Back to .500 for the second time this season, the Sox had the pleasure of facing the murders’ row portion of their schedule with the two teams tied for first place – San Francisco and Toronto – in back-to-back weeknight tilts.  With the help of great pitching, excellent defense and timely hitting, the Sox were able to pull off the upset, beating the much older and first place Giants. 

As the visitors, the Sox went to work at the plate first.  Jack drew a lead-off walk, and Colin laced a single to left to put men on first and third.  Walks by Jeremy and Zion forced in the run, and after half an inning, the Sox had a 1-0 lead.  William took the ball to the mound for the Sox in the bottom half of the inning.  While he gave up a lead off single, that was the last hit he would allow in 3 plus innings of work.  The Giants, however, were able to force across one unearned run. 

The game would stay 1-1 through 3 complete innings as William matched the Giants pitching staff and then some, striking out 6 in 3 plus innings of work and keeping the Sox in the game.  The Sox hitters also deserve a little love for the first three innings, for although they were only able to muster Colin’s first-inning single, they also drew 5 walks which pushed the Giants pitch count.  That is an important lesson, Sox.  Even an at bat where you do not get on base will still be a quality at bat if you battle the pitcher and make him work on the mound.  Every extra pitch he has to throw to you is one less he can throw to somebody else.  Baseball is chess on a dirt diamond, and you guys played like chess masters today – maybe we should call you all Bobby Fisher. 

The Sox plated 3 in the top of the 4^th with a lead-off single from Jack and a one out double from William – way to smoke that ball, young man and help your cause.  You are really playing top notch baseball right now, William!!!  Jeremy followed with a 2 RBI single and Robbie followed with a pulled single.  Robbie, I promise you, if you keep your feet in the box you will get a hit almost every time up.  You have a beautiful swing, but when you step out of the box before the ball gets there, you will not hit it.  When you stay in the box, you have come up with huge hits for us all season.  You can do it, young man!!

William went back to the mound for the bottom of the 4^th, but after walking the first 2 hitters, it was apparent that he was running on fumes.  So Aaron came on and got out of the inning with only the lead off walks scoring, by allowing 1 hit, 2 walks and striking out 3.  The Sox went down quietly in order in the top of the 5^th, but Aaron repaid the Giants by striking out 3 of the 4 batters he faced.  Aaron, those were 2 beautiful innings of pitching.  Now we are going to start working in a change up and you will be lethal.  I am very proud of you and how far you have come on the hill in such a short amount of time. 

Heading to the top of the 6^th inning, the Sox held on precariously to their 1 run lead and had the unenviable task of facing one of the best pitchers in the bantam division.  With one out, Preson was able to draw a walk to get on base, and Jack was able to do the same to give the Sox with men on first and second with 2 outs.  A generously scored infield single from Colin loaded the bases and William laced a single to center to plate the first run.  Jeremy followed by drawing a walk to plate another and Zion clered the bases with a single to right and a host of errors on the Giants defense as they threw the ball around.  (I am very proud of you Sox for how we have not done that this year.  Our defense has not given away runs).

Although the Sox got the 5 insurance runs in the 6^th, they proved to be unneeded as Colin came on to pitch the bottom half of the frame, striking out 2 and inducing a game ending ground out to William at short who tossed the ball to Aaron at second to end the game. 

After 5 games this year, the Sox had a 1-2-2- record but had really played very good baseball for the majority of all the games they have played.  A few bad innings here and there really made the difference between winning and losing.  A chilly Saturday afternoon game against Milwaukee, however, would not have any bad innings, and the Sox would come away with a relatively east 14-7 win against a very good Milwaukee team.

Jeremy took the ball to the mound for yet more work and was able to get out of the inning giving up only 1 run after giving up a lead off double.  You settled own nicely Jer.  Good work.  The Sox got that run back in the bottom of the first thanks to back-to-back singles from Zion and Jack to start things off.  William then smacked an RBI single to drive in the run. 

Jeremy went back to the mound for the top of the second, and got out of the inning without giving up any runs, and facing only 4 batters.  Unfortunately, the Sox were not able to get anything going in the bottom half of the inning.  And, after 2 complete, the scored remained 1-1. 

Jack then took over on the hill.  3 walks and three hits later, Milwaukee had plated 5 to take a 6-1 lead.  The Sox got 3 of those back in the bottom of the third as Colin and William lead off with walks.  CJ then laced a 2 out, 2 RBI double down the line in right and Oliver followed with an RBI single.  That was great hitting by both of you, CJ & Oliver.  You are both turning into very good hitters and should be very proud of yourselves. 

Jack went back to the mound for the top of the 4^th and kept Milwaukee to 1 unearned run, while striking out 2.  That was a great inning Jack.  You threw strikes and kept the walks to a minimum.  When you do that, you are one of the better pitchers in the bantam division.  Down7-4, the Sox were able to take the lead for good in the bottom of the 4^th as they plated the maximum 5 runs for the inning.  Sean and Zion drew one out walks, and Jack smacked an RBI double (his second hit of the day).  Colin followed him with an RBI single and William followed with a 3 run homer.  That’s the way to hit the ball hard, William.  It is great to see your bat starting to come to life. 

Colin came on to pitch the top of the 5^th and proceeded to get very fascist, striking out the side in order, including a very nasty little change up.  At that point, the Sox blew the game open with 5 more in the bottom of the 5^th.  Jeremy drew a lead off walk, and Robbie followed him up with a single to left (Jeremy advanced to third with some very headsy base running).  Daniel, Oliver, Nolan, Preston, Sean and Zion than all drew consecutive one out walks to force in runs. William came on to pitch the top of the 6^th and he picked up right where Colin left off, striking out the side in order, including some nasty change ups. 

While the record may not look like it, we really do have a very talented group of ball player, albeit a bit young.  So after the loss, the Sox hoped to ride their talent back to .500 with a win over Colorado.  Despite being noticeably the better team for the entire game, Colorado was able to tie it up at the end (thanks to the incredibly shrinking strike zone), and the Sox ended up with their second tie of the season. 

 The Sox were the visiting team for this evening tilt, and Aaron got things rolling with a lead off walk.  Colin and William followed with back-to-back one out walks and Zion brought Aaron in with a fielder’s choice.  William would take the ball to the mound for the Sox, and after walking the first two batters, he was able to get out of the inning giving up only 1 hit (which happened to score the guys he walked.  So, after 1 complete, the score was 2-1 in favor of Colorado. 

The Sox did not get any runs in the top of the second, and Colorado plated 1 more to push their lead to 3-1.  Other than the one run, however, William was rather dominant on the hill, striking out 5 in 2 innings.  The Sox plated 5 to take a 6-3 lead in the top of the 3^rd as Daniel lead off with a single.  Back-to-back-to-back walks by Aaron, Jack and Colin and a 2 RBI single from William accounted for the scoring until Robbie laced  a 2 out single to left to end the scoring for the Sox. 

Jeremy took over on the hill in the bottom of the 3^rd to begin yet another fine performance on the mound from Jeremy.  After giving up a lead off single, Jeremy retired the next three hitters with a strike out, a come backer up the box and a pop up to Zion at second.  Not much would happen for either team in the 4^th.  Jeremy retired Colorado almost in order, giving up a lone 2 out single, and the Sox failed to score again in the top of the 5^th.

Colorado was able to score 2 in the bottom of the 5^th to close the gap to 6-5, but the Sox got those runs back in the top of the 6^th thanks to a 2 out, 2 RBI single from CJ.  Those runs would prove to be key.  Jeremy would go back to the mound for a 4^th inning of work in hopes of closing out Colorado and preserving the 8-5 lead.  4 innings of work is a lot at this age, and Jeremy ran out of gas, walking the first 2 hitters.  The call to the pen came back with Aaron asking for the ball, and he proceeded to strike out the first two batters he faced with over powering fastball (he struck out the 3 and 4 hole hitters for Colorado).  The umpire then decided to shrink the strike zone, and a number of walks when Aaron had 2 strikes on every single batter, pushed across the 3 runs for Colorado to tie the game before Aaron threw 2 straight over powering fastballs for the third out.

After climbing back to .500, coach Mike had a hope that the Sox could get above that mark with a game against Baltimore.  The Sox, however, showed their youth (especially on the hill) and as a result, took a loss 11-9.

As the Home team, Colin took the ball to the hill and was able to get out of the inning without giving up a run or a hit, and striking out 2.  In the bottom half of the inning, the Sox took the lead with a lead off single from Aaron, a one out double from Colin and RBIs from William and Jeremy.  Baltimore would tie it up in the top of the second with back-to-back Hamlin triples (aka singles with eyes).  Colin, however settled down and retired the side after that. The Sox were not able to plate any run in the bottom of the second, and after 2 complete, it was 2-2. 

In the top of the 3d, Colin went back to the mound, but after giving up 2 walks to the bottom of the Baltimore order, the call was made to the bullpen.  Jack came on to pitch but took a bouncing ball off his mouth during the warm ups so Aaron was pressed into duty.  Baltimore plated 6 in that half without a single hit!  The Sox, however, would plate 5 in the bottom half of the inning to scratch their way back into the game thanks to singles from Colin, William and Robbie, a double from Jeremy and walks from Aaron, Zion, Sean and Oliver. 

After getting some ice on his mouth in the 3d, Jack was able to go back to the mound for the 4^th and proceeded to get out of the inning without giving up a run or a hit.  The Sox then plated 2 in the bottom of the 4^th to take a 9-8 lead with singles from Sophia and William and walks from Aaron and Jeremy.  Baltimore plated 3 in the top of the 5^th (which would prove to be the last inning due to time – thankfully because the temperature was 35 with the wind chill – welcome to Midwest baseball…), again without a single hit.  The Sox were unable to score any in the bottom of the 5^th.

I know the weather was not very helpful Sox, and I will chalk this game up to a host of issues outside of our control (Aaron being pressed into service without any warm ups or warning  after Jack’s freak injury, terrible weather than included cold, rain and hail and just a generally lousy day).  That being said, Baltimore only had 2 hits the entire game and they still won (we had 8).  Our pitchers must throw strikes to give us a chance. 

After 2 full games in the season, the Sox have played 9 very good innings out of 12, but had earned only an 0-1-1 record.  The Sox would get a chance to even things out in a late night tilt against Minnesota.  The Sox would not disappoint as the played 6 strong innings, making it 15 out of 18 on the year, to come away with a 7-3 win thanks to great pitching (including 3 of the gutsiest outs you will ever see, followed by 3 and 2/3 of the finest innings you will see pitched at this level), unbelievable defense (NOT A SINGLE ERROR – ARE YOU KIDDING ME, 8, 9 and 10 year olds play 6 innings WITHOUT A SINGLE ERROR!!!! (yes, coach Mike LOVEs, and I mean LOVES defense and pitching)) and a grand slam home run as the game winner.  Frankly, baseball fans, this was as close to perfect as we can expect kids to play.  I am so very proud of every single player on this team. 

The Sox were the home team once again and they sent their only bantam-experienced pitcher to the hill to start things off.  Jeremy got himself into trouble by walking the first two hitters, but then the defense let him down with a couple of silly “rookie league” plays to allow runs to be score.  But by striking a batter out, and with the help of Jack at third who threw out two hitters at first, Jeremy got out of the inning giving up only 2 runs.  The Sox cam roaring back in the bottom of the first to tie the game with a runs coring ROE by William and an RBI single by Jeremy – way to help your cause, young man (and way to keep your weight back!!!!)  After one complete, the score was knotted at 2.

Jeremy went back to the mound for the top of the second and in the space of 6 hitters showed the gutsiest pitching performance I have seen in a long time.  He again walked the lead-off hitter (what did we talk about between innings, Jer, lead off walks almost always score at this level, just ask Zion’s dad, but this inning was the exception because of the heart you showed tonight).  After the lead-off walk, a bloop double (the kid had wheels) and yet another walk loaded the bases with nobody out.  At that point, Jer got a little chip on his shoulder, got a little mad and realized “hey wait, I am a good ball player.”  113 pitches later – 9 of which were strikes – Jer got himself out of the inning the fascist way: 3 straight strike outs.  I am very proud of you, Jeremy.  You got yourself into a world of hurt, and you were going to get yourself out of it, whether you realized that or not.  I had absolutely no intention of coming out to take you out of the game because I knew you could get yourself out of it.  Now you know it too.   I could not be more proud of the heart you showed tonight. 

The Sox took the lead for good in the bottom of the second (giving Jeremy the well-deserved win) thanks to a lead-off single to Robbie.  You have a beautiful left-handed swing Robbie (somewhat redundant, I know).  Just stay in the box and look what happens!!  Daniel followed Robbie with a one out single and Oliver drove in the run with a hard smash back up the box. 

William took over on the mound in the top of the third and began 3 and 2/3 of the finest innings you will see at the bantam level by retiring the side in order with a ground out to himself, a strike out and a pop out to Sean at third (not Sean’s last nice play at the hot corner).  In the bottom of the third, the Lions went down somewhat quietly.  I say somewhat, because Aaron smacked a 2 out single to short that, with Aaron’s wheels, Derek Jeter was not going to make the play.  Remember what we talked about last week, Aaron, you bring special and rare skills to a ball club.  USE THEM AT ALL TIMES!  Who cares how you get on base, just as long as you get on base!!!

William went back to the hill for the top of the 4^th and although he gave up a one out walk, a strike out, another great play by Sean at third and a great play by Jeremy at first on a pop foul let the Minnesota team know they had their hands full with the Sox.  The Sox opened up the barn doors in the bottom of the 4^th as Colin drew a lead off walk and William laced a single to left.   Jeremy then reached with great hustle down the line to set the stage for the most exciting play in baseball – the grand slam home run.  Zion stepped up and quickly got himself into a 0-1 hole by looking at a first pitch strike.   After taking yet another close pitch (this one was a ball) and having coach Mike wonder whether he would use the sweet swing of his, Zion laced a 1-1- pitch down the line to right for a base clearing grand slam (while Zion ended the play on third, and blatant interference by the first baseman made the umpire award Zion a home run – not the wrong call either because without that interference, Zion easily has a base clearer, thought I will admit that an interference does not usually end up with a +1, though it is not without precedent).  Anyway, at the end of 4, it was Sox 7, Minnesota 2. 

It would stay that way as William cruised through the top of the 5^th with yet another unassisted play by Jeremy at first and two straight strike outs.  While the Sox did not score in the bottom of the 5^th, Oliver and Nolan both and great at-bats with fantastic cuts, and CJ and Preston were able to reach base by taking one for the team.  William came on for this 4^th inning of work (we want to start stretching out the pitchers a bit, and William has the strongest arm of the bunch so he will lead the way).  William was able to get one quick out by way of the K, but after a walk, a K another walk and a single, William had reached his pitch count maximium for the game.  I am very proud of you too, William.  You found your grove today, and you single handedly made us a much better team today.  You looked comfortable and smooth out there.  Colin then took the gear off, handed it to William and threw two pitches to induce a ground out to Zion at short who flipped the ball to Aaron for the force out at second to end the game.

While there are no ties in baseball, there are in Hamlin Park bantam baseball.  In their second game of the season, the Sox played half as well as they did in their first game, but came up with a 9-9 tie against Seattle.  There are, however, lots of great learning experiences that come from a game like this, so I am quite certain the Sox took yet another step forward in their baseball development with this game.

As the visiting team, the Sox grabbed their sticks to open up the game.  Aaron got things started with a lead-off walk – way to do your job Aaron, and get on base.  After 2 quick outs, Aaron was able to steal a couple of bases to get himself to third.  Jeremy then drove in the first run of the game after making good solid contact and reaching base on an error.  Robbie drew another walk, and both Jeremy and Robbie advanced into scoring position thanks to stolen bases.  Zion then plated to more runs with the games first hit.  Although Daniel kept the inning going with a walk of his own, at the end of half an inning, the Sox had a quick 3-0 lead. 

William toed the rubber in the bottom half of the inning, and was able to get out of the inning without giving up a rub, surrendering only 1 hit and striking out one in the process.  The Sox, however, could not plate any more run in the top of the second, and William went back to the hill for his second inning of work.  Once again, he did not give up a run, but struck out 2.  The Sox plated 3 more runs in the top of the third to take a commanding 6-0 lead with 5 straight walks by Colin, William, Jeremy, Robbie and Zion and a hit by pitch by Daniel. 

Aaron came on to pitch the bottom of the third, and was able to preserve the big lead, surrendering only 1 run on one hit and a couple of walks.  The Sox plated 3 more in the top of the 4^th to take a huge 9-1 lead.  Preston drew a one-out walk, and Aaron laced a single to third.  After both runners moved into scoring positions thanks to stolen bases, Colin ripped a 3 run homer to center to close out the scoring and offensive production for the sox.

At that point, not only did the Sox bats grow a bit cold, but their pitching and then defense also came unglued a bit.  Seattle was able to plate 4 in the 4^th, 1 in the 5^th and 3 in the 6^th to tie the game.  I am proud of the first 9 and a half innings we have played so far this year Sox.  Remember, we are young and mistakes are bound to happen, but what is important is that we learn from the mistakes and how we react immediately after making the mistake.  Trust me, come June, we will both of the games we just played. 

The White Sox enter the 2010 Hamlin season as the youngest team in the bantam division with 4 key players being 8 years old at the time of first pitch.  Youth, however, does not know the meaning of the word quit, and the Sox would show the league why that is against Cincinnati.  While the Sox played hard and contributed up and down the line-up, defensively, at the plate and on the mound, they came up a bit short to the tune of 5-3 against a Cincinnati team that has a bunch of 2d year bantam players. 

As the home team, the Sox took the field first, and Colin got the nod as the opening day starter.  After getting the first two batters out quickly, the third batter hit a flare just off the tip of William’s glove at short, and the clean up hitter was able to plate the runner with a triple.  Colin, however, settled down and fielded a come backer up the box for the third out of the inning.  In the bottom of the first, Aaron drew a lead-off walk.  Colin moved him to third with a double to center (Aaron would have scored but he tripped coming around third), and Jeremy drove in the season’s first run with a grounder to first. 

Colin went back to the mound for the top of the second, and after giving up a lead off walk, struck out the next two.  A follow-on double, however, plated the walk, but with 2 outs, Cincinnati committed a cardinal baseball sin by making the third out at 2d base when the runner on second attempted to steal but CJ gunned him down with a strike of a throw.  In the bottom of the second, the Sox could not get anything going, and at the end of 2 it was 2-1 for Cincinnati.

Aaron took over on the hill in the top of the 3d.  After a lead-off walk, Aaron quickly got 2 outs with a great play by Jack at 3d and fielding his own position on another comer backer up the box.  Cincinnati, however, was able to plate 3 2-out runs, and the Sox faced a 5-1 hole after 2 and a half.  It would remain 5-1 after the bottom of the third as the Sox went down quietly in order. 

Jack took over on the mound in the top of the 4^th and he repaid Cincinnati in kind – 3 up, 3 down, all by way of the strike out.  GREAT inning Jack!  IN the bottom of the 4^th, the Sox Plated 2 runs to close the gap to 5-3 with the help of a walk by Jack and back-to-back single by Colin and William.  Jeremy then drove in 2 more runs with a blazing double down the first base line (that ball will be pulled, Jer, once you get your hips into the swing). 

Jack picked up right where he left off in the top of the 5^th – 3 up, 3 down, all by strike out.  Those were 2 fantastic innings oh the hill, Jack.  Keep it up.  IN the bottom of the 5^th, the Sox had no choice but to get some production out of the bottom half of the order to have a chance at a come back, and the Sox would not disappoint.  Sean, Oliver and CJ came up with back-to-back-to-back one out singles which ensured that the Sox would get to the top of their order again in the 6^th. 

William came on to pitch the bottom of the 6^th in hopes of picking up an easy win.  William was up to the chellenge as he got out of the inning without giving up a run and striking out 2 in the process.  IN the bottom of the 6^th, the Sox were down to the final 3 outs and in need of 3 runs to win it.  After 2 quick outs (and Aaron, if that ball is bunted in any other spot on the field you are safe by a mile, so keep your head up, you bring special talents to a ball club, and we just want to maximize all of your skills!!), Jack was able to get on base by taking one for the team.  Colin then stepped to the plate to lace a triple to right (3 third hit of the game).  The defense, however, made a nice relay and was able to throw Jack out at home for the final out. 

That was a great first game to the season, Sox.  We are a very young team and we played with a much older team for all 6 innings.  We did exactly what we wanted – kept it close and gave ourselves a chance/  We got excellent contribution from everybody – offensively, defensively and on the hill.  We are going to win these close ones as soon as we get a little more experience under our belts.  I have not felt this good after a loss since Ohio State lost to Penn State in 1997 on a last second drive by Penn State after leaving it all out on the field.  Keep up the great work, and I have a sneaky suspicion that we will like what we do this season at Hamlin!!