State Tournament Game 1: WR 10U Blue 10, Deep River 0

The state tournament began with a tough early matchup--a rematch of last year's state championship game against Deep River Northview. West Raleigh turned in an all-around solid performance in a 10-0 victory that was shortened to five innings by the run rule:

Offense: pounded out 12 hits while also taking advantage of five walks and a hit batter.

Pitching: Two hurlers teamed up for the two-hit shutout, and only one Deep River runner reached third base.

Defense: No errors and multiple Web Gems, including two on the first two batters of the game.

So that's a good start to the weekend in Wilmington, which will now continue with a Saturday morning matchup against the host squad, Winter Park. Hopefully there will be multiple instances of 10U Blue doing, in the immortal words of the Deep River coach, "exactly the opposite of what I told you not to do." Think about THAT for a minute.

Unfortunately, future blogs may be delayed because your blogger has found new employment here at the beach:

Game 1 10U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Bryce led off with a double. Banks hit to the right side to advance Bryce. Gavin walked. Chace collected an RBI single. A wild pitch put Gavin on third, and then Ben drove him in with a single.

Score after one inning: WR 10U Blue 2, Deep River 0

Second inning
Colin led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Asher's single. Bryce singled. Banks singled to load the bases, and then Gavin drove in a pair with a single. Chace swatted a two-run double off the fence.
Score after two innings: WR 10U Blue 7, Deep River 0

Fourth inning 
Banks drew a leadoff walk. Gavin smoked a double. Chace's RBI fielder's choice scored Banks. Gavin scored on a wild pitch.
Score after four innings: WR 10U Blue 9, Deep River 0

Fifth inning
JT singled. Joe walked. Colin hit into a fielder's choice. Asher was intentionally walked. Bryce went walk-off yet again with a single, which of course left Banks in his usual spot on deck.
Score after five innings: WR 10U Blue 10, Deep River 0

Pitching Performances
Andrew started and fired two hitless innings.

Joe finished up with three very strong innings, including a stretch of 15 strikes in 16 pitches at one point.

Game 1 Web Gems

• Ben started the game by making a gorgeous running catch in left-center.
• Chace had a great first step in chasing down a foul ball near the fence at first base.
• With a runner on first in the fourth, Colin knocked down a line drive up the middle, flipped to Gavin at second, who then fired on to Chace at first for the 4-6-3 double play.
• Blue got an assist from the outfield in the fifth, as with a runner on first Asher came up throwing and gunned to Gavin at second for the force.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Deep River	0	0	0	0	0	X	0	2
WR 10U Blue	2	5	0	2	1	X	10	12