Know Mercy 2 overpowers friendly rival

Mercy wins are fun – unless they come at the expense of your friends.

Know Mercy 1 and Know Mercy 2 have engaged in some epic battles over the past three years. But Wednesday’s game ended up as a bit of a one-sided affair, with KM2 flexing its offensive and defensive muscles in a 15-3 victory.

There were plenty of highlights for folks in both dugouts.

Rookie Mike Light made his debut by smashing three hits and coming around to score each time.

Casey Dunham. Beautiful … lethal. Casey tried to lower expectations before the game, saying she had not swung a bat in over a year. Right. She reached base four times in four at-bats and scored four runs.

Jamie Norris extended his on-base streak to an amazing 10 at-bats with a hit in the first inning and walk in the fourth. Alas, it was snapped on a grounder in the sixth inning. But that amazing streak should stand as a KM2 record for a looong time.

Nikki Ferguson. Beautiful … deadly. Nikki mashed a key hit in the fourth inning and showed her usual steady defense at the hot corner.

Steve Kutz is either brave or crazy. Just hours after his bride Rebecca brought Olivia into the world, Steve was playing softball. And he was describing diaper duty with gusto that could only come from a new dad. Congrats Steve and Rebecca!

Rachel Zollman. Beautiful … dangerous. Rachel tried taking out KM1 first-baseman Brian Vigna in the first inning, except that Viggy is the immovable object, sending Rachel hurtling up the baseline and creating a nasty scrape.

Sidekick Chad Zollman put on a hitting and fielding clinic. One spectacular blast cleared the fence with room to spare, but was just foul. There were several amazing plays at short, including one racing backwards into the outfield and another snaring a blazing line drive that had double written all over it. But the wildest came after KM1 bomber Nick Rodhammer blistered a shot to deep left and was thinking homer all the way. But Mike Light fired a relay to Chad, who turned and delivered a spot-on rope to Mike Gillis covering home to beat a diving and sliding Nick by a foot. It was stunning.

Cindy Mirque. Beautiful … stealthy consistent. Cindy was on base two out of three times, following a Game 1 performance where she reached three of four times. Awesome!

We’re thinking Steve Carins is liking this trade so far. He offered flawless defense and two hits in two at-bats with a run scored.

Angie Bond-Patton. Beautiful … menacing. Any day Angie comes to play is a good day! Two doubles, a run scored, sparkling defense at two positions.

The team leader in home runs? That would be mound magician Mike Gillis, who smashed his second round-tripper of the season and confounded KM1 bats with his usual assortment of nasty junk and pin-point precision.

Chipper Skipper expected all kinds of sympathy when he arrived home with an ever-darkening bruise that stretches across his entire bicep. “Oh, my brave and gallant warrior, how you sacrificed your body for your team!” is what he expected. “No sympathy for you! You’re showing it off! You’re proud of it!” is what he got. OK, he is wearing a short-sleeved shirt to work on Thursday, just in case anybody asks why he is typing with one hand.

He did buy a proper first-aid kit after the game, just in case.

Special thanks: Super fans Venta Norris and Jim Boles provided much support from the bleachers!

Super-special thanks: Aaron Dunham is on the DL, but still came through with a clutch performance by baby-sitting Angie’s young ones so she could be at the game.

Injury alert: Kathy Breslin is recuperating from a leg injury sustained in Game 1. Get better soon, Kathy!

Next game: A 7:15 start – finally – against old rivals Norman Family Dentistry, which tends to be a very good team.