Sporting a 4-game winning streak, the Saint Nicholas softball team came up against its long-time rival, First Lutheran. The two teams have a 26 year history of playing close games. In recent years, Saint Nicholas has had a slight edge over First Lutheran. First Lutheran decided it was time to change that trend and did so with a 13-3, 18-13 doubleheader sweep over Saint Nicholas. The two losses dropped Saint Nicholas's record to 5-5 on the season.

In the first game, Saint Nicholas got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning. Tom Blatt led off with a line drive that the right center fielder missed a shoestring catch allowing Tom to reach third with a triple. He scored immediately when the shortstop made an error on Jerry Wood's groundball. Jerry made it to third on the play. One out later, Chad Mooney scored Jerry with a sacrifice fly and Saint Nicholas held a 2-0 lead. That lead did not last very long. First Lutheran struck for 6 runs in the bottom of the first to take a 6-2 lead. Saint Nicholas did not score in the second or third innings. Meanwhile, First Lutheran added 3 runs in the bottom of the second and 1 more in the bottom of the third to build a 10-2 lead. With two outs in the top of the fourth and Austin Wood on second and Bryan Mullins on first, Dave Hickin hit a fly ball to right field that was dropped. Austin crossed home plate to make the score 10-3. First Lutheran did not score in the bottom of the fourth nor did Saint Nicholas in the top of the fifth. First Lutheran scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth to close out game one with a 13-3 10-run rule win.

In the second game, First Lutheran again had a big first inning, this time scoring 7 runs in the top of the first to lead 7-0. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Andrew Wood singled. Andrew advanced to second when the shortstop erred on Chad Mooney's groundball. Keith Williams singled home Andrew to make the score 7-1. Neither team scored in the second inning nor did First Lutheran in the top of the third. Tom Blatt, Dave Hickin, and Jerry Wood singled to load the bases to start the bottom of the third. Andrew Wood singled home Tom and kept the bases loaded. Chad Mooney hit a sacrifice fly to score Dave. Unfortunately, those 2 runs were all Saint Nicholas got. First Lutheran led 7-3 after three innings. First Lutheran picked up 3 runs in the top of the fourth to boost their lead to 10-3. Jim Walls led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. Austin Wood walked and Bryan Mullins singled to load the bases. Max Brockman scored Jim. Tom Blatt singled in Austin. Later, Jerry Wood and Chad Mooney scored Bryan, Max, and Tom. Then, Keith Williams scored Jerry and Chad to tie the game at 10-10. First Lutheran bounced back with 2 runs in the top of the fifth to retake the lead, 12-10. Saint Nicholas did not score in the bottom of the fifth. First Lutheran added 6 more runs in the top of the sixth to increase their lead to 18-10. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Andrew Wood doubled. Chad Mooney singled to score Andrew. Keith Williams single to right. Chad scored on an error by the right fielder and Keith advanced to third. Jim Walls grounded out, but Keith scored on an error by the first baseman. Austin Wood, Bryan Mullins, and Max Brockman reached to reload the bases, but Tom Blatt grounded out to end the inning. The umpire declared that the time limit for the game had been surpassed leaving Saint Nicholas on the short end of the 18-13 final score.

All ten players in the lineup scored at least one run in the doubleheader. Tom Blatt scored 3 runs. Chad Mooney, Andrew Wood, Austin Wood, and Jerry Wood each scored 2 runs.

After another weekend off (this time for Memorial Day), the softball team started a very busy month of June with a doubleheader versus our neighbor from around the corner, Jesus the Divine Word. Neither team lit up the scoreboard with lots of hits and runs. However, Saint Nicholas played better defense. In the end, that proved to be the difference as Saint Nicholas won both games of the doubleheader, 7-1 and 5-4 to improve the team's record to 5-3.

Neither team scored in the first inning of the first game. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the second. JDW turned a leadoff walk into a run to take a 1-0 lead after two innings. Neither team scored in the third inning. With one out and Dave Hickin on first in the top of the fourth, Jerry Wood and Josh Smith singled to load the bases. Chad Mooney singled to score Dave to tie the game. Andrew Dangin followed with a single to score Jerry and give Saint Nicholas the lead. Sean Smith singled to score Josh and Andrew. After a fielder's choice, Jason Kiessling's groundball was booted by the second base man allowing Sean to score and give Saint Nicholas a 5-1 lead. JDW did not score in the bottom of the fourth. Neither team scored in the fifth inning. With one out in the top of the sixth, Josh Smith walked and Chad Mooney and Andrew Dangin singled to load the bases. Keith Williams singled home Josh. Matt Taby's fielder's choice scored Chad to give Saint Nicholas a 7-1 lead. JDW did not score in the bottom of the sixth. Neither team scored in the seventh inning leaving Saint Nicholas with a 7-1 win.

Neither team scored in the first inning of game two. JDW failed to score in the top of the second. Andrew Dangin led off the bottom of the second and reached second base when the left fielder dropped his fly ball. Two outs later, Jason Kiessling's single scored Andrew to put Saint Nicholas on top 1-0. JDW did not score in the top of the third. Bryan Mullins singled to start the bottom of the third. One out later, Dave Hickin singled. Jerry Wood followed with a single to score Bryan and move Dave to third. Josh Smith's sacrifice fly scored Dave to push Saint Nicholas's lead to 3-0. JDW picked up a run in the top of the fourth to close the gap to 3-1. Andrew Dangin singled to start the bottom of the fourth. One out later, Matt Taby's fly ball to left was dropped. An additional error by the third baseman allowed Andrew to score all the way from first and Matt wound up at third. Jason Kiessling's sacrifice fly scored Matt to give Saint Nicholas a 5-1 lead. JDW picked up 3 runs in the top of the fifth to suddenly make it a 1-run game, 5-4. Neither team scored the rest of the way though JDW had the bases loaded in the top of the seventh and failed to score the tying run. Final score - Saint Nicholas 5, JDW 4.

This was a team victory in the true sense of the word. The 12 runs were spread across 8 of the 12 players in the lineup. Also, 8 of the 12 players had RBIs. Andrew Dangin and Jerry Wood led the team with 4 hits each. Dave Hickin added 3 hits. Andrew Dangin, Dave Hickin, Chad Mooney, and Josh Smith each scored 2 runs. Jason Kiessling and Sean Smith were the only players with 2 RBIs.

After about an 1 1/2 hour break following the First Baptist debacle, the Saint Nicholas softball team was back on the field to take on last year's defending regular season champs, Battle Creek Mission. Battle Creek also played a doubleheader immediately before this one and had a further disadvantage with having only 9 players. Saint Nicholas got some help with Dave Hickin's arrival. Most importantly, the bats woke up and suddenly runs were plentiful as Saint Nicholas rolled to a 17-8, 15-1 sweep of Battle Creek. That evened the team's record at 3-3 for the season.

With one out in the top of the first inning of game one, Jerry Wood singled and Josh Smith doubled to put runners on second and third. One out later, Andrew Wood's two-out single scored Jerry. Keith Williams followed with a single to score Josh and Saint Nicholas held a 2-0 lead. Battle Creek did not score in the bottom of the first. Jim Felbinger, Bryan Mullins, and Ryan Mozzetta singled to load the bases with one out in the top of the second. Tom Blatt singled to score Jim and Bryan. Dave Hickin singled home Ryan. Jerry Wood singled to load the bases again. Josh Smith doubled home Tom and Dave and sent Jerry to third. Chad Mooney's sacrifice fly scored Jerry. Andrew Wood walked. Keith Williams singled and Josh scored on a misplay by the third baseman. Austin Owens singled to score Andrew. When the dust cleared, Saint Nicholas had batted around, scoring 8 runs to take a 10-0 lead. Battle Creek picked up 2 runs in the bottom of the second to make the score 10-2. Neither team scored in the third inning. Josh Smith singled to start the top of the fourth. Chad Mooney doubled home Josh. Andrew Wood followed with an inside-the-park homerun to score 2 runs. Keith Williams singled, Austin Owens reached on an error, and Austin Wood singled to load the bases. Keith scored on Jim Felbinger's fielder's choice. Bryan Mullins singled home Austin Owens. Saint Nicholas picked up 5 more runs and took a commanding 15-2 lead. Battle Creek scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the lead to 15-5. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the fifth. Battle Creek scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to make the scored 15-7. Neither team scored in the sixth inning. Andrew Wood and Keith Williams singled to start the top of the seventh. Austin Owens followed with a triple to score Andrew and Keith to make the score 17-7. Battle Creek picked up 1 last run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score Saint Nicholas 17, Battle Creek 8.

Battle Creek did not score in the top of the first of the second game. With one out in the bottom of the first, Jerry Wood walked and Josh Smith and Chad Mooney singled to load the bases. Andrew Wood cleared the bases with a triple and then scored on an errant throw. Keith Williams and Austin Owens singled. Austin Wood singled to drive in Keith. Jim Felbinger singled and Austin Owens scored on a misplay by the left fielder. Bryan Mullins singled to reload the bases. Ryan Mozzetta's fielder's choice scored Austin Wood. Tom Blatt's single scored Jim. Dave Hickin's single scored Ryan. Jerry Wood's single scored Tom. Josh Smith's single scored Dave. When the inning ended, Saint Nicholas had exploded for 11 first inning runs to jump in front 11-0. Battle Creek did not score in the top of the second. Andrew Wood led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on Keith Williams's single. Austin Owens doubled home Keith to give Saint Nicholas a 13-0 lead. Battle Creek did not score in the top of the third. With one out in the bottom of the third and Dave Hickin on first, Jerry Wood singled. Josh Smith doubled to scored Dave and send Jerry to third. Chad Mooney's sacrifice fly scored Jerry to give Saint Nicholas a 15-0 lead. Neither team scored in the fourth inning. Battle Creek pushed across 1 run in the top of the fifth. But, the game ended right there with a 15-1 10-run rule Saint Nicholas victory.

Good offensive numbers abounded in this doubleheader as all 12 players in the lineup scored at least 1 run and 10 of the 12 players had at least 1 RBI. Josh Smith and Keith Williams each had 6 hits in the doubleheader. Jerry Wood added 5 hits and Austin Owens, Andrew Wood, and Tom Blatt each had 4 hits. Andrew Wood led the team with 5 runs scored and 6 RBIs. Andrew also hit for the cycle in the doubleheader with a single, double, triple, and homerun. Josh Smith, Keith Williams, and Jerry Wood each scored 4 runs. Josh Smith and Austin Owens picked up 4 RBIs. Chad Mooney, Keith Williams, and Tom Blatt all had 3 RBIs.

The May 18 doubleheader vs First Baptist was the first of two doubleheader that day for the Saint Nicholas softball team. Just like the previous Calvert County Baptist doubleheader, it had been a few weeks since the last time on the field, so batting practice was held prior to the games. Just like vs Calvert County Baptist, the team hit well during batting practice. Just like vs Calvert County Baptist, the bats went silent when the games started. This time, however, the bats did not wake up at all during the doubleheader leading to a 10-4, 10-0 sweep by First Baptist. The two losses dropped Saint Nicholas's record to 1-3.

Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the first inning of game one. First Baptist quickly put 2 runs on the board in the bottom of the first to jump in front 2-0. Neither team scored in the second inning. Ryan Mozzetta and Tom Blatt singled to start the top of the third. Austin Owens forced Tom at second base, but reached first on the fielder's choice. Jerry Wood's groundball to third was booted allowing Ryan to score and move Austin to third. Josh Smith followed with a double to score Austin and tie the game at 2-2. First Baptist answered immediately with 4 runs in the bottom of the third to retake the lead 6-2.Neither team scored in the fourth inning. Bryan Mullins singled to start the top of the fifth. One out later, Tom Blatt and Austin Owens singled to load the bases. Jerry Wood's sacrifice fly scored Bryan to cut the deficit to 6-3. First Baptist again answered quickly with 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth to open up a 9-3 lead. Saint Nicholas did not score in the top of the sixth. First Baptist added 1 more run in the bottom of the sixth to stretch their lead to 10-3. With one out in the top of the seventh, Ton Blatt drew a walk and Austin Owens reached on an error. Jerry Wood followed with a single to score Tom. But, Saint Nicholas couldn't get anybody else home. First Baptist won by a final score of 10-4.

Four runs in game one was not very good, but it looked great to what happened in game two. Saint Nicholas managed only 6 hits in the second game. We did pick up 6 walks and some help by an error or two, but still could not push any runs across the plate. First Baptist spread out their scoring with 2 in the top of the first, 2 in the third, 1 in the fourth, 3 in the sixth, and 2 last runs in the top of the seventh to coast to a 10-0 win.

The Saint Nicholas highlight of the night was Ryan Mozzetta getting a hit and scoring a run in his very first plate appearance on the Saint Nicholas softball team. Chad Mooney led the team with 4 hits in the doubleheader. Tom Blatt added 2 hits and 2 walks. Josh Smith and Keith Williams each had 2 hits and 1 walk. Jerry Wood picked up 2 RBIs to lead the team.