The Resurrection Life Warriors capped a great season in the EP Round Lake Church League by placing four members of the team on the post-season All-League teams. Rez Life landed two players on the first team and two on the second team.
Not satisfied with just those honors, Rez also earned four Gold Gloves for league play and had the league's MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
All-League Teams
First Team
Austin Colby was one of two players in the league unanimously chosen to the first team as a utility player. Austin led the league with a .743 average and was second with a .750 on base percentage. His slugging percentage of 1.457 was also second as was his OPS of 2.207. His 41 runs scored led the league and his 46 rbi were second. He set league records with his 14 doubles and 9 triples while finishing tied for third in homers with 6. Austin also paced the league with a .759 average with runners in scoring position and a .750 average from the 5th inning and on.
Jason Merritt also landed a spot on the first team as an outfielder. Jason finished in the top 10 in average, .632 (6th), on base percentage, .694 (4th), OPS, 1.588 (8th), and doubles, 9 (8th). Jason only played in 15 league games otherwise his raw numbers would have had higher totals also.
Second Team
Lee Valle earns 2nd Team All-League laurels based primarily on his defensive prowess. He played third base at an amazing .932 fielding percentage clip which is quite high for a third-sacker. He was no slouch with the bat either, reaching base frequently with a .593 on base percentage. He drew 8 walks in 14 games while banging out 22 hits. Great year for Lee.
Eric Johnson continues his All-League presence with a 2nd team nod. Eric has bounced from 1st team to 2nd team honors in many of the past 6 seasons. While some of his numbers were down this year, his defensive performance helped prop up his overall resume. Eric did hit .538 with 5 doubles, 3 homeruns and an impressive 30 rbi in 16 league games. His 8 sacrifice flies did set a league-record also. Eric handled 61 chances in the infield while having a hand in 7 doubleplays.
Gold Glove:
Infield
Lee Valle gets his first gold statue for his play at third base. He was a unanimous choice at third base for the league and it is well deserved. Lee's defensive exploits received raving compliments from opponents, teammates, and umpires alike.
Outfield
Jason Merritt and Jamy Antoine nearly led to a clean sweep of outfield gold gloves for the Warriors. Both Jason and Jamy handily earned their hardware playing excellent corner outfield positions in a 3-man outfield. The league noticed.
Utility
Austin Colby added some more bling to his mantel with his third straight league gold glove. This one is his first non-infield prize. He manned centerfield in the 3-man set and played a solid amount of innings at shortstop also.
Defensive Player of the Year:
For the first time in the three years of Rez's participation in this league, a shortstop ('06) or centerfielder ('07) didn't win the award. Instead, the Warriors' own Lee Valle earned the honor with his heretofore discussed season at the hot corner. A fielding percentage over .900 at third or short is very good. One over .930 is excellent especially considering Lee had 22 assists and 19 putouts to boot. This is a well-deserved honor and the team applauds Lee's accomplishments.
Rookie of the Year:
Rez continued its domination in this category, winning this award in each of the past three seasons. 2006 saw Austin Colby grab the honor, last season was newcomer Brendan Finn and in 2008 Jason Merritt has kept the award at home. Jason took to the league well this season and looks to be a mainstay on the All-League teams in the future.
MVP:
In a hotly contested debate at the League Meetings, Austin Colby narrowly beat out Living Word's shortstop for MVP honors. While the two players had similar numbers across the board, Austin couldn't compete with his Living Word counterpart's 21 homeruns and 56 rbi. However, as one opposing manager said, 'MVP is not Player of the Year,' he stated. 'It is the most valuable player to his team. I think Austin carried the most value to his team.' Apparently the league agreed as Austin came out on top in a close vote. It's quite an honor to have, but it's a team honor as much as anything else. If a team doesn't compete, play hard and have some success, then individual players don't get recognized. Great compliment to the Warriors from Rez Life.
Friday, August 15, 2008
End of Season Team Awards
At the end of the season, the team received a ballot to vote on some awards for its teammates. Each teammate received one vote (10), Ron Loven got one vote (11) and Austin got an extra vote as team manager/traveling secretary/statistician/media personnel (12). Those results have now been received and will be revealed here....
Gold Glove Infield:
This was a very close vote as four different players received first-place votes (Eric Johnson, Lee Valle, Andy Briggs and Austin Colby) and another player (Jeff Johnson) received multiple second-place votes.
The team played excellent infield defense as a whole on the season and each player who received votes had something to do with that. Without further ado....
Winner: Lee Valle: 6 first-place votes/1 second-place vote
Lee defied age this season going through one of the best stretches of third base play I've seen. Lee played the last 12 league games without an error at third base!!!! That's unbelievable! it wasn't like he was sitting back and watching either, over that stretch he managed 18 assists and 14 putouts. A great season from Lee and a well-deserved honor!
Runner-Up: Austin Colby: 3 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
While Austin played over half his innings in the outfield, when he was in the infield he made it count. He led the team in chances per game and chances per inning played in the infield and managed to pick up 30 assists on the year at shortstop to go along with 24 putouts and 3 doubleplays in just 13 games.
Gold Glove Outfield:
If the infield vote was close like brothers are, then the outfield vote was close like conjoined brothers are. The three main outfielders, Jamy Antoine, Jason Merritt and Austin, all played outstanding in the grass during the year. Implementing a three-man outfield put a lot of pressure on those three but they handled it well and took advantage of the extra chances to make plays. The outfielders combined for 15 assists this season, which is a team record. All three players received at least three first-place votes and at least two second-place votes. Come meet your winner....
Winner: Austin Colby: 5 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
Austin was named on every ballot except one, which is saying a lot in and of itself. In 16 games, he chased down 31 putouts to go with his 3 assists and team-record 2 outfield double plays. He was steady throughout the season but probably earned a few votes for his highlight-reel catches from a few of his first games in the outfield. He was able to make a couple jaw-droppers which voters remember.
Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 3 first-place votes/6 second-place votes
Jason was named on 9 of a possible 11 ballots including three first-place nods. he was probably the most steady and routine of the three outfielders and set a team-record with 6 assists. He led the team with a .980 fielding percentage from the grass and did an excellent job manning the left-field line. Many a double did he turn into an out. Well played Jason.
Pleasantly Surprising:
This is always a tricky award. Some voters aren't sure what to look for in a 'most pleasantly surprising category.' Here is what I look for: a player whose skill set was better than anticipated - a player who played above his skill set - a player who was so much fun to have on the team that he added value in that regard. Based on the votes that came in, this was a tough one to call for most people. Five people received votes, all of them had at least three total votes and one first-place vote. Lee, Andy, Adam Hey, Jamy and Jason were the vote-getters.
Winner: Andy Briggs: 5 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
Andy joined the team this year based on this recommendation to Austin from Jason, 'He talks a lot about baseball and seems to know what he's talking about. He can't be all bad.' Well said Jay, and a good move by Austin to give him the invite. It paid dividends because not only did Andy fill up the third criteria mentioned above with his jovial disposition and knowledgeable baseball chatter, but he could flat-out play too. Andy allowed this team to play a 5-man infield by doing a fantastic job at shortstop, allowing Austin to play center. He also handled the bat very well, posting a .600+ average for much of the season before a late-season slump ended him at .513.
Runner-Up: Jamy Antoine: 3 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
In his second year, Jamy showed why he is a media darling both at the plate and in the field. He improved his outfield play 100% from last year to this year, getting laser corrective eye surgery helped immensely. Jamy also displayed more consistent power on the season, finishing with 7 doubles, 4 triples, and 2 homeruns while driving home 36 runners, good for third on the team. An excellent year for Jamy and the voters responded.
MVP:
While the other categories were tighlty contested, the MVP vote was the only unanimous vote with every available first-place vote going to Austin. Three players, Eric, Jason, and Andy, were in a dogfight for runner-up honors as each received at least four votes with Andy and Jason getting the other available first-place votes.
Winner: Austin Colby: 10 first-place votes
Austin had the finest church season of his career. He played much more controlled defense, but kept some of the game-breaking plays in his back pocket if needed. He almost hit for the coveted triple-double at the plate too, posting a leauge-record 19 doubles along with another league-record 10 triples, and falling short in homeruns with just 7. He had a cool 55 runs scored (a team record) and 55 rbi. Austin showed his true value when it mattered, hitting an astounding .778 with runners in scoring position and an other-worldly .815 wtih 2 homers and 14 rbi from the 5th inning and on this season. His overall vital line was .766/.760/1.404/2.164 and he captured 4 Player of the Game awards as well as all-tournament at the Bloomington tournament and tournament MVP.
Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 1 first-place vote/4 second-place votes
Jason had a great first season in the royal blue and white. As mentioned earlier, he played great outfield while hitting .631. He was second on the team in slugging percentage, working that number up to .881. He slugged 14 extra-base hits including 9 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homeruns. He scored 37 times and drove home 29. Jason's OPS of 1.570 was an excellent number and gives him a great springboard for next season.
Gold Glove Infield:
This was a very close vote as four different players received first-place votes (Eric Johnson, Lee Valle, Andy Briggs and Austin Colby) and another player (Jeff Johnson) received multiple second-place votes.
The team played excellent infield defense as a whole on the season and each player who received votes had something to do with that. Without further ado....
Winner: Lee Valle: 6 first-place votes/1 second-place vote
Lee defied age this season going through one of the best stretches of third base play I've seen. Lee played the last 12 league games without an error at third base!!!! That's unbelievable! it wasn't like he was sitting back and watching either, over that stretch he managed 18 assists and 14 putouts. A great season from Lee and a well-deserved honor!
Runner-Up: Austin Colby: 3 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
While Austin played over half his innings in the outfield, when he was in the infield he made it count. He led the team in chances per game and chances per inning played in the infield and managed to pick up 30 assists on the year at shortstop to go along with 24 putouts and 3 doubleplays in just 13 games.
Gold Glove Outfield:
If the infield vote was close like brothers are, then the outfield vote was close like conjoined brothers are. The three main outfielders, Jamy Antoine, Jason Merritt and Austin, all played outstanding in the grass during the year. Implementing a three-man outfield put a lot of pressure on those three but they handled it well and took advantage of the extra chances to make plays. The outfielders combined for 15 assists this season, which is a team record. All three players received at least three first-place votes and at least two second-place votes. Come meet your winner....
Winner: Austin Colby: 5 first-place votes/4 second-place votes
Austin was named on every ballot except one, which is saying a lot in and of itself. In 16 games, he chased down 31 putouts to go with his 3 assists and team-record 2 outfield double plays. He was steady throughout the season but probably earned a few votes for his highlight-reel catches from a few of his first games in the outfield. He was able to make a couple jaw-droppers which voters remember.
Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 3 first-place votes/6 second-place votes
Jason was named on 9 of a possible 11 ballots including three first-place nods. he was probably the most steady and routine of the three outfielders and set a team-record with 6 assists. He led the team with a .980 fielding percentage from the grass and did an excellent job manning the left-field line. Many a double did he turn into an out. Well played Jason.
Pleasantly Surprising:
This is always a tricky award. Some voters aren't sure what to look for in a 'most pleasantly surprising category.' Here is what I look for: a player whose skill set was better than anticipated - a player who played above his skill set - a player who was so much fun to have on the team that he added value in that regard. Based on the votes that came in, this was a tough one to call for most people. Five people received votes, all of them had at least three total votes and one first-place vote. Lee, Andy, Adam Hey, Jamy and Jason were the vote-getters.
Winner: Andy Briggs: 5 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
Andy joined the team this year based on this recommendation to Austin from Jason, 'He talks a lot about baseball and seems to know what he's talking about. He can't be all bad.' Well said Jay, and a good move by Austin to give him the invite. It paid dividends because not only did Andy fill up the third criteria mentioned above with his jovial disposition and knowledgeable baseball chatter, but he could flat-out play too. Andy allowed this team to play a 5-man infield by doing a fantastic job at shortstop, allowing Austin to play center. He also handled the bat very well, posting a .600+ average for much of the season before a late-season slump ended him at .513.
Runner-Up: Jamy Antoine: 3 first-place votes/2 second-place votes
In his second year, Jamy showed why he is a media darling both at the plate and in the field. He improved his outfield play 100% from last year to this year, getting laser corrective eye surgery helped immensely. Jamy also displayed more consistent power on the season, finishing with 7 doubles, 4 triples, and 2 homeruns while driving home 36 runners, good for third on the team. An excellent year for Jamy and the voters responded.
MVP:
While the other categories were tighlty contested, the MVP vote was the only unanimous vote with every available first-place vote going to Austin. Three players, Eric, Jason, and Andy, were in a dogfight for runner-up honors as each received at least four votes with Andy and Jason getting the other available first-place votes.
Winner: Austin Colby: 10 first-place votes
Austin had the finest church season of his career. He played much more controlled defense, but kept some of the game-breaking plays in his back pocket if needed. He almost hit for the coveted triple-double at the plate too, posting a leauge-record 19 doubles along with another league-record 10 triples, and falling short in homeruns with just 7. He had a cool 55 runs scored (a team record) and 55 rbi. Austin showed his true value when it mattered, hitting an astounding .778 with runners in scoring position and an other-worldly .815 wtih 2 homers and 14 rbi from the 5th inning and on this season. His overall vital line was .766/.760/1.404/2.164 and he captured 4 Player of the Game awards as well as all-tournament at the Bloomington tournament and tournament MVP.
Runner-Up: Jason Merritt: 1 first-place vote/4 second-place votes
Jason had a great first season in the royal blue and white. As mentioned earlier, he played great outfield while hitting .631. He was second on the team in slugging percentage, working that number up to .881. He slugged 14 extra-base hits including 9 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 homeruns. He scored 37 times and drove home 29. Jason's OPS of 1.570 was an excellent number and gives him a great springboard for next season.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Great Finish for Second Place Warriors
The much-hyped pre-season offense reared its powerful head these last couple weeks for the Resurrection Life Warriors posting 41 runs in the final 8 innings of the season. Rez dominated St. Andrew Blue 18-6 in five innings Thursday to complete the regular season with a 13-5 record.
The offense was solid, banging out 22 hits and drawing four walks. Austin Colby, Jamy Antoine, Jon Engbrecht, Lee Valle and substitute Chris Burr all had three hits to lead the attack with Jon capturing Player of the Game honors with two runs, three rbi and a double.
The team came out on top with three runs in the top of the first, started by Austin's triple off the wall to open the game. Andy Briggs lofted a sac fly to score Austin and Jamy, Jeff Johnson, and Jon all singled to plate one more. After the second out, Lee lined a single to score Jeff's pinch runner and cap the inning's scoring.
Blue didn't score in the bottom half, but neither did the Warriors in the top of the second, wasting a single from Andy. The defense was strong again in the bottom half as Austin tied a record set by many, recording all three put-outs in center field.
In the top of the third, Rez put two more runs on the board. Jordan singled with one out and Lee walked. Chris doubled in the gap to score Jordan and make it 4-0. Sub AJ Larson lined a sacrifice fly to right to score Lee for the second run of the inning.
Blue made it a game for a little while in the bottom of the third scoring four times on six hits and a walk. Rez quickly wiped out those four runs by adding four of its own in the top of the fourth. Andy walked to start things and after an out a Jeff single moved him to second. Jon then cranked a deep drive off the wall in left to score both runners and make it 7-4 with one out. After the second out, Lee singled and scored on Chris' second double.
Blue went down quickly in the bottom of the fourth and Rez put the finishing touches on the game with an explosive nine-run top of the fifth.
Austin opened the fifth with a line-drive hustle double to right and scored on Jamy's deep triple to right-center. Jeff hit a sac fly for the second out to plate Jamy and make it 11-4. The two-out bats came out swinging after that. Jon singled, Jordan walkd, Lee laced an rbi-single, and Chris singled to load the bases. AJ singled to score one more and leave the bases loaded for Austin. Austin, desparately trying to hit a grand slam, found the wall in right-center again for a bases-clearing double. Andy followed with a double to score Austin and back-to-back singles from Jamy and Jeff ended the scoring.
Blue managed two runs in the bottom half but it was too little too late and the final score of 18-6 showed Rez Life's dominance.
The final record of 13-5 gives Resurrection Life second place on the season. Look for team awards and league awards later this week.
The offense was solid, banging out 22 hits and drawing four walks. Austin Colby, Jamy Antoine, Jon Engbrecht, Lee Valle and substitute Chris Burr all had three hits to lead the attack with Jon capturing Player of the Game honors with two runs, three rbi and a double.
The team came out on top with three runs in the top of the first, started by Austin's triple off the wall to open the game. Andy Briggs lofted a sac fly to score Austin and Jamy, Jeff Johnson, and Jon all singled to plate one more. After the second out, Lee lined a single to score Jeff's pinch runner and cap the inning's scoring.
Blue didn't score in the bottom half, but neither did the Warriors in the top of the second, wasting a single from Andy. The defense was strong again in the bottom half as Austin tied a record set by many, recording all three put-outs in center field.
In the top of the third, Rez put two more runs on the board. Jordan singled with one out and Lee walked. Chris doubled in the gap to score Jordan and make it 4-0. Sub AJ Larson lined a sacrifice fly to right to score Lee for the second run of the inning.
Blue made it a game for a little while in the bottom of the third scoring four times on six hits and a walk. Rez quickly wiped out those four runs by adding four of its own in the top of the fourth. Andy walked to start things and after an out a Jeff single moved him to second. Jon then cranked a deep drive off the wall in left to score both runners and make it 7-4 with one out. After the second out, Lee singled and scored on Chris' second double.
Blue went down quickly in the bottom of the fourth and Rez put the finishing touches on the game with an explosive nine-run top of the fifth.
Austin opened the fifth with a line-drive hustle double to right and scored on Jamy's deep triple to right-center. Jeff hit a sac fly for the second out to plate Jamy and make it 11-4. The two-out bats came out swinging after that. Jon singled, Jordan walkd, Lee laced an rbi-single, and Chris singled to load the bases. AJ singled to score one more and leave the bases loaded for Austin. Austin, desparately trying to hit a grand slam, found the wall in right-center again for a bases-clearing double. Andy followed with a double to score Austin and back-to-back singles from Jamy and Jeff ended the scoring.
Blue managed two runs in the bottom half but it was too little too late and the final score of 18-6 showed Rez Life's dominance.
The final record of 13-5 gives Resurrection Life second place on the season. Look for team awards and league awards later this week.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Rez Dominates to Claim 2nd Place
Resurrection Life left no doubt in the minds of the onlookers Thursday night about who the second place team should be this season: The Warriors. Rez used a barrage of extra-base hits from up and down the lineup to embarrass Life Church 23-1, ending the game after just three innings due to the mercy rule.
The team finished the night 23-30 from the plate with six doubles, two triples, and five homeruns - not including a sixth that didn't count. Austin Colby and Jason Merritt both went 4-4 on the night from the one and two spots in the order. However, Jordan Schumack earns Player of the Game with a perfect 3-3 night with two runs, five rbi, a triple and a homerun, his first on the year.
The two substitutes, Chris Burr and AJ Larson, finish a combined 6-6 scoring six times and driving home eight.
In the top of the first, Austin opened things up with a single and moved to second on Jason's single. Eric Johnson then doubled home Austin to start the scoring. Andy Briggs singled to plate Jason and after a Jeff Johnson walk, Jordan cleared the bases with a triple to left-center. After a groundout double play, the offense picked it up again as Adam Hey reached on an error and moved to third on Chris' double. AJ then launched one down the right-field line and burned home for an inside-the-park homerun. Austin finished the inning's scoring with a more conventional homerun, calmly depositing a ball over the left-center field fence. Rez ended the inning up 9-0.
Life was unable to take advantage of the wind blowing out stranding a lead-off walk and not scoring during its half of the first. Back-to-back solo homeruns from Jordan and Jon Engbrecht pushed the score to 11-0 after one and half innings.
Life managed to get on the board in the bottom half of the second, hitting a solo homerun to deep right. However, it was hardly even a blip on the radar of the potent Warrior offense on this night as the team proceeded to score a season-high 12 runs in the top of the third to put the game away.
Chris opened up with a triple and scored on AJ's single. Austin singled and AJ scored on Jason's double off the wall. Eric stroked a single to plate Austin and Andy lined out to score Jason. Jeff then doubled to deep left to make it second and third with one out for hot-man Jordan. Jordan came through with another hit, a run-scoring single. Jon walkd to load the bases for Adam who singled to socre Jeff's pinch runner, Andy. Chris took care of cleaning up the bases, blasting a grand slam to deep left. AJ wasn't done though, singling to keep the party going and Austin followed suit. Jason doubled again to score AJ and Eric crushed a mile-high fly ball to deep left to plate Austin and end the game's scoring, 23-1.
Life meekly went down in order in the bottom half and Rez walked away as the undeniably superior team.
Rez is now 16-8 on the year (12-5 in league play, tied with Life for 2nd place, but Rez has the tie-breaker). The Warriors can finish with what would be a franchise-high 13 wins in the Round Lake league with a victory over St. Andrew Blue next week. The game is at 5:50 on field #3.
The team finished the night 23-30 from the plate with six doubles, two triples, and five homeruns - not including a sixth that didn't count. Austin Colby and Jason Merritt both went 4-4 on the night from the one and two spots in the order. However, Jordan Schumack earns Player of the Game with a perfect 3-3 night with two runs, five rbi, a triple and a homerun, his first on the year.
The two substitutes, Chris Burr and AJ Larson, finish a combined 6-6 scoring six times and driving home eight.
In the top of the first, Austin opened things up with a single and moved to second on Jason's single. Eric Johnson then doubled home Austin to start the scoring. Andy Briggs singled to plate Jason and after a Jeff Johnson walk, Jordan cleared the bases with a triple to left-center. After a groundout double play, the offense picked it up again as Adam Hey reached on an error and moved to third on Chris' double. AJ then launched one down the right-field line and burned home for an inside-the-park homerun. Austin finished the inning's scoring with a more conventional homerun, calmly depositing a ball over the left-center field fence. Rez ended the inning up 9-0.
Life was unable to take advantage of the wind blowing out stranding a lead-off walk and not scoring during its half of the first. Back-to-back solo homeruns from Jordan and Jon Engbrecht pushed the score to 11-0 after one and half innings.
Life managed to get on the board in the bottom half of the second, hitting a solo homerun to deep right. However, it was hardly even a blip on the radar of the potent Warrior offense on this night as the team proceeded to score a season-high 12 runs in the top of the third to put the game away.
Chris opened up with a triple and scored on AJ's single. Austin singled and AJ scored on Jason's double off the wall. Eric stroked a single to plate Austin and Andy lined out to score Jason. Jeff then doubled to deep left to make it second and third with one out for hot-man Jordan. Jordan came through with another hit, a run-scoring single. Jon walkd to load the bases for Adam who singled to socre Jeff's pinch runner, Andy. Chris took care of cleaning up the bases, blasting a grand slam to deep left. AJ wasn't done though, singling to keep the party going and Austin followed suit. Jason doubled again to score AJ and Eric crushed a mile-high fly ball to deep left to plate Austin and end the game's scoring, 23-1.
Life meekly went down in order in the bottom half and Rez walked away as the undeniably superior team.
Rez is now 16-8 on the year (12-5 in league play, tied with Life for 2nd place, but Rez has the tie-breaker). The Warriors can finish with what would be a franchise-high 13 wins in the Round Lake league with a victory over St. Andrew Blue next week. The game is at 5:50 on field #3.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
What a Weekend for the Warriors
Seven games. The Resurrection Life Warriors pushed through seven games on Saturday. The team pushed through fatigue and dehydration to win four games and finish third place in the consolation bracket.
It was a great day for softball and the Warriors took advantage with each player getting between 25 and 28 plate appearances. There were several good teams there and Rez Life competed with each team it faced. The class A ASA Church softball state champion Mt. Olivet squad was nearly up-ended by the Warriors in a defensive contest, before Olivet went on to win the entire tournament.
Three players from Rez earned All-tournament honors; Austin Colby who had a sizzling 20-24 day at the plate including 5 doubles, one triple and one homerun; Jamy Antoine who knocked in 15 rbi to lead the team and had two 5+ rbi games including one with a cycle; Jason Merritt who played a great defensive tournament in the outfield and hit .630 on the day.
Game one was a tight contest until Rez blew it open in the top of fifth with six runs en route to a 18-10 victory. Rez opened the game with four runs in the top of the first using singles from Austin, Jason, Andy Briggs, Jamy, Brad Seibert and Lee Valle.
Opponent, Riverof Life, answered with one run in the bottom of the first. The Warriors got that one back after Austin tripled and scored on Jason's rbi single. After shutting River down in the bottom of the second, the Warriors opened things up with four more runs in the top of the third to go up 9-1. Andy, Jamy, and Brad loaded the bases with two singles and a walk with one out. An error allowed one run to score and Jordan Schumack cleared the bases with a deep double to left field.
However, the game was far from over as River of Life erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the third. River had 10 his and used one error to plate the nine runs. Undeterred, Rez plated three more runs to regain the lead in the fourth. Austin doubled and scored on Jason's deep triple. Chris Burr then ripped a double to score Jason. An Eric Johnson single moved Chris to third and a Jamy fly ball scored Chris.
Good defense kept River from scoring in the bottom half and Rez put the game away with six runs in the final inning. With one walk, Jordan and Jeff Johnson drew walks and after the second out, the offense really got it going. Austin singled to score two and Jason reached on an error to score another one. Chris singled to plate two more and Eric provided the big blow, ripping a triple to plate Chris. A wild throw allowed Eric to score on the play to end the inning's scoring.
River went down quickly and Rez started the day 1-0. Austin earned Player of the Game honors with a 4-4 game, four runs scored, two rbi, a double and a triple.
Mt. Olivet beat Rez in the second game, 9-3, as both defenses played very well. Olivet scored four runs in the first and Rez bounced back with two runs in the top of the third. Jordan singled, Jeff doubled to put runners at second and third for Austin who lined out to right-field to score Jordan. Jason singled to plate Jeff and make it 4-2.
Olivet added one run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-2 heading into the sixth. The Warriors missed their best chance in the sixth, leaving the bases loaded without scoring. With one out, Austin singled and moved to second as Jason reached on an error. Eric singled to load the bases but Andy flew out to left to end the threat. Olivet then opened the game up with four runs in the bottom half.
Rez added one run in the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Jamy singled and eventually came around to score on Jeff's sac fly. Jeff earned Player of the Game with a double, run scored and rbi.
Game three was a bit of a letdown, as the Warriors kind of coasted after the tough loss to Olivet and fell to an inferior team 8-7. Crossroads scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game and push the Warriors from the 10 seed to the 12 seed in the consolation bracket.
The team had a tough game getting the big hit, stranding 16 runners in seven innings. Andy Briggs had four hits and Adam Hey earned his first Player of the Game with a perfect 3-3 day with two rbi. Jamy added two rbi during the game and Austin, Eric and Lee all had two hits.
In the first game of the consolation bracket, Rez manhandled TLC 20-5. Austin opened the game with an inside-the-park homerun. Jason singled and moved to second on a single from Andy and came home on Eric's single. After an out, Brad singled to load the bases and Lee singled to plate Andy. Jordan lofted a sac fly to score the fourth run of the inning.
TLC pushed one across in the bottom half and Rez added four more runs in the top of the second to go up 8-1. Jamy had a two-run double and Brad had a two-rbi single in the inning.
TLC made it close in the top of the second, taking advantage of three walks while scoring three runs. Both teams went scoreless in the third and Rez opened up the lead with four runs in the fourth. Lee, Jordan, Adam and Austin provided the rbi in the inning.
TLC didn't score in the bottom half and Jamy drove a blast into the right-center gap for a homerun. TLC again went scoreless in the fifth and Rez racked up seven more runs in the sixth. Jamy again provided the big blow with a huge bases-loaded triple to give him six rbi on the day en route to Player of the Game honors. He finished 4-5 with 4 runs, 6 rbi and a single, double, triple and a homerun.
Jason, Brad and Lee all had four hits in the game too while Austin and Eric added three apiece.
Game five of the day was against RAGS and it was a much closer contest. Rez won 10-7 but stranded 10 runners in the game. The first inning was all Rez needed as the team scored six runs on seven hits and a walk. Jason mashed the shot of the tournament with a deep drive over the left-fielders head for an rbi triple. The Warriors added two more runs in the second on singles from Eric, Jamy, Brad and Lee.
Leading just 8-6 going into the bottom of the fifth, Rez added two insurance runs. Lee singled and after a forceout Jeff drove a triple to score Jordan. Austin singled to score Jeff and make it 10-6. RAGS added one run in the sixth, but that was it and Rez held on 10-7.
Lee captured Player of the Game with three hits, a run and three rbi.
That was the end of the magic for a while as the Warriors fell in the consolation semi-finals 14-7 to eventual consolation champions Real Life.
Although the team had 16 hits and drew one walk, it was only able to score 7 runs. Austin snagged POG again with three hits, two runs, on rbi and a double.
The final game of the day was a fun one, as Rez dominated 13-0 from start to finish. Life Fest managed just two hits in the game while Rez mashed out 20. Three guys had four hits in the game, Austin, Eric and Jamy with Eric earning his first Player of the Game of the tournament. He also had two rbi on the day.
While each player had his highs and lows on the day, everyone got plenty of exercise and enjoyed their shower when they got home. Austin was able to win Tournament MVP for the second straight year hitting .833 while scoring 14 runs while driving home nine.
The team's record is now 15-8 (11-5 league-only) on the season with two games left. The big game is Thursday at 5:50 on field #3 versus Life. Life is 12-4 and a Rez Life victory gives the team the tie-breaker for second place.
It was a great day for softball and the Warriors took advantage with each player getting between 25 and 28 plate appearances. There were several good teams there and Rez Life competed with each team it faced. The class A ASA Church softball state champion Mt. Olivet squad was nearly up-ended by the Warriors in a defensive contest, before Olivet went on to win the entire tournament.
Three players from Rez earned All-tournament honors; Austin Colby who had a sizzling 20-24 day at the plate including 5 doubles, one triple and one homerun; Jamy Antoine who knocked in 15 rbi to lead the team and had two 5+ rbi games including one with a cycle; Jason Merritt who played a great defensive tournament in the outfield and hit .630 on the day.
Game one was a tight contest until Rez blew it open in the top of fifth with six runs en route to a 18-10 victory. Rez opened the game with four runs in the top of the first using singles from Austin, Jason, Andy Briggs, Jamy, Brad Seibert and Lee Valle.
Opponent, Riverof Life, answered with one run in the bottom of the first. The Warriors got that one back after Austin tripled and scored on Jason's rbi single. After shutting River down in the bottom of the second, the Warriors opened things up with four more runs in the top of the third to go up 9-1. Andy, Jamy, and Brad loaded the bases with two singles and a walk with one out. An error allowed one run to score and Jordan Schumack cleared the bases with a deep double to left field.
However, the game was far from over as River of Life erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the third. River had 10 his and used one error to plate the nine runs. Undeterred, Rez plated three more runs to regain the lead in the fourth. Austin doubled and scored on Jason's deep triple. Chris Burr then ripped a double to score Jason. An Eric Johnson single moved Chris to third and a Jamy fly ball scored Chris.
Good defense kept River from scoring in the bottom half and Rez put the game away with six runs in the final inning. With one walk, Jordan and Jeff Johnson drew walks and after the second out, the offense really got it going. Austin singled to score two and Jason reached on an error to score another one. Chris singled to plate two more and Eric provided the big blow, ripping a triple to plate Chris. A wild throw allowed Eric to score on the play to end the inning's scoring.
River went down quickly and Rez started the day 1-0. Austin earned Player of the Game honors with a 4-4 game, four runs scored, two rbi, a double and a triple.
Mt. Olivet beat Rez in the second game, 9-3, as both defenses played very well. Olivet scored four runs in the first and Rez bounced back with two runs in the top of the third. Jordan singled, Jeff doubled to put runners at second and third for Austin who lined out to right-field to score Jordan. Jason singled to plate Jeff and make it 4-2.
Olivet added one run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-2 heading into the sixth. The Warriors missed their best chance in the sixth, leaving the bases loaded without scoring. With one out, Austin singled and moved to second as Jason reached on an error. Eric singled to load the bases but Andy flew out to left to end the threat. Olivet then opened the game up with four runs in the bottom half.
Rez added one run in the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Jamy singled and eventually came around to score on Jeff's sac fly. Jeff earned Player of the Game with a double, run scored and rbi.
Game three was a bit of a letdown, as the Warriors kind of coasted after the tough loss to Olivet and fell to an inferior team 8-7. Crossroads scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game and push the Warriors from the 10 seed to the 12 seed in the consolation bracket.
The team had a tough game getting the big hit, stranding 16 runners in seven innings. Andy Briggs had four hits and Adam Hey earned his first Player of the Game with a perfect 3-3 day with two rbi. Jamy added two rbi during the game and Austin, Eric and Lee all had two hits.
In the first game of the consolation bracket, Rez manhandled TLC 20-5. Austin opened the game with an inside-the-park homerun. Jason singled and moved to second on a single from Andy and came home on Eric's single. After an out, Brad singled to load the bases and Lee singled to plate Andy. Jordan lofted a sac fly to score the fourth run of the inning.
TLC pushed one across in the bottom half and Rez added four more runs in the top of the second to go up 8-1. Jamy had a two-run double and Brad had a two-rbi single in the inning.
TLC made it close in the top of the second, taking advantage of three walks while scoring three runs. Both teams went scoreless in the third and Rez opened up the lead with four runs in the fourth. Lee, Jordan, Adam and Austin provided the rbi in the inning.
TLC didn't score in the bottom half and Jamy drove a blast into the right-center gap for a homerun. TLC again went scoreless in the fifth and Rez racked up seven more runs in the sixth. Jamy again provided the big blow with a huge bases-loaded triple to give him six rbi on the day en route to Player of the Game honors. He finished 4-5 with 4 runs, 6 rbi and a single, double, triple and a homerun.
Jason, Brad and Lee all had four hits in the game too while Austin and Eric added three apiece.
Game five of the day was against RAGS and it was a much closer contest. Rez won 10-7 but stranded 10 runners in the game. The first inning was all Rez needed as the team scored six runs on seven hits and a walk. Jason mashed the shot of the tournament with a deep drive over the left-fielders head for an rbi triple. The Warriors added two more runs in the second on singles from Eric, Jamy, Brad and Lee.
Leading just 8-6 going into the bottom of the fifth, Rez added two insurance runs. Lee singled and after a forceout Jeff drove a triple to score Jordan. Austin singled to score Jeff and make it 10-6. RAGS added one run in the sixth, but that was it and Rez held on 10-7.
Lee captured Player of the Game with three hits, a run and three rbi.
That was the end of the magic for a while as the Warriors fell in the consolation semi-finals 14-7 to eventual consolation champions Real Life.
Although the team had 16 hits and drew one walk, it was only able to score 7 runs. Austin snagged POG again with three hits, two runs, on rbi and a double.
The final game of the day was a fun one, as Rez dominated 13-0 from start to finish. Life Fest managed just two hits in the game while Rez mashed out 20. Three guys had four hits in the game, Austin, Eric and Jamy with Eric earning his first Player of the Game of the tournament. He also had two rbi on the day.
While each player had his highs and lows on the day, everyone got plenty of exercise and enjoyed their shower when they got home. Austin was able to win Tournament MVP for the second straight year hitting .833 while scoring 14 runs while driving home nine.
The team's record is now 15-8 (11-5 league-only) on the season with two games left. The big game is Thursday at 5:50 on field #3 versus Life. Life is 12-4 and a Rez Life victory gives the team the tie-breaker for second place.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Big Sweep Pushes Rez to Third Place
The Warriors from Resurrection Life brought their 'A' game to the table Thursday night and it paid dividends with two impressive wins over Living Word and St. Andrew Blue.
The victory over Living Word is especially sweet because to date, Living Word has clinched the league championship and sits with a record of 14-2; both losses coming from Rez Life. The 11-6 victory marks the second consecutive time the Warrior defense has held Living Word's potent offense to just six runs. Living Word averages 16.5 runs per game against the league, but just 9.3 against Rez Life.
St. Andrew Blue, although its record doesn't show it, is a tough opponent. The team has averaged right around 10 runs all year and recently has been playing very well. Blue came out and pounced to a 7-0 lead over Rez before a big second inning propelled the Warriors to a 16-13 victory and a doubleheader sweep.
Game one was more a pride game than anything else. After dropping four straight games to Living Word over three seasons, the Warriors finally got the monkey of their back with an earlier 7-6 last inning victory. This game was for 2008 bragging rights.
The Warriors scored first, pushing one across in the top of the first inning. Three singles from Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt and Eric Johnson led to the run. Living Word answered with one run in the bottom half on a double, walk, and a throwing error from Austin Colby filling in for Lee Valle at third base.
Rez pushed two across with two outs in the top of the second to go up 3-1. Jamy Antoine led off with a single and moved to second on Adam Hey's single. After a Chris Wold, filling in for the team, lineout, substitute Nick Larson lined a single to center to load the bases for Austin. Austin redeemed himself from his defensive miscue lining a single to right-center plating Jamy and Adam.
Living Word ticked off one run in the bottom of the second taking advantage of another uncharacteristic error and two singles. Up 3-2, Rez busted out with eight runs in the top of the third. Jason ripped his second single of the game to start things and moved to second on Eric's second single. Jordan Schumack then singled to score Jason and Jamy lined his second hit to load the bases. Jeff Johnson ripped a single to plate two and after the first out, Chris singled to score Jamy. Nick followed with his second hit to score pinch-runner Andy. Austin lined his second rbi-single of the day and Andy followed with one also. Jason capped the scoring, pushing Austin home with a single.
The defense held strong, only allowing one Living Word run in the bottom of the third to hold a 11-3 lead. In the top of the fourth, Rez went down without scoring. Living Word only managed one run in the bottom half though, making it 11-4 going into the fifth inning.
Rez left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, squandering a good chance to do some damage and Living Word chipped away a little more with one run in the bottom half. Again, the Warriors stranded runners, leaving men on first and second in the top of the sixth without scoring.
Facing a time crunch, the Rez defense made quick work of Living Word in the bottom half and due to the time constraints, Living Word got to bat its seventh inning first. Although Living Word managed one run, it never really threatened, especially after Andy Briggs made a nice snag on a liner at short an then doubled off a runner on second for two quick outs. A lazy flyball to center ended the game and gave Rez a big victory, 11-6.
Jason Merritt earned Player of the Game with a perfect 4-4 game, scoring one run and driving home another. He also handled two putouts flawlessly while playing middle infield.
Game two didn't start as well as game one ended, with St. Andrew Blue jumping out to a painfully slow 7-0 lead using bloopers and bleeders to frustrate the Rez defense. Rez didn't score in the top of the first before the Blue barage in the bottom half. Blue managed eight hits in the inning and took advanted of one walk to score the seven runs.
In the top of the second, it didn't look good either as the first two Warrior batters went down quickly. With two outs and no one on base, Adam sparked a rally with a seeing-eye single. Chris followed with a single and Nick singled to load the bases. Austin came up and rolled a single down the first-base line to score two and Andy walked to re-load the bases. Jason quickly laced his sixth hit of the night to score two more runs and Eric followed with a run-scoring single. Jordan answered with an rbi-single of his own and Jamy provided the big blow, driving a triple to the wall in center plating Jordan and Eric. Jeff calmly lined a single to score Jamy and it was 9-7 Rez life just like that. A very impressive inning to say the least.
Blue responde with two runs to tie it, but Rez came out in the third and got five more runs to go up for good, 14-9. Chris tripled to deep left to open the inning and Nick singled to make it 10-9. After a lineout, Andy singled to move Nick up and Jason walloped his second homer of the year, a three-run job to deep left field. Eric followed with a liner off the third baseman and out of play for a quick double and Jordan knocked one off the wall in left to score Eric but was just thrown out trying to make it a triple. Jamy, Jeff and Adam all singled to load the bases with two outs, but Chris popped up to end the inning.
Blue was a bit rattled by the 18 Warriors hits in two innings and went down without scoring. Rez expanded its lead to 16-9 with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Nick singled again and Austin drove a triple off the wall in right. Andy lifted a sacrifice fly to socre Austin but the team stranded Jason's double and came away with just two runs.
Blue did respond this time with three runs of its own, using two walks and three singles. Rez Life couldn't take advantage of an error in the top of the fifth and left two guys on base. Blue added one more run to make it a very close 16-13 game heading into the final frame because of the time limit.
Again, the Warriors couldn't get the big hit, leaving the bases loaded and stranding Jason and Eric's fourth hits of the night as well as Andy's single.
In the last of the sixth, the Warriors went to their closer, Chris, on the mound and he made quick work putting Blue down in order to preserve the three-run lead.
Jason capped a great night by earning his team-high fourth POG of the season with his 4-5 night with two runs, five rbi, a double and that three-run homer. Great overall offensive performance with 28 hits in the game for the Warriors.
The two wins make Rez Life's record 11-5 overall, just one game behind Life for second place. Life and Rez meet next week for the outright second place title. Rez would hold the tie-breaker with more runs scored on the season. The game is at 5:50 on field #3.
The victory over Living Word is especially sweet because to date, Living Word has clinched the league championship and sits with a record of 14-2; both losses coming from Rez Life. The 11-6 victory marks the second consecutive time the Warrior defense has held Living Word's potent offense to just six runs. Living Word averages 16.5 runs per game against the league, but just 9.3 against Rez Life.
St. Andrew Blue, although its record doesn't show it, is a tough opponent. The team has averaged right around 10 runs all year and recently has been playing very well. Blue came out and pounced to a 7-0 lead over Rez before a big second inning propelled the Warriors to a 16-13 victory and a doubleheader sweep.
Game one was more a pride game than anything else. After dropping four straight games to Living Word over three seasons, the Warriors finally got the monkey of their back with an earlier 7-6 last inning victory. This game was for 2008 bragging rights.
The Warriors scored first, pushing one across in the top of the first inning. Three singles from Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt and Eric Johnson led to the run. Living Word answered with one run in the bottom half on a double, walk, and a throwing error from Austin Colby filling in for Lee Valle at third base.
Rez pushed two across with two outs in the top of the second to go up 3-1. Jamy Antoine led off with a single and moved to second on Adam Hey's single. After a Chris Wold, filling in for the team, lineout, substitute Nick Larson lined a single to center to load the bases for Austin. Austin redeemed himself from his defensive miscue lining a single to right-center plating Jamy and Adam.
Living Word ticked off one run in the bottom of the second taking advantage of another uncharacteristic error and two singles. Up 3-2, Rez busted out with eight runs in the top of the third. Jason ripped his second single of the game to start things and moved to second on Eric's second single. Jordan Schumack then singled to score Jason and Jamy lined his second hit to load the bases. Jeff Johnson ripped a single to plate two and after the first out, Chris singled to score Jamy. Nick followed with his second hit to score pinch-runner Andy. Austin lined his second rbi-single of the day and Andy followed with one also. Jason capped the scoring, pushing Austin home with a single.
The defense held strong, only allowing one Living Word run in the bottom of the third to hold a 11-3 lead. In the top of the fourth, Rez went down without scoring. Living Word only managed one run in the bottom half though, making it 11-4 going into the fifth inning.
Rez left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, squandering a good chance to do some damage and Living Word chipped away a little more with one run in the bottom half. Again, the Warriors stranded runners, leaving men on first and second in the top of the sixth without scoring.
Facing a time crunch, the Rez defense made quick work of Living Word in the bottom half and due to the time constraints, Living Word got to bat its seventh inning first. Although Living Word managed one run, it never really threatened, especially after Andy Briggs made a nice snag on a liner at short an then doubled off a runner on second for two quick outs. A lazy flyball to center ended the game and gave Rez a big victory, 11-6.
Jason Merritt earned Player of the Game with a perfect 4-4 game, scoring one run and driving home another. He also handled two putouts flawlessly while playing middle infield.
Game two didn't start as well as game one ended, with St. Andrew Blue jumping out to a painfully slow 7-0 lead using bloopers and bleeders to frustrate the Rez defense. Rez didn't score in the top of the first before the Blue barage in the bottom half. Blue managed eight hits in the inning and took advanted of one walk to score the seven runs.
In the top of the second, it didn't look good either as the first two Warrior batters went down quickly. With two outs and no one on base, Adam sparked a rally with a seeing-eye single. Chris followed with a single and Nick singled to load the bases. Austin came up and rolled a single down the first-base line to score two and Andy walked to re-load the bases. Jason quickly laced his sixth hit of the night to score two more runs and Eric followed with a run-scoring single. Jordan answered with an rbi-single of his own and Jamy provided the big blow, driving a triple to the wall in center plating Jordan and Eric. Jeff calmly lined a single to score Jamy and it was 9-7 Rez life just like that. A very impressive inning to say the least.
Blue responde with two runs to tie it, but Rez came out in the third and got five more runs to go up for good, 14-9. Chris tripled to deep left to open the inning and Nick singled to make it 10-9. After a lineout, Andy singled to move Nick up and Jason walloped his second homer of the year, a three-run job to deep left field. Eric followed with a liner off the third baseman and out of play for a quick double and Jordan knocked one off the wall in left to score Eric but was just thrown out trying to make it a triple. Jamy, Jeff and Adam all singled to load the bases with two outs, but Chris popped up to end the inning.
Blue was a bit rattled by the 18 Warriors hits in two innings and went down without scoring. Rez expanded its lead to 16-9 with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Nick singled again and Austin drove a triple off the wall in right. Andy lifted a sacrifice fly to socre Austin but the team stranded Jason's double and came away with just two runs.
Blue did respond this time with three runs of its own, using two walks and three singles. Rez Life couldn't take advantage of an error in the top of the fifth and left two guys on base. Blue added one more run to make it a very close 16-13 game heading into the final frame because of the time limit.
Again, the Warriors couldn't get the big hit, leaving the bases loaded and stranding Jason and Eric's fourth hits of the night as well as Andy's single.
In the last of the sixth, the Warriors went to their closer, Chris, on the mound and he made quick work putting Blue down in order to preserve the three-run lead.
Jason capped a great night by earning his team-high fourth POG of the season with his 4-5 night with two runs, five rbi, a double and that three-run homer. Great overall offensive performance with 28 hits in the game for the Warriors.
The two wins make Rez Life's record 11-5 overall, just one game behind Life for second place. Life and Rez meet next week for the outright second place title. Rez would hold the tie-breaker with more runs scored on the season. The game is at 5:50 on field #3.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Warriors Trounce EPAG
The Resurrection Life Warriors took a commanding hold on fourth place last week with a 15-4 thrashing of EPAG. EPAG had been neck and neck with Rez, but with the victory the Warriors swept the season series.
Rez now sits just a half game out of third and two games out of second. With a strong finish, second place is still very much a possibility.
The offense came out firing Thursday with six quick runs in the first inning. Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt and Austin Colby all singled to start the game. That loaded the bases for Eric Johnson who roped a ball to deep left for his first of three sacrifice flies. Lee Valle followed with an RBI single to score Jason and Jamy Antoine lofted a sacrifice fly, one of his two on the day. Jordan Schumack doubled to push Lee to third with two outs and Jeff Johnson deposited a ball over the left-center field fence for a three-run banger, giving the Warriors a 6-0 edge.
EPAG went down without scoring in the bottom half but Rez stranded two runners in the top of the second and the score remained 6-0 in the bottom of the second inning. EPAG again couldn't muster any offense as the league-leading Warrior defense made quick and easy work of the EPAG bats.
The top of third saw Rez Life score one more run, using a leadoff triple from Jamy who scored on Jordan's rbi-groundout.
Trailing 7-0, EPAG got on the board with one run in the bottom of the third using a walk, taking an extra base on a single that Austin bobbled in centerfield, and a groundout.
It proved to be too little as the Warriors slammed the door shut with four more runs in the top of the fourth to build an insurmountable 11-1 edge. After the first two batters went down in order, Eric drew a walk to start the two-out rally. Lee followed with a walk and Jamy brought home Eric with a single. Jordan singled to load the bases for hot-man Jeff, who coaxed his second walk of the game to score Lee. Adam Hey provided the big blow, knocking out a two-run single plating Jamy and Jordan and capping the inning's scoring binge.
EPAG didn't roll over though and came back wtih two runs in the bottom of the fourth. EPAG knocked out three singles and drew two walks during the inning. Rez added one more run in the top of the fifth as Austin doubled with one out and raced home on a deep flyball out from Eric. Eric's clean sacrifice fly made it 12-3 Warriors.
EPAG didn't score in the bottom half and the Warriors had a chance to put the 10-run in effect in the top of the sixth, but failed to do so, stranding a single from Jordan and Jeff's third walk.
EPAG scored one run in the bottom half, knocking out a triple and scoring on a grounder. Up 12-4 heading into the final inning, the Warriors added three runs for good measure. Andy walked to start things and moved to second on Jason's single. Austin's third hit of the game loaded the bases for Eric, who again lifted a sac fly. Lee singled to score Jason and Jamy answered Eric's sac fly with his second to score Austin and end the game's runs, 15-4 Rez Life.
Jeff earns Player of the Game for his extremely efficient performance. He finished 1-1 with one run scored, four rbi, including a three-run homer and drew three walks. It is Jeff's second honor on the season.
Rez Life now has a doubleheader against league-leader Living Word at 5:50 on field #2 and follows that up against St. Andrew Blue on field #3. Living Word and Rez Life have split games so far this season so Thursday's game will be for bragging rights. The Warriors have not yet played St. Andrew Blue but did have their way with them last season, posting two 20-run innings in two contests.
Rez now sits just a half game out of third and two games out of second. With a strong finish, second place is still very much a possibility.
The offense came out firing Thursday with six quick runs in the first inning. Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt and Austin Colby all singled to start the game. That loaded the bases for Eric Johnson who roped a ball to deep left for his first of three sacrifice flies. Lee Valle followed with an RBI single to score Jason and Jamy Antoine lofted a sacrifice fly, one of his two on the day. Jordan Schumack doubled to push Lee to third with two outs and Jeff Johnson deposited a ball over the left-center field fence for a three-run banger, giving the Warriors a 6-0 edge.
EPAG went down without scoring in the bottom half but Rez stranded two runners in the top of the second and the score remained 6-0 in the bottom of the second inning. EPAG again couldn't muster any offense as the league-leading Warrior defense made quick and easy work of the EPAG bats.
The top of third saw Rez Life score one more run, using a leadoff triple from Jamy who scored on Jordan's rbi-groundout.
Trailing 7-0, EPAG got on the board with one run in the bottom of the third using a walk, taking an extra base on a single that Austin bobbled in centerfield, and a groundout.
It proved to be too little as the Warriors slammed the door shut with four more runs in the top of the fourth to build an insurmountable 11-1 edge. After the first two batters went down in order, Eric drew a walk to start the two-out rally. Lee followed with a walk and Jamy brought home Eric with a single. Jordan singled to load the bases for hot-man Jeff, who coaxed his second walk of the game to score Lee. Adam Hey provided the big blow, knocking out a two-run single plating Jamy and Jordan and capping the inning's scoring binge.
EPAG didn't roll over though and came back wtih two runs in the bottom of the fourth. EPAG knocked out three singles and drew two walks during the inning. Rez added one more run in the top of the fifth as Austin doubled with one out and raced home on a deep flyball out from Eric. Eric's clean sacrifice fly made it 12-3 Warriors.
EPAG didn't score in the bottom half and the Warriors had a chance to put the 10-run in effect in the top of the sixth, but failed to do so, stranding a single from Jordan and Jeff's third walk.
EPAG scored one run in the bottom half, knocking out a triple and scoring on a grounder. Up 12-4 heading into the final inning, the Warriors added three runs for good measure. Andy walked to start things and moved to second on Jason's single. Austin's third hit of the game loaded the bases for Eric, who again lifted a sac fly. Lee singled to score Jason and Jamy answered Eric's sac fly with his second to score Austin and end the game's runs, 15-4 Rez Life.
Jeff earns Player of the Game for his extremely efficient performance. He finished 1-1 with one run scored, four rbi, including a three-run homer and drew three walks. It is Jeff's second honor on the season.
Rez Life now has a doubleheader against league-leader Living Word at 5:50 on field #2 and follows that up against St. Andrew Blue on field #3. Living Word and Rez Life have split games so far this season so Thursday's game will be for bragging rights. The Warriors have not yet played St. Andrew Blue but did have their way with them last season, posting two 20-run innings in two contests.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Rez Stops Immanuel Machine
Immanuel had been shredding through the league, winning eight straight games in impressive fashion. Until Resurrection Life showed up that is. Rez used its uncomparable defense to slow the Immanuel bats and take the 10-7 victory.
The offense showed signs that it could be getting back into a groove, smoking several balls throughout the game. Although the team managed just 17 hits, it hit at least another half dozen right on the nose. Jamy Antoine led the offensive charge smacking out three hits including double while scoring one run and driving home two. He also had an assist in right field en route to Player of the Game honors.
It didn't start well for the offense as Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt, and Austin Colby started the game with conecutive flyouts to right-center. Immanuel then came out and scored one in the bottom half to go ahead 1-0 after one inning.
In the top of the second, Rez pushed six runs across to take the lead for good. Eric Johnson walked to start things and moved to third on Jordan Schumack's infield single and throwing error by the pitcher. With runners at second and third, Jamy lined his first single of the game to left to score Eric. Lee Valle followed with a single to score Jordan. A deep Jeff Johnson flyout moved Jamy to third base with one out. Adam Hey then scorched one at the shortstop who made a nice play to get a forceout at second. Jamy scored on the grounder for the third run of the inning. Andy singled and Jason lined a single to load the bases for Austin. Austin came through lining one to left-center scoring two. Eric followed suit, plating Jason with a shot to left. The inning was cut short as the shortstop made a very nice play on Jordan's line drive.
The infield defense made quick work of Immanuel in the bottom of the second and Rez took a 6-1 lead into the third. Jamy doubled to start the inning but the offense couldn't get anything else going. Two more hard-hit balls went for nothing as Immanuel played good defense.
Immanuel stranded two runners in the bottom of the third and the Warriors added one more run to their lead in the fourth. Jason singled and after Austin was robbed of a sure triple, Eric walked to advance Jason. Jordan flew out and Jamy singled to score Jason. Immanuel went scoreless again in the bottom of the fourth.
Rez took the wind out of Immanuel's sails in the top of the fifth, pushing three runs across and taking a commanding 10-1 lead with two innings left. Jeff singled to start the inning, but tweaked his quad in the process. Adam hit another laser beam but right at the shortstop for the first out. Andy lofted a deep fly ball to center for out number two. The Warriors then ran off four straight hits with two outs to score three. Jason singled and Austin lined one to left-center that scooted to the wall, scoring Jeff and Jason. Eric singled to plate Austin and Jordan drove one to deep left for a double but Eric was cut down at home for the final out.
Trailing 10-1, Immanuel scored one run in the bottom of the fifth. Immanuel knocked out three hits and had two runners on as its four hitter drove one to the track in right, but Jamy was there to snag it and end the threat.
Rez didn't score in the top of the sixth and Immanuel added one in the bottom of the sixth, but it would have been more if not for Jamy gunning a runner down at second base for the first out.
Rez looked to add some insurance runs in the top of the seventh but was unable to, stranding a lone single from Austin.
The bottom of the seventh got interesting as Immanuel plated four runs and had the winning run at the plate before a forceout ended the game. The leadoff hitter tripled and scored on a single to make it 10-4. The three hitter lined one down the leftfield line but Jason made a fine catch for the first out. A lot of pressure was then relieved as the big four hitter popped out to Jeff for the second out. The following three hitters hit bleeders into the outfield to score one more and load the bases. A walk forced home another run to make it 10-6. One more single cut the lead to three for the Warriors, but Lee handled a grounder and tossed to Eric at second to end the game, 10-7 Rez.
The big victory pushes Rez back into fourth place at 8-5. Immanuel, who tied its next game, fell into third place at 9-4-1. Life is now in second place with a very solid 11-3 record. Next week, Rez can eliminate EPAG from 2nd place contention as the two teams meet at 5:50 on field #4.
The offense showed signs that it could be getting back into a groove, smoking several balls throughout the game. Although the team managed just 17 hits, it hit at least another half dozen right on the nose. Jamy Antoine led the offensive charge smacking out three hits including double while scoring one run and driving home two. He also had an assist in right field en route to Player of the Game honors.
It didn't start well for the offense as Andy Briggs, Jason Merritt, and Austin Colby started the game with conecutive flyouts to right-center. Immanuel then came out and scored one in the bottom half to go ahead 1-0 after one inning.
In the top of the second, Rez pushed six runs across to take the lead for good. Eric Johnson walked to start things and moved to third on Jordan Schumack's infield single and throwing error by the pitcher. With runners at second and third, Jamy lined his first single of the game to left to score Eric. Lee Valle followed with a single to score Jordan. A deep Jeff Johnson flyout moved Jamy to third base with one out. Adam Hey then scorched one at the shortstop who made a nice play to get a forceout at second. Jamy scored on the grounder for the third run of the inning. Andy singled and Jason lined a single to load the bases for Austin. Austin came through lining one to left-center scoring two. Eric followed suit, plating Jason with a shot to left. The inning was cut short as the shortstop made a very nice play on Jordan's line drive.
The infield defense made quick work of Immanuel in the bottom of the second and Rez took a 6-1 lead into the third. Jamy doubled to start the inning but the offense couldn't get anything else going. Two more hard-hit balls went for nothing as Immanuel played good defense.
Immanuel stranded two runners in the bottom of the third and the Warriors added one more run to their lead in the fourth. Jason singled and after Austin was robbed of a sure triple, Eric walked to advance Jason. Jordan flew out and Jamy singled to score Jason. Immanuel went scoreless again in the bottom of the fourth.
Rez took the wind out of Immanuel's sails in the top of the fifth, pushing three runs across and taking a commanding 10-1 lead with two innings left. Jeff singled to start the inning, but tweaked his quad in the process. Adam hit another laser beam but right at the shortstop for the first out. Andy lofted a deep fly ball to center for out number two. The Warriors then ran off four straight hits with two outs to score three. Jason singled and Austin lined one to left-center that scooted to the wall, scoring Jeff and Jason. Eric singled to plate Austin and Jordan drove one to deep left for a double but Eric was cut down at home for the final out.
Trailing 10-1, Immanuel scored one run in the bottom of the fifth. Immanuel knocked out three hits and had two runners on as its four hitter drove one to the track in right, but Jamy was there to snag it and end the threat.
Rez didn't score in the top of the sixth and Immanuel added one in the bottom of the sixth, but it would have been more if not for Jamy gunning a runner down at second base for the first out.
Rez looked to add some insurance runs in the top of the seventh but was unable to, stranding a lone single from Austin.
The bottom of the seventh got interesting as Immanuel plated four runs and had the winning run at the plate before a forceout ended the game. The leadoff hitter tripled and scored on a single to make it 10-4. The three hitter lined one down the leftfield line but Jason made a fine catch for the first out. A lot of pressure was then relieved as the big four hitter popped out to Jeff for the second out. The following three hitters hit bleeders into the outfield to score one more and load the bases. A walk forced home another run to make it 10-6. One more single cut the lead to three for the Warriors, but Lee handled a grounder and tossed to Eric at second to end the game, 10-7 Rez.
The big victory pushes Rez back into fourth place at 8-5. Immanuel, who tied its next game, fell into third place at 9-4-1. Life is now in second place with a very solid 11-3 record. Next week, Rez can eliminate EPAG from 2nd place contention as the two teams meet at 5:50 on field #4.
Warriors Split to Start Second Half
Rez Life split a doubleheader coming out of the All-Star break, beating Wooddale 13-5 but falling to 2nd place Life 6-2. The defense again was excellent, proving its honor of being named the top defense in the league at the midway point.
In game one, the Warriors relied heavily on their 5-man infield's brilliance. The left side of Andy Briggs and Lee Valle combined for seven assists without an error. Lee Valle earned his first player of the game, contributing four assists and a putout at thirdbase in the finest doubleheader I have seen from the hot corner. Lee also drew three walks in four plate appearances.
While the offense scored 13 runs, it never got going and only managed 13 hits. Both pitchers struggled finding the zone as there were 17 combined walks in the game. Five people had two hits, led by Austin Colby who went 2-2 with two runs scored, five RBI, a double and a three-run homerun. Jeff Johnson also had a perfect game at the plate, going 2-2 with two runs, two rbi and a homerun.
In the top of the first, the squad jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Andy Briggs and Jason Merritt started the game with back-to-back singles. Austin then plate Andy with a double off the wall. After the first out, Jordan Schumack singled to score Jason and Austin. Jamy Antoine singled and the bases were loaded on Lee's walk. Jeff lofted a sacrifice fly to score Jordan and closed the inning's scoring.
Wooddale scraped together one run in the bottom half using two walks and a single. Leading 4-1, Rez Life added two more runs in the second. Adam Hey doubled to start things and trotted home on Jason's one-out double. Jason smartly advanced to third on the throw home and jogged home on Austin's sac fly. Eric Johnson singled but was left standing on first as the inning ended.
In the bottom of the second, Wooddale came charging back into the game with three runs to make it 6-4. Five walks and a single led to the big inning. The Warriors were shutout in the top of the third leaving Lee and Jeff on base. Wooddale also went down scoreless making it 6-4 in the top of the fourth.
Rez added one in the fourth as Andy, Austin, and Eric walked to load the bases and Jordan walked to score Andy. A sharply-hit grounder turned into a double play to end the potential big inning.
Wooddale went down one, two, three in the bottom half as Lee had two assists and a putout at third.
Leading just 7-4, Rez looked to expand that lead in the fifth frame. Lee walked to start things and moved to second on Jeff's walk. After back-to-back outs, the two-out offense kicked it into gear. Andy doubled scoring both runners and Jason walked to put two on for Austin. Austin lined a three-run homer to dead center to make it 12-4 and give Rez a nice cushion.
Wooddale didn't score in the fifth and the sixth inning started as the final inning due to time constraints. With two outs and no one on, Jeff launched his second homer of the season to left to give Rez its 13th run.
ui
In the last half of the sixth, Wooddale put together one run on three hits and a walk to make it 13-5. Eric, Andy, and Jason all added two hits in the game. Jordan had three rbi.
The nightcap was not nearly as fruitful for the Warrior bats, as the team scored just two runs on seven hits in seven innings. Life wasn't much better knocking out just 11 hits in its seven innings, but translating that into six runs and a victory.
Life went down one, two, three to start the game and Rez grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom half. Andy singled and moved to third on Jason's double. With runners at second and third for Austin and Eric, the night took an ominous turn for the worse as Austin hit his first infield popout of the season and Eric managed just a groundout to score Andy.
Life stranded a leadoff double in the second and Rez came to bat with a 1-0 lead in the bottom half. However, Rez went down in order for the first of fiv times in the game. The seven hits that the Warriors had were all from the top four hitters in the lineup. During the game Rez made eight consecutive outs at one point and seven at another.
Both teams were scoreless again in the third inning but Life took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Life started the four-run inning single, double, dinger. The offense added another run later on with three more singles.
Rez still couldn't muster any offense going scoreless in the fourth and fifth and Life padded its lead with two more runs in the top of the sixth. Trailing 6-1, the Warriors did plate one run in the bottom of the sixth. Andy lined his third single of the game to center, moved to second on Austins' second hit and scored on Eric's rbi single.
That was it for the offense as the bats went down in order in the seventh. Andy earned POG with his 3-3 performance including scoring both runs.
The 1-1 night puts Rez's record at 7-5 and in fifth place in the league. Next week the Warriors wll face Immanuel who has won eight games in a row and sits in second place with a record of 9-3.
In game one, the Warriors relied heavily on their 5-man infield's brilliance. The left side of Andy Briggs and Lee Valle combined for seven assists without an error. Lee Valle earned his first player of the game, contributing four assists and a putout at thirdbase in the finest doubleheader I have seen from the hot corner. Lee also drew three walks in four plate appearances.
While the offense scored 13 runs, it never got going and only managed 13 hits. Both pitchers struggled finding the zone as there were 17 combined walks in the game. Five people had two hits, led by Austin Colby who went 2-2 with two runs scored, five RBI, a double and a three-run homerun. Jeff Johnson also had a perfect game at the plate, going 2-2 with two runs, two rbi and a homerun.
In the top of the first, the squad jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Andy Briggs and Jason Merritt started the game with back-to-back singles. Austin then plate Andy with a double off the wall. After the first out, Jordan Schumack singled to score Jason and Austin. Jamy Antoine singled and the bases were loaded on Lee's walk. Jeff lofted a sacrifice fly to score Jordan and closed the inning's scoring.
Wooddale scraped together one run in the bottom half using two walks and a single. Leading 4-1, Rez Life added two more runs in the second. Adam Hey doubled to start things and trotted home on Jason's one-out double. Jason smartly advanced to third on the throw home and jogged home on Austin's sac fly. Eric Johnson singled but was left standing on first as the inning ended.
In the bottom of the second, Wooddale came charging back into the game with three runs to make it 6-4. Five walks and a single led to the big inning. The Warriors were shutout in the top of the third leaving Lee and Jeff on base. Wooddale also went down scoreless making it 6-4 in the top of the fourth.
Rez added one in the fourth as Andy, Austin, and Eric walked to load the bases and Jordan walked to score Andy. A sharply-hit grounder turned into a double play to end the potential big inning.
Wooddale went down one, two, three in the bottom half as Lee had two assists and a putout at third.
Leading just 7-4, Rez looked to expand that lead in the fifth frame. Lee walked to start things and moved to second on Jeff's walk. After back-to-back outs, the two-out offense kicked it into gear. Andy doubled scoring both runners and Jason walked to put two on for Austin. Austin lined a three-run homer to dead center to make it 12-4 and give Rez a nice cushion.
Wooddale didn't score in the fifth and the sixth inning started as the final inning due to time constraints. With two outs and no one on, Jeff launched his second homer of the season to left to give Rez its 13th run.
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In the last half of the sixth, Wooddale put together one run on three hits and a walk to make it 13-5. Eric, Andy, and Jason all added two hits in the game. Jordan had three rbi.
The nightcap was not nearly as fruitful for the Warrior bats, as the team scored just two runs on seven hits in seven innings. Life wasn't much better knocking out just 11 hits in its seven innings, but translating that into six runs and a victory.
Life went down one, two, three to start the game and Rez grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom half. Andy singled and moved to third on Jason's double. With runners at second and third for Austin and Eric, the night took an ominous turn for the worse as Austin hit his first infield popout of the season and Eric managed just a groundout to score Andy.
Life stranded a leadoff double in the second and Rez came to bat with a 1-0 lead in the bottom half. However, Rez went down in order for the first of fiv times in the game. The seven hits that the Warriors had were all from the top four hitters in the lineup. During the game Rez made eight consecutive outs at one point and seven at another.
Both teams were scoreless again in the third inning but Life took the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Life started the four-run inning single, double, dinger. The offense added another run later on with three more singles.
Rez still couldn't muster any offense going scoreless in the fourth and fifth and Life padded its lead with two more runs in the top of the sixth. Trailing 6-1, the Warriors did plate one run in the bottom of the sixth. Andy lined his third single of the game to center, moved to second on Austins' second hit and scored on Eric's rbi single.
That was it for the offense as the bats went down in order in the seventh. Andy earned POG with his 3-3 performance including scoring both runs.
The 1-1 night puts Rez's record at 7-5 and in fifth place in the league. Next week the Warriors wll face Immanuel who has won eight games in a row and sits in second place with a record of 9-3.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Mid-Season Report
The Resurrection Life Warriors take a 6-4 record into the All-Star Break, good for a fourth place standing in the leauge. The team has had its share of ups and downs, trading emotional victories and heart-breaking defeats.
Some early-season highlights were the 25-10 throttling of Wooddale and the 24-run outburst versus EPAG. The 7-6 upset of Living Word was the crowning highlight, ending a personal 4-game losing streak against the league-leaders.
The team has hit an offensive rut as of late, coming into the break scoring just 24 runs in its last three games. However, the defense has been picking up the slack, leading the team to a 2-1 record over those three games. A recent switch to a five-man infield has added a spark to the team.
The bats are hitting just .519 right now and averaging 13.3 runs per game. The on base percentage of .589 is very solid and with a couple hot games could very well finish over .600. The team slugging percentage is just under .800 at .796. The team is ripping 6 extra base hits per game and drawing three walks.
Austin Colby has provided much of the offense so far, starting the year 26-29 with 8 doubles, 6 triples, and 4 homeruns before a recent 4-8 slowdown. At the break, the team's lone starting All-Star is hitting .811 with an .829 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.676. Austin is making a run at the league's batting title as well as runs produced per game, doubles, triples, and extra base hits. He has provided 30% of the team's extra base hits while scoring 25 times and driving home 27.
Andy Briggs is the only other All-Star representative, making the squad as an reserve infielder. Andy has been a nice addition to the team playing excellent defense at both second base and shortstop. His offense has really come around and he finds himself hitting over .600 at the break, at .609. His on base percentage of .654 is in the top 15 in the league and he has three doubles on his resume.
Jason Merritt narrowly missed out on his first All-Star appearance, losing to the second baseman from Immanuel in a close internet vote to pick the final roster spot. Jason has played extremely well in the outfield, especially since the first couple games. He went through a real dip in his hitting for a stretch, but has turned it around and goes into the break six for his last seven. His OPS is over 1.400 and he has scored and driven home 12 runs.
Jason hit his first career homerun early in the season and had this to say about it, "I didn't even try to," stated Jason. "It just hopped off my bat. I really need to give Austin and Eric (Johnson) thanks because without those guys teaching me how to hit homers during homerun derby, I don't know that I would have hit that one."
Well said, Jason.
Lee Valle has been steady as she goes so far, holding down third base with the best glove he's flashed in the last three years. He's done a great job in the five-man infield, snaring liners and scooping grounders. He also has his average up to .533 with a .618 on base percentage. I imagine Lee will continue to increase those numbers as the season winds down.
Eric Johnson has been the second-best run producer out of that four-hole, but hasn't lived up to pre-season expectations. Some people are worried that after inking that big two-year deal, a la Andruw Jones, he has gotten a little lazy with his game. I can personally vouch that he is consistently hitting between games and showing a lot of pop. It just hasn't translated recently in games. Eric is second on the team and 9th in the league with three homeruns. He has brought home 18 runners on just 15 hits in the first half. In patented Eric fashion, he has yet to draw a walk and has lofted four sacrifice flies. The big bright spot for Eric this year has been his year-to-date gold-glove caliber defense. He hasn't displayed such good hands since the late 90s when he was catching passes across the middle. Although large for a middle infielder/second baseman he has shown good range when needed and had a hand in a league-high six double plays.
Dr. Jamy Antoine has been ho-hum so far. He had to battle out of an early-season slump and did so well. He has launched one homer and played probably the best all-around outfield for the Warriors. He has flexed his strong arm when needed and made very difficult plays on the run. Jamy has driven in 13 runs on his 14 hits.
Jeff Johnson has struggled through the first half so far. The one constant plus he's shown is the pop in his bat. Over 60% of his hits have gone for extra bases and he's averaging 1.44 rbi per hit. He is second on the team with five doubles and has also hit one homer. At first, he has been flawless, helping the infield to the league's highest fielding percentage in the first half.
Jon Engbrecht has dazzled the team with stories of target practice for the government and has also played five different positions. He hasn't let his power stroke fully emerge yet, but has ripped four doubles, including one off the top of the chainlink which somehow bounced back in versus going over. Jon has been clutch when most needed, going 7-9 in 5th inning or later situations.
Jordan is playing his first season as a college graduate and it suits him quite nicely. He has pitched consistently since he's been back and has shown that speed he's known for on the basepaths. His average is deceiving, only .542, but his on base percentage tells a much clearer picture of how he's been hitting the ball, .679 - good for second on the team and in the top 10 in the league. Jordan leads the team with four walks and has also mashed three doubles and one triple.
Big John Wooten is another new face on the squad and he's been a joy to have around. John has gotten his feet wet in church softball and has flashed signs of decent bat. He has manned the catcher's position for much of the innings and his chatter is improving. John has three games where he's reached base multiple times and has had a couple key run-scoring base hits. John's number will steadily climb as he gets more and more comfortable.
Adam Hey smiles a lot. We like that about him. We also like that his defense has improved each game and after filling in diligently on the mound, he has now down nice work on the right-side of the infield. He should see much of his action at two-bag going forward with some stops in right and behind the plate. I suspect that Adam's batting average will creep above .400 before the end of the season as well.
Ben Terfehr is the final first-half member of the team. Unfortunately, due to a very lucrative offer from a well-known Japanese team Ben will no longer be a full-time Warrior in the second half. That is too bad because in his limited time he showed great promise at the plate. He was hitting .643 in 14 at bats including nine runs, nine rbi, two doubles and homerun. We will miss having him around but look forward to any visits he makes.
League Outlook:
Things are shaping up for a runaway league title from Living Word. While the team has been challenged in recent weeks and fell to our mighty Warriors, too many unlikely scenarios would have to play out for Living Word not to regain its standing as league champ.
I believe that Resurrection Life will put it together for a long enough stretch to capture second place. The team has games against Life, Immanuel and EPAG that our must-wins because the Warriors still have Living Word one more time.
I anticipate that Immanuel will slow down and Life will pick it up enough to come away with third place leaving EPAG and Immanuel fighting for fourth. Pax should come in at sixth with St. Andrew Blue in seventh, and Wooddale pushing past St. Andrew Red for eighth.
Team Outlook:
The Warriors will hit over .575 as a team the rest of the way and average 2.25 homeruns per game, doubling their first-half output. The final record will be 13-5 or 12-6, good enough for 2nd place. There isn't a team that Rez Life can't beat on any given night so this second half could be special.
First Half Awards:
All-Star: Austin Colby
All-Star: Andy Briggs
MVP: Austin Colby
Infield Gold Glove: Eric Johnson
Outfield Gold Glove: Jamy Antoine
Projected Second Half Lineup:
1. Andy Briggs, SS
2. Jason Merritt, LF
3. Austin Colby, CF
4. Eric Johnson, MI
5. Jordan Schumack, P
6. Jamy Antoine, RF
7. Lee Valle, 3B
8. Jon Engbrecht, 2B
9. John Wooten, DH
10. Jeff Johnson, 1B
11. Adam Hey, C
Some early-season highlights were the 25-10 throttling of Wooddale and the 24-run outburst versus EPAG. The 7-6 upset of Living Word was the crowning highlight, ending a personal 4-game losing streak against the league-leaders.
The team has hit an offensive rut as of late, coming into the break scoring just 24 runs in its last three games. However, the defense has been picking up the slack, leading the team to a 2-1 record over those three games. A recent switch to a five-man infield has added a spark to the team.
The bats are hitting just .519 right now and averaging 13.3 runs per game. The on base percentage of .589 is very solid and with a couple hot games could very well finish over .600. The team slugging percentage is just under .800 at .796. The team is ripping 6 extra base hits per game and drawing three walks.
Austin Colby has provided much of the offense so far, starting the year 26-29 with 8 doubles, 6 triples, and 4 homeruns before a recent 4-8 slowdown. At the break, the team's lone starting All-Star is hitting .811 with an .829 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.676. Austin is making a run at the league's batting title as well as runs produced per game, doubles, triples, and extra base hits. He has provided 30% of the team's extra base hits while scoring 25 times and driving home 27.
Andy Briggs is the only other All-Star representative, making the squad as an reserve infielder. Andy has been a nice addition to the team playing excellent defense at both second base and shortstop. His offense has really come around and he finds himself hitting over .600 at the break, at .609. His on base percentage of .654 is in the top 15 in the league and he has three doubles on his resume.
Jason Merritt narrowly missed out on his first All-Star appearance, losing to the second baseman from Immanuel in a close internet vote to pick the final roster spot. Jason has played extremely well in the outfield, especially since the first couple games. He went through a real dip in his hitting for a stretch, but has turned it around and goes into the break six for his last seven. His OPS is over 1.400 and he has scored and driven home 12 runs.
Jason hit his first career homerun early in the season and had this to say about it, "I didn't even try to," stated Jason. "It just hopped off my bat. I really need to give Austin and Eric (Johnson) thanks because without those guys teaching me how to hit homers during homerun derby, I don't know that I would have hit that one."
Well said, Jason.
Lee Valle has been steady as she goes so far, holding down third base with the best glove he's flashed in the last three years. He's done a great job in the five-man infield, snaring liners and scooping grounders. He also has his average up to .533 with a .618 on base percentage. I imagine Lee will continue to increase those numbers as the season winds down.
Eric Johnson has been the second-best run producer out of that four-hole, but hasn't lived up to pre-season expectations. Some people are worried that after inking that big two-year deal, a la Andruw Jones, he has gotten a little lazy with his game. I can personally vouch that he is consistently hitting between games and showing a lot of pop. It just hasn't translated recently in games. Eric is second on the team and 9th in the league with three homeruns. He has brought home 18 runners on just 15 hits in the first half. In patented Eric fashion, he has yet to draw a walk and has lofted four sacrifice flies. The big bright spot for Eric this year has been his year-to-date gold-glove caliber defense. He hasn't displayed such good hands since the late 90s when he was catching passes across the middle. Although large for a middle infielder/second baseman he has shown good range when needed and had a hand in a league-high six double plays.
Dr. Jamy Antoine has been ho-hum so far. He had to battle out of an early-season slump and did so well. He has launched one homer and played probably the best all-around outfield for the Warriors. He has flexed his strong arm when needed and made very difficult plays on the run. Jamy has driven in 13 runs on his 14 hits.
Jeff Johnson has struggled through the first half so far. The one constant plus he's shown is the pop in his bat. Over 60% of his hits have gone for extra bases and he's averaging 1.44 rbi per hit. He is second on the team with five doubles and has also hit one homer. At first, he has been flawless, helping the infield to the league's highest fielding percentage in the first half.
Jon Engbrecht has dazzled the team with stories of target practice for the government and has also played five different positions. He hasn't let his power stroke fully emerge yet, but has ripped four doubles, including one off the top of the chainlink which somehow bounced back in versus going over. Jon has been clutch when most needed, going 7-9 in 5th inning or later situations.
Jordan is playing his first season as a college graduate and it suits him quite nicely. He has pitched consistently since he's been back and has shown that speed he's known for on the basepaths. His average is deceiving, only .542, but his on base percentage tells a much clearer picture of how he's been hitting the ball, .679 - good for second on the team and in the top 10 in the league. Jordan leads the team with four walks and has also mashed three doubles and one triple.
Big John Wooten is another new face on the squad and he's been a joy to have around. John has gotten his feet wet in church softball and has flashed signs of decent bat. He has manned the catcher's position for much of the innings and his chatter is improving. John has three games where he's reached base multiple times and has had a couple key run-scoring base hits. John's number will steadily climb as he gets more and more comfortable.
Adam Hey smiles a lot. We like that about him. We also like that his defense has improved each game and after filling in diligently on the mound, he has now down nice work on the right-side of the infield. He should see much of his action at two-bag going forward with some stops in right and behind the plate. I suspect that Adam's batting average will creep above .400 before the end of the season as well.
Ben Terfehr is the final first-half member of the team. Unfortunately, due to a very lucrative offer from a well-known Japanese team Ben will no longer be a full-time Warrior in the second half. That is too bad because in his limited time he showed great promise at the plate. He was hitting .643 in 14 at bats including nine runs, nine rbi, two doubles and homerun. We will miss having him around but look forward to any visits he makes.
League Outlook:
Things are shaping up for a runaway league title from Living Word. While the team has been challenged in recent weeks and fell to our mighty Warriors, too many unlikely scenarios would have to play out for Living Word not to regain its standing as league champ.
I believe that Resurrection Life will put it together for a long enough stretch to capture second place. The team has games against Life, Immanuel and EPAG that our must-wins because the Warriors still have Living Word one more time.
I anticipate that Immanuel will slow down and Life will pick it up enough to come away with third place leaving EPAG and Immanuel fighting for fourth. Pax should come in at sixth with St. Andrew Blue in seventh, and Wooddale pushing past St. Andrew Red for eighth.
Team Outlook:
The Warriors will hit over .575 as a team the rest of the way and average 2.25 homeruns per game, doubling their first-half output. The final record will be 13-5 or 12-6, good enough for 2nd place. There isn't a team that Rez Life can't beat on any given night so this second half could be special.
First Half Awards:
All-Star: Austin Colby
All-Star: Andy Briggs
MVP: Austin Colby
Infield Gold Glove: Eric Johnson
Outfield Gold Glove: Jamy Antoine
Projected Second Half Lineup:
1. Andy Briggs, SS
2. Jason Merritt, LF
3. Austin Colby, CF
4. Eric Johnson, MI
5. Jordan Schumack, P
6. Jamy Antoine, RF
7. Lee Valle, 3B
8. Jon Engbrecht, 2B
9. John Wooten, DH
10. Jeff Johnson, 1B
11. Adam Hey, C
Bats Put to Sleep as are Warriors' Title Hopes
The Resurrection Life Warriors suffered a heart-breaking 9-6 defeat against Immanuel in a loss that most likely shatters the team's hopes at a league title in 2008. The offense just wasn't there and the defense had its first misstep in weeks at a crucial time.
With second place in the standings on the line, Rez hoped to stop Immanuel's 6-game winning streak and put itself in a position to force Living Word's hand for the league championship. However, the Warrior offense didn't comply managing only 11 hits on the night in dropping to 6-4 on the year.
Batting first, the team went quickly and without much fanfare, stranding and Austin Colby single. Immanuel also went scorelesss leaving a leadoff walk on base as the 5-man infield forced two grounders during the inning.
In the second, Lee Valle started things with the first of his three singles on the night, but was quickly erased on a double play. A lineout ended the inning. The defense continued its stellar play holding Immanuel without a run again to make it 0-0 going into the third inning.
Rez finally got on the board in the third when Adam Hey reached on an error with one out and went to second on substitute Jeff Tenney's single. Andy Briggs singled to load the bases and Jordan followed to drive home the first run. Austin and Eric failed for the second consecutive week to drop the hammer from the third and fourth spots though as an Austin lineout scored just one more run and Eric flew out to end the frame.
Immanuel, fired up from holding the Warriors to just two runs, came out swining and scored three runs on five hits to take a 3-2 lead after three. Immanuel was able to drop three bloopers between second base and right field in the inning before Adam made a sliding grab in foul territory to end the threat.
Down 3-2, Rez stranded a Lee single and a Jeff walk in the next two innings as the defense, led by the 5-man infield, kept Immanuel at bay making it 3-2 going into the sixth.
With Austin and Eric leading off the top of the sixth and trailing by just one, the bats were bound to heat up. That was not the case as the 3-4 hitters went down in order for the 5th time in three games and Lee's third single was for naught.
With the offense sputtering, the defense needed to hold ground and for the first time since the 5-man infield shift, it did not. In the bottom of the sixth, Immanuel bled five hits and used two Rez errors along with one walk to score six runs and take a daunting 9-2 edge heading into the top of the seventh. The defense which was excellent all game just couldn't come up with a big play as several near great plays were just missed and a couple routine plays were mishandled as well.
Facing defeat, the bats came to life in the seventh. Jon Engbrecht, looking to make amends for a defensive miscue, ripped a double to deep left-center to start the inning. After two pop-outs, Jeff laced a single to score Jon and make it 9-3 with two outs. Andy coaxed a walk to put two on for Jordan who nailed a triple to deep left scoring both runners and making it 9-5. Austin and Eric finally came through, drawing a walk and lining a single respectively to make it 9-6 which brought up the perfect 3-3 Lee, representing the tying run. Lee didn't have the magic in this at bat, grounding out to end the game, 9-6 Immanuel.
Jordan captured Player of the Game honors with his 2-4 game including the triple. He drove home three of the team's six runs and made two fine defensive plays on the mound.
Immanuel now sits in second by itself at 8-3, riding a seven-game winning streak. Rez is still in fourth at 6-4. The Warriors have two big games this week, playing cellar-dwellar Wooddale at 5:50 and last year's league champ, Life, at 6:50. Both games are on field 4 and I have heard rumors of fireworks, so be sure to be there.
With second place in the standings on the line, Rez hoped to stop Immanuel's 6-game winning streak and put itself in a position to force Living Word's hand for the league championship. However, the Warrior offense didn't comply managing only 11 hits on the night in dropping to 6-4 on the year.
Batting first, the team went quickly and without much fanfare, stranding and Austin Colby single. Immanuel also went scorelesss leaving a leadoff walk on base as the 5-man infield forced two grounders during the inning.
In the second, Lee Valle started things with the first of his three singles on the night, but was quickly erased on a double play. A lineout ended the inning. The defense continued its stellar play holding Immanuel without a run again to make it 0-0 going into the third inning.
Rez finally got on the board in the third when Adam Hey reached on an error with one out and went to second on substitute Jeff Tenney's single. Andy Briggs singled to load the bases and Jordan followed to drive home the first run. Austin and Eric failed for the second consecutive week to drop the hammer from the third and fourth spots though as an Austin lineout scored just one more run and Eric flew out to end the frame.
Immanuel, fired up from holding the Warriors to just two runs, came out swining and scored three runs on five hits to take a 3-2 lead after three. Immanuel was able to drop three bloopers between second base and right field in the inning before Adam made a sliding grab in foul territory to end the threat.
Down 3-2, Rez stranded a Lee single and a Jeff walk in the next two innings as the defense, led by the 5-man infield, kept Immanuel at bay making it 3-2 going into the sixth.
With Austin and Eric leading off the top of the sixth and trailing by just one, the bats were bound to heat up. That was not the case as the 3-4 hitters went down in order for the 5th time in three games and Lee's third single was for naught.
With the offense sputtering, the defense needed to hold ground and for the first time since the 5-man infield shift, it did not. In the bottom of the sixth, Immanuel bled five hits and used two Rez errors along with one walk to score six runs and take a daunting 9-2 edge heading into the top of the seventh. The defense which was excellent all game just couldn't come up with a big play as several near great plays were just missed and a couple routine plays were mishandled as well.
Facing defeat, the bats came to life in the seventh. Jon Engbrecht, looking to make amends for a defensive miscue, ripped a double to deep left-center to start the inning. After two pop-outs, Jeff laced a single to score Jon and make it 9-3 with two outs. Andy coaxed a walk to put two on for Jordan who nailed a triple to deep left scoring both runners and making it 9-5. Austin and Eric finally came through, drawing a walk and lining a single respectively to make it 9-6 which brought up the perfect 3-3 Lee, representing the tying run. Lee didn't have the magic in this at bat, grounding out to end the game, 9-6 Immanuel.
Jordan captured Player of the Game honors with his 2-4 game including the triple. He drove home three of the team's six runs and made two fine defensive plays on the mound.
Immanuel now sits in second by itself at 8-3, riding a seven-game winning streak. Rez is still in fourth at 6-4. The Warriors have two big games this week, playing cellar-dwellar Wooddale at 5:50 and last year's league champ, Life, at 6:50. Both games are on field 4 and I have heard rumors of fireworks, so be sure to be there.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Triumphant Twinbill for Warriors
A great night for two turned into a fabulous night for the Resurrection Life Warriors softball team, as the squad put on a defensive display and showed incredible poise and heart in claiming two victories over worthy opponents.
Game one saw the newly minted five-man infield put on a clinic, holding St. Andrew Red to just two hits in an 11-0 shutout. The infield, Lee Valle at third, Andy Briggs at short, Eric Johnson up the middle, Jon Engbrecht and Adam Hey at second, and Jeff Johnson at first, played flawlessly in its first taste of five-man action. The outfield trio held court, not letting a ball find grass all game.
The nightcap pitted league-leader Living Word against Rez Life with the promise of a show. The two teams have developed quite a rivalry in the past three seasons. In 2006 the two teams split a pair of barn-burners as Living Word went on to the league title with Rez finishing second. Last season, Living Word swept all three games from the Warriors but two of the contests were hotly contested until the very end.
After dropping the first meeting this season, the Warriors were looking to stop a four-game losing streak against Living Word and put themselves in a position to contend for the league title this year. Like many games before, last night's contest was a doozy. The fans got their money's worth and Rez Life again used stellar defense and some late-inning clutch hitting to win 7-6.
Rez Life led from wire to wire in game one, manhandling the over-matched St. Andrew Red squad even on an off night offensively. The team plodded along, scoring in the first four innings to win via 10-run rule after five.
Andy Briggs earned Player of the Game with a 3-3 performance including three runs scored. He also had two assists and two putouts leading the defense from shortstop.
Leading off the game, Andy singled. After an out, Austin Colby singled to put two on for Eric. Eric flew out for the second out but Jason Merritt singled to plate one and keep the inning alive. Adam Hey, back from a long layoff, singled to load the bases for Jeff Johnson who ripped a deep drive to left-center to plate two runs. To finish the inning, Jon roped a single to score the final two runs and give Rez a 5-0 lead.
St. Andrew Red wasted a lead-off walk in its half as Jordan Schumack closed the inning with a strikeout. In the top of the second, Big John Wooten started the inning by reaching on an error and moved to second as Jamy Antoine drew a walk. With no outs, Andy singled to load the bases for Jordan who fell prey to a good one-strike pitch and went down looking. Austin singled to score one run but Jamy was cut down at home on a good throw for the second out. Eric rolled one to third which was thrown away allowing Andy to scamper home. Jason lined his second hit of the game plating Austin and pushing Rez's early lead to 8-0.
The five-man infield really took center stage in the second inning as Lee fielded a roller and fired to first for the first out. Andy then made a nice snag on a tough line drive. After a single, Andy fielded a grounder and tossed to middle infielder Eric for the final out. Two of the three plays wouldn't have been made with a four-man infield.
Rez added just one run in the top of the third to go up 9-0. Jon E. singled with one out and moved to second on a grounder before scoring on Big John's single.
In the bottom of the third, the defense shined even brighter. Austin made his finest outfield grab to date, laying out completely before catching the ball fully extended as he slid face-down towards second base. Andy fielded and fired to first for the second out and Eric made a fine base-hit robbing catch of a line drive to end the inning.
The bats put their final two runs on the board in the top of the fourth using a two-run double from Austin after Andy singled and went to third as Jordan reached on an error.
Two more stolen singles and a groundout made quick work of Red in the bottom of the fourth. Rez also went down quickly in the top of the fifth, but its defense ended the game efficiently in the bottom half, leaving Red's second single of the night on first base as a Lee to Eric forceout capped the frame.
In game two, for the first time all season, Rez Life was the home team, and against Living Word it paid off. The defense was hot from the great showing in game one and picked up right where it left off in the top of the first. After a lead-off walk, a five-man infield doubleplay fired up the team right away. Andy to Eric to Jeff. Andy finished the inning on a grounder and Rez came to bat.
The Warriors took the early lead with one run in the bottom of the first. Andy blooped a double and moved to third on Jason's single to put runners at the corners for Austin and Eric. Austin lined out to short but Eric plated Andy with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
Leading 1-0, the Warrior defense had its first chink in the armor in the second. Living Word opened the inning with a ground-rule double and Austin misplayed a deep flyball into a run-scoring double to tie the game. The next two batters flew out to Jason in left and Adam snared a foul pop behind home plate to strand the runner on third.
In the bottom of the second, Jordan and Lee started with back-to-back singles. Jeff smoked a grounder but right at the shortstop who turned it into two outs. Big John came through with a liner to center to put Rez back on top 2-1. Jon E. was then robbed of a homerun, crushing a ball off the top of the fence only to have it bounce back into play for a double. Adam drew a walk to load the bases for Andy, but a sharp grounder right at first base ended the threat.
Living Word had its best offensive inning of the night, scoring two runs to take a 3-2 lead in the third. The first three batters reached on a walk, single, and a single to score one run. After a lineout, another walk loaded the bases. A grounder forced the second out, but allowed a run to score and another roller ended the inning.
Rez Life's offense sputtered, scoring no runs in the third, wasting Jason's second single of the game. Living Word wasn't able to take advantage though, leaving one man on base but not scoring.
Trailing 3-2, the Warriors again were shutout in the bottom of the fourth. This time, the team stranded singles from Jordan and Lee. Living Word pounced this time adding one run in the top of the fifth to go up 4-2.
The biggest offensive inning of either team came in the bottom of the fifth as the Warriors took the lead with four runs. Jon E. singled and moved to second on Andy's single. Jason ripped his third single of the day scoring Jon and making it 4-3. Austin, 0-2 on the night after getting out just three times all year coming into the game, rolled a soft grounder to second that was booted to allow Andy to score and keep runners at the corners for Eric. Eric lifted his second sac fly of the night to plate Jason. With two outs, Jamy ripped a single which pushed Austin home and give the team a 6-4 edge. A double from Jordan and walk from Lee loaded the bases but Rez couldn't get another hit and the inning ended.
Feeling the pressure now, Living Word cut the deficit in half with one run in the top of the sixth. It could have been worse if not for a great play from Jason to start the inning. The eight-hitter for Living Word lined a would-be single just over Andy's reach to left, but Jason - playing shallow - fielded and fired to first to gun the hitter by one step for the first out. The team dodged another bullet later in the inning as the reigning two-time league MVP hit into a forceout with two on to end the inning. Jordan made a fine stab on the play to preserve the lead.
The Rez Life bats went down in order in the sixth, leaving the game up to Living Word's 5, 6, and 7 hitters. A popout to Andy started the top of the seventh. Austin was able to find redemption for his earlier miscue by running a country mile to make a sliding catch behind second base for the second out. A double squeezed between Austin and Jason in the outfield and a single scored the runner to tie the game at 6. A grounder to Jeff ended the inning, but set Living Word up to have its top of the order come up if the game went another inning.
With Rez Life's top of the order coming up, there would be no extra inning. Andy finished his great game with a single to start the seventh. Jason roped one to right for his fourth hit which pushed Andy to third base with no outs. Austin was intentionally walked to load the bases for Eric and set the stage for his heroics. He came through by ripping the game-winning single to left for his third RBI of the night.
Jason captures his second Player of the Game honor this year with five putouts, one great assist, four hits, a run and an rbi on the night.
The team defense wins an honorary Player of the Night award for its play in the doubleheader. The two great wins push the team's record to 6-3 on the year, good enough for fourth place. Rez is only one game out of second place and can control its own destiny now for second. Next week the team plays current third-place holder, Immanuel, who stands at 7-3. The game is at 8:50 on field 2. The Warriors hope to carry this momentum for the rest of the season.
Look for the mid-season write-up coming later this week.
Game one saw the newly minted five-man infield put on a clinic, holding St. Andrew Red to just two hits in an 11-0 shutout. The infield, Lee Valle at third, Andy Briggs at short, Eric Johnson up the middle, Jon Engbrecht and Adam Hey at second, and Jeff Johnson at first, played flawlessly in its first taste of five-man action. The outfield trio held court, not letting a ball find grass all game.
The nightcap pitted league-leader Living Word against Rez Life with the promise of a show. The two teams have developed quite a rivalry in the past three seasons. In 2006 the two teams split a pair of barn-burners as Living Word went on to the league title with Rez finishing second. Last season, Living Word swept all three games from the Warriors but two of the contests were hotly contested until the very end.
After dropping the first meeting this season, the Warriors were looking to stop a four-game losing streak against Living Word and put themselves in a position to contend for the league title this year. Like many games before, last night's contest was a doozy. The fans got their money's worth and Rez Life again used stellar defense and some late-inning clutch hitting to win 7-6.
Rez Life led from wire to wire in game one, manhandling the over-matched St. Andrew Red squad even on an off night offensively. The team plodded along, scoring in the first four innings to win via 10-run rule after five.
Andy Briggs earned Player of the Game with a 3-3 performance including three runs scored. He also had two assists and two putouts leading the defense from shortstop.
Leading off the game, Andy singled. After an out, Austin Colby singled to put two on for Eric. Eric flew out for the second out but Jason Merritt singled to plate one and keep the inning alive. Adam Hey, back from a long layoff, singled to load the bases for Jeff Johnson who ripped a deep drive to left-center to plate two runs. To finish the inning, Jon roped a single to score the final two runs and give Rez a 5-0 lead.
St. Andrew Red wasted a lead-off walk in its half as Jordan Schumack closed the inning with a strikeout. In the top of the second, Big John Wooten started the inning by reaching on an error and moved to second as Jamy Antoine drew a walk. With no outs, Andy singled to load the bases for Jordan who fell prey to a good one-strike pitch and went down looking. Austin singled to score one run but Jamy was cut down at home on a good throw for the second out. Eric rolled one to third which was thrown away allowing Andy to scamper home. Jason lined his second hit of the game plating Austin and pushing Rez's early lead to 8-0.
The five-man infield really took center stage in the second inning as Lee fielded a roller and fired to first for the first out. Andy then made a nice snag on a tough line drive. After a single, Andy fielded a grounder and tossed to middle infielder Eric for the final out. Two of the three plays wouldn't have been made with a four-man infield.
Rez added just one run in the top of the third to go up 9-0. Jon E. singled with one out and moved to second on a grounder before scoring on Big John's single.
In the bottom of the third, the defense shined even brighter. Austin made his finest outfield grab to date, laying out completely before catching the ball fully extended as he slid face-down towards second base. Andy fielded and fired to first for the second out and Eric made a fine base-hit robbing catch of a line drive to end the inning.
The bats put their final two runs on the board in the top of the fourth using a two-run double from Austin after Andy singled and went to third as Jordan reached on an error.
Two more stolen singles and a groundout made quick work of Red in the bottom of the fourth. Rez also went down quickly in the top of the fifth, but its defense ended the game efficiently in the bottom half, leaving Red's second single of the night on first base as a Lee to Eric forceout capped the frame.
In game two, for the first time all season, Rez Life was the home team, and against Living Word it paid off. The defense was hot from the great showing in game one and picked up right where it left off in the top of the first. After a lead-off walk, a five-man infield doubleplay fired up the team right away. Andy to Eric to Jeff. Andy finished the inning on a grounder and Rez came to bat.
The Warriors took the early lead with one run in the bottom of the first. Andy blooped a double and moved to third on Jason's single to put runners at the corners for Austin and Eric. Austin lined out to short but Eric plated Andy with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
Leading 1-0, the Warrior defense had its first chink in the armor in the second. Living Word opened the inning with a ground-rule double and Austin misplayed a deep flyball into a run-scoring double to tie the game. The next two batters flew out to Jason in left and Adam snared a foul pop behind home plate to strand the runner on third.
In the bottom of the second, Jordan and Lee started with back-to-back singles. Jeff smoked a grounder but right at the shortstop who turned it into two outs. Big John came through with a liner to center to put Rez back on top 2-1. Jon E. was then robbed of a homerun, crushing a ball off the top of the fence only to have it bounce back into play for a double. Adam drew a walk to load the bases for Andy, but a sharp grounder right at first base ended the threat.
Living Word had its best offensive inning of the night, scoring two runs to take a 3-2 lead in the third. The first three batters reached on a walk, single, and a single to score one run. After a lineout, another walk loaded the bases. A grounder forced the second out, but allowed a run to score and another roller ended the inning.
Rez Life's offense sputtered, scoring no runs in the third, wasting Jason's second single of the game. Living Word wasn't able to take advantage though, leaving one man on base but not scoring.
Trailing 3-2, the Warriors again were shutout in the bottom of the fourth. This time, the team stranded singles from Jordan and Lee. Living Word pounced this time adding one run in the top of the fifth to go up 4-2.
The biggest offensive inning of either team came in the bottom of the fifth as the Warriors took the lead with four runs. Jon E. singled and moved to second on Andy's single. Jason ripped his third single of the day scoring Jon and making it 4-3. Austin, 0-2 on the night after getting out just three times all year coming into the game, rolled a soft grounder to second that was booted to allow Andy to score and keep runners at the corners for Eric. Eric lifted his second sac fly of the night to plate Jason. With two outs, Jamy ripped a single which pushed Austin home and give the team a 6-4 edge. A double from Jordan and walk from Lee loaded the bases but Rez couldn't get another hit and the inning ended.
Feeling the pressure now, Living Word cut the deficit in half with one run in the top of the sixth. It could have been worse if not for a great play from Jason to start the inning. The eight-hitter for Living Word lined a would-be single just over Andy's reach to left, but Jason - playing shallow - fielded and fired to first to gun the hitter by one step for the first out. The team dodged another bullet later in the inning as the reigning two-time league MVP hit into a forceout with two on to end the inning. Jordan made a fine stab on the play to preserve the lead.
The Rez Life bats went down in order in the sixth, leaving the game up to Living Word's 5, 6, and 7 hitters. A popout to Andy started the top of the seventh. Austin was able to find redemption for his earlier miscue by running a country mile to make a sliding catch behind second base for the second out. A double squeezed between Austin and Jason in the outfield and a single scored the runner to tie the game at 6. A grounder to Jeff ended the inning, but set Living Word up to have its top of the order come up if the game went another inning.
With Rez Life's top of the order coming up, there would be no extra inning. Andy finished his great game with a single to start the seventh. Jason roped one to right for his fourth hit which pushed Andy to third base with no outs. Austin was intentionally walked to load the bases for Eric and set the stage for his heroics. He came through by ripping the game-winning single to left for his third RBI of the night.
Jason captures his second Player of the Game honor this year with five putouts, one great assist, four hits, a run and an rbi on the night.
The team defense wins an honorary Player of the Night award for its play in the doubleheader. The two great wins push the team's record to 6-3 on the year, good enough for fourth place. Rez is only one game out of second place and can control its own destiny now for second. Next week the team plays current third-place holder, Immanuel, who stands at 7-3. The game is at 8:50 on field 2. The Warriors hope to carry this momentum for the rest of the season.
Look for the mid-season write-up coming later this week.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Long Lay-off Proves Beneficial for Bats
The Resurrection Life Warriors took the field after two weeks off, thanks to some more inclement weather. Apparently the extra rest was just what the doctors ordered as the team matched its season high with 24 runs in a 24-9 drilling of Eden Prairie Assembly of God.
The team banged out 25 hits in six innings, but also managed to reach base another seven times, drawing three walks and taking advantage of four miscues in the field. Rez Life also ripped 12 extra-base hits to match a Rez Life Eden Prairie League team-high set in June of 2006. The team record for extra base hits is 15 which dates back to a game in July of 2003 in which the Warriors mashed 10 homeruns, back in the days of no homerun limits and the ever-forgiving Miken Ultra II.
Austin Colby earned his second Player of the Game honors, doing his part in helping to break in the new Freak Plus. He finished the game 5-5 with a walk, including one double, two triples and two homeruns, one a towering three-run shot into the trees to cap the night's scoring.
Another new-look lineup took to bat to start the game and after a lineout to start things Austin hit a hard, sinking liner to left-center that got all the way to fence which allowed him to hustle home for a quick 1-0 lead. After another out, Eric Johnson laced his first of five hits, a double off the wall in left and jogged home easily as Jason Merritt launched a double to right-center.
The Warrior defense was perfect in the bottom of the first facing the minimum of three batters. After a lead-off walk, Andy Briggs and Eric turned a smooth doubleplay up the middle, 4-6-3 style. A nice snag on a liner to Jason in left ended the inning.
Rez increased its lead to 8-0 after the top of the second inning with seven hits and one EPAG error. With two outs and just Andy on first after a single, the bats came to life. Jordan Schumack singled to put runners at first and second for Austin who smoked his first triple to right-field to plate both runners. Lee Valle then singled to score Austin and Eric singled to put two on for Jason. Jason hit a hard grounder to the shortstop who watched it roll between his legs, allowing Lee to score to make it 6-0. Still with two outs, John Wooten lined a single to plate Eric and Jamy Antoine followed with another single to socre Jason and make it 8-0 after one and half innings.
The Rez Life defense faltered early in the second inning as the first man reached on an error at short and Austin misplayed a deep fly into a double to put a runner at second with one run in and no outs. The Warriors caught a break with the next batter who lined a single to left-field but Jason came up firing and nailed the runner from second base who froze as the liner left the bat. With one out, EPAG poked three straight singles to plate one more run and load the bases. Big John made a nice play on a roller in front of home plate, hustling out to grab it and then stepping on home for the second out. The final batter hit a hard one-hopper to Eric who made a nice hip-pocket play and tossed to Andy at second for the final out, leaving the bases loaded.
Up 8-2, Rez put another six-spot on the board to go up 14-2 in the third. With one out, Jordan singled and sprinted home on Austin's second triple. Lee lifted a fly ball to right-center for a would-be sacrifice fly, but the fielder dropped it allowing Lee to reach as Austin scored. Eric singled again to put two on for Jason. Jason lifted another fly ball to the right-center fielder who again dropped it loading the bases with one out. After a foul-out for out number two, Jamy roped a ball to dead center which plated all three runs, after good base-running from Jason. Andy kept his new-found hot bat going with a nice double to right field which scored Jamy, but Andy got caught rounding second and was picked off at the base for the third out.
EPAG wouldn't go away, clawing back with four runs of its own in the bottom of the third to make it 14-6. EPAG went single, single, three-run homer off the top of the fence - the second time this season that has happened to Rez Life - to start the inning. After an out, two more singles and two walks allowed the final run of the inning to score before Jamy made a nice running catch to end the inning in right field.
The fourth inning was the quietest as Rez won the inning 1-0. With two outs in the top half, Austin walked and scored on Lee Valle's double. Eric singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, but a lineout to right ended the threat.
The defense flexed its 'bend-don't-break' philosophy once more in the bottom of the fourth, allowing two runners to reach before a fly ball ended the frame.
Now up 15-6 and facing a time-limit situation, the Warriors rushed their at bats in the top of the fifth and were shutout for the only time all game. After Big John reached on an error to start things, Andy singled with one out to make it first and second. Jon Engbrecht and Jordan both hit sharp grounders right at people for forceouts which ended the inning.
EPAG made it a close game with three runs in the bottom half by loading the bases with two walks and a single and then clearing them with a low liner to left which just got under Jason's outstretched glove for a double.
Knowing the sixth was the last inning, the Warrior bats were fired up and ready to pad their lead. Austin started things with a rope to left-center which he turned into a hustle-double by not stopping for a second coming out of the box. Lee singled to put two on for Eric who quickly launched his second double to score Austin and put guys at second and third with no outs for Jason. Jason lifted a sac fly to right-center to score Lee and Big John followed with a walk. Jamy singled for his third hit of the night to plate Eric and Andy exploded a ball off the wall in center to score Big John and Jamy, making it 20-9 with one out. Jon E. lined a single to score Andy and moved to second on Jordan's walk. Austin then officially got the Freak bat into action by lofting a deep-fly into the evergreens in left-field to make it 24-9. The final two batters both hit the ball hard, but right at the left-fielder. Eric missed his chance for his first career six-hit game by lining out to end the game.
EPAG was able to put two runners on in the bottom of the sixth, but not do anything with them so the game ended 24-9 Rez Life. The Rez Life defense stranded 12 EPAG runners in six innings. Impressive.
The victory gets Rez Life back on the right side of .500 at 4-3. EPAG suffered two losses on the day pushing its record to 4-3 also. The teams get to play each other one more time which could be a battle for third place.
Next week is a doubleheader for the Warriors with games at 5:50 and 6:50 versus St. Andrew Red and league-leader Living Word. Two wins would put the Warriors in position to capture second place and leave open the possibility of a league championship.
The team banged out 25 hits in six innings, but also managed to reach base another seven times, drawing three walks and taking advantage of four miscues in the field. Rez Life also ripped 12 extra-base hits to match a Rez Life Eden Prairie League team-high set in June of 2006. The team record for extra base hits is 15 which dates back to a game in July of 2003 in which the Warriors mashed 10 homeruns, back in the days of no homerun limits and the ever-forgiving Miken Ultra II.
Austin Colby earned his second Player of the Game honors, doing his part in helping to break in the new Freak Plus. He finished the game 5-5 with a walk, including one double, two triples and two homeruns, one a towering three-run shot into the trees to cap the night's scoring.
Another new-look lineup took to bat to start the game and after a lineout to start things Austin hit a hard, sinking liner to left-center that got all the way to fence which allowed him to hustle home for a quick 1-0 lead. After another out, Eric Johnson laced his first of five hits, a double off the wall in left and jogged home easily as Jason Merritt launched a double to right-center.
The Warrior defense was perfect in the bottom of the first facing the minimum of three batters. After a lead-off walk, Andy Briggs and Eric turned a smooth doubleplay up the middle, 4-6-3 style. A nice snag on a liner to Jason in left ended the inning.
Rez increased its lead to 8-0 after the top of the second inning with seven hits and one EPAG error. With two outs and just Andy on first after a single, the bats came to life. Jordan Schumack singled to put runners at first and second for Austin who smoked his first triple to right-field to plate both runners. Lee Valle then singled to score Austin and Eric singled to put two on for Jason. Jason hit a hard grounder to the shortstop who watched it roll between his legs, allowing Lee to score to make it 6-0. Still with two outs, John Wooten lined a single to plate Eric and Jamy Antoine followed with another single to socre Jason and make it 8-0 after one and half innings.
The Rez Life defense faltered early in the second inning as the first man reached on an error at short and Austin misplayed a deep fly into a double to put a runner at second with one run in and no outs. The Warriors caught a break with the next batter who lined a single to left-field but Jason came up firing and nailed the runner from second base who froze as the liner left the bat. With one out, EPAG poked three straight singles to plate one more run and load the bases. Big John made a nice play on a roller in front of home plate, hustling out to grab it and then stepping on home for the second out. The final batter hit a hard one-hopper to Eric who made a nice hip-pocket play and tossed to Andy at second for the final out, leaving the bases loaded.
Up 8-2, Rez put another six-spot on the board to go up 14-2 in the third. With one out, Jordan singled and sprinted home on Austin's second triple. Lee lifted a fly ball to right-center for a would-be sacrifice fly, but the fielder dropped it allowing Lee to reach as Austin scored. Eric singled again to put two on for Jason. Jason lifted another fly ball to the right-center fielder who again dropped it loading the bases with one out. After a foul-out for out number two, Jamy roped a ball to dead center which plated all three runs, after good base-running from Jason. Andy kept his new-found hot bat going with a nice double to right field which scored Jamy, but Andy got caught rounding second and was picked off at the base for the third out.
EPAG wouldn't go away, clawing back with four runs of its own in the bottom of the third to make it 14-6. EPAG went single, single, three-run homer off the top of the fence - the second time this season that has happened to Rez Life - to start the inning. After an out, two more singles and two walks allowed the final run of the inning to score before Jamy made a nice running catch to end the inning in right field.
The fourth inning was the quietest as Rez won the inning 1-0. With two outs in the top half, Austin walked and scored on Lee Valle's double. Eric singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, but a lineout to right ended the threat.
The defense flexed its 'bend-don't-break' philosophy once more in the bottom of the fourth, allowing two runners to reach before a fly ball ended the frame.
Now up 15-6 and facing a time-limit situation, the Warriors rushed their at bats in the top of the fifth and were shutout for the only time all game. After Big John reached on an error to start things, Andy singled with one out to make it first and second. Jon Engbrecht and Jordan both hit sharp grounders right at people for forceouts which ended the inning.
EPAG made it a close game with three runs in the bottom half by loading the bases with two walks and a single and then clearing them with a low liner to left which just got under Jason's outstretched glove for a double.
Knowing the sixth was the last inning, the Warrior bats were fired up and ready to pad their lead. Austin started things with a rope to left-center which he turned into a hustle-double by not stopping for a second coming out of the box. Lee singled to put two on for Eric who quickly launched his second double to score Austin and put guys at second and third with no outs for Jason. Jason lifted a sac fly to right-center to score Lee and Big John followed with a walk. Jamy singled for his third hit of the night to plate Eric and Andy exploded a ball off the wall in center to score Big John and Jamy, making it 20-9 with one out. Jon E. lined a single to score Andy and moved to second on Jordan's walk. Austin then officially got the Freak bat into action by lofting a deep-fly into the evergreens in left-field to make it 24-9. The final two batters both hit the ball hard, but right at the left-fielder. Eric missed his chance for his first career six-hit game by lining out to end the game.
EPAG was able to put two runners on in the bottom of the sixth, but not do anything with them so the game ended 24-9 Rez Life. The Rez Life defense stranded 12 EPAG runners in six innings. Impressive.
The victory gets Rez Life back on the right side of .500 at 4-3. EPAG suffered two losses on the day pushing its record to 4-3 also. The teams get to play each other one more time which could be a battle for third place.
Next week is a doubleheader for the Warriors with games at 5:50 and 6:50 versus St. Andrew Red and league-leader Living Word. Two wins would put the Warriors in position to capture second place and leave open the possibility of a league championship.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Weather, Missed Chances Knock Warriors Down
The Resurrection Life Warriors fell to Pax Christi for the second time in as many chances this season. The final margin was three runs, matching the defeat of the opening game of the season. Pax won a back and forth contest 16-13 by hitting a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth with two outs.
A managerial miscue contributed to the end, as Rez decided to walk the previous battter and pitch to the eventual game-winner. The loss drops the Warriors back down to .500 at 3-3 and makes it very tough for the team to win the league.
The offense was not very good and missed several opportunities that the Pax defense gave it. The Warriors managed just 13 hits in the five innings but drew four walks and reached base on four different errors.
The low tone was set in the first inning as Andy Briggs, back from a long layoff, singled to start the game and moved to second on Ben Terfehr's walk. Austin Colby, battling an illness, lofted a three-run homer to center to put Rez on top 3-0 after three batters. However, the offense then left two runners on base an didn't push another run across in the first. Jason Merritt and Jordan Schumack both reached base with one out but were frozen on the bases.
In the bottom of the first, Pax managed one run on two hits. It could have been more if not for a great catch from Jamy Antoine that opened the inning. Jamy made his second back-handed running catch in the outfield which saved at least one run.
Rez managed just one run in the second as Jeff Johnson lofted a flyball to right-center that was dropped and Lee Valle placed a hustle-double to score Jeff. Another Pax error put runners on first and second with no outs, but consecutive line drives hit right at the shortstop led to a fielder's choice and doubleplay to end the inning. Tough luck in that frame.
The bottom of the second was a tough inning for the Rez Life defense. Pax started with a bloop single and after a forceout to Jeff at first, Jordan recorded his second strikeout of the game. With two outs, one on and no runs in, Pax bats awakened and Rez Life gloves slumbered. A single to right was misplayed into a double allowing a run to score and then a blooped double fell to score another run. Back-to-back cheap singles plated another run and back-to-back infield errors plated two more which led to a two-run single to cap the inning, making it 9-4 Pax.
Much like the first inning, the Warriors first five hitters reached and scored in the top of the third, but nothing happened after that. Austin and Eric Johnson reached based on grounders to start the inning and both scored as Jason roped one off the wall for a two-rbi double. Jordan singled to score Jason and Jamy finished it off with a towering two-run homer to deep left-center. That tied the game at 9 but that was where the inning ended as Rez wasn't able to muster anymore offense.
The Rez defense looked sharp again in the third, putting the Pax bats down in order. Tied at 9 going into the fourth, Rez took the lead again with four runs. With two outs and nobody on, Austin doubled to center and scored on Eric's majestic deep-fly that landed just short of the street in left-center. Jason promptly followed with his first homerun of the seasn, a low line-drive that just cleared the fence in left. Now up 12-9, Jordan roped a double and scampered home on Jamy's rbi single.
Pax answered quickly with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. The first batter singled and trotted home on a homerun that actually bounced on top of the fence. Pax managed one more hit but it led to nothing and heading into the final inning due to time constraints Rez was up 13-11.
The top of the fifth started well for the Warriors as Jeff and Lee walked to start the inning. John Wooten then hit a hard grounder right at third base which was turned into a doubleplay. With two outs and one on, Andy grounded out to end the inning.
Pax still trailed and needed two runs to tie in the final half inning. The first batter singled up the middle and the second one grounded to Jeff who touched first for one out. A double to right-center made it 13-12 with one out. Another single put runners on the corners and brought the top of the order up. A grounder to Andy at second led to a forceout at second for the second out. That brought up the man who had homered in his last at bat with the winning run on first. The team decided to walk him to bring up the lefty who was just 1-3 on the night. That proved to be the wrong choice as the hitter calmly deposited the first pitch over the fence for a homerun to end the game, 16-13.
Jason earned his first Player of the Game with a 2-3 performance including a double and a homerun. He scored twice and drove home three runners. He reached base all three times up to bat also.
The Warriors now play at 5:50 versus St. Andrew Blue on the Starring Lake field #1 across from Flying Cloud Airport. Every game is a must-win game from here on out for Rez Life.
A managerial miscue contributed to the end, as Rez decided to walk the previous battter and pitch to the eventual game-winner. The loss drops the Warriors back down to .500 at 3-3 and makes it very tough for the team to win the league.
The offense was not very good and missed several opportunities that the Pax defense gave it. The Warriors managed just 13 hits in the five innings but drew four walks and reached base on four different errors.
The low tone was set in the first inning as Andy Briggs, back from a long layoff, singled to start the game and moved to second on Ben Terfehr's walk. Austin Colby, battling an illness, lofted a three-run homer to center to put Rez on top 3-0 after three batters. However, the offense then left two runners on base an didn't push another run across in the first. Jason Merritt and Jordan Schumack both reached base with one out but were frozen on the bases.
In the bottom of the first, Pax managed one run on two hits. It could have been more if not for a great catch from Jamy Antoine that opened the inning. Jamy made his second back-handed running catch in the outfield which saved at least one run.
Rez managed just one run in the second as Jeff Johnson lofted a flyball to right-center that was dropped and Lee Valle placed a hustle-double to score Jeff. Another Pax error put runners on first and second with no outs, but consecutive line drives hit right at the shortstop led to a fielder's choice and doubleplay to end the inning. Tough luck in that frame.
The bottom of the second was a tough inning for the Rez Life defense. Pax started with a bloop single and after a forceout to Jeff at first, Jordan recorded his second strikeout of the game. With two outs, one on and no runs in, Pax bats awakened and Rez Life gloves slumbered. A single to right was misplayed into a double allowing a run to score and then a blooped double fell to score another run. Back-to-back cheap singles plated another run and back-to-back infield errors plated two more which led to a two-run single to cap the inning, making it 9-4 Pax.
Much like the first inning, the Warriors first five hitters reached and scored in the top of the third, but nothing happened after that. Austin and Eric Johnson reached based on grounders to start the inning and both scored as Jason roped one off the wall for a two-rbi double. Jordan singled to score Jason and Jamy finished it off with a towering two-run homer to deep left-center. That tied the game at 9 but that was where the inning ended as Rez wasn't able to muster anymore offense.
The Rez defense looked sharp again in the third, putting the Pax bats down in order. Tied at 9 going into the fourth, Rez took the lead again with four runs. With two outs and nobody on, Austin doubled to center and scored on Eric's majestic deep-fly that landed just short of the street in left-center. Jason promptly followed with his first homerun of the seasn, a low line-drive that just cleared the fence in left. Now up 12-9, Jordan roped a double and scampered home on Jamy's rbi single.
Pax answered quickly with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. The first batter singled and trotted home on a homerun that actually bounced on top of the fence. Pax managed one more hit but it led to nothing and heading into the final inning due to time constraints Rez was up 13-11.
The top of the fifth started well for the Warriors as Jeff and Lee walked to start the inning. John Wooten then hit a hard grounder right at third base which was turned into a doubleplay. With two outs and one on, Andy grounded out to end the inning.
Pax still trailed and needed two runs to tie in the final half inning. The first batter singled up the middle and the second one grounded to Jeff who touched first for one out. A double to right-center made it 13-12 with one out. Another single put runners on the corners and brought the top of the order up. A grounder to Andy at second led to a forceout at second for the second out. That brought up the man who had homered in his last at bat with the winning run on first. The team decided to walk him to bring up the lefty who was just 1-3 on the night. That proved to be the wrong choice as the hitter calmly deposited the first pitch over the fence for a homerun to end the game, 16-13.
Jason earned his first Player of the Game with a 2-3 performance including a double and a homerun. He scored twice and drove home three runners. He reached base all three times up to bat also.
The Warriors now play at 5:50 versus St. Andrew Blue on the Starring Lake field #1 across from Flying Cloud Airport. Every game is a must-win game from here on out for Rez Life.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Rez Life Creeps Above .500 with 25-10 Drubbing
The Warriors from Rez Life man-handled geographical rival, Wooddale, in a 25-10 romp. The Warriors played with just nine players but it was a power-packed nine as the team reached base 31 times including 25 hits and five walks. Every single player reached base at least three times with eight of the nine collecting at least two hits.
Ben Terfehr led the way with a three-hit game highlighted by two doubles. He finished 3-5 but his two non-hits were smoked grounders hit right at people. He scored three runs and drove home a game-high six. His hot early season continued as he earned his first Player of the Game nod.
With just nine defenders, the defense was excellent. The team turned its seventh double play of the year and made several difficult plays to keep Wooddale's offense at bay, after a first-inning outburst.
The Warriors started the game with an eventful first inning. 15 players came to bat in the top of the first while the Rez Life plated 11 runners. Jason Merritt back from his week off walked to start things off and scored easily as Ben drilled his first of two doubles to left-center. Austin Colby roped his fourth triple of the season to right-center to plate Ben and jogged home on Jon Engbrecht's tough-hop grounder to third base. Jordan Schumack then hit a scorcher to third base that squirted out of play allowing Jon to advance to third and Jordan to move to second. Still with no outs, Jeff Johnson dropped in a double that scored both Jordan and Jon and made it 5-0 Rez. After an out, Lee Valle got into the action with a single that put runners on the corners for super-sub Chris Wold who lined a single up the middle to score Jeff.
As the top of the order came up again, it was already 6-0. After the second out, Ben delivered a two-rbi single scoring Chris and Lee. Austin then deposited his first homerun of the season just over the monster in left to make it 10-0. The bats weren't done though as Jon doubled to keep things going and sprinted home on Jordan's double down the left-field line. When the inning finally ended, the Warriors had scored 11 times and ripped out 11 hits including six for extra bases.
However, the Wooddale bats would not let the Warriors get comfortable. The first eight batters for Wooddale reached and scored in the bottom of the first to make it 11-8 after one inning. Lots of fireworks. After a leadoff walk, Wooddale rapped out seven straight hits. Jason snagged a flyball for the first out and two grounders to Austin sandwiched another hit to end the inning.
Rez Life came out quickly in the second to extend its once large lead. With one out, Lee and Chris hit back-to-back singles. Jason doubled to right to score Lee and put runners on second and third for the hot-man Ben. He delivered with a two-rbi double to make it 14-8. Unfortunately, consecutive outs stranded Ben at second.
Wooddale started its half of the second with a single and followed with a flyout. The next batter looped a little liner behind second base which Austin caught and fired to first on the run to double off the slumbering runner and end the inning.
The Warriors bats snoozed a little in the third leaving Jamy Antoine's single alone on the bases. Thankfully, Wooddale also went scoreless again making it 14-8 after three innings. The defense ended the third inning with another slick defensive play as Jason fielded a single and hit Austin perfectly with a relay throw and Austin turned and snapped a strike to Lee who nailed the runner trying to get to third.
Rez Life scored four times in the top of the fourth to extend its lead to 10 runs. Chris doubled, moved to second on Jason's flyout, and scored on Ben's rbi-groundout. Austin doubled to left-center and scored on a handcuffed flyball to left-center hit by Jon. Jordan and Jeff drew two-out walks to load the bases for Jamy who knocked out a single scoring Jon and Jordan to end the scoring.
Wooddale's bats showed a spark in the bottom of the fourth ripping a single and following with a triple to make it 18-9. A lineout to Austin provided the first out and a little blooper into shallow left almost netted another baserunner for Wooddale but Austin made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch as Chris slid underneath him for the second out. However, the runner from third did score to make it 18-10. A popout to Austin ended the inning and allowed Austin to tie a record set by many, making all three outs in an inning.
The umpire notified both teams that the fifth would be the final inning due to time constraints so the bats came out firing. Chris tripled to dead center to start things and Jason drew a walk to put two on. Ben hit a sharp one-hopper right at third, freezing Chris, and forcing Jason at second. Austin calmly lined one to right-center to plate Chris and complete the cycle, hitting a single, double, triple, and homerun in one game. Jon singled to load the bases and after the second out, Jeff ripped a single to push Austin and Ben across the plate. Jamy followed with a run-scoring single to plate Jon. Lee walked to load the bases for Chris who singled and advanced all the way to third on an error, which allowed all three baserunners to scamper home and give us our final score of 25-10.
Wooddale managed one hit in the final frame but it led to nothing as the game ended. The Warriors now stand at 3-2 overall and have pushed their average runs per game up to 14.4 on the season. Next week's contest is a rematch of week one's loss against Pax Christi. The game is at 6:50 on field #4. The Warriors will be looking to exact a little revenge after dropping the season opener 20-17 to Pax.
Ben Terfehr led the way with a three-hit game highlighted by two doubles. He finished 3-5 but his two non-hits were smoked grounders hit right at people. He scored three runs and drove home a game-high six. His hot early season continued as he earned his first Player of the Game nod.
With just nine defenders, the defense was excellent. The team turned its seventh double play of the year and made several difficult plays to keep Wooddale's offense at bay, after a first-inning outburst.
The Warriors started the game with an eventful first inning. 15 players came to bat in the top of the first while the Rez Life plated 11 runners. Jason Merritt back from his week off walked to start things off and scored easily as Ben drilled his first of two doubles to left-center. Austin Colby roped his fourth triple of the season to right-center to plate Ben and jogged home on Jon Engbrecht's tough-hop grounder to third base. Jordan Schumack then hit a scorcher to third base that squirted out of play allowing Jon to advance to third and Jordan to move to second. Still with no outs, Jeff Johnson dropped in a double that scored both Jordan and Jon and made it 5-0 Rez. After an out, Lee Valle got into the action with a single that put runners on the corners for super-sub Chris Wold who lined a single up the middle to score Jeff.
As the top of the order came up again, it was already 6-0. After the second out, Ben delivered a two-rbi single scoring Chris and Lee. Austin then deposited his first homerun of the season just over the monster in left to make it 10-0. The bats weren't done though as Jon doubled to keep things going and sprinted home on Jordan's double down the left-field line. When the inning finally ended, the Warriors had scored 11 times and ripped out 11 hits including six for extra bases.
However, the Wooddale bats would not let the Warriors get comfortable. The first eight batters for Wooddale reached and scored in the bottom of the first to make it 11-8 after one inning. Lots of fireworks. After a leadoff walk, Wooddale rapped out seven straight hits. Jason snagged a flyball for the first out and two grounders to Austin sandwiched another hit to end the inning.
Rez Life came out quickly in the second to extend its once large lead. With one out, Lee and Chris hit back-to-back singles. Jason doubled to right to score Lee and put runners on second and third for the hot-man Ben. He delivered with a two-rbi double to make it 14-8. Unfortunately, consecutive outs stranded Ben at second.
Wooddale started its half of the second with a single and followed with a flyout. The next batter looped a little liner behind second base which Austin caught and fired to first on the run to double off the slumbering runner and end the inning.
The Warriors bats snoozed a little in the third leaving Jamy Antoine's single alone on the bases. Thankfully, Wooddale also went scoreless again making it 14-8 after three innings. The defense ended the third inning with another slick defensive play as Jason fielded a single and hit Austin perfectly with a relay throw and Austin turned and snapped a strike to Lee who nailed the runner trying to get to third.
Rez Life scored four times in the top of the fourth to extend its lead to 10 runs. Chris doubled, moved to second on Jason's flyout, and scored on Ben's rbi-groundout. Austin doubled to left-center and scored on a handcuffed flyball to left-center hit by Jon. Jordan and Jeff drew two-out walks to load the bases for Jamy who knocked out a single scoring Jon and Jordan to end the scoring.
Wooddale's bats showed a spark in the bottom of the fourth ripping a single and following with a triple to make it 18-9. A lineout to Austin provided the first out and a little blooper into shallow left almost netted another baserunner for Wooddale but Austin made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch as Chris slid underneath him for the second out. However, the runner from third did score to make it 18-10. A popout to Austin ended the inning and allowed Austin to tie a record set by many, making all three outs in an inning.
The umpire notified both teams that the fifth would be the final inning due to time constraints so the bats came out firing. Chris tripled to dead center to start things and Jason drew a walk to put two on. Ben hit a sharp one-hopper right at third, freezing Chris, and forcing Jason at second. Austin calmly lined one to right-center to plate Chris and complete the cycle, hitting a single, double, triple, and homerun in one game. Jon singled to load the bases and after the second out, Jeff ripped a single to push Austin and Ben across the plate. Jamy followed with a run-scoring single to plate Jon. Lee walked to load the bases for Chris who singled and advanced all the way to third on an error, which allowed all three baserunners to scamper home and give us our final score of 25-10.
Wooddale managed one hit in the final frame but it led to nothing as the game ended. The Warriors now stand at 3-2 overall and have pushed their average runs per game up to 14.4 on the season. Next week's contest is a rematch of week one's loss against Pax Christi. The game is at 6:50 on field #4. The Warriors will be looking to exact a little revenge after dropping the season opener 20-17 to Pax.
Friday, May 16, 2008
11-8 Win Pushes Rez Life to .500
Resurrection Life utilized a good crop of substitutes to gain an 11-8 victory over Immanuel to even its season record at 2-2. The Warriors were missing five regular players and were forced to get three substitutes to make sure they had 10 players. Thankfully, the substitutes paid off in a big way, earning a conglomerate Player of the Game by producing more than half of the offensive production and playing very solid defense.
Rez Life started off well and it looked like it was going to be a blowout, but the bats quickly died down and completely vanished in the late innings as Immanuel erased an early 8-0 deficit to bring the winning run up to plate in the last inning before ending the game on a flyout.
The Warrior bats got on the board in the first inning after Austin Colby singled but was forced out on a Jamy Antoine groundout. With one out, Eric Johnson singled to move Jamy to second and Jeff Johnson followed with a fielder's choice that forced Eric at second but moved Jamy to third. With two outs Jon Engbrecht singled to score Jamy but Jeff was caught leaning around second a little too much and was picked off the base. That was the first of three base-running miscues by the Warrior runners in the game.
In the bottom of the first, the Rez Life defense turned its 6th doubleplay of the year as sub AJ Larson fed Eric at second who turned the doubleplay nicely.
Leading 1-0, Rez padded that lead with five runs in the top of the second. With one out, Jordan Schumack - fresh off his college graduation - walked and jogged home as another sub, Jeff Tenney, launched a two-run homer. Chris Wold, the final sub, singled and moved to second on AJ's single. With two on, Austin singled to score Chris and Jamy walked to load the bases. Eric lofted a flyball to score AJ and Jeff Johnson singled to plate Austin for the fifth run of the inning.
The defense held strong again in the second and Immanuel was shutout. The Warriors took a 6-0 advantage into the third inning. The team managed more one-out offense in the third as Jordan singled and watched Jeff Tenney destroy his second two-run homer of the game to dead center. Those two runs pushed Rez Life's lead to 8-0.
Immanuel didn't score in its half and Rez had a chance to put the game away for good, but faltered in the fourth, scoring no runs on one hit.
Immanuel took advantage of the little window and scored two runs in the bottom half on three hits. It would have been more but after consecutive singles started the inning, Eric made a dynamite defensive play at second for the first out which prevented a potentially huge inning.
Leading 8-2, Rez added one run in the top of the fifth, using singles from Jon, Tenney, and Chris. The Warriors had their second base-running blunder in the inning that prevented Austin from batting with the bases loaded in the inning. Thankfully, it didn't end up hurting the team.
Immanuel refused to go away, chipping away some more by adding two runs of its own in the bottom half. Three singles and a walk made it 9-4 Rez after five innings.
In the sixth inning, the Warriors were held scoreless as another base-running mistake caused an out instead of having runners at first and second with no outs. Live and learn, right team?
Immanuel added another run to make it 9-5 going into the final frame. Thankfully the Rez Life defense was strong, allowing only the one run while stranding two runners.
Rez Life was able to push two insurance runs across in the top of the seventh on four singles but stranded two more runners. Jon ripped his third single of the game to lead off the inning. With one out, Jordan singled for his second hit which put runners at first and second for Tenney's hot stick. Tenney delivered driving one off the wall in center, scoring Jon. Chris followed with an RBI-single to score Jordan and make it 11-5. A force-out brought Austin up with two on and two outs, but he hit a lazy flyball to left-center to end the inning.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Immanuel started the inning with a single, double, RBI-single, and an RBI-groundout to make it 11-7 with a runner on first and one out. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases with one out and a sacrifice fly made it 11-8 with runners on first and second and two outs. A single loaded the bases again and brought the winning run up to bat with two outs. Thankfully, a routine flyball to left ended the game.
The team managed 20 hits on the night but the subs went a combined 8-11 with four runs scored and seven RBI to earn the collective Player of the Game. Austin and Jon each added three hits.
The Warriors now play Wooddale who they handled easily last season. However, Wooddale has a revamped lineup and should be a much tougher opponent. The game is at 7:50 on field 2. I predict a 20-run game and a victory for the Warriors. Also, look for at least one homerun from Austin, but don't rule out two. Rumor has it, Jason Merritt has promised a homerun also. Everyone will have to show up to see what happens.
Rez Life started off well and it looked like it was going to be a blowout, but the bats quickly died down and completely vanished in the late innings as Immanuel erased an early 8-0 deficit to bring the winning run up to plate in the last inning before ending the game on a flyout.
The Warrior bats got on the board in the first inning after Austin Colby singled but was forced out on a Jamy Antoine groundout. With one out, Eric Johnson singled to move Jamy to second and Jeff Johnson followed with a fielder's choice that forced Eric at second but moved Jamy to third. With two outs Jon Engbrecht singled to score Jamy but Jeff was caught leaning around second a little too much and was picked off the base. That was the first of three base-running miscues by the Warrior runners in the game.
In the bottom of the first, the Rez Life defense turned its 6th doubleplay of the year as sub AJ Larson fed Eric at second who turned the doubleplay nicely.
Leading 1-0, Rez padded that lead with five runs in the top of the second. With one out, Jordan Schumack - fresh off his college graduation - walked and jogged home as another sub, Jeff Tenney, launched a two-run homer. Chris Wold, the final sub, singled and moved to second on AJ's single. With two on, Austin singled to score Chris and Jamy walked to load the bases. Eric lofted a flyball to score AJ and Jeff Johnson singled to plate Austin for the fifth run of the inning.
The defense held strong again in the second and Immanuel was shutout. The Warriors took a 6-0 advantage into the third inning. The team managed more one-out offense in the third as Jordan singled and watched Jeff Tenney destroy his second two-run homer of the game to dead center. Those two runs pushed Rez Life's lead to 8-0.
Immanuel didn't score in its half and Rez had a chance to put the game away for good, but faltered in the fourth, scoring no runs on one hit.
Immanuel took advantage of the little window and scored two runs in the bottom half on three hits. It would have been more but after consecutive singles started the inning, Eric made a dynamite defensive play at second for the first out which prevented a potentially huge inning.
Leading 8-2, Rez added one run in the top of the fifth, using singles from Jon, Tenney, and Chris. The Warriors had their second base-running blunder in the inning that prevented Austin from batting with the bases loaded in the inning. Thankfully, it didn't end up hurting the team.
Immanuel refused to go away, chipping away some more by adding two runs of its own in the bottom half. Three singles and a walk made it 9-4 Rez after five innings.
In the sixth inning, the Warriors were held scoreless as another base-running mistake caused an out instead of having runners at first and second with no outs. Live and learn, right team?
Immanuel added another run to make it 9-5 going into the final frame. Thankfully the Rez Life defense was strong, allowing only the one run while stranding two runners.
Rez Life was able to push two insurance runs across in the top of the seventh on four singles but stranded two more runners. Jon ripped his third single of the game to lead off the inning. With one out, Jordan singled for his second hit which put runners at first and second for Tenney's hot stick. Tenney delivered driving one off the wall in center, scoring Jon. Chris followed with an RBI-single to score Jordan and make it 11-5. A force-out brought Austin up with two on and two outs, but he hit a lazy flyball to left-center to end the inning.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Immanuel started the inning with a single, double, RBI-single, and an RBI-groundout to make it 11-7 with a runner on first and one out. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases with one out and a sacrifice fly made it 11-8 with runners on first and second and two outs. A single loaded the bases again and brought the winning run up to bat with two outs. Thankfully, a routine flyball to left ended the game.
The team managed 20 hits on the night but the subs went a combined 8-11 with four runs scored and seven RBI to earn the collective Player of the Game. Austin and Jon each added three hits.
The Warriors now play Wooddale who they handled easily last season. However, Wooddale has a revamped lineup and should be a much tougher opponent. The game is at 7:50 on field 2. I predict a 20-run game and a victory for the Warriors. Also, look for at least one homerun from Austin, but don't rule out two. Rumor has it, Jason Merritt has promised a homerun also. Everyone will have to show up to see what happens.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Warriors Get in the Win Column
The Resurrection Life Warriors got their first victory of the year with a 13-2 trouncing of St. Andrew Red. The Warriors jumped out in the first inning and cruised to the 10-run rule victory. The momentum was halted in the second game of the twinbill as Living Word beat Rez Life for the 4th straight time, 16-6.
Game 1 didn't have many fireworks offensively, with four of team's 11 hits and 6 of its runs coming in the first inning. Jason Merritt started things with a walk and Andy Briggs pushed him to second by coaxing three balls as well. Austin Colby delivered an RBI single to plate Jason and was followed by a lineout from Eric Johnson for the first out.
Lee Valle singled to load the bases and Andy scored on Jon Engbrecht's grounder that was mishandled. Jeff Johnson then ripped the first of his two doubles scoring Austin and Lee. Adam Hey lofted a sacrifice fly to plate Jon E. and John Wooten doubled down the left-field line to score Jeff and give the warriors a quick 6-0 lead.
St. Andrew went down quickly in the first, with the inning ending on a nice unassisted doubleplay up the middle from Austin.
In the top of the second, Rez Life added two more runs. Andy walked to start things and scored on Austin's double to dead center. Austin advanced to third on the throw home and scored on Eric's hard-hit grounder to short, making the score 8-0. Unfortunately, on Austin's double, Andy hustled home to score but suffered a minor injury as his knee cap swelled up like Dumbo's ears. Thankfully, we have heard back from the medical team and things are looking up for Andy's knee.
St. Andrew went down without scoring again and Rez Life added another doubleplay in the inning as Eric snagged a liner at second and fired to Austin covering the bag to pick up two quick outs.
The Warriors went down quietly in the third, leaving two runners on. St. Andrew chipped away in the bottom half, scoring two runs of its own making it 8-2 after three innings. St. Andrew knocked out four straight hits to score its only two runs of the game. The Warriors defense managed another doubleplay, this one also unassisted but from Lee at third.
The bats added three more runs in the top of the fourth to seal the win and stop any momentum St. Andrew may have had. Andy's replacement, Ben Terfehr, walked to start the inning and scored on Austin's second RBI double. Austin again advanced to third on the throw home and scored on Eric's sac fly to make it 10-2 with one out. Lee reached on an error and moved to second on a walk from Jon E. Jeff roped his second RBI double to right-center to score Lee. Consecutive flyouts ended the inning with Rez on top 11-2.
St. Andrew stranded two runners and didn't score in the bottom of the fourth and the Warriors put two more across in the top of the fifth to bring the 10-run rule into play. Jamy Antoine walked and moved to second on Jason's single up the middle. Ben ripped an RBI single to plate Jamy and proceeded to get in a rundown between first and second which allowed Jason to score. Ben made if safely back to first during the melee. Austin followed with his fourth hit of the game but a hard-hit grounder from Eric led to a doubleplay and a grounder from Lee ended the inning.
The Warriors' defense turned its franchise-record fourth doubleplay in the bottom of the frame to preserve the 10-run rule. With runners on first and second and no outs, Austin - who had moved to left-center - dove to snag a sinking liner and fired to Eric at second for the nifty play. A grounder to Jon E at third ended the game, 13-2.
Jeff earns Player of the Game with his 2-2 performance including those RBI doubles. In his third plate appearance he drew a walk.
Game two wasn't as fruitful for the Warriors as their proverbial thorn-in-the-side foe, Living Word pushed them around via 10-run rule.
The game started even, but one big inning from Living Word in the bottom of the fourth ended things quickly.
In the top of the first, Jason singled and Jamy doubled to score the first run. Austin singled to score Jamy and give the Warriors an early 2-0 lead. Living Word left a runner on base in its half so the Warriors had a 2-0 edge after one inning.
Inning two saw Rez Life score two more runs on four hits. Lee, Ben, Adam and Jason provided the hits with Jason's two-out two-rbi double the big blow. Living Word's first three batters scored in the bottom half to make it 4-3 but a nice doubleplay that went Lee to Eric to Jeff ended the inning.
Again, the Warriors scored two runs in their half of the inning. Austin doubled and jogged home on Eric's two-run homer to left. Living Word only managed one run in its half so Rez Life had a 6-3 advantage going into the fourth frame.
The Rez Life bats' sputtered going down in order in the top of the fourth which set up the big inning for Living Word. Rez Life got two outs after Living Word scored three runs but a tough play on a flyball to center opened the door for Living Word's bats and they responded, ripping off five straight hits including two homers to blow open the game and put Rez Life down 14-6 going into the fifth.
The Warriors managed to load the bases with one out after singles from Jamy, Austin and Eric but a hard-hit grounder turned into an inning-ending doubleplay. Living Word needed just two runs to end the game and did so on a two-run homer with one out.
It was a tough game for Rez Life and dropped the team to 1-2 overall. The next game pits Rez against Immanuel. The two teams have split games in the past two years, with Rez winning handily twice and Immanuel claiming two three-run victories. Look for the Warrior bats to bounce back hard. I'm predicting a 20-run game and a victory.
Game 1 didn't have many fireworks offensively, with four of team's 11 hits and 6 of its runs coming in the first inning. Jason Merritt started things with a walk and Andy Briggs pushed him to second by coaxing three balls as well. Austin Colby delivered an RBI single to plate Jason and was followed by a lineout from Eric Johnson for the first out.
Lee Valle singled to load the bases and Andy scored on Jon Engbrecht's grounder that was mishandled. Jeff Johnson then ripped the first of his two doubles scoring Austin and Lee. Adam Hey lofted a sacrifice fly to plate Jon E. and John Wooten doubled down the left-field line to score Jeff and give the warriors a quick 6-0 lead.
St. Andrew went down quickly in the first, with the inning ending on a nice unassisted doubleplay up the middle from Austin.
In the top of the second, Rez Life added two more runs. Andy walked to start things and scored on Austin's double to dead center. Austin advanced to third on the throw home and scored on Eric's hard-hit grounder to short, making the score 8-0. Unfortunately, on Austin's double, Andy hustled home to score but suffered a minor injury as his knee cap swelled up like Dumbo's ears. Thankfully, we have heard back from the medical team and things are looking up for Andy's knee.
St. Andrew went down without scoring again and Rez Life added another doubleplay in the inning as Eric snagged a liner at second and fired to Austin covering the bag to pick up two quick outs.
The Warriors went down quietly in the third, leaving two runners on. St. Andrew chipped away in the bottom half, scoring two runs of its own making it 8-2 after three innings. St. Andrew knocked out four straight hits to score its only two runs of the game. The Warriors defense managed another doubleplay, this one also unassisted but from Lee at third.
The bats added three more runs in the top of the fourth to seal the win and stop any momentum St. Andrew may have had. Andy's replacement, Ben Terfehr, walked to start the inning and scored on Austin's second RBI double. Austin again advanced to third on the throw home and scored on Eric's sac fly to make it 10-2 with one out. Lee reached on an error and moved to second on a walk from Jon E. Jeff roped his second RBI double to right-center to score Lee. Consecutive flyouts ended the inning with Rez on top 11-2.
St. Andrew stranded two runners and didn't score in the bottom of the fourth and the Warriors put two more across in the top of the fifth to bring the 10-run rule into play. Jamy Antoine walked and moved to second on Jason's single up the middle. Ben ripped an RBI single to plate Jamy and proceeded to get in a rundown between first and second which allowed Jason to score. Ben made if safely back to first during the melee. Austin followed with his fourth hit of the game but a hard-hit grounder from Eric led to a doubleplay and a grounder from Lee ended the inning.
The Warriors' defense turned its franchise-record fourth doubleplay in the bottom of the frame to preserve the 10-run rule. With runners on first and second and no outs, Austin - who had moved to left-center - dove to snag a sinking liner and fired to Eric at second for the nifty play. A grounder to Jon E at third ended the game, 13-2.
Jeff earns Player of the Game with his 2-2 performance including those RBI doubles. In his third plate appearance he drew a walk.
Game two wasn't as fruitful for the Warriors as their proverbial thorn-in-the-side foe, Living Word pushed them around via 10-run rule.
The game started even, but one big inning from Living Word in the bottom of the fourth ended things quickly.
In the top of the first, Jason singled and Jamy doubled to score the first run. Austin singled to score Jamy and give the Warriors an early 2-0 lead. Living Word left a runner on base in its half so the Warriors had a 2-0 edge after one inning.
Inning two saw Rez Life score two more runs on four hits. Lee, Ben, Adam and Jason provided the hits with Jason's two-out two-rbi double the big blow. Living Word's first three batters scored in the bottom half to make it 4-3 but a nice doubleplay that went Lee to Eric to Jeff ended the inning.
Again, the Warriors scored two runs in their half of the inning. Austin doubled and jogged home on Eric's two-run homer to left. Living Word only managed one run in its half so Rez Life had a 6-3 advantage going into the fourth frame.
The Rez Life bats' sputtered going down in order in the top of the fourth which set up the big inning for Living Word. Rez Life got two outs after Living Word scored three runs but a tough play on a flyball to center opened the door for Living Word's bats and they responded, ripping off five straight hits including two homers to blow open the game and put Rez Life down 14-6 going into the fifth.
The Warriors managed to load the bases with one out after singles from Jamy, Austin and Eric but a hard-hit grounder turned into an inning-ending doubleplay. Living Word needed just two runs to end the game and did so on a two-run homer with one out.
It was a tough game for Rez Life and dropped the team to 1-2 overall. The next game pits Rez against Immanuel. The two teams have split games in the past two years, with Rez winning handily twice and Immanuel claiming two three-run victories. Look for the Warrior bats to bounce back hard. I'm predicting a 20-run game and a victory.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Warriors Fall in Season Opener
The Resurrection Life Warriors lost a tough slugfest to Pax Christi 20-17 to open its season in the loss column.
Both teams hit the ball extremely well, as the Warriors banged out 27 hits including five doubles, three triples, and three homeruns. Eric Johnson captured the season's first Player of the Game with an impressive 4-4 showing with 2 runs, 6 rbi with a double and a dinger off the light pole.
The Warriors started a little slowly as the top of the order didn't get things going until late in the game. However, the 17 runs and 11 extra base hits were a great offensive start to the season.
Austin Colby added four hits, including three triples. Newcomers Ben Terfehr and Adam Hey both added four hits as well. Ben ripped a homer to left as one of his hits.
Adam not only had a great offensive debut but he also filled in ably on the mound. The Warriors will be without their pitcher, Jordan Schumack, until mid-May and Austin is the backup pitcher but also the shortstop. With a shortage of infielders this season, the team will try and use Austin at short as often as possible. Because of that, Adam volunteered to pitch and went the distance. He struggled early in the game but after a two-batter hiatus in the first, he settled down and did a nice job.
After taking the lead in the third inning, the Warriors had their victory hopes dashed in the bottom of the fifth as Pax Christi rattled off 12 runs to take a 20-12 lead going into the final inning because of time limitations.
The Warriors did mount a rally pushing five runs across in the sixth and nearly got back to the top of the order with one homerun left to use.
Jason Merritt, Jeff Johnson, Jon Engbrecht, Andy Briggs and John Wooten all added two hits. Jeff tore a two-run homer through the wind to right-center for the first homer of the season.
The team looks to get back on track with a double-header this week versus St. Andrew Red and last year's nemsis, Living Word.
Both teams hit the ball extremely well, as the Warriors banged out 27 hits including five doubles, three triples, and three homeruns. Eric Johnson captured the season's first Player of the Game with an impressive 4-4 showing with 2 runs, 6 rbi with a double and a dinger off the light pole.
The Warriors started a little slowly as the top of the order didn't get things going until late in the game. However, the 17 runs and 11 extra base hits were a great offensive start to the season.
Austin Colby added four hits, including three triples. Newcomers Ben Terfehr and Adam Hey both added four hits as well. Ben ripped a homer to left as one of his hits.
Adam not only had a great offensive debut but he also filled in ably on the mound. The Warriors will be without their pitcher, Jordan Schumack, until mid-May and Austin is the backup pitcher but also the shortstop. With a shortage of infielders this season, the team will try and use Austin at short as often as possible. Because of that, Adam volunteered to pitch and went the distance. He struggled early in the game but after a two-batter hiatus in the first, he settled down and did a nice job.
After taking the lead in the third inning, the Warriors had their victory hopes dashed in the bottom of the fifth as Pax Christi rattled off 12 runs to take a 20-12 lead going into the final inning because of time limitations.
The Warriors did mount a rally pushing five runs across in the sixth and nearly got back to the top of the order with one homerun left to use.
Jason Merritt, Jeff Johnson, Jon Engbrecht, Andy Briggs and John Wooten all added two hits. Jeff tore a two-run homer through the wind to right-center for the first homer of the season.
The team looks to get back on track with a double-header this week versus St. Andrew Red and last year's nemsis, Living Word.
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