USSSA (Sanford) Semifinals: Diamond Hawks 10U 11, WR 9U Blue 4

Well, that was pretty much not very fun. In the semifinals of the USSSA tournament in Sanford, the 10U Diamond Hawks came out ripping the ball and cruised to an 11-4 win over 9U Blue. Because of the tournament format, that meant Blue didn't get to play another game, leaving them with just three games this weekend.

Part of the problem in Sunday's game was the hot Diamond Hawk bats, as they pounded out 10 hits. But West Raleigh also left the door open too many times, committing four errors and allowing five unearned runs, and was never able to recover from a five-run Diamond Hawk first.

9U Blue will begin Ripken competition next week in an area tournament that will be played somewhere between Murphy and Manteo, unless it is played in Seattle or possibly Amarillo, Texas. Exact site location and game times will be announced...oh, probably about an hour before the first game. Stay tuned.

Semifinal Blue scoring plays

First inning

Bryce singled and stole second. JT singled and stole second. Gavin's sacrifice fly scored Bryce, and JT came home on a balk.

Score after one inning: Diamond Hawks 10U 5, WR 9U Blue 2

Fourth inning
With two outs, Chace singled and stole second. Banks smacked an RBI single, and then, in one of the best at-bats of the summer, Brady battled back from down 0-2, worked the count full, eventually saw nine pitches, and finally thundered an RBI single.
Score after four innings: Diamond Hawks 10U 11, WR 9U Blue 4

Pitching Performances
Chace threw three strong innings in relief of Bryce.

Brady finished it up in the fourth.

Semifinal Web Gems

• This section left blank due to some defensive issues throughout the game.

Semifinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Diamond Hawks 10U	5	0	3	3	X	X	11	10
WR 9U Blue	2	0	0	2	X	X	4	7

USSSA (Sanford) Game 2: WR 9U Blue 9, Supper Optimist 10U 5

Saturday's first game in Sanford was played under pleasantly cloudy skies and relatively comfortable temperatures for the middle of June in North Carolina. Saturday's second game in Sanford was played on the same field, with 9U Blue occupying the same dugout, but somehow was approximately 98% more uncomfortable.

Things got a lot more comfortable when West Raleigh scored four quick runs in the top of the first, but Supper Optimist 10U responded with five in the bottom of the frame. But the 9U Blue bats bounced back with five runs over the third and fourth to earn a 9-5 win and a 2-0 record on the first (and only) day of pool play.

After Supper posted the five early runs, the West Raleigh pitchers went into lockdown mode, and did not allow a hit or a runner past third base over the final five innings. Just like in the day's first game, that helped limit the damage on the basepaths, as 9U club again stole more bases (and this time, the total figure was more than double) than their 10U opponent.

Here's an example of how difficult life is as a 9U Blue player. When Coach Sean met with the team after the game, the Shade Committee (John is the president of the Shade Committee, but he thought he was signing up for the "shady committee") actually brought over a tent for the team so they wouldn't have to endure the hardship of three minutes in the sun:

 
It turns out the real postgame festivities, however, took place elsewhere a few minutes later:

Just another hard day as a West Raleigh baseball player. Game times for Sunday are coming up later today.

Game 2 Blue scoring plays

First inning

Bryce led off with a single and stole second. He moved to third on Chace's single and scored on Banks' shot past second. Chace scored on a wild pitch. Brady brought Banks home with a two-out single. Jake plated Brady with another two-out single.

Score after one-half inning: WR 9U Blue 4, Supper Optimist 10U 0

Third inning
Bryce ripped a one-out single, stole second and went to third on a passed ball. JT walked and stole second. A balk scored Bryce. Gavin beat out a shot to third and stole second. Chace's single scored JT. Banks scored Gavin with a sacrifice fly. Chace alertly tagged up and went to third on the sac fly, which enabled him to score on a balk.
Score after two and a half innings: WR 9U Blue 8, Supper Optimist 10U 5

Fourth inning
Elias singled and stole second. A fielder's choice moved him to third, where he scored easily on Ben's double.
Score after three and a half innings: WR 9U Blue 9, Supper Optimist 10U 5

Pitching Performances
Joey worked out of some trouble in the first.

Chace threw three no-hit innings through the middle of the game.

Gavin closed it out with two scoreless innings.

Game 2 Web Gems

• Andrew cut off what could've very easily been a double in the right-center gap and limited the hitter to just a single in the first inning.
• Gavin picked up 9U Blue's second pickoff of the day in the fifth, as he caught the leadoff man leaning off first, with Chace applying the tag.
• Gavin raced over from pitcher and fielded what was essentially a swinging bunt down the third base line leading off the sixth and made a strong throw to first to get the out.
• Jake made a smooth leaping play on a line drive to right in the sixth.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 9U Blue	4	0	4	1	0	0	9	10
SO 10U	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	5

USSSA (Sanford) Game 1: WR 9U Blue 3, Diamond Hawks 10U 1

Officially, the on-field game action began Saturday at 9 a.m. However, photographic evidence suggests that the action might have started on Friday night. Naturally, West Raleigh Blue 9U emphasizes the importance of proper nutrition. Some of the moms decided it would be a fantastic idea to be a positive role model by exhibiting proper hydration techniques on the night before a game:

Of course, that hydration is even more impressive when the next morning’s game is at 9 a.m. With a comet apparently having wiped out several of the local 9U teams, West Raleigh traveled to Sanford for a 10U tournament, which was the first-ever exposure to open bases, meaning taking leads, holding runners and stealing bases. That first experience proved to be a success, as 9U Blue took a 3-1 win over the Diamond Hawks in the full six innings.

Pitching was the story of the day Saturday, as three West Raleigh pitchers combined to allow just two hits while retiring 12 of the last 13 hitters. Limiting the base runners was a very effective way to avoid having to worry about the running game, and 9U Blue actually stole more bases than the Diamond Hawks.

The win put 9U Blue at 1-0 in pool play and set them up for the second half of the doubleheader immediately following the win.

Game 1 Blue scoring plays

First inning

Bryce drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on Gavin’s deep double.

Score after one inning: WR Blue 9U 1, Diamond Hawks 10U 0

Third inning

Ben drew a leadoff walk and stole second. With one out, Asher singled. Bryce loaded the bases. JT singled home a run, and then Chace’s two-out walk forced home another run.

Score after three innings: WR Blue 9U 3, Diamond Hawks 10U 1

Pitching Performances

Banks started and threw two scoreless innings.

Elias did not allow a hit in the third.

Asher buzzed through the final three innings with just 21 pitches.

Game 1 Web Gems

•    Joey threw off the mask and made a nice snag of a pop fly behind the plate in the fourth inning.

•    In the fourth, Asher unleashed a nasty pickoff move on an unsuspecting 10-year-old and Banks slapped the tag on him at first. That would be the last baserunner for the Hawks the rest of the afternoon.

Saturday's line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Diamond Hawks 10U	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2
WR 9U Blue	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	5