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Following the Jays 2008
Most of us waited quite impatiently for the high school seasons to end. In years past we have started workouts in January, preparing for an early April opener, but this year was different. The boys, finishing up their freshman year in high school, were committed to their respective high school teams. Most played JV ball, with some freshman and varsity sprinkled in. However, varsity playing time was scarce among the Blue Jays, and the quality of the JV ball was questionable, so we all wonder a bit about how much the kids developed during the spring. Yes, they were bigger, stronger and faster, surely they didn’t see during this spring the quality of ball they had experienced in earlier years.
It was a challenge to get them all in one place at any one time – with the state high school baseball tournament, football camps, and other general commitments, but we did mange a handful of 3-hour practices before our first encounter, a 28-team event (Ohio Valley Baseball Championship) hosted by the Cincy Flames.
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Ohio Valley Baseball Championship June 12-15
Richland City Hitmen. We opened against the Richland City Hitmen, and a big, strong hard-throwing righty, who some in the stands described as a varsity-level pitcher who led the county in strike outs. The game started quietly for both teams as we “small balled” a run on a delayed steal to take a 1 – 0 lead after 2 innings. In our half of the third, however, we exploded with a barrage of hits that I don’t think I have seen before … or since – 11 runs on 13 hits in a single inning! Amazingly, there was only 1 error and no walks in the innings … just one line drive after another. The game ended quickly, 14 – 2 after 5 innings, and the Jays were feeling like contenders already.
Lake Erie Bulldogs. Next up were the Lake Erie Bulldogs, who hail from the Cleveland area and compete in a very strong league. You may remember that they were part of the Midwest Super League a couple of years ago, and our common history indicates that they have split 2 games with the Jays. The first inning was scoreless on both sides, but a 3-run line-drive homer into dead center field propelled the Bulldogs to a 4 – 0 lead after 2 innings. The monsoons then dumped from the heavens, and the game was delayed until the next afternoon. We picked up in the top of the third, and neither team was able to generate any offense until the top of the seventh when our Jays tied it up with some timely hitting, especially a well-placed and times triple. To our dismay, the Bulldogs scratched the winning run across in their half of the seventh with a base hit, a botched bunt, and a 2-out blooper.
Fortunately, our 1 – 1 record was sufficient in this rain-shortened pool play to move us into the championship round of 12 as the 10th seed … with a shot (albeit a long one) at the title, 4 victories away.
Pony Express. In the first round of the championship competition we drew the Pony Express, a well-organized and always competitive Indy baseball program who boasted the 5th seed. In this game we scored early and often, and kept extending the lead. A couple of runs in each inning and before you knew it, we were up 12 – 4 after five innings, and the game was over … a second run-ruled victory for the Jays, who now awaited a very powerful Columbus Cobras team, the number 2 seed.
Columbus Cobras. The Cobras are very strong and it would take 7 innings of extreme concentration to stay with them … and after 4 innings the two teams stood toe-to-toe. The Cobras literally scratched a run across in the first, which had spotted them a 1 – 0 lead over the Jays, who threatened a couple of times, but never were able to step on the plate. In the top of the 5th we threatened again, but again we came up short … and then it happened … a combination of weak Blue Jay defense, a bloop hit, and inability to throw strikes allowed the Cobras to push the lead to 6 – 0 after 5, and they added a couple more in the sixth to finish off a dispirited Blue Jay roster, 8 - 0. The game and tournament were over for our Jays, who made it to the final 8 out of 28, losing to the eventual tournament champion. For a first tournament, we felt like we had been competitive against some very good teams, and thought as well that we had gained some insight about how it takes a full game of concentration to play with the big boys.
JP
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Indy Bulls Invitational June 19 -22
This tournament attracted 20 teams from all over the Midwest, and again featured some very high quality organizations. Our pool included the US Athletics Nationals, the Middie Pride (another past Super Midwest League team), and the 14U Indiana Bulls teams, who everyone says is one of their very best age groups, which says something given how many Indy Bulls are currently in the MLB. We know we had our work cut out for us.
US Athletics Nationals. This game started just as we had hoped. We jumped on their pitcher early with a towering 2-run homer in the first, and by the end of the third we had built a 7 – 2 lead. After the fourth the Nationals had cut the lead to 7 – 3, but we still were in control … and then it happened again! The “wheels came off the wagon” as sometimes happens when dealing with 15 year olds. The Nationals scored 9 runs in one of the ugliest innings of baseball ever played by a team … anywhere. There were 5 walks, a hit batsmen, a couple of key bobbles, all mixed in with a few timely hits … and all of a sudden after 5 innings we are behind 12 – 7. Nothing happened for either side in the sixth, leading to our final shot in the bottom of the seventh. Our boys mounted a huge rally, with the tying run being gunned down at the plate on a very close call, and the final out being made later with the tying run stranded at third. 12 -11 in favor of the Nationals, and our Jays are already in a hole if they had plans of earning a seed in the championship rounds.
Middie Pride. The Middie Pride is a fine organization out of Ohio, comprised of fine people, and fashioned much like our own Blue Jays … a relatively small community of devoted and competitive players. They are always fun to play. This time they threw their “ace” at us, a kid who has some heat, but relies primarily on good location with a nice curve ball. A little surprising, we jumped right on him and blasted across 2 runs in the first, while hitting 6 or 7 balls on the button. Even some of our outs made people in the stands take notice. Unfortunately, they returned the favor, but even more impressively with a 4-run bottom half of the first. Again, we are in a hole. We tied it in the third, but again they responded, this time with a rocket shot of as homer; after 3 it was 6 – 4 … and that’s the way it stayed. Both pitchers controlled the remainder of the game, and while we had plenty of chances to score, we could never capitalize – second loss in pool play and almost no chance of a championship berth.
14U Indy Bulls. Yes, this is a 14U team, and we are a year older … and taller, and generally bigger. Yet, on this day we were not better. They beat us from the beginning. They smacked the ball all over the park in the first inning to take a 2 – 0 lead, which they built to 4 – 1, and eventually 7 – 1. Interestingly, we out hit them 8 – 6, but again we could not capitalize on our opportunities, leaving the bases loaded twice. Pool play result: 0 – 3 for the first time in Blue Jay history. Next stop … a consolation game, only the second we have played in my (limited)
memory.
Sagamon Arsenal. The consolation game pitted the Jays against the Sagamon Arsenal, who hail from the “dead middle” of Illinois (as described by their coaches). For a consolation game this one played pretty well. For the most part sharp fielding and solid pitching from both sides produced a low scoring, tight ball game. The Arsenal began the scoring with a run in the second aided by some shoddy Blue Jay fielding – a botched double play ball and a dropped ball in the outfield. Fortunately, we answered quickly with two runs in our half of the inning, and our fielding tightened up considerably as they game wore on. In the fourth the opponents tied it up on a sharp double, and with nothing from either team in the fifth we entered the sixth inning knotted at 2 – 2. Our solid pitching, backed by fine fielding, continued to hold them down, and in the bottom of the sixth we “small balled” a couple across … a double steal to get to second and third, followed by a successful squeeze bunt and a base hit. The Arsenal did answer in the top of the seventh with a run, but a final strike out put an end to the rally, stranding the tying run on second – Blue Jays 4, Arsenal 3.
So, at least we leave Indy on a positive note, and avoid being skunked for the tournament. We did play better baseball, especially the pitching and to a lesser extent the fielding, but again our hitting was not timely. We left 11 runners on base in six innings of batting; the game did not have to be that close. Next stop – Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Tigers, a team that earned a berth to the Elite 24 just 2 years ago. We are headed for their invitational tournament, which is loaded with powerhouses, including the likes of the Ohio Warhawks and Golden Triangle Baseball. Timely hitting and consistent concentration are a must, or we’re headed for another rocky time, and little improvement on our 3 – 5 record.
Author’s note: the Blue Jays are flat, and our timing has been awful. Granted, we have been hitting, but almost never at key times. Contrast that with our opponents, who seemingly capitalize on almost every opportunity. In addition, our pitchers have walked many more than have our opponents’ pitchers. Post-game team meetings have focused primarily on maintaining our concentration and how small foul-ups have cost us dearly … the kind of foul-ups that you never notice when you win 10 – 2, but become glaring weaknesses in a close game. There is very little room for error when you play good teams. —JP
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Allegheny Tigers Invitational
We arrived in the Pittsburgh area late on Friday night after a 7-hour drive, some having to endure a detour around a flooded out I-70 just east of Columbus. Indeed, this part of West Virginia and Pennsylvania is pretty country – rolling hills (almost mountains) and rushing rivers – but a wet spring and early summer and the prospect of more rain on the horizon planted doubt in our minds about whether much baseball would follow. Nonetheless, a devoted grounds crew, a determined tournament host, and some breaks in the clouds got us going the next afternoon.
Allegheny Tigers. I guess the Allegheny Tigers got going a little quicker than the Bloomington Blue Jays. Behind an excellent pitching performance from a kid who knew what it meant to throw strikes without offering the hitters anything to hit (“paint the corners” as they say), the Tigers gradually built to an 8 – 0 victory. After 3 innings it was only 1 – 0, but their hitters just kept chipping away and it was 4 – 0 after four, and then the “wheels came off” in the fifth. The Blue Jay pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone, the fielders dropped fly balls, booted easy ground balls, and threw to wrong bases. Our hitters amassed a total of 1 infield single … and after the game we stared at each other wondering how this group of clowns (coaches included) came to be invited to this level of tournament … and to drive 7 hours? The post-game team meeting wasn’t pretty, as our season record dipped to 3 – 6 following an embarrassing outing.
The rains washed out our second game later that afternoon, and caused the tournament director to re-write the tournament schedule … the Blue Jays were assigned an 8:00 am Sunday morning start and had to beat the Niagara Falls Cyclones (as well as limit their run production) to advance to the final round of 8; otherwise – another 7-hour drive home.
Niagara Falls Cyclones. This one again had an auspicious start. Early on the Jays couldn’t make anything happen offensively, and played pretty loose defense. Had it not been for some excellent Blue Jay pitching we would have been in a world of hurt. As it was, we entered the top of the 5th down 1 – 0. Then it happened; something seemed to click; and the Jays started playing like the Jays. A hit, a steal that disrupted a ground ball, another hit, a perfectly executed squeeze play, another steal, another hit, some aggressive base running that produced another run … timely, aggressive play and all of a sudden we are up 4 – 1. Our pitching and fielding seemed to get a boost from the newly-found energy; and we added another run in the sixth. The game ended 5 – 1 … we again we looked around at each other … but this time we thought … “now that’s what I’m talking about!” Our victory advanced us to the final round of 8 as a 5th seed to meet the undefeated MTM Stars, the 4th seed.
MTM Stars. The MTM Stars hail from the Cleveland area and are one of the strongest in a very strong league of teams, which includes the Lake Erie Bulldogs, BP Baseball, Brownlee Lookout and others. They earned their number 4 seed by trouncing their two prior opponents.
Not sure exactly how or why, but ALL the Blue Jay bats exploded. A great catch by the Stars’ left fielder saved a couple of runs in the first, but that wasn’t enough to hold back the tide in the second – KABOOM! Eight runs on line drive after line drive after line drive, topped off by a 3-run lazer over the left field wall. A very credible Stars’ pitcher was staring at his mit wondering if anyone got the number of that locomotive that just blew through town. The 8-run second wasn’t the end either … 2 more in the third and 2 more in the fourth made it 12 – 0, and the Blue Jays were one pitch away from run ruling the Stars 12 – 0 after four innings. Pitching for the Jays had been masterful up until the fourth (the first hit came in the fourth), but it did tire a bit and the Stars’ added 3 runs with two outs to delay the game one more inning … and it only lasted one more inning … as the Stars were only able to muster 1 more run in the fifth; it ended 12 – 4 after 5.
Were the real Blue Jays back? They were now 1/4th of a very impressive final 4 that included the Allegheny Tigers, the Ohio Warhawks, and the Golden Triangle … some pretty good company. Unfortunately, Mother Nature again took control as dark ugly clouds emptied out over the ball fields in the late afternoon. The Blue Jays were forced into their cars for another 7 hours without the opportunity to avenge the prior loss to the Tigers.
Our record is now 6 – 7. Certainly, it is nothing like last year’s 18 – 0 start or even its 54-10 completion. However, we have ramped up the competition; we are definitely out of our comfort zone; and there are signs that we can play with the big boys … our goal for the 2008 season.
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