Cody Englander
Staff writer
Monday marked the beginning of the 2025 Chautauqua Softball Playoffs. The No. 1 seed Slugs faced off against the fourth seed Arthritics, while the No. 2 seed Fish Heads played the YAC PAC.
The playoffs operate in a best-of-three fashion, where whichever team wins two games moves onto the single nine-inning championship game.
The Arthritics hit first, starting off strong with four runs in the first inning. As per usual, they opened with a strong scoring splurge.
The Slugs only netted one run in the bottom of the first, looking a bit more … sluggish since their undefeated streak earlier in the season and a blow-out win against the Arthritics last week, 19-3. As such, the Arthritics were out for revenge.
They continued dominating, adding on another four runs in the second inning. The Slugs also added four runs to make the game 8–5.
The third inning saw incredible outfielding for the Slugs. Unfortunately for them, the Arthritics looked like the Los Angeles Dodgers, unable to rein back their hitting power, adding three runs to their total.
The Slugs for the first time in the game went scoreless in an inning. The Arthritics, too, went scoreless in the top of the fourth.
The Slugs found their footing in the fourth, getting back on track with three runs for an 11–8 score. They trailed but closed in on what once was a sizable gap.
The Arthritics went scoreless again in the fifth; the Slugs also ended the fifth without a run.
The sixth inning was all bases for the Arthritics, however, as they thundered down runs on the diamond, finding home base seven times in the inning, leading 18–8.
The Slugs didn’t give up all hope just yet. They methodically found four runs, keeping the game in reasonable reach if the Arthritics were too slow.
The Arthritics went scoreless in the seventh, opening up for a storybook ending the Slugs couldn’t quite write. They ended the game with no additional runs, and with a final score in favor of the Arthritics, 18–12.
The second game saw the Fish Heads, eyeing a fourth championship in a row, take on the YAC PAC.
The YAC PAC got a run in the first, while the Fish Heads ended the inning with two runners thanks to a methodical style of play. The second inning went scoreless, though the Fish Heads seemed to control all aspects of the game.
In the bottom of the third while the score remained 2–1, a booming deep drive to right field resulted in a home run, sending three runners in.
The YAC PAC got sloppy, both in the field and behind the plate. Strikeouts, missed catches and fumbled balls defined their gameplay.
They went scoreless in the fourth inning, while the Fish Heads continued to rack up runs, advancing the score to 9–1.
The fifth inning was a blur of quick outs for all, though the YAC PAC found their second run of the game.
A third run came in the sixth, though they could never score a series of runs until the seventh.
This inning would also net two runs for the Fish Heads.
Heading into the final inning, the Fish Heads were leading 11–3. While briefly hopeful, seeing three runners score, the YAC PAC were unable to come back, losing 12–6.
Their second game on Tuesday eliminated them from the playoffs, seeing the Fish Heads advance to the championship game for the fourth straight year.
