Saturday Night Win

The Rays scored four two-out runs in the top of the seventh inning, then held on to defeat an older Georgia Baseball Academy team 6-5 Saturday night at Overton High School.

In the Rays down 3-2 going into the seventh, Will led off and reached first on an error and stole second on the first pitch. Cole then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, advancing Will to third. But a strikeout put the Rays one out from defeat. Dustin walked, then Kyle hit a ground ball. The third-baseman couldn’t reach it, and the shortstop had to go deep in the hole to backhand the ball. Kyle hustled down the baseline and beat out the infield hit, driving in Will to tie the game. Richie walked on a full count to load the bases. Jake singled to center, and Dustin and Kyle scored, giving the Rays the lead. Later Richie scored on a passed ball, the first miscue by the Joe Mauer-like Ga BB catcher.

Down 6-3, the Peachtree City team tried to rally. The leadoff hitter hit a bouncer up the middle. Playing second, Parker made a fine play to get to the ball, but his throw to first was not in time. When the next batter hit him another grounder, Parker tossed to shortstop Will to get the force at second. After a walk brought the tying run to the plate, Will was brought in to relieve Connor, and promptly struck out the first batter he faced.

This brought up Georgia’s number three hitter, with two out. The lefty drove a high fly to deep left field, that sliced away from Kyle. The ball just glanced off his glove, but Kyle got it in quick, holding the batter to a two-run double. Up by one run, the cleanup hitter was intentionally walked. Will then struck out the next batter to secure the victory.

Other game highlights:

…Austin pitched three scoreless innings, striking out two and walking none.

…Connor also pitched well, only allowing two hits in three innings.

…The Rays played errorless defense.

…Jake went 3-4 with an RBI, stolen base, and run scored.

…In the sixth Jake singled with one out, stole second, and scored on Bradley’s single to right.

Will scored the first run of the game, reaching on an error in the second. AJ sacrificed him to third, then Will scored on Dustin’s RBI grounder. Getting his first start of the summer season at shortstop, Will had two putouts and three assists.

One more key play: AJ led off the fifth and hit a grounder to short. When the throw sailed high, AJ rounded first and headed for second. He had to slow down to avoid the umpire, who then called AJ out on a literal bang-bang play at second. AJ had slid in head-first, and laid motionless for several moments afterward. The coaches went out to check on him, and walked him off the field to polite applause. Richie’s mom Denise was enlisted to help patch the cut below his chin. Will incorrectly announced to the crowd that he was fine. Instead, father Jose took him for another emergency room visit, where he received six stitches. The next day Steve had the joke of the weekend, when he had AJ thinking he was to catch half the game.