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Coach Fred's Assessment of the Weekend
WOW. What a weekend. Well, the 7U team from the South decided to take a chance and play up in an 8UAA tournament in their first one of the Spring. We knew it would be tough playing in a 15 team tournament, but we were ready. The South came out a little shaky on Saturday and battled Team Extreme in a 6 inning game 11-9. The defense was shaky, but the hitting came through in the last 2 innings to secure the victory. Next came the Katy Curve and the game was tight all the way. We lost 6-3 and I think anyone who saw the game knew why. No hitting, pitching was off (my bad), poor attitudes when we got out or made an error, and lack of fire to win. We need to learn how to deal with failure because baseball is a game of failure, good teams pout, great teams come back. But.......we knew we have the sticks and defense to overcome. We had one of the toughest roads on Sunday playing at 8AM, and the kids were ready. we run ruled the Breeze 13-3 as the hitting and defense picked it up and almost saw Lopez go yard. The next game put us against the 2 seed Mustangs who, in my opinion, were the best team in the tournament thus far. After 3 no doubt homeruns from Austin, Trhea, and Andrew, as well as our strong outfielders of Peanut, Big I, Kacey and Lopez - the Mustangs fell to the South 14-6. I think we can all say that the Mustangs were a great team and have classy coaches. The semis were next and we had to take on the 8U Avenger South team. They were just moved down to AA from majors and were ready to play. They have great hitting and it was going to come down to mental toughness. The game was never in doubt as we pulled away because of our fantastic infield play of TMoney, Austin, Luke and Trhea. We say back hands, strong throws and rundowns. Runners beware--we throw the ball. The outfield was just as superb, with Kacey, Big I and Peanut leading the way. If you pop it up. these boys will get you. We also stroked another homerun and we paved our way to the 'ship. We have lots of respect for Matt's team and wish them well. They are on the right track and need more time to gel. The 'ship was a rematch of a pool play game - Team Extreme. They beat the Curve, Legends, and Sidewinders and were wanting revenge. After two innings the score was a tight 2-1 ballgame. Can't say enough about these kids. At times in the huddle their bodies looked exhausted, but their eyes looked on fire and they were ready to outlast another 8U team. None more tired than Cole, our legit catcher who battled the whole weekend with the gear and still had energy at the end. The defense was great and again our middle infield, TMoney, and pitcher Luke, led the way. Also, we saw big time plays in the outfield from Lopez and Big I. Nice to see Big I crush the ball as well and motor around the bases. But, our left and left center fielders ate every ball that came their way. We put the game away by getting Luke and Kacey on with hard shots to the outfield. Our SS Trhea then blasted a double of the centerfield wall to end the game. The boys played great, but the wins were not the only thing we accomplished... We learned that as a team we can accomplish so much and with a tough attitude, we are hard to stop. Way to start the season guys and thanks to parents and coaches for encouragement and cheering. Lets get to work and do it some more.
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