ASE Pee Wee Baseball: 2006 Season

ASE crushes Gerber 10-0!
     Well we opened up the season in style tonight with a big 10-0 win over Gerber. We jumped on them early and never looked back as we cruised to the victory. This was a big win in what looks to be a very competitive league this year. I stayed around after our game and watched the other two games and let me say that it's going to be a fun season. There are several good teams in our league and we play one of them on Thursday night. But first let's talk about tonights game.
       Garret McMahan got things started for us in the top of the 1st with a single and Landon Arnold doubled to score Garret for an early 1-0 lead. Jake Graham kept the rally going with a single of his own and Calvin Espinoza singled in Landon to give us a 2-0 lead. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Travis Shelly drove the ball to the wall for an inside-the-park home run and a 5-0 lead. Gerber threw the ball around a little on the play and Travis used his speed to score. After 1/2 inning of play we held a 5-0 lead.
       Gerber came right out hitting the ball, but they hit it to the wrong person. Their first batter popped out to Travis at 3rd base and their next batter grounded out to Garret at pitcher. Gerber tried to get a rally going as their next batter doubled to left field. Jake Graham did a nice job getting the ball in quickly, holding the runner to just a double. Their next batter grounded out to Garret and the inning was over as we kept the 5-0 lead.
       Zack Scarborough led off the top of the 2nd with a single and Justin Shelly followed that up with one of his own. Our next two batters struckout and Austyn Eubanks grounded out to the pitcher for the final out of the inning. 
       The bottom of the 2nd would see our defense once again step up and make plays. Gerber's first batter singled up the middle and it looked as if they were on their way to starting a rally. Travis Shelly quickly snubbed that out with one of the best plays I've seen in all my years of coaching in this league! The batter hit a line drive that Travis back-handed and caught at 3rd. He then caught the runner off 1st base and made a perfect throw to Calvin for the double play. It was awesome!!! Great play Travis! Gerber's next batter struckout and the inning was over.
       The top of the 3rd inning would see Katie Harrison groundout to the pitcher and Garret strikeout. Suddenly there were two quick outs. Landon then hit a hard shot down the 1st base line that was snagged and just like that our half of the inning was over.
       Gerber once again got their lead-off batter on base but never was able to bring him home. Their next three batters struckout and the inning was over. After 3 full innings of play we still held a 5-0 lead.
       Jake started off the top of the 4th, popping out to the shortstop for the first out of the inning. But Jake's teammates quickly picked him up. Calvin and Travis both singled and Zack Scarborough came through with a big hit to score them both and give us a 7-0 lead. Justin then singled in Zack and the rally was on. Zack Sudar kept things going with a single of his own. Hannah Harrison then singled to right and scored both Justin and Zack for a 10-0 lead.  
       Gerber started off the bottom of the 4th grounding out to Garret at pitcher. Their next batter popped out to Travis for the second out of the inning. Gerber's last batter of the game would single to left field, but got tagged out while trying to stretch his hit into a double. Katie made a good stop on the ball, relayed it to Justin at shortstop. Justin then threw a perfect strike to Travis, who tagged the runner out at 2nd base. The umpires called the game due to the run rule and just like that we're 1-0 on the young season. 
       There were many heroes in this one for ASE. I told the kids after the game that everyone that played tonight did something well that helped us win this game. We will need another good effort on Thursday night when we play defending league champions, Nellum-Roberts. Nellum hits the ball well and plays good defense. We'll need to be on top of our game to win this one. It should be fun. See you all there Thursday at 5:00!





ASE beats Nellum 14-7 in slugfest!
This game was what makes pitching machine baseball so much fun. Both teams played well and really hit the ball today. We made a few more plays on defense than Nellum did and out-hit them a little to pull away in the end for the 14-7 victory.
Nellum came out red-hot at the plate in the top of the 1st inning and jumped on us early. Three straight hits to begin the game and an error helped Nellum grab an early 3-0 lead before we knew what hit us. After a ground-out to Travis Shelly a couple of more hits would put Nellum up 4-0. After a strikeout, Travis made another good play to record our 3rd out of the inning and after 1/2 inning of play Nellum held a 4-0 lead.
          We came right back at them in the bottom half of the inning as Garret McMahan and Justin Shelly both singled and the rally was on. After a very rare Landon Arnold strikeout, Travis Shelly singled to score Garret for our first run of the game. Calvin Espinoza then came thru with a big double to the fence to score Justin and Travis and just like that we were back in the game at 4-3. We weren't done as Zack Scarborough and Jake Graham both singled to load the bases for Zack Sudar. Zack didn't disappoint, as he scored Calvin on an infield single and the game was tied at 4. Hannah Harrison would knock in our 5th and final run of the inning with a single up the middle and after one full inning of play we held a 5-4 lead.
          Nellum didn't let up in the top of the 2nd as they begin the inning with three straight hits to take a 6-5 lead. Their next batter grounded to Zack Scarborough who tagged a runner out for our first out of the inning. Their next batter would ground-out to Justin Shelly, but a run would score on the play to make it 7-5. Calvin would then make a good play to record the 3rd out of the inning and this one continued back and forth.
          Garret and Justin once again led off the inning with back-to-back singles but Landon would hit into a force play for the first out of the inning. Travis would pick up his teammate with an RBI single to score Justin and pull us within 7-6. Calvin and Zack Scarborough would keep the rally going with two more singles and just like that we had retaken the lead at 8-7. After a rare Jake strikeout, Zack Sudar kept his red-hot hitting going with an RBI single to score Calvin and build our lead to 9-7. Hannah would then ground-out to Nellum's 1st baseman and our half of the inning was over.
          The top of the 3rd was the turning point in the game. Nellum started off the inning grounding out to Garret and back-to-back strikeouts would make their half of the inning short and sweet. With our top of the order due up once again I knew we had better put them away. Put them away our kids did! Garret made it 3 for 3 on the day with a single to get the rally going. After a Justin strikeout, Landon would single and Travis would follow that up with an RBI single of his own. After Calvin hit into a force-out, Zack Scarborough came through with a big 2-out hit to score Travis and Calvin and build our lead to 12-7. Our kids weren't done! Jake came thru with a big RBI single to score Zack Scarborough and after another Zack Sudar single, Hannah knocked in our 5th and final run of the inning with another hit. There were only a couple of minutes left in the time limit so the umps called the game with us recording our 10th win of the season 14-7!
           The win assures us at least a share of the League Championship and one win in our next two games would clinch the League title for the 2nd time in the last three years for ASE. These kids are truly a special group and without a doubt are the best hitting team I've ever coached. They are a blast to be around and have made this season one I won't forget. The win tonight moves us to 10-1 overall and 9-1 in League play. We will return to action on Thursday night, June 15th @ 6:30 versus Ink Spot. See you all then!





No "Happy Meal" tonight for McDonalds, ASE wins 13-2!

          All I can say is that if we continue to play the way we did these first two games, it is going to take a really good effort from another team to beat us. Now I realize that these are 7&8 year olds, and sometimes you never know what you're gonna get, but they sure are playing good ball right now. We dominated a descent McDonalds team tonight and look to be on a big time roll to start the season. We came out and jumped on McDonalds early and never looked back. Let's see how it all went down!
          After Garret popped out to begin the game I wondered if we were in for a dog fight. But never fear his teammates were there to pick him up. Landon Arnold and Calvin Espinoza both singled to put runners on the corners and Travis Shelly singled in a run with a hard shot up the middle. Zack Scarborough then hit a hard shot past shortstop to drive in two more runs and suddenly it was 3-0. Jake Graham would keep the rally going with a single up the middle to score Zack for a 4-0 lead. Justin Shelly hit a hard shot to the shortstop, who made a good play to force Jake out at 2nd base. Zack Sudar would then strikeout to end the inning but the damage was done and we held a 4-0 lead after 1/2 inning of play.
          I knew McDonalds would come out hitting and they did. Their first batter hit a very hard shot to right field, but Landon made a great play on the ball and almost threw the runner out at 1st. After a strikeout, their next batter grounded out to Travis for the second out of the inning. Back-to-back hits would score a run and pull McDonalds within 4-1. With runners on the corners, Garret made a nice play on a pop-up to end the inning and McDonalds hope of closing the gap. The inning ended with us holding a 4-1 lead.
          Our bats came right back alive to begin the 2nd inning. Hannah Harrison grounded out to 1st base on a play that she thought was a foul ball for the first out of the inning. Austyn Eubanks quickly picked her up with a single up the middle. After a Katie Harrison strikeout, the 2-out rally was on! Garret and Landon both singled to load the bases for Calvin. Calvin got two strikes on him before he hit a hard shot up the middle that cleared the bases and gave us a 7-1 lead. Travis would keep the rally going with a single to left field that scored Calvin for an 8-1 lead. Zack Scarborough then singled to keep the rally alive, but a Jake Graham pop-out would end the inning. Wow, what a big time rally with 2-outs! Great job ASE! Way to never say die!
          McDonalds looked to be in shock as they came off the field. Suddenly they found themselves down 8-1 and had the bottom of their order due up in the inning. Their first batter doubled to left field, but their next three batters would strikeout and the inning was over with us still holding an 8-1 lead.
          Our kids didn't let up despite the big lead. Justin got things started with a single to left field and Zack Sudar followed that up with a single of his own. Hannah kept the hitting going as she singled up the middle, but McDonalds made a nice play to keep the ball on the infield and keep any runs from scoring. With the bases loaded, Austyn hit the ball back to the pitcher, but Justin was hustling all the way and slide home before the tag to give us a 9-1 lead. After a Katie strikeout, Garret doubled in two more runs and the rout was on. Landon then hit a hard ball that was stopped for a forceout and Calvin struckout to end the inning. By the time the smoke had cleared, we were up big at 11-1.
          Poor McDonalds never got things going after that as all three batters that went to the plate in the bottom of the 3rd struckout. I gathered our kids up after the inning and told them we were just going to go one base at a time after we hit the ball. I told them we were not out here to embarrass anyone so we were going to hold them to one base per hit. I have been on the other end of these type of games and their no fun for the team getting whipped. Travis, Zack Scarborough and Jake all singled to load the bases. Justin then knocked in Travis on a ball hit to 3rd base. Zack was forced out on the play but the score was now 12-1. Zack Sudar then singled and we could have scored a run on the play but held our runners. Hannah forced out Justin on a ball hit to the shortstop but another run scored on the play to make the score 13-1. Austyn struckout for the first time all season to end the inning but once again the damage was done.
          We moved the kids all around in the bottom of the 4th inning and let them play where ever they wanted. McDonalds first batter of the inning singled up the middle but Austyn got the ball in quickly to hold the runner to a single. Their next batter grounded out to Garret at 1st base for the first out of the inning. A hard hit shot to 2nd base was snagged by Jake who threw to Garret for the second out of the inning. A run scored on the play to make the score 13-2. The final batter of the game popped out to Calvin at shortstop and the game was mercifully over with us recording our 2nd win of the season, 13-2.
          Thru the first two games we have outscored our opponents 23-2 and totally dominated both games. The problem I may have with this team is that they not get the big head and think that they can't be beat. I want them to be confident, bit no too over confident. We will have some tough games this season so they need to be ready for anything. If we can continue to keep hitting the way we are now and our defense stays as solid as it looks so far, we are going to be awfully tough to beat. But like I said before, anything can happen with these young kids. All I know is I'm so very proud of the way they have played these first two games. We are playing good ball and the kids are having a blast! So far, so good!

                   

ASE cruises by Cooper Coin 12-0!
ASE moved to 3-0 tonight with a convincing 12-0 win over Cooper Coin. ASE overcome a season-high 9 strikeouts with some really good play on defense to secure the victory. ASE has now outscored their opponents 35-2 in the first three games of the season, but the road is about to become a lot tougher. Let's see how tonights game went down.
          Garret McMahan led off the game in style as he drove the ball just over the infield for a single. Landon Arnold would then double to right field to score Garret and give us an early 1-0 lead. After a rare Calvin Espinoza strikeout, Travis Shelly drove a ball through the middle to score Landon and extend our lead to 2-0. Zack Scarborough kept his hot hitting going with a single of his own that scored Travis for a 3-0 lead. Another rare strikeout by Jake Graham would give us two outs in the inning, but Justin Shelly quickly picked up Jake with a single to left field to score Zack and extend our lead to 4-0. Zack Sudar would then strikeout to end the inning with us leading 4-0.
          Cooper Coin came right out hitting like I knew they would but our defense was up to the challenge. Their lead-off batter hit a ball to Travis who threw to 1st base. Calvin juggled the ball at 1st and the Cooper player tried to head to 2nd, but Calvin tagged him for the out. Their next batter would hit it to the wrong guy as they hit a ball back to Garret who made a nice throw to Calvin for the second out of the inning. After a hit put a runner on 1st, Justin Shelly made a good stop on a hard hit ball and tossed to Travis at 2nd for the forceout. After one full inning of play we held a 4-0 lead.
          Hannah Harrison got the 2nd inning started right for us as she reached base on an infield single. Austyn Eubanks then grounded out to the first baseman and Katie Harrison struck-out for two quick outs. Garret picked up his teammates with a single to the outfield that would score the speedy Hannah. After a Landon single, Calvin would bring in Garret with a shot to right field that would extend our lead to 6-0. Travis kept his perfect average going with another single up the middle to score Landon and give us a 7-0 advantage. Zack Scarborough then struck-out for the first time all season for the final out of the inning. It was a nice 2-out rally by the kids after it looked like we may not score in the inning.
          Cooper started off the bottom of the 2nd hitting the ball to the wrong player. Their first batter grounded out to Travis at 2nd for an easy out. Their next two batters went down swinging and just like that the inning was over with us still holding a 7-0 lead.
          We led off the top of the 3rd inning with three straight singles from Jake, Justin and Zack Sudar. Hannah singled up the middle to score Jake and it looked as if we were on our way to a big inning. But our next three batters would all strikeout and our half of the inning was over just like that. 
          Cooper came right back out us as they hit the ball well in the bottom of the inning, but our defense was poised and ready. Their first batter hit to Garret who threw to 1st for an out. Calvin would make a good play on a hard hit ball for the second out of the inning. Once again they would test Garret with another ball that he snagged and threw to Calvin for the final out of the inning. I sort of felt sorry for the Cooper players. They were hitting the ball pretty well, but our defense was on its toes tonight. That was good to see. 
          The top of our batting order was due up in the 4th inning and I knew we were about to put Cooper down for the count. Landon and Calvin both singled to start the inning and the "red-hot" hitting Travis knocked in his third RBI of the game to give us an 9-0 lead. With runners at the corners, Zack Scarborough came through with a big hit to score Travis and Calvin to extend our lead to 11-0. Jake Graham would keep the rally going with a single to left field and Justin would follow that up with a single of his own. Zack would score on Justin's single and suddenly things were getting out of hand at 12-0. Zack Sudar and Hannah Harrison then hit into back-to-back force outs and Austyn would strikeout for the final out of the inning. Going into the bottom of the 4th we held a very comfortable 12-0 lead.
          Cooper Coin started off the bottom half of the inning with a very hard hit single to left field. Katie Harrison made a nice play to keep the runner at 1st base on the play. Cooper's next batter would groundout to Calvin and after their next batter struck-out, the final batter of the game grounded out to Garret, who threw to Calvin for the out. The umpires called the game and we moved to 3-0 on the young season.
          It wasn't our best hitting game of the season so far, but we did get enough timely hits to keep us way ahead. We had a season-high 9 strikeouts, which is way too many. We've got to do a better job of keeping our eye on the ball while at the plate. Several hitters are really taking their eye off the ball and just swinging to be swinging. We will work on correcting that in practice this Saturday.
          In other action from tonights' games, Ink Spot finally got to play their first game of the season and looked pretty good in a 7-4 victory over McDonalds. In the final game of the night, the red-hot Nellum-Roberts team whipped Pepper Source 16-4 and moved to 3-0 on the season. Believe me.... we are going to have some really tough games coming up. They're all not going to be as easy as these first three games were, so players be ready. We will practice on Saturday @ 11am and play Pepper Source on Monday the 15th @ 5:30.



         

ASE cools off Pepper Source, 11-1
          In a very quick game tonight we rolled over Pepper Source 11-1 in 35 minutes to move to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in League play. We got out of a big time jam in the top of the 1st inning and never looked back for the victory.
          The top of the 1st opened with us recording two quick outs on a nice play from Travis Shelly and a strike-out for the other. Pepper Source then reeled off three straight hits and was helped out by a small miscue to load the bases. Their next batter then grounded out to Garret McMahan who threw to Travis at 1st for the final out of the inning. Garret continues his awesome play at pitcher. If there's a better defensive pitcher in the league than Garret, I haven't seen him. Garret has been awesome so far this season on defense and he sure got us out of a bases loaded jam in this inning.
          Garret made a good play on defense and then lead-off the bottom of the inning with a hit to get us rolling. Justin Shelly followed that up with one of his own and Landon Arnold cleared the bases with an inside-the-park home run and 3-0 lead. Travis kept his perfect batting average going with a base hit up the middle and Zack Scarborough kept the rally going with a hit to right field. Calvin Espinoza came out of his mini-slump with a very hard hit ball to the fence, which scored both Travis and Zack for a quick 5-0 lead. I'm not sure Pepper Source knew what hit them as they trotted off the field.
          Pepper Source's first batter grounded out to Garret and their next batter struck-out and just like that it was two-up and two-down. After a good hit up the middle, their next batter went down swinging to end their half of the inning.
       Jake Graham started things off right for us with a good hit to right field and advanced to 2nd on a bad throw from Pepper Source. Zack Sudar then grounded out to the second baseman but Jake hustled all the way from 2nd to score on the play and give us a 6-0 lead. Hannah Harrison then grounded out to 1st base and Austyn Eubanks struck-out to end the inning, but not before we had extended our lead to 6-0.
          Pepper Soucre started the inning popping out to Justin at shortstop for a quick out. Their next batter grounded out once again to Garret, who threw to Calvin for the second out of the inning. Pepper Source then got a small rally going with three straight hits that scored their first run of the game. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, their next batter struck-out to end their half of the inning. 
          We started off the bottom of the 3rd with a strike-out from Katie Harrison but her teammates quickly picked her up. After a Garret pop out to the shortstop, the rally caps were on and the ASE train got to rolling! Justin and Landon both singled and Travis knocked them both in with a hard hit ball that got by the right fielder. Zack Scarborough then knocked in his 10th RBI of the season with a single and suddenly it was 9-1. With runners at the corners, Calvin hit a screamer to left field and took advantage of a Pepper Source throwing error for an inside-the-park home run and a 11-1 lead. That hit knocked in Calvin's 5th RBI of the game.
          Pepper Source never got anything going in the top of the 4th as all three batters struck-out and the game was called due to the run rule with us notching the easy win, 11-1. We have now outscored our first four opponents 46-3. That's an incredible stat! This team continues to amaze and play great ball. Our defense continues to be solid and tonight it looked as if our hitting was getting back on track.
          We do not have a game this Thursday night, so we will practice at Southside @ 6:00pm on that night. We will also have our normal practice next Saturday @ 11:00am. Our next game will be Monday the 22nd @ 7:30 versus a pretty good Ink Spot team. See you all Thursday!





ASE defense leads them past Ink Spot, 9-4!
       I hope you parents enjoyed this game as much as I did. This was two good teams battling each other the entire night. Our defense is what separates us from the other teams in the League and tonight it showed up big time! Two triple plays in one game is something that you won't see out there again for maybe 10 plus years. I've been coaching out at the Club for that long and I can't remember it ever happening. Let's see how this one went down.
       Garret McMahan led off the game right for us with a hard hit ball to 3rd base. Garret was able to beat a very good throw and arrived safe at 1st. Justin Shelly then grounded out to the pitcher but Landon Arnold quickly picked him up with a hard hit ball to right field that scored Garret for a 1-0 lead. Travis Shelly then singled to center-field, but Ink Spot made a great play on the ball and threw Landon out at 3rd on the play. Zack Scarborough then struck-out to end the inning and for the first time all season we were held to only one run in the 1st inning. Every game before this one, we had scored 4 or 5 runs in the 1st inning. You could tell this was going to be a dogfight!
       Ink Spot came right out hitting the ball like I warned the kids they would. Their first two runners reached safely and then one of the best plays I've seen in a Boys/Girls club game in many, many years. Travis Shelly stopped a hard hit grounder, tagged the runner out going to 2nd and then threw to Calvin at 1st base for the double play. But Calvin wasn't quite satisfied with that. The runner that was on 2nd base when the ball was hit rounded 3rd and was trying to score. Calvin ran him down and tagged him at home causing a huge collision. Both players hit the ground very hard and somehow Calvin held onto the ball to complete the triple play. Not only was it an incredible play by Travis and Calvin, but it set the tone for the entire game. Our defense would be the difference in the 1st inning and it would be that way all night.
        After an awesome play to end the 1st inning, Calvin led off the top of the 2nd with a base hit to get a rally started. Jake Graham then singled up the middle and Calvin hustled all the way around from 1st to score on the play and give us a 2-0 lead. Zack Sudar would then ground-out to the pitcher for the 1st out of the inning but the rally was still alive. With Jake on 3rd base both Hannah Harrison and Austyn Eubanks would go down swinging to end the inning.  
       Ink Spot led off the bottom half of the inning with a hard hit ball to center-field. Jake quickly got to the ball and made a good throw to Travis, who threw to Justin. Justin tagged out the runner as he tried to stretch his hit to a double. It would be a sign of things to come for Ink Spot. After their next batter singled, back-to-back strikeouts would end the inning and give us a slim 2-0 lead after two full innings of play.
       Our offense really got to rolling in the top of the 3rd inning. After all, you can't keep a sleeping giant down forever. Ha, ha! Katie Harrison led off the inning with a strikeout but her teammates quickly picked her up. Garret and Justin both singled and Landon knocked them both in with a hard hit ball that rolled to the fence in right field. Travis would then single to score Landon and suddenly our lead was 5-0. Zack Scarborough then singled up the middle to score Travis and Calvin followed that up with a single of his own, scoring our 5th and final run of the inning. Ink Spot didn't retire a single batter after the Katie strikeout. Six straight hits would give us a 7-0 lead and Ink spot was feeling the pressure. 
       Ink Spot responded in the bottom of the 3rd as their first two batters reached safely. Just when it looked they would cut into our lead, it happened again. "Look, it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's TRAVIS SHELLY!" That's right, Travis struck again! The Ink Spot batter popped up a ball on the infield and their runners took off on contact. Travis caught the ball in the air and threw to Calvin at 1st for the double play. And just like before Calvin ran over and tagged out a confused runner between 2nd and 3rd for the triple play. Wow, two triple plays in the same game. Not something you see in a baseball game very often at any level. 
       I told the kids we need a few more runs to put the game away and they responded in the top of the 4th. Jake and Zack Sudar both singled and Hannah drove in Jake with a shot to right field. After back-to-back strikeouts from Austyn and Katie, Garret singled in Zack Sudar for a 9-0 lead. Justin then hit a hard hot ball to 3rd that forced Hannah out for the final out of the inning. With the time limit quickly approaching, I knew that this was probably Ink Spot's last at bat.
       With a 9-0 lead, our players seemed to relax on defense a bit and it showed in the bottom of the 4th. Ink Spot hit the ball well, but several balls we should have made plays on, but didn't. But what can I say as a coach. Our defense had been so awesome all night, I wasn't going to get after them for one or two mistakes. Three straight Ink Spot runners reached base and a couple of throwing errors led to Ink Spot's first two runs of the game. A couple of strikeouts in between a couple of hits would make the score 9-4 with two outs in the inning. Zack Scarborough then made a good play on a hard hit ball as he stopped the ball and tagged out the Ink Spot runner for the final out of the game. Time limit had expired and the game was over, with us moving to 5-0 on the season with a 9-4 victory. 
       The win keeps us a full game ahead of Nellum-Roberts (4-1) who won earlier against Gerber 15-6. It moves us two full games ahead of Ink spot in the league standings. We must continue to play good ball as we face some good teams in the next few weeks. Like I told the kids before the game, everyone's gunning for us and they all want to be the team that knocks us off. I told the kids to continue to have fun and give 110% and things would take care of themselves. Great game tonight ASE! Way to step up to the challenge and play ASE baseball! Remember, defense wins championships!




       
        
      

ASE miscues lead to 1st loss of season, 13-11
Well, as good as our defense was the other night, it was almost as bad tonight. I'm not trying to take anything away from a much improved Gerber team, but we gave them at least 8 of their 13 runs with defensive mistakes. It was shocking to see us miss sure outs and throw the ball all over the field like we did tonight. The kids just didn't seem to have the focus and concentration on defense that they had the other night against Ink Spot. But despite our mistakes the kids never gave up. They kept fighting to the end and for a while it looked like we might pull off an awesome comeback, but we just came up a little short. Congrats to Gerber on a good game. They are by far the most improved team in the league since the first of the season.
          Gerber came right out of the gate hitting the ball in the top of the 1st. Their first batter reached safely but their next batter grounded into a force out at 2nd. A couple more hits would score their first two runs of the game, but Travis Shelly would make a good play to get us out of the inning only down 2.
          We came out red hot at the plate. We would get six straight hits to start the game and Gerber never recorded an out in the bottom of the 1st. We scored 5 runs in a matter of about 5 minutes and led 5-2 after one full inning of play. Garret led off the inning with a double and Justin singled to score him. Landon then singled to score Justin and tie the game at 2. Travis and Calvin both singled and Zack came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a double to right field. Just like that it was 5-2 and we looked to be on our way to another easy win. Maybe that's what the kids thought too, but how things quickly changed!
          After Gerber's first two batters struck-out to begin the inning, their next two batters would reach base on a couple of miscues by our defense. Another hit would score two runs and suddenly this thing was a game again. Zack Scarborough tagged a runner out trying to advance to 3rd for the final out of the inning and we were able to escape further damage.
          Jake Graham led off the bottom of the 2nd with a base hit but he was forced out by Zack Sudar on the next play. Hannah Harrison went down swinging but Austyn Eubanks picked her up with a big 2-out hit that scored Zack. Katie recorded the final out of the inning as she struck-out, but the one run did extend our lead to 6-4 after two full innings of play.
          Our defense showed up in the top of the 3rd and played like they're capable of. Gerber's first batter singled but their next batter would pop up to Zack at 3rd. Zack caught the ball and threw to 2nd to catch the runner off of the base for a big double play. We caught a break when one of Gerber's better hitters went down swinging to end their half of the inning.
          With the top of our order up, I thought we would take control of the game, but it just wasn't meant to be tonight. Garret led off with a base hit, but Justin grounded out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. Landon came through with a big hit to score Garret. Travis then doubled to left field to bring Landon home for a 8-4 ASE lead. After a Calvin single, Zack Scarborough popped out to the 1st baseman and Calvin was caught off the bag for a double play to end the inning. The two runs did extend our lead to 8-4 after three full innings of play. Despite only having a 4-run lead, I felt pretty confident about this one. Little did I know that the bottom was about to fall out and Gerber was going to take control.
          We had barely given up 5 runs all year, so the thought of Gerber scoring 5 in one inning never entered my mind, bit that's exactly what they did. They mixed in a couple of good hits and used several throwing errors and miscues by our defense to take a 9-8 lead and our kids seemed stunned to be behind for the first time all year. I called them together in the dugout and told them to just settle down, have fun and play their game. My words didn't help much. Jake led off the inning with a hit, but once again he was forced out at 2nd by Zack Sudar. Hannah then grounded out to 1st and it looked as if we would leave Zack stranded on 3rd base. But just like earlier, Austyn came through with a clutch hit to tie the game at 9. Since Zack Sudar was on base with two outs and the time limit was about to expire, we got the catcher's gear on Zack Scarborough so we could take the field hopefully before the time limit expired. That was the reason for that change that you saw. It sort of back fired on us in the top of the 5th as Zack Sudar was put in a couple of situations that he wasn't ready for and that's my fault, not his.
           Once again Gerber came out in the top of the 5th hitting the ball and using our mistakes to take the lead. We threw the ball all over the field like we had never been coached on what to do with it. That was the only disappointing thing to me is the way we threw the ball around. The kids have been taught better than that. They just got caught up in the moment and sometimes emotions take over in those situations, especially when your 7 or 8 years old. After the smoke cleared Gerber had scored 4 more runs to take a 13-9 lead going into our last at bats.
          Despite being behind, I still felt like we would win this game. We had the top of our order due to bat and they had been red hot tonight. I once again gathered the kids up and told them to relax and have fun. Garret led off the inning with a rare strikeout, but Justin quickly picked him up with a single to left. Landon grounded out to the shortstop but Justin hustled around to score on the play. Now the pressure was on. With two outs, we still were down 13-10. Travis got the rally going with a single and Calvin knocked him in with a double to left field. Zack Sudar kept the rally going with an infield single, but Calvin couldn't advance on the play. That play would be huge, because Jake would hit the ball to 3rd on the next play and would force Calvin out to end the game. Gerber's players went nuts and our players heads dropped. Gerber had defeated us 13-11 in a hard fought game that we would like to have back. 
           Despite the loss I was proud of the way the kids fought hard and never gave up. Our defense just wasn't clicking on all cylinders and that was something we haven't seen out of this team all season. We still hold a 1/2 game lead on Nellum for 1st place in the league standings. Nellum is our next opponent and the kids better be ready. They hit the ball better than Ink Spot or Gerber, so it should be another good one to watch. I will be out of town and would like to say a big thank you to Greg McMahan for filling in for me while I'm gone. Don't worry, I'll be thinking our you guys and will probably be on the phone with Coach Chris during the game. Ha, ha! See you all at practice on Saturday @ 11am.



 

Cooper Coin game declared forfeit
The game last Monday versus Cooper Coin has been declared a forfeit. I spoke with the Goldtrap Director tonight and he said Cooper did not have enough players to play so the game will be counted as a win for us.






ASE moves to 9-1 with win over Pepper Source!
          Let me start off saying sorry for the site not being updated in a while. I had some internet trouble while in Vegas and could not update the site. I would like to thank Coach Chris and Greg McMahan for doing an awesome job of taking care of the team while we were away on vacation. Also thanks to Heather McMahan for taking care of the dugout duties. It is greatly appreciated!
          Tonight we were going for our 4th win in a row since the Gerber loss back a few weeks ago. The kids came out and played well tonight, especially hitting the ball. We came right out and attacked Pepper Source and hung on in the end for our 9th win of the season. The top of the 1st saw Garret McMahan lead off the game with a single and Justin followed that up with one of his own. Landon Arnold would knock both players in with a hit up the middle of the Pepper Source defense. After a rare ground-out from Travis Shelly, Calvin Espinoza got the rally going again! He singled in Landon and Zack Scarborough singled in Calvin for a 4-0 lead. Jake Graham singled and Zack Sudar would follow that up with an RBI single to score our 5th and final run of the inning.
          Pepper Source came right out hitting the ball like I knew they would. After a single to start the inning, their next batter would ground-out to Travis. Another couple of singles and an error from our infield would help Pepper Source score three runs in the inning and pull within 5-3 after one full inning of play. A strikeout and another ground-out to Travis would get us out of the inning with a slim lead.
          The top of the 2nd would see us not get much going. Hannah Harrison and Austyn Eubanks both went down swinging and Katie Harrison grounded out to 1st base for the final out of the inning. Suddenly this was a ball game! The bottom of the 2nd, Pepper Source kept hitting the ball and we made a few mistakes on defense to begin the inning. A couple of strikeouts would help us get out of the inning only being down one at 6-5.
          The top of the 3rd would see our offense come alive again. Garret would double to begin the inning and Justin would single to score Garret and tie the game at 6. Landon and Travis would then hit back-to-back RBI singles to give us an 8-6 lead. Calvin and Zack Scarborough would both single and suddenly we were up 9-6. Jake would come through with another big hit to score our final run of the inning and give us a 10-6 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd inning.
          Pepper Source would begin the inning grounding out to Travis at second base and back-to-back strikeouts would make it a quick inning for them. After three full innings of play we still held a 10-6 lead. Our offense would get things going in the top of the 4th but some bad luck would stop our scoring threat. After a single from Zack Sudar, Hannah also singled to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Austyn grounded into a force-out but Katie picked him up with an infield single. With the bases loaded, Garret popped up to the pitcher, who caught the ball and doubled Hannah off 3rd base on the play. Just when it looked like we were going to put the game away, some bad fortune struck. Going into the bottom of the 4th we knew we had to hold Pepper Source to less than 4 runs to win the game.
          Pepper Source got their first two runners on with singles, but their next batter would ground-out to Travis for the first out of the inning. Their next batter grounded out to Garret at pitcher and their final batter of the game grounded out to Calvin to end the game. Whew, it was a little too close for comfort in this one. Pepper Source played a good game, but our kids did what we had to do to pull this one out. Great job of hitting the ball to both teams in this one. Our defense could have been a little better, but all in all it was a good effort by our kids.
          The win keeps us alone in 1st place at 9-1 on the season and 8-1 in League play with a huge game versus Nellum on Saturday at 10am. Please have your child at the field by 9:30am. We are only going to have 9 players, with Austyn and Katie not there, so please everyone else be on time. See you all then!





ASE clinches League Championship!

We were a win away from clinching the League Title going into tonights' game. The kids came out ready to play and left no doubt which team is the best in the league. We jumped on Ink Spot early and never looked back on our way to a 13-3 win.
          Ink Spot led off the top of the 1st with a single but their next batter would pop out to Travis, who threw to Calvin to double off the runner on 1st base. Their next batter would ground-out to Garret and just like that the inning was over.
          The way things started in the bottom of the inning, it looked like it may be a long night. Garret and Justin both led off the game with well hit balls, but Ink Spot made a nice play on both and suddenly there were two outs. Landon Arnold then got the rally going as he singled
to the fence in left field and Travis Shelly would bring him in with another single. Calvin Espinoza and Zack Scarborough would then both hit RBI singles to give us a 3-0 lead. The inning ended with Jake Graham grounding out to the pitcher, but not before we had a nice little 2-out rally.
          Ink Spot tried to get things going into the top of the 2nd but our defense was up to the challenge. Travis threw out the first batter on a nice play and their next batter singled to right field. After a strike-out for the second out, the next batter grounded out to Garret to end the inning.
          We got our offense rolling in the bottom of the 2nd and put the game away early. Zack Sudar led off the inning with a single and Hannah Harrison knocked him in with a shot up the middle. Katie Harrison then had her best at bat of the season as she fouled off several pitches before grounding out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. Garret then grounded out to 1st base but Hannah hustled all the way from 2nd to score on the play. Justin would then start another 2-out rally with a single to left field. Landon then followed that up with a single of his own. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Travis doubled to score both runs and give us a 7-0 lead. Calvin would end the inning with only his third strikeout of the season.
          Ink Spot finally was able to score a run in the top of the 3rd with a little 2-out rally of their own. After the first batter grounded out to Garret an automatic out would then be called due to Ink Spot only having 8 players. Ink Spot's next three batters would all single but our defense would do a good job of holding them to only one run in the inning. Justin Shelly would put an end to Ink Spot's rally as he made a nice stop on a hard hot ball and tossed to his brother Travis covering 2nd for the final out of the inning.
          Our offense kept hitting and Ink Spot was reeling. Zack Scarborough led off the bottom of the 3rd with a single and Jake knocked him in with a long single up the middle. After a rare Zack Sudar strike-out, Hannah would single in a run with a hard hit shot up the middle. Katie then singled, but Hannah was tagged out on the play at 3rd base. After a Garret base hit, Justin singled to left field to score Hannah and build our lead to 9-1. Landon then knocked in our 4th and 5th runs of the inning with a line drive to the outfield that Ink Spot could not get to. Just like that this game had become a big time blow-out at 12-1. 
          Ink Spot would get a small rally going in the top of the 4th as they put together several hits in a row to score two runs, but a couple of strike-outs and a nice play from Travis would end the inning with us still holding a comfortable 12-3 lead. All we needed going into the bottom of the 4th was one run to end the game due to the run rule. That would not take us long! Travis and Calvin both singled and Zack Scarborough knocked in Travis for the final run of the game, securing the 13-3 victory. It was a dominating performance by our team tonight. We left no doubt who the best team in our league is. 
          Tonights' win moves us to 10-1 in league play and 11-1 overall. We will return to action next Monday night @ 6:30 versus the only team that has beat us this year. Gerber is playing pretty good ball right now, so it should be a good game on Monday. See you all there at 6:00pm.

Congratulations ASE - You are the 2006 Pee Wee National League Champions!!!!!



            

ASE leaves Gerber in tears, 11-0!
       The kids wanted a little revenge on the only team to defeat us this season and they got that tonight and then some. We jumped on Gerber early and never looked back on our way to a 11-0 victory. 
       Garret McMahan led off the game with an infield single and we were rolling early in this one. Justin Shelly then grounded out to the pitcher for the first out of the inning. Landon Arnold would also ground out to the pitcher on our next at bat, but Garret hustled all the way from 2nd to score on the play. Travis Shelly then reached on an infield single and Calvin Espinoza doubled to the fence in left field to score Travis for a 2-0 lead. We weren't done with our 2-out rally, as Zack Scarborough singled to score Calvin for a 3-0 lead. Jake Graham then struck-out to end the inning but not before we had jumped to the 3-run lead.
       Gerber never moved an inch in their bottom half of the inning as all three of their batters struck-out and just like that the inning was over. The top of the 2nd saw our offense come alive once again! The Harrison sisters, Hannah and Katie got things going with back-to-back singles and we were in business. Garret then singled to load the bases with Justin coming to the plate. Justin didn't disappoint as he singled to score Hannah for a 4-0 lead. After a rare Landon Arnold strikeout, Travis doubled to right field clearing the bases and extending our lead to 7-0. Calvin then struck-out for our 2nd out of the inning, but Zack Scarborough quickly picked him up as he singled in our 5th and final run of the inning to give us an 8-0 lead. 
       Gerber started the bottom of the 2nd grounding out to Travis at 2nd and after a strikeout, their next batter popped out to Garret and the inning was quickly over. After two full innings of play we held a comfortable 8-0 lead.
       The top of the 3rd Gerber's defense came to play. Jake struck-out to start the inning but Hannah quickly picked him up with a single to right field. Katie then forced Hannah out at 2nd on a ground ball for the second out of the inning. Garret then tried to get yet another 2-out rally going with a single up the middle, but Justin popped out to the pitcher to end our half of the inning.
       Gerber led off the bottom of the 3rd grounding out to Calvin at 1st base. Their next batter hit a ball to Justin, who scooped it up and threw to Calvin for another out. After a base hit up the middle, Gerber's lead-off batter struck-out to end the inning and the score remained 8-0.
       The top of the 4th would see Landon single and though Travis then grounded out to 2nd, Landon would come all the way around from 1st to score on the play. We did get a little help from a throwing error by Gerber's defense. After a Calvin single, Zack would then ground into a force out and suddenly there were two outs. But as you know, two outs mean nothing to this team. And yes once again the 2-out rally was on! Jake would keep the rally alive with a single and Hannah followed that up with a 2-run single to extend our lead to 11-0. Katie would strikeout to end the inning, but we had all but put this one in the bag. 
       Gerber tried to get a rally going in the bottom of the 4th, but our defense was up to the challenge. After a single to begin the inning, their next batter grounded out to Travis who threw to Calvin for the out. Gerber's batter that was on 1st went to 2nd and tried to make it to 3rd, but Calvin chased him down and tagged him out to complete the double play. After a single up the middle, the final batter of the game would strikeout and the game was called due to the run rule and time limit.
       The win completes an awesome league season for this team. We finished 11-1 in the league and 12-1 overall. We now will set our sights on the Pee Wee City Championship that begins the end of this week. Our first game will be versus the #8 seed from the Pee Wee American League. We play #8 Cricket on Thursday night @ 5:30. See you all there @ 5:00pm. Great job ASE and way to finish the league off in style!




           
      

Final - 2006 Pee Wee National League Standings

ASE                         12-1
McDonalds               7-4-2
Ink Spot                  7-4-1
Nellum - Roberts      7-3-3
Gerber                      5-8
Pepper Source           4-9
Cooper Coin               0-13





Final - 2006 Pee Wee American League Standings

Midwest Sporting Goods        13-0
Simmons 1st                          9-3-1
Phillip Taylor Law                   9-4
Shoe Carnival                        8-4-1
Monty's TV                             4-9
Burton Pools & Spas                4-9
Y.M.A.                                     3-10
                            Cricket                                    2-11                                                  


 



2006 Pee Wee City Tourney bracket

view full size

<---- Click here to view the 2006 Pee Wee City Tournament bracket. I thought a few of you Mom's might want to print this off for your scrapbooks. It's updated with all scores from each game. Oh look.......... ASE are the FSBGC Pee Wee City Champs!!!!!








ASE Squishes Cricket 12-0, advances to 2nd Round!
          This was a mismatch from the word go as poor Cricket never knew what hit them as we pounded the ball all over the field on our way to a 12-0 win. We jumped on them early and never looked back as we barely got our game in before the skies opened up with the rain.
          Cricket led off the game grounding to Travis Shelly for a quick out. After we dropped a ball at 1st base and allowed Cricket to reach on an error, their next batter hit into a force out. Their final batter of the inning struck-out and just that quick their half of the inning was over.
          We came right out of the gate hitting the ball. Garret McMahan hit a hard shot up the middle to open the game. Justin Shelly and Landon Arnold followed that up with back-to-back infield singles to load the bases for Travis Shelly. Travis came through with a big two run scoring single to give us the early lead. Calvin Espinoza then hit a screaming line drive to the fence driving in two more runs and suddenly it was 4-0. After Zack Scarborough reached on an infield single, Hannah Harrison singled in Calvin, scoring our 5th and final run of the inning. After one full inning of play we held a 5-0 lead.
          Things didn't get much better for Cricket. They did manage a couple of hits, but those were between a couple of strikeouts. They had to take an automatic out at the bottom of their line-up due to only having 8 players, so that's the way the inning would end.
          Jake Graham led off the bottom of the 2nd with a hard line drive to the fence and Katie Harrison kept her hot hitting streak going with an infield single. Garret would once again single to load the bases with Justin due up to bat. Justin smacked a single up the middle to score Jake for a 6-0 lead. Landon Arnold then kept the rally going with a 2-run single and just like that it was 8-0. Travis would then once again knock in 2 runs with a single to right field and the inning ended with us padding our lead to 10-0.
          Cricket led off the top of the 3rd grounding out to Calvin. Their next two batters would strikeout and their half of the inning would end as the rain begin to pour pretty hard. We were trying to get three full innings in so it would be a complete game, but the outcome was never in doubt.
          Calvin led off the bottom of the 3rd inning in style as he hit a home run over the fence to give us a 11-0 lead. Calvin trotted around the bases with his arm held high as the kids in our dugout went nuts! Zack would keep the rally going with a double to left field and Hannah Harrison would knock him in as the rain begin to really come down. Jake would hit a hard shot to left field as the rain really begin to pour so the umpires ordered both teams in their respective dugouts. After several minutes we were informed that it had been called a complete game thus giving us the victory.
          The win advances us to the 2nd round were we will face a familiar foe in Nellum-Roberts. Nellum beat Monty's TV 8-6 tonight after the rain stopped and they were finally able to play. The kids better come ready to play on Saturday morning because Nellum will have revenge on their minds. We beat them twice in the regular season and they need this win if they hope to have any chance of advancing to the district tournament that we have already qualified for on July 6-10. 
          Parents please make sure the kids get plenty of rest on Friday night and I'll see you all at the field no later than 9am on Saturday. Be ready to play ASE!




           

ASE slides past Nellum 13-12, advances to Semi-Finals!
          I told the kids before the game that this one was going to be a dogfight to the finish and boy was I right! Nellum played a great game and gave us all we wanted and then some tonight. In the end a few timely hits was the difference as we pulled out the 13-12 victory. The win advances us to the Pee Wee City Tourney Semi-Finals where we will face another familiar foe in Ink Spot. Ink Spot beat #2 seed Simmons 1st tonight 5-1 in their game. Just like Nellum was tonight, Ink Spot will be looking for revenge when we play them on Thursday night. We have beat them both times we played this season, but this is a different Ink Spot team than we faced earlier in the season. Well, let's see how tonight's game played out.
          Nellum came right out hitting the ball as their first batter reached safely. After a strike-out their next batter reached on an infield single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Their clean-up hitter then hit a hard ground ball to Travis Shelly, who scooped the ball up and tagged the runner going to 2nd out and then flipped to Calvin at 1st for the inning ending double play. What a big time play to start the game!
          Garret McMahan grounded out to 1st to begin our half of the inning but Justin Shelly quickly picked him up with an infield single. Landon Arnold then forced Justin out at 2nd and suddenly there were two outs. It looked as if both teams would come up dry in the 1st inning, but our kids once again found those 2-out rally caps. Travis singled up the middle to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Calvin Espinoza then hit a towering home run over the left field fence that landed somewhere in the Wal-Mart parking lot to give us a 3-0 lead. It was a monster shot over the fence!!!! Zack Scarborough kept the rally going with a single and Hannah knocked Zack in with a double to right field. Jake Graham would end our half of the inning as he grounded out to the 2nd baseman. After one full inning of play we held a 4-0 lead.
          Nellum led off the inning hitting the ball to Travis again, which is an automatic out! After a strike-out they did manage a couple of hits but we done a good job getting the ball in from the outfield to hold their runners to one base at a time. Their next batter then struck-out and their half of the inning was over.
          We had a big-time chance to pad our lead a bit but we weren't able to take advantage. Katie Harrison and Austyn Eubanks both went down swinging and just like that there were two outs. Both Katie and Austyn had good looking swings at the plate, but just couldn't quite connect. Garret would then pop out to the 2nd baseman and the inning was over with us still holding a 4-0 lead.
          Nellum got their bats rolling in the top of the 3rd. After a ground-out to Travis to begin the inning, their next 6 batters would all get base hits and suddenly we found ourselves behind 5-4 for the first time in several games. Our defense did not play well in the inning. We made several errors and threw the ball around way too much, which allowed Nellum a few runs they should not have scored. 
          Our kids came right back at Nellum in the bottom of the 3rd. Justin and Landon both singled and Travis doubled to the fence to score both runs and give us a 6-5 lead. Calvin then singled in Travis and our lead was 7-5. After a rare Zack Scarborough strike-out, Hannah singled to put runners on the corners with only one out. Jake and Katie would then go down swinging and our half of the inning was over just that quick. 
          Nellum's first batter would ground-out to Justin on a nice play but a double to the fence by their next batter would put them in business again. After a strike-out, their last batter in their line-up came through with a big infield single to score a run and pull them within 7-6. Another single by their next batter would tie the game at 7 and we were in a ball game! Travis Shelly then made a good play on a hard hit ball to get us out of the inning with the score tied.
          Our half of the inning would begin with an Austyn strike-out but his teammates quickly picked him up. Garret and Justin both singled and Landon would hit a ball to the fence to score both runners and give us a 9-7 lead. Travis kept the rally going with another single and Calvin would knock in his 5th and 6th runs of the game with another hard hit shot to the fence. Zack would then single in Calvin for our 5th run of the inning to give us a 12-7 lead. With the time limit expired, all we needed to do was to hold Nellum to less than 5 runs and the game was ours.
          Nellum refused to go down quietly! They rattled off three straight hits before Zack made a good play to record our 1st out of the inning. Three more hits, surrounded by a couple of errors by our defense would allow them to score 5 runs and tie the game at 12.
          All we needed was one run to win the game with the hot hitting Hannah Harrison coming to bat. Hannah hit a hard shot to the 2nd baseman who made a nice play for the first out of the inning. Jake Graham would then ground-out to the pitcher and suddenly it looked as if we were headed to extra innings. Katie Harrison said not so fast as she singled to right field and took advantage of a Nellum throwing error to go all the way to 3rd base on the hit. Austyn then battled at the plate but went down swinging for the 3rd and final out of the inning. After 5 full innings of play the game was all tied at 12.
          Nellum's first batter of the inning reached on an infield single but their next batter would go down swinging for the first out of the inning. Another infield single would put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Their next batters then grounded out to Garret at pitcher and both runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd on the play. One of their better hitters then went down swinging to record the final out of the inning and we had dodged a huge bullet!
          Once again all we needed was one run to win the game. Garret started things off with a single and Justin followed that up with one of his own. Landon then forced Justin out at 2nd for the first out. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Travis hit a hard hit ball to shortstop, who made a good play and a perfect throw to home trying to get Garret as he slid in. Garret slid under the tag and the ump called him safe! Whew......... we squeaked out the 13-12 victory, advancing to the semi-finals of the Pee Wee City Tournament. It was a hard fought win and the kids played very hard tonight! I was very proud of them after the game.
          We will play Ink Spot on Thursday - June 29th @ 6:00pm in the semi-finals. We are one win away from advancing to the City Championship and our kids deserve to be there. Be ready to play a much improved Ink Spot team on Thursday night. See you all there!




           
         

ASE advances to FSBGC Pee Wee City Championship!!!!!
       Well, it wasn't easy and to be honest when we were down 8-0 I was thinking about what I was going to tell the kids after the game to make them feel better. Good thing they didn't surrender as quick as their coach did. Our kids rallied from an 8-run deficit to score 10 runs in the final two innings to pull off the incredible comeback win. Here's how it all went down.
       Since it's late and I'm exhausted, lets skip to the bottom of the 3rd inning, shall we. Honestly, there's not much to write about in the first 2 1/2 innings for ASE. Ink Spot jumped on us early, pounding the ball all over the field. Our defense made a few errors but Ink Spot really hit the ball well. We hit the ball ok, but for the first two innings it seemed we hit the ball right at their defense. We made it awfully easy on them. By the bottom of the 3rd, we found ourselves behind 8-0 and things weren't looking so hot.
       Austyn Eubanks led off the bottom of the 3rd with a strike-out for the first out of the inning. Austyn battled at the plate, fouling off several balls before he went down swinging. Garret McMahan picked Austyn up with a single to right field, but Justin Shelly grounded out to the pitcher for the second out of the inning. So down 8-0 with 2 outs in the 3rd inning. I would say things looked pretty grim. That's when the fireworks begin and our kids came to life. Up to this point, we seemed like we were in the twilight zone, but it was all about to change. Landon Arnold doubled up the middle, scoring Garret and we were finally on the board. Travis Shelly then singled to right field and Calvin Espinoza kept the 2-out rally going with an RBI single to pull us within 8-2. Zack Scarborough then came through with another big hit to right field, scoring Travis and Calvin to pull us within 8-4. Hannah Harrison would then single and Jake Graham would then knock in our 5th and final run of the inning with a single up the middle. 5 runs with two outs is nothing new to this team. Seems like we have done that all year long.
       Ink Spot would come right back at us hitting the ball in the top of the 4th inning. After a single to start the inning, their next batter hit into a force-out. A couple of miscues by our defense would allow a run to score and give Ink Spot a 9-5 lead. After a strike-out, their next batter would hit to Zack Scarborough, who knocked the ball down and stepped on 3rd base for the final out. With the time limit quickly expiring, I knew we had to score 5 runs because chance were that we would not get to bat again. 
       To get those 5 runs, the bottom of our batting order had to come through. Boy did they ever come through! Zack Sudar led off the inning with a strike-out but Katie and Austyn picked him up with back-to-back singles. Garret kept the rally going with a single to right field and Justin did the same, scoring Katie to pull us within 9-6. Landon then grounded out to the 2nd baseman but a throwing error by Ink Spot allowed two runs to score and just like that it was a 9-8 ball game. Travis would then hit a long fly ball to center-field to tie the game at 9. Calvin would cap off our rally with a hard line drive up the middle, scoring Travis to give us our first lead of the game at 10-9.
       I gathered the kids up and challenged them to play defense like we're capable of. Ink Spot started off the top of the 5th with back-to-back singles. Our outfield of Jake and Hannah did an awesome job of keeping the ball in front of them and holding Ink Spot to one base on both hits. Back-to-back strike-outs from a couple of their better hitters would then really put the pressure on Ink Spot. With two outs and down a run, their next batter would ground-out to Travis for the final out of the game, capping off an incredible comeback by our kids. The kids went nuts after the final out and who could blame them. What a comeback and what a team this group of kids are! They never say die and that paid off for them big time tonight!
       The win tonight advances us to the FSBGC Pee Wee City Championship tomorrow night versus a very good Midwest Sporting Goods team. Midwest is 15-0 on the season, but have had many close calls this season. They are not unbeatable and tomorrow night should be lots of fun. Please have your child at the field no later than 5:30. We want them to be warmed up and ready for the game. 
       


         

ASE - 2006 FSBGC Pee Wee City Champions!

       As I set here writing this, five hours after the fact, I still can't believe how awesome the kids played tonight. This team is the best baseball team I have ever coached, but all season long I felt like there wasn't one game where we just put everything together. We played good baseball in most every game this season, but I knew a night would come where we clicked on all cyclinders. Tonight was that night! Midwest looked like they had been hit by a train after the game and who can blame them. We played our best ball of the year on the way to winning the Pee Wee City Championship tonight. Here's how it all went down.
       We lost the coin toss before the game so was visiting team. That proved to be to our advantage. We came out and smacked the ball all over the field in the top of the 1st and jumped on Midwest early. Garret McMahan started things off with a line drive to left field. Justin Shelly then followed that up with an infield single and Landon Arnold would smack a ball up the middle, scoring Garret for a 1-0 lead. Travis then hit a long fly ball to right field scoring Justin and Landon and just that fast it was 3-0. Calvin Espinoza kept the rally going with a base hit to left field scoring Travis. Zack Scarborough would then round out our scoring as he singled to right field scoring Calvin for a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the 1st inning.
       Midwest started off their half of the inning with a hard shot to Justin at 2nd. Justin made a good play on the ball but the throw was a little late at 1st and Midwest was threatening early. After a strike-out by the second batter an infield hit would put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Midwest's next batter hit a ball to 3rd but Zack Scarborough made a good play on the ball and stepped on 3rd base for the out. A base hit would then load the bases with their best hitter up to bat. He popped the ball a mile high and Justin ran under it for the catch and the final out of the inning. Good defense kept them from scoring and you could tell early on that our kids were focused and ready to play.
       Jake Graham led off the top of the 2nd with a hard base hit and we were back in business. After a rare Hannah Harrison strike-out, Zack Sudar got back to his hitting ways with a base hit up the middle. Katie Harrison then grounded out to the pitcher, but Jake Graham hustled all the way from 2nd to score and give us a 6-0 lead. Austyn Eubanks then hit a hard ball to the shortstop who made a great play to throw Austyn out by a step for the final out of the inning. 
       Midwest once again opened up their half of the inning with a base hit, but our defense was up to the challenge. Their next batter grounded into a force-out as Justin made a heads-up play for the out. After another base hit, their next batter once again hit into a force-out and once again it was Justin who made the play. A base hit would then score Midwest's first run of the game but their last batter in their order would go down swinging for the final out of the inning. After two full innings of play we held a 6-1 lead.
       I knew going into the top of the 3rd that this was the biggest inning of the game for us. We had the top of our order due to bat, while Midwest had the top of theirs due up in the bottom of the inning. This inning would likely decide the game. Or kids once again came out hitting the ball and never looked back. Garret hit a rocket to the shortstop who made an awesome play to throw Garret out on the play. Justin then quickly picked him up with a base hit to left field. Landon then stepped up and hit a hard shot to right field and Justin used a Midwest throwing error to come all the way from 1st base to score on the play. Travis and Calvin wold then hit back-to-back run scoring singles and this one was getting out of hand at 9-1. Zack Scarborough kept the rally going with a base hit past the 1st baseman and Jake would cap the inning off with another base hit. Zack and I tricked Midwest into throwing the ball around which allowed him to score on the play and give us a 11-1 lead. As Midwest came off the field their heads were hanging low while our kids were flying high!
       We were totally dominating the game and our kids weren't about to let that change! Midwest smacked a base hit to open the inning, but once again the "Shelly Brothers" would strike and team up for a force-out. Zack Scarborough then made a great play on a hard hit ball and threw to Justin covering 2nd for another out. You could tell Midwest was not used to playing a team that actually played good defense. They were hitting the ball well, but our defense was awesome tonight and were so focused they just refused to let Midwest get any kind of rally going. A base hit would finally score another run for Midwest, but then a pop-up to Travis would end the inning with us holding a commanding 11-2 lead. 
       I knew all we needed was 2 runs to ice the game. The time limit was about 15 minutes away from expiring and a few more runs would do it. Hannah got things started with an infield hit and Zack Sudar smacked a ball up the middle and we were threating again. Katie then knocked in her second run of the inning with a base hit to give us a 12-2 lead. One more hit would do it and their coaches knew it. We didn't waste no time as Austyn smacked a single to right field to score Zack and give us a 11-run lead at 13-2. Garret would then hit into a force-out and Justin would ground-out to the pitcher for the second out. Landon then popped up to the 2nd baseman to end the inning but the damage had been done. With the time limit now really close to expiring, there was no way Midwest had enough time to rally and pull this one out. 
       Midwest was able to get a couple of hits in their half of the inning and scored a run, but our defense once again put the clamps down. Zack Scarborough made yet another great play for a force-out and a couple of strike-outs would seal the deal. The inning ended with us holding a 13-3 lead and the umpires called the game. Our kids and fans went nuts and deservingly so!
       This team has been the best team in the league all year long and we proved it once again tonight. This was a convincing win to say the least. Midwest has a great team and I wish them all the luck in the world in the up-coming District Tournament. It would be cool to see us meet up again in the District Championship. But we both have some work to do before that can happen. But we're gonna celebrate this win for a few days. We will practice a couple of times tomorrow, mainly to get used to hitting real baseballs and to introduce the kids to the rule changes in the district tourney. Tonight's win caps off a dream season for our kids. A 16-1 record to go along with a League Championship and a City Tourney Championship. What a wonderful season it's been. This group will truly be remembered as a super bunch of players but even better kids. What a pleasure they have been to be around this season. You parents are to be congratulated for the super kids you have. They are a special group! See you all at practice tomorrow morning!


  



ASE - 2006 Batting Average Leaders

Travis Shelly                .952
Calvin Espinoza             .805
Zack Scarborough        .805
Landon Arnold              .756
Justin Shelly                .750
Jake Graham                 .692
Garret McMahan           .689






ASE 2006 Runs Batted In (RBI) Leaders

Travis Shelly               37
Calvin Espinoza            36
Zack Scarborough       29
Landon Arnold             27
Hannah Harrison          15
Justin Shelly                12






District Tourney - July 6 thru July 11

Thursday - July 6th - "Pool Play"
Paris - 13                            FSBGC Midwest - 7
Johnson Co. Am. - 10           Alma Gold - 8
Booneville - 13                   Johnson Co. Nat. - 1
Surburban - 11                   VB National - 7
Ozark - 22                          FSBGC McDonalds - 8
SSBGC - 11                         FSBGC Ink Spot  - 9
FSBGC ASE - 12                  VB American - 11
Sodie Div. - 8                     Alma Green - 14


Friday - July 7th - "Pool Play"
Alma Gold - 17                     FSBGC Midwest - 7
Johnson Co. Am. - 14            Paris - 3
VB Nat. - 18                         Johnson Co. Nat. - 6
Suburban - 12                      Booneville - 10
FSBGC Ink Spot - 9              FSBGC McDonalds - 8
Ozark - 14                            SSBGC - 4
Sodie Div. - 10                      FSBGC ASE - 3
Alma Green - 14                    VB American - 4


Saturday - July 8th - "Pool Play"
Johnson Co. Am. - 14             FSBGC Midwest - 1
Alma Gold - 14                      Paris - 4
Suburban - 14                       Johnson Co. Nat - 0
Booneville - 15                       VB National - 8
SSBGC - 14                            FSBGC McDonalds - 8
Ozark - 16                              FSBGC Ink Spot - 2
Alma Green - 14                      FSBGC ASE - 0
Sodie Div. - 15                        VB American - 5    
   

Sunday - July 9th - "Quarter Finals"

D#2 - Sodie Div. defeated A#1 - Alma Gold
B#1 - Booneville defeated C#2 - SSBGC

B#2 - Suburban defeated C#1 - Ozark
D#1 - Alma Green defeated A#2 - Johnson Co. Am


Monday - July 10th - "Semi- Finals"

D#2 - Sodie Div. defeated B#1 - Booneville
D#1 - Alma Green defeated B#2 - Suburban

Tuesday - July 11th - District Championship
D#1 - Alma Green (Hawgs) defeated D#2 Sodie Div.

Alma Hawgs - 2006 Cal Ripken District Champions

ASE rallies late to defeat VB All-Stars!

          What can I say but the kids did it again! All I know is that this season has taught me that it’s not over till it’s over with these kids. Just when it looked as if the Van Buren All-Stars had put us away with a 3-run 5^th inning, our kids bats came to life and rallied late, scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 5^th to win 12-11. Van Buren controlled much of the game but never was able to put us away, which was their biggest mistake. When you have this team down, you better put them away or they’re gonna get you! Last night was yet another example of that.
          Van Buren came out in the top of the 1^st hitting the ball and stealing bases like crazy. Before we knew it we looked up and it was 4-0. A nicely turned double play by the Shelly brothers connection of Travis and Justin got us out of the inning before more damage was done. Our defense made a few rare mistakes in the inning that cost us at least two runs. The kids were very nervous before the game and it showed early in this one.
          Garret and Justin led off the bottom of the 2^nd with back-to-back base hits to get us rolling. Landon Arnold then singled in Garret but Justin was thrown out at home on the play. Travis Shelly then stepped up with a single but we got another kid threw out, as Landon was thrown out at 3^rd on the play. Calvin then singled up the middle but Travis was thrown out at 3^rd trying to make something happen. I will take the blame for the base running mistakes in this inning. We wanted to test the Van Buren defense to see what they had and early on it looked as if they had a lot. After one full inning of play, VB held a 4-1 lead.
          After a strike-out to begin the top of the 2^nd, VB reached base with back-to-back singles to take a 5-1 lead. Zack Sudar then made a heads-up play on a pop-up to catcher for the second out of the inning. A rare infield error would allow VB to score another run before Garret McMahan made a nice play on a bunted ball to end the inning. Van Buren’s two runs in the inning would give them a 6-1 lead and they looked to be in cruise control.
          Zack Scarborough and Jake Graham started the bottom of the 2^nd with back-to-back singles up the middle. Brandon Fuhr and Hannah Harrison both went down swinging for two quick outs. Zack Sudar then came through with an infield hit to load the bases with Katie Harrison up to bat. Katie came through with a big time single to score a run and pull us within 6-2. Austyn Eubanks then really battled at the plate, fouling off several balls before finally going down swinging to end the inning. 
          VB started off the top of the 3^rd with a pop-up to Travis for the first out of the inning. After a couple of hits and stolen bases another single would score both runs to extend Van Buren’s lead to 8-2. Jake Graham did a good job of getting the ball in from the outfield on the hit and started the relay that ended with Travis tagging out the runner at 2^nd for an out. A strike-out by VB’s next batter would end their half of the inning but not before they padded their lead to 8-2. 
          Garret started off the bottom of the 3^rd with a single but was then doubled off 1^st base when Justin popped up to the pitcher and just like that their were two outs. Remember two outs to this team means it’s time for them to start hitting. Landon and Travis hit back-to-back singles and Calvin knocked both of them in with a double to left field. Zack Scarborough then grounded out to the second baseman to end the 3^rd inning but not before we cut into the lead a little. After three full innings of play, Van Buren still lead, but now only 8-4. Look-out here comes ASE!
          The turning point in the game was the top of the 4^th inning in my opinion. That’s when our defense started playing like their capable of playing. Zack Sudar started off the inning making a great play on a ball bunted right in front of home plate. Zack leaped up from the catcher’s position and made a perfect throw to Calvin at 1^st for the out. Great job Zack! VB’s next batter hit a ball to Travis, who scooped it up and threw a perfect strike to Calvin for the second out. Their next batter tried to bunt the ball, but Garret was on his toes as he sprinted to the ball and threw to Calvin, a step before the runner touched the base for the final out. Three great plays by our defense and you could feel the change in momentum in the air. Our fans were fired up and for the first time all game, the Van Buren coaches had a look of concern on their faces.
          Jake and Brandon got the bottom of the 4^th started off right with back-to-back singles and Hannah knocked both of them in on a ball hit to the fence in right field. Then something that hasn’t happened to us all year long occurred. Three straight strike-outs would end the inning but not before we had pulled within 8-6 with the time limit close to expiring.
          I knew we had a chance to pull this one out if we could hold VB in the top of the 5^th. VB started off the inning with a strike-out but then a couple of singles would score a run to extend their lead to 9-6. After a groundout to Garret it looked as if we would get out of the inning only down 3 runs but Van Buren wasn’t quite done scoring. The bottom of their batting order would come through with two more hits, which scored two more runs to suddenly give them an 11-6 lead and things weren’t looking too good for ASE. A force-out would then end the inning as Justin made a nice play on a hard hit ball.
          I don’t know who it was but as the kids ran into the dug-out, I said, “Guys all we need is 6 runs and we win the game.” One of the kids responded, “No problem coach.” I just shrugged the comment off, but that shows how much confidence this team has right now. They think they can win any game, anywhere, anytime. And since they are now 17-1 on the season, who am I to argue with them! Garret and Justin got things started with back-to-back hits and Landon singled in Garret to pull us within 11-7. You could almost feel it in the air that the kids were going to pull this game out. Travis and Calvin then both singled in runs and just like that it was a game again at 11-9. Zack Scarborough then knocked in a run with a very hard hit ball to right field. Zack was thrown out on the play but not before he pulled us within a run, at 11-10. Jake Graham then doubled to left field to tie the game at 11. Brandon Fuhr then smacked a hard hit ball to right field and Jake hustled all the way from 2^nd base to score the winning run. Our kids, parents and I went nuts! Basically even the parents and coached were jumping around like the kids. It was a blast. 
          What a comeback, what a team! This group amazes me with each passing game. There is no doubt in my mind that I will not have another team like this for a very long time. We are now 17-1 on the year and will return to action tonight versus a very good All-Star team from the Waldron-Mena area. See you all there at 8:00 tonight!

ASE bows out of District Tourney

Well the District Tourney didn't end as well as it started for us this weekend. We dropped the last two games by a combined score of 24-3.

We played pretty well versus the Waldron All-Stars on Friday night before they put us away with a late rally to win 10-3. Both teams played great defense and the Waldron All-Stars only led 6-3 going into the last inning. They managed to put a few timely hits together in pulling away for the 10-3 victory. I was very proud of the way the kids played. The difference in the game was Waldron managed to get a few timely hits and we didn't.

Saturday night saw us totally out-matched as we faced the best team in the tournament. The Alma Hawgs are a 7-8 year old selected traveling team that play 50-60 games a year and boy did it show. We didn't play our best game of the year to say the least but not sure if it would have mattered if we did. We did qualify for the Southwest Regional tournament July 26-28 at the "Field of Dreams" in Van Buren. More info to follow.

2006 District Tourney Update - Click here!

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To see scores and results of the 2006 Cal Ripken District Tourney held July 6th - July 11th, click the link above. The winner of the tournament was the Alma Hawgs, who knocked us out of the tourney on Saturday night.









2006 Cal Ripken Southwest Regional Tourney Update

After a full weekend of baseball, only four teams remain in the 2006 Regional Tourney.

Tourney Semi-Finals:
Sylvan Hills, AR - 14        Westside, LA - 6
Maumelle, AR - 12           Hot Springs, AR - 11


Regional Tourney Championship
Maumelle, AR - 8            Sylvan Hills - 2


Click below to visit the Van Buren Field of Dreams web-site and see all the Tourney scores: 

http://vbfieldofdreams.tripod.com/id7.html