RAMS DUMP ARVADA WEST 11 – 8

“I feel like a 400 pound gorilla just jumped off my back!” a happy Coach Knafelc exclaimed after his Wheat Ridge Ram team finished off the Arvada West squad 11 – 8. The Rams desperately needed a win and they got it with timely hitting, great pitching, and super defensive play. “We made solid efforts in all aspects of the game.” noted Knafelc. “We worked really hard in practice and defending the plate with two strikes and also on our bunting game and it showed.” Bunting wasn’t even in the Ram’s bag of tricks up until last week. The team has been working hard on making contact and moving runners up. The Rams scored on several bunt plays and caught the opposition off guard. “We kept them off balance with the small ball and then killed them with big hits by Nate Berger and a home run by Nick Korosec.” beamed Coach K, “Everyone contributed to this win.”
Despite windy and dusty conditions, a stingy Ram defense led by Nick Korosec at pitcher and backed up by Junior Knafelc and Nate Berger up the middle, kept Arvada West batters in check. Korosec struck out eight batters and backstop Nick Hobbs had another nice game behind the plate. “Hobbs gets better every game,” praised Coach Knafelc, “His throws to second are getting stronger, very few balls got passed him during the game, he tagged a guy out stealing home, and made a nice snag on a pop fly in foul territory.”
Korosec recorded his second win of the season while Junior Knafelc came in to slam the door and convert on his first save opportunity. The Rams practice Thursday at 4:30 to further hone their skills.
On a separate note, medical doctors have cautioned right fielder Josh Sharp to rest his voice. The vocal ballplayer was a source of constant encouragement for his teammates throughout the game. “I love that kid.” said Coach K, “He’s a real spark plug and keeps everyone on their toes. He cares about this team and really wants to win.”

FANS CALLING FOR CHANGES AFTER LOSS TO FALCONS

Wheat Ridge citizens disappointed with the Ram’s poor win/loss record are calling for a change in the organization. Owner, general manager, manager, and coach Frank Knafelc does not agree. “We are making great strides every day and it’s showing in our performance.” Defended Knafelc, “We got our best games, this week, out of several of our players. Nate Berger had a breakout game at second base. Tyler Snyder showed that he can do the job at catcher. Junior had a nice showing on the mound and Nick Hobbs probably had his best game behind the plate.” The coach has a point as the Rams look to be hitting a little better as well. There were less third called strikes and the addition of a bunting game has allowed some players to capitalize on their speed, make the opposition make plays, and also forced Ram batters to watch the ball. Nick Hobbs, Daniel Sares, Bobby Lamm, Junior Knafelc, and Max Chandler all had good strong hits.
Still, the question remains, how long will the Ram coaching staff keep their jobs if things continue down the current path? “No doubt, we must get better!” emphasized the skipper, “It all comes down to each player doing his job when it counts. Everyone has to pull their load...that may mean getting the bat off your shoulder with a two strike count, or laying down that perfect bunt when we need it, or sliding in hard at second base. We all have to do our job just like we work on in practice.” Knafelc added, “As for the coaching staff, we’ve got to find ways to motivate the players to do their best and continue to teach in practice. Incidentally, Ram coaches are some of the highest paid in the league. Coach Chandler, and Coach Brownfield reportedly make $00.00 combined, while head honcho, Coach Knafelc makes $00.00 alone. That’s a lot of zeros! Let’s hope the Ram’s keep playing hard and have a strong showing against Arvada West on Thursday night.

FURIOUS LATE INNING RALLEY NOT ENOUGH FOR RAMS VICTORY
The Wheat Ridge Rams traveled to Brighton last night to face the Bulldogs on a chilly night for baseball. Fans who stuck out the weather watched the Rams mount a formidable late inning charge to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Unfortunately the Rams could not hold the lead and lost the game when they could not execute the cut off play at home. “It sure was an exciting play and we probably should have made that out.” reflected coach Knafelc, “It just shows that we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Rams hadn’t practiced for two weeks thanks to rainy conditions and the holiday weekend and it showed. The Rams were clearly a bit rusty when they hit the field. Nick Korosec, the Rams starting pitcher, got off to a slow start but finally calmed down in the third inning. “I’m just not used to pitching off a mound” said Korosec. This was the first game where Ram pitchers have pitched off an actual mound. Both Ram relievers, Bobby Lamm and Max Chandler, also had trouble with the 4” hill as they struggled to throw strikes in the late innings.
Down 5 to 11 in the fifth inning, coach Knafelc decided to implement the “take” sign to control the batters and make the Bulldog pitchers throw strikes. “The boys were just swinging at bad pitches and we were not making the Brighton pitchers throw strikes,” noted the Wheat Ridge lead man, “so I started controlling what we swung at to get some base runners.” The plan worked as the Rams loaded up the bases and tied the game. The Brighton coach was visibly upset that the Rams had stopped swinging at their poor pitching and even asked the ump to “start calling strikes if they (the Rams) weren’t going to swing”. “All I have to say about that” retorted coach K, “is that they didn’t have a problem loading up runs on us when our pitchers couldn’t find the plate!”
About that time Josh Sharp stepped up to the plate and tapped a ball down the first base line. Josh sprinted down the first base line and beat the throw for an infield hit and the RBI that put the Rams ahead. “That was awesome” beamed coach Knafelc, “little Josh always gives 100% and it was great to see him come through in a pressure situation.”
The Rams return to Wheat Ridge in a Thursday night game at 6:00 at Manwaring Field. Be there for more Ram baseball excitement!

WHEAT RIDGE NINE, DOMINATED BY BEAR CREEK AGAIN
Despite the drubbing the Wheat Ridge Rams endured by the Bear Creek Bobcats, the Ram coaching staff was surprisingly upbeat. Both Coach Knafelc and Coach Brownfield agreed that the squad was indeed improving. The Rams stayed in the game for the entire contest and even had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning when they had bases loaded, but failed to bring the runs across. The Rams totaled 5 runs off 2 hits and committed 9 errors, the Bobcats scored 14 runs on 9 hits and made 5 errors. “We played them a lot closer this time.” noted coach Knafelc, “We were in it until the third inning thanks to Nick Korosec’s great pitching effort. We’ve got to start giving that kid some run support! Two hits just isn’t going to float.” Korosec ended up with 8 Ks, one walk, and gave up 4 earned runs. Junior Knafelc came in for relief and gave up 4 earned runs with a strike out and no walks. Max Chandler came in for mop up duty and gave up three earned runs with a strike out and three walks. At the plate the Rams produced only two hits. Max Chandler got a double and Junior Knafelc had an infield single. Nick Hobbs, Tyler Snyder, and Max Chandler all had one RBI each. “We struck out seven times, that’s not good.” said the skipper, “We’ll take some batting practice at Thursday’s practice and on Saturday." Coach Knafelc reported to the emergency room at Lutheran Hospital after the game, to check on his heart condition. He was sure he suffered cardiac arrest not once, but twice during the course of the game. The first occurred when Josh Sharp inexplicably stopped in the middle of the base path while stealing second base. The second came when he was yelling in Tyler Snyder’s ear hole to run home and Tyler decided to skip slowly home as if he was on his way to grandma’s house. The fearless leader laughs about it now but says that he’d like to make it to his 43rd birthday. “The bottom line,” encouraged Coach K, “is that we keep working hard and get better every week. We’ve got a lot of young guys here that just got called up from the minors and just don’t have the experience yet. We haven’t played enough to have game awareness or what I want to call “game savvy”. That comes with time on the baseball field, and it will happen for us too.” Defensively, the highlight of the game came in the 4th inning when Skyler Brownfield tracked down a laser beam in left field and doubled up the runner at second base. It was the first recorded double play this year by the Wheat Ridge Rams. When asked about the catch after the game, Skyler said, “ I didn’t even know the ball was in my glove!” Great play Skyler! In off-the-field news, it was reported that center fielder Matthew Bradford was hit by an airplane while riding his bike on the DIA runway. Matthew suffered some severe cuts to his leg and told anyone who would listen that he really wanted to play ball. Coach K would have played him too, but Matthew’s mom intervened and shut down the plan. Let’s wish Matthew a speedy recovery and hope to see him on the diamond as soon as possible.

RAMS LOSE HEARTBREAKER TO GOLDEN 6-4
The Wheat Ridge Rams suffered a heartbreaking loss to Golden on a gorgeous afternoon for baseball. The Rams scored 4 runs on 5 hits and committed 10 errors while Golden scored 6 runs on 2 hits and committed only 3 errors. “We are definitely the better baseball team in my opinion.” said a frustrated Coach Knafelc, “They just made the great plays when they needed them most.” The Rams were threatening in the top of the last inning when Nate Berger started things out with a walk. Then Bobby Lamm got on with a single. “Boy, we had them right where we wanted them.” Knafelc lamented, ”Two men on and our two best hitters coming to the plate. We couldn’t have asked for a better scenario!” Unfortunately, the Golden infield was up to the task. Junior Knafelc ripped a line drive, sure to go into the gap, that was snared by the second baseman who promptly tagged out Bobby Lamm for a double play. Then the shortstop made a great shoestring grab on Max Chandler’s diving liner to end the Rams hopes for a come from behind victory.
On paper, the Rams were the better team. The Golden squad did not score a single earned run, capitalizing on Wheat Ridge mistakes and 10 errors. “For some reason, the guys were asleep out there.” noted Coach K, “We made some big errors and they found ways to score.” Even Coach Knafelc was guilty of a big coaching blunder at third base, sending Nate Berger home on Junior’s soft blooper over the third baseman’s head with just one out in the first inning. “We might have gotten a few runs across in the first inning if I hadn’t underestimated their shortstop. It could have changed the complexion of the entire game.” Knafelc admitted. On a positive note, Nick Korosek pitched a great game striking out 9 and giving up no earned runs. Nate Berger and Tyler Snyder both responded well to moving up in the line-up. “Nate and Tyler are working really hard at the plate and it shows.” Commented the coach, “I tell the boys, if you want to crack the starting line-up or move up in the order, you have to work harder than the next guy in practice, and prove yourself in the games.” The Rams practice on Tuesday night at 4:30 to get ready for their upcoming battle with the Bear Creek Bobcats on May 16th at 6:00. See you there Ram fans!



RAMS EVEN RECORD WITH 26 – 2 ROUTE OF EVERGREEN SPARTANS
It was a beautiful night for baseball at Prospect Park as Wheat Ridge Ram fans were sent home happy by the home team. The Rams came out smoking as Nick Korosek found his groove early and simply mowed down one Spartan batter after another. Coach Knafelc commented “ Nick seemed real relaxed tonight and owned the strike zone”. By the time Korosek was done, he had pitched three no-hit innings of baseball, struck out 7 batters and gave up no runs! After the Rams had staked themselves to a 10 – 0 lead, there was no looking back. “It was nice getting a lead because it gave us a chance to get some of the players some experience at other positions.” said Coach Knafelc. “With summer vacations coming up, some of the younger guys are going to have to step up and fill in.” The Rams looked strong at the plate piling up 26 runs on 12 hits. “As a team, we hit just under .500 for the night. We’ve got to do that against the better teams if we plan to be competitive.” Quipped Coach K. “I think we’ve probably seen the best and worst of the league in our first two games. I think most of the teams will be pretty close in talent and ability to us. That’s going to make for some exciting baseball”. Max Chandler had a career night at the plate. He went 3 for 4 with a homerun and 9 RBI. Nick Hobbs went 2 for 2 with 5 runs scored and Bobby Lamm 3 for 4 as well. “The boys really tore the cover off the ball tonight.” Remarked Coach Knafelc. “ Max was really throwing the lumber around and little Josh Sharp contributed with a hit and 2 RBI. That kid has a lot of heart!” All said, it was a good night for the Rams. The squad will hit the practice field on Thursday at 4:30 for what Coach Knafelc noted would be a good hard practice. After that, your Wheat Ridge Rams hit the road against Golden at 3:30, Saturday afternoon. The Wheat Ridge fans are widely known for traveling well so we expect to see a large crowd on hand. See you there!