Last Seasons News!
Posted March 30, 2016
Final - June 16 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. White Rock Yankees - Chuckers WIN 10-7 - Tier 3 Champions!
Well, our season ended with a game which pretty much followed every game this year. Down, and up and back again! We stared with the veteran on the mound, Aidan seems to have this calming affect on our team, and we wanted to have a strong start. Unfortunately, after 17 pitches, he tweaked something and had to come down from the hill. We had given up a couple of runs off some errors again, but it was early. Shawn took over on the mound, and the Yankee's had trouble catching his curve ball, so we ended the inning down 4. Not the start we were looking for, but also not unfamiliar territory. Our first kick at bats had Vincent scoring off a single from Liam, but with a fly out, a K and a ground out, we only clawed back 1 run. Shawn stayed strong on the mound, and our fielding settled in too. Over the next four innings, we would hold the Yankees off the score card, with Shawn earning 4 k's and our fielders doing the rest! It wasn't until the bottom of the third when we would finally open the offence up a bit. Brock would get a lead off single and Jason a walk. Devon would get on base with a fielder choice (throwing out Jason), Vincent on base by balls and Andrew with single. Brock would get caught in a run down on 3rd, but Vincent, Andrew and Deveon would score with Liam walking and Aidan getting a 2 run single. Tied after 3. Our 4th inning was a poor showing, with a ground out, a walk and two k's, but in the 5th, we saw 9 batters get to the plate with Jason, Devon and Vincent adding to our total. In the 6th, we stuck with Shawn, grounding out the first batter, but a triple, a single and a HBP, saw time to bring Liam in to close. We almost turned a double to get out of trouble, but the ball "mysteriously" stuck to Andrew's hand! The Yankee's scored three to tie the game. In the bottom of six, we were determined. Anthony got a lead off single, followed by Shawn's single and Brock's walk, the bases were loaded. Jason stepped up and hit a 2 run single. Brock would score on a passed ball, with the inning ending up up 10-7. Top of 7, Liam faced 3 batters, striking out the first two and Gabriel would make the game ending catch in centrefield! Richmond Chuckers Gold - Tier 3 u18 Midget AA Champions!
Semi Final - June 14 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. Cloverdale Reds
What a game! From the pits of despair to the heights of elation! Wow is all I can say. The team never gave up and worked hard to the end. We started the game with a full roster (thanks to everyone who changed their plans and made it). Liam was on the mound, feeling good and ready to throw hard. The Reds came prepared to play though, with their two lead off batters hitting triples to start the game. Both would score on passed balls, and the third batter got on with a seeing eye single. Liam came back with a K, but the 5th batter clubbed a double. We came back to hold them at 3, with some solid fielding, ground outs to the pitcher and to 2nd. Knowing we had a game on our hands, we hit the sticks trying to close the gap. Despite two lead off walks from Vincent and Andrew and a single from Liam, we couldn't cash them in, finishing with two k's and ground out. Starting the 2nd, Liam was throwing hard, but the Reds were fastball hitters. We would give up 3 singles and a double along with 2 walks allowing them to cash 4 runs. Liam did earn three k's to end the inning. Our sticks seemed to be missing in action. The bottom of 2 we saw 4 batters get up to the plate, but only Anthony and Brock were able to get on base. Liam had thrown 62 pitches over two innings, so Shawn took over mound duties in the 3rd. The change in pace gave us an advantage with a couple of k's and a ground out to 2nd. Bottom of 3 we saw 4 batters get chances again, but despite getting 3 hits, we were hitting into outs, scoring no runs again. Shawn stayed on the mound and his curve ball was working. Starting out with a k, then giving up a single, our fielders came up big with outs by Andrew and Gabriel. The fourth would be our break out inning. Liam and Aidan would start us off with single each, a K would mix in, but Gabriel, Jack, Anthony and Brock would all record singles, and with bases loaded, Jason would slam the ball to the wall, earning a triple and clearing field. Devon finished the inning with a single, all in we scored 6 runs to bring the Red's lead down to 1. In the 5th we held the Reds off the score card, with Shawn getting a K, a fly out and some strong middle infield work. Anxious to get the lead, our lead off hitters would strike out, fly out and fly out again....back to defence. Aidan took over on the mound. Despite tossing well, a couple of walks a HBP and a double gave the Reds a 4 run lead again. We came back in the 6th with a lead off walk, two k's and a ground out. 7th inning! Aidan struck out the first batter and threw two grounders to hold the score at 10-6. It was up to us, control our own fate. Anthony led the way with a single, followed by Brock with one of his own. Jason was patient, earning a walk, but was throw out with a fielder choice off Devon's hit to short; Anthony would score on the play. Shawn banged a single, loading the bases up, and Vincent would get rung up on an outside strike call. Two out, down by 3. Andrew stepped in and smacked a double, scoring 2....now we were in striking distance! Liam would get two balls and stroke a walk off single to centrefield, both Shawn and Andrew scoring to win the game! 11-10. Whoot. The team, crowd and coaches all went nuts! Kids streamed off the bench to swarm Shawn, Andrew and Liam. Elation. Off to the finals on Tuesday!
Playoff Game 3 - June 11 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. ND Cardinals
Hello Chuckers. What a game on Thursday. It was crazy time for us coaches for a while there. What a start though. Gabriel was on the bump to start the game and was throwing well. We gave up 2 runs but on the back of a few errors. We did good by forgetting those when we got to bat...scoring 10 runs in the first inning! What? 10 runs! Base hits were recorded by Vincent, Andrew, Liam, Aidan, Matt, Gabriel, Brock, Jason and Andrew again! In the 2nd inning, Gabriel did his thing on the mound. Fielding was strong with a throw out on an overrun by the batter at 2, and a double play after Andrew caught a hard liner and threw to Vincent at 2nd to end the inning. In the bottom we looked to add to our lead, Matt hit a triple and was scored with Gabriel single, but that was all the runs we would get. The Cardinals began to chip away at us, with two lead off walks and an in the park home run. But Gabriel came back strong striking out the next batter, throwing one out at 1st and getting the last with a dropped third strike throw out at 1. Our sticks eluded us in the 3rd, despite a double by Brock, we didn't cash any runs. Again the Cardinals just wouldn't go away. They lead off with a walk, and then Gabriel struck out the next batter. Another walk then a triple. Gabriel came back with another K and we Liam threw a runner out at 3 to end the inning. Suddenly it was 11-8. In the final 3 frames we would get zero runs, despite some solid hits from Vincent, Andrew, Liam and Devon. We just couldn't score. Aidan took over on the mound, and would face 13 batters, earning 5 k's, and giving up only 1 run. The end score 11-9. A win is a win, no matter how ugly!
Game 19 - May 30 - 11:00 am @ Latrace v. Ladner Black Socks
Great day for Baseball. We had 9 players to start, and welcomed Devon back off the DL! Gabriel started on the bump for us and was throwing well. He struck out the lead off, and was in the groove. We had a couple of errors, which turned into runs, but the boys buckled down and Gabe threw a K followed by a grounder to Short. Our first chance at the plate saw 4 batters get up, and zero k's. But Ladner's fielding was strong and they kept us off the score card. Gabriel stayed on the mound and took care of business himself, with two k's and a throw out to first. Unfortunately, we didn't get any runs in the 2nd. Despite making good contact with the ball, we were hitting into outs. Gabriel was throwing well, so we rode him into the 3rd, where he earned another K and got some help with ground outs to Short and 2nd. The bottom of 3 would be our inning. Shawn and Andrew got lead off walks to start us up. Then, both Vincent and Liam flying out to centre. But Aidan and Matthew would both hit doubles, followed by Devon with a walk and Gabriel with a single. All in all, we would score 6 that inning. Gabriel would face 5 batters in the top of four, earning two k's and getting a ground out to 1st. In the bottom, despite two k's, Andrew would hit a double and we would add two runs to our lead. In the 5th we would trade Aidan to the mound as Gabriel had to leave the game (prior commitment). Aidan would come on and finish inning 5, 6 & 7. He would face 5 batters in the 5th, with 1 error and 1 k, allowing only 1 run. In the next two inning, he faced 6 batters with 3 k's, two grounders to short and a great catch in left field by Matt. We fell short in the last two innings, getting batters up and not getting any more runs, but it didn't matter, we won 8-3. A great finish, with strong playing from everyone.
Game 18 - May 28 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. North Delta Cardinals
We seem to play the best when facing the best, and the opposite is true as well. Playing a bottom placed team, I made the decision to give some innings to players who have not yet pitched this season. They did a fine job on the mound, but we just didn't play with confidence. Jack was on the mound and the Cardinals first batter popped out to short, but they were able to get an in the park home run with their second batter. The third ground out to the pitcher and the fourth had a KL. All in all, not a bad start. We just needed to hit....Vincent got on by hitting into an error, and Brock with a fielders choice (they threw Vincent out at the plate), but both Jack and Liam recorded k's. Still ok, Jack was back on the mound, as the first batter grounded out to 2nd, but then the dreaded error beast reared its ugly head. 4 fielding errors, but the Cardinals only scored 1! Back to the sticks, Ben reached based on a dropped 3rd strike and Matthew with a solid single (RBI Ben). Gabriel would also get a single and RBI Matthew. So the score was tied and Brock climbed the bump. He was solid, facing 5 batters, walking two and giving up a single, but zero runs. We were still in the game. We would get 4 batters up in the 3rd, but only Brock would get a hit, and no runs would score. We gave Brock the 4th, and the team struggled. We would hit the first batter, and give up a single. An error would score one, but some good play saw us get an out with a run down on 3rd. The Cardinals would score another, before a throw out at 3rd ended the inning. The bottom of 4 Anthony would fly out to centre and Matt bang a single. Shawn got on base with a fielders choice (throwing out Matt) and the inning ended with Gabe striking out . The top of 5 Brock and Shawn shared the pitching, and it was a bad inning overall. We saw 7 batters, made three errors and gave up 4 runs.
In the bottom of 5, we needed runs, but still struggled against their pitching. 4 batters up, and the only base runner was Jack would earned a walk. Needing to shut down the Cardinals and being aware of needing pitching for the weekend games, Liam would take over on the mound. In true Liam fashion, he would mow down the first three batters, k's to each. But we still couldn't get on base. We had 4 batters up, with only Matthew getting on base with a walk. Some controversy here, as we informed the Cardinals that their pitcher was at 104 pitches, and over the limit...they thought he was at 57, as they were counting their head! Sigh. Liam finished the 7th, facing 4 batters, giving up a single (who scored on an error) and k's to three. Do or Die for us in the 7th. A new pitcher on the mound, we had 8 batters get up, scored two. Had bases loaded, with 2 out, tying run at the plate.....but the game ended on a KL. Overall the difference was 6 errors and only 6 hits.
Game 17 - May 26 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. Cloverdale Mariners
We did not have enough players and there were no call up's available, so this was a forfeit game. 7-0.
Game 16 - May 23 - 6:00 pm @ South Surrey Athletic Park v. WR Braves
We were playing the first place Braves and had a couple of call ups in Connor and Ben from the Blue Chuckers. We had 10 players and started with our veteran Aidan on the mound. We started out strong, getting 6 batters up, and scoring 1 run. Aidan was throwing well, but we had a couple of errors and the Braves scored 4. Coming back in the 3nd, we would get batters up to the plate, 3 singles, 3 walks and scored 2. In the bottom of 2 Adian would face 7 batters, but we again would have fielding problems, allowing two runs on two errors. Top of 3, we were determined to make a game of it, and 7 batters saw the action, with 3 scoring. Connor would blast a triple! In the bottom frame we held the Braves off the score card with some better fielding and a lead of k. Unfortunately in the 4th, 5th and 6th inning, we would only get 3 batters up in each frame and score none. Aidan would go on to throw 102 pitches, with Shawn coming on in relief. The Braves would get some help from our sloppy fielding again, scoring 3 in the 4th, 5 in the 5th and 1 in the 6th. With our last chance bats, we got 7 up to the plate, scoring 2, but ultimately falling short.
Game 15 - May 21 - 6:00 pm @ Winskill v. Tsawwassen Dodgers
Well, despite being a great night for baseball, and playing a team just below us in the standings, we kinda laid an egg. We were really short benched and were fortunate to have Connor Baldwin from the Blue Chuckers join us to field a 9 man roster. Liam started on The mound for us and was throwing well. All in all he threw 74 before we had to pull him and switch his to catcher. First, we were making contact, but the Dodgers were up to the fielding, throwing out our first two and our 4th batters. We were not so fortunate, being unfamiliar with the wheat field that was the infield, we allowed a batter to get on (the ball just died in the tall weeds!). The bad guys would score two, in the first and one in the second. We would come back and get one in the third, but the Dodgers would get 1 themselves in the 3rd. Still a close one, but despite some sleepy play on our part, we were in the game. Jason would tweak his shoulder at bat, and have to leave the game (despite a valiant effort to come back and play CF). He would bat, and get a single, but on the next play pull his hamstring running to 2nd and be out of the game (questionable umpire call at this point, but I won't go into that!). We played the remainder of the game with 8 fielders, and the lads worked hard. Unfortunately the Dodgers would have a 4 run and a 3 run inning, forcing the mercy on us and sending us home 12-2. Shawn threw well, finishing with 46 pitches.
Game 14 - May 19 - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. Surrey Mariners
It was potentially a tough game for us, playing the Mariners who were in 2nd place starting the game. We started our veteran , Aidan. In the first, Aidan would face four batters, but with some good pitching and strong fielding, threw only 5 pitches. When our turn to bat came us, we maintained our poise and stared down the Mariners big left. Vincent would get a lead off walk. Both Liam and Brock would wait out the pitcher and get walks, with Gabe getting on after a dropped 3rd strike, we were able to build off a couple of errors and score 2. Aidan came back strong in the top of 2, earning a K, and throwing 2 grounders for outs. Both Liam and Shawn helped on the grounders. In the bottom, Shawn, Jason and Vincent would hit singles, Andrew would earn a RBI on a fielder's choice and both Liam and Brock would get walks again. We were able to gain 3 runs, padding our lead. Staying with Aidan, we would see 4 players up to the plate. He would give up 1 hit, earn a K and throw 2 more grounders, one he took care of himself (1-3) and the other off a strong pick up and throw from Liam at short. Over the next four innings we were unable to add any runs to our lead. Despite getting 4 hits and 3 walks. In the 4th, the Mariners would make a game of it. Aidan would face 6 batters, walking 2, but throwing well. At one point, I was thinking of a trip to the mound (after two errors cost us 2 runs), but Aidan waved me off, determine to refocus the team himself. He earned 3 k's and kept the Mariners to 2. In the last 3 innings, Aidan faced 10 batters, earning only 3 K's, but the team was ready and helped with two ground outs to 3rd, 2 pop ups to 3rd and a flyout to left. We would get 5 runs off 5 hits, but it was our solid defense which really held the day. Final score 5-2.
Game 13 - May 10 - 3:00 pm @ Latrace v. Vancouver Rockies
Our first back to back game, and against the Vancouver Rockies, the first place team. We had Aidan on the mound for us, and he was throwing well. The first three batters flew out, 1 to Anthony in left and two to Matthew in right. We didn't fair much better, althought both Vincent and Andrew got lead off walks, then we followed up with a fly out and two k's. Aidan remained stingy with this throws, facing only 7 batters in the next two innings, allowing 1 run but throwing three out at first himself. Our sticks were a little quiet over the next two innings, with 5 k's a walk, single and a double. No runs for the Chuckers. In the 4th, we had a couple of errors and struggled to keep the Rockies at bay. They were able to score 3. Aidan would score a run for us in the 4th, while we stranded 3. In the 5th, the Rockies would pad their lead by 2. We were finally able to get some runs ourselves. Both Vincent and Andrew got lead off singles, Liam and Jason, and Gabriel would get walks and Matthew would hammer a double. We scored 4 to narrow the lead. In the 6th, the Rockies would get a lead off triple, but only 1 run due to some solid defense. We were held off the score card in the 6th. Aidan would leave the mound after throwing 99 pitches. Liam came in relief and we shut down the inning. Andrew would get a lead off double, but the game would end on a k, a walk and a double play. Not bad, only 2 errors against the best team in the league. Score was 7-5.
Game 12 - May 9 - 11:00 am @ Latrace v. Vancouver Jays
Great morning for baseball. Although we were short benched, it was 9 man baseball...it's what we live for. Lots of At Bats, and everyone plays. Shawn was our starter, and was putting the ball into play. We needed to be focused from the first pitch. Unfortunately, we were a little distracted. We faced 9 batters, and the Jays were able to cash 5 runs. Shawn did record 2 k's and we had a great inning ending catch in right field. Coming back with our offence, Vincent continued to be our best lead off hitter, earning a base hit of a full count. Gabe would ground out and Andrew would get a strong hit to cash in Vincent. But we only recorded 1 off two strikeouts. Some strong fielding in the 2nd inning, with a pop out to Shawm, a fly out to Anthony and a ground out to Vincent. But the Jays would be equally strong, getting Devon with a fly out to Centre, Jack with a ground out to second and Anthony with a KS. Shawn remained strong on the mound, but a couple of errors allowed the Jays to add 2 to their lead. Although we were making contact at the plate, with both Vincent and Gabe grounding out to short, we couldn't get any momentum. The fourth inning was a disaster. Part was thru we made a pitching change and gave the bump to Gabriel. But we gave up 9 runs including 2 HBP, 4 singles and a double. We saw 4 batters get up at our turn, but none cashed in. In the 5th, the Jays added three to their lead and we would get a brief rally and score 5, but the game ended as we couldn't get the 6 more we needed.
Game 11 - May 7 - 6:00 pm @ Walnut Grove v. North Langley 1
A long drive, but a great night for baseball, warm and dry. We would be short benched, it was 9 man baseball. Vincent and Liam were our pitchers, with Vicent going 2 innings and Liam going 3. Being the visiting team, we were on the sticks first. We would get 4 batters up to the plate, and get two on, but some sloppy base running, saw the Langley team getting a double play and keeping us off the score card. Vincent was throwing well, facing 5 and catching a pop fly and striking out two more. In the 2nd, we would buckle down and go through our line up. Despite having 2 outs early, we rallied scoring 4 runs including single from Vincent anda double from Matthew. Unfortunately, we had a couple of costly errors in the bottom of the 2nd, and Langley would also score 4. In the 3rd, Jason would have a lead off walk, followed by a timely double by Gabriel. Anthony would get beaned by a pitch (2nd time in the game) and singles would score more runners from Vincent and Devon. Liam would take the mound in relief and record two k's and a fly out to Short. In the 4th, we would add only one to our lead, coming from Matthew's single after Gabe had reached base on a dropped 3rd strike. In the bottom of the frame, we would face 7 batters, and they would score two (including a daring home steal on the pitch). Liam would come back strong and strike out the next 3 batters. We would go through out order again in the 5th, cashing in 3 more runs. Both Aidan and Anthony would get beaned (Anthony's 3rd in the game! Gabe would hit another double scoring two. Our pitching finished strong, despite giving up a single and a double, Liam would record 3 more K's. All in all, we would finish with 11 hits, 14 runs and only 8 K's.
Game 10 - May 5 - 5:30 pm @ Latrace v. Newton A's
Tuesday night was a great night for baseball. Unfortunately, it was great for the A's, and not so much for us! Aidan started on the bump for us and was doing well. The A's would score on a few errors, but Aidan finished with a ground out and two k's, to keep the score at 2. Our turn at the plate saw Vincent get a lead off single, Shawn ground out, both Jack and Aidan get walked. Liam was an infield fly and the third out was a k. We came back a little stronger in the 2nd, although Aidan hit the first batter, we followed up with a fly out to Centre and our first true double play (6-4-3!). Coming off that high, we were keen to get a few runs of our own. Devon would start us off with a lead off single, but only Brock would get a hit while three others would get k's. Error's cost us in the 3rd. Despite only 4 batters getting up, a run would score on an error, padding the A's lead to 3-0. We started making contact at the plate, but only Vincent would get on base, as the A's fielding was strong. In the top of 4, we would get the first two batters out, with strong plays at Short and Centre, but errors seemed to be our achilles heel again. The A's would score two more on errors before we got our 3rd out. Seems the errors were contagious (finally). Liam would start us with a lead off single, Gabe grounded out to second, Devon reached base on an error, Jason would get walked and Brock would score Liam on a single. A bit of controversy in the 5th, as the field ump stops the game to lecture our pitcher on the merits of balking (although no balk was called!). The A's would capitalize on the confusion with a lead off single, a double and a triple, then an error to score 3. Liam would come onto the mound and strike out the next three batters, but the damage was done. Our woes followed us to the plate, getting only 3 batters up. Refocusing for the 6th, we sat down the next three batters, and hoped to have a better turn at offense. It seemed we had a chance. Aidan led off with a walk, Liam a K, Gabe was beaned, Jason hit a single, Brock K'd, Matt hit a timely double, Anthony walked, Vincent walked and Shawn K'd. We would score 4. In the 7th, we faced 7 batters, and held them to 1 run, hoping to get our sticks to light up again in the bottom. We would get 6 batters up, but with 3 k's in there, we couldn't get the 4 runs we needed.
Game 9 - May 2 - 12:00 pm @ Dugal Morrison v. Ladner Jays
Tough loss yesterday. It was a match between two teams similar in the standings and had the makings of a good game. We were on the sticks first and were able to have three batters to make contact, but the Jays were solid in their fielding. Vincent was our starter, and was throwing well. He struck out one, and walked three, but it was our fielding which struggled to help. The Jays would score 4 runs, after we had difficulty fielding routine plays. Back at the plate, we continued to hit into outs, with a couple of ground outs, two walks and a K. Unfortunately, our fielding woes continued into the second. Vincent was pitching still and the Jays were hitting, but we were making errors. We gave up 5 runs, and made a pitching switch to see if we could change our flow. The boys had a team talk in the dug out, and came out swinging in the 3rd. We would get back 5 runs after Matthew and Anthony would take leadoff walks, Andrew and Brock hitting singles and gaining an RBI each. Vincent would get hit by a pitch and score on a passed ball, and both Aidan and Devon would hit singles. Liam remained strong on the mound. We allowed one to get base on an error and one Jay hit a triple, but Liam would come back with three K's in a row. In the 4th, we added one run, with Gabriel getting a solid single and scoring on a passed ball. Matthew would hit a single and Andrew would ground out. We had lost a bit of focus and the Jays came back with 3 of their own in the bottom of the 4th. Liam and the team remained strong for the 5th and 6th inning, allowing no runs off of 8 batters, with 2 K's. Some solid fielding. Our sticks just wouldn't get us going. Despite 3 singles and a double over the last 2 innings, we only scored 1 run, and the game ended 13-7. Coach Charlie told the boys, we won the last 5 inning (7-4), but our slow start in giving up 9 runs in the first 2 innings killed us. A good lesson in starting focused!
Game 8 - April 30th - 6:00 pm @ Latrace v. Cloverdale
Cancelled - reschedule TBD
Game 7 - April 28th - 5:30 pm @ Latrace v. White Rock Yankees
Great night for baseball tonight. It was a warm (ish) night, with clear skies. We had a couple of player off sick tonight, but still had 10 players ready to go. Aidan, despite being under the weather, was our starter tonight, and he came out strong. In the first inning, with the help of some strong fielding, he faced only three batters. We didn't fair much better on offence, getting four batters up with a fly out, ground out and a throw out. Fortunately, the 2nd and 3rd inning was business as usual, with Aidan facing seven batters in total. Although not recording any K's, the fielding was strong, and only 3 batters reached base, and no runs scored. For our part, we would get 5 batters on base over the next two innings, but were unable to cash them in. In the 4th, White Rock would get into scoring position, but our fielders held them at bay. Our 4th inning was poor, with only 1 walk and 3 K's. With the game being tight, we elected to keep Aidan on the mound and players in key roles. In the 5th, Aiden recorded two K's and a fly out to short. However it was our inning to run with. Usually the 5th inning is our downfall, but not tonight. We would go through 11 batters and score 7 runs. This was primarily on smart batting, with 5 walks, 1 HBP and 2 singles, but getting runs was important. In the 6th, Aidan faced 6 batters, but we held them off the score card again. We would add to our lead by 1 run in the 6th, going through 6 batters. In the top of 7, we stayed with Aidan, who faced four batters, getting ground outs to short and to himself, giving up a double and the final out with a great catch in centerfield. All in all, we only recorded 6 hits, while White Rock got 8, but we had no errors and gave up no runs for the win. Final score 8-0.
Game 6 - April 25th - 12:00 pm @ Hillcrest v. Cloverdale Cubs
Well, it was a stinker, despite the number of errors we had, the game was extremely close and came down to the last inning. We started out well, earning two runs in the first, and getting through 6 batters. Taking to the field Liam was throwing well, we stumbled a bit on the fielding and gave up two runs with 6 batters faced. The 2nd and 3rd inning were a battle back and forth, although we had 9 batters get up, and had three reach base, we couldn't cash them in. Liam remained strong on the mound, facing 7 batters over 2 innings, earning 4 K's while the fielders did their jobs in stranding 5 runners on base. In the 4th, our bats came alive with 3 base hits, and a walk, scoring 3. The Cubs got two back, and left 2 on. Our batting woes continued in the 5th, while the Cubs were able to gain one on us. In the 6th, we each exchanged a run, but we ran ourselves out of the inning, with some poor choices. Going into the 7th, we were tied 6-6, and needed to add to our lead, but with a KS, ground out to 2nd, and fly out to Centre we were out after 3 batters. Needing to hold the Cubs, Aidan was throwing well, but a couple of errors got runners in scoring position and a timely hit into right centre, saw the Cubs get the winning run in. Overall a good lesson in the need to reduce errors, and stay sharp.
Game 5 - April 23rd - 5:30 pm @ Latrace v. Vancouver Rockies
Rained out
Game 4 - April 18th - 7:00 pm @ South Surrey Athletic Park v. White Rock Mariners
We were off to South Surrey to play at the nice facility of the White Rock Mariners. They have spent some big money on the fields out there, and it is usually first class. Our boys were still riding the high of beating Tsawwassen, and were in good spirits. Being visitors, we were up to bat first and we came out with a bang. Runs were scored by Liam, Brock, Jason and Andrew, with hits coming from each. We had some strong base running and smart batters, with no K's being registered. Shawn Rana was our starter and was focused on keeping us in the lead. Shawn threw 9 pitches and only allowed 1 hit. We came back in the 2nd, getting 3 players on base, but only getting one run. Shawn would be solid on the mound again, allowing only 1 hit, with 1 K, the fielding was strong with two ground outs. We opened the game up in the 3rd, scoring 5 runs, including some great base running and stealing of home. Shawn remained on the mound and faced 4 batters in the bottom of the 3rd, again fielding was solid, with a fly out in Centre, a fielders choice to get the lead runner at 3rd and a K. We padded our lead in the 4th, getting two more runs. Shawn faced three batters in the 4th, getting a K and two grounders for outs. The top of 5, saw us go through 9 batters and adding 3 runs to our lead. We were in "mercy" territory, so no stealing home. Our boys were smart and empathetic to the Mariners struggles. In the 5th, Shawn stayed strong on the mound, despite giving up a single and walking two, the team helped out with solid fielding, with a great catch in Centre and a throw out from 3rd. Shawn threw a total of 74 pitches and got the win. Only 5 k's tonight, many stolen bases and some solid hits. We had 11 hits and 2 errors on the night.
Game 3 - April 16th - 5:30 pm @ Latrace v. Tsawwassen Rangers
Game three was against the undefeated Rangers, reported to be a team of all grade 12 players. The Rangers showed up with only 9 players and seemed pretty self assured. We had a full 12 man roster and were hoping for a better representation of our actual skill sets. The team had a pretty good warm up and seemed ready to play. Aidan was our starter and was in good form to lead off the inning. He was throwing hard and despite walking one and hitting a batter in the first inning, battled back and finished the inning with 3 k's. Our first bats didn't start out all that well, with our two lead-offs getting k'd, but Jack would get a lead off hit and both Liam and Jason getting walked, Aidan would get base hit, scoring the equalizer (The Rangers had scored on a daredevil home plate steal during a pitch in the first inning). The second inning, we had a couple of errors, and gave up two runs, but our left fielder, Devon would make two catches for outs. Unfortunately, we would get no runs in the 2nd or inning, but on the back of Aidan and some good fielding, neither did the Rangers. We would hold the Rangers to zeros in both the 4th and 5th, while scoring 4 of our own with single from Jason, Brock and Shawn plus a double from Vincent. In the 6th, the Rangers lead-off would slam a triple off the first pitch, and score on a fielders choice, but Aidan threw three grounders for outs, finishing the 6th inning with 99 pitches. Our sticks were quiet in the 6th, with a KL, a walk and two ground outs. The 7th inning Shawn took over on the mound and faced 3 batters, a single, and F4 and an F7 as well as a (controversial?) throw out from Jason to Brock at 3rd to end the game! Final score, Chuckers 5 - Rangers 4. Our first win and their first loss. We looked good doing it, with only 2 errors and 6 hits!
Game 2 - April 10th - 5:30 pm @ Unwin v. Newton Jays
It was a cold and windy night, and took a while to get to the park. Despite this, we started strong, We got two runs n the first, and were pressing for more. Liam was on the mound and mowed down the first three Jay's batters. We added to our lead in the 2nd, but only by 1 run. Liam was throwing hard, maybe too hard considering the cold weather. He had to come out early in the 2nd. Shawn would fill in, but the cold seemed to be seeping into us. We would give up 7 runs, on a number of errors and misjudgements of play. But we were resilient, and came back in the 3rd, despite starting with 2 outs, we were able to score 5 runs, including a double by Devon, scoring 2 RBI's. Shawn came back with a strong performance on the mound, with some good fielding, we kept the Jay's off the scorecard. Unfortunately they did the same to us in the top of the 4th. The Jays are a good hitting team, and in the bottom of the 4th, they would get 3 more runs, we made a couple of critical errors, but the score was only 10-8. In the 5th, we had only 3 batters get up to the plate, with a KS and two ground outs to 2nd, we were out and defending again. The 5th inning was our Achilles heel again! What is it about the 5th inning for us? We gave up two doubles, 3 walks and a single, allowing 6 runs for the Jays. With darkness threatening, the 6th would be the last inning. Despite a hard effort, we only scored 2 and the bottom half of the inning wasn't played. We recorded 10 hits, 6 KS and only 2 KL (that is an improvement). We need to be more aggressive at the plate and on base, and find a way to get a stronger 5th inning. Maybe some warmer weather, or under armour will help!
Game 1 - April 7th - 5:30 pm @ Latrace v. Chuckers Blue
A great night for baseball, and our first on the Turf field. 11 player out, and lots of parents to cheer us on. The game started with a bang! Andrew lead off with a walk, followed by Liam's base hit, and Jack getting to first after forcing an error on the Blue shortstop. Then Matthew blasted a double getting two RBI's. Aidan stepped up to the plate and blasted a home run, scoring 3 runs. A great way to open the game. The Blue would come back and get three of their own in the first, but we made a couple of good plays, including a tag out at home, a K and a ground out to short. Our 2nd inning wasn't a good follow up, with a K, a ground out to short and another k. We held the Blue to only one run in the 2nd, unfortunately it was unearned as it came from an error. Pitching remained strong with two KL's and a throw out at 2nd. Our batting woes continued into the 3rd with 2 KL a single and a KS, no runs scoring. Defense remained strong, allowing only 3 hits, and one run to score. In the 4th we picked up two runs with Aidan getting walked and Shawn hitting a double to score him. Devon would hit a single and score Shawn, but we ended with a ground out, a KL and were caught stealing 3rd. The bottom of the 4th, we kept the Blue off the scorebook, with two KS and a throw out on the steal to 3rd. We were looking pretty good. Looking to pad our lead we had 6 batters in the 5th. Andrew and Jack both got base hits, Liam flew out to left field, and Anthony got a single, we also had a KS and a KL. Still up 9-5, we were in good shape. But it was the bottom of the 5th that killed us. We gave up 6 runs off 1 hit. We had 1 error and four walks. It was our momentary loss of focus inning. Although only 1 error, the walks and misjudgements on where to throw the ball hurt us. Still, not insurmountable, the score was only 11-9, we just needed some sticks. Unfortunately, we only got one on base, with Anthony's walk, Brock flew out to Left Field and we recorded two KL's. The bottom of the inning, we made some costly mistakes...they got on base with a dropped 3rd strike, we had one get on but a hit by pitch, but we did have a throw out at 3rd and a ground out at 2nd. The Blue would score two, padding their lead to 13-9. Top of the 7th, we struggled on the sticks again. Started with a KL, a fly out to Left, a walk and a final KL. Focus in the later innings is needed, and more aggression at the plate, but the team looked good, recording 10 hits overall.