Bait & Tackle capped off an improbable run to win the championship of the Red Hook Locals Softball League on August 17.
The league, which has been around since the 2000s, resumed play last year after a long hiatus while waiting for construction at the Red Hook ballfields to be completed. Fields 5-8 were closed in 2015 after toxins were found in the soil at the fields and numerous setbacks pushed back the completion date for the fields. Fields 5-8 finally opened up again last year, and Field 9 is also completed. It was certainly worth the wait.
Field 9 is now called “Dovey Diamond” to honor Gary Dovey, a former Red Hook resident and proponent of the softball league, who passed away.
Though there was no league while the fields were closed down, the league’s two original teams the Wobblies and Bait & Tackle continued to play each other in pickup games. Once the league returned in 2022, B61 and the Record Shop were added as new teams. This season, Hometown was added as an expansion team.
After finishing in fourth place in the regular season, Bait & Tackle eliminated Hometown to advance to the semifinals. Both semifinal matchups were rematches from last year’s semifinals as Bait & Tackle took on the Record Shop and the Wobblies played B61, the 2022 champions. Both the semifinals and the championship were played at “Dovey Diamond.”
In the first matchup on August 10, B61 jumped out early and kept tacking on runs until it was 8-3 after five innings on a rainy evening. In the top of the sixth, the Wobblies started to string together hits and cut the lead to 8-6. After a scoreless bottom of the sixth, the Wobblies managed to plate one more and had the tying run on first with two outs but B61 got the final out to earn their spot in the championship with an 8-7 victory.
The second semifinal was a wild back-and-forth high-scoring matchup with both teams getting a lot of runners on base and coming up with clutch hits. The Record Shop led 12-11 in the top of the seventh when the field lost power so the game was suspended.
“I’ve been nervous all week waiting for this game,” said Michael “Miguel” Buscemi of Bait & Tackle. “We’ll see what happens.”
The game resumed with clear skies and a runner on second and one out for Bait & Tackle. After a line out to third, Bait & Tackle kept their season alive with an RBI single which tied the game at 12. After a couple more runners reached base, a clutch two-run single by second baseman Kate gave Bait & Tackle a 14-12 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Record Shop cut the lead to one with a leadoff double followed by a single. The next batter hit a line drive but a diving catch by “Batho” in center field, and an alert throw to first base saved the game for Bait & Tackle. A single by “Eamo” extended the game but a pop-out ended it and Bait & Tackle won 14-13.
The victory set up a rematch of the 2022 championship, which B61 won 29-7.
Bobby Cole, a player-coach for the Record Shop who also umpired in the championship games said, “We had the best record in the regular season. As is often the case, I thought the best player on the team with the best record deserved to win MVP. Our best player all season was Joel Kern who just played an insane third base and was great offensively too. He almost single-handedly got us into the championship game.”
The championship rematch took place less than an hour after the completion of the second semifinal. It looked like it would be another high-scoring game as Bait & Tackle scored two runs in the top of the first with a walk and three singles. B61 took advantage of a couple of walks and responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first.
A smoothly turned double play kept Bait &Tackle off the board in the top of the second. In the bottom of the second, a walk and an error set the table for B61 and they took advantage, lining back-to-back doubles by Chrii and Leo, B61’s second and third hitters in the lineup, to take a 5-2 lead.
After the hot start for both offenses, excellent defense helped keep the score the same until the sixth inning. After the fifth inning, both teams had a heated exchange which fired up Bait & Tackle. An error and a walk started their rally, and an RBI double cut B61’s lead to 5-3. Another error made it 5-4. Then with two outs, fifth and sixth hitters Tom and “Batho” both came through with clutch two-run doubles, giving them an 8-5 lead.
The score remained 8-5 going into the bottom of the seventh but B61 would not go down quietly. A leadoff walk and an RBI triple by Leo cut the lead to 8-6. A sac fly made it 8-7 but a groundout to the pitcher and a fly out to center clinched the championship for Bait & Tackle.
“I knew this would be a close game and we found a way,” said Buscemi, as everyone from Bait & Tackle celebrated by popping champagne on the field.
“Listen, one team has to win,” said JJ of B61 after the game. “Bait was in fourth place and they went on this run. Congratulations to them, the better team won. It’s tough to lose a close one but it was a great game.”
Following the game and the initial celebration, both teams shook hands, and Kate, the second baseman from B61 presented Bait & Tackle with the Colucci Cup.
“After nine years of losing for my Bait & Tackle Softballs, this win means the world to me and it’s just the start for us back on ‘Dovey Diamond,’” said Greg “Greggles” Fischer, shortstop for Bait & Tackle. “Really though, the fun competitive nature aside, this league is all about bringing the community together and it doesn’t matter who wins it all in the end…but Bait’s gonna take the cup again and again so watch out Red Hook…”
After the game, Cole also reflected on the season, saying, “The new fields are sensational, and I’m so glad they’re astroturf because they’re much easier to maintain. I think the play was vastly improved this season and there were unbelievable plays on offense and defense. It still has some convivial elements of a bar league but it ain’t no bar league anymore. This season was an epic, legendary experience. It was a continual learning process and a shining example of sportsmanship in today’s America.”
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