Saturday, June 6, 2015

Top Gun Zone Qualifier Game 1: WR 10U Blue 10, Archers 0

The summer 2015 season finally began, with the first game scheduled for roughly sunrise in Angier. The first game of the Top Gun tournament featured the debut of the long-awaited knickers, and included a 10-0 win over the Archers in a game shortened to four innings by the run rule. As usual, Ben could barely contain his excitement over the new gear:



Coach Sean made sure to note after the day’s play that he thought the pitching needed some work. That’s because in the first game, a quartet of Blue pitchers combined to give up a whopping...let's see...carry my one...oh, OK...zero hits. Hopefully over the summer they will improve and give up fewer than that (in all fairness, 10U Blue did allow six walks, which is what he was talking about). 

The barely adequate pitching was enough thanks to a booming offense that cranked out 10 runs in only three offensive innings, featuring 11 hits. Ten different players reached base and eight different batters had a hit.

The quick victory created one of the greatest of all summer luxuries: free time in Angier, North Carolina. You're welcome, parents. Luckily, the second game of the day was on the same field in just a few minutes, so Capt. John and his Shady Committee didn't have to do any major tent movement. 

Game 1 WR 10U Blue scoring plays
First inning
Elias reached on a shot to the left side. He moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Gavin’s one-out double. Two more wild pitches scored Gavin. Andrew doubled. Two more wild pitches scored Andrew (sound familiar?). Banks singled, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on Brady’s two-out shot through the right side. Bryce singled in Brady.
Score after one inning: WR 10U Blue 5, Archers 0

Second inning
Elias was hit by a pitch with two outs. He stole second and third, then scored on Colin’s single. Gavin doubled home Colin. Andrew singled in Gavin.
Score after two innings: WR 10U Blue 8, Archers 0

Third inning
The killer B’s (Ben, Brady and Bryce) started the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles, producing one run. Joe doubled home Brady.
Score after three innings: WR 10U Blue 10, Archers 0
Pitching Performances
Andrew (three straight strikeouts in his 1.1 innings), Asher (relieved in a two-on situation and stranded both runners), Joe (a nine-pitch inning in his summer 2015 debut) and Elias (two strikeouts in the fourth) teamed up on a four-inning no-hitter.

Game 1 Web Gems
   Ben threw out a runner stealing second in the second, with Gavin making the nice tag.
   The second inning was a complete web gem inning, as with the bases loaded, Gavin, Colin and Banks teamed up on an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
   Andrew went deep in the hole at shortstop to make a nice stop, then made the long throw that was scooped by Brady on the other side for the out.
   The play of the game came in the fourth. With runners on second and third and two outs, one more out would’ve invoked the ten-run rule and moved the Sunni Sky’s arrival up ten minutes. The hitter slapped what looked like a single to right, but with oatmeal cookie ice cream on his mind, Banks came up firing, threw a missile to first, and retired the hitter by two steps on a run-saving and game-ending force.

Game 1 line score
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
Archers
0
0
0
0
X
X
0
0
WR 10U Blue
5
3
2
X
X
X
10
11




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