The Catfish Reel.
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CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (July 30th, 2024)

The night that started by honoring one of the most popular and talented Catfish players ever to put on the uniform, Lane Crowden. Crowden became only the 3rd player to be inducted into the Cape Catfish HOF, joining Andrew Stone (2019-2021), Ellison Hannah II (2019-2021). We’ll feature another story soon about that when the season is finished as his stats are not complete with regular season and playoff games still to come.

It was fitting the man being honored would be the guy who would also lead the charge to clinch a 4th playoff berth in five seasons. The Catfish, behind the bat and glove of Crowden rolled to an 8-0 win vs the O’Fallon Hoots Tuesday night in a weather shortened game.

The Catfish had put themselves in a pretty good position with 9 straight wins and all that had to happen the last 4 days was for the Catfish to win one of two games vs the Hoots or for the Jackson Rockabillys to lose one of their last four games. The Catfish took matters into their own hands Tuesday night as the struck early. Moises Rosario (Oakland City University) led off the 2nd with a walk, Owen Mandler (Seton Hill University) was hit by a pitch for the 11th time this season. Kowalski (Lincoln Memorial University) struck out and Hayden Nazerenus Crowder College), on his 20th birthday, grounded sharply to 1B moving the runners over but making the second out. Andrew Rameriz (SEMO) walked loading the bases and then a great at bat by Wes Gingerich (Purdue University) as he drew a walk to score the games first run. Then in stepped the man of the night, the newest Catfish Hall of Famer, Lane Crowden. He singled to right center scoring Rosario and Mandler making it 3-0 Catfish, which turns out that’s all they would need.

The Catfish would score two more in the 3rd and three more in the 5th to make it 8-0. Meanwhile, Catfish ace and household name, Jorge Romero, or Romeo as we like to call him, was doing his usual stuff. Romero threw 5.0 innings, giving up two hits, walking two, striking out four and giving up zero runs to lower his era to 2.60 on the season and pick up his 5th win. “Romeo is just a gamer”, said Catfish GM Mark Hogan. “When he said he wanted to come back again this summer, I sent the contract that day. If he wants to come back for a 3rd summer, he’s in, we love the kid.”

Fittingly Crowden led the way going 3-4 with 4 rbi’s, Owen Henne (Seton Hill Univeristy) was 2-3 with a double raising his average to .303. Rosario was 1-2 with 2 runs and a walk. Owen Mandler was on base 3 times and scored 3 runs and Kowalski and Naz both had hits.

The game ended in the top of the 6th when lighting rolled in and stuck around for a few hours. The coaches for both sides along with the umpires said “No Mas” and with that the Catfish had earned their 4th playoff berth in five seasons under GM Mark Hogan. “Man it feels good to get to the playoffs,” said Hogan. “This was such a different year and for a while there we didn’t look like a playoff team but credit to these players and our coaching staff, they never thought they were out of it.”

The playoff scenerio looks like this. Thursday night at 7pm at Marion, Illinois, the Catfish will take on the Thrillbillies, the team that came to Cape and knocked the Catfish out of the playoffs last summer. “Roles are exactly reversed” said Catfish President Glenn Campbell. “Last year we had the hot start, won the 1st half by a mile and then cooled off in the 2nd half. Thrillville came in hot off a second half run and came in and rolled us, we are trying to return the favor.”

The winner of the Catfish/Thrillbillies game will most likely charter a bus and leave Friday for a one game playoff in Peru Illinois vs the Pistol Shrimp or Clinton Iowa to play the LumberKings. Those are the two atop the Northwest Division on the other side of the Western Conference.

The winner of that one game playoff would then play a best of three championship series that will be held August 5th, 7th and 8th to determine the 2024 Prospect League Champion. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and our website for details as we go through the playoffs.

Thanks to all of our great fans and sponsors for another great season. Join us tomorrow in Marion as we take a load of folks over there to root on our Catfish.