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Blue Jays Return Home Early from World Series
July 22-29. Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) Tournament. The Blue Jays entered the CABA World Series with great expectations, knowing that they could play with just about anybody, and thinking that a world-series win was a distinct possibility. To their dismay, a combination of pitchers and catchers who couldn’t play pitch and catch very well, and some voodoo-like bad luck sent the Jays home several days before the finals.
Game 1. The Jays jumped to a 1-0 record quickly with a convincing victory 7 – 0 over JASB of Marion. The game was never in doubt, but we came to learn later that virtually every team had their way with JASB.
Game 2. The Puerto Rican Apachez, supporting a 17-man roster, were the next opponents. It certainly was fun playing a team from Puerto Rico and, as expected, they are for real. The Jays pushed across a run in the fourth to take a 1-0 lead, but the Apachez tallied the tying run in the sixth on a third strike that eluded our catcher. A couple of walks in the top of the 8th inning and a hit gave the Apachez a 2-1 lead, and the Jays ended the bottom of the 8th with runners at 2nd and 3rd … tough loss 2 – 1.
Game 3. The Jays pounded out a second victory against the Lexington Minutemen posting 10 runs, many in the early innings. Once again, on the verge of run-ruling the opponents, the Jays allowed a mini-rally by the Minutemen in the sixth, and the game ended 10 – 7. While not as convincing as it could have been, this victory assured the Blue Jays a place in the championship double elimination tournament.
Game 4. In this game against the Northwest Ohio Fire, who argued incessantly with the umpires, the Jays showed strong pitching and played good defense to take a 2-1 lead into the sixth. Unfortunately, a walk, three infield hits, and a fielding judgment error placed three more runs on the board for the Fire, who posted a 4 – 2 victory. Again, the game ended with Blue Jays in scoring position.
Game 5. A coaching misinterpretation of the pitching rules put the Jays in a hole by limiting the number of Jays who could pitch in this one. As it turned out, both the Jays and their opponents, the Lake Erie Bulldogs, blasted the ball, and the teams went into extra innings tied 8 – 8. Like a broken record, though, the Bulldogs pushed one across in the 8th and the Jays half of the inning died with runners in scoring position … just couldn’t get hits when we needed them … loss 9 – 8.
Game 6. We entered the championship tournament as a relatively low seed, but with confidence that we could still “run the table.” We started off against the Cincinnati Midland Jets and the outlook once again looked bright as we entered the sixth with a 7 – 4 lead. However, the pitching and catching never found the same wavelength, and a missed third strike again created a base runner, wild pitch/passed balls moved too many runners up and across home, and the Jays lost another one 8 – 7 on a squeeze bunt in the last inning.
Game 7. One more loss and we all go home, and the Blue Jays found themselves again facing the Northwest Ohio Fire. Unfortunately, the bad luck continued for the boys in blue. A broken arm the night before, a quick replacement, a Blue Jay popped in the eye with a pitch, and we closed this game with only 8 players Solid Jay hitting (including a towering homer) did create a 6 – 3 lead going into the sixth, but - as if it was not to be - a 5-run sixth for the Fire spelled doom for the Jays – another one (the fourth in a row) slipped away; this time 8 – 6. It is time to pack up and call it a season.
It’s pretty tough to end such a phenomenal season on such a low note. We thought we could win it all; and I still do. Bad luck, lack of timely hitting, and tired pitchers and catchers all had something to do with the disappointment, but on a positive note the team hit well over .330 for the tournament and we put ourselves in a position to win every game, entering the sixth with a lead every time. We just didn’t get it done this time … However, the Jays will be back next year, as a feisty group of 14 year olds, and I promise you they will be a handful for whoever sits in the opposing dugout … and best of all, they have the best and classiest fan support of any team around! Stay tuned.
JP
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Blue Jays Earn Plenty of Respect at Midwest Super League Tourney
July 14 – 16, Dublin, OH— The Blue Jays “locked horns” with some of the best travel baseball teams in the Midwest in Dublin, Ohio at the first (and hopefully the annual) Midwest Super League Tournament. While the Jays were just 2 – 3 on the weekend, two of the losses - against teams from some of the best baseball programs in the country - went down to the final out, and our boys came within a hair’s breath of finding themselves in the final game.
Game 1 Last year our opponent for game 1, the South Oakland A’s (Detroit), won a 98-team 12U tournament in Cooperstown, New York. Not to be intimidated, the Jays jumped out to a 10 – 0 lead (this is not a typo) after 2 innings. After 5 innings, the lead was 10 – 1, and it was only due to a bit of luck and some great fielding by the A’s that the lead wasn’t bigger … another run for the Jays and the game would have been over. Well … baseball is a funny game … and in the sixth inning, the “wheels fell off the wagon” for the boys in blue. Fortunately, the Jays still held a 10 – 8 lead going into the last inning. Again, excellent fielding by the A’s held the Jays scoreless in the 7th, and a couple of bloop singles combined with a walk and an error and – unbelievably - we’re in extra innings. Lightning and thunder delayed the finish until late the next day, and with two outs in the bottom of the 8th, the A’s pushed across the winning run. Immediately afterwards the coaching staff, led by the head coach, conducted a frantic search for the closest bar.
Game 2 The Jays were flat against the Central Ohio Sharks, and were never able to mount any kind of threat against a pitcher who I doubt could have broken a window pane 30 feet away with his fastball … junk, junk, and more junk … and the Jays’ bats chased it all day long. We did manage 8 hits, equal to the number of hits for the Sharks, but our lackluster play enabled us to produce only 1 run while our opponents produced 5 … Not a good start.
Game 3 Time for a comeback, and that we did against the Lake Erie Bulldogs. Solid hitting, solid pitching, and acceptable fielding allowed us to build an early lead and maintain it throughout. Jays 6 Bulldogs 4.
Game 4 Our 1 – 2 record in pool play placed us in a lower seed for the tournament, pitting us in a rematch against the Sharks. It seems the same kid in a different body pitched for them this time … junk, junk, and more junk. Again, it took us a while to get our bearings, but this time we mounted a bit of a rally in the middle innings, and held a 4 – 1 lead going into the sixth inning. As you can imagine, our pitching up to this point was extremely solid. In a brilliant coaching move, however, a new Jays’ pitcher took over the mound and the first batter started a sequence of four straight walks, and by the end of the inning the game was tied. We did somehow small ball a run in the top of the 7th, and our third pitcher held the lead … final score 5 – 4, and off to the semi-final round. That’s the good news. The bad news: The Allegheny Tigers stood in the way – they recently qualified for the Elite 24 tournament at Disney with a huge tournament championship; they stood atop the Midwest Super League standings; and in this tournament they had blown through all of their prior opponents. David vs. Goliath?
Game 5 The Tigers are big, athletic, patches of facial hair, and they carry a pitching staff … a team of 14 kids, all looking at puberty in the rear-view mirror, and a collection of coaches with a look that smells of baseball. Plenty of swagger – to be sure – but more of it is confidence that comes with knowing how to take care of business … and the Blue Jays? Well, they’re just one more “bug” to leave a splot on the windshield during the drive to another championship trophy. Fortunately, our boys didn’t see it that way. At the end of inning 1, although no one had crossed the plate, the Jays hit the ball with more authority than their impressive foes. The second inning is where we lost it … again we were plagued with mediocre fielding, and the Tigers pushed across 3 runs. Yes, they did hit the ball, but if we make the plays we should be making, those hits don’t produce any runs. Nonetheless, 3 – 0 at the end of 2. A Blue Jay pitching change, some timely Blue Jay hitting and base running, and all of a sudden by the end of 6 its 4 – 4, and the Tigers’ coaching staff is complaining about a white bandage on the Blue Jay pitcher’s non-pitching arm … something about distracting their hitters … hmmm. Well, in the story books the Blue Jays would scratch out a run in the 7th and move on to blow out the competition in the final game. On this day, unfortunately, it happened in reverse. The Tigers scratched out a run on a slow roller to second, and the Blue Jays went down in their final at bat by virtue of the Tiger short stop transforming a no-out single to center, moving a runner to third, into a major league style double play … and yes, the Tigers ripped their final’s opponent 14 – 0 to win yet another championship trophy. While the Jays could only claim a semi-final finish, their gutsy performance motivated a very complimentary e-mail from the Allegheny head coach, who basically said … “you guys can play with anybody we’ve seen” … and trust me, they have seen plenty.
With this tournament the Blue Jays have now completed their Midwest Super League competition for 2006. In total, they played 22 games against some of the top competition in the Midwest, and ended with a 10 – 12 record. No, they didn’t challenge for the league championship, but considering that they won 10 games and that 8 of the 12 losses were by 1 run, there’s little doubt that our boys, all from Bloomington, have gained some respect in travel baseball circles for this little southern Indiana town.
JP
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Blue Jays Finish HSL Season Undefeated
July 7, Lower Cascades—In business-like fashion the Blue Jays took a twin bill from the Indy Bulldogs, a first-year travel team coached by Richard Hurt, recent head baseball coach at Bloomington High School North. Using seven different pitchers the Jays held the Bulldogs to 2 runs over the evening, and the Blue Jay bats added plenty of pop, finishing both games by run rule: 10 – 0 and 13-2. Almost all the runs were produced by solid hitting as the Bulldogs played well in the field while Bulldog pitching walked only a few Blue Jay batters. The Jays completed their HSL season with a perfect 13 – 0 record.
JP
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June 30 – July 3: Blue Jays take Second Place at Tournament of Champions
July 3, Dayton, OH— This weekend had a little bit of everything … victories, losses, ties, top teams from five different states, thunderstorms, heroics, injuries, illnesses, disappointments, sand storms, and live music until late into the evening … and in the end the Blue Jay caravan returned home from Dayton, Ohio early on Tuesday morning (about 1:30am) with a nice piece of hardware. This time, however, it was inscribed “second place,” but nobody walked away unhappy about this ball team’s efforts … the final game went down to the last batter and the tying run headed toward third with ultimate victory for a first-class group out of Chicago and still our nemesis – the Orland Sparks Travelers.
Game 1 The North Kentucky Reds are for real. This highly-seeded team opened against the Jays with a very seasoned pitcher, who threw pretty hard and hit spots … usually around the knees. The Jays countered with some darn good pitching of their own, and entered the bottom of the sixth with a 3 – 1 lead … real baseball played at a very high level. Unfortunately, the Reds mounted a mini-rally in the sixth, fueled primarily by a couple of walks, and the inning ended with the teams knotted at 3 – 3. Both teams threatened in the seventh, but neither could push a run across as the 2-hour time limit expired.
Game 2 A local Ohio team, Kinnect National, who won their first game, was next up for the Jays. In a fairly lackluster performance against an out-manned opponent the Jays built a comfortable lead early, and maintained it throughout, finishing a 14 – 7 victor. I guess we played as well as we needed to, but we were a ways short of sharp. Fortunately, our 1 – 0 – 1 record at the time virtually assured a spot in Monday’s 8-team championship tourney.
Game 3 Good thing we assured our spot in the finals the day before because our concentration was at a low point in game 3. Here, we never really broke out of the blocks, and ended up losing 5 – 3 to another Ohio team, Canes Baseball (losers of their two previous pool games). This was a perfect example of dropping your game to the level of your competition … correction – below the level of your competition. Time for a team meeting. This loss dropped us from a third to a sixth seed in the finals.
Game 4 Somehow those team meetings seem to precede an upsurge of Blue Jay energy as the boys began to play like they meant it. The first unfortunate foe was Hit-After-Hit, the third seed out of Tennessee. The Jays jumped on their pitching early and often, and pitched themselves a 7-inning gem … final score 6 – 1, and the opponents were lucky it wasn’t a lot worse … on to the second seed.
Game 5 The N. Kentucky Reds found their way to the final four, facing the Jays for a second time. They also unpacked their pitching ace for this game … a kid who could bring it pretty good. Well … about the second inning, Blue Jay bats just started banging and banging and banging. By the end of the fourth, aided by another pitching gem, the score stood 9 – 1. Had the score remained that way through the fifth, the game would have ended early, but the Reds managed to scratch out a couple, leading to a final score of 9 – 3. I doubt the N. Ky. Reds were accustomed to being treated like that … at least frustration was pretty evident in the eyes of their head coach as he was asked by the umpire to view the last couple of innings from well beyond the right field fence.
Game 6 The number 1 seed Sparks Travelers, who had virtually rolled over all 5 of its previous opponents (4 of them by run rule), stood between the Blue Jays and the championship. These two teams locked horns and struggled against each other from the first pitch to the last. The Jays jumped out early with 1 in the second and 2 in the third, and came within a great catch by the Traveler’s center fielder from blowing the game wide open in the third. At the end of three, the Jays held on to a 3 – 0 lead behind three innings of no-hit dominating pitching. However, in the bottom of the fourth, the Travelers scratched out 3 runs, aided by some well-placed hits, a couple of walks, and some inaccurate pick off throws. In the fourth, without a hit, the Travelers snuck another run across on a close play at the plate, and after the sixth the Jays were down 4 – 3. Unfortunately, the Travelers’ pitcher found his groove in the later innings, and started out the seventh, our last chance, by striking out the first two Blue Jays. To add to the drama, however, a successful drag bunt and a stolen base put the tying run on second. The next Blue Jay batter sent a 3 – 1 pitch on a fast ride toward short stop, who knocked it down and hurried a low throw toward first. A fine pick-up by the first baseman was just in the nick of time, and the game ended to the chagrin of the Blue Jay boosters, 4 – 3.
Our boys had nothing to be ashamed of on the long ride home. There is little doubt that this group can stand toe to toe with just about anybody.
JP
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Blue Jays Grab Two More Dramatic HSL Wins
June 27, Lower Cascades— Never a dull moment aptly describes the Blue Jay – Indy Prospects twin bill. Two teams, undefeated in HSL competition, locked horns to provide fans with some real entertainment - two games each of which came down to the last out.
Game 1 Prospect bats boomed in the first two innings … 13 hits and 6 runs later, the Blue Jays found themselves down 6 – 0, a big hole to be sure. I have never seen so many line drives in so short a time. Somehow, though, the boys found a way to stop the bleeding, and after 5 innings the Jays crawled their way back into striking distance, but still down 7 – 3. In the bottom of the sixth, some Blue Jay bats started booming (including a laser beam homer), and our boys crawled back even father to reduce the deficit to 7 – 6. You could feel the tide turning, and in a dramatic 7th inning, with two outs and lots of nails bitten down to the cuticles, the Jays pushed across the tying and winning runs; final score 8 – 7.
Game 2 Regardless of the score, the real heroes of this game were the Blue Jay fans. Not only did they cheer the birds to another victory, but they figured out a way to break into the utility room at Lower Cascades to turn on the lights. Their heroics allowed these two fine teams to display another gem of a game. This one developed in the reverse of the first – that is, the Jays established an early lead with a run or two each inning, and headed into the last inning protecting a 5 – 1 edge. Could the Prospects, like the Jays, pull off a dramatic come-from-behind victory? Fortunately, the answer was “no,” but not because they didn’t give it the old college try … a couple of scratch hits, a couple of walks, and presto … two runs, two outs, bases loaded (tying run on second) with one of the Prospects’ best hitters at the plate. Thank the Lord, the count didn’t go to full (or certainly we would have had to call an ambulance for at least one of the Blue Jay coaches), and fortunately, the batter looked at a fast ball right at the knees … call strike three! Final score 5 – 3.
JP
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Jays Avenge Lots of Unsuccessful Bloomington Trips to Vincennes
June 24, Lower Cascades— Over the years Bloomington ball players have traveled to Vincennes only to return with their “tails between their legs.” It has taken 3 or 4 years, but the Jays have finally earned some respect from their southern Indiana opponents. The Blue Jays swept two games ( 4 – 0 and 8 – 3), demonstrating along the way that Bloomington baseball is on the upswing.
Game 1 Vincennes sent a big, fast, and athletic pitcher to the mound (who by the way can also hit, run, and play short stop as the remainder of the evening showed), and he brought a fair amount of heat. The boys in blue, however, caught up pretty quickly and pushed runs across in both the first and the third innings. Stellar defense throughout the game constituted a virtual clinic as the Blue Jays picked off runners at third, and first (from home), and threw out runners attempting to advance at 3rd and at home … A couple more runs and excellent shut out pitching from two hurlers spelled a 4-0 victory … very solid baseball … not overpowering, but very solid baseball.
Game 2 The second game started a little slow, as the visitors posted 2 in the first, but it wasn’t long before our boys jumped out to a lead in the fourth, one they never let loose of. Hitting throughout the order, and dominant pitching down the stretch ended this one at 8 – 3. Other than the lights going out a little early, it was a very enjoyable evening – nice weather, fun people, yummy concessions, and of course … solid baseball!
JP
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Blue Jays Take Two Against HSE Royals to Remain Unbeaten in HSL
Billericay Park, Indianapolis— The Blue Jays took sole possession of the top spot in the Hoosier Select League by winning both games of a double header against the Hamilton South Eastern Royals on Tuesday. Going into the game the Royals were tied with the Jays in the league standings, neither team having recorded a loss in league play.
Strong pitching, something that is becoming a Blue Jay trademark, held the Royals at bay throughout the evening. Blue Jay hurlers sent the Royals back to the field having faced not more than five batters, in all but one inning. Most of the pitching staff saw action as six Jay pitches took the hill.
The Royals were not as lucky at keeping the ball out of the field, with the Jays at the plate. On two occassions the Royals watched as Jay players send the ball to the out-of-play side of the outfield fence. Solid hitting throughout the lineup yielded the Jays a total of 21 hits in the two games.
As good as hitting and pitching were, it surely was balanced by the Jays' less than stellar base running. At one point in the second game, base running errors had ended more innings for the Jays, than were ended by the Royals defense.
Game one final— Blue Jays 16 Royals 4
Game two final— Blue Jays 11 Royals 2
—RR
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Blue Jays Bounce Back in HSL Action
The Blue Jays ran off a string of 5 straight victories, 4 of which against Hoosier Select League opponents to keep their HSL record unblemished.
Game 1 (June 14) In a 5 inning, lopsided contest the Blue Jays put 10 on the board in the first two innings against the Columbus Crush ending this one early. Lots of hits, lots of hits, and lots of hits made the difference.
Game 2 and 3 (June 15) The Jays sputtered a bit in the first game of the DH against the Indiana Blazers, falling behind 3 – 1 due to a comedy of defensive errors in an ugly fourth inning. However, they bounced back with four runs in the sixth to take this one 5 – 3. In the night cap they jumped on Blazer pitching early en route to a 16 – 4 victory.
Round Robin at Orchard Park (June 17) In a park-like setting with mature trees “playing” right field the Blue Jays took on HSL foe, the Indy Knights, and a new opponent, the Logan Blaze, in a Saturday afternoon round robin. In the first game against the Knights, the Jays jumped to an early lead, building it to 6 – 0 by the fourth inning. The Knights bounced back with a couple in the fifth and one in the sixth to cut the lead to 6 – 3, but could never get any closer. In the second game against the Blaze, the Blue Jays posted 8 runs before the Blaze could push one across in the sixth inning. This one ended 8 – 1. Thanks to the Knights for hosting a very pleasant baseball afternoon.
JP
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Blue Jays Continue to Struggle in Midwest Super League Action
June 11, Twin Lakes Sports Complex— The Blue Jays were only able to win one out of four against the Cincinnati contingent of the Midwest Super League: Cincinnati Flames and Middie Pride. Inconsistent hitting, spotty fielding, injuries, bad luck, and (yes) mediocre coaching spelled a tough weekend for the Jays.
Game 1 After a very rocky defensive start, where the Jays spotted the Flames, five runs, Blue Jay bats slowly rolled back into action. A 7-hit fifth inning built up an 8 – 5 lead, allowing the boys in blue to coast to a 10 – 6 victory. At this point the weekend looked bright as the Jays put a pretty good tag on Cincy’s ace, a big lefty.
Game 2 The Middie Pride has a kid who can flat out pitch (By the way he can hit too which he demonstrated with a towering homer the next day)! About a 75 mph fast ball, coupled with an unhittable curve (I don’t think we even fouled one off), both thrown consistently for strikes held our bats at bay for seven innings - definitely the best pitching performance against the Jays all year. We scratched out three hits and one run, but I think he sent 14 of our hitters back to the dugout with their bats on their shoulders. Didn’t have much company at my coaching box at third base during this game. Final score: 4 – 1.
Game 3 Here’s a game we should have won, but didn’t. Our bats never really got started – and they should have – as we entered the 6th inning ahead, 1 – 0. In an unbelievable 6th inning, the Cincy Flames scored 3 runs … two of which on a bases-loaded strike out to end the inning, or so we thought. The catcher handled the third strike, flipped the ball toward the mound, and the team headed for the dugout. However, the third strike hit the dirt, meaning the play was still live. By the time the Jays had returned to the field two runs had scored. Blame the coaches on this one; they didn’t do a good job of instructing the kids on what to do in those frantic few seconds where Flames runners continued around the bases. In the next inning the Jays hit the ball hard, producing two runs, to send the game into extra innings. Playing California rules (inning begins with one out and a runner on second) to speed up the game, the Jays ended their half inning with two well-hit line drives … right to somebody. The Flames, on the other hand, moved a runner to third on a dribbler back to the mound, and then he scored the winning run on a passed ball with two outs and an 0-2 count on the hitter. This one was a tough pill to take.
Game 4 Here’s one where injuries hurt us. One of our starting pitchers was unable to pitch all weekend due to shoulder soreness that seemed to just appear during the prior week, and another starter had been hit by a pitched ball earlier in the day and was saddled with a tightly wrapped wrist. Consequently, this game had to be “pitched by committee,” and unfortunately the Middie Pride bats were just too strong. The Blue Jay bats, on the other hand, were unusually quiet, especially given that the Pride was pretty far down in their pitching rotation. Our hopes to out hit the Pride in this one were simply dashed, 8 – 2. They hit; we didn’t. End of story.
It looks like the Jays will enter the Midwest Super League tournament in Dublin, Ohio as underdogs as our record in the League dropped to 1 – 7 (possibly 3 – 7 if we are unable to schedule two more games against the Brewers and are forced to use the two previous Brewer games). In two weeks we play the final four MSWL games, two against both the Pony Express Blue and the Indy Select. As a result, the best the Jays can do in league play is 7 – 7. So far, we have shown ourselves to be a tourney team. Hopefully, we can follow through on that in Dublin.
JP
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Blue Jays Roll to Fifth Tourney Championship
June 4, Indy Sports Park—The Blue Jays didn’t act like very good hosts in their 6-team Bloomington Blast this past Saturday. Tough opponents like the Decatur Hawks, Bloomington Brewers, Southside Indy Bulldogs, the Indiana Sandlotters, and the Lawrence Pirates all had to settle for something other than the top spot as the Jays piled up lots of runs, backed by sharp pitching and adequate defense on their way to tourney championship number 5.
Game 1 The Blue Jays again drew cross-town rival, the Bloomington Brewers, in the first game. After a scoreless first inning, the Jays knocked in 9 runs in the next 4 innings, ending this one early; 9 – 0 in five. This victory represented the fourth time in a row that the Jays run-ruled their opponent. Excellent pitching ensured that the Brewers, who won their next two games to finish third in the tournament, never really mounted a scoring threat.
Game 2 The Indiana Sandlotters, our next opponent, showed that indeed they can swing the bat. Their boys knocked several off the 300 foot fence en route to an early 2 – 0 lead. A second-inning rally put the Jays back on top, 5 – 2, but the Sandlotters belted out a few more and the score was knotted at 5- 5. At this point the Jays continued their hitting pace, while solid relief pitching put the stops on those fearsome Sandlotter bats. Before you know it, the Jays were up big, and single run for the Sandlotters in the last inning only closed the gap to 14 – 6. On to the championship game.
Game 3 In a game marred by some pretty unprofessional behavior on the part of the Decatur organization, the Jays turned a small early deficit into a 7 – 4 victory. The Hawks, undefeated in two previous games, tagged Blue Jay pitching for 2 in the first, but that lead didn’t last long as dominant relief pitching, and consistent hitting quickly pushed the Jays back in front 7 – 2. The Hawks posted a couple of single-run innings in the 6th and 7th, but not enough to turn the tide. The win was nice, but certainly the joy of the game was spoiled by the incessant complaining directed at the umpire by the Decatur group.
The Blue Jays are operating on almost all cylinders right now. The most impressive part of this past string of 11 consecutive victories is the consistency of hitting across all spots in the batting order. Indeed, much of the run production is coming from the lower spots in the order. When that happens, this team is a handful. The pitching has been excellent, and while not all pitchers have been their sharpest, the staff is deep and we have always been able to find someone who can “put the skids” on the opponent. We still need to improve the defense, a few physical errors and way too many mental errors have hurt us at times. Also, the competition heats up in June and July with 4 double headers against Midwest Super League opponents, a major tournament in Cincinnati, and the Midwest Super League tournament … not too mention Nationals. Yes, we have won a few, but we don’t have time to get cocky. There’s plenty of room for improvement and there’s always somebody out there who is better.
JP
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Blue Jays Cruise to Fourth Tournament Championship
May 28, Winslow Sports Park—With machine-like precision the Jays rolled through the competition at the Memorial weekend Super Series Qualifier. Big bats, steady pitching, and solid (yet unremarkable) fielding posted four victories and some championship rings for the boys in blue.
Game 1 In the first contest the Jays met cross-town rivals, the Bloomington Brewers. Everybody knew everybody in both dugouts, which added a little extra interest to the battle. The game was well-played on both sides – good pitching and fielding by both teams. The Jays’ bats were a bit more active, though, as they put together 4 runs, while the Brewers could only muster 1 run on 1 hit.
Game 2 The Jays faced the Titans, mostly from Seymour, a team that dropped a 7-2 decision to the Jays earlier in the season. In this game, the Jays used four different pitchers, putting away the first-year Titans, 11-2 in five innings. Jay bats produced early in this one, putting the game out of reach quickly. 2-0 in pool play earned the Jays a second seed in the Sunday championship tournament.
Game 3 Again, the Blue Jays faced the Titans, who earned a third seed by virtue of a 13-1 bruising of the host team, the Indiana Blazers. In this game it took the Jays a little longer to put the game out of reach, but again it ended after five innings, 8 – 0. Excellent pitching kept the Titan hitters off balance all day.
Game 4 Wouldn’t you know it? The championship game again came down to The Blue Jays vs. the Indy Select, who worked their way to the finals with convincing victories over the Indiana Blazers and twice over the Bloomington Brewers. Compared to the previous week, the pitching staffs of the two teams were relatively fresh, given that it was only the fourth game of the weekend as opposed to the sixth game (like the previous week). Both teams dug in for what was likely to be a grueling pitcher’s duel. It turned out, however, that the Blue Jay bats boomed and boomed early – after two innings, and an 8-hit second inning – it was 8 – 2 Blue Jays. The Jays posted three more in the next three innings, and shut down the Select bats, and for the third straight game ended this one in five innings – this time 11-2.
The Jays are really beginning to jell as a team on all cylinders. Hits are jumping off the bats throughout the order and hardly anyone is striking out; the pitching has shown depth, consistency, and power; and defense, which still needs some polishing, has been respectable. Lots of the season yet to go, and lots of good teams yet to play … and there is still plenty of room for improvement. Good play like this weekend is gratifying, but it creates a whole new set of expectations.
JP
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Another Tournament Championship for the Jays in Indy
May 21, Indianapolis— In a story that reads a lot like an earlier triumph at the Bandit Yard, the Jays finished atop an impressive group of 16 teams at the Pony Express Summer Slam. Each game was a “nail biter,” but our boys dug down deep when it mattered to bring home some nice looking hardware.
Game 1 The Indiana Lions are big, and they have a boy who can bring some heat. However, the Jays brought some heat of their own with two pitchers sharing the burden on a 4-0 shut out. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the Blue Jay bats clicked, but we pushed across enough runs in lots of different ways to make the difference. When your pitchers only give up 2 hits and 0 runs, it doesn’t take too many.
Game 2 Like the Bandit Yard tournament, the Jays put the pressure on by losing one – this time to the Lafayette Lightning, 9 – 6. As good as the pitching was in Game 1, it was that poor in Game 2. The first Blue Jay moundsman got shelled early; the second couldn’t keep the Lightning in check for very long; and the third couldn’t find the strike zone. It didn’t help either that an umpire, who I guess wanted to take off work early, decided that 6 innings was enough even though everyone agreed that the time clock had not expired. Go figure. If travel baseball was easy, I guess it wouldn’t be nearly as fun?!!?
Game 3 To make the championship tourney on Sunday, the Blue Jays had to win the next game, and the opponent was no powder puff… the Indy Select – a team that had “notches in their belt” this year with names on them like the Indiana Bulls and the Indiana Express. To be sure, the Blue Jays had their work cut out for them. Once again, though, the boys in blue showed what they are made of… a pretty routine 6-1 victory. Good pitching, solid hitting, and solid fielding spells victory almost every time no matter who you play. We made it to the Sunday playoffs; but at the time I wondered which Blue Jay team was going to show up.
Game 4 The answer to that question came early as the Jays posted a solid 4-2 victory against a tough team from Chicago called the Lennox Hawks. It took a while for the guys to catch up to the pitcher, who offered a clever combination of fastballs and curves, but as the game wore on we started to push a few across the plate. Again, excellent pitching and fine fielding marked the Blue Jay performance… off to the final four.
Game 5 When you get to the final four of a 16-team tourney, you know that you’re going to face some class. It’s even worse when you have to face the home team (Pony Express Blue), who set up the pools for pool play, and somehow saw to it that their boys didn’t have to run into any road blocks like the Indy Select. Consequently, their top pitcher is fresh as a daisy and - to coin a phrase – “he ain’t no slouch.” He also happens to be the same crafty lefty who bested the Jays, 3-2, at our own Spring Swing a couple of weeks earlier. As expected, runs were scarce in this one… after 4 innings it was 0 – 0. In the fifth, however, the Jays pushed one across with a couple of hits, and a mishandled cut off. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough as the Pony Express “small balled (walk, stolen base, passed ball, grounder)” one of their own in the bottom of the 6th. It was in the top of the 7th when the Jays made their move… a couple of base hits, a well-placed bunt, some stolen bases, and just timely baseball produced 3 runs against a tiring pitcher .. a lead that held up as Blue Jay pitching once again closed down the opponents’ bats. Final score 4 – 1… a nice victory against a quality opponent… off to the final game.
Game 6 Wouldn’t you know it, the Indy Select fought their way back to the final game with victories over two tournament undefeateds – the Indiana Bulls and the Homer Crush, a team from the Chicago area. As this game was the sixth for each team over the 2-day tournament, both entered with a tired pitching staff. Nonetheless, the Jays’ pitching held up strong for 5 innings, building a 5 – 1 lead, and things looked good for the good guys. We were hitting the ball with authority, and the pitching and fielding were both solid. It’s not over ‘till it’s over, however, and the Select posted 5 runs in the top of the sixth. I guess there’s reason they keep beating these good teams. To make matters worse, they posted another one in the top of the seventh to make it 7 – 5 going into the bottom of the 7th … just one more chance for the Jays. Not to back down even when it looks bleak, the Jays put together an impressive rally, scoring the winning run on a scorching single with only one out and plenty of runners on the base paths… 8-7 victory.
The boys showed their stuff this weekend, and it was totally a TEAM effort… everyone of the 10 can claim to be THE hero, and in a very significant way, each one was.
JP
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Jays Bounce Back against Columbus Crush
May 18, Lower Cascades—The Blue Jays added to their unblemished Hoosier Select League record by besting the Columbus Crush 8-1. Six different pitchers combined for the win as they tuned up for the upcoming Pony Express tournament. The Jays played errorless defense, adding two infield double plays to their record. It was nice getting back to their winning ways after a tough road trip in Chicago.
JP
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Jays Off to Rocky Start in Midwest Super League
May 7, Orland Park, IL—Little went right for the Blue Jays as they played in the first of three double headers in the Midwest Super League. Quiet bats and sub-par fielding left the Blue Jays winless after four games.
Game 1 In what proved to be the highlight of the weekend, the Jays jumped out to a five run lead on the Schaumburg Seminoles, only to have their bats all but dissappear, allowing a powerful Seminole team to win by a score of 9-8.
Game 2 If Blue Jay fans had hope that a fresh start in the second game would awaken the Jay's bats, they were dissappointed, as the birds could muster of only a few hits, producing only 6 runs. Sloppy fielding gave the Seminoles extra bases on most of their hits, allowing them to score 14.
Games 3 & 4 If a new beginning in a new game didn't do the trick, perhaps a new game—on a new day—against a different team, would. Not so lucky. The Jays lost the first of a pair of games with the Sparks Travelers, 8-4. The day's second game completed the big sweep in the Windy City, when the Travelers pushed in the deciding run in the last inning. Final score 4-3.
—RR
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Blue Jays Return to Earth in Their Own Spring Swing
April 29, Twin Lakes Park— The Jays joined the ranks of mere mortals in their 1-day Spring Swing tournament. Following what will likely be one of the biggest weekends of the year, concentration lapses and soft hitting spelled doom for the Jays in two of their three tournament games, finishing tied for fourth out of six teams.
Game 1 The Jays opened the tourney with Center Grove, and largely repeated what they had done to the Sting in a prior 15-0 rout. After giving up four runs in the first, the Jays posted scores in five straight innings, winning 14 – 4. A good game … yes … but Center Grove has struggled this year, and sometimes playing a struggling team can make you think that you are better than you are. Maybe that’s part of what happened in Games 2 and 3.
Game 2 In Game 2 the Jays stood across the diamond from Pony Express Blue, a very competitive team and ultimately the winner of this tournament (beating the Indiana Express 4-3 in the final game). The game was nip and tuck with strong pitching coming from both dugouts. Unfortunately, the Jays muffed a third base pick off play, misjudged a fly ball, and let a grounder go through the “wicket” (between the legs), all three of which produced runs for the Pony Express Blue. The final score was 3 – 2 in favor of the Blue, and the game ended with the tying run at third base. As the Jays learned, there is no margin for error when you play against quality.
Game 3 The loss in Game 2 relegated the Jays to a game for third place against the Southside Indy Bulldogs, a 2-1 loser to the Indiana Express and a 5-0 loser to the Jays a week earlier. This game, however, belonged to the Bulldogs. They played “small ball,” finding a way to push across 3 runs in the third with a couple of infield hits, a walk or two, a passed ball and whatever else it takes to steal a run. Excellent defense from the Bulldogs, an unimpressive – but very effective – pitching performance and a little good fortune led to a 3 – 0 Bulldog win. Blue Jay bats didn’t pop … a hit here, a hit there, but lots of soft grounders and fly balls in between. We can be good … very, very good … but we can also be ….
What did we learn? Despite a less-than-impressive performance on the diamond, the Blue Jay organization (with the patience of Mother Nature) put on a wonderful tournament. Even when the kids aren’t at their best, we have a fabulous group of parents, grandparents, and friends who know how to pull together and do what it takes to make it work, and most important … have a good time. Thanks to all of you, who are making this season special.
JP
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Jays Turn Lackluster Start into Memorable Sunday
Greenfield, Indiana—The Bandit Yard Invitational (April 21-23) served up a little of everything for the Jays and their fans – from embarrassing “little league” baseball … to lackluster play … to umpires with an attitude … to a dramatic and well-earned championship. It’ll be while before the memory of this one fades.
Friday, April 21— Game 1 An experienced and talented Blue Jay team was unimpressive in its 3-0 victory over the Indy Bulldogs, a new team in travel baseball circles. Brand new teams should not be able to hang with the Jays, and if it wasn’t for a superb shut out pitching performance, we may well have opened the tournament with a mark in the losers’ column. Long fly balls are just outs anymore.
Saturday, April 22— Game 2 The Indiana Bulls caged the Jays in a 10-2 romp. Embarrassing defense, some “meat ball” pitching, and a big, fast, strong Bulls team made the Blue Jays look like an also ran. The bats remained quiet, and the pitching and defense that carried us in such situations before also went south. The Blue Jay dugout was pretty quiet afterwards … the only sounds were unhappy ones from the coaching staff … but even after a bad game the door is still cracked for a berth to the finals. There is, however, no more room for error.
Game 3 Another lackluster victory against a relatively inexperienced team. Some scattered hits put 7 runs on the board, enough to win … but we were behind much of the game, and we had to use more of our main pitchers than we wanted to in a long tournament like this. We also gave up 4 runs, pushing our total runs given up to 14, which may not fare well for us if we tie for a berth to the final four. Time for a team meeting … without parents and little brothers and sisters … to gain a “deep understanding.”
Sunday, April 23— Game 4 What a difference a day makes! Sunday at 8:00am on dewy, cool field the Jays matched up with Middie Pride who had absolutely destroyed its two Saturday opponents. We were not surprised that they were good; they are a member with us in the Midwest Super League (although our performance on Saturday made us wonder whether we belonged). On the first pitch their first hitter nailed a tape-measure triple to left, followed by a line shot to left that turned into a sacrifice fly after we came up with a great catch. It looked pretty rocky for the Jays “right off the bat.” Maybe it was that catch that ignited the Jays, but it didn’t take long until the Jays put the game out of reach with timely power hitting, aggressive base running, strong defense, and dominating pitching. By the 6th inning it was over by the same 10-2 score that embarrassed us the day before. This time, however, the dugout had a tad more life. We had secured a spot in the final four! We almost checked birth certificates to make that this was the same team that showed up the day before.
Game 5 Another day at the office with a 5-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Southside Indy Bulldogs. Excellent pitching kept the Bulldogs from rounding the bases (even once), and a run here and a run there against an annoying junk ball pitcher kept extending the difference little by little. Here, the Blue Jays went about their business with business-like efficiency … just another day at the office. The only bummer was an awful (no, absurd) call from the umpire with an attitude that benched one of the Jays for the remainder of the tournament, and also penalized the team with an out for each subsequent at bat throughout the remainder of the game. Nonetheless, off to the final game against you-know-who … the fearsome and a bit cocky Indiana Bulls – but now the Jays are not only “back to business” but they are mad.
Game 6 The Bulls pulled their ace from the pitching staff; we went with a pretty good threesome on the mound; and it was clear from the beginning that runs were going to be precious commodities in this game. The Bulls drew first blood with one in the first, but we matched with one in the third. They “small balled” another run in the 5th without getting a ball out of the infield, and the Jays snuck one across in the sixth … 2 to 2 after six. In the top of the 7th the Jays pieced together a couple of hits, a walk or two, and benefited from both a Bulls fielding miscue and a timely bunt – jumping ahead 5-2 – a lead that would have been at least one run more if our buddy, the umpire with an attitude, had been anything near a reasonable individual. The Bulls countered with a mini-rally in the bottom of the 7th to push one more across, but the game ended on a strike out with a runner at third … final score 5 – 3. The tournament director commented that the Bulls always win this tournament … hmmm … we did notice a little less swagger in their step as they walked up to receive second-place medals … Priceless!
JP
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Blue Jays Run the Table in Owenboro
April 16, Owensboro, KY—The Blue Jays traveled to Owensboro for the Spring Swing and played solid baseball to register its first 2006 tournament championship.
In the first game the Jays bested the Southern Indiana Spikes, a perennial power from around Newburgh who had handily won it's first contest earlier that day. Timely hitting in the bottom of the last inning—combined with defense and with pitching that bent a little but never broke—led to a 3-2 victory, sending the Spikes to the “losers’ bracket” and a long road back to the finals—a journey they were unable to complete.
In game 2 the Jays kicked around the Western Kentucky Wild Thangz pitching, jumping out to an early lead which they never relinquished, final score 6-3. The loss sent the Wild Thangz, winner of two prior games, to the depths of a losers’ bracket and, like the Spikes, they were not able to recover.
The finals brought the Sandusky Travelers, who had traversed the long road through the losers’ bracket, to face the Jays, who only had to win one of two. Only one game was necessary, however, as the Jays—after a slow start against a crafty lefty—pushed out ahead 5–2. Again, solid fielding and consistent pitching were most responsible for the team’s success. What did we learn this weekend? Good pitching and defense can carry you to a championship, especially if it is combined with hits when you need them… and the hits can—and did—come from anybody in the batting order. That was really nice to see!
JP
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Jays take Sting out of Center Grove
April 13, Lower Cascades— Mild temperatures greeted fans as the Center Grove Sting played in it's season opener against the Blue Jays on Thursday evening.
The Sting was kept busy in the field, chasing the 13 hits pounded out by the Blue Jays. Seven Jay pitchers teamed up to register the first shutout of the season, with the Jays winning by a 15-0 margin.
—RR
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Blue Jays vs. Lafayette Lightning
April 8, Lower Cascades—On April 8 the Blue Jays met the Lafayette Lightning for a double header on a chilly and blustery (but sunny) early spring day. A crafty lefty, chilly temperatures, and early-season batting woes slowed our run production as we moved into the bottom of the sixth of Game 1 down 2-1. Without solid pitching we would have been in a world of hurt. We did manage to scratch together a couple of hits and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to push ahead 3-2, but the Lightning tied it up in the 7th while almost pushing ahead. No scores for the Jays in the bottom of the 7th, so off to extra innings. Good pitching and fielding in the top half of the 8th, and timely hitting enabled the Jays to best the Lightning; final score 4-3. A little too close for comfort.
The Blue Jay bats finally arrived in Game 2 with a 14-run barrage in 5 innings. Line drive after line drive entertained the bundled up Blue Jay fans, and for once the pitching, which has largely carried us so far, could relax. Final score in an early ending run-ruled game: 14-4. We all would like to get used to this kind of run production! What did we learn this weekend that we need to work on? Base running. In both games we ran ourselves out of a couple of potentially big innings.
JP
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Snowbird Invitational
Saturday, April 1— The Blue Jays kicked off the 2006 season at the Snowbird Invitational Tournament, hosted by the Indiana Express and held at Winslow Park in Bloomington.
The Jays opened against the Kalamazoo Kings in the first of three games scheduled for the day. In an evenly matched contest, with both teams posting 8 hits, games end had the Kings on top by a score of 6-4.
Next up for the Blue Jays were the Indiana Sandlotters. After a strong first inning the Jays added runs in the second and third, winning the game by a 10-1 margin.
Going into the final game at 1-1, the Blue Jays looked to take top honors in the tournament by beating their home town rivals. Always a difficult opponent, the Express proved too much for the birds, holding the Jays scoreless against their 6.
Despite finishing 1-2, April Fool's day had the Blue Jays taking second place in the Snowbird. Good pitching by the Jays hurlers, along with some solid defensive play, had the Jays allowing the fewest number of scored runs, of the three teams with the same record.
Congratulations to the Express on the tournament win, and thanks for a great day of baseball.
—RR
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