June 29, 2016 at 1:09 p.m.
Snowhawks edge Happy Daze 17-14
Snowhawks edge Happy Daze 17-14
By By Evan Verploegh-
The second week of snowshoe baseball brought plenty of hits, runs and laughs to Snowshoe Park as the Snowhawks prevailed 17-14.
A cool evening did not deter a respectable-sized crowd from making their way down to the ballpark for the action. With the smell of fresh pie wafting in the air, the fans could not help but be in a good mood while being treated to some high-level snowshoe baseball.
The Snowhawks amassed 30 hits in the victory, but were kept on their toes by a 33-hit effort from the Happy Daze group. Snowhawk player coach Jeff Smith said he was impressed with the play from the opponents.
"Happy Daze put together a really good group for this game. It was a lot of fun to have that good of competition," he said. "They did a really good job of getting really solid ball players. They played very solid defense, so a lot of our shots at the plate didn't go through."
The Snowhawks held a 2-0 lead after the first inning and extended the advantage to 7-3 following a four-run third inning. Derek Young, Cole Punches, Todd Niemuth and Craig Holmquist all crossed home plate in the third.
Following a two-run fourth inning for Happy Daze, the Snowhawks answered with a single run in the bottom of the inning.
Happy Daze rallied for five runs to take a brief 9-8 lead in the fifth. Craig Lau kicked off the inning with a base hit. John Ott, Steve Favorite, Mark Peterson and Bart Tegen also singled and scored in the frame.
The lead would not last long, however. The Snowhawks returned with vengeance in the bottom of the inning, scoring five of their own. Happy Daze continued to battle at the plate but was never able to retake the lead.
"I was pretty happy with the way we played for the most part," Smith said. "We're going to have some mishaps and we're not always going to be hitting the ball the way we want, but a win is a win. We seemed to be a little bit worn down there at the end of the game which let Happy Daze stick a little closer than we would have liked, but the bats were there when we needed them."
Young went 6-for-6 and scored five times to lead the Snowhawks' offense Monday night.
"Derek really came through when we needed him to," Smith said. "He was looking really strong at the plate which we'll need next week against the All-Stars."
Billy Kuckkhan added a rare inside-the-park home run during the fifth inning rally to the delight the Lake Tomahawk fans.
Lau went 4-for-5 with three runs scored to pace Happy Daze. Ott also had a nice day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a pair of runs.
"Both teams played really hard in the game and put on a really nice show for the fans that were here," Smith said. "It says a lot about the community and supporters of snowshoe baseball for them to come out in this chilly weather."
The Snowhawks now turn their attention to the annual Fourth of July showdown against the Chicago All-Stars. Smith said one thing has to be on the team's mind if it has any shot of coming away victorious.
"Hit," he said. "We'll need to play good baseball all around and keep the ball in front of us because they are going to hit the ball hard. We can't throw the ball around or make silly mistakes but if we don't outhit them, we're not going to have a chance."
Smith said he is unsure of the historic overall record whilst facing the Chicago All-Stars, but he knows that the matchup generally result in some tight baseball games.
"The record between us is pretty close. The game could go either way. It always seems to be very close and competitive," he said. "It'll be a lot of fun. It's the Fourth of July and everyone is really pumped up for it. Hopefully we can come away with a win."
With the victory over Happy Daze, the Snowhawks move to 2-0 on the 2016 season. The Fourth of July game against the Chicago All-Stars will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Snowshoe Park. Fans are encouraged to show up to the park early as the game typically draws the one of the largest crowds of the year. Fireworks will follow the game.
Evan Verploegh may be reached via email at [email protected].
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