Welcome To The Home of The Long Island Astros 10U Orland
CATCHING UP August 12, 2008
Apologies to all, been very busy at work and have not done a good job of keeping up on the web site. My Company just completed the acquisition of Newsday, so I'd better hone my journalism skills, I've missed way too many deadlines.
Since we last checked in on our caped crusaders, they completed the summer season with a record of 6-10. The level of competition was a big step up from the Spring season, and the Astros showed they can play with any one of these teams. The season was highlighted by some good wins against tough opponents, most notably a 10-3 victory over the Greendogs, who finished at 9-7, and the final game of the season, a win over the bandits who finished at 12-4. We also had 5 games where we lost by 2 runs or less, so the Astros were very close to being in the upper half of the league;s standings but for a few plays here and there.
If you click on the Game Results link in the left hand banner and then change the drop down menus to NJBL Summer season and LI Astros, you can find brief game summaries for each game in the summer season. Nothing up yet for the last three games, but they will be posted shortly.
Two practices this week, tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday, both at Center Street, and then the Ed Rall Tournament this weekend. After that it's on to the Fall season, where the boys will play at 11-and-under with 75-foot bases and 51-foot pitching in preparation for next Spring.
ASTROS GO TO 3-2 WITH 10-0 NO HIT WIN OVER THE EAGLES July 10, 2008
The Astros ran their record above .500 for the summer season by defeating the Eagles 10-0, behind a great pitching performance by Steven. Steven went 5-1/3 innings and did not allow a hit, getting 12 of his 16 putouts by strikeout. Jared came in to get the last two outs and complete the no-no.
Offensively, the Astros managed fifteen hits. They threatened every inning, but the score was still 0-0 after four as we left the bases loaded twice without pushing one across. The wind was blowing in and a number of well-hit balls hung up long enough for opposing outfielders to snag. The Astros finally broke through with two in the fifth, both driven in by Ryan's triple (not a typo), one of three hits on the game for Beef. The Astros then erupted for eight more in their final at bat to blow the game open - Austin and Ricky had 2 RBIs apiece in that rally.
ASTROS FIGHT BACK TO FINISH 2-2 IN RYO JULY 4 TOURNAMENT July 10, 2008
After getting off to a slow start and dropping their first two games on Friday, the Astros fought back to win consecutive shutout games on Saturday and Sunday and finish at 2-2 in the RYO July 4 tournament.
The opening game was the heartbreaker, as the Astros squandered a marvelous pitching effort by Steven in a 2-1 loss. Vito's RBI single in the thrid was one of only three hits on the game for the 'Stros, and gave us a short-lived 1-0 lead, but the Phantoms scored two in their half to take a 2-1 lead and, despite threatening in the 5th and again in the 6th, we were unable to put another one across. One notable event in this game was when the umpire began the game without a mask...and didn't realize it until a couple pitches had been thrown. Not a good sign. He then trudged out to the parking lot, got his mask, and put it on, but the mask appeared to obstruct his vision for most of the rest of the contest.
In the second game Friday, we ran up against a very tough Ronkonkoma Cardinals squad and took it on the chin in a 9-0 loss. A team needs to be at its best to compete with a tough squad like the Cardinals, and we were anything but as we managed only one hit ( a single in the sixth by Ricky to avoid the no-hitter) and also handled the ball defensively like it was a hot potato.
But if we've learned anything about these Astros, it's that they have absolutely no quit in them at all, and they proved it again by roaring back from a tough Friday to post two dominating victories on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the victims were the Setauket Patriots, and the final was 9-0 in favor of the good guys as Teddy and Jared combined on the shutout, and the team had a 10-hit attack offensively, led by two hits apiece from the twins. They followed this up with a 7-0 win on Sunday over the Connetquot Chiefs - Ryan and Ricky dominated on the hill, and the offense managed 11 hits in this one, including three by Danny and two apiece for Ryan and Jared (who was robbed of a third hit by the centerfielder).
The team showed alot of pride and spirit over the weekend, starting slowly but finishing strong, a good way to embark upon the rest of the summer season.
The slide show below is taken from photos taken by Big Tan over the course of the tournament.
