Portland St. Patrick at Laingsburg – – Second Game of Softball Doubleheader – – The Bleacher Denizen – – April 13, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft
The Bleacher Denizen is in Laingsburg covering his first day of the baseball/softball season. He is getting ready to cover the second game of the doubleheader. Back and respiratory issues have kept him on the sidelines since the end of basketball season.
Here is a link to the play by play of the first game! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/04/14/portland-st-patrick-at-laingsburg-first-game-of-softball-doubleheader-the-bleacher-denizen-april-13-2026-by-chuck-krafft/
As we wait for the second game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “Too Old to Cut the Mustard”. (This was a country hit for several artists in the early 1950s.) Somehow, after all the issues keeping me from blogging games, this song seems appropriate! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GOgZAHqxI
In this game, even though we are in Laingsburg, St. Patrick will be the “home team” and Laingsburg will bat first. Your Bleacher Denizen will attempt to deal with this altered logic, although the fans, coaches and players are having no trouble understanding the concept. (Perhaps your Bleacher Denizen IS “Too Old to Cut the Mustard.”
Here are the starting lineups.
LAINGSBURG
Savvy Stirm 1b
JuJu Latuszek c
Bella Latuszek ss
Peyton Stahr p
Harper Strouse 3b
Skylar Stiff dp
Makenna Johnston rf
Alaina Asher lf
Addy Westfall cf
Alayna Merrell will play second base, but will not bat.
ST. PATRICK
Macie Leonard p
Grace Rockey ss
Lily Sandborn 3b
Marian Davlin lf
Maria Austen c
Naomi Hass cf
Reese Chamberlain rf
Eden Zimmerman 2b
Julia White dp
Macie Smith will play first base, but will not bat.
It is now time to review the events of this contest through the occasionally observant eyes of an aging Bleacher Denizen whose baseball career never got off to much of a start. When the Baseball Powers that Be ruled that the Bleacher Denizen could no longer use a drone to lure the pitched baseball to his bat, his batting average and playing time suffered severely.
Macie Leonard retired the Wolfpack leadoff hitter in the top of the first inning on a popup to first base. JuJu Latuszek walked and stole second base. Macie Leonard retired the next two Laingsburg hitters on a fly to right field and a grounder to third base.
Macie Leonard grounded a single up the middle to lead off the bottom of the first inning for St. Patrick. Peyton Stahr struck out the next Shamrock hitter. JuJu Matuzek made a fine stop of a potential wild pitch to prevent Macie Leonard from advancing. Lily Sandborn and then Marian Davlin walked to load the bases. Maria Austen blasted a triple to right field to drive Macie Leonard, Lily Sandborn and Marian Davlin home.
Peyton Stahr struck out the next two Shamrock hitters to end the inning.
St. Patrick scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Reese Chamberlain made a great running catch in right-center field to retire Laingsburg’s leadoff batter in the top of the second inning. Macie Leonard got the final two outs on a soft liner to third base and a grounder to the shortstop.
Laingsburg Third Baseman Harper Strouse made a fine running catch of a foul fly to record the first Shamrock out of the bottom of the second inning. Peyton Stahr struck out the next batter. Macie Leonard beat out an infield single and advanced to third base on Grace Rockey’s double to left-center field. Peyton Stahr struck out the next Shamrock hitter to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Macie Leonard retired the first two Wolfpack batters on grounders to Eden Zimmerman at second base. Savvy Stirm walked and went to second base on a passed ball. JuJu Matuzek belted a double to the left field fence to drive Savvy Stirm home. Bella Matuszek doubled to the center field fence to drive JuJu Matuszek home. Bella Matuszek took third base on a wild pitch. Peyton Stahr walked. Macie Smith struck out the next Laingsburg batter to end the inning.
Laingsburg scored two runs in the top of the third inning to trim the St. Patrick lead to 3-2.
Peyton Stahr retired the three Shamrock hitters in the bottom of the third inning on a grounder to second base and two strikeouts.
Macie Leonard retired Laingsburg’s leadoff batter in the top of the fourth inning on a fly to center field. Makenna Johnston lined a single to center field. Makenna Johnston was out at second base and Alaina Asher safe at first base on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop. Macie Leonard retired the next batter on a ground ball to the shortstop to end the inning.
St. Patrick made its first out in the bottom of the fourth inning on a grounder to third base. Eden Zimmerman drew a walk. Peyton Stahr struck out the next Shamrock hitter and got the third out on a fielder’s choice grounder to second base.
With four full innings complete, St. Patrick had a 3-2 lead.
Savvy Stirm was hit by a pitch to open the top of the fifth inning for Laingsburg. She went to second base on a wild pitch and took third base on a groundout to third base by JuJu Matuszek. Bella Matuszek bounced a single to left field to send Savvy Stirm home with the tying run.
Bella Matuszek advanced to second base on a groundout to shortstop by Peyton Stahr. Everly Izzo entered the game to run for Bella Matuszek. She took third base on a wild pitch. Harper Strouse drew a walk. Skylar Stiff was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Makenna Johnston drew a walk to force Everly Izzo home with the go-ahead run. Macie Leonard retired the next Wolfpack hitter on a fly to left field to end the inning.
Laingsburg scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead.
Skylar Stiff took over as the Laingsburg pitcher.
Laingsburg Shortstop Bella Latuszek made a valiant diving effort on a leadoff grounder by Grace Rockey in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Grace Rockey was safe at first with a single. Skylar Stiff struck out the next Shamrock batter. Grace Rockey advanced to second base on a groundout to third base by Marian Davlin. Skylar Stiff struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Addy Westfall walked to lead off the top of the sixth inning for Laingsburg. She advanced to second base on a passed ball and stole third base. She held at third base when Savvy Stirm was safe on a fielder’s choice grounder to third base. Savvy Stirm stole second base. Addy Westfall and Savvy Stirm both scored when JuJu Matuszek lined a single to center field. Bella Matuszek hit a double out to the center field fence to drive JuJu Matuszek home.
Bella Matuszek advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Macie Leonard retired the next Wolfpack hitter on a fly to left field. Harper Strouse singled up the middle to drive Bella Matuszek home. Harper Strouse advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Harper Strouse was out at third base and Skylar Stiff safe at first on a fielder’s choice grounder to the shortstop.
Maddy Butler entered the game as a courtesy runner for Skylar Stiff. She stole second base and went to third base on a wild pitch. Makenna Johnston drew a walk.
Grace Rockey came in to pitch for St. Patrick and Macie Leonard moved to shortstop. Grace Rockey retired the next hitter on a bouncer to the pitcher to end the inning.
Laingsburg scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to boost its lead to 8-3.
Skylar Stiff retired the Shamrock leadoff batter in the bottom of the sixth inning on a bouncer to the pitcher. Reese Chamberlain drew a walk. Skylar Stiff struck out the next two St. Patrick batters to end the inning.
Addy Westfall walked and stole second base to lead off the top of the seventh inning for Laingsburg. Grace Rockey retired the next two Wolfpack batters on a popup to third base and a grounder to third base. Bella Matuszek singled to right field to drive Addy Westfall home and went to second base on a wild pitch. The next Wolfpack batter lined out to first base to end the inning. Kudos to Macie Smith, who reacted quickly to make the catch.
Laingsburg scored one run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 9-3 lead.
Skylar Stiff retired the three Shamrock seventh inning hitters on a strikeout, a popup to second base and another strikeout to end the game.
Laingsburg won the second game of the double header 9-3.
Maria Austen had a triple and three RBI for St. Patrick. Grace Rockey had a double and a single. Macie Leonard had two singles.
Macie Leonard pitched five and two thirds innings for St. Patrick. Grace Rockey pitched on and one third inning.
Bella Latuszek had two doubles, two singles and four RBI for Laingsburg. JuJu Matuszek had a double, a single and three RBI. Harper Strouse and Makenna Johnston each had one single and one RBI.
Peyton Starr pitched four innings for Laingsburg and struck out eight hitters. Skylar Stiff pitched three shutout innings and struck out five hitters.