By Bob Gordon

For the Express

On Tuesday, Aug. 17, the Inlet women’s softball team played in the league championship game in Speculator.  

The team was fired up and ready for a second shot at the team from Ohio. But it would not be Inlet’s night as Ohio came away with a 9-3 victory.  Inlet could only muster one hit, a single by Karen Hoskins, in the top of the first. Ohio came to bat and quickly put up three runs. Ohio threatened to score again in the second, but some tough defense held them scoreless. However, Ohio’s big hitters came up again in the third and they scored two more runs, making it 5-0 after three innings. Inlet scratched out a run in the fourth on an RBI triple from Hoskins, scoring Heather Levi from first base. Ohio scored once more in the fifth, increasing their lead to 6-1. Inlet could not muster many hits against the tough pitching and excellent defense of Ohio. In the sixth, Ohio score three more runs, including their fifth homerun of the game.  Trailing 9-1 going into the seventh, the Hot Screamers refused to quit. Crystal LaPorte and Michaela Beckingham each scored on consecutive RBI singles by Kyle Hauser and Jen Gaffney. But the rally was cut short as the third out was recorded on a groundout with the bases loaded, making the final score 9-3.  

The team would like to thank all the fans who traveled to the game, as well as all the fans who supported us all season long.  We also would like to thank Rick LeClaire and Gordi Christodaro for umpiring this season. It’s a thankless job, but they both did a wonderful job. And a BIG thank you to Matt Miller and the Miller family, as well as the entire staff at Matt’s Drafthouse, for their sponsorship and incredible support for the team. We wouldn’t be playing without you, and your after-game generosity was the envy of the league.