Mid-Season Report....

We are at the halfway point of the 2007 Summer Eden Prairie Round Lake Church Softball season and nothing has been decided yet. Life Church is holding onto the top spot in the standings with a record of 7-2. St. Andrew Red is just one half game behind at 7-3 and Living Word and Resurrection Life are trailing by one full game at 6-3 respectively.

Living Word was last year's winner and has looked extremely tough of late. The team has won six straight games in convincing fashion. Life, a newcomer to the league this year, started strong with four straight wins but faltered quickly and dropped consecutive games. However, the team finds itself back on the right track with three more wins in a row. St. Andrew Red has displayed the most improvement from last year's .500 team and has bashed the ball around the park with authority, averaging nearly 14 runs per game.

The Resurrection Life Warriors, in just their second season in the league, have been an up and down team. In two of the three losses the team has had, it scored a total of three runs. In the other loss, Rez was out-slugged, 26-18. The offense has yet to hit its stride, averaging only 5.1 extra base hits and 13.9 runs per game. Those numbers are down from last year's averages of 7.8 and 15.8.

Two big boppers from 2006, Chris Burr and Eric Johson, have yet to find their power stroke with a combined 1 homerun and 7 extra base hits. Last year, each player slugged 7 homers and had a combined 34 extra base hits.

Last year's MVP, Austin Colby, got off to a 2-9 start and has slowly been working his way back in to the groove. After hitting .716 a year ago, he is at just .571 this year. He also managed 10 doubles and 8 triples last season and thus far has been limited to just 3 doubles and he has yet to leg out a triple.

All told, the team is hitting .519 overall with a .575 on base percentage and a .795 slugging percentage. Those numbers are a bit of a disappointment as last year's team set a league record with a .951 team slugging percentage.

The bats have had flashes of brilliance, with several 5+ run innings and a few 7+ run innings. There have been steady signs of improvement up and down the lineup and it looks like things have started to even out. Without the two losses where the team scored just three runs, the offense is averaging 17.4 runs per outing. That is very good.

Although the Warrrios are only hitting .519 overall, they have kicked it up a notch with runners in scoring position and late in the game, hitting .537 and .536 respectively in those categories.

Defensively, the team has been very solid. There was a three-game stretch early on that saw some of the best defense the team has had in 5 years. The outfield has been just quick enough and pretty sure-handed. The infield has knocked enough balls down and has completed 6 double-plays in 9 games.

AJ Larson has had a bit of a bounce-back season leading-off after a tough season last year. He is hitting .577 so far and has settled in nicely at second base. He has made just four errors in 30 total chances and been in on two different double-plays.

Austin has manned shortstop for the majority of innings so far and has been solid. He has had two multiple error games but overall he has had 47 chances, a team-high, and 22 assists from the hole. He also has been in on three double-plays, two of which were unassisted. From the box, he has smacked six dingers and driven in 17.

Brendan Finn has pitched and played outfield and done a fine job at both. He is also batting in the three-hole and delivering. He has bopped four homeruns and driven in 15 runs while scoring a team-high 17 times. He has six doubles to his credit too.

Chris has been the most consistent hitter so far with a .700 average. He has been very steady in left-center and right-center too handling 17 chances without a miscue. He has scored 16 runs and brought home 15 out of the clean-up spot.

Lee Valle continues to play very well. He has shown a little more pop in his bat this year ripping two triples already while hitting .583 with a team-leading .704 on base percentage. He has played third mostly and filled in at first also.

Eric is hitting in the 6-hole and is clipping along at a .520 pace. He has played all over the diamond, seeing time at third, second, catcher and the outfield. He has scored 11 times and knocked out three doubles.

Newcomer Dr. Jamy Antoine has been very productive in the first half. While hitting just .500 on 10 hits, he has made the most of them. He has three triples and two homeruns. He has driven in 15 runs on those 10 hits and is leading the team with 5 walks. His slugging percentage is over 1.000 and his on base percentage is just under .700.

Nick Larson has shown good skills in the outfield as usual and his speed has paid off from the plate too. He has ripped an inside-the-park homerun and a triple so far while scoring 8 and driving in 7 from the 7 and 8 hole.

Jeff Johnson has shown his customary power, bashing two long homers and blasting two doubles. While his average has been low, he has been taking advantage of every hit. He has 12 RBI on his 10 hits. He has also shown good glove work at first base so far.

Jordan Schumack has stepped in nicely after missing the first couple of contests. He hasn't quite found his pitching groove yet but has hit the ball pretty well with a triple and six RBI in his five games.

Jon E. has been hotter of late and has hit three doubles while anchoring the bottom portion of the lineup. He has played all over the field with innings at first, second, third, catcher and multiple outfield positions.

Matt Shuster has been a big success story in the first half. He started the year with six straight hits and is hitting .588 overall. He is also a perfect 6-6 from the 5th inning on, an amazing stat. His on base percentage is a very good .650 also.

The other two newcomers, Matt Hanson and Jared Valle, have shown much improvement since the first practice of the year. Jared got his first career hit in his first game and has added one since. Matt took longer to get going but had a three-hit game and went 4-5 in one stretch with four RBI. Unfortunately, Jared will not be with the team for the second half of the season.

Mid-Season All-Stars:
Chris Burr - outfield
Brendan Finn - outfield
Austin Colby - infield
Lee Valle - infield
Matt Shuster - catcher

Second-Half Predictions:
Eric "Morneau" Johnson? - Eric has come out of the gates slowly this year. Maybe it's because he isn't used to playing with a wedding ring on, it's hard to say at this point. However, I look for some more Eric-like numbers in the second half with tons of production. I'm seeing .725 avg, 6 homers, 20 RBI and a 1.450 slugging percentage.

Offensive Consistency - So far the team bats have been feast or famine. The feasts have been good, but the famines have been deadly. I'll wager that the lineup shake-ups settle down and we see a solid 17-18 runs per game with a .575 average and over 20 hits per game.

Power Outage? - Where has the power been? One could make the argument that the team has had the misfortune to play on fields where the wind has not been helpful, but that shouldn't stop doubles and triples from happening. Of all the returning players, only Lee, Shuster and Jordan have slugging percentages at or better than last year's pace. What will happen in the last half of the season? Lots of big turns at first base and lots of chain link fences getting clanked. The team approaches a 1.000 slugging percentage in the second half.

Move from Solid to Outstanding in the Field - While the team defense has been good with an .872 fielding percentage, I think it can do better and I'm predicting a .900 clip in the field for the stretch run.

Leap to Greatness - Someone always has a huge second half. Last year it was Austin who hit .750+ with 10 homers and 35 RBI. This year it will be Jeff Johnson. He will hit over .600 and he will add 20 RBI to his total and be a solidified threat that completes the lineup.

Matt-Attack...Let Down? or Pick-Up? - The Matt's have been fun. Shuster is smacking the ball around the best he's ever done and Hanson is hitting .444 since his first hit. What's that mean in the second half? It means the Warriors will not only have the pleasure of saying "Matt-Attack" multiple times this year but also that the bottom part of their lineup will be the best in the league.

Living Word Champs - Living Word has made mince meat of its competition in the last four weeks. While the Warriors have a favorable schedule and the opportunity to knock Living Word off two more times, they have to do it first. The Warriors will drop at least one of those games and finish in a dogfight for second. I will put this out to all the Warriors who are reading: Prove Me Wrong.