannah Weller c
Macie Smith 1b
Lily Sandborn 2b
Bella Russman will play right field, but will not bat.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Payton Eklund p
Brynn Bauer ss
Brooke Spitzley cf
Ava Smith 2b
Taylor Nurenberg 1b
Makayla McRae lf
Reylee Thelen c
Elyse Thelen 3b
Maddy Weber rf
Rylee Scheurer singled off the third baseman’s glove to lead off the top of the first inning for St. Patrick. She stole second base and took third base on a passed ball. Grace Rockey doubled down the left field line to drive in Rylee Scheurer. Grace Rockey stole third base. P-W Pitcher Peyton Eklund retired the next Shamrock hitter on a fly to the shortstop. Tori Sandborn lined a single to right field to drive in Grace Rockey.
P-W Catcher Reylee Thelen made a fine throw to second base to catch the runner stealing. St. Patrick made its final out of the inning on a soft line drive to the shortstop.
St. Patrick scored two runs in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Peyton Eklund lined a single to center field to lead off the bottom of the first inning for P-W. Summer Wirth entered the game as a courtesy runner for Peyton Eklund. Shamrock Catcher Hannah Weller made a nice throw to second base to catch the runner stealing. Tori Sandborn retired the next Pirate hitter on a popup to the pitcher. Brooke Spitzley doubled to deep center field. P-W made its last out of the inning on a fly to second base.
St. Patrick’s leadoff batter in the top of the second inning was out on a grounder to the shortstop. Hannah Weller singled to right field. P-W Shortstop Brynn Bauer made a nice play ranging into right field to catch a popup to retire the next hitter. Hannah Weller advanced to second base when Lily Sandborn was safe at first base on an error. The Shamrock runner was picked off second base and caught in a rundown for the third St. Patrick out.
Tori Sandborn retired the P-W leadoff batter in the bottom of the second inning on a grounder to second base. Makayla McRae hit a solid single to left-center field and stole second base. Tori Sandborn struck out the next Pirate batter. Elyse Thelen lined a single to center field to drive Makayla McRae home. When an overthrow was made on the play, Elyse Thelen made it all the way to third base. Shamrock Shortstop Grace Rockey made a nice play going into short center field to catch a popup to record the third Pirate out.
Pewamo-Westphalia scored one run in the bottom of the second inning to shave the St. Patrick lead to 2-1.
Peyton Eklund retired the Shamrock leadoff hitter in the top of the third inning on a foul popup to the catcher. Grace Rockey singled to left field and stole second base. Addie Scheurer walked as Grace Rockey stole third base on ball four; she scored on an overthrow. Addie Scheurer stole second base. Tori Sandborn lined a single to center field to drive in Addie Scheurer. Tori Sandborn advanced to second base on a passed ball.
Laynie Meredith made a bid for extra bases, but was out on a fly to deep right field. St. Patrick made its third out of the inning on a popup to the shortstop.
St. Patrick scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
Peyton Eklund lined a single off Shamrock Pitcher Tori Sandborn’s foot to lead off the bottom of the third inning for P-W. Because of the painful injury, Bella Russman took over in the pitcher’s circle for St. Patrick and Megan Myers, the flex player, went in to play right field.
Rylee Scheurer made a great running catch in center field to retire the next Pirate batter. Lily Sandborn caught a grounder off the bat of Brooke Spitzley and tagged the runner advancing from first base to record the second Pirate out of the inning. Brooke Spitzley was safe at first base on the play. Brooke Spitzley scored when Ava Smith was safe at second base on an error. P-W made its final out of the inning on a grounder to the shortstop.
Pewamo-Westphalia scored one run in the bottom of the third inning to trim the St. Patrick lead to 4-2.
Brooke Spitzley came in to pitch for P-W and Peyton Eklund moved to center field.
After Hannah Weller struck out to lead off the top of the fourth inning for St. Patrick, she ran to first base and was safe at first base when the third strike was dropped. Macie Smith blasted a double to deep center field to advance Hannah Weller to third base. St. Patrick made its first out of the inning on a popped up bunt.
Rylee Scheurer singled up the middle to drive in Hannah Weller and Macie Smith; she took second base on a throw to home plate. Rylee Scheurer then stole third base and scored on a passed ball. Brooke Spitzley struck out the next two Shamrock hitters to end the inning.
St. Patrick scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning to extend its lead to 7-3.
Makayla McRae walked to lead off the top of the fourth inning for P-W and advanced to second base on a passed ball. Makayla McRae went to third base on a groundout to shortstop by Reylee Thelen. Elyse Thelen lined a single off the pitcher’s glove to drive in Makayla McRae and stole second base. Bella Russman struck out the next Shamrock hitter.
Peyton Eklund doubled down the right field line to drive Elyse Thelen home. Brynn Bauer pounded a home run; she and Peyton Eklund both scored. Shamrock Right Fielder Megan Myers made a nice running catch to record the third Pirate out of the inning.
Pewamo-Westphalia scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the St. Patrick lead to 7-6.
Tori Sandborn led off the top of the fourth inning for St. Patrick. I was really relieved to see that she was healthy enough to hit after taking that line drive off her foot in the third inning. She was out on a fly to right field. Laynie Meredith was safe at first base on an error and stole second base.
The next Shamrock hitter was out on a foul popup when Pirate Catcher Reylee Thelen made a fine running catch. Laynie Meredith scored from second base on a throwing error. Pirate Pitcher Brooke Spitzley retired the next batter on a grounder to second to end the inning.
St. Patrick scored one run in the top of the fifth inning to go up by two runs at 8-6.
Addie Scheurer came in to pitch for St. Patrick in the top of the fifth inning. Lainey Meredith moved to third base and Tori Sandborn went out to play left field.
Ava Smith walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for P-W. She stole second base and advanced to third base on a passed ball. Shamrock Pitcher Addie Scheurer retired the next three hitters on a strikeout, a popup to shortstop and a grounder to third base to hold the Pirates scoreless for the inning.
Brooke Spitzley struck out the first two Shamrock batters in the top of the sixth inning. Rylee Scheurer legged out a double to left field. You would think she is a track star or something. (Actually, she is; she will be attending Division I Oakland University on a track scholarship next year.) Grace Rockey walked. St. Patrick made its final out of the inning on a popup to first base.
Addie Scheurer retired the three Pirate sixth inning hitters on a fly to left field, a grounder to shortstop and a strikeout.
After six innings, St. Patrick held an 8-6 lead.
Tori Sandborn was safe on an error to lead off the top of the seventh inning and got all the way to third base on an overthrow. (This is really impressive when you saw how hard she was hit in the foot on that line drive while she was pitching.) She appeared to score on Laynie Meredith’s fly to center field, but it was ruled that she left third base early, so she was out on appeal. Brooke Spitzley struck out the next Shamrock batter to end the inning.
The game was down to the last three outs; Pewamo-Westphalia needed to score at least two runs or St. Patrick would win.
Brynn Bauer hit a single off the third baseman’s glove and took second base on a wild pitch. Brooke Spitzley walked. Brynn Bauer advanced to third base and Brooke Spitzley to second base when Ava Smith was safe at first base on an error.
Shamrock Pitcher Addie Scheurer got Taylor Nurenberg to hit a fielder’s choice grounder to the pitcher. Brynn Bauer was out at the plate, Brooke Spitzley moved to third base, Ava Smith to second base and Taylor Smith was safe at first base on the play. Makayla McRae singled to left field to drive Brooke Spitzley home as Ava Smith advanced to third base and Taylor Nurenberg to second base.
Reylee Thelen walked to force Ava Smith home with the tying run. Elyse Thelen singled to center field to drive Taylor Nurenberg home with the winning run.
P-W scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and won 9-8.
Rylee Scheurer had a double, two singles and two RBI for St. Patrick. Grace Rockey had a double, a single and one RBI. Tori Sandborn had two singles and two RBI. Macie Smith had a double and Hannah Weller had a single.
Brynn Bauer had a home run, a single and two RBI for Pewamo-Westphalia. Elyse Thelen had three singles and three RBI. Peyton Eklund had a double, two singles and one RBI. Makayla McRae had two singles and one RBI. Brooke Spitzley had a double. Reylee Thelen had one RBI.