The Warriors won on the road Monday evening, pulling away from the Shaw Park Mudcats 16 – 8. The boys overcame some interesting ball / strike calls (that went against both teams) by being aggressive at the plate and swinging the bat. We’re a lot more competitive this year because the Kiddie Corps from last fall have continued to improve and show poise at the plate, in the field, and on the mound.
Corey had another big game, starting with an RBI single in the second. He raced to second when the throw went home, then stole third, and scored on Will’s RBI groundout. In the 4tth Corey hustled to beat out an error by the pitcher. In the dugout Corey showed his teammates and coaches the dance he would do if he hit a home run. Then in the 6th he belted the first pitch he saw past the outfield and raced around the bases. As he rounded third there was no doubt in third-base coach Don Sharp’s mind (or Corey’s) for him to continue home. He easily scored, and entered the dugout doing his home run jig.
Will had a nice catch of a pop in front of the plate. In the 1st he was hit with a pitch, stole second, took 3rd on a fielder’s choice, and scored on Jake’ grounder to third. Down two strikes in the 4th, Will slammed a line drive…right at the left-fielder, who made a nice catch. It caught both our baserunners by surprise, and for a minute I thought I was about to see a triple play. Joey made it back to third, but Corey, who must’ve been stealing second on the pitch, was doubled off first. In the 6tth Will singled up the middle, stole second, and scored on Clay’s pop into centerfield.
Clay singled in the first, stole second, and scored when the throw sailed past first. In the 2nd Clay walked, stole second and third, and scored on David’s single. Clay knocked home Joey with a single in the fourth, and also blooped a pop out of the centerfielder’s reach in the 6th to drive in Will.
Clay also pitched a great game, going all three innings without allowing a hit. He only walked the first batter he faced, then struck out six of the next ten batters. The only run he allowed was unearned, and he threw 30 strikes and only 17 balls, a great performance on the road.
David had an RBI single in the second inning, and then stole second base. He caught the 1-2-3 fourth inning, and played three errorless innings at shortstop.
Jake had a putout and assist playing second base in the first inning, and later added two putouts at second base in the sixth inning. In the top of the first the third-baseman couldn’t handle Jake’s hard grounder, which knocked in 2 runs. Jake wound up on second on the play, and then he easily scored on Andrew’s double. Jake later singled to lead off the 5th. After stealing second, he later scored on Curtis’s single.
Andrew slammed a first-inning RBI double into the left-centerfield gap. He also hit the ball on the button in the third, slamming a 3 – 0 pitch deep to centerfield. In the 5th he fouled a ball off his foot. The ball was ruled fair, and Andrew was thrown out. Guess I should’ve appealed to another umpire, because later the base umpire told me (and the plate umpire) that the ball was fair. Andrew made two nice plays at third base, fielding grounders and throwing out the batters at first.
Nick always causes things to happen. He doubled down the left-field line to start a rally in the third. He then took 3rd on a passed ball, and scored on Curtis’ infield grounder. In the 5th he swung at a pitch in the dirt, but hustled and was safe at first on the dropped 3rd strike, and later raced all the way to 3rd when the pickoff throw got past the first-baseman. Defensively Nick made two clutch plays at third base. With a runner on second he back-handed a hard grounder down the line. He then looked the runner back to second, then fired across the infield in time to nail the runner at first…a perfect play. Later the runner stole third, but Nick prevented him from scoring by making a tough catch of the throw to third.
Curtis rebounded at the plate, as I knew he would. He led off the 2nd with a single, stole second and third, and continued home when the catcher’s throw sailed past third. He reached in the 3rd when the shortstop bobbled his grounder, which knocked in Nick. Curtis advanced to 2nd on a passed ball, but was stranded at third. He got another hit in the 5th inning. Curtis has gotten an unfair shake this season, having to pitch every game on the road…but he hasn’t complained. He made his centerfield catch of a line drive to end the 4th look easy.
Christian took over for Joey wearing the collar…he was the one to receive several bad calls. Just when we thought the umpire was calling low pitches strikes, Christian got rung up on a pitch at his eyes, and another way outside. The ump actually hesitated before calling it a strike. Undaunted, Christian was aggressive, slamming several pitches just foul. He did his usual great job in the field, running down a drive that carried far over his head in centerfield, getting the ball in quickly to hold the batter to a double. After the game he was a good big brother, smiling broadly as his little brother did a fine job leading the team in a post-game prayer.
Josiah walked twice, scoring one run from second on Michael’s base hit. He made a nice catch at first base for a putout in the third. Josiah continues to gain valuable experience on the mound, pitching two nice innings with the game on the line, preserving our lead. He struck out three batters in two innings, only walking two.
John Fulton walked in the second inning. He went from 1st to 3rd on Michael’s single to right-center, and scored on Joey’s double. He then got aggressive, reaching first in the 3rd inning on a grounder the shortstop couldn’t handle. John Fulton gobbled up a grounder at second base and threw out the batter to end the game, killing a Shaw Park rally.
Michael continues to come through in the clutch. In the second he singled to right-center to drive in Josiah, then scored all the way from first on Joey’s double. In the 6th he started another rally by doubling, and scored from second ahead of Corey’s home run. He also helped out by manning the vacant right field in the first, and made a head’s up play, almost throwing out a batter at first base.
Joey had one of the most productive games on the team. In the 2nd Joey slammed the ball high and deep, far over the centerfielder’s head for an easy two-RBI stand-up double. He then scored from second on Corey’s hit. In the 4th Joey walked on a full count, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on a single, and scored on another hit.
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