June Tourney in Jasper

Friday June 16th Game

I never recapped the tournament Will played the weekend before we left for Cooperstown. Friday night June 16th Will’s Shaw Park Cougars played the Blue Bombers at 8:30. The field in Jasper GA was larger than the Cougars usually play on, and the extra distance between the pitching mound and plate seemed to help the Cougars and hurt the Bombers…the Cougars knocked out 17 hits in the 3 inning game, and the Bomber pitchers walked or hit 10 batters.

Will had a big game, scoring three runs, going 2 – 2 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs, and he was robbed of 2 RBIs and a run scored. He played centerfield.

In the first he walked and stole second, then scored from second on a single.

Will led off the second by beating out an infield hit. The next pitch hit Clay, advancing Will to second. Again Will scored from second on a hit.

In the third Will walked again, and took second on a wild pitch. Once more he scored from second on a single…the second run of the inning. The batter after Will struck out, then the next eight Cougar batters reached base.

Will came up to bat with the bases loaded, and drove the ball to the left-centerfield fence. I had my eyes on the ball, seeing how close it came from being a home run. When I turned my attention back to the infield, the runners on 2nd and 3rd had already scored, and Will was running hard, on his way toward third. He rounded the base and headed home.

That’s when I noticed that the runner from first, T.K., had fallen down on his way home. On the ground, Will didn’t see him until he was right on him. T.K. was trying to stand up, and Will ran right into him. Both boys would’ve scored easily for an inside-the-park grand slam home run. Instead the throw came in, and the pitcher tagged out both runners, for an unassisted double play!

After the Cougars retired the Bombers in the bottom of the third, the game was called due to the mercy rule. The Cougars won 22 – 4.

Saturday Morning Game, June 17th

The next morning the Cougars continued winning, outscoring the Thunder 13 – 8. Will had an even bigger game, combining more offensive output with three big defensive plays in centerfield.

With a runner on second in the second inning, the batter hit a line drive into the gap in left center. The baserunner watched several steps off second, as Will ran to his right, away from the plate. Then Will reached across his body with his glove and dove, stretching completely horizontal, making an unbelievable catch. The runner on second thought Will had dropped the ball, and took off, rounding third and scoring. Everyone had been watching the catch, and when we saw the runner, we all knew that there was no way he could’ve tagged up. Everyone knew, except the umpires. On the ground in left-center, Will somehow knew as well. He got up and threw not home but to second, to double off the runner. Even after appealing the tag, the umpires ruled safe.

With T.K. on second in the bottom of the first, Will singled to right on the first pitch. A faster runner could’ve easily scored on the hit, but T.K. held at third. Will stole second base, but was stranded on 3rd, as the next three batters made outs.

Will came up in the third with two on and drove the ball to the right-centerfield fence. This time all the runners rounded the bases without a problem, and Will had an inside the park home run.

In the 4th inning Will walked, took second on a hit, and scored from second on another hit.

Will walked again in the 5th, on four straight balls. After advancing to third on two wild pitches, the game was called due to the time limit.

Championship Game, Saturday afternoon, June 17th.

After lunch in the north Georgia mountain town of Elijay, the tourney championship game was played in the town of Ball Ground, on a smaller field with regular 12-year dimensions. The Canton Cannons provided tough competition, scoring single runs in 5 of the 6 innings, taking a 4 – 3 lead into the bottom of the 5th. Then the Cougars broke out for 6 runs in the bottom of the 5th to win the championship.

Once again Will had a big game at the plate, going 2 – 3 with a RBI and run scored. In the first inning he just missed hitting the ball over the right-field fence, driving home the runner from third. T.K. was on first and for some reason he didn’t run, so Will had to settle for a single instead of an easy double or possible triple.

In the 5th inning Will doubled to center, and scored on Clay’s home run over the left field fence.

Will played shortstop the first two innings, throwing out two runners from first.

In the 3rd inning Will was brought in to pitch with two runners on and no out. His first pitch was lined back to Will, who made the catch, and quickly flipped to first for a double play. One pitch, two outs! After throwing a first-pitch strike to the next batter, the next pitch was grounded back to Will. Again Will threw to first…three pitches, three outs!

The next inning Will struck out the first two batters and got the third to pop out. He pitched the last four innings, giving up only one earned run on one hit, striking out three, and walking none…32 of his 51 pitches were strikes.