Ripken Experience championship: 919 Nationals 13, Blue Sox 3

The Nationals won a Ripken Experience championship for the second straight fall with a 13-3 victory over the Blue Sox.

Six different pitchers combined to limit the homestanding Sox to just six hits, and an equally diverse offense resulted in what might have been the ultimate compliment from the PA announcer. “There is no way I could ever pick an MVP from your team,” he said just before the trophy presentation. Every player threw at least an inning during the games in Myrtle Beach, every hitter had at least one hit…it was a complete team performance. So thorough were the 919 players that they even thought ahead to the blog. For some reason, they really wanted this photo included. This is how they kill time during pitching changes:

One of the quieter storylines of the title game win was solid—and aggressive—baserunning. 919 stole ten bases in the championship game, while the combination of great work by the pitchers holding runners and solid work behind the plate by the catchers limited the Blue Sox to just one stolen base. That doesn’t even take into account the numerous extra bases the Nationals collected by going hard first to third on a single or racing home from second on a grounder in the infield.

Oh, and then there’s that booming offense: the Nationals scored in all 19 innings that they played in Myrtle Beach, outscoring opponents 73-10 in the four games. Oh, right, and about the pitching: that combination of nine 919 hurlers on Sunday walked just three batters in 10 innings.

So, like it said back at the top of the page, it was a complete team performance. But now you have the numbers to back it up and the blogger feels like he did his job, which is really what’s most important.

Coach Sean has decreed that all future tournaments and practices must be held at Myrtle Beach, so stay tuned for more information about the 919 team relocation plan.

Championship Nationals scoring plays

First inning

Bryce singled and stole second, where JT’s single scored him. An error by the center fielder put JT on third, and then Gavin doubled. Andrew hit into a fielder’s choice, but Gavin never slowed down going from second to third and came all the way around to score. Banks got it going again with a one-out single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Brady’s single.

Score after one-half inning: 919 Nationals 4, Blue Sox 0

Second inning

Chace walked, stole second and third, and scored on Asher’s fielder’s choice.

Score after two innings: 919 Nationals 5, Blue Sox 1

Third inning

Gavin reached on an error, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch.

Score after two and a half innings: 919 Nationals 6, Blue Sox 1

Fourth inning

Ben drew a leadoff walk, stole second, went to third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Score after three and a half innings: 919 Nationals 7, Blue Sox 1

Fifth inning

Chace tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Bryce singled, raced to second on a fielder’s choice, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on JT’s double. JT stole third and scored on Gavin’s sacrifice fly.

Score after four and a half innings: 919 Nationals 10, Blue Sox 1

Sixth inning

Ben ripped a one-out double. Brady singled and stole second. Elias walked. Chace’s single scored a pair, and Elias scored on a wild pitch.

Score after five and a half innings: 919 Nationals 13, Blue Sox 2

Pitching Performances

Chace set the tone with a strong first.

Joey pitched a scoreless second.

Andrew tossed a scoreless third.

Banks buzzed through a 1-2-3 fourth.

Bryce was very effective in the fifth.

Asher closed it with a hitless sixth.

Championship Web Gems 

•        JT and Gavin worked their patented deflection play to perfection in the first. With runners on first and second, the hitter slapped the ball through the six hole. JT got a glove on it, which redirected it to Gavin. JT raced back to the bag while Gavin scooped it up and threw back to JT covering third for the force.
•       In what felt like a momentum-turning play, the Blue Sox had the bases loaded with two outs in the first. Asher knocked down a pitch in the dirt, kept it close enough to race over and retrieve it, made a sliding recovery and tossed to Chace covering the plate, who slapped on a quick tag to end the inning. This play was greeted with furious cheering from the 919 dugout, mostly from Coach Bruce, who correctly noted that he had just suggested working on that exact play in practice last week.
•      With the leadoff man on first in the second inning, Andrew came in hard on a hit to right field and threw to Gavin covering second to get the out.
•      Two great scoops by Brady in the fourth at first base, including one on a highlight reel play that saw JT range far to his left at third base, then Brady making a stellar play to save the throw and get the out.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
919 Nationals	4	1	1	1	3	3	13	10
Blue Sox	1	0	0	0	1	1	3	6

Ripken Experience semifinals: 919 Nationals 22, East Johnston Bandits 2

After a long night of partying at the Hampton Inn, the 919 Nationals were back at it Sunday morning against the East Johnston Bandits. The score was 22-2 in four innings in a game that was shortened by the run rule. However, that is far from the most important detail of the semifinal game. 

What was really most important, and what received a significant amount of attention from those assembled on 919’s first base side, was the fact that there was an extremely poor line of sight to the field from the bleachers. Fortunately, just before Coach Eric went to his car to get some hedge clippers to do some beautification work on the Ripken grounds, Giovanna and Beth teamed up on some poor unsuspecting Ripken administrator.

Whatever they said, it must have been persuasive, because within minutes the grounds crew was bringing in an entirely new set of bleachers. It clearly was well worth the effort, because just look at the throng that flocked to the new stands:

The only other alternative was for the 919 Fan Club to position itself in the actual bullpen, which made throwing strikes of paramount importance for any National pitchers who were warming up. Don't worry, however. The 919 front office staff was able to hire the best available security guard to supervise the area:

That gave them a good view of another solid offensive outing, as the Nationals blasted 11 hits—the third straight double-digit hit game. The offense was also bolstered by some dugout shenanigans from Gavin and Asher, who developed the “rally sniper” instead of the “rally cap.” The rally sniper’s job, obviously, was to focus on the opposing pitcher, as seen here:

Luckily, 919 pitchers didn’t have to deal with rally snipers, as the Nationals marched out four different pitchers in the four-inning game, all of whom were very effective.

The win advanced 919 to the Ripken Experience championship game for the second straight fall.

Semifinal Nationals scoring plays

First inning

JT drew a one-out walk, then stole second, went to third on an error by the catcher and scored on a wild pitch. Gavin walked and stole second. Andrew singled. Banks singled and scored two, then took second on the throw. Brady’s two-out single scored Banks.

Score after one inning: 919 Nationals 4, Bandits 0

Second inning

With one out, Asher walked. He stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Bryce’s fielder’s choice. JT reached on a ball to shortstop, stole second and third, and scored on a single from Gavin.

Score after two innings: 919 Nationals 6, Bandits 0

Third inning

Banks walked and stole second. He advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, then never broke stride and hustled all the way around to score. Brady coaxed a one-out walk, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a fielder’s choice.

Score after three and a half innings: 919 Nationals 8, Bandits 0

Fourth inning

Chace walked and stole second. Bryce reached on a shot to short, then stole second. JT singled to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Chace. JT singled, and when the center fielder threw it past third base, Bryce alertly raced to the plate because no one was covering. JT stole second. Gavin ripped a shot to third, then took second on the throw. Andrew beat out a run-scoring fielder’s choice. Banks smacked an RBI single. Ben ripped it through the shortstop, scoring both Andrew and Banks. Brady doubled home Ben. Elias tripled home Brady. Joey collected an RBI single. With two outs, Asher reached on an error. Bryce walked. JT singled in Joey, loading the bases. Gavin ended it with a walk-off inside the park grand slam that featured him running directly past Coach Sean in the third base coaching box, who for some reason was holding up two hands high above his head, presumably in the internationalsign for “Keep running!”

Score after four and a half innings: 919 Nationals 22, Bandits 2

Pitching Performances

Asher threw a perfect first.

Elias tossed a perfect second.

Ben needed just seven pitches in a shutout third.

JT closed it out in the fourth.

Semifinal Web Gems

• Banks made a nice scoop of a low throw from shortstop against the leadoff hitter in the second, retiring him by a step.

Semifinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
EJ Bandits	0	0	0	2	X	X	2	3
919 Nationals	4	2	2	14	X	X	22	11

Ripken Experience Game 2: 919 Nationals 20, Fuquay Crush 3

Just a couple hours after setting a season-high for hits with 13, the 919 Nationals did one better, pounding out 14 hits in a 20-3 win over the Fuquay Crush. The game was ended with 919 hitting in the bottom of the fourth due to the time limit.

919 once again paired the big-hitting offense with one-inning-at-a-time pitching, as four different players took the mound in the four-inning game, with all throwing well. An underrated part of Saturday's solid play was the defense, as the Nationals defense made just two errors in nine innings of play on the Ripken turf fields.

The early finish to Saturday meant a return to the hotel, where the moms organized a team photo in uniform on the beach, which at some point we might be able to see on the blog IF SOMEONE WOULD SEND IT TO ME. If not, it will just live on in our imaginations. Until then, you will just have to work up some sympathy for me, because this is the view from the team hotel as I write the blog:

Blogging ain't easy.

The victory gives the Nationals the top seed in their pool, with an 11:15 semifinal game on Sunday morning against the winner of the East Johnston Bandits-Diamond Dawgs game.

Game 2 Nationals scoring plays

First inning

Bryce coaxed a leadoff walk and stole second. Andrew scored him with a double, then Gavin made it back-to-back RBI doubles. Chace singled in Gavin, took second on an error by the left fielder, and went to third on Brady's fielder's choice. A wild pitch scored Chace.

Score after one inning: 919 Nationals 4, Crush 0

Second inning

Grab a snack before you start this one. Ben led off with a single and stole second. Elias worked a walk. Joey's shot through short scored a pair. Asher walked. Asher and Joey stole second and third, respectively. Bryce singled in two, then hustled all the way around to score on Andrew's single, with Andrew moving up to second on the play. Gavin's single put runners at the corners, and a balk brought home another run. Chace blasted an RBI triple, then scored when the ball kicked away. Brady started it up again with a walk. Banks walked. A passed ball put two runners in scoring position. With one out, Ben singled home Brady. Elias singled in Banks. Joey's RBI groundout scored Ben to complete the 10-run inning.

Score after two innings: 919 Nationals 14, Crush 2

Third inning

Bryce walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Andrew's single scored him. Gavin smoked a triple. Chace walked, and then Brady crushed a ball to deep left that scored two, and then Brady raced all the way home too. 

Score after three innings: 919 Nationals 18, Crush 2

Fourth inning

Joey walked, and everyone was safe on Asher's ball to the right side. A wild pitch moved up both runners. Bryce singled home Joey, Andrew walked, and then the umpire helpfully noticed that the time limit had expired.

Score after four innings: 919 Nationals 20, Crush 3

Pitching Performances

Banks started and struck out two in a hitless first.

Brady battled some control issues but also recorded a strikeout in the second.

Chace got a strikeout to end the second, then faced the minimum in the third.

Gavin closed it out in the fourth.

Game 2 Web Gems

• Playing center, Andrew did a great job of backing up Bryce, and was able to scoop up a shot to center and throw to JT at third for a force out in the second. 
• Joey threw out a runner stealing second in the third.
• Elias clearly was hampered by a faulty GPS that had him take the longest possible route to a pop up at second base in the fourth, but eventually made a running grab.
• Coach Bruce, who has been begging Coach Sean over and over to coach third base this fall, was finally given his opportunity, and responded with a timely call of timeout when Gavin needed to tie his shoe. Coach Sean was heard to mutter, "I could've made that signal for time" under his breath.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Fuquay Crush	0	2	0	1	X	X	3	3
919 Nationals	4	10	5	1	X	X	20	14

Ripken Experience Game 1: 919 Nationals 18, Elite Diamond Dawgs 3

The 919 Nationals packed up and headed to Myrtle Beach for this weekend's Ripken Experience tournament. Playing an out-of-state tournament requires extreme concentration and preparation from the coaching staff. Luckily, Coach Bruce and Coach Sean volunteered to go down early and "prepare the Myrtle Beach scouting report." However, it appears they may have misunderstood what was supposed to be in the report:

Coach Kevin, of course, stayed behind to prepare the weekend's pitching plans. It must have worked, because ten different 919 pitchers threw in the opening two games on Saturday, taking an inning at a time, and all threw very well.

Meanwhile, Coach Sean and Coach Bruce's crab-eating regimen woke up the National bats, as the 919 offense finally appears to be awakening. They put together a nine-run second against the Elite Diamond Dawgs (SC) in Saturday's first game on the way to an 18-3 victory. The offense slammed a fall-high 13 hits--or more than in both Sunday games combined in last weekend's tournament--in the game, which was limited to five innings due to the run rule. Nine different players had hits, by far the most complete production of the 10U season so far.

The other good news was that the Diamond Dawgs provided in-game music, leading to some occasionally questionable dancing, as shown below by Gavin, who as you can see, craftily waited until the mean head coach was looking the other way:

After ripping a shot to left that was caught in the fourth, Gavin returned to the dugout and announced, "It's a good thing my dancing is better than my luck."

Um, about that dancing...

Game 1 Nationals scoring plays

First inning

Bryce led off with a single and took second on a throwing error. He stole third, then scored on JT's RBI groundout.

Score after one-half inning: 919 Nationals 1, Dawgs 0

Second inning

Chace cracked a one-out triple, then scored on a passed ball. Ben reached on a shot through the left side, took third on an error by the catcher, then scored on Joey's ball to the right side. Joey stole second. Elias singled, putting runners at the corners. Asher singled home Joey. Bryce walked. JT laced a two-run single. Gavin blasted a three-run homer. Andrew singled and then turned that single into a run with pure hustle, as he stole second and then went all the way to third on an error by the catcher. That put him in position to score on Brady's sacrifice fly.

Score after one and a half innings: 919 Nationals 10, Dawgs 0

Third inning

Chace ripped a shot through the right side and ended up hustling all the way around to score. Joey walked, stole second and third, then scored on Bryce's single.

Score after two and a half innings: 919 Nationals 12, Dawgs 0

Fourth inning

With one out, Andrew cracked a solo homer. Brady went through the left side, and then runners were safe at first and second when Banks reached on an error by the pitcher. Chace loaded the bases with a shot to second. Ben drove in a pair with a single. Eli's two-out single scored Chace, and after Asher walked, Bryce's fielder's choice scored Ben before Coach Sean crazily forgot the rules again and accidentally touched the runner coming around third.

Score after three and a half innings: 919 Nationals 17, Dawgs 0

Fifth inning
JT walked, went to second and third on passed balls, and scored on a two-out single by Banks.
Score after four and a half innings: 919 Nationals 18, Dawgs 0

Pitching Performances

Andrew threw a perfect first.

Ben needed just three pitches in the second.

Joey pitched a scoreless third.

Bryce fanned a pair in a hitless fourth.

JT struggled some with control, but then gave way to Elias, who struck out the only batter he faced with the bases loaded to end the game.

Game 1 Web Gems

•    919 turned a sweet inning-ending double play in the second. With runners on first and second and one out, JT fielded a hot shot to third and threw to first to get the out. Because he froze the runner on second, that runner got a late break to third. Brady came up firing from first and threw across the diamond to third, where Gavin was covering. Gavin grabbed the throw and slapped on the tag to complete the double play.

•    Ben gunned down a runner trying to steal second in the third, getting him by such a distance that as Andrew--who applied the tag--would later say, "I felt bad for him."

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
919 Nationals	1	9	2	5	1	X	18	13
Elite Diamond Dawgs	0	0	0	0	3	X	3	4