The softball team ended the regular season with an 11-11 record (two games versus Jesus the Divine Word were rained out and never made up). This put the team in 6th place in the 13 team league.

The first team up in the tournament was #11 seed Our Lady Star of the Sea (OLSS). After holding OLSS scoreless in the top of the first, Jerry Wood connected for a one-out single. Andrew Dangin followed with a single. Then, Andrew Wood singled Jerry home and put Saint Nicholas in front 1-0. Neither team scored in the second, third, or fourth innings. OLSS did not score in the top of the fifth. Austin Owens walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Rick Watkins followed with a single. An error on the play allowed Austin to score all the way from first base and put Saint Nicholas up 2-0. OLSS again went scoreless in the top of the sixth. Tom Blatt singled to start the bottom of the sixth. Dave Hickin followed with a single and Jerry Wood walked to load the bases. Andrew Dangin's sacrifice fly scored Tom. Andrew Wood then walked to load the bases again. Matt Taby's single scored Dave and kept the bases loaded. Austin Owens hit a sacrifice fly to score Jerry, giving Saint Nicholas some insurance runs and a 5-0 lead. OLSS went scoreless in the top of the seventh giving Saint Nicholas the 5-0 victory. Tom Blatt pitched the shutout. The defense was superb, not allowing any OLSS runner past second base.

The "reward" for defeating OLSS was getting to play #3 seeded Saint Anthony's. Saint Nicholas did not score in the first three innings of the game. Meanwhile, Saint Anthony's scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning and 4 more runs in the bottom of the third inning to take an 8-0 lead. Andrew Dangin, Andrew Wood, and Matt Taby got consecutive 1-out singles to load the bases in the top of the fourth. Austin Owens singled home Andrew Dangin to put Saint Nicholas on the board. Rick Watkins grounded out, but Andrew Wood scored on the play. Austin Wood and Matt Hickin followed with clutch 2-out singles to score Matt and Austin Owens to pull Saint Nicholas closer at 8-4. Saint Anthony's scored 1 run in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 9-4. Nick Demme, Tom Blatt, and Dave Hickin singled to load the bases with nobody out in the top of the fifth. After an out, Andrew Dangin singled home Nick. Andrew Wood followed with a sacrifice fly to score Tom and Saint Nicholas cut the deficit to 9-6. Saint Anthony's answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth to push their lead to 12-6. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the sixth. Saint Anthony's scored 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth to grab a 16-6 ten-run rule win.

After the loss to Saint Anthony's late Friday night, Saint Nicholas fell into the loser's bracket of the tournament and faced #10 seed New Life Church first thing Saturday morning. New Life wasted no time getting started, picking up 4 runs in the top of the first inning. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the first. New Life added 3 more runs in the top of the second to boost their lead to 7-0. Saint Nicholas failed to score in the bottom of the second. Neither team scored in the third inning nor did New Life in the top of the fourth. Jerry Wood singled to start the bottom of the fourth. After an out, Andrew Wood and Austin Owens reached to load the bases. Rick Watkins walked to force home Jerry with Saint Nicholas's first run. Austin Wood singled home Andrew. Matt Hickin singled home Austin Owens to pull Saint Nicholas to within 4 runs, 7-3. New Life picked up 1 run in the top of the fifth to increase their lead to 8-3. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the fifth. New Life added 1 more run in the top of the sixth to make the score 9-3. Andrew Dangin and Andrew Wood both got on to start the bottom of the sixth. After an out, Rick Watkins singled home Andrew Dangin. After a second out, Matt Hickin reached on an error that allowed Andrew Wood to score and narrow the deficit to 9-5. Neither team scored in the seventh inning. The final score was New Life 9, Saint Nicholas 5 and Saint Nicholas was eliminated from the tournament.

Andrew Dangin led the team in hits for the tournament, going 5 for 9 with a sacrifice fly, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBIs. Andrew Wood was 4 for 6 with 3 walks, a sacrifice fly, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBIs. Matt Taby was 4 for 6 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Austin Owens and Jerry Wood each scored 3 runs. Tom Blatt scored 2 runs. Rick Watkins had 3 RBIs to lead the team during the tournament. Matt Hickin, Austin Owens, and Austin Wood all had 2 RBIs.

The less said about the July 15 doubleheader with Dunkirk Baptist, the better. Saint Nicholas's bats went completely silent and Dunkirk Baptist played like the perennial title contender they are. Dunkirk won both games handily, 12-2 and 22-0. Saint Nicholas's record dropped to 9-11 with the two losses.

Saint Nicholas got off to a good start in game one. After an out, Dave Hickin singled and Josh Smith doubled Dave home. Sean Smith followed with a single to score Josh and give Saint Nicholas a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, those were the only runs Saint Nicholas would score in the doubleheader. After the top of the first, it was all Dunkirk Baptist the rest of the way. In game one, they scored 2 runs in the first inning, 4 in the second, and 3 in both the third and fourth to win via the ten-run rule, 12-2.

As bad as the first game was, the second game was worse. Dunkirk scored 8 runs in the first, 10 runs in the third, 3 in the fourth, and 1 in the fifth. Meanwhile, Saint Nicholas could not get a runner across the plate. Dunkirk again won by the ten-run rule, 22-0.

Josh Smith was 1 for 1 with 2 walks, a double, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI. Andrew Dangin and Dave Hickin had 2 hits each. Jerry Wood had 1 hit and a walk.

After having the first two attempts to play Our Lady Star of the Sea rained out, the two teams finally got the doubleheader played on Saturday July 14. Both games were similar in that one team jumped out to a lead and the other team had all they could do to avoid being shut out. In the end, the teams split the doubleheader with Our Lady Star of the Sea (OLSS) winning the first game 12-2 and Saint Nicholas winning the second game 9 -3. Saint Nicholas's record is now 9-9 for the season.

Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the first inning of the first game. OLSS picked up 2 runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-0 lead. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the second. OLSS exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the second and took a 9-0 lead. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the third inning. OLSS scored 2 more runs in the bottom of the third and now led 11-0. Neither team scored in the fourth inning. Tom Blatt walked with two outs in the top of the fifth. Austin Owens and Jerry Wood singled to load the bases. Josh Smith singled to break the shutout, scoring Tom and Austin to make the score 11-2. OLSS picked up 1 run in the bottom of the fifth to close out a 12-2 ten-run rule win.

OLSS did not score in the top of the first of game two. Austin Owens, Jerry Wood, and Josh Smith singled to start the bottom of the first with Austin scoring on Josh's hit. Sean Smith's fielder's choice forced Jerry at third. After the second out, Matt Taby single to load the bases. Keith Williams's fielder's choice groundball was not executed correctly by OLSS allowing Josh to score and the bases to remain loaded. The 2 runs were all Saint Nicholas wound up getting, but it gave them a 2-0 lead after one inning. Neither team scored in the second inning nor did OLSS in the top of the third. Jerry Wood and Josh Smith walked to start the bottom of the third inning. Sean Smith singled to load the bases. After an out, Matt Taby walked to force home Jerry. Keith Williams then singled home Josh and Sean to give Saint Nicholas a 5-0 lead. OLSS did not score in the top of the fourth. Tom Blatt and Austin Owens singled to start the bottom of the fourth. After an out, Josh Smith cleared the bases with a triple. Sean Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to score Josh. The 3 runs gave Saint Nicholas an 8-0 lead. OLSS did not score in the top of the fifth. Keith Williams singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth and eventually scored to increase Saint Nicholas's lead to 9-0. OLSS finally scored a run in the top of the sixth to make the score 9-1. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the sixth. OLSS pushed across 2 runs in the top of the seventh. But, it was not enough and Saint Nicholas won 9-3.

Austin Owens had a very good day at the plate for Saint Nicholas going 5 for 6 with a walk and scoring 3 runs. Josh Smith also had a good day going 4 for 6 with a walk, a triple, 3 runs scored, and 5 RBIs. Tom Blatt added 2 runs scored. Keith Williams picked up 2 RBIs.

After a disappointing performance vs First Baptist, Saint Nicholas had a chance to bounce back immediately vs New Life Church in the second of back-to-back doubleheaders. And bounce back they did with a pair of victories over New Life, 12-7 and 15-9. The two wins brought Saint Nicholas's record back to .500 at 8-8.

Jerry Wood walked with on out in the top of the first. Keith Williams followed with a single. Sean Smith doubled to score Jerry and send Keith to third. Andrew Wood singled to score Keith. Andrew Dangin unloaded a bases clearing triple, scoring Sean and Andrew Wood. Andrew Dangin held at third on Austin Owens's infield single and then scored on Austin Wood's sacrifice fly. When the dust settled, Saint Nicholas held a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning. New Life picked up 2 runs in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 5-2. After two outs in the top of the second, Bryan Mullins and Dave Hickin singled. Bryan scored when the right fielder misplayed Dave's single. Consecutive singles by Jerry Wood and Keith Williams scored Dave, allowing Saint Nicholas to get their five run lead back at 7-2. New Life did not score in the bottom of the second. Andrew Dangin and Austin Owens had consecutive one-out singles in the top of the third. After the second out, Matt Hickin's single to right center scored Andrew. Austin also scored when the right center fielder booted Matt's hit. The 2 runs gave Saint Nicholas a 9-2 lead. New Life scored once in the bottom of the third to make the score 9-3. Bryan Mullins got a one-out single in the top of the fourth. Dave Hickin walked. Jerry Wood's singled scored Bryan and Saint Nicholas now held a 10-3 lead. New Life scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 10-5. Neither team scored in the fifth inning nor did Saint Nicholas in the top of the sixth. New Life scored 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth to close to within striking distance at 10-7. Dave Hickin, Jerry Wood, and Josh Smith singled to load the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh. Sean Smith's sacrifice fly scored Dave. Andrew Wood followed with a single to score Jerry and push Saint Nicholas's lead to 12-7. New Life did not score in the bottom of the seventh leaving Saint Nicholas with the 12-7 win.

New Life scored 2 runs in the top of the first in the second game to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Dave Hickin singled and Jerry Wood doubled to start the bottom of the first. After an out, Sean Smith singled to score Dave and move Jerry to third. Andrew Wood's sacrifice fly scored Jerry and the game was tied at 2-2. New Life picked up 1 run in the top of the second to regain the lead at 3-2. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the second. New Life scored 1 run in the top of the third to now lead 4-2. Dave Hickin and Jerry Wood delivered two-out singles in the bottom of the third. Josh Smith followed with a double to score both runners and tied the game again at 4-4. New Life did not score in the top of the fourth. Andrew Wood singled to start the bottom of the fourth. One out later, Austin Owens singled. Austin Wood followed with a single. Both Andrew and Austin Owens scored on an outfield error and Austin Wood moved into scoring position. Matt Hickin singled home Austin Wood. Jim Felbinger followed with a single. After a ground out moved Matt and Jim up one base each, Bryan Mullins singled home Matt. Dave Hickin followed with a single to score Jim. Bryan also scored on the play when the left fielder misplayed Dave's hit. Dave advanced on the play and then scored when Jerry Wood's groundball was booted by the second baseman. Seven runs scored in the inning giving Saint Nicholas an 11-4 lead. New Life bounced back with 3 runs in the top of the fifth to narrow the gap to 11-7. Andrew Dangin singled to start the bottom of the fifth. Austin Owens reached on an error and Austin Wood singled to load the bases. Matt Hickin's fielder's choice forced Austin Wood at second, but scored Andrew. Jim Felbinger's fielder's choice scored Austin Owens. And, New Life committed an error at second base allowing Matt to advance to third. Nick Demme's fielder's choice forced Jim at second, but scored Matt. Bryan Mullins followed with a single. Both Nick and Bryan advanced an extra base on an outfield error. Dave Hickin singled home Nick giving Saint Nicholas 4 runs in the inning and a 15-7 lead. Neither team scored in the sixth inning. New Life picked up 2 runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Saint Nicholas held on for 1 15-9 win.

Dave Hickin had a very good doubleheader going 6 for 7 with a walk, scoring 5 runs, and driving in 2 RBIs. Jerry Wood was right behind Dave with a 5 for 7 doubleheader, a walk, a double, 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. Andrew Dangin, Bryan Mullins, Josh Smith, and Andrew Wood all had 4 hits apiece. Andrew Dangin, Bryan Mullins, and Austin Owens scored 3 runs each. Matt Hickin, Sean Smith, and Andrew Wood led the team with 3 RBIs each.

On Saturday July 7, Saint Nicholas played back-to-back doubleheaders. The first doubleheader was a make-up of a postponement with First Baptist. Saint Nicholas just couldn't get the clutch hit when they needed it, especially in the first game when they left the bases loaded twice and two men on base three times. First Baptist won both games, 18-8 and 11-5, dropping Saint Nicholas's record to 6-8.

Jerry Wood singled with one out in the top of the first of game one. Josh Smith followed with a single and Sean Smith walked to load the bases. Andrew Wood's fielder's choice forced Josh at third, but scored Jerry to give Saint Nicholas a 1-0 lead. First Baptist tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the first. Austin Owens singled to start the top of the second. After a fly out, Austin was safe at second on Rick Watkin's fielder's choice and advanced to third as the throw went into the outfield. Jim Felbinger's fielder's choice forced Rick at second, but scored Austin to put Saint Nicholas back in front, 2-1. Matt Hickin and Bryan Mullins followed with a walk and a single respectively to load the bases, but Saint Nicholas could not score. First Baptist did not score in the bottom of the second. Jerry Wood, Josh Smith, and Sean Smith singled to load the bases to start the top of the third inning. Andrew Wood singled home Jerry and Josh. Andrew Dangin singled to load the bases again. Austin Owens hit a sacrifice fly to score Sean and push Saint Nicholas's lead to 5-1. Helped by a number of Saint Nicholas errors, First Baptist erupted for 6 runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-5 lead. Matt Hickin singled to start the top of the fourth. Bryan Mullin's groundball forced Matt at second, but Bryan advanced to second on a wild throw to first. Dave Hickin followed with a single to score Bryan. Jerry Wood singled. After a second out, Sean Smith singled home Dave to tie the game at 7-7. First Baptist got one run in the bottom of the fourth to regain the lead 8-7. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the fifth. First Baptist scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 10-7. Matt Hickin and Nick Demme walked to start the top of the sixth. After an out, Jerry Wood got his fourth single of the game to load the bases. Josh Smith's sacrifice fly scored Matt driving Saint Nicholas closer at 10-8. Then, First Baptist exploded for 8 runs in the bottom of the sixth to win by the ten-run rule, 18-8.

First Baptist jumped into the lead in game two with 2 runs in the top of the first. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the first. First Baptist added to their lead with 3 more runs in the top of the second to go up 5-0. Saint Nicholas failed to score in the bottom of the second. First Baptist padded their lead with 2 more runs in the top of the third to make the score 7-0. Rick Watkins doubled and Bryan Mullins singled to start the bottom of the third. After two outs, Keith Williams smacked a double to score Rick and Bryan and put Saint Nicholas on the board, trailing 7-2. Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth innings. First Baptist picked up 4 runs in the top of the sixth to stretch their lead to 11-2. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the sixth nor did First Baptist in the top of the seventh. Sean Smith doubled to start the bottom of the seventh. Pinch runner Matt Hickin went to third on Andrew Wood's single and scored on Andrew Dangin's sacrifice fly. Austin Owens singed home Andrew Wood and advance to third on errors. Austin Wood's groundout scored Austin Owens. But, that was all Saint Nicholas could get and they lost 11-5.

Jerry Wood was the offensive star of the doubleheader going 5 for 7 with 2 runs scored. Sean Smith and Andrew Wood also had 3 hits in the doubleheader. Bryan Mullins, Austin Owens, and Sean Smith also scored 2 runs each. Austin Owens, Keith Williams, and Andrew Wood had 2 RBIs each.

Saint Nicholas was badly in need of a win to stop the four game losing streak as it entered its June 24 doubleheader with Calvert County Baptist. The team got just what the doctor ordered with a sweep of Calvert County Baptist. The first game was a 17-1 rout. The second game was a nail-biting 6-5 win in 9 innings. The two wins pushed the team's record back to .500 at 6-6.

Saint Nicholas wasted no time getting started in game one. Dave Hickin walked to start the game. Matt Taby singled. Then, Josh Smith singled to score Dave and move Matt to third. After one out, Andrew Wood's sacrifice fly scored Matt. Then, Andrew Dangin singled. When the left center fielder misplayed the ball, Josh scored and Saint Nicholas held a quick 3-0 lead. Calvert County did not score in the bottom of the first nor did Saint Nicholas in the top of the second. Calvert County picked up 1 run in the bottom of the second to make the score 3-1. Neither team scored in the third inning. Sean Smith singled with one out in the top of the fourth. Andrew Wood followed with a walk. Andrew Dangin ripped a double to score Sean and Andrew Wood and went to third on the throw home. Austin Owens's sacrifice fly scored Andrew Dangin to increase Saint Nicholas's lead to 6-1. Calvert County did not score in the bottom of the fourth. Devon Atcheson, Keith Williams, and Matt Hickin singled to load the bases to start the top of the fifth. Jason Starks's groundball was thrown away by the third baseman allowing Devon to score and keep the bases loaded. Dave Hickin's groundball forced Jason at second, but scored Keith. Matt Taby doubled to score Matt Hickin and send Dave to third. Josh Smith drove in Dave and Matt with a single. Sean Smith singled to send Josh to third. Andrew Wood singled home Josh. Andrew Dangin singled to load the bases. Austin Owens promptly unloaded the bases with a double scoring all three on base. Jerry Wood singled home Austin. After the second out of the inning, Keith Williams singled. Matt Hickin followed with a single to score Jerry. When the dust settled, Saint Nicholas had exploded for 11 runs in the top of the fifth to lead 17-1. Calvert County did not score in the bottom of the fifth and Saint Nicholas won via the ten-run rule.

Calvert County Baptist failed to score in the top of the first of the second game. With one out in the bottom of the first, Matt Taby singled and Josh Smith reached base on an error. After the second out, Andrew Wood walked to load the bases. Andrew Dangin's groundball was booted by the second baseman allowing Matt and Josh to score and giving Saint Nicholas a 2-0 lead. After that, Saint Nicholas's offense went south and the team did not score for four innings. Meanwhile, Calvert County picked up 1 run in the top of the second, 3 runs in the top of the fourth, and 1 more in the top of the fifth to hold a 5-2 lead after 5 innings. After Calvert County failed to score in the top of the sixth, Josh Smith doubled to start the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Andrew Dangin singled Josh to third. Austin Owens singled home Josh and Jerry Wood singled home Andrew and Saint Nicholas was just one run behind at 5-4. Calvert County did not score in the top of the seventh. Needing a run to tie the game, Matt Hickin, Jason Starks, and Tom Blatt loaded the bases with one out. Matt Taby's sacrifice fly scored Matt Hickin to tie the game at 5-5 and send it into extra innings. Both teams went three up, three down in the eighth inning. Calvert County did the same in the top of the ninth. Austin Owens singled to start the bottom of the ninth. Jerry Wood then singled to right center. The right center fielder was slow to come in on the ball and then bobbled it too. Austin was hustling all the way on the play and scored from first to give Saint Nicholas the 6-5 win.

Josh Smith once again had a very good day going 4 for 7 at the plate with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Andrew Dangin went 5 for 7 with a double, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBIs. Matt Hickin, Austin Owens, Matt Taby, Keith Williams, and Jerry Wood all had 3 hits apiece. Dave Hickin, Matt Hickin, Austin Owens, Sean Smith, Matt Taby, and Andrew Wood scored 2 runs each. Austin Owens had 5 RBIs in the doubleheader.

After the two losses to Battle Creek Independent, the next opponent on Saint Nicholas's schedule was league leading Saint Anthony's. Saint Anthony's showed why there were the number one team by completely dominating both games, winning 14-2 and 12-2. The two losses dropped Saint Nicholas's record to 4-6.

Saint Anthony's jumped in front right away in game one with 4 runs in the top of the first. After Saint Nicholas failed to score in the bottom of the first, Saint Anthony's exploded for 7 runs in the top of the second to take a commanding 11-0 lead. Sean Smith doubled to lead off the bottom of the second and Dave Hickin singled him to third. Two outs later, Rick Watkins singled to score Sean and make the score 11-1. Saint Anthony's did not score in the top of the third. Andrew Dangin doubled to start the bottom of the third. Josh Smith followed with a single to score Andrew and make the score 11-2. Neither team scored again until the top of the seventh when Saint Anthony's added 3 runs to make the final score 14-2.

Neither team scored in the first inning of game two. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the second. Saint Anthony's scored 3 runs in the bottom of the second to grab the lead. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the third. Saint Anthony's added 5 runs in the bottom of the third to increase their lead to 8-0. Andrew Dangin walked to start the top of the fourth. Josh Smith and Andrew Wood followed with singles to load the bases. Sean Smith singled to score Andrew Dangin and leave the bases loaded. But, that was the only run Saint Nicholas would get, leaving the score at 8-1. Saint Anthony's did not score in the bottom of the fourth. Neither team scored in the fifth inning. Bryan Mullins led off the top of the sixth with a single. After two outs, Andrew Dangin and Josh Smith single to score Bryan and make the score 8-2. Saint Anthony's scored 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 12-2 lead and win the game via the ten-run rule.

Andrew Dangin and Josh Smith led the team with 3 hits each. Austin Owens and Sean Smith each had 2 hits. Andrew Dangin scored 2 runs. Bryan Mullins and Sean Smith scored the other Saint Nicholas runs. Josh Smith had 2 RBIs. Sean Smith and Rick Watkins had 1 RBI each.

Coming off the exhilarating sweep of First Lutheran, the Saint Nicholas softball team ran into Battle Creek Independent. Last year, Saint Nicholas won two hard fought one-run games over Battle Creek. This year, Battle Creek returned the favor with a pair of very close 11-8 and 10-9 wins over Saint Nicholas.

Battle Creek started the first game by scoring 1 run in the top of the first. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the first. Battle Creek padded their lead with 5 runs in the top of the second to push their lead to 6-0. Saint Nicholas again failed to score in the bottom of the second. Battle Creek went scoreless in the top of the third. With two outs and Dom Soto on first, Austin Owens Jerry Wood and Josh Smith delivered consecutive two-out hits. Dom, Austin, and Jerry scored to cut the deficit to 6-3 after three innings. Battle Creek picked up 1 run in the top of the fourth to make the score 7-3. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the fourth. Battle Creek scored 4 more runs in the top of the fifth to go up 11-3. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the fifth and neither did Battle Creek in the top of the sixth. Jerry Wood and Josh Smith got hits to start the bottom of the sixth. After one out, Dave Hickin and Sean Smith got hits to score Jerry. Bryan Mullins followed with a hit to score Josh. Matt Hickin's fielder's choice scored Dave. Tom Blatt got a hit to score Sean and Saint Nicholas pulled back into the game at 11-7. Battle Creek did not score in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Josh Smith, Andrew Wood, and Dave Hickin got three consecutive hits to score Josh. But, that one run was all Saint Nicholas could muster as they lost by a final score of 11-8.

Austin Owens singled to start the second game. Jerry Wood followed with a single. The left fielder booted Jerry's hit allowing Austin to score and Jerry to move to second. Josh Smith followed with a single to put runners on first and third. Andrew Wood singled to score Jerry. Dave Hickin singled to load the bases. Sean Smith crushed a double to score Josh and Andrew and move Dave to third. Bryan Mullins singled to score Dave and Saint Nicholas held a 5-0 lead after the top of the first. Battle Creek did not score in the bottom of the first nor did Saint Nicholas in the top of the second. Battle Creek picked up 3 runs in the bottom of the second to close the gap to 5-3. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the third. Battle Creek pushed across 1 run in the bottom of the third to make it a one-run game, 5-4. Neither team scored in the fourth inning. Jerry Wood led off the top of the fifth with a single and came home on a double by Josh Smith. Josh advanced to third on the throw home. Andrew Wood hit a sacrifice fly to score Josh and Saint Nicholas bumped up its lead to 7-4. Battle Creek did not score in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Hickin singled to start the top of the sixth. Tom Blatt dropped a double down the right field line to score Matt. Tom advanced to third on the throw home. Dom Soto singled to score Tom and give Saint Nicholas a 9-4 lead. Battle Creek scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 9-6. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the seventh. Battle Creek came all the way back in the bottom of the seventh, scoring 4 runs and stealing the 10-9 victory.

Josh Smith had a very good doubleheader with 6 hits and 4 runs scored. Dave Hickin, Jerry Wood, and Tom Blatt also picked up 4 hits. Bryan Mullins and Andrew Wood had 3 hits each. Jerry Wood also scored 4 runs. Dave Hickin and Austin Owens each scored 2 runs.

This doubleheader with First Lutheran has to be one that goes down in the annals of Saint Nicholas softball history. Both games were highly competitive with comebacks on both sides, multiple lead changes, and, in the end, one run ball games. When the dust settled (or better said, right before the rains came!!), Saint Nicholas pulled out a 12-11 walk-off win in the first game followed by a thrilling 7-6 nine inning win in the second game. The two wins pushed Saint Nicholas's record to 4-2 on the season.

First Lutheran batted first in game one and wasted no time getting getting started scoring 2 runs in the top of the first. It would have been worse if not for shortstop Jerry Wood firing a perfect relay throw from left center fielder Austin Owens to catcher Tom Blatt to nail a runner at the plate. Saint Nicholas got 1 run back in the bottom of the first when Sean Smith smacked the team's fourth consecutive two-out single to score Josh Smith and cut Saint Nicholas's deficit to 2-1. Neither team scored in the second inning. First Lutheran picked up 3 runs in the top of the third to stretch their lead to 5-1. Jerry Wood led off the bottom of the third by reaching on an error. Sean Smith knocked in Jerry with another two-out single to make the score 5-2. First Lutheran did not score in the top of the fourth thanks to a double-play with the bases loaded executed by Josh Smith and Sean Smith. Tom Blatt reached base on an error with one out in the bottom of the fifth. One out later, Austin Owens, Jerry Wood, Josh Smith, and Keith Williams reached base consecutively, again all with two outs. Saint Nicholas picked up 4 runs in the inning and jumped into a 6-5 lead. First Lutheran bounced right back with 3 runs in the top of the fifth to go back in front 8-6. Bryan Mullins walked with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Austin Wood followed with a double over the left fielder's head to put runners on second and third. Tom Blatt sliced a hit to right that got by the right fielder for a double, scoring Bryan and Austin to tie the game at 8-8. Matt Hickin and Austin Owens got on to load the bases. Jerry Wood knocked in Tom to give Saint Nicholas the lead. One out later, Keith Williams knocked in Matt and Austin to give Saint Nicholas an 11-8 lead. Neither team scored in the sixth inning. First Lutheran mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh, scoring 3 runs to tie the game at 11-11. Austin Owens singled to start the bottom of the seventh. After Jerry Wood's screaming line drive was snagged by the third baseman for the first out, Josh Smith singled to right center. Austin Owens hustled around second and drew a throw to third base from the right fielder, who had already thrown out two Saint Nicholas runners earlier in the game. As Austin slid to the inside part of the base, the throw went to the outside part of the base and bounced past the third baseman. Austin got up and sprinted home to score the winning run. The final score - Saint Nicholas 12, First Lutheran 11.

Comparatively speaking, game two got off to a slow start. Neither team scored in the first inning. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the second inning. First Lutheran went ahead 1-0 with a single run in the bottom of the second. Neither team scored in the third inning. Jerry Wood singled to start the top of the fourth. Josh Smith singled Jerry to third. Keith Williams's ground ball forced Josh at second, but scored Jerry to tie the game at 1-1. First Lutheran came right back with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth to go back in front 2-1. Tom Blatt singled with one out in the top of the fifth and was forced at second by Matt Hickin's ground ball. Austin Owens singled. Matt Hickin never stopped running, drawing a wild throw at third base and a wild throw at home to allow him to score the tying run. On the play Austin moved to third base. Jerry Wood followed with a single to score Austin and put Saint Nicholas in the lead, 3-2. First Lutheran did not score in the bottom of the fifth. Neither did Saint Nicholas in the top of the sixth. First Lutheran pushed across 1 run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. Neither team scored in the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Jerry Wood drew a one-out walk and Josh Smith followed with a single. Keith Williams singled to score Jerry and send Josh to third. Josh scored on Dave Hickin's force out to give Saint Nicholas a 5-3 lead. But, First Lutheran came back to tie the game again with 2 runs in the bottom of the eighth. Bryan Mullins and Austin Wood singled to start the top of the ninth. Tom Blatt's ground ball to the pitcher was thrown to a fielder not covering a base resulting in all the runners being safe and the bases loaded. Matt Hickin's ground ball to second forced Tom out but scored Bryan to put Saint Nicholas back into the lead. Austin Owens followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Austin Wood from third and gave Saint Nicholas a 7-5 lead. First Lutheran scored once in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough. Saint Nicholas escaped with a 7-6 win.

Jerry Wood hit the ball hard all night, leading the team with 6 hits. He also had a walk and scored 4 runs. Austin Owens had 4 hits and also scored 4 runs. Tom Blatt also had 4 hits and scored 2 runs. Josh Smith scored 3 runs. Matt Hickin, Bryan Mullins, and Austin Wood all scored two runs. A very big statistic for the evening was that Saint Nicholas scored 8 runs with two outs during the doubleheader. Coming through in the clutch like that definitely made the difference between winning and losing.

After the disappointing season opener versus Grace Brethren, Emmanuel Church was Saint Nicholas's next opponent. Saint Nicholas bounced back in grand style, sweeping the May 6 doubleheader from Emmanuel 21-6 and 13-6. The two wins moved Saint Nicholas's regular season record to 2-2. Jason Starks became the third player to make his Saint Nicholas softball debut this year. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit Jason (hamstring pull) and Sean Demme (got plunked hard in the ribs by an errant throw). Hopefully, both players will be completely healed soon.

Saint Nicholas got off to a good start in the first game when Dave Hickin, Jerry Wood, and Greg Bandelow scored in the top of the first to give Saint Nicholas a quick 3-0 lead. Emmanuel got a two-run homerun in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Sean Demme and Jim Felbinger singled to start the top of the second. Dave Hickin tripled both of them home. After an out, Andrew Wood, Greg Bandelow, Sean Smith, Keith Williams, Jason Starks, and Matt Hickin reached base consecutively. Dave, Andrew, Greg, and Sean scored to give Saint Nicholas a 6-run second inning and a 9-2 lead. Emmanuel did not score in the bottom of the second inning nor did Saint Nicholas in the top of the third. Emmanuel did score 1 run in the bottom of the third to make the score 9-3. Saint Nicholas proceeded to send 14 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth, scoring 9 runs, and ballooned their lead to 18-3. Emmanuel got 1 run back in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 18-4. Matt Hickin walked and both Bryan Mullins and Sean Demme singled to start the top of the fifth. After a couple of Emmanuel errors, all three runners scored to increase Saint Nicholas's lead to 21-4. Emmanuel scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth. The game ended at that point, 21-6, because of the 10-run rule.

Emmanuel opened the second game scoring 1 run to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Dave Hickin doubled to start the bottom of the first. One out later, Andrew Wood and Greg Bandelow singled to score Dave. After a second out, Keith Williams's single scored Andrew and Greg and Saint Nicholas held a 3-1 lead. Emmanuel did not score in the top of the second. With Sean Demme and Dave Hickin on base with two out, Emmanuel made a crucial error on Jerry Wood's batted ball. After Andrew Wood walked and Greg Bandelow singled, Sean, Dave, and Jerry all scored to push Saint Nicholas's lead to 6-1. Emmanuel answered with 3 runs in the top of the third to cut the lead to 6-4. Four straight singles by Keith Williams, Jason Starks, Bryan Mullins, and Sean Demme to start the bottom of the third scored 2 runs. A fielder's choice by Jim Felbinger netted a third run increasing Saint Nicholas's lead to 9-4. Emmanuel did not score in the top of the fourth. Andrew Wood walked to start the bottom of the fourth. Greg Bandelow followed with a single, Sean Smith with a double, and then Keith Williams with a single. Andrew, Greg, and Sean scored to make the score 12-4 after four innings. Neither team scored in the fifth inning. Emmanuel scored 1 run in the top of the sixth to make the score 12-5. Keith Williams and Jason Starks singled to start the bottom of the sixth. A clutch two-out single by Jim Felbinger scored Keith giving Saint Nicholas a 13-5 lead. Emmanuel pushed across 1 run in the top of the seventh to make the final score Saint Nicholas 13, Emmanuel 6.