Regionals Championship: WR 9U Blue 14, Glen Allen (Va.) 5

It gets a little old reading what I say about this particular baseball team. You know the deal: "West Raleigh beat ____ by a score of ____. In the third inning ____, ____ and ____ made unbelievable plays. _____ got a big hit and _____ was awesome on the mound."

We get used to it. It's hard not to take it for granted, because we see it all the time. Of course they turned a 6-4-3 double play, because all 9-year-olds turn 6-4-3 double plays. Don't they? Well, no. Of course they hit the ball to the fence and run the bases like their hair is on fire and throw strikes because everyone does that. Don't they? Well, no.

So here's a sampling of comments from other teams over the past week that show you what it's like to watch West Raleigh 9U Blue for the first time.

"Do these kids on the other team ever make an error? I mean, 9-year-olds make errors, right?"--Said by the scorekeeper on the opposing team during the regional quarterfinals. (For the record, no, they didn't make an error in that game)

"I have been in coaching for a lot of years, and I have never seen a team like yours. They are an unbelievable team."--Said by the coach of the regional semifinal opponent (Who had just watched 9U Blue beat his very good team by a combined 31-1 over eight innings in two games)

"We have bigger boys on our team than you do, but you have baseball players."--Said by a parent from East Rowan, the western North Carolina champion

Saturday's semifinal win set up a championship game against Glen Allen (Va.). These two teams had met in last year's regionals, but Glen Allen has two teams, and this was the other one--not the one from 2013.

Let's get this straight: this Glen Allen team was very, very good. They blew through the Virginia state tournament by 10-run ruling everyone in sight, winning their four games on the way to the title by a combined score of 47-6. They'd had much the same success in Palm Beach Gardens, winning their first five games at the regional by a combined score of 62-17. Two of those wins came against a Manatee (Fl.) club that had been undefeated this summer before running into Glen Allen.

They are a very talented squad, and showed it early by building a 5-2 lead through three innings. But then something completely unexpected happened: an 11-run inning. That's right, for the second straight year, West Raleigh put together an 11-run inning in the regional championship game. Last year, it happened in the first. This year, it took all the way until the fourth. If it doesn't happen until the seventh next year, I'm not sure my heart can take it.

The 11-run explosion was the second-most runs scored in any inning by 9U Blue this summer (they had a 13-run frame against some weaker competition) and it was unbelievable. Thirteen straight hitters reached base. The eleven runs were scored consecutively, with eleven straight hitters scoring. Glen Allen went through three different pitchers without getting an out, leading to this conversation:

Adam: "They have a lot of pitchers."

Coach Regan: "Yeah, but everyone on our team pitches."

Adam: "Not in the same inning."

By the time the offensive outburst was finished, West Raleigh had taken a 14-5 lead and seized complete control of the game. Glen Allen was so stunned that they managed only two singles the rest of the game, and their final seven batters in a row were retired in order with only one of them hitting the ball out of the infield. That left plenty of time to enjoy Giovanna's epic cheering in the West Raleigh rooting section...not sure exactly what was going on, but at one point I heard a rooster crow.

The victory made West Raleigh just the third team in the last seven years to take back-to-back 8U and 9U Southeast Regional championships. It was a very well-played game by two teams you have a feeling might see each other again at some point:

Tournament rules had required 9U Blue to pose for a team photo with the championship banner before the semifinal game (all four teams had to do it). That one seemed like a formality and maybe a little bit of bad luck. This one, however, was a lot more fun:

There will be a post later this week about some of the unbelievable stats compiled this summer. But it felt important to close the championship game entry with a stat you might not know. Sitting next to the dugout every day in my John-appointed spot, at some point on Friday morning, I realized I almost always heard one voice consistently above all the others. Surprisingly, I am not talking about Coach Kevin.

So, on Saturday I decided to keep track of the number of times that quiet in the dugout was broken by Eli's voice leading a cheer or encouraging his teammates. That total was 22 times over the ten innings that were played on Saturday. That means that 22 different times the kid who most wanted to be out there--but couldn't be because of a fractured bone--tried to pick up his teammates and be as much a part of the team as he could possibly be.

Looking forward to having Elias back on the field this fall. But in the meantime, we found out what we already knew, which is that there's no better kid to have on the team than one who makes it a priority to be part of the team even at a low point for him personally.

Championship Blue scoring plays

Third inning

Asher and Bryce worked back-to-back walks leading off the frame, then advanced a base on JT’s sacrifice bunt. Gavin walked to load the bases, and then Chace and Brady each coaxed RBI walks as 9U Blue picked up two runs without the benefit of a hit.

Score after two and a half innings: WR Blue 9U 2, Glen Allen 1

Fourth inning

Grab a snack and get comfortable. Banks put together a terrific leadoff at-bat, falling behind 0-2 but then battling back and eventually singling through the right side on the seventh pitch of the sequence. Andrew and Asher walked to load the bases, and then the floodgates opened. Bryce mashed a two-run double. JT singled home Asher and then took second on the throw. Gavin singled in Bryce and then took second on the throw. Two runs came home on Chace’s bullet through the left side. Brady lifted an RBI double. Ben singled and took second on the throw. Batting for the second time in the inning, Banks (who personally saw 11 pitches in the third inning, or more than West Raleigh pitchers threw to get three outs apiece in the second, fourth, fifth or sixth) walked. Andrew drove in Brady. Joey singled in Ben. Bryce collected his third RBI of the inning with a single. Gavin finally finished the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

Score after three and a half innings: WR Blue 9U 13, Glen Allen 5

Sixth inning

Bryce coaxed a leadoff walk. Back to back singles from JT and Gavin loaded the bases, and then Brady’s fielder’s choice plated Bryce.

Score after five and a half innings: WR Blue 9U 14, Glen Allen 5

Pitching Performances

Chace was a beast over four innings, limiting a hard-hitting Glen Allen club to just three earned runs.

Asher closed it out with two perfect innings.

Championship Web Gems

•    With a runner on second in the second, Chace speared a wicked line drive back up the middle and held the runner at second.

•    With a runner on first, JT and Gavin continued to show off their alley-oop skills. This time, JT deflected a hard line drive to Gavin, who flipped to Bryce at second for the out.

•    Bryce backhanded a ball up the middle in the third and threw to Banks for the out.

•    Then, in the fourth, Bryce showed his range going the other way, going into the hole between first and second to scoop up a grounder and toss to Banks for a leadoff out.

•    This time it was Asher who got in on the alley-oop action. With the lefty on the mound, he redirected a hard shot back through the middle to Gavin, who smoothly threw to Chace for the out.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 9U Blue	0	0	2	11	0	1	14	14
Glen Allen	0	1	4	0	0	0	5	9