Game Ball Photos

The following photos are being provided thanks to the work done by Mary Beth. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Game Ball winners for the first four games…

Game #4 Diamondbacks vs Flames

The Flames showed up to a Saturday game that was delayed by 20 minutes due to a late start by the game before it, due to a sprinkling of rain. I was a little nervous, as an extra 20 minutes can easily lead to boredom (if they’re not kept busy enough) or fatigue (if they’re kept to busy). As it turns out, it looked like we hit the mark about where we needed to as the kids were still up for the game when the time came, and they turned in their strongest outing of the season.

Inning 1
The Flames were the home team, so we took the field first, prepared to continue on our defensive improvements. The Diamondbacks turned out to be a good contact team, with all of their players who got up to bat putting the ball into play. Impressively, our team was up to the challenge and allowed only three runs to score before nailing the top of the inning closed. Pearson and Chris proved to be a dangerous combination at second and shortstop this inning. Pearson and Chris each handled a ground ball and made a good play and tag to get runners out. They also combined on one play when Pearson stopped a ground ball and made the throw to Chris at second for the force out.

Isaac led off for us in his second straight game and showed us why with a ground ball and hustle to beat the throw to first base. Pearson took an 0-2 pitch and ripped it into the outfield, taking him to second for a double and driving Isaac in for our first run of the game. Chris and Josh followed with singles that resulted in our having the bases loaded, with no outs. Mike came up to bat and whacked a high fly ball just behind third base, where the Diamondback shortstop made a tremendous catch. No one thought the ball catchable, so the runners were going. Since a caught fly ball means no one is allowed to run without tagging up, the shortstop tagged Pearson and stepped on third for an unassisted triple play that finished the inning. To the credit of the Flames, they ran off the field with a bounce in their step and got ready for the second inning.

Inning 2
The Diamondbacks had their strongest inning of the game, scoring six runs before we got the third out. Still, it was a heck of an inning. Josh fielded a bouncing grounder and made a nice throw to Noah at first base for our first out. Isaac helped field a ball that made it to left field and tagged a runner heading towards third base for the last out of the inning.

The Flames bats continued to hit, with Bubba knocking a lead-off single. Tony had one of his best hits of the year so far, but it was in the air and caught for an out. Bubba took off when the ball was hit and couldn’t make it back to the base before they stepped on the bag for the out. Faith looked to revitalize the inning with a sharp hit, but the Diamondbacks first baseman made a nice play on it and beat her to the bag for the final out of the inning.

Inning 3
Our defense continued to impress. Dylan made a nice stop in a ball that reached right field, and got it in to prevent a runner from advancing. Gray was in good position to receive a Mike to Chris relay that held runners from advancing home on two occasions. Faith turned into a defensive machine, netting two outs in the inning. The first out came with a nice stop on a ground ball to her left, where she recovered and made the tag on an advancing runner. The second came when a hard hit ground ball was scooped up by her and she raced the runner over to the bag to step on it for the force out.

Our offense seemed inspired, as our players continued to put the bat on the ball. Noah led of the inning with a double with a solid hit to center field. Gray advanced Noah to third with a sacrifice hit when he poked a shot to the first baseman. Dylan came up and lunged forward with energy to slap down a high pitch and then beat out the throw to first base. With runners at the corners, Isaac hit a ground ball to the left side of the field, where the pitcher recovered the ball, but couldn’t beat Isaac’s speed. Noah scored and Dylan moved to second. Chris ripped a shot to left center. Chris was able to turn the hit into a double, but the Diamondbacks got the throw in quick enough to prevent Isaac from advancing home. Dylan did make it home though for our second run of the inning. Chris and Isaac were left stranded as the inning ended on a strikeout.

Inning 4
The Diamondbacks seemed to falter some, leading off with a pair of strike outs. They then settled down some, but the Flames held them scoreless when Pearson stopped a grounder up the middle and made a close tag at second.

Mike started things off with a hit that had him standing safely at first for a single. Mike wouldn’t be there long, as Bubba blasted a shot into the outfield that was enough to get Mike home for the score. Tony moved Bubba over to third with a single. Faith had a good shot that brought Bubba home for our second run of the inning, and Tony moved to second. Noah poked a ball down the third base line, which led to a force out on Tony, but Noah reached first safely on the fielder’s choice. Gray moved the runners over to third and second with another sacrifice hit to the first baseman. Unfortunately the inning finished on a strike out, stranding two runners on base.

Inning 5
The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the top of the fifth, with a series of singles. While our defense was keeping the runners from breaking out anything big, the Diamondbacks took themselves out of the inning with three strikeouts.

This was it. Bottom of the fifth and down by seven. Our closest game of the season up to this point. Isaac realized what was at stake and was rather intent on holding a short conversation with me while he was in the batter’s box. He said he’d do his best and I mentioned he’d been doing really well. Isaac then proceeded to foul off three pitches, before narrowly missing the last one for a strikeout. He looked up at me and said “I thought I had that one. I did my best” to which I smiled and agreed. Pearson poked a single. Chris came up and knocked one into the outfield. Somehow during all of the cheering, the Diamondbacks managed to get the ball in, where they caught Pearson going for home, and Chris trying to stretch the hit into a triple. The inning and game came to an end.

Diamondbacks: 12 Flames: 5

Game Ball:
Two game balls were awarded this time around, and more could have just as easily been handed out.

Faith received the first one. Faith had a key hit that drove in out last run scored, and performed well defensively, almost singlehandedly finishing off the Diamondbacks in one inning.

Isaac received the second ball. Isaac seems to operate in only one gear, turbo. His upbeat personality, his desire to do well for his team, and solid play in the field make him a well deserved winner.

Notes: A “Fielder’s Choice” is when a fielder gets a ball and is in position to either try and make an out on the batter running to first, or on the lead base runner. When the lead base runner is chosen, the batter is safe at first, but doesn’t receive credit for a hit.

Thanks to:
To Coach David Lee (first base coach), Perry (third base coach), Dorothy (score book), and Brian (dugout and batting order assistance). I’d like to also thank all of the parents for the emergency pitch-in on snacks. More than enough money was provided, and as a result more baseballs have been purchased.

Lascassas Flames Team Photo

This is more of a test for me to see how the photo inserting works on the website. The fact that it is a great shot of 11 of our 12 ball players is just a bonus.

Thank you to Mary Beth for the wonderful picture.

Game #3 Flames vs Leanna Indians

Our first road game took us to the town of Leanna, where we faced one of three available Leanna teams. The game was going to be an interesting one, with our opponents wearing Orange uniforms that closely resembled our own.

Inning 1
Being the visiting team, our Flames had the first chance to bat. Isaac got us started off nicely with a good hit, and solid base running that had him standing at second when the dust settled. Pearson was up next, and had a sacrifice hit that moved Isaac over to third base. Chris followed up with the last hit of the inning for us, however, it was enough to drive in Isaac. Giving the Flames their first lead of the season, and their first score in the first inning.

The Indians came up to bat and provided a good test for our defense. The Indians were making good ball contact, but our players were reducing the damage by hustling to the ball and making smart decisions with their throws. In all, there were five singles and a pair of doubles, but only four runs allowed. The Indians helped our cause by two of them striking out, with a third out coming from a good heads-up play by Pearson when he stopped a ground ball hit to the left side of the field and hustled back to his base in time for what was the last out of the inning.

Inning 2
Tony and Faith both tested the defensive prowess of the Indians with ground balls to the pitcher and shortstop. We learned that the Indians pitcher and shortstop had good arms, and that their first baseman had a good glove for catching. Josh attempting to get things started, with a ground ball and some hustle to beat the throw to first. Unfortunately we weren’t able to move him any further and the top of the inning came to a close.

The Indians second time up was what we strive for in the desired three up, three down. Chris made a nice grab on a fly ball to shortstop for the first out. The second two outs came from strikeouts. One item of interest, the first two games we had were against opponents who weren’t very vocal with the “Hey batter, batter, swing” chant. This game turned out to be different, and our Flames jumped right into it, adopting the chant for themselves, with a few impressive displays of vocal volume coming from Dylan, Isaac, and Pearson.

Inning 3
Our third inning was an exciting round at the plate, with nine players having a chance at putting the ball in play. Noah started us off with a hard earned single. Dylan laid down a sacrifice hit to the pitcher that had Noah advance to second. Isaac hit a hard chopper that was enough Noah to score, and for Isaac to be safe. Pearson had a nice shot that went into the outfield and landed him at second with a double, and allowed Isaac to get home for our second run of the inning. Chris laid down a sharp grounder for a single, and moved Pearson over to third. Bubba grounded out, but his hit was enough to advance Chris to second. Mike came up to bat and popped a shot into the outfield, bringing home both Pearson and Chris, with Mike ended up at second with a double. Tony beat the throw to first, and Mike moved to third after a dribbler that rolled half-way down the third baseline. We would leave Tony and Mike stranded at the corners though, as our inning came to a close after our third out. Most impressively was the four runs scored put the Flames back on top with a score of 5-4 in the top of the third.

The Indians wouldn’t go away though, and the answered with eight runs out of ten batters, with the Flames not netting their two outs on the inning until the number nine and ten batters. Faith made the first of the outs, with a tag on the runner as they tried to advance from first to second. The final out came from when the batter grounded towards the pitchers mound and Josh recovered it for a throw to Noah.

Inning 4
Our forth inning was one filled with potential, but some narrow misses. Josh led things off with a good hit that had him standing safely at first base. Noah advanced Josh to second with a single of his own. Isaac came up to bat with two outs and Josh on second and Noah on first when he hit a sharp line drive to right center. Coach Mike gave Josh the green light at third base to try for home, and with a good relay, the Indians got the ball to their catcher where Josh was narrowly tagged for the third and final out of the inning.

The Indians were looking to put the game away, and I don’t know what to say other than wow. The Indians managed to bring ten batters to the plate and nine of them scored, with us registering only one out – the ninth batter. That means their tenth batter cleared the bases with a three run home run that took them from six to nine runs with one swing of the bat. Our sole gem was a play where Josh and Gray showed hustle. The ball was dropped in the area between the pitcher’s mound and home plate, Josh and Gray both converged on the ball, with Josh getting there just a moment before Gray. Josh threw the ball towards first, where Noah did an excellent job in scooping up the ball and stepping on the base for the out at first.

Inning 5
Numerically, we needed to score six runs in the inning and prevent the Indians from scoring if we wanted a chance to catch up. If we didn’t score at least six runs, the game would be called, as we wouldn’t have a chance for catching back up before the end of the game. Things got started off well, with Pearson hitting a big fly ball that went over an outfielder’s head. Pearson was standing safely at third base with a triple. Chris hit down the line right to the first baseman for a sacrifice hit, as it was enough to bring a hard charging Pearson home for the score. Bubba kept things going with a strong poke that was enough to be safe at first. Mike knocked down a pitch for a bouncing grounder that the pitcher had trouble handling, allowing Mike to be safe at first and Bubba to advance to second. Tony wasn’t so lucky with a ground ball to the pitcher, but good still came of it as Mike and Bubba both advanced a base. With two outs and a look of determination on her face, Faith came up to bat. She fouled off a pair of pitches before putting one into play. It was looking good for a moment, as the ball got past the pitcher, however, the second baseman was there and made the throw to first for the out, ending the inning and the game.

Flames: 6 Leanna Indians: 21

Game Ball:
Pearson is recognized with the game ball for strong play on defense, a reliable bat on offense, and for the hustle displayed in scoring twice.

Notes: A “sacrifice bunt/hit/fly” is when a batter puts the ball in play in such a way that they get out, yet the base runner advances.

Thanks to:
To Coach Mike, Coach Josh, and Coach David Lee. To Dorothy for the help with the book keeping. To Brian for the help in maintaining dugout order and keeping track of the batting order.

Pictures – Thursday May 1st

Team pictures have been rescheduled to this Thursday, May 1st.

Show up at the normal 5:30 practice time, but please have your child in their uniform, with their hat. If you’re ordering pictures, please remember to bring your order form with the money or check enclosed in the order form packet.

I have the order forms for Noah, Chris, Dylan, Madi, Faith, Isaac, Gray, and Tony.  I will bring them with me on Thursday.  I do have one extra form if anyone lost theirs, and the photographer normally has a few on hand as well.