June 23, 2016 at 9:36 a.m.
Snowhawks take season opener 25-7
Snowshoe baseball off and running in 2016
Snowhawks take season opener 25-7
By By Evan Verploegh-
The Snowhawks racked up 39 hits en route to victory.
"It was a beautiful night and a fantastic way to kick off the summer," Snowhawk playing manager Jeff Smith said. "Starting out with a win always makes things a little more fun as well."
Smith was a huge contributor to the Snowhawks' success Monday, going 5-for-5 with a walk and five runs scores.
Things quickly became one-sided as the Snowhawks jumped out to an eight-run lead following two scoreless halves from the Shamrock Pub squad. Shamrock got on the board in the third inning, though, when three runs crossed on seven hits.
Tom Ziemba was the leader at the plate for the Shamrock side, going 5-for-6 with two runs scored on the day. Ziemba's efforts proved not to be quite enough, however, as some fielding errors from the Shamrock squad led to an avalanche of runs for the Snowhawks.
A limited roster saw some new bodies on the field for the team.
"The Shamrock Pub had a little bit of trouble getting a team together because a couple of their guys made a trip up to Canada to go fishing," Smith said. "They were missing three or four guys, but we're just thankful that they got a team together and we were able to play. Everyone was scrambling here at the end."
The show went on, however, and fans were treated to some entertaining snowshoe baseball as well as some always delicious homemade pies from the concession stand.
Chuck Templin of the Shamrock Pub team, who was celebrating his 71st birthday, was the recipient of the "melon pitch" thrown once a game.
"He (Chuck) has been a great player for a long time. I remember from 15 or 20 years ago that he could put the ball wherever he wanted in the outfield," Smith said. "I hope I'm still playing when I'm 71, but we'll see."
The first game of the season always draws an extra element of excitement, according to Smith, but can also be a bit difficult on the players as they develop their "snow legs" from the physical nature of running in snowshoes.
"They'll be some guys who are pretty sore tomorrow in their shins and the surrounding muscles," he said. "It takes a couple games to get used to moving around in these things again."
Smith said he was pleased with the way his team came out of the gate and said that the way they hit the ball on opening day bodes well for the rest of the summer.
"We had a lot of guys who had great days at the plate. It was a really good effort from everyone," he said. "We were ready to play no matter what kind of team they came up with. We were going to come out and give it our all."
The first five players in the Snowhawk lineup, Smith, Derek Young, Ryan Showalter, Cole Punches and Donnie Moore, combined for 22 of the Snowhawks' 39 hits.
"Everyone in the lineup had some good shots throughout the game," Smith said. "There are a couple things that we need to work on in the field, though."
Fielding errors were the only blemish on an otherwise well played game from the Snowhawks.
Smith believes these will subside as the season progresses.
"There are always going to be some errors with the size of the ball and the dust that accumulates on it," he said. "We get to the end of the game and some guys are tired from bending over on the snowshoes but once everyone gets conditioned we'll do a lot better."
Snowshoe baseball will continue throughout the summer with each game held every Monday at 7:30 p.m.
The Snowhawks will take on Happy Daze on Monday, June 27 at Snowhawk Park.
Evan Verploegh may be reached via email at [email protected].
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