Let’s
just all admit right now that in no possible way is this blog entry going to
convey the insanity that occurred at the ECAP on field 5 between the hours of 1
and 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
The
ultimate outcome was that the 10U 919 Nationals earned the 11U tournament title
with a 5-2 win over the Mavericks. But that really would be like saying Sunni
Sky is a place you can get cold food.
For
the second straight game, the Nationals had to play from behind. The
hot-hitting Mavericks, who had outscored the competition 36-7 in their first
three games of the tournament, plated two runs in the bottom of the first.
But
then…nothing. The 919 pitchers handcuffed the Mavericks and allowed just one
baserunner—one baserunner!—after the second inning. That baserunner was
promptly picked off first base, meaning the Mavericks sent the minimum number
of hitters to the plate in the final four innings. Oh, and did we mention that
Nationals pitchers did not walk any batters in the six-inning game and walked
just one in the 12 innings of bracket play?
In
other words, the Mavericks might have been feeling a little frustrated by the
terrific work they were seeing on the mound. That eventually boiled over in an
eventful fourth inning. To fully appreciate this inning, you have to understand
that Chace was playing with a neon green cast on his left hand. That’s very
important—it was neon green and had been neon green for the entire day.
Suddenly,
however, it was determined that the green cast was “distracting,” and need to
be wrapped in order to avoid Chace being called out. Coach Fred just happened
to have a wrap on his bionic knee, proving once and for all that you can find
pretty much anything in the 919 rooting section at any given time. Luckily, it
was able to cover up that dastardly neon green cast, which was far more
distracting than the calm earth tones of the bats generally used in the 10U and
11U world these days.
Once
Chace was wrapped, he just so happened to be coming to the plate with the bases
loaded, with the Nats holding a 3-2 lead. He took the first pitch for a strike,
then took a couple of balls. With the count even at 2-2, he fouled off a pair
of pitches, leading the careful observer to believe he just might be getting
the measure of the Mavericks pitcher. And indeed he was, as the one-handedlollygagger laced a two-run single that provided some very welcome breathing
room.
The
15 minutes following Chace’s hit are probably not going to go into the Personal
Maturity Highlight Reel of very many adults who were in and around field 5. The
only possible positive is that no one got called a “huckleberry” this time,
although a few other creative words were used. The most composed and mature
individuals on hand turned out to be the dozen 9- and 10-year-olds wearing the
navy 919 uniforms. They barely blinked, and proceeded to play two more flawless defensive innings on the way to the title.
The
Nationals celebrated playing up for an 11U title with a championship selfie:
Championship Nationals scoring plays
Third inning
Asher
singled and moved to second on Joey's walk. Ben’s shot to third wasn’t picked up cleanly, scoring Asher
with the first 919 run of the day.
Score after two and a half innings: Mavericks 2, 919 Nationals 1
Fourth
inning
Lawson coaxed a leadoff walk and moved to second on
a wild pitch. Gavin reached on a ball past third. Lawson and Gavin pulled off a
double steal. Banks worked a one-out walk that loaded the bases, and then a
balk scored Lawson. With two outs, Gavin sprinted home on a throwing error by
the catcher and scored on a fantastic slide around the tag.
Score after three and a half innings: 919 Nationals 3, Mavericks 2
Fifth
inning
Asher led off with a single. Joey walked. Ben went
through third once again to load the bases, and then Chace turned in the at-bat
of the fall so far this year with a one-handed two-run single.
Score after four and a half innings: 919 Nationals 5, Mavericks 2
Pitching Performances
Elias
started and worked through the dangerous top of the order.
Gavin
cruised through 2.1 innings and allowed just one runner into scoring position.
Asher
threw a hitless 1.2 innings.
Lawson
closed it with a perfect sixth.
Championship Web Gems
- While pitching in the second, Gavin raced over and made a running catch of a pop fly near the first-base line.
- Nice scoop by Banks—on a weekend when 919 first basemen made a habit of making great pick-ups—of a low throw against the leadoff man in the third. Banks also made a nice short hop snag in the fifth.
- While playing catcher, Ben threw behind a runner at first in the fourth. The runner broke for second, but Banks quickly relayed the throw to Lawson, who tagged him for the second out.
- Great job by Andrew backing up his teammate in the outfield in the fifth. With two outs and nobody on, he backed up Eli and then threw a dart to Gavin covering second to retire the overeager runner who was trying to take an extra base.
·
Championship line score
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
R
|
H
|
919 Nationals
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
5
|
7
|
Mavericks 11U
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
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