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