While the Hot Chauts blazed in the first inning, the Grilled Cheeselers turned up the heat to win the 2019 women’s softball championship.
In a final championship game to finish the season, the Hot Chauts faced off against the Grilled Cheeselers Tuesday at Sharpe Field. The two teams went head-to-head last year, with the Hot Chauts coming out on top. But the tables have turned this season, with the Grilled Cheeselers winning in a 14-2 blow-out.
Starting off the game with two runs, the Hot Chauts had a strong start, leaving the Grilled Cheeselers trailing with zero runs for the inning.
However, as the game continued, the Cheeselers locked in and scored run after run, making play after play to quickly pull ahead of the Hot Chauts. In the second inning alone, the team had two home-run hits and scored a total of nine runs for the team.
Despite being injured, Julia Koron, Grilled Cheeselers team captain, made a big play in the third inning to keep morale high, barely getting to first base while running with a leg brace.
After the game, Koron said that no matter what happened, the teams just wanted to have fun and play softball — winning isn’t a defining factor for them.
As the Hot Chauts played against the momentum of the Grilled Cheeselers’ communication and speed, it became obvious that the Cheeselers were headed for the championship. Hot Chauts batters hit balls directly back to the pitcher; Cheeseler passes were fast and coordinated from base to base; and the Hot Chauts couldn’t keep their flame lit.
The Grilled Cheeselers’ win came as a surprise to Mark Altschuler, commissioner of the Chautauqua softball league, who was in attendance for the game.
“No one expected this result,” Altschuler said. “We thought it would be a blow-out by the Hot Chauts, or at least a close win, but this is an amazing win for the Cheeselers this year. They deserve it.”
Even with the blow-out win, the new champions were respectful, shaking hands and giving hugs to Hot Chauts players, both teams thanking one another for coming out and playing.
Co-captain of the Grilled Cheeselers Lily Nagle summed up the game before getting back to celebrating with her team.
“It was really fun,” Nagle said. “It was the best game we have probably played in the last four years. We really had no errors; we came in hitting hard and played it through.”