Sports
Kubs and Kolts To Battle For Playoff Championship at North Shore Park
Playoff Championship Game Pits Two Unexpected Teams In Contention For The First Play-off In The 94 Year History Of The Club 9:30 AM. 3/18/24
Sometimes, you can't win in the battle with Mother Nature. That's the Kids and Kubs' feeling when trying to complete a double-elimination playoff at the end of the 23-24 season.
The whole concept of a playoff at the end of the season is new to the Three-Quarter Century Softball Club (Kids and Kubs).
No recollection of such an event exists in the 94-year history of the Kids and Kubs. The Club's archives housed at the St Petersburg History Museum do not mention such an event.
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However, there was a need to replace six-game dates swept away by rain, wet grounds, and temperatures and winds, making playing conditions unsafe.
A post-season double-elimination playoff was established, replacing the games missed due to wet weather, rainouts, and other climate conditions.
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The first round of games was scheduled for March 30, the same day as the season-ending picnic; however, Mother Nature answered with an all-night rain storm requiring the start of the initial playoff games on Tuesday, April 2.
April 2, surprises were evident in the first round as the two teams with the fewest wins during the regular season defeated the first two teams with the most wins, which met in the winner's bracket game three, with the Kids and Kats set for game four in the losers slot.
NOT TO BE as the heavens opened up and poured 2 inches of Florida's infamous liquid sunshine on the North Shore diamond, hopes for Thursday, April 4, and a re-schedule to Tuesday, April 9.
Games 3 and 4, Kubs vs. Koltz and Kids vs. Kats, shifted to April 9, with each first-game loser to even their record to 1-1 in the double elimination playoff 13-9 and 16-13, respectively.
Weather proved to be a factor in the softball of the day, with a line of thunderstorms threatening the Saint Petersburg area. It was determined that playoff games five and six would go forward as planned.
The first game action went well. According to weather forecasts, the thunderstorm would not arrive until 12:09. With the first game, Kids vs. Kubs, scheduled to start at 9:30, the decision was made to speed the game by determining that each batter would come to the plate with a 1-1 count.
A furious nine-run (unlimited runs 7th inning) barrage by the Kubs against the Kids ended with a 14 to 8 victory after trailing 8 to 5 going into their last time at bat. The Kids were unable to respond. It left the Kubs with the victory.
The second game's action was not so lucky. Mother Nature finally came on the scene in the third inning, and play was halted with the score; Kolts 11, Kats 10.
Game 6 found the Kubs facing the Kats. The Kubs continued their resurgence garnered in game five to defeat the Kats by a19- 15 score, including a tw0-hundred fifty foot over the fence home run by RaySmith. The Kids and Kats battled to a 12-12 extra inning tie in the day's
second game.
Tuesday, April 18, Kubs vs. Kolts in Game 7 (9:30) will determine the winner of the playoff championship, Kids
vs. Kats, in a Game 2 battle for third place.
