Two Games May 11th

Once again both Matthew and Will had games at the same time last night. It was a busy Thursday at work, and I left later than I’d wished, but I made it to the field just as Matthew’s 5 pm game was beginning. The were playing the powerful Bees team on the tiny tee-ball field, and hard hit balls were taking bad hops where the grass merged with the dirt, and several boys were hit in the face.

Matthew started the game at pitcher. He played two innings there, two innings in right-center, and an inning at third base. He made a nice stop of a grounder at third, going to his left on a ball in the hole, preventing a run. He almost caught a deep fly ball in the outfield as well.

He had a nice two-strike hit to centerfield, and took second on the throw to third. He scored on a single. Another father commented on how Matthew spent his time in the on-deck circle timing the pitcher’s pitches, swinging as the ball crossed the plate. I don’t know if someone taught him that, or if he picked it up on his own.

But things didn’t go good for the RockHounds, and everything went right for the Bees. The ball or tag would be a step late for the Hounds, and just in time for the Bees. The Hounds fell behind and lost, it just wasn’t their day. But the more they lose, the greater the chance they’ll play on the 20th, the day of Anna’s recital.

The moment the game ended, Anna and I took off for the Pony field. Batting second in the order, Will was at the plate when I walked up. It was the bottom of the first inning. He singled through the hole into left. He stole second, and scored on a base hit.

It was another game of Will’s team not making plays in the field. The pitching faltered as well, so Will was brought in to pitch the third inning. He had just thrown 71 pitches in the three innings he pitched late Tuesday night, but Will pitched very well. He only needed 45 pitches to get through his first three innings, and only giving up two earned runs. Tired, he pitched another inning, and suffered at least four times when a play in the field would’ve ended the inning earlier. He finished with 74 pitches, about 60% strikes.

Will had another single to left, stolen base, and run scored later in the game. He started the game at shortstop, and threw out a runner at first.

We went home and turned on the Braves. When a Marlin came up to bat using an unorthodox stance, Matthew commented on what poor form it was.