RezLife warriors

2010 Team Awards

2010-08-10T11:50:00.002-06:00

As is the tradition, the Resurrection Life Warriors completed their post-season team voting for the following awards:
MVP
Infield Gold Glove
Outfield Gold Glove
Surprise Player of the Year
Favorite Player of the Year

Each team member gets one vote, Ron Loven gets a vote and as Manager, Austin Colby gets a second vote for a total of 13 possible ballots. Everyone is allowed to vote for as many as three people for each category. 1st place votes are worth five points, 2nd place votes are three points and 3rd place votes are one point. With all the votes counted, the results are in:

Surprise Player of the Year:
Winner: Adam Hey - 34 points & 10 votes (5 firsts, 2 seconds, 3 thirds)
Runner-up: Logan Brincefield - 26 points & 8 votes (3 firsts, 3 seconds, 2 thirds)
3rd place: Lee Valle - 23 points & 7 votes (2 firsts, 4 seconds, 1 third)
Always a fun category to vote on because of the variety of reasoning behind the vote. There are parameters so each person can choose what 'surprise' means to them. In some years, it's because underperformed beyond belief. In others, it's because they outperformed. In this year's case, the overwhelming majority felt like Adam's continued improvement from 2008 to 2009 to 2010 was outstanding and that garnered him enough votes to take the 2010 Surprise Player of the Year honor. Adam smoked the ball early in the year and held on to finish with solid stats across the board. If you compare some numbers from 2008 to now, you'll see why many still give him the Surprise nod: batting average (2008: .273 2010: .534) extra-base-hits (2008: 2 2010: 9) runs produced per game played (2008: 1.14 2010: 3.22). Great year for Adam, and he continues to turn heads.

Favorite Player of the Year:
Winner: Austin Colby - 20 points & 6 votes (1 first, 5 seconds)
Runner-up: Logan Brincefield - 17 points & 5 votes (2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 third)
3rd place: Jeff Tenney - 15 points & 5 votes (2 firsts, 1 second, 2 thirds)
This was a new award for the season. Every single player received votes with 9 of the 10 eligible players receiving first-place votes and multiple votes. The only player to not receive a first place vote received five total votes between second and third. Great to see such a spread amongst all the teammates. With a humble heart, this sportswriter accepts the award on behalf of Manager Colby. What a surpirse and a blessing. Thank you!

Infield Gold Glove:
Winner: Lee Valle - 49 points & 11 votes (8 firsts, 3 seconds)
Runner-up: Jeff Johnson - 20 points & 6 votes (3 firsts, 1 second, 2 thirds)
3rd place: Austin Colby - 18 points & 8 votes (1 first, 3 seconds, 4 thirds)
No real surprise here. Lee Valle continues his dominance over this award. He won it in 2008 and probably would have won it in 2009 had he been able to play the season. He received 8 first place votes and appeared on 11 of the 13 ballots. Great season from Lee at the hot corner. Well deserved honor. Six players received all the available votes with each one receiving three or more votes.

Outfield Gold Glove:
Winner: Logan Brincefield - 56 points & 12 votes (10 firsts, 2 seconds)
Runner-up: Tim Jandro - 25 points & 11 votes (1 first, 5 seconds, 5 thirds)
3rd place: Austin Colby - 21 points & 7 votes (2 firsts, 3 seconds, 2 thirds)
This one was just about as easy as the infield one as Logan ran away with the votes. He received 10 of 13 first-place votes with Austin and Tim picking up the final three. Logan played a solid left-field in a down outfield year for the Warriors. But, his very good defense was a bright spot out there for the team. Great job Logan.

MVP:
Winner: Austin Colby - 51 points & 11 votes (10 firsts, 1 third)
Runner-up: Jeff Tenney - 32 points & 12 votes (1 first, 8 seconds, 3 thirds)
3rd place: Eric Johnson - 10 points & 4 votes (3 seconds, 1 third)
Austin captures his fourth MVP award in the past five seasons for the Warriors. He had another solid season offensively and played a good pitcher's mound too. Tenney had a slower start than expected but finished with massive stats and had he played in two or three more games, I'm betting he would have won this category hands-down. Steady-as-he-goes Eric Johnson (2005 MVP) snuck in for third place and still says he'll challenge for the award in the upcoming seasons.

All-League honors should be released later this week. Stay tuned.

Warriors Fall in Season Finale

2010-08-05T12:27:00.002-06:00

The 2010 regular season came to a screeching halt as the Resurrection Life Warriors lost via 10-run rule against Redeemer last week, 13-3. The defeat gave Rez its worst ever record in the Eden Prairie Round Lake league, dropping the team to 11-6-1 on the season, good for 5th place.

While the team finished in just 5th place, it was only two games out of first as five teams finished within two games of each other. Wooddale Classic took the league title at 13-4-1, while Mercy Rules finished second at 13-5. Redeemer swept its final evening of games to finish in third, 13-5, while EPAG took fourth place, 12-6.

The Warriors were sluggish in the first inning and could never shake out of the rut. The team didn't score in the first or second innings, leaving singles from Eric Johnson, Logan Brincefield, and Aaron Beintema on the bases.

Redeemer took advantage of this and scored twice in the first and five times in the second to take a 7-0 lead. Dan Powers ripped an inside-the-park homerun in the second as a part of the big inning.

In the third inning, substitute Charlie Steingas lined a triple to center and jogged home on Austin Colby's double off the wall. Three flyouts sandwiched around a walk ended the inning with no more runs. Redeemer had another big inning with five runs to take a commanding 12-1 lead after three innings. Andy Briggs lofted a two-run homerun into the trees in left with two outs to spark the big inning.

Rez scored its final runs of league play with two runners coming across the plate in the fourth. With one out, Aaron doubled to left-center and scored on Jeff Johnson's laser-beam double. Bryan Christensen walked and Charlie singled to score Jeff. With two on and Austin and Eric Johnson coming up, things looked good. But, both men grounded out and the rally stalled.

Redeemer didn't score and Rez came up in the fifth with a chance to shrink the 12-3 deficit. The team managed two hits but no runs and Chris Burr quickly ended the game with a lead-off solo homer to center to finish the season, 13-3 Redeemer.

Aaron Beintema captured Player of the Game with two hits, including a double and a run scored.

The EP League will have its All-League teams announced in the coming week or so along with Resurrection Life's annual team awards. Stay tuned.

Big Win Keeps 2nd Place Hopes Alive

2010-07-23T12:51:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors took the season series from Wooddale Mercy Rules with a 13-7 victory last night in game #17 on the season. The Warriors led from the get-go and added runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings to keep the pressure on Mercy Rules. The victory gives Rez an 11-5-1 record with one game remaining while Wooddale fell to 11-5 before its nightcap.

Missed opportunities was the name of the game for both teams as both teams had bases loaded twice in the first four innings and never really managed to get the big hit. Rez struck first with three quick runs on three hits to start the game. Austin Colby stroked a lead-off double off the wall in right-center and moved to third on Eric Johnson's single. Jeff Tenney then hit a rod about 16 feet off the ground that carried over the fence for an impressive three-run homer.

Wooddale came right back with two runs using three walks, a single and a sac fly. The Warriors had just nine guys until the sixth batter at which point the team was able to switch back to its normal defense and pitching rotation which helped spark the squad.

Rez went down in order in the second and Wooddale had its only hit erased on an inning-ending double-play. Leading 3-2 going into the third, Rez again went down in order, making eight consecutive outs at this point. Wooddale was unable to take advantage of the slow bats leaving runners on first and third with just one out and not scoring.

Heading into the fourth, Eric broke the consecutive outs streak with an opposite-field double. A walk from Tenney put two on and Lee Valle came through with a single. With the bases full, Aaron Beintema singled to score Eric and after a lineout from Bryan Christensen, substitute Andy Briggs hit a sacrifice fly to score Tenney and give the Warriors a 5-2 edge. A flyout ended the inning with more runners left on base.

Mercy Rules came back to score one in the bottom half, using a single, walk and error. Rules had the bases loaded with no outs but managed only the one run on a sac fly. A couple of nice plays from Eric and Tenney in the infield kept more runs from scoring.

Rez flexed some power bats in the fifth, hitting two homeruns to score three more times. Logan Brincefield singled and came home on Austin's 12th homerun of the season. After back-to-back outs, Tenney wisely used another homerun, this one a deep fly over the protective net in left-center.

Trailing 8-3, Wooddale charged back with two runs with two outs, but a nice stab from Tenney at third base ended the inning with two runners on.

Rez Life held an 8-5 edge going into the final two innings and didn't let up pushing runners home in both frames. In the sixth, a single from Bryan and a double from Logan scored the lone run. Wooddale answered with a run of its own, using an error and two singles to make it 9-6 going into the final frame.

Rez finally got the big hit with runners on in the seventh en route to scoring four insurance runs. Adam Hey singled to start the frame and went to second on an errant throw. After one out, Tenney was intentionally walked and Lee knocked out his third single of the game to load the bases. Aaron stroked his second rbi-single of the night and after the second out, Andy came through in a big way driving a ball to deep right-center, clearing the bases and giving Rez a nice 13-6 lead.

Wooddale couldn't muster a serious threat, plating just one run in the bottom half on four singles.
Jeff Tenney captured his fifth Player of the Game honor on the season with his 11th and 12th homeruns.

Next week marks the final game of the regular season for the Warriors as the team finishes under the lights against Redeemer at 8:50 on field #2.

One Win and One Tie For Rez Life

2010-07-21T08:29:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors put their bats to sleep about a month ago and they have only awakened for a few innings since then. Last Thursday night was no exception. The Warriors scored six runs in the first two innings en route to a 7-4 victory over EPAG in game one and then stormed back in the second game with seven runs in the fifth to tie Immanuel 9-9.

In game one, the Warriors had eight hits in the first two innings, including the first four batters of the game, and only four hits the rest of the way. Austin Colby tripled to open the game and Tim Jandro singled to start the scoring. Eric Johnson singled and both runners casually strode home as Jeff Tenney walloped his 10th homerun of the year to give the team a 4-0 lead. Two-out singles from Lee Valle and Aaron Beintema went for naught and the first ended.

EPAG scored one in the bottom half to make it 4-1. In the second inning, Bryan Christensen singled and Austin homered to deep right-center for a quick two runs and a 6-1 lead. However, for the balance of the game, the Warriors went 4-21 at the plate, managing just one run in the fifth on an Eric single, a Tenney double and an Adam Hey sac fly.

EPAG scored two runs in the third which could have been more but the Warrior defense played great and Aaron hosed a guy at third base for the final out. In the seventh, EPAG mounted a quiet threat with a couple singles and a run, but the gloves held and the Warriors came away with the 7-4 win. The first meeting between these two teams was 18-17, a complete opposite performance from this game.

Jeff Tenney earned Player of the Game honors with two hits, three rbi and a three-run homer. He also handled all three chances at shortstop flawlessly.

Game two was more of the same offensively. The team picked up where it left off scoring just two runs in the first four innings and falling behind 9-2 going into the fifth. The team did have some bad breaks early in the game with two runners thrown out on the bases which cost the team at bats and a few runs guaranteed. Austin doubled to start the game and eventually came around on Aaron's single. In the second inning, Jeff singled and with one out tried to go to third on Adam's double was gunned down on a questionable call. After a Bryan walk, sub Jason Merritt singled to load the bases but Austin grounded out to end the threat.

Immanuel scored three runs in the first two innings using dink-and-dunk singles to take a 3-1 lead going into the fifth.

Rez didn't score in the third, even though the team started the inning with three straight singles. Another tough call on the bases hurt the team's chances. Immanuel didn't score in the third either.

Rez added one run in the fourth as Bryan, Jason and Austin all had singles with two outs. Down 3-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, things still seemed in reach until Immanuel found the groove and scored six times to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Rez came to the plate down seven runs and desperately in need of some consistent offense. Eric doubled to get things started but after an Aaron walk back-to-back flyouts made things look bleak quickly. However, the team's resilience showed as Lee roped an rbi-single and was followed by another rbi-single from Adam. Bryan lined his second single of the game to center to load the bases for Jason who carved one to right to plate another run to make it 9-5 with two outs and the bases still loaded for Austin. Austin was due with a capital D. He delivered but only after a gift from God. He hit his first pitch lazily down the right-field line in foul territory but the right fielder dropped it giving Austin another chance. He seized it by knocking one off the wall, clearing the bases. There was a throw to third on the play to try and nail Austin on the triple, but the ball was over-thrown and went out of play, allowing Austin to jog home to tie the game. All that action, seven runs and five straight hits, with two outs.

Immanuel didn't score in the bottom half so Rez had its first chance to grab the lead in the sixth but went down in order. Immanuel stranded a single in the bottom of the sixth to keep the scored knotted at nine after six innings. The umpire used poor judgment and called time limit after six innings even with a delayed start and time left on the clock. Both teams had one more chance to score with a runner on second and one out to start each inning. Lee drew a walk in Rez's extra frame to put two on with one out, but back-to-back outs ended the inning with hot bats Jason and Austin looming on deck.

Immanuel now needed just one run to win the game in the bottom of the seventh. Rez decided to walk to first batter to create a forceout and the strategy worked as a hot shot to Tim at short was picked clean and tossed to Eric at second for the second out and Eric turned and fired to first to complete the doubleplay and end the game, 9-9.

Not the victory the team needed but much better than the loss that was staring the squad in the face just minutes earlier.

Austin Colby captured Player of the Game laurels with the big hit in the fifth inning. He finished 3-4 with a double and triple and scored twice while driving home four.

This coming week is another big game for Rez as the team faces off against second place Wooddale Mercy Rules. The two games these teams have played so far have been very competitive with Mercy Rules taking the first contest 31-20 and Rez grabbing the second one 24-19. The game is at 5:50 on field #5.

Warriors Lose Chance at League Crown

2010-07-10T07:51:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors split a doubleheader this week and lost any chance at a league title for the 2010 season. The 13-3 defeat to Wooddale Classic gave Classic a three-game lead in the loss column. The Warriors did bounce back with a resounding 17-1 victory over St. Andrew Red in game two to salvage a split.

The bats just couldn't get it going in game one as Classic did what it does with two runs here and three runs there, eventually ending the game on a three-run walk-off homerun in the bottom of the fifth via ten-run rule.

Rez scored two in the first as Tim Jandro reached on an error and sub Jason Merritt singled to put two on for Austin Colby who flew out to the wall advancing both runners. Eric Johnson singled to plate Tim and Adam Hey lofted a sacrifice fly to score Jason. Logan Brincefield singled to keep the inning alive but Aaron Beintema grounded into a forceout to end the frame.

Classic tied it up in the bottom of the first with two runs. Classic had just one hit in the inning as three walks and an error allowed the two runs to score.

In the top of the second Rez scored one more as Lee Valle singled with one out, advanced to second on a throwing error and to third on Bryan Christensen's groundout. Tim lifted a sac fly to plate Lee. Classic had its only scoreless inning in the bottom of the second so the Warriors took a 3-2 lead into the third inning.

The third inning started promising as Austin and Eric both reached to start things. With one out, Logan singled and pinch-runner Jason nearly scored on the play but was narrowly gunned down at the plate. A flyout ended the inning. Classic pounced on the momentum and put three runs on the board to take a 5-3 lead after three. Two walks and three singles pushed the runs across.

Things got worse in the fourth as Rez went down in order and Classic had its biggest inning of the night with five runs to push its lead to 10-3 after four frames. Classic's bats finally got going in the fourth, ripping out seven hits and using one error to plate the runs.

The Warriors continued to struggle offensively and went down one, two, three again. The bats made seven consecutive outs to end the game. Wooddale made quick work in the fifth to end the game going single, double, three-run homer to end the game.

Logan Brincefield earns Player of the Game honors with two of the team's six hits. He also chased down both flyballs hit his way in left field.

Game two was a complete turn-around for the Warriors' bats. Of course, playing against St. Andrew Red's defense certainly helped. Manager Colby shuffled the game two lineup quite a bit putting Lee and Adam in the one-two holes. They responded as Lee reached base and scored all four times in the game. Adam roped out two extra-base-hits and drove home five runs. The two of them shared Player of the Game honors for their top-of-the-order efforts.

Rez scored five runs in the first inning to start things. Lee singled and after Adam's groundout, Logan singled to push Lee to third base. Jeff Johnson got in on the action with an rbi single and Aaron followed with a walk to load the bases. Bryan lined out to the pitcher for the second out and Tim laced a two-run single. Eric followed with two-rbi double to clear the bases and Austin flew out to right to end the inning.

Red's offense was pitiful the entire game and the Warriors' defense was solid and Red managed just one run, occurring in the final frame on an error and a couple of singles.

Rez added to its five-run lead in the second with two more runs. With one out, Lee walked and jogged home on Adam's big two-run homer. Jeff and Aaron both reached base later but were stranded. After Red's quick inning, the Warriors had another five-run outburst in the third. After one out, Eric, Austin and Jason all singled to score one. Lee hit a sac fly which was dropped allowing him to score while plating Austin. Adam followed with a sac fly to score Jason. Logan tripled to plate Lee and Jeff followed with a double to the wall to cap the scoring.

In the top of the fourth, Rez Life scored five runs for the third time in the game to push its lead to 17-0. Bryan walked to start the inning and moved to third on Tim's double. Eric flew out and Austin doubled to score Bryan. Jason doubled to score Austin and Tim to make it 15-0. Lee singled and Adam lined another deep blast, this one off the wall, to score Jason and Lee and end the scoring.

The split put Rez's record at 9-5 going into its last doubleheader of the year against EPAG and Immanuel. Rez needs a sweep to keep its hopes of second place alive. The games are at 5:50 and 6:50 on field #2.

Lineup vs. Wooddale Classic & St. Andrew Red, 6:50 & 7:50 field #5

2010-07-07T06:26:00.003-06:00

'Let the godly sing with joy to the Lord, for it is fitting to praise him. Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp. Sing new songs of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy.
For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth.
The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
Let everyone in the world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.
The Lord shatters all the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen for his own.
The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don't count on your warhorse to give your victory - for all its strength, it cannot save you.
But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
We depend on the Lord alone to save us. Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.' Psalm 33

You may be in a time of famine, whether it be in relationships or financially, but our Lord watches over us and protects us if we rely on his unfailing love. Unfailing. Thank you Lord.

Wooddale Classic: 6:50 Field 5
1. Ryan Norman, LC
2. Tim Jandro, RC
3. Austin Colby, SS
4. Eric Johnson, 2B
5. Adam Hey, P
6. Logan Brincefield, LF
7. Aaron Beintema, RF
8. Jeff Johnson, 1B
9. Lee Valle, 3B
10. Bryan Christensen, C

St. Andrew Red: 7:50 Field 5
1. Lee Valle, 3B
2. Adam Hey, P
3. Logan Brincefield, LF
4. Jeff Johnson, 1B
5. Bryan Christensen, C
6. Aaron Beintema, RF
7. Ryan Norman, LC
8. Tim Jandro, RC
9. Eric Johnson, 2B
10. Austin Colby, SS

Warriors Split Double-Dip, Now 8-4

2010-07-02T12:41:00.004-06:00

A tough loss ended the Resurrection Life Warriors winning streak at three games in the second half of a doubleheader last night. The Warriors fell 11-10 to the hands of Redeemer Bible after defeating Pax Christi 13-6 in the front-end of the double-dip.

The Warriors' bats took a week off as the team compiled just 33 hits in two games. With a strong wind blowing in the offense could never get a good groove going, having three scoreless innings and four more with just one run.

Against Pax, the Warriors pushed one run across in the top of the first inning. Austin Colby doubled and came home on Eric Johnson's triple. Pax went down quickly in the bottom half without scoring.

Rez Life added one more in the second inning after Logan Brincefield reached on an error to start things. Aaron Beintema singled to score Logan from second. Pax again went down without scoring to make it 2-0 after two innings.

Rez had a bigger inning in the third, plating three runs on three hits and two walks. Tim Jandro walked to start the frame and went to third on Adam Hey's single.

Yes, that Adam Hey. Austin drew a walk to load the bases for hot-man Eric and Eric delivered a sacrifice fly to score Tim and make it 3-0. Adam advanced to third on the play and then scored as Jeff Tenney lifted a sac fly, but what would have been a no-doubt homerun if the wind wasn't howling. With two outs, Logan singled to plate Austin for the inning's third run. Aaron singled for the second time in the game, but was caught on the bases for the third out.

Pax didn't rollover though, scoring three runs to make it 5-3 after three innings. Pax used three hits, a walk and an error to score the runs.

Leading 5-3, Rez pushed two more across in the fourth to go up 7-3. Lee Valle singled with one out and went to second base on a groundout. Tim singled to score Lee and back-to-back singles from Adam and Austin scored Tim.

Pax kept it a game with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and Rez started to feel the pressure leading just 7-6 going into the fifth inning. In the fifth, Rez had its best inning of the night. Tenney, Logan and Aaron all singled to start the inning. Jeff Johnson hit an infield fly which was dropped and allowed one run to score. Lee came through with the big hit to plate two more runs. With one on, Bryan Christensen forced out Lee and went to second on Tim's walk. Adam roped a double deep into the gap to score Bryan and Tim and give Rez a more comfortable 12-6 lead.

Pax's offense went to sleep for the balance of the game going down scoreless in both the fifth and sixth frames. Rez added a fun run in the sixth using four singles and leaving the bases loaded.

Eric Johnson earns Player of the Game for the first time in 2010 with two hits, one run, two rbi and a triple. He also played a solid two-bagger with two assists and four putouts.

Game two was a continuation of the slow bats for Rez Life as the team managed just 14 hits total against Redeemer. Rez went down one, two, three in the first inning for the first time in 2010. Redeemer took advantage of that with three runs in the bottom half to stake itself to an early lead. Brent reached base on an error and went to second on Jason Merritt's walk. After consecutive flyouts, Chris Burr and Bob Hutchinson singled to plate two runs. Back-to-back walks from Kevin Campbell and Dan Powers scored the third run. A forceout from Dan B. ended the inning.

Trailing 3-0, Rez got on the board with two runs in the top of the second on Tenney's first of two homeruns. Eric singled to start the inning and then Tenney mashed a homerun to dead center, cutting through the wind.

A double from Logan and an infield single from Aaron put runners on first and second with no outs. Jeff lined out to left-center for the first out and consecutive grounders ended the inning with no more runs for the Warriors.

Redeemer won the inning again with three more runs in the bottom half. Brent walked to open the frame and after an out, Andy Briggs reached on an error to put runners on the corners for Jamy. Jamy delivered a two-run double to right-center. Chris hit a flyout and Bob came through again with two outs with an rbi-single.

Down 6-2, Rez tied it up with four runs in the top of the third inning. Tim singled and after an out, Austin singled to right. Eric singled to load the bases for Tenney who ripped a two-rbi single to make it 6-2. After the second out, Aaron walked to load the bases and Jeff walked to plate Eric. Lee singled to score one more but a strikeout ended the inning and left the bases loaded.

Redeemer quickly reclaimed the lead with one more run in its half taking advantage of a leadoff error and then popping out two hits. Down 7-6, Rez took the lead for the first time with three runs in the fourth. With two outs and no one on, Austin and Eric hit back-to-back singles and Tenney again erupted with a bomb, this one of the three-run variety. Tenney's homer gave Rez a 9-7 edge.

Redeemer went down without scoring in the bottom half and Rez had a chance to expand its lead in the fifth. Rez also went down in order, hitting three harmless flyouts. However, the Rez defense held court and kept Redeemer off the board again, leaving two singles on base.

Leading 9-7 heading into the sixth, Rez again went down in order. The Warriors got out in seven straight plate appearances which ties a team record. Redeemer took advantage this time, scoring two runs to tie the game going into the seventh and final inning. Jamy singled to start things and an error put two on with no outs. A single from Bob scored Jamy and another error loaded the bases, still with no outs. A groundout to Lee at third scored another run but cut down a lead runner. A grounder right back to Austin at the mound was nearly a doubleplay but the runner beat the throw at first. With two on, a lineout to Jeff at first ended the threat.

The umpire informed both teams that the seventh inning would be the last inning due to time limit regardless if the game ended in a tie or not. Things started well for the Warriors as Austin tasered one in the gap for a casual double and pinch-runner Adam advanced to third on Eric's fourth single. Tenney just missed his third homerun of the game, hitting a deep flyout to score Adam and give Rez the lead. However, back-to-back outs ended the inning and scoring chances for Rez.

Redeemer came to the plate needing one run to tie and two to win. Jason struck out to start the inning and after an Andy groundout to Lee, things looked good for Rez. With two outs and none on, Jamy roped a double and came home on Chris' single. However, Chris advanced to second on an errant throw putting the winning run in scoring position. Bob ripped out a no-doubt single to left-center which allowed the winning run to score from second. Game over.

The three, four, five hitters provided virtually all of the offense as Austin and Eric set the table and Tenney cleared it. Tenney captures Player of the Game for the second time with three hits, two homeruns and a season-high eight rbi.

Rez drops to 8-4 on the season which makes a league title very difficult. Rez needs to win next week versus first-place Wooddale Classic or any dreams of back-to-back titles will be gone. Rez has another doubleheader, with games starting at 6:50 on field #5. After the Warriors take on 10-2 Classic, they face St. Andrew Red at 7:50.

Warriors Open Second Half with Dominating Win

2010-06-25T14:56:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors opened the second half of the season in fine fashion cruising to a 22-9 thumping over St. Andrew Blue. The team erupted for a season-high 13 runs in the second inning en route to the 10-run rule victory.

Bryan Christensen started the second half in style with a perfect game, going 2-2 at the plate with two walks and four runs scored. He drove home one run in the game and earned his first career Player of the Game honor. Well deserved Bryan.

'I've been practicing a lot,' stated a beaming Bryan in a post-game interview. 'Practice works. I gotta say, it was good out there.'

Bryan led a balanced offensive attack as nine players reached base two or more times and seven players reached three or more times. Tim Jandro and Eric Johnson each had four hits while Adam Hey, Austin Colby, and Jeff Tenney added three apiece.

The team scored twice in the first using a single from Tim and a one-out triple from Austin. Eric singled home Austin and after a Tenney walk and a Logan Brincefield single, the team stranded the bases loaded with just one out.

Blue came out charging with a lead-off single and a mis-played double to start the game. However, Austin recovered from his mis-read and fired the ball from the fence to Tenney who hosed the runner at home for the first out. Consecutive outs ended the inning with no runs scored.

In the second inning, Rez had its best one-inning output of the season with 13 runs. Lee Valle and Bryan walked to start the inning and Tim scored Lee with his second single of the game. Adam roped a single to score Bryan and Austin walked to load the bases for Eric. Eric lined a single to score two runs to make it 6-0, still with no outs. Tenney walked to again fill the bases before Logan doubled to push home Austin and Eric. Jeff Johnson singled to score Tenney and Aaron Beintema followed with a knock to plate Logan and give Rez a 10-0 lead and nobody out. Lee and Bryan again walked, both tying team records for most walks in an inning, with Bryan's walk scoring Jeff. After 12 straight batters reached with no outs, Rez finally hit into a forceout, scoring Aaron. Adam flew out for the second out and Austin then sliced one right down the right-field line for an inside-the-park three-run homerun to end the scoring at 13, making it 15-0.

Blue used three singles and a sac fly to score two runs in the bottom half. Rez was up 15-2 going into the third inning.

The Warriors added three more runs to make it 18-2. With one out, Aaron singled and with two outs Bryan singled to put runners at the corners. Tim singled to plate Aaron and make it first and second with two outs. Adam lined a single to scored Bryan and Austin laced one off the wall to score Tim. Eric's first out in two weeks ended the threat, leaving two on.

Blue again tried to chip away with two runs. The team utilized back-to-back Rez Life errors to start inning and added a single and another Rez Life error to plate the runners.

Leading 18-4, Rez was shutout in the fourth inning. Tenney singled but a couple of lineouts and a hard-hit grounder made for a quick inning.

Blue also went down without scoring, hitting three straight flyouts including an amazing diving catch from Logan along the left-field line to end the inning.

In the fifth and final inning, Rez added four runs for a little insurance to cap its scoring at 22 for the game. Lee walked for the third time in the game and Bryan pushed his second hit through the infield to start things well. Tim singled to load the bases and Adam singled to score Lee and keep them loaded for Austin. Austin took a chance but hit a liner to left-center for a sacrifice fly and the first out. With two on, Eric hit his fourth single of the game to score Tim. Tenney followed with his third hit to plate Adam and end the scoring.

Blue made a mediocre charge in the last half of the fifth inning, using some lazy defense by the Warriors to post five runs. Blue had four hits, used two errors and drew two walks in the inning.

Rez is now 7-3 on the year while Blue falls to 4-8. Next week starts three straight weeks of double-headers for the Warriors. The team plays at 5:50 and 6:50 on field #3 against Pax Christi and Redeemer.

Lineup vs St. Andrew Blue, Field #2 7:50

2010-06-24T14:28:00.002-06:00

Things look beautiful outside for this evening's contest. The Warriors from Resurrection Life take on St. Andrew Blue, who has been playing well of late, winning four of its last five games. Rez sits at 6-3 (4th) and St. Andrew Blue carries a 4-7 (6th) record into the game.

1. Tim Jandro, P
2. Adam Hey, RF
3. Austin Colby, LC
4. Eric Johnson, 2B
5. Jeff Tenney, SS
6. Logan Brincefield, LF
7. Jeff Johnson, 1B
8. Aaron Beintema, RC
9. Lee Valle, 3B
10. Bryan Christensen, C

Mid-Season Report: 2010

2010-06-23T12:42:00.002-06:00

At the halfway point of the 2010 softball season, the Resurrection Life Warriors are hanging in there in fourth place at 6-3. However, a big win over league-leader Wooddale Mercy Rules to close out the first half leaves the team's fate in its own hands. Rez has one game remaining versus Mercy Rules, two versus 5th place Redeemer Bible, one versus second place Wooddale Classic, and one with third place EPAG. If Rez can go 4-1 in those games, a league title will be within its grasp.

Team offense has been the name of the game through nine games. The Warriors are leading the leauge with 175 runs scored, averaging 19.4 per game. While the 2009 squad was a more dynamic team, the 2010 squad has played more innings per game and thusly is averaging more runs scored.

The team average of .584 is challenging to become the Rez Life all-time team record. The on base percentage of .642 is easily the all-time high right now and looks like it will stay that way. The team has mashed 27 homeruns, good for 3.0 per game. Also, the team has hit the double and triple trail consistently with averages of 2.6 and 1.1 respectively.

The defense has not been what it was in past years so far. The biggest drop off has been the outfield as The Warriors lost all three regular starting outfielders from 2009 and the fourth outfielder, Austin Colby, has seen limited innings off the pitcher's mound.

While the overall team defense numbers have been shored up in recent weeks to the tune of a .881 team fielding percentage and an average of 3.11 errors per game, some early season struggles really put the team in a hole. Rez has had games of eight and six errors this season. Not good. On the flip side, the teams has a total of 14 errors in the other seven games which is very solid.

The 2009 team had a fielding percentage of .946 on the season and turned 21 doubleplays. This year's squad has turned just four and already has more total errors in nine games than 2009's team had for the season. If the gloves continue to improve, the Warriors defense should be solid. There may be some lineup changes in the outfield to help with this but we'll see which way the manager moves.

While struggling to field a consistent lineup and kicking a few extra balls around, the team has still managed a 6-3 record and is within striking distance. All things considered, it has been a very successful first half.

Part of the early-season struggles can be attributed to the big roster shake-up as the team has six new members this season. While they have all been a blessing to have around, Manager Colby still hasn't quite put the puzzle together to give everyone the best chance to win.

Bryan Christensen is one of those new members. He joined the team with limited softball experience and it showed during the first nine games. From game one through the all-star break, Bryan has shown great improvement and probably had his best hitting game of the year in the final game before the break, taking some real good swings. He is very patient at the plate which has led to five walks. He has used those and his four singles to score three times and drive home two. His catching abilities have gotten better too, with six putouts on the year with no errors.

John Beintema joined this year also to add some veteran leadership. While he has been a blast to play with, he has decided to handle more of the front-office duties and thusly will most likley not be playing games during the second half. While here though, he had an impact showing good hands on defense and knocking out eight hits for a .444 average. He scored six times and brought home five in five games played.

As a part of those GM-style duties, John recruited another new player to the team in 2010, his son Aaron Beintema. Aaron has had some softball success in the past but hasn't been as active in recent seasons. However, he has ridden a couple hot streaks to shake that rust off and enters the all-star break with a .600 average and two doubles and two triples. He has scored 14 times while bringing home 13 and has roamed the outfield for much of his innings. I see a more consistent second half with improved range and glove-work in the outfield. It wouldn't surprise me if Aaron finishes at or above .600 for the year with 5-6 doubles and at least one homerun.

Tim Jandro has been a nice addition this year. He has added a little spark to the lineup with some huge games. He hit for the cycle in his first game and has coasted to a .700 average with three doubles, two triples, four homeruns, 18 runs and rbi. His slugging percentage of 1.333 and OPS of 2.061 put him in the league top 10. He has been clutch in late innings also, hitting .833 from the 5th inning and on. Tim captured the utility spot on the all-star team in his first year. Well done.

Logan Brincefield is new player number five for the Warriors and has been very good to date. He is hitting .600 and has played very fine defense both at second base and in left field. He is now known for his knuckle-ball line-drives to left field. He has scored 16 times and plated 11 in seven games. If he can continue to be a solid table-setter, he has a legitimate shot at an all-league selection at year-end.

Ryan Norman rounds out the new players for 2010. Ryan has only gotten out twice this year. Unfortunately, he has only had 17 at bats. His schedule has kept him from many games, but he should be a more stable presence in the second half. Had he qualified, he would have easily been leading the league with his .824 average and .882 on base percentage. He has scored nine and driven home seven in four games. Defensively, he is sure-handed at shortstop or anywhere in the outfield.

Lee Valle rejoined the team after a one-year layoff amid allegations of glove-doctoring following his outstanding 2008 fielding season. The one-year away from the hot corner only seemed to slow him down for one game and since then he has been nearly perfect, with an .875 fielding percentage and just two errors at third base. Lee's crafty offensive ways have returned also with another .500 average with a .560 on base percentage. If Lee can hover around .500 and continue his flashly hot-corner work, he will find himself with more hardware on his mantle after the season.

Jeff Johnson hasn't quite had the first half that was anticipated. With the lineup changes, Jeff should have been freed up to hit more homeruns that counted. Jeff hit ten homeruns in 2009 and another eight for outs, but has just managed three so far this year. He is coming off of shoulder surgery in the off-season and his strength and consistency should continue to improve as the season progresses. Jeff is hitting .500 with 13 runs and 16 rbi in his eight games.

Eric Johnson started slowly but is heating up as the weather does. He is up to .536 at the break with two doubles and two homeruns. Something new this year for Eric has been his team-leading six walks so far which has led to a .622 on base percentage. Eric has bounced around defensively between second and right field and done a solid job. He should continue his up-slope and flirt with .600 and add ten extra base-hits.

Jeff Tenney missed a few games at the beginning of the year but has been back for the final six games and he brought his bat. He has mashed out seven homeruns - good for second in the league - and has driven home 25 runs in just 23 at bats. His average has started to tick up and now sits at .565 wtih a slugging percentage of 1.522. Tenney captures his second straight all-star appearance for the Warriors. His glove has been used almost exclulsively at shortstop and he is settling in and starting to show off his canon on a regular basis.

Adam Hey has continued his amazing improvements in 2010 en route to his first-ever all-star appearance. He won the internet voting for the final spot this year, easily out-distancing the other contenders. Adam started hot and has maintained it. He is hitting .628, good for a top-10 placing. He also has ripped three doubles, one triple and one homerun. He has scored 21 times, second on the team, and driven home 19, good for third on the team. He has upped his play when it matters most hitting .667 with runners in scoring position and .667 with eight rbi from the 5th inning and on. It has been fun to watch as Adam has continued one of the most impressive turn-arounds in league history.

Manager Austin Colby has enjoyed a fruitful first half. Entering the season with a balky knee preventing him from playing any real defense has forced Austin to focus more at the plate and it has showed. He is hitting a league-best .821 with an .837 on base percentage and a 1.974 slugging percentage. He is 32-39 with eight doubles, five triples and nine homeruns, all league-highs. He has scored 29 times and driven home 32, also good for the league lead. The torrid first half gave Austin his fifth straight all-star starting gig, his first at pitcher though.

League Outlook:
Wooddale Mercy Rules started extremely hot and is in the driver's seat heading into the second half. However, Wooddale Classic's two losses were very early and are currently riding a six-game winning streak and doing so with authority. I can see EPAG start to fall off just a little, still making noise but not enough to challenge for the league title. You can never count out the defending champions and this Resurrection Life team is going to make a run at the title. Newcomer Redeemer has a lot of experience and maybe the most balanced lineup in the league and has a chance to play spoiler in the second half.

The bottom four teams, St. Andrew Blue, St. Andrew Red, Immanuel, and Pax Christi, will stay in the bottom four but could surpirse a team or two in the top tier.

I am going to go with the team that has been there and that is the Resurrection Life Warriors.

Projected Final Standings:
1. Rez Life: 15-3
2. Classic: 14-4
3. Mercy Rules: 13-5
4. Redeemer: 11-7
5. EPAG: 11-7
6. Andrew Blue: 6-12
7. Immanuel: 5-13
8. Andrew Red: 4-14
9. Pax Christi: 2-16

Team Outlook:
The team offense will continue to roll, leading the league in most categories and the improved defense will allow the Warriors to sweep the second half of the season. The squad will make a run at team records in batting average, on base percentage, extra base-hits and runs scored.

- Bryan will flirt with a .400 on base percentage
- Tenney will average more than one homerun per game played
- Both Austin and Tenney will hit 15+ homers
- Eric will finally hit .600 again
- Jeff will hit over .500 and hit five homeruns in the second half
- Adam will prove it isn't a fluke en route to a 1st team all-league selection
- Aaron will NOT drop another ball and WILL hit a homerun
- The infield will turn six second-half double-plays
- The team will explode for a 32+ run game
- Tim will quietly amass one of the finest statistical seasons ever
- Lee will win a gold glove
- nine different players will hit homeruns
- Ryan will play eight games in the second half and hit .800
- Logan will hit an outfielder in the knee with one of his knuckle-balls

First-Half Honors:
Leauge:
All-Star starter: Austin Colby
All-Star starter: Jeff Tenney
All-Star starter: Tim Jandro
All-Star reserve: Adam Hey

Team:
MVP: Austin Colby & Tim Jandro. It may seem like a slam dunk for Austin this season but Tim's presence has been a huge lift taking pressure off of the rest of the lineup which has had a great trickle-down effect. Don't count out Tenney in this category. He could very well end up with 20+ homers and 70 rbi which would almost assuredely net him MVP.

Infield Gold Glove: Lee Valle, 3B. Lee struggled in his first game but has been nearly flawless since then. He is just about as smooth as smooth gets at third base and with he and Tenney on the left side, things look good over there. Tenney's numbers look down, but he really has only had one bad game defensively and a couple meaningless errors. He will always contend for this award.

Outfield Gold Glove: Logan Brincefield. Logan has been dynamite so far when he's been in the outfield. He should see more time out there in the second half and if he continues his current play, he'll be competitive in the gold glove argument. Watch out for Ryan if he qualifies with enough innings.

Projected Second-half Lineup:
1. Ryan Norman, LF
2. Tim Jandro, P
3. Austin Colby, LC
4. Eric Johnson, 2B
5. Jeff Tenney, SS
6. Adam Hey, C
7. Logan Brincefield, RC
8. Aaron Beintema, RF
9. Jeff Johnson, 1B
10. Lee Valle, 3B
11. Bryan Christensen, DH

Warriors Charge Back for Big Win

2010-06-18T09:13:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors had been questioned this season as to just how tough a team they were in 2010. Well last night, the team answered the call charging back from an early seven-run deficit and a last inning two-run deficit to claim a much needed 24-19 victory over league leaders Wooddale Mercy Rules. The victory evens the season series between the two teams at one each and knocks Mercy Rules down to 8-2 and pushes Rez Life up to 6-3 on the season. The team had to battle the weather early, as ominous rain clouds surrounded the area, but the team played its entire game without a raindrop falling and even had sunshine for the last four innings.

The bats were solid but not spectacular for the Warriors until the nine-run seventh inning. Jeff Tenney led the charge as one of four players with four hits en route to earning his second Player of the Game this season. He scored four times and drove home eight, using two homeruns. And he used them at crucial times. He mashed a three-run homer in the fifth to give Rez a temporary lead and he hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh to put Rez on top for good.

The first inning started with substitute Jason Merritt reaching on a throwing error and after a lineout Jason moved to second as Austin Colby reached on a sharp grounder to third. Eric Johnson walked to load the bases and Tenney hit a shallow pop to center that was dropped which allowed the first run to score. Tim Jandro followed with another popout, this one was caught for the second out. With the bases still loaded, Jeff Johnson drew a walk to push home Austin and make it 2-0 Rez.

Wooddale came out swinging, starting the game with a single and a double. The defense was solid for the rest of the inning though, holding Mercy Rules to just those two runs for the inning.

Tied 2-2, Rez went down in order in the second leaving the door open for Mercy Rules. Wooddale responded with seven big runs to open up a 9-2 lead after two innings. Wooddale used six hits and two walks to plate the seven runners.

Rez needed to answer and did so with four runs in the third to keep it close. Adam Hey singled and after Austin flew out, Eric singled to push Adam to third. Tenney roped a single to score Adam and after the second out, Jeff singled to load the bases for Aaron Beintema. Aaron hit a chopper to second that was booted, allowing Eric to score to make it 9-4. Lee Valle stepped up with the bases loaded and came through with a seeing-eye single to plate two more runs for the Warriors.

The infield defense kept Wooddale off the scoreboard in the bottom half as Tenney had a nice unassisted double play from shortstop to end the inning. Rez had a chance to take the lead in the fourth, trailing just 9-6.

With the top of the order up, things started slowly in the fourth with consecutive outs to start the frame. Austin doubled to center to get the ball rolling and Eric lined a single to push Austin to third with two outs. Tenney roped a single to score Austin and Tim followed with an rbi single to plate Eric. Still with two outs, Jeff singled to score Tenney and Aaron came through with the fifth straight two-out single to score Tim and give Rez the lead, 10-9.

Wooddale stumbled again in its half, leaving a runner on base without scoring so Rez Life held a 10-9 lead after four innings. Rez Life expanded its lead to six runs with a five-spot in the top of the fifth on five hits, a walk and a Wooddale error. With one out, Jason singled and moved to second on Adam's second hit of the game. Austin hit a high flyball to right-center that was dropped allowing Jason to score and putting runners on first and second for the suddenly hot Eric Johnson. Eric ripped another hit but Adam was cut down trying to score on the play for the second out. Tenney calmly blasted his first homerun to deep left-center to plate three runs and make it 14-9 with two outs. The Warriors weren't done as Tim took the first pitch he saw and lined it over center to make it 15-9 through four and half innings.

Wooddale ended its scoring drought with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, tightening the score to 15-13 after five. Wooddale peppered six singles and used one Rez Life error to push the runs across. A grounder to Lee at third ended the inning, leaving the bases loaded.

Rez looked to open up its two-run lead in the sixth but went down in order for the second time on the night and held on to its two-run edge going into the bottom half.

Wooddale roped a solo homer to start the inning to make it 15-14 but an infield popout provided the first out for Rez. A single and two straight walks loaded the bases and as pitcher Jason struggled to find his command momentarily, a run was walked in. After a flyout to left, two more runners scored on a single but on that play Jason took the throw from the outfield and quickly fired to Lee at third who cut-down the runner trying to advance to end the threat and the inning. However, the damage had been done and Rez now trailed 17-15 headed in to the final inning.

Adam started a great seventh inning with a clean base hit and Austin shook off his off-night with a game-tying two run blast to center. Eric coaxed his second walk of the game and Tenney did his job with a two-run bomb to give Rez its game-winning lead. The offense kept right on going as Tim doubled and went to third on a single from Jeff. Aaron walked to load the bases for Lee who again came through with a two-rbi hit to make it 21-17 Rez, still with no outs. After the first out advanced the runners to second and third, Jason lined out to first for the second out. Adam stepped up in a big way with his second seventh inning hit, this one a deep double in the gap plating two runs. Austin sliced one to right for his fourth hit to score Adam and stake Rez to its seven-run lead, 24-17.

Wooddale knew it had to put up a big number and had three homeruns to use. But, the big hit never came as Wooddale had runners on the whole inning, but just pushed them around with singles as Rez cut down one batter at a time with a lineout to Aaron in left with two on ending the game.

The Warriors needed that bounce-back win and now trail the leaders by just one game in the loss column, holding the tie-breaker over Wooddale Classic (7-2) and having one game remaining against Wooddale Mercy Rules to determine the tie-breaker there.

Next week, the Warriors play at 7:50 on field #2 against the hot-hitting St. Andrew Blue squad. The following three weeks after that are all doubleheaders for the Warriors so now is a good time for the Warriors' bats to get hot.

Look for the Mid-Season Report and All-Star game announcements next week as the Warriors have now hit the halfway point.

Week 8 vs Mercy Rules

2010-06-17T08:24:00.002-06:00

Tonight's game is huge for the Warriors. League-leader Wooddale Mercy Rules strolls into the dugout opposite the Warriors tonight. Hopefully we'll have a slugfest.

1. Ryan, LF
2. Adam, RF
3. Austin, LC
4. Eric, C
5. Tenney, SS
6. Tim, P
7. Logan, 2B
8. Jeff, 1B
9. Aaron, RC
10. Lee, 3B
11. Bryan, DH

Warriors Fall to Redeemer

2010-06-17T07:55:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors took a beating at the hands of some former teammates last week in a 19-9 defeat against Redeember Bible Church. The Warriors never got their bats going and Redeember rode some cheap hits early to some hot bats late for the victory.

The Warriors had a bad start as Austin Colby flew out to the wall to start the game, just his second out this season in the first inning. After a groundout from Aaron Beintema, Ryan Norman roped a single to try and ignite a two-out rally. Adam Hey followed with a single and Jeff Tenney walked to load the bases but a sharp lineout from Lee Valle ended the threat.

Redeemer pounced in its half of the inning, scoring four times to take a 4-0 lead after one inning. After a popout to start the frame, Jason Merritt singled and moved to third on Andy Briggs' bloop double. A booted grounder allowed one run to score and put runners on the corners. Chris Burr hit a liner to right-center to score another run. A foulout from Jamy Antoine was the second out and a walk followed to loaded the bases. Gregg Williams came through with a seeing-eye single to score two to finish the scoring.

Rez came back strong in the second inning with five runs to take the lead, 5-4. Jeff Johnson lasered a line-drive homerun to start the inning and Eric Johnson followed with a single. John Beintema blooped a single to put runners at first and second with no outs. A strikeout was the first out and a pop-out was the second out. Austin stepped up and roped one off the center-field wall for a run-scoring double to make it 4-2. Aaron delivered the big hit, lining a single to score Austin and John and tying the game. Ryan singled again and Adam doubled to score Aaron and put runners at second and third. However, Tenney lined a shot that was caught by Burr in left-center to end the inning.

Redeemer was unable to answer, going down one, two, three in the bottom of the second to keep the game at 5-4 Rez Life after two innings.

Rez had a chance to open up a lead in the third, but the team was unable to muster much offense, scoring just two runs on a Jeff single and Eric two-run blast to left.

Redeemer had a big bottom half to open up an 11-7 lead after three innings. A leadoff error got things going for Redeemer who then had three lazy singles sandwiched with a force-out to score two runs and put two on for Jamy. Jamy delivered the first big hit of the night, launching a three-run bomb to right-center to make it 9-7 Redeemer. Two walks and two singles plated two more runs in the inning.

The Rez bats again faltered scoring just two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to two, 11-9. Substitute Mike Maguire blooped a single to start the inning and was followed by Austin's second off-the-wall double of the game. Aaron lofted a sac fly to plate Mike and Ryan singled to score Austin. Back-to-back popouts ended the inning for the Warriors.

Redeemer's bats finally heated up in the bottom of the fourth, ripping out eight hits including a big three-run homer from Gregg to cap the innings' scoring, 19-9 Redeemer.

The Warriors were a little shell-shocked and the bats looked it in the top of the fifth, going down without a hit to end the game via ten-rule mercy rule, 19-9.

Eric Johnson captures Player of the Game with two hits, two runs and two rbi including a two-run homer.

The Rez Life Warriors play league-leader Wooddale Mercy Rules (8-1) this week on field 4 at 7:50. Big game for the Warriors. A loss would pretty much eliminate them from league title consideration, as they would be 5-4, three games back in the loss column and four games back because of tie-breaker rules.

Warriors Split Twinbill

2010-06-04T08:48:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors split a double header last night, dropping the first game to EPAG, 18-17, before bouncing back against Immanuel, 23-6, in the finale. The split puts Rez Life at 5-2 on the season.

EPAG proved that its early season record was no fluke as the entire lineup could bang the softball. Three different players hit homeruns and the team swatted 27 hits including six for extra bases. Rez Life just couldn't keep pace, trailing from the get-go and never able to get over the hump. Rez swung the bats okay with 20 hits with one triple and four homeruns.

The game ended in dramatic fashion as the Warriors had runners on first and third with one out and the meat of the order coming up trailing by two. However, the 3, 4, 5 hitters managed to produce just one run and the game ended 18-17 EPAG.

Rez started with a quick two in the first inning as Tim Jandro walked and came home on Austin Colby's sixth homerun of the season. After a single from Ryan Norman, back-to-back pop-outs ended the inning.

EPAG took the lead in the bottom of the first and didn't look back. EPAG scored five times on seven hits and hit one homerun.

In the top of the second, Rez added one more on walks from Jeff Johnson and Bryan Christensen and an rbi double from Logan Brincefield. EPAG stranded one runner in the bottom half to keep it at 5-3 after two innings.

Rez scored another one in top of the third as Austin singled and moved to third on Ryan's single. Ryan got caught between first and second on the throw back to the infield so Austin kept on running and scored as Ryan was tagged out on the bases. Another single from Jeff Tenney was stranded in the inning.

EPAG opened it up in the bottom of the third with five runs to make it 10-4. EPAG had six hits and smashed two homeruns in the inning to extend its lead.

Rez stormed back in the top of the fourth with six runs to tie the game. Jeff reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on Aaron Beintema's single. After an out, Logan lined another double to bring home Jeff. With two on, Tim lofted a three-run homer to right-center to make it 10-8. After the second out, Ryan singled and jogged home on Tenney's two-run bomb center. Back-to-back singles from Eric Johnson and Adam Hey were stranded on the bases to end the inning.

EPAG didn't waste any time coming right back to snuff the rally scoring seven times in the bottom half to reclaim its lead, 17-10 through four innings. EPAG hit its final homerun in the inning and took advantage of Rez Life's only error of the game to plate three unearned runs.

However, the Warriors' bats weren't done and came out on fire again with another six-spot to make it 17-16 after four and half frames. Aaron tripled to start the inning and after walks from Bryan and Tim with one out loaded the bases for Austin, Austin deposited a grand slam over the right-field fence to cut the deficit to three, 17-14. Ryan singled and Tenney walked to keep things going and after a lineout for the second out, Adam singled to plate Ryan and Jeff singled to plate Tenney. With runners on the corners, Aaron lined out sharply to end the threat.

With the time limit looming, Rez needed to get out of the bottom half quickly. A lead-off triple didn't help, but after an infield single, good defense kept the inning short. A sacrifice flyout to Adam in right was the first out and after another single, a grounder to Tim forced out runner number two. a single loaded the bases but a liner snagged by Tenney at third ended the frame.

The Warriors needed two runs to keep playing and three to take the lead. With one out, Logan reached on an error and Tim singled to bring up Austin, Ryan and Tenney. Austin lined a single to plate Logan but Ryan and Tenney both missed and popped out back-to-back to end the game.

It was a barn-burner but Rez just missed. Austin earned his second Player of the Game of the season with four hits, three runs, seven rbi and two homeruns.

Game two saw the Rez Life bats come to life and stay alive the entire game. The team whacked out 27 hits including four doubles and four homeruns in just four innings. Aaron Beintema led the charge from the two-hole in the lineup with a perfect 4-4 game with four runs, an rbi and two doubles en route to Player of the Game honors.

In the top of the first, Adam singled and Aaron doubled to put runners at second and third. Ryan lined a single to score Adam for the game's first run. Jeff ripped a single to score Aaron and after an out, Tim hit a three-run homer to make it 5-0. Eric launched a double off the left-field wall but was thrown out at home after Austin's single to right-center. A hard-hit flyball ended the inning.

Immanuel scored three runs in the bottom half to keep it close initially, using four hits, a walk and a sac fly. However, that lead would expand quickly.

In the second frame, Adam and Aaron again set the table for the middle of the order with singles. Ryan delivered an rbi single and Jeff hit into a forceout that scored Aaron to make it 7-3. With two outs, Tenney crushed a homerun to center to cap the inning's scoring.

After a quick one, two, three bottom half, the Warriors came out smoking in the third with ten runs to put the game away. Austin, Logan and Bryan singled to load the bases for the top of the order and Adam plated one run on a forceout and Aaron plated another on a single. Ryan reached on an error which allowed another run to score to make it 12-3 Rez Life. Jeff singled to load them up for Tenney who hit one into the night nearly landing on the road for a monstrous grand slam. Now 16-3, the Warriors weren't done yet. Tim and Eric singled and Austin took a shot to left-center over the fence for a three-run homerun and a 19-3 Rez Life lead. Logan singled after him, but the next two guys got out to end the inning.

Immanuel saved a little grace by scoring three runs in the bottom half on five hits and the lone Rez Life error. Heading into the final frame, Rez was up 19-6 and added a few more to end the game via 15-run mercy rule.

Aaron doubled for his fourth hit of the game and scored on Ryan's third hit. After a lineout, Tenney reached on an error after nearly decapitating Ryan on first base with a line-drive foul ball. Tim doubled to score Ryan and Eric lofted a sac fly to score Tenney. Austin switched to lefty and lined a single up the middle and Logan roped a single to plate Tim and end the scoring at 23.

Immanuel had two hits in the bottom half, but three fly outs ended the game, 23-6 Warriors.

The Warriors will still be in third place with losses to the two teams in front of them. That means that although they trail by just one game in the loss column, they actually trail by two because they would lose the tie-breaker. Next week will a bitter-sweet game as the Warriors play Redeemer Bible at 8:50 on field 4, facing some good friends and former teammates for the first time.

Games 6 & 7 versus EPAG & Immanuel, Field 3, 7:50

2010-06-03T15:18:00.002-06:00

Beautiful weather for tonight. Not too warm, low 70's with a slight breeze.

Be blessed.

Game 1, EPAG
1. Logan, 2B
2. Tim, 3B
3. Austin, P
4. Ryan, LC
5. Tenney, SS
6. Eric, RF
7. Adam, RC
8. Jeff, 1B
9. Aaron, LF
10. Bryan, C

Game 2, Immanuel
1. Adam, RF
2. Aaron, LC
3. Ryan, SS
4. Jeff, 1B
5. Tenney, 3B
6. Tim, RC
7. Eric, 2B
8. Austin, P
9. Logan, LF
10. Bryan, C

Week 6 Preview

2010-06-02T07:42:00.003-06:00

There are six games scheduled for tomorrow night's Men's Church league. Games start at 5:50 and are played every time slot through 8:50.

League-leader Wooddale Mercy Rules (6-1, 19.6) faces a tough challenge from Redeemer Bible (3-2, 18.4) in the highlighted 6:50 game on field 3. Redeemer has had some early roster issues as far as getting their top guys to all the games and sometimes having an overloaded roster of 12 or 13 guys. This week will be one of the tight weeks but I still feel Redeemer will be a handful for Mercy Rules. I see a see-saw battle with Redeemer pulling the upset, 20-16.

2nd place EPAG (5-1, 18.7) faces off against our 3rd place Resurrection Life Warriors (4-1, 20.4) at 7:50 on field 3. EPAG's unbeaten season ended last week against St. Andrew Blue and the Warriors will be the favorite going into the contest. The winner will be in sole possession of second place, with a chance at first if Redeemer beats Mercy Rules. Rez Life has had just one fixed lineup in five games. The other four lineups weren't established until minutes before game-time. Manager Colby is confident that those issues are resolved and his squad is 10-strong this week with no subs. If that holds, the Warriors should handle EPAG's new lineup and pull out the 22-13 victory.

The only 8:50 contest pits Resurrection Life versus Immanuel. Immanuel opened the season with a victory but has dropped its last five games to find itself in 8th place (1-5, 11.2). Immanuel was the only team to knock off the Warriors in 2009 and Rez is out to prove that was a fluke. I see the Warriors starting a little jumpy but locking it down soon enough to roll to a 23-8 five-inning victory.

Don't miss the beautiful 75 degree sunny weather at Round Lake tomorrow! Come cheer on the Warriors to victory!

Back-to-Back Wins for Warriors

2010-05-28T09:29:00.001-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors continued their fine play with a 19-6 win over St. Andrew Red last night. The Warriors used a balanced offensive attack and their best defensive performance of the season to secure the victory.

Logan Brincefield had a solid all-around game en route to earning his first Player of the Game honors. He went 4-5 at the plate with three runs scored, two rbi and a triple. Defensively, he played a great second base handling one assist and five putouts with no errors.

Unfortunately, the team didn't get started well with only seven players at the field ten minutes before gametime. However, a player and a substitute arrived shortly and old friend and former teammate Jason Merritt was attending the game also, so he stepped in to fill the 10th spot as the game started.

Logan started the game with a line-drive out but Adam Hey singled and scored on Austin's triple off the center-field wall. Substitute Jeremy Abfalter walked and Jason roped an rbi single to score Austin to make it 2-0. Aaron Beintema started his excellent game with an rbi single to push Jeremy home. After Jeff Johnson hit into a force out, Lee Valle stayed hot with an rbi single to cap the inning's scoring at four.

St. Andrew Red swung a good bat in the first inning. Red has been swinging solid bats lately, scoring 16 and 22 in its past two games. Red started this game with four runs in the bottom of the first to tie the game. The team opened the game with four straight singles and then used Rez Life's only error to score the final two runs.

Rez came right back and scored three runs in the top of the second to retake the lead, 7-4. After the first out, Bryan Christensen strolled up to the field just in time to draw a walk. Logan stroked his first single to put two on for Adam who hit into a forceout for the second out. With runners on first and second, Austin launched one to the right-center field gap and began the race to chase down Adam. Austin was nearly successful, touching home plate just a step behind Adam for the three-run homer. Rez loaded the bases with a single from Jeremy and back-to-back walks from Jason and Aaron but Jeff hit a laser beam right at the left-center fielder for the third out.

Red didn't score in the bottom half of the second, after an unconventional doubleplay ended the frame. With one out and runners on first and second, Adam made a nice running catch in right-center for out number two and then fired a throw to first to try and double-up the runner. The throw was a little offline but Jeff ran it down and flipped to Austin covering first for the third out.

The Warriors bats didn't do much in the third, with just a single from John Beintema. Red also went down scoreless in the third stranding just one single also.

Rez Life came out swinging in the fourth putting a five spot on the scoreboard to take a commanding 12-4 lead. Logan singled and after an out came home on Austin's double to center. Jeremy had an infield single to put Austin at third base. Jason hit a pop-up to shallow center that the shortstop muffed, but Austin had tagged to score so Jason got credit for the sacrifice fly. Aaron followed with another sac fly, this one to left, to score Jeremy and make it 10-4. Jeff doubled to plate Jason and Lee singled to score Jeff.

Red got one back in the bottom of the fourth using three singles and a walk. A sharp grounder up the middle was snagged by Logan with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Rez didn't score in the fifth, leaving Logan's single on base. Red went down in order in the fifth also, after three fine defensive plays from the Warriors.

The Rez Life bats came back to life in sixth and final inning, scoring seven runs to end the game via mercy rule. Jeremy, Jason and Aaron all singled to start the inning and push the first run across. Jeff followed with his second consecutive double to plate two more runs. After an out, Tim Jandro singled to plate Jeff and Bryan rolled an infield single to put two on for Logan. Logan hit his third straight shot to left field, this one bouncing all the way to the fence for a two-run triple. Adam hit an rbi grounder for the 19th run and second out. Austin lined a single to complete his second cycle of the season and Jeremy singled also. A groundout ended the inning.

St. Andrew Red managed one run in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 19-6. The victory pushes Rez Life's record to 4-1. Next week will be the Warriors' first doubleheader of the season with games at 7:50 and 8:50 on field #3.

Week 5 Lineup Versus St. Andrew Red, 7:50, Field 5

2010-05-26T15:14:00.002-06:00

Psalm 27:1

'The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?' (NIV)

'The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? (NASB)

'Light, space, zest— that's God! So, with him on my side I'm fearless, afraid of no one and nothing.' (The Message)

'The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?' (NLT)

1. Logan, 2B
2. Adam, LF
3. Austin, P
4. Ryan, LC
5. Tim, SS
6. Aaron, RC
7. Lee, 3B
8. John, RF
9. Jeff, 1B
10. Bryan, C

Warriors Back On Winning Track

2010-05-24T13:04:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors got back on the right track with a convincing 21-5 victory over Pax Christi last week. The team rebounded nicely from its first loss and pounded out 21 hits and drew five walks in the game. Jeff Tenney led the offensive charge with two homeruns, a two-run shot in the first and a grand slam in the second to earn Player of the Game honors.

The Warriors got off to a fast start with three runs in the first inning. With one out, Adam Hey lined a single to left. Eric Johnson reached on an error to put two on and Logan Brincefield hit into a forceout to plate Adam for the first run. Jeff then launched his first homerun of the game to make it 3-0 Rez. Lee Valle and Aaron Beintema both singled but a flyout ended the inning.

Pax didn't score in its half, stranding a lead-off error. Rez came right back and added six more runs to its lead to take a 9-0 lead after one and a half.

Austin Colby doubled to start the second and moved to third on Bryan Christensen's single. Tim Jandro followed with an rbi force-out. Adam then singled to put two runners on and after the second out, Logan walked to load the bases for Jeff. Jeff deposited a ball over the left-center field fence for the grand slam and an 8-0 Warriors lead. Next, Lee reached on an error and moved to second on Aaron's single. John Beintema came through with an rbi single to plate Lee and cap the inning's scoring.

Pax scored two runs on three hits and an error in the second inning to make it 9-2 Rez after two full innings. The Rez Life bats kept adding to the lead with three more runs in the top of the third. With one out, Tim tripled and scored on Adam's base knock. After the second out, Logan reached on an error to keep the inning alive. Jeff was intentionally walked to load the bases for Lee who came through with a line drive on the left-field line to plate two runs.

Pax made it a closer game with three runs of its own in the bottom of the third inning but never seriously threatened. Pax knocked out four hits including a two-run triple in the inning.

In the fourth inning, Rez pushed nine runs across to end the game via 15-run mercy rule. John singled to start the frame and sprinted home on Austin's fourth triple of the season. After the first out, Tim lifted a sac fly to score Austin, but reached base as the right-fielder dropped the ball. Adam roped his fourth hit of the game to plate Tim to make it 15-5 Rez. After the second out, Logan doubled to put runners at second and third. Jeff walked intentionally again to load the bases and Lee came through again with another two-rbi single. Aaron knocked out his third hit to score Jeff and John ripped his third hit to score Lee. Austin walked to re-load the bases and for Bryan who walked to score another run. Tim singled to bring home John and end the scoring, 21-5.

Pax had one man reach in the fourth, but didn't score to end the game after four innings.

Next week, Rez plays St. Andrew Red at 7:50 on field 5. Rez held its third place spot in the standings with its 3-1 record. EPAG knocked off Wooddale Mercy Rules 16-5 to take sole control of first place, pushing Mercy Rules into second.

Week 4 Lineup vs Pax Christi, Field 3, 5:50 - UPDATE

2010-05-19T09:37:00.003-06:00

"Spending time with the Lord is not the most important thing in your relationship with Jesus. It is your relationship with Jesus."

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you will recover your life. I will show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you will learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 (Message).

1. Tim, SS
2. Adam, LF
3. Eric, RC
4. Logan, 2B
5. Jeff, 1B
6. Lee, 3B
7. Aaron, LC
8. John, RF
9. Austin, P
10. Bryan, C

Mercy Rules Shows No Mercy, Drubs Warriors 31-20

2010-05-14T11:57:00.002-06:00

The quest for an undefeated season has ended quickly for the Resurrection Life Warriors after last night's 31-20 shellacking at the hands of Wooddale Mercy Rules. A couple of glaring things shined through on an otherwise rainy, soggy night: The Resurrection Life Warriors need to play much better defense to be considered a legitimate contender and Wooddale Mercy Rules is here to stay.

Rules asserted itself as the team to beat in sweeping a double-header over Rez Life and Wooddale Classic. Rules took advantage of every one of the Warriors' 10 errors. That is not a misprint. The Warriors committed 10 errors which led to 23 unearned runs for Rules. Rules, assuredly, would have scored more than eight runs had the Warriors played perfect defense, but the lack of quality defense was a disaster from the first inning on.

Expecting to play its first game of the year with excess players, the Warriors actually played 3 1/2 innings with just nine players instead of the 11 planned for. Minus one outfielder, the team stumbled a bit out of the gates. Wooddale sandwiched a single between two outs to start the game. With two outs, one on and no runs in, the flood gates opened in the top of the first. Wooddale then strung together seven hits to go along with three walks and four errors to plate 12 runs with two outs in the inning.

Rez was more than a little shell-shocked coming to bat in the bottom half of the frame. However, the lineup re-grouped and nearly had a huge inning, scoring four runs and leaving two on with the top of the order coming up. Austin Colby tripled off the right-field wall to start the inning and jogged home on Tim Jandro's line-drive single up the middle. After the first of Eric Johnson's three walks, Jeff Tenney flew out deep to right-center for the first out, pushing Tim to third. Adam Hey continued his torrid start to the season with an rbi-single to make 12-2. Logan Brincefield plated Eric with a single and Jeff Johnson followed with another rbi-single to cut the deficit to eight runs, 12-4 with one out and two on. However, that was all the team could muster as both Lee Valle and John Beintema flew out to end the inning.

The Rez defense continued its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act with some Dr. Jekyll activity in the top of the second. After singles from Rules put runners at first and second with zero outs, the defense flashed some serious leather. Tim made a nice running catch in center for the first out and after another single loaded the bases, Austin and John ended the inning with a nifty 1-2-3 double-play, pitcher to home to first.

Revved up by the defensive display, the bats came out roaring with nine runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead 13-12 after two innings. Austin singled and moved to second on Tim's second single of the game. Eric walked again to load the bases for Tenney who cleared the bases with an absolute taser to the wall in center, plating all three runs to make it 12-7 with a guy on second. Adam kept the party going with his first homerun of the year, a two-run shot through the wind to left-center. Trailing by just three, Logan started the train with a walk and after an out moved to second on Lee's single. With two on, John placed a single on the grass to score Logan and put two on for Austin. Austin gave the Warriors its only lead of the game with a line-drive homerun to right-field to make it 13-12 Rez. Still just one out, Tim singled and after the second out he moved to second on Tenney's single. A fly-out ended the inning for the Warriors and Rules came to the plate trailing.

That did not last long as Mr. Hyde came out to play again in the top of the third inning. Four more errors in the second led to eight unearned runs and eleven runs total for Wooddale. Rules did knock out seven hits and took two walks to re-take the lead for good, 23-13.

Trailing by 10, Rez needed another solid inning. But, it wasn't to be as a roped line-out started the inning and after two singles a hard-hit double-play grounder ended the inning, 23-13 Wooddale.

Welcome back Dr. Jekyll in the top of the fourth. The Warriors' defense stranded a lead-off single with three straight pop-outs to keep Rules from putting the game away in the fourth. Rez had another chance to get back into it in the bottom of the fourth but the team wasted another good opportunity for runs.

Late-comer Bryan Christensen knocked out his first career Rez Life hit to start the inning (Congratulations Bryan!!). However, after Austin roped one off the wall in left, Bryan was thrown out at third base for the first out. A single from Tim plated Austin, but Tim was caught in a run-down and thrown out on the bases for the second out - neither of which came on defense put-outs. Eric coaxed his third walk of the game but a fielder's choice grounder ended the fourth frame with Rez still well behind, 23-14.

Two more errors and two hits allowed Wooddale to plate three runs in the top of the fifth, putting Resurrection Life in a must-score situation to keep the game alive.

Down 26-14, Rez needed three runs to keep playing. Adam singled and Logan walked to start the inning. After an out, Lee walked to load the bases for John who dropped another big hit into the outfield grass, scoring two runs and putting runners on the corners with one out. After another ground-out, Austin came up needing a hit to keep the game going another inning. He delivered a mammoth homerun off of a Durango in the parking lot to plate three runs and make it 26-19.

Wooddale wasn't amused and calmly scored five more runs in the sixth inning to provide a 12-run cushion going into the bottom of the final frame. Rez was unable to get anything going, leaving the bases loaded and plating just one run.

The final score was 31-20 and the loss marks Rez Life's second league loss in its last four games after running off 23 straight wins. Next week Rez plays Pax Christi at 5:50 on field #3. Austin Colby captures his first Player of the Game award with his 5-5 day, hitting for the cycle while scoring five runs and driving home six, on two three-run homeruns.

Lineup for Wooddale Mercy Rules; May 13, 5:50, Field 2

2010-05-12T10:17:00.004-06:00

With nearly a full squad the Warriors won't have to worry about running around at the last minute for a 9th man tomorrow. That peace of mind alone should help Manager Colby and VP of Decision Making Eric Johnson during the game.

1. Austin, pitcher
2. Tim, shortstop
3. Ryan, left-center
4. Eric, right field
5. Adam, right-center
6. Logan, left field
7. Jeff, first base
8. Lee, third base
9. John, second base
10. Bryan, catcher

There is a chance that Jeff Tenney will also make it and if so, here is what the lineup will look like:

1. Austin, pitcher
2. Tim, second base
3. Ryan, left-center
4. Eric, right field
5. Jeff T, shortstop
6. Adam, right-center
7. Logan, left field
8. Jeff J, first base
9. Lee, third base
10. John, catcher
11. Bryan, designated hitter

Sounds like runs!

Top Two Scoring Teams Face-Off to Open Great Night

2010-05-12T10:03:00.004-06:00

The Eden Prairie Round Lake Church league is two weeks old in 2010 and has already seen its share of exciting games. Week one saw two one-run contests, a six-run game and two teams score 22 or better. Week two wasn't as competitive, with four of the five league games being decided by 15+ runs, but it had more fireworks with the winners averaging 25 runs per game.

Week three's match ups could prove to be even more captivating as the top two scoring teams, Wooddale Mercy Rules and Resurrection Life Warriors, square off in the opener (5:50) on field #2 as the start of a great night of games on paper.

Wooddale, 2009's Team of the Year as voted on by managers, is coming off of a nine game turnaround from 2008 to 2009 and has opened 2010 with two convincing wins, 23-5 over St. Andrew Red and 26-8 over Immanuel. Rez Life rolled through its 2009 opponents and averaged 17.8 runs per game in doing so, while playing into the 6th inning or later just a couple of times. This season, Rez has re-tooled and come out 2-0 with a hard-fought 16-15 victory over Wooddale Classic and then held on for a 26-22 win over St. Andrew Blue last week in a game in which it lead by 15 runs after two different innings.

It will be a good test for both teams and a league barometer of sorts to see who stands tallest at this point. I think the Warriors will maintain its league authority in controlling fashion, putting runs on the board every inning before winning 23-13 after five.

Following the Warriors vs. Rules game, Classic takes on its brothers from Wooddale at 6:50 on field #2. I would guess that Classic will have the edge as the big brother, but Rules will have nothing to lose in that game. Classic is another team averaging 20 runs a game and has a great league history with five league titles in the 2000's before moving up to a more challenging league. I think the Classic men will handle the Rules boys as the mystique hasn't worn off yet, Classic 22 Rules 16.

To close off a great three-hour stretch, Redeemer Bible faces off with Classic. Redeemer should be loaded with much of its solid squad so Classic better be ready to go or newcomer Redeemer will turn some heads. How this game starts will be huge. Classic has the ability to knock you down in the first inning and just apply pressure each inning after that. Redeemer has more explosion, but can force things if it falls behind too much too soon. I'm going out on a limb and picking an upset here with Redeemer bringing home the victory 19-16.

The weather forecast has taken a turn towards the positive with little to no rain tomorrow evening. While the 52 degree temperature may seem cool, watching these three games should warm you up in a hurry. Don't miss this week's action.

Final Two Roster Spots!!!

2010-05-10T10:29:00.000-06:00

As noted briefly in a game write-up last week, the Resurrection Life Warriors have officially closed the books on roster compilation for 2010.

Logan Brincefield has signed up as #11. Logan didn't negotiate long and after his one-game tryout he agreed to a two-year deal for an undisclosed amount. There was some talk from the Players' Union that this deal would be under investigation because of some medical language but it cleared the process and was okayed.

Tim Jandro, who captured Player of the Game honors last week, also agreed to a one-year deal to be Warrior #12. Smartly, Tim held out until after his one-game effort and then pushed the envelope for a long-term big-dollar deal. However, Austin Colby and Team Owner Ron Loven weren't born yesterday and basically gave Tim a chance to earn a long-term career with the Warriors with a lucrative, incentive-based one-year contract. Tim folded like a lawn chair and accepted the deal.

That puts the full roster in line for the 2010 regular season. The team is solid top to bottom.

Rez Wins Soaking Slugfest: 26-22

2010-05-07T11:45:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors have opened the season with a couple of exciting victories after defeating a much improved St. Andrew Blue team 26-22 in the rain Thursday night.

Both teams swung the bats very well combining for 56 hits and 48 runs. A nine-man defense limited the Warriors in the field and five errors didn't help either. The Blue defense was solid though not spectacular.

Down a man, the Warriors won the toss but chose to hit first to delay playing short-handed defense as long as possible. The strategy paid off as the team rallied with two outs to push 10 runs on the board. Leadoff hitter Austin Colby started the game in embarrassing fashion hitting a lazy pop-out to third base...in foul territory. Adam Hey picked him up with a crisp single but Eric Johnson followed with a weak fly-out to left for the second out. With two outs, one on and none in the Warrior bats finally picked it up. Logan Brincefield roped a single to push Adam to second and Jeff Johnson followed with an impressive three-run homer to dead center, his first of the season. With the bases clear, Aaron Beintema started up again with a single and moved to second on Bryan Christensen's walk. Tim Jandro - making his Rez Life debut - followed with a deep bomb to center to clear the bases and give the Warriors a 6-0 lead.

Substitute Marty Wold lined a single to left and scampered home on Austin's triple to right-center. Adam laced his second single of the inning plating Austin to make it 8-0. Eric, like Austin, avoided two outs in one inning with a single and moved to second on the throw to third base. Logan capped a nice first inning with his second knock, bringing home Austin and Eric and staking Rez to a 10-0 lead after one at bat.

St. Andrew Blue responded in its half of the first with five runs. Blue displayed a very impressive offense, 100% improved from 2009. Blue swatted five hits and used two errors to plate the five runs.

Leading 10-5, Rez kept its foot on the gas and plated four more in the top of the second. Another two out rally made things happen for the Warriors in the second. With two outs and no one on base, Tim tripled to the gap in right-center. Marty followed with his second hit of the game to score Tim. Austin followed with an rbi double and scored on Adam's rbi triple. Eric doubled to end the rally with Rez up 14-5.

Blue's bats faltered in the bottom half of the second. The team rolled in into three outs sandwiched around one single.

Rez put one more run on the board in the top of the third inning to increase the lead to ten runs. Jeff launched his second homer of the game to start the inning. Aaron and Tim both singled but a pop-out and line-drive double-play ended the inning.

The Warrior defense again held steady in the third inning keeping Blue off the scoreboard. Blue hit two more grounders for outs and a fly-ball to center field.

In the top of the fourth inning Rez kept up the pressure with five more runs. Austin singled and Adam doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. Eric roped one to bring home Austin. Logan followed with a single to plate Adam and make it 17-5. Jeff flew out for the first out and Aaron lofted a deep drive to the fence in right-center for a triple that plated Eric and Logan. Bryan hit a sharp grounder that scored Aaron increase the Warrior lead to 15 runs, 20-5 after three and half innings.

Blue got back on the board in the bottom of the fourth with two runs, starting the inning with a triple and a homerun to cut the lead to 13, 20-7. However, the team stranded two other runners on and Rez came to the plate with another chance to push the lead into mercy-rule territory.

In the top of the fifth, Rez scored two more runs to again go up by 15 runs, 22-7. Austin lined his second triple of the game to open the inning and scored on Adam's rbi groundout. Eric singled and moved to second on Logan's fourth single. Jeff drew a walk to load the bases for Aaron who into a force-out to plate Eric. Another sharp grounder ended the inning.

Blue now needed to score six runs to keep the game going. The bats answered that call and scored seven runs to make it 22-14. Blue had six hits and reached on one error to plate the seven runs. A two run-homer capped the scoring with just one out. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.

After a short conference, the umpire allowed the game to keep going so the Warriors were able to bat one more time. The team took advantage scoring four more insurance runs for a game total of 26. Tim doubled to lead off the final inning, completing the cycle for him. after one out, Austin scored lined one to left for a double, but Tim had to hold up to make sure the ball dropped so he stopped at third. Adam quickly cleared the bases with a two-run single. Eric completed his impressive day swatting a two-run no-doubter to center to end the scoring. Two more singles were stranded but Rez felt comfortable with the twelve-run lead.

Blue, however, quickly erased that comfort in the bottom half of the inning. Blue didn't hit the ball as hard in the sixth inning, but the field was sufficiently sloppy and the defense couldn't catch a break. The first four batters reached base with three runs scoring before the first out of the inning. Three more singles and three more runs scored before a fine play in left by Adam secured the second out. After a single and a double plated two more runs to make it 26-22, Austin struck out the final batter to finally end the marathon slugfest.

Tim Jandro captured Player of the Game honors in his Warrior debut. Tim had a perfect 5-5 night with a cycle: one double, one triple and a three-run homer to go with a pair of singles.

As a team the Warriors had a great early-season showing. The bats swatted 33 hits including five doubles, five triples, and four homeruns.

The team faces another solid opponent next week in Wooddale Mercy Rules at 5:50 on field #2.

Warriors Welcome Wooddale Classic to League

2010-04-30T13:40:00.004-06:00

The 2010 season is underway and it got started in fine fashion last night. The two top pre-season teams faced off under the lights on field #5 with both teams ready to play. Defending champion, Resurrection Life, defeated former champion, Wooddale Classic, 16-15 scoring three runs in the top of the 7th to win it.

Both teams showed some early season rust, Rez moreso than Wooddale, but all told it was a well-played game. The Warriors banged out 22 hits and drew three walks. Wooddale ripped 21 hits and drew two walks. Rez did commit three errors, but they were early and the defense played perfectly the last three innings. Wooddale committed just one error which did not lead to any extra runs for Rez.

Rez started the season in style as leadoff hitter Austin Colby launched the first pitch of the season well over the left-field fence into the netting on the baseball field. While it wasn't an effective use of the team's limited homeruns, it was a nice little 'Oh, welcome to OUR league' statement to Wooddale.

Substitute Jeremy Abfalter followed with a single and went to third on newcomer Ryan Norman's single. With runners on the corners, Eric Johnson lofted the first of what will be eight or nine sacrifice flies, plating Jeremy. Adam Hey followed with a liner up the middle to move Ryan to second and Jeff Johnson hit into a forceout for the second out. Up 2-0 with two outs and runners on the corners, Aaron Beintema delivered a single to score Ryan and keep the inning alive for Lee Valle. Lee responded by roping his first pitch in two years to the center-field wall scoring Jeff and ending the inning's scoring at 4-0 Rez.

Wooddale brushed off the little hit barrage put on by the Warriors and calmly ripped five hits and used two Rez errors to score five runs in the bottom half to take a 5-4 early lead. The Warriors didn't waste much time correcting that as Logan Brincefield started the second with a single and jogged home as Austin hit his second pitch of the season just a little bit higher on that baseball field net in left field. Jeremy followed with a single but the next three batters went down in order leaving it 6-5 Rez through one and a half.

Wooddale scored two in the bottom half with three hits including a double. Good outfield defense kept any additional runners from reaching.

Tied at 6, the Warriors took their only goose egg of the game in the third inning. The team went down one, two, three making it six straight outs going back to the second inning. Ouch.

Wooddale took advantage and pounced ahead with four runs in the bottom of the third. Four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly gave Classic the edge.

Now down four and having set down six straight batters, the Warriors needed a jump start in the fourth. The team answered the call, banging out five hits and utilizing a sacrifice fly and a walk to plate five runners and reclaim the lead, 11-10. John Beintema started the frame with a smooth single to left. After a tough lineout, Austin took his free pass with class to put two on for Jeremy. Jeremy answered and loaded the bases with a single. Ryan followed with an rbi single to score John. Eric eased his second sac fly to the outfield, plating Logan who was running for Austin. Down 10-8 with two outs and two on, Adam came through in a big way launching what looked like a homerun off the wall in left-center to score Jeremy and Ryan and tying the score. Jeff roped a single to center to push Adam home and give the Warriors the lead.

Wooddale looked like it wasn't phased by the outburst and started the bottom half single, double to put runners at second and third with no outs. But, the defense stepped up and set down the next three batters to allow just the one run to score to tie the game.

With three innings to go and a tie game, Rez added a run in the fifth to take a one-run lead. Lee singled to start things and after back-to-back outs, Austin took his second unintentional, intentional walk to put two on for Jeremy. Jeremy blooped one on the right-field line to score Lee, but was thrown out at second to end the inning, 12-11 Rez.

Wooddale showed its first real chink in the offensive armor putting the first two batters on first and second and then going down in order without scoring. Austin snared a line drive hit right back at his shoulder to end the fifth inning, 12-11 Warriors.

Rez tried to add some more runs in the sixth, but couldn't really muster any offense, using two singles and an error to push just one run across the plate.

Wooddale now had a chance to take back the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Classic did just that, scoring four times to really put the pressure on Rez going into the seventh. Classic had four hits in the inning and one walk. Two very nice plays in the field by Austin on the mound and Ryan at shortstop prevented even more runs from scoring.

Trailing by two in the last frame, Rez needed baserunners. John grounded out to start things but Logan came through with a base-hit to left setting the table for Austin. Austin, having not swung since the second inning, seemed a bit over anxious and lunged at the first pitch thrown only to hit a high flyball to center for the second out. For a moment it seemed like the Warriors were done, but Jeremy came through in a big way stroking one through the wind over the center-field fence to tie the game at 15 with two outs. Motivated by the blast, the Warriors kept it going as Ryan singled and moved to second on Eric's walk. Adam proved his worth yet again with another clutch two-out hit, lining a single to center to score Ryan and give Rez the late lead. A flyout ended the inning.

Wooddale trailed by one and strode to the plate in the bottom of the seventh determined to get the leadoff man on first. However, a tricky pop-up in shallow right was held up by the strong wind allowing Eric time to hustle out and snag it for the first out. That was huge. The second batter hit a grounder to Ryan who fielded cleanly and fired to Jeff at first for the second out. The next batter roped one that Ryan nearly speared out of mid-air but was just out of his reach. With one on and two outs, the final batter hit a spinning pop-up on the third base line that Austin tracked down and buried to end the game.

A great, exciting 16-15 victory to open the season for the Resurrection Life Warriors. Adam Hey earns Player of the Game honors for his 4-5 performance including a double and three huge two-out rbi, including the game-winner.

The team's next contest is at 6:50 on field #3 versus St. Andrew Blue on May 6.

2010 Eden Prairie League Preview

2010-04-28T13:13:00.000-06:00

I have just returned from the pre-season managers' meeting. With two new teams this year, the landscape and the league has changed dramatically. Last year's champions, Resurrection Life were the pick to repeat even though the Warriors manager had this to say during the meetings,
'We had an outstanding 2009,' stated Manager Colby. 'Great group of guys, really had fun. I'm not down-playing our abilities in anyway for 2010, but I want the league to know that we have re-tooled our roster substantially to the tune of 60% turnover. Redeemer Bible will be a great addition as four of our regular, all-league caliber players will be playing for that squad this year.'

Apparently, the other managers weren't buying it as Rez received six first place votes, one second place and two thirds for a total of 76 points. Voting is tallied as follows:
1st place = 9 points
2nd place = 8 points
3rd place = 7 points
etc.
9th pace = 1 point

Here were the final tallies from the league meetings with first place votes in parantheses:

1. Resurrection Life (6): 76
2. Wooddale Classic (3): 73
3. Wooddale Mercy Rules: 58
4. Immanuel: 53
5. Redeemer Bible: 49
6. EPAG: 35
7. Pax Christi: 31
8. St. Andrew Blue: 17
9. St. Andrew Red: 13

Despite not having played in the league in five years, Wooddale Classic finished just behind the Warriors with 73 pre-season points. Classic was a perennial league champion before winning the Church class C state tournament in 2005 and moving up to a different level of play. However, Classic has rejoined the leauge and the opening night game's should be fun, as pre-season #1 and #2 kick off the season facing each other.

Last year's most improved team, Wooddale Mercy Rules, captured 3rd in the pre-season polls while always solid, never spectacular Immanuel finished 4th. Redeemer may be flying a bit under the radar as an unknown but with four returning all-league players on its roster RBC could very well be tough to handle, despite placing 5th in this poll.

Always tricky EPAG came in 6th followed by Warrior killing Pax Christi in 7th. Both of those teams will knock off a top team sometime during the season. The two St. Andrew teams came in at 8th (Blue) and 9th (Red). Red has steadily declined each year while Blue has just suffered from tough competition.

Rez landed two players on the pre-season 1st team all-league in Austin Colby and Jeff Tenney and two on the 2nd team in Eric Johnson and Jeff Johnson. Redeemer also had two pre-season 1st teamers in Jason Merritt and Jamy Antoine with Chris Burr and Andy Briggs making 2nd team.

Wooddale Classic place two more on the 1st as did Wooddale Mercy Rules. Immanuel garnered one spot as did Pax Christi. The 2nd team was filled out with two Classic members, one Mercy Rules, one Immanuel, two EPAG and one Pax player.

The league looks much more well-rounded in 2010 and I expect the standings to finish up looking like this:

1. Resurrection Life: 14-4
2. Wooddale Classic: 13-5
3. Redeemer Bible: 12-6
4. Wooddale Mercy Rules: 11-7
5. Imannuel: 9-9
6. EPAG: 8-10
7. Pax: 7-11
8. St. Andrew Blue: 5-13
9. St. Andrew Red: 2-16

2010 Roster Preview

2010-04-26T12:25:00.000-06:00

Welcome back to the Warrior softball season!! It hasn't been an easy pre-season, I can assure you that, but now that the real thing is here I suspect things will move along much smoother.

In the last post, the roster was still being decided. That is still up in the air to a small extent. From last year's 17-1 league championship squad, the Warriors lost six of its eleven regular roster players. That is a lot. While five did carry forward, the remaining balance of the roster had to be filled out.

Initially, the squad received interest from several Rez Life members but unfortunately due to time constraints, language barriers and injury that list dwindled in a hurry. As of now, here are the returning roster members that the team has signed for the season:

1. Austin Colby
2. Eric Johnson
3. Jeff Johnson
4. Adam Hey
5. Jeff Tenney

Along with those five, Lee Valle rejoins the team after a one-year hiatus.

6. Lee Valle

After that, the team had to go hunting for some fresh blood. The team found some with a father-son combination:

7. John Beintema
8. Aaron Beintema

Manager Colby had to work hard on the recruiting trail to land those two and he believes it will pay dividends. Beyond that, Colby had to reach into his bag of goodies to locate a couple more full-time players and two friends of his fit the bill:

9. Bryan Christenen
10. Ryan Norman

That gives the team 10 full-time roster players which means the Warriors will be relying on substitutes a lot. The team has extended an offer to an 11th full-time hopeful and if that pans out, then the squad will most likely have nine regulars at each game which leaves just one spot open for a sub.

It should be another great year for the Warriors. Please click on the roster links to read more about each player. Look for the League Preview coming soon...

2010 Season Planning Underway

2010-03-22T18:17:00.002-06:00

Welcome back to another season of Resurrection Life Warriors softball! 2010 will be the season of changes as the Warriors will experience the single largest roster overhaul in team history. Four Redeember Bible members who had played in some capacity for the Warriors in years past will now be playing on their own team in the Thursday night Eden Prairie Round Lake League. They will be missed but at least we'll still be able to hang out most Thursday nights! Good luck to the Redeember boys.

As far as the rest of the roster is concerned, it looks like at least three other members will need to be replaced. It's still too early to confirm what we know or don't know, but as of now, here are the Resurrection Life Warriors that will be playing ball again:

1. Austin Colby
2. Eric Johnson
3. Jeff Johnson
4. Lee Valle
5. Fassua
6. Moses
7. Adam Hey
8. Bryan Christensen

We will get at least three others and probably four. As always, the team is loaded with plenty of needed subs. Stay tuned for more information coming!

Get your spikes cleaned and your arms ready!! First game is just weeks away.

The Votes Are In...

2009-08-31T15:28:00.006-06:00

The Warriors closed up their season a few weeks ago at the year-end tourament and the team has voted on year-end awards. All 11 players had a vote, with Manager Colby receiving another vote and Team Chairman Ron Loven receiving the final vote. No player was allowed to vote for himself, so that left 12 available votes for each player, and 11 for Austin.

Without further ado...

Surprise Player of the Year:
A great category because you get votes for a variety of reasons. If a guy like Jason hit .400 on the year with no homers and 4 strikeouts, he might get a few votes. Or, if Jason hit .700 with 6 homers and 50 rbi, he'd probably get a few votes. Because of the strong year by the team, everyone who received votes this year was because of their successful campaign. Eight of the eleven players received votes with six people getting multiple votes. Three different people got first place votes and two of those had at least four first-place votes.

Adam Hey - Hard to argue with that logic. Adam received eight first-place votes, two second-place votes and 46 points. He hit .452 on the year a staggering 84% improvement over last year's .246 average. He also walloped a three-run homer, his first career homerun, scored 27 times and drove home 21. He learned a little patience too, drawing five walks. He also fielded all six outfield chances without an error. Great year from Adam.

Jamy Antoine runner-up, 38 points

Outfield Gold Glove:
This had been hotly contested the past couple of years with several players deserving. This year, all four regular outfielders received multiple votes with three of them receiving multiple first-place votes. The top two vote-getters each had ten or more total votes and four or more first-place votes.

Jason Merritt - Jason had another fine campaign in the outfield as he garnered seven first-place votes and 46 points. He only had 36 chances this season, but he made good on 34 of them. He played such a solid game all year, that I wondered if voters would forget about him just because he flew under the radar. This team gold glove will fit nicely on his mantle next to his league gold gloves from the past two seasons.

Jamy Antoine runner-up, 36 points

Infield Gold Glove:
Another great vote. Last year, Lee Valle ran away with the award, but this year it was tight. Two players were named on every available ballot, Austin Colby and Jeff Tenney. Each had at least four first-place votes. This vote came down to the final voter as the two players were separated by just three points. Five total players received multiple votes and all five had at least four votes.

Austin Colby - Austin had seven first-place votes and 45 overall points. He played a lot more shortstop this year than last year which probably helped his cause. He played his purest infield in years, making just two errors for the entire season. He also managed to lead the team with 35 assists and also had 25 putouts. Just a solid all-around defensive season for Austin.

Jeff Tenney runner-up, 42 points

MVP:
This award was nearly unanimous, as just three players received first-place votes, two receiving multiple votes. In a sort of oddity this year, one player received six third-place votes, but zero first or second-place votes.

Austin Colby - Austin had his best offensive year since 2003 and the team responded giving him 10 of the possible 11 first-place votes and 53 overall points. He led the team in nearly everything and hit a very legit .761 on the season with 70 rbi. This is Austin's fifth MVP since 2003.

Jeff Tenney runner-up 40 points

A great season for the team with some great individual performances. Great job everyone and I look forward to next year!!!

Warriors Struggle in Year-End Tournament

2009-08-10T14:40:00.000-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors ran off 17 straight wins to start the 2009 campaign before dropping six of their final seven games to finish at 18-6 overall. The Bloomington Assembly of God tournament was a tough one for Rez, as the team stumbled to a 4th place finish in the A bracket, going just 1-5 on the day.

Things started badly in the morning when the Warriors played the first game with just nine players, as two regulars were unable to attend and the one sub showed up late. Rez played hard but its three-man outfield was exposed on the 300-foot fences as several flyballs ended up dropping in the grass. Real Life defeated Rez Life 22-12 in the game. Austin Colby provided much of the offensive punch, going 4-5 with two runs scored, six rbi and a three-run homer while earning Player of the Game honors. Eric Johnson, Jason Merritt and Jonathan Engbrecht all added three hits in the game. Jamy Antoine mashed a two-run homer in the sixth.

The game was never close as Real Life put up six runs in the first while the warriors were scoreless. Real Life added five in the second while Rez again went scoreless. Trailing 11-0, Rez had three runs in the third, using rbi-hits from Jason and Austin. The defense picked up the slack too, holding Real Life scoreless in both the third and fourth innings.

Rez chipped away a little more with two runs in the fourth on a two-out single from Austin, plating Jonathan and Jason. In the top of the fifth, Rez added one more using singles from Eric and Andy before a sacrifice fly from Jeff scored Eric. The run made it 11-6 but Real Life erupted for nine runs after two were out in the bottom to seal the game. Rez didn't give up, putting five runners home in the top of hte sixth. Jonathan doubled and moved to third on Jason's single. Austin mashed a three-run homer to make it 20-9. After an out, Eric singled and came home on Jamy's long homerun to deep center.

Real Life added two more in the bottom half and Rez didn't score in the seventh.

With a full ten players in the second game, Rez played much better defense but couldn't get the bats going consistently. The Warriors fell 15-12 against Life AG. In the top of the first, Rez scored seven runs using six hits and a walk. Austin, sub Ryan Norman, Eric, Jamy, Chris Burr, and Jeff Johnson all had hits. The team hit for the cycle as Jeff homered, Chris tripled, Jamy doubled and the rest of the hits were singles.

However, the big lead was short-lived as Life came back with five first inning runs and six second inning runs, while holding Rez scoreless to make it 11-7 Life.

Rez again went scoreless in the third, stranding singles from Chris and Jeff. Life put five more runs on the board to go up 15-7 after three innings. Rez did manage one run in the fourth as Adam Hey singled and later scored on an error. The team left runners on first and third with one out in that inning.

In the top of the fifth, Rez started with two singles, but the next three players flew out to end the inning. Trailing 15-8 going into the final inning, Rez made a game of it, pushing four runs across. With one out, Austin lasered his second homer of the day to right-center. Ryan singled and so did Eric. Jamy then launched his second homerun of the day, this one a three-run shot to center. That was all the fireworks the bats had though, as the game ended 15-12.

Jamy earned Player of the Game with two hits, two runs, four rbi, a double and a homerun. Austin and Chris each had three hits in the game.

Game three was more of the same, as Rez fell to 0-3 on the day as Waukesha won 20-13. The bats were solid, but not spectacular. Austin captured his second POG on the day with a 3-4 game with three runs, five rbi, a double, triple and homerun. Jonathan had his second three-hit game on the day too.

Waukesha scored three runs in the top of the first but Rez stormed back with four in the bottom half. Jason walked and scored on Austin's triple. Ryan singled home Austin and jogged home on Eric's two-run homer through the wind to left. Jamy singled to keept it going but the next three guys got out to end the inning.

Waukesha exploded for 11 runs in the second and took a 14-4 lead. However, Rez didn't roll over and came back with six of its own runs in the bottom half. Jonathan and Adam started things with singles. Jason drove home Jonathan with a single and Austin plated Adam and put runners at second and third with a double. Still no outs, Ryan knocked out a two-rbi single and moved to third on Eric's single. Eric advanced to second on the first baseman's error and again the Warriors had second and third with no outs. Jamy lofted a sac fly for the first out, making the score 14-9. Chris doubled home Eric to make it 14-10, but the next two batters flew out ending the threat.

Waukesha kept its foot on the gas, scoring four more to increase its lead back to eight, 18-10. Rez scored three runs in its half inning. Jonathan and Jason singled with one out and Austin crushed his third homer in three games to right field to make it 18-13.

Rez was unable to score anymore runs though and Waukesha tacked on a couple insurance runs to make the final score 20-13.

The 0-3 pool play showing put Rez in the six seed in the A bracket. The tournament was single elimination for the first round and then you played out your place if you made it to the second round. Rez had to face Life AG again in the first round but this time the Warriors came out victorious, 14-11. Austin again earned POG going a perfect 4-4 with a run scored and four rbi. He had two triples in the game and played a great shortstop with three assists and five putouts.

Rez started the game well again with nine first-inning runs. Austin, Jamy, Ryan, Chris, Eric, Jonathan, Jeff, Adam, Jason and Austin again ripped out the hits. Austin capped the scoring with a two-run two-out triple. Life scored three in the bottom half and held Rez scoreless in the second. Life put two more on the board to make it 9-5 after two innings.

Rez added to its lead with two runs in the third inning, using another two-run triple from Austin. Life was scoreless in the bottom half and Rez scored one run in the fourth on three singles from Ryan, Chris and Andy Briggs. Again, Life couldn't muster any offense and Rez pulled out to a 14-5 lead with two runs in the fifth. The team had four singles and one walk in the inning. Adam, Austin, Jamy and Chris had the singles and Ryan had the walk.

Life put another goose egg on the board and Rez entered the final inning with a nine-run lead. Unfortunately, the Warriors left two runners on base without scoring in the top half. That almost came back to bite them as Life put together a great inning, scoring six runs but a flyout to Chris in left-center ended the game with two runners on.

Adam had three hits in the game and Jonathan had three rbi and two hits.

Now in the semi-finals, Rez was back down to nine players as Ryan had to leave to make a prior engagement. Down a man in the field hurt the team again, but it was a close game until the last inning and Rez fell 18-12.

Real Life was Rez's opponent for the second time and Real came out wtih three in the first. Rez came right back and tied it after one as Jason led off with a single and moved to third on Austin's double. Jamy hit a sac fly and Eric hit an rbi-groundout. With no on, Chris singled and scored on Andy's double.

Real Life had a big second inning, plating five runs and taking advantage of two Rez Life errors. Rez pushed two across on a double from Austin and a single from Jamy. The Rez defense held strong in the top of the third and the offense responded wtih four runs to take the 9-8 lead. Andy singled and moved to second on Jeff's single. After a flyout moved the runners ahead, Andy scampered home on Adam's groundout. Jason kept the inning alive with an rbi-single to make it 8-7 and Austin hit the shot of the tournament, his fourth homerun on the day, a two-run bomb that cleared the 300-foot easily and landed well into the fescue on the hill.

Real Life didnt' score again and Rez added to its lead in the fourth, scoring two more runs. Chris reached on a one-out error and scored on Andy's rbi-triple. Jeff singled to score Andy and Jonathan singled to put two on with one out. That was all the offense the team could manage, as back-to-back hard-hit flyouts ended the inning.

Real Life woke up in the fifth and stormed back to take a 14-11 lead scoring six times on five hits and two errors. Rez responded with just one run on Jamy's high, solo homerun to left field. The sixth inning started with Rez down two. Real Life kept its offense going with four more runs and Rez left two on base in the sixth to end the game 18-12 Real Life.

Andy earned Player of the Game with a perfect 4-4 day including a double, triple and two runs and two rbi. Austin stayed hot with three more hits, two doubles and a homerun.

More bad news for the Warriors occurred going into the 3rd place game. Another team member had to leave for the day, leaving Rez with just eight, very tired players going into game six of the day. Thankfully, most of the 20+ fans left for that game as the Warriors had nothing for Riverdale and fell 29-9. The team managed just 11 hits, three from Austin and Andy, two from POG Adam, and one each from Jason, Eric and Chris.

Adam played catcher at the end of the long day and had extremely great chatter to go along with his two hits and four rbi en route to POG.

On the day, the Warriors hit below .500 as a team. Of the nine regulars who attended, seven hit below their season average with just Adam and Austin hitting above. Austin was the only Warrior to earn All-Tournament this year, hitting .800 with ten runs, 21 rbi, four doubles, three triples, and four homeruns. By default, his performance earned him Tournament MVP for the Warriors.

It was another fun, tiring day at the Bloomington tournament and I'm sure the Warriors will be back next year, looking to make a better impression.

Final League Thoughts

2009-08-10T12:56:00.008-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors have finished a dominating season in the Eden Prairie Round Lake leauge. The teamed stormed out of the gates and continued that momentum en route to a 17-1 final league record, easily claiming the league crown.

The team's dominance was noted by other league members, and thusly the Warriors landed eight members to the All-League teams. Rez landed five players on the 11-player first team with three more being named to the 11-player second team. The other three players all just missed being named to the second team, as all three were honorable mention winners at the season-end meetings.

Wooddale saw its all-league members increase from zero one year ago to four this year while Immanuel managed four members also. EPAG had one player each on the first and second teams while each St. Andrew team had one player represented. Pax Christi had two players honored, and likely would have had more if not for such a poor showing in the standings.

Below are the All-League players from Resurrection Life:

1st Team Shortstop: Austin Colby - Austin matched and surpassed his 2008 numbers in league-play pacing the circuit with a .746 average, .743 on base, and 1.582 slugging pecentage. He scored 40 runs and drove home 49 while cranking out 12 doubles, seven triples and ten homeruns. Austin cranked it up when it mattered most too, hitting .833 with runners in scoring position and .750 from the 5th inning and on. Austin handled 27 assists and 15 putouts with just two errors at short.

1st Team Third Base: Jeff Tenney - Tenney had a great first year in the league, running away with a unanimous third-base vote. He led the league with 15 homeruns and 44 runs scored, and tied for the league-lead with 49 rbi. He mashed his way to a 2.000+ OPS, good for second in the league. He had 28 assists with 19 putouts and just four errors at third base and displayed the best arm in the league. He hit seven three-run homers and hit a dinger in less than every five at bats.

1st Team Outfield: Jason Merritt - Jason captures his second consecutive 1st Team honor, (this one unanimous) by increasing his numbers from the plate. Jason hit .653, good for third in the league, while smacking out eight doubles, two triples and four homeruns. He scored 33 times and drove home 29, most of those from the lead-off spot. Jason hit .781 with runners in scoring position and snagged 25 outfield putouts to go along with his one assist and one double-play.

1st Team Outfield: Jamy Antoine - Jamy earned a 1st Team spot in the outfield this year because of his great play both at the plate and in the grass. He led the Warriors with 29 putouts in the outfield and added an assist and a double-play. Offensively, he hit a solid .547 but his extra-base-hit prowess was eye-opening. He walloped seven doubles, seven triples (tied for best in the league) and five homeruns. He scored 32 times and drove home 22.

1st Team Utility: Eric Johnson - Eric finds himself back on the 1st Team in 2009. Although he slowed down in the later games, he still hit an impressive .586 in the league with ten doubles and seven homeruns. He scored 35 runs and had 33 rbi. Eric's solid defense at second solidified him as one of the best all-around league players.

2nd Team Outfield: Chris Burr - Burr took a year off after his 2007 Team MVP season and earned himself an All-League honor right out of the gate. He hit over .600 at .607 and swatted nine extra-base-hits. He played another solid season in the outfield while scoring 26 and driving home 24.

2nd Team First Base: Jeff Johnson - Jeff was never able to find the batting average stroke, but he ceratinly found his power stroke in 2009. Jeff just missed a 1st Team nod because of his 16 league homeruns, only eight counted. Still, his eight homeruns and 35 rbi were more than enough to get him a 2nd Team showing. Jeff also had a 1.000+ slugging and he made just one error at first base all season.

2nd Team Infield: Andy Briggs - Another excellent campaign from Andy. This was a flip-flop year for Andy as he heated up as the year went along versus slowing down in 2008. Andy's defense was under-rated all year and he turned in another fine season at second, short and third. he also hit three homeruns and hit .569. His other-worldly .691 on base percentage was second in the league among qualifying players. Great year for Andy.

Honorable Mention: Chris Wold - Wold would certainly have been a 1st Team selection if he had qualified. He played in just half of the games and players need 2.5 plate appearances per team game played to qualify. Wold hit .686 with a .703 on base percentage in his time. He was clearly the most dominant pitcher and defensive-pitcher in the league as well.

Honorable Mention: Jonathan Engbrecht - With slightly more consistent glove-play, Jon would have landed on that second team. He hit just under .500 at .491 but offered some pop this season with two doubles, one triple and five homeruns. He scored 22 and drove home 21 while playing lots in right field and catcher and filling in at the corners too.

Honorable Mention: Adam Hey - Adam increased his batting average over 150 points from last year to this year and even smacked out a three-run homer. His chatter and enthusiasm behind the plate was legendary. Also, he became 100% reliable in the outfield by year-end and next year he should make a run at another All-League honor.

League Gold-Gloves:
Infield:
Austin Colby, SS
Jeff Tenney, 3B
Andy Briggs, Utility

Outfield:
Jason Merritt, OF
Jamy Antoine, OF

League Awards:
Newcomer of the Year:
Jeff Tenney won this unanimously. He led the league or tied for the lead in several offensive categories, including homers, runs, and rbi. Great first season for the Big Cat.

Most Valuable Player:
Unlike last year, Austin Colby won this one walking away. Without Living Word in the mix, Austin led the Warriors to a dominating season. He didn't win it unanimously, as two other teammates received votes as well as the shortstop for Wooddale.

Above and beyond league champions and All-League awards, the league handed out the following team honors this year:

Most impressive team: Resurrection Life - the Warriors ran off 23 straight league victories dating back to 2008 before falling in the finale on a walk-off hit. Rez dominated the league like no other team in the past.

Comeback team: Wooddale - Team Wooddale ran away with this award. Not only did the team increase its win total by nine games, but it also gave Rez some tough games along the way.

Most exciting game: Immanuel vs. Resurrection Life - the season-ending game was an instant classic with Immanuel knocking off then unbeaten Rez Life with ten runs in the bottom of the last inning. A great comeback and a great game.

Coolest uniforms: Resurrection Life - Rez spent the coin and looked impressive this year. Backing it up with excellent play helps too.

2009 turned out to be a great season for the Resurrection Life Warriors. 2010 should be a good test for the league champs, as every team will have Rez Life in its sights the whole year.

Congratulations again to the 2009 Eden Prairie Round Lake League Champions!!!!

Assembly of God tournament Preview

2009-07-31T12:26:00.002-06:00

With the regular season under its belt, Resurrection Life travels to Burnsville Saturday to partake in the annual Bloomington Assembly of God Church tournament. The games are being held at Lac Lavon Park this season which is a beautiful softball complex.

Resurrection Life enters the tournament a little short-handed but not short-willed. Coming off a dominant regular season has not left this team complacent. In fact, the season-ending loss the Warriors suffered has left a bad taste in the team's mouth and it will look to refresh its pallet with the taste of victory again soon.

The team opens with Real Life at 8 AM on Field F tomorrow. After that game, the Warriors will complete its round-robin pool with games at 10 AM and 1 PM against Life AG and Waukesha.

Once those three games have been played, three separate single-elimination tournaments will start. The 'Top' bracket will feature four top-flight softball teams and the top four teams that come out of the 12 teams in the 'Middle' pools. Resurrection Life will be one of the 12 teams in the 'Middle' pools. There will be eight teams in the 'Lower' pools that will have their own tournament in the afternoon as well.

The 'Middle' pool will give its four best teams to the 'Top' pool and the remaining eight will have a single-elimination tournament to end the afternoon. Games could start as late as 5 PM or 5:30 PM depending on how well the team is playing.

Rez enters the tournament with a simple objective: To dominate its three round-robin games and show the 'Top' teams that Rez can roll with the big boys.

Come to Lac Lavon to see how it all plays out.

League Champs Fall in Finale

2009-07-31T12:01:00.003-06:00

The quest for perfection fell just short Thursday night, as Resurrection Life lost a nail-biter 16-15 to Immanuel. The game ended on a walk-off double with the bases loaded from Immanuel in the bottom of the sixth. Rez had controlled the game from the onset, but the perfect storm hit in the sixth and the rest is history.

Immanuel came in charged up and ready to knock off the previously unbeaten Warriors. However, Rez was prepared and came out firing on all cylinders, dominating the first through fourth innings while building a nice nine-run lead. However, the team got a little lazy in the fifth and flat-out laid an egg in the sixth and it came back to bite them. Hats off to Immanuel for not rolling over late in the game and coming through with some big hits in the sixth.

Rez opened the game with a solid three-run first, with Austin Colby starting things with a one-out taser-beamed solo homer. With two outs, Jamy Antoine singled and Jeff Tenney walked. Andy Briggs then singled to score Jamy and Jeff Johnson singled to score Tenney, to make it 3-0.

Immanuel scored one on two hits in the bottom half. Rez just missed a big inning in the second, scoring four runs, but leaving two runners on with one out and the bases loaded with two outs. After a lead-off groundout, Jason Merritt singled and went to second on Austin's single. Eric Johnson then roped an opposite field double to plate both runners. Jamy followed with a double down the left-field line and went to third on the left-fielder's error. Tenney singled to score Jamy and Andy singled to push Tenney to second. A flyout to left-center was out number two and Jon Engbrecht followed with a single to load the bases. Adam Hey just missed a grand slam, hitting a long, deep flyball to the left-fielder who caught it just a few feet in front of the fence.

Immanuel, sensing it dodged a bullet, came back firing in the bottom half and matched the four runs that Rez tallied. Immanuel knocked out four hits and drew three walks and advanced runners on a sacrifice fly to score its runs.

Rez came back in the top of the third and pushed its lead to 10-5 with three runs. With one out, Austin singled but was forced out on Eric's grounder. With two outs, Jamy singled to put two on for Tenney who smacked a three-run homer to left-center. Andy and Jeff had back-t0-back singles with no one on, but a grounder ended the threat.

Immanuel didn't answer, leaving two singles stranded on the bases in the bottom of the third. Rez kept the bats going in the fourth as Adam started things with a single and after one out trotted home on Austin's second homerun of the game, this one a liner down the left-field line. Eric doubled and went to third on Jamy's booted grounder to second. Tenney then answered Austin's call with his second homer of the game, another three-run blast. After an Andy single, Jeff extended his league-record for homeruns for an out with number eight.

Immanuel scored one run in the fourth afte a one-out triple. Rez could have ended the game in the fifth with some offense, but fell short, scoring just one run. Jason tripled with two outs and Austin singled to score him. The team offense sort of fell asleep around this time, going just 4-11 over the last 2 1/3 innings.

However, the defense held solid in the bottom of the fifth as Jason made two nice catches in left before Andy fielded and fired to first for the third out.

The umpire ruled the sixth inning as the final inning due to time so the bats knew this was it. Tenney launched out off the baseball scoreboard for out number one and an Andy grounder was out number two. Jeff reached on a single but a popout ended the inning.

At this time, things still seemed in control with Rez holding a nine-run lead going into the last half of the last inning of the last game of the season. But, that is why we play the games.

For whatever reason, the team tightened up a little in the sixth. Adam walked the lead-off hitter and consecutive singles plated one run. Three straight walks scored two more and loaded the bases. An error on a tough grounder pushed two more runs across. Another walk re-loaded the bases.

At this time, with the lead down to four, at 15-11, and still no outs, Manager Austin took over the mound duties and shifted Jamy to center, Jon to right and Adam to catcher, hoping a different look would get Immanuel in a funk.

With the tying run batting, the Immanuel hitter lined a single to right that scooted past Jon and rolled all the way to the track, allowing all three runners to score and advancing the hitter to third. Now, the tying run was standing on third with still no outs. A pop-up to Andy at short provided the first out and the next batter followed suit and Andy snatched it out of the sky for out number two.

Immanuel then pinch-hit its best hitter whom Austin intentionally walked. This took the two-run homer out of play and also gave the infield a short-throw to second on any grounder. The next batter drew a walk on three close pitches to load the bases. On the first pitch of the next at bat, Immanuel exploited the three-man outfield with a liner to what would have been left-center and two runners scored to end the game.

Austin completed his utter destruction of Immanuel en route to earning Player of the Game honors. He was a perfect 12-12 on the season against Immanuel with five homeruns and 12 rbi. Last night, he went 5-5 with three runs, four rbi and two homers.

It was a tough loss for the Warriors, who saw their 23-game league winning streak snapped. However, Manager Colby didn't think all was bad,
"I was upset and frustrated for about 30 seconds," stated Coach Austin. "But then I realized that we just finished one of the greatest regular seasons in team history and had a great time doing it. Hats off to the Warriors for a dominant campaign and a season well-played. Plus, a loss now is better than a loss on Saturday."

The Warriors will have something to shoot for next season; that elusive perfect season. Until next year, enjoy the 17-1 record and league championship. We'll see you at Round Lake again next April.

Look for the regular season awards and All-League teams to be announced in the next few days.

July 30 versus Immanuel

2009-07-30T11:07:00.002-06:00

What the final regular season game lacks in suspense considering the league standings, it makes up for in spades with its grudge-matchness....new word. While the Resurrection Life Warriors have clinched the league title by a comfortable margin, that doesn't mean that they don't want a perfect season. And Immanuel would like nothing better than to be the team that doesn't allow that to happen. Much like the past couple of weeks, I'm sure the Warriors will be attacked on the field and will have to play a solid B+/A- game to come away with a victory. Anything average or subpar could cost the team its perfect 18-0 season. The lineup below will do its best to make sure that doesn't happen.

1. Jason M, LF
2. Austin C, LC
3. Eric J, 2B
4. Jamy A, RC
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Chris W, P
7. Andy B, SS
8. Jeff J, 1B
9. Jon E, RF
10. Adam H, C

Huge 6th Propels Rez to 23rd Straight W

2009-07-27T09:44:00.002-06:00

The Warriors from Resurrection Life needed a big finish to keep their winning streak alive in league play, and the bats came through, scoring eight runs in the final two frames to come from behind against second-place Wooddale last week.

Wooddale played a solid game defensively and just fell short after taking a one-run lead into the fifth inning. Rez mustered just ten hits and four runs in the first four innings against the tough Wooddale defense before breaking out with two hits and two runs in the fifth and six straight hits and runs to start the final inning.

Jeff Tenney earns Player of the Game laurels with two-run homers in the decisive fifth and sixth innings. Tenny finished with two hits, two runs and four rbi.

Jason Merritt stayed hot with four more hits in four at bats. He now has 12 hits in his last 13 at bats and has seen his average go from .611 to .672 over that span. Adam Hey kept his hopes ofa .500 season alive with a 3-3 day at the plate, including a double. Austin Colby, Eric Johnson and Chris Burr all added two hits. Jamy Antoine, Andy Briggs, Jeff Johnson, and Jonathan Engbrecht had one hit apiece.

The Warriors looked to start things off well with singles from Jason and Austin to start the game. However, three straight flyouts ended the first inning with no runs crossing the plate.

Adam struggled to find his command in the first inning, walking four straight hitters, before settling down and only allowing one more run on a fielder's choice groundout.

Down 2-0 after one, Rez tied things up in the second frame. Jonathan ripped a two-run homer to plate Andy who had reached on a fielder's choice after Burr's lead-off single. Rez managed a double and single to put runners at second and third with two outs for Austin, but Austin weakly popped out to right to end the threat.

Adam found the groove in the second and Wooddale left two runners on without scoring. Rez took the lead with two more runs in the top of the third, taking advantage of a Wooddale error. With two outs and Eric having reached first on an error, Burr kep the inning alive with a single and Andy delivered the big blow, roping a double off the center-field wall scoring both runners.

Wooddale cut the lead to one using two hits in the bottom of the third. Up 4-3 going into the fourth, Rez failed to score, stranding Adam and Jason on the bases. Wooddale jumped at the chance and scored two of its own to grab a 5-4 lead after four innings. Wooddale singled twice and walked twice to push the runners across.

Trailing going into the fifth inning, Rez needed some runs to calm the nerves. Eric singled and with one swing Tenney put some wind back in the Warrior sails. He mashed a two-run job to deep left-center, giving Rez a 6-5 edge. Unfortunately, that was all the team could do, but the Warriors had the lead again going into the bottom of the fifth.

Rez went to its closer, Austin, on the mound and he delivered. With his much quicker pace and style, the Wooddale hitters were off balance a little went down without scoring, plus Rez got through Wooddale's top four hitters so they would not be coming back up in the sixth.

Heading into the final inning because of time constraints, Rez knew it needed some more breathing room. The bats heard the cry for help and complied vigilantly. Adam singled up the middle to start things and moved to third on Jason's double off the wall. Austin roped one to right to score both and moved to second on Jamy's single. Eric doubled to plate Austin and an error on the left-fielder allowed Jamy to score too. Tenney capped the rapid-style rally with another two-run blast, this one making it 12-5 with still no outs in the sixth. That was all Rez did in the sixth, but it was plenty as the Warrior defense made sure Wooddale couldn't do anything in the bottom half.

Wooddale doubled to start the sixth and Austin intentially walked the following hitter to set up a force out at any base. It was un-needed though as Jamy Antoine made a great diving catch on a sinking liner for the first out and then hopped up to make a throw to second base, where Andy made a great diving catch to double-up the runner for out number two. Just like that, and Wooddale's hopes were crushed. For good measure, Jamy followed that play up with another diving catch to end the game, this one going back and to his right in deep center-field. Great inning from Jamy.

The victory makes Rez just one game short of perfection, at 17-0. The final game will be against Immanuel at 8:50 on field #5 on Thursday. Immanuel has had one close game with Rez this year and comes into the game in third place. This game will also be the final tuneup for the Warriors before their all-day tournament on Saturday, August 1st at Lac Lavon fields in Burnsville.

July 23 versus Wooddale

2009-07-23T08:43:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors face second-place Wooddale tonight at 5:50 on field #4. Wooddale has surprised many this year with its consistent play and #2 spot in the standings. Undoubtedly, Wooddale will want to claim the title of Warrior-slayer just like last week's opponents. Rez will need to bring its A-game and play a solid defensive game and let the bats take care of themselves.

1. Jason M, LF
2. Austin C, SS
3. Jamy A, RC
4. Eric J, RF
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Chris B, LC
7. Andy B, 2B
8. Jeff J, 1B
9. Jon E, C
10.Adam H, P

Tough Sweep for Warriors...16-0

2009-07-21T12:23:00.004-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors continued their march to a perfect regular season by taking a double-header sweep last week. The Warriors held on in a slugfest against Pax Chrisit, 21-19, before ten-run ruling St. Andrew Blue, 18-8 in game two.

Game one was a barn-burner that came down to the final inning. Rez controlled the game early but as tempers and intensity heated up, the score tightened as Pax made a furious rally in the bottom of the fourth before eventually falling.

Jason Merritt had an outstanding game out of the two-hole, going 5-5 with four runs, seven rbi a double and a homerun en route to his first Player of the Game this year. Chris Burr added four hits while Jamy Antoine, Austin Colby, and Jeff Tenney all had three. Eric Johnson and Adam Hey had two each and Jeff Johnson, Jonathan Engbrecht, and Andy Briggs had one.

Things looked solid for the Warriors right off the bat as the team stormed out to a 10-run first inning. Jamy doubled and scored on Jason's single. Austin singled to move Jason along and after the first out, Tenney blasted a three-run shot to make it 4-0. Burr singled and moved to second on Jeff's walk. After the second out, Andy roped an rbi-single and Adam followed suit. Jamy doubled to score Andy and Jason added two more with a double. Austin knocked out the third straight double to score Jason and cap the inning's scoring.

Pax put two runs up in the bottom of the first on back-t0-back solo homers. Rez got those two back on Jeff's two-run moon-shot to left-center, making it 12-2 going into the bottom of the second.

Pax had another solid inning, putting four runs across home to make it 12-6 after two. Pax continued to show it has a solid lineup, by five hits and taking advantage of one Rez error.

In the top of the third, the Warriors extended their lead back to ten. Jason launched a two-run homer after Jamy reached base on an error to start the inning. With one out, Eric singled and jogged home on Tenney's second homerun of the game, this one a two-run blast.

The Rez defense held solid in the bottom half, stranding two Pax runners. Up 16-6 heading into the fourth, Rez looked to put things away. After a lead-off out, Jamy tripled and came home on Jason's fourth hit of the game. Austin followed with a triple to score Jason and Eric and Tenney hit back-t0-back doubles to add two more runs. Burr singled to make it first and third with one out, but a lineout and a popout ended the inning with no more runs scoring.

Pax turned it on and Warrior defense felt the pressure for the first time all season in the bottom of the fourth. As the chatter had increased throughout the game, with the Pax bench allegeding extra homerun usage and slowing down the game by interrupting the umpire during the innings, the sense of urgency to hurry up and play had settled in. Rez didn't handle it well as Pax got hot in the bottom of the fourth and played a very timid defense as Pax piled on 13 runs to make it 20-19 going into the fifth and final frame.

The first two Pax hitters singled and one scored with the other one ending at third after the first of three outfield errors in the inning. After a lineout, three straight singles and another error pushed two more runs across with a guy on first. A flyout provided the second out, but Pax then rattled off five straight singles to make it 20-13 before a grand slam closed the gap to 20-17. The third error of the game allowed the next runner to reach and a double plated him to make it 20-18. A walk and a single pushed the final run across before a grounder ended the inning.

Shell-shocked and in need of some insurance runs, Rez strode to the plate in the fifth. Andy drew a walk and moved to second on Adam's single. Jamy popped up for the first out but Jason came through with an rbi-single to add that insurance run. However, base-running blunder at second caused the second out. Austin just missed his second consecutive triple but a nice running catch by the right-fielder ended the inning for Rez.

Up just 21-19, the Warrior defense needed to step up in a big way to shut the door. And it did. The first Pax hitter rolled a single through the infield before a hot-shot to Andy at short was handled smoothly and flipped to Eric at second for one and fired to Jeff at first for a beautiful double-play and a pressure-releaser. With two outs and no one on, all the pressure was on Pax. The final batter hit a harmless pop-up to Tenney to end the game. Toughest win of the season for the Warriors.

Game two was a much easier game score-wise but the Warriors had to listen to another earful from the opposing team.

The two-hole proved to be the place to be last week as Andy Briggs captured Player of the Game honors hitting there with four hits, two runs and five rbi, including a two-run homer. Andy also continued his solid play at short with an assist and four putouts.

Tenney finished his awesome double-header wtih three more hits and another homer. Jason had three hits to give him eight on the day. Jamy, Austin, Eric, Jeff and Adam had two hits each with Eric and Jeff hitting the final two Rez homers. Burr and Jonathan had one hit each.

Rez fired up three runs in the top of the first as Jamy singled and scored on Andy's homerun. Austin and Burr singled wand then after two outs, Jason delivered an rbi-single.

St. Andrew Blue took the lead briefly in the bottom half, scoring four runs as an error and two singles loaded the bases with no outs, before a grandslam cleared them in a hurry. Blue missed a chance at more, stranding two runners.

Rez reclaimed the lead with two runs in the second. Jeff and Adam reached to start the inning and after an out, Andy hit a single that was thrown around the diamond for a while allowing two runs to score.

Blue went down without scoring in the second, going down in order. Rez opened it up in the top of the third wtih nine runs and two homeruns. Tenney doubled off the wall to start things and Eric beat out an infield single to put two on. Jason added a single to load the bases for Jonathan who lined out to left, but plated Tenney. Jeff then hit a bomb of a three-run homer to left to make it 9-4 Warriors. Adam singled to get things going again and Jamy, Andy and Austin all singled to score two more runs. After the second out, Tenney capped the inning's scoring with a majestic three-run blast to make it 14-4 Rez.

Blue spent some time disputing the nine runs in the bottom half before finally taking its turn batting. Blue didn't manage any runs, leaving a couple runners on base.

Rez padded the lead with tow more runs in the fourth, using four singles by Jason, Jonathan, Adam and Andy. Blue made a valiant run at a rally in the bottom part of the inning, scoring four runs on three hits adn two walks, but a nice play on a liner by Tenney and a nice field and toss from Austin to Andy up the middle ended the inning.

For good measure, Rez used its fourth homerun in the final inning, a two-run blast by Eric to plate Tenney who had singled. Blue had two baserunners but didn't score in the bottom half and Rez came away the 18-8 victors.

Now 16-0, Rez plays the second place Wooddale team this week at 5:50 on field 4. Wooddale, like last week's teams, will be looking to knock off the unbeaten Warriors who now have won 22 straight league games.

The team has something else to shoot for, along with the perfect season, a .600 team average. Right now, the team is hitting .592. At its current pace, the team will need to average 25 hits in the following two games to hit .600 as a squad. For reference, last week the team banged out 25 hits in game one and 22 in game two. I think it can and will be done.

July 16 versus Pax Christi and St. Andrew Blue

2009-07-16T09:43:00.003-06:00

With the league title in hand, the Warriors will now focus on completing an undefeated season. Rez plays its third consecutive twinbill tonight versus Pax Christi and St. Andrew Blue. The first pitch is slated for 7:50 on field #5. The weather may be a factor as 20+ mph winds are expected. With wind like that, anything can happen. The Warriors defense will have to be sharp.

Vs Pax Christi Game 1

1. Jamy A, RC
2. Jason M, LF
3. Austin C, P
4. Eric J, 2B
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Chris B, LC
7. Jeff J, 1B
8. Jon E, RF
9. Andy B, SS
10.Adam H, C

Vs St. Andrew Blue Game 2

1. Jamy A, RC
2. Andy B, SS
3. Austin C, P
4. Chris B, LC
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Eric J, 2B
7. Jason M, LF
8. Jon E, RF
9. Jeff J, 1B
10.Adam H, C

Double-header Sweep Gives Rez League Title

2009-07-13T14:28:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors have officially clinched the 2009 League Title after a sweep of last week's games. The team now sits atop the standings at 14-0 and holds every possible tie-breaker going into the last four weeks. Rez beat St. Andrew Red 22-6 in the first game of the twinbill and followed that with a workmanlike 17-9 victory over EPAG.

Game one saw the Warriors bat second, the first time for that on the season. St. Andrew Red used the top of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead, using five walks and three singles to plate the runs. However, the lead was short-lived as the Warriors stormed back with 14 runs in the bottom of the first. Austin Colby singled with one out and moved to third on Eric Johnson's double. Chris Burr had a two-rbi single to get the team on the board. Jeff Tenney singled to put two on for Jamy Antoine who singled to load the bases for Jeff Johnson. Jeff flew out deep for a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3 Red with two outs. Jonathan Engbrecht stroked a two-run single to tie the game and Andy Briggs ripped a single to keep things going. Adam Hey came up and rolled a single threw the infield to give Rez the lead for good. With two on, Jason Merritt got into the action with an rbi-single. Austin followed with a liner to left-center that got to the wall for a two-run triple and a 9-5 Warrior advantage. Austin scampered home on the play as a bad throw rolled out of play. Eric started things going again with a single and scored on Chris' double. Tenney cleaned up the bases with a two-run bomb to center. Jamy followed with an inside-the-park homer to right-center. Jeff doubled but was stranded as a pop-out ended the frame.

Red didn't score in the second inning and Rez added five more runs. Andy tripled and scored on Adam's single. Substitute Adam Colby batted for the first time and singled up the middle. Jason then singled to load them up for Austin who delivered a two-rbi single. Eric Johnson then hit a soft pop-up to shortstop, but Jason was hustling from third and turned it into a sacrifice fly. Austin went to second on the play. Still hustling one batter later, Burr lofted a deep flyout to left-center that sent Austin all the way to home from second, making it a sacrifice fly. A lineout ended the inning.

Red put one run on a homer in the top of the third to make it 19-6. Rez used its last at bats to score three more runs. Jamy homered to center to start the inning and complete his great game one. Jeff singled and came home on Jonathan's homerun to left. After an out, Adam Hey and Adam Colby singled but Jason and Austin both flew out to end the game for Rez's bats.

The defense used a nice 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fourth to end the game, 22-6 Rez. Jamy Antoine earned his first Player of the Game of the year with a 3-3 day including two solo homers.

Game two was a balanced offensive attack as all eleven hitter had at least one hit. Jason, Austin, Burr, Andy, and Jamy all had three hits. All three of Jamy's went for extra bases, a double, triple and homer, capturing him POG honors for the second straight game. Tenney, Jeff, and Jonathan all had two hits in the game.

Batting first, Rez put up a nine-spot to start the game. Jason and Austin singled and after an out Burr singled to score Jason. Tenney then hit a mammoth three-run homer to make it 4-0. Jamy doubled and scored on Jeff's single. Jonathan stayed hit and blasted his second homer of the night, a two-run shot. Andy followed with the third homer of the inning, a deep fly to left field making it 8-0. After the second out, Adam Colby, Jason, and Austin all singled to push the final run across the bag for the inning.

EPAG came right back with five runs in the bottom half on six hits. The damage could have been worse, but Jason made a nice running catch on a liner and doubled a guy off of second to end the inning.

Rez managed just two runs in the second inning, both coming on Jamy's two-run homer, which plated Tenney who reached on a fielder's choice after Burr's single.

EPAG answered with three runs in the bottom half as the walks came back to haunt Adam Hey. Five walks and a single allowed EPAG to creep back into the game, 11-8 Rez after two innings.

The Warrior bats came shooting out in the top of the third to rebuild that cushion. Jason and Austin singled with one out and after the second out, Burr ripped a single to plate Jason. Tenney then stroked a two-rbi double to make it 14-8 with two outs. Jamy stayed extremely hot and launched a run-scoring triple to right to score Tenney. Jeff singled to score Jamy and cap the inning's scoring, 16-8 Rez.

Rez went to its closer in the third inning and Austin didn't disappoint. He was a strike-throwing machine and mowed threw EPAG's hitters, holding them scoreless. In the top of the fourth, a lead-off error from EPAG allowed a run to score and extend the Warrior lead to nine runs, 17-8.

Again, Austin kept EPAG off the bases with a strikeout and a grounder back to mound in the bottom half. The fifth inning was scoreless for both teams, Rez hit two homeruns for outs and wasted a one-out double from Eric. EPAG left two runners on base also, missing out on the opportunity to close the gap.

Rez left runners on second and third in the sixth, and looked to its defense to hold the fort in the sixth and seventh. EPAG had back-to-back singles to start the sixth, but a fielder's choice back to the mound netted Rez its first out. After a run-scoring single, Austin chalked up his second strikeout of the game for out number two and Tenney snagged a pop-up to end the sixth. Because of time, the flip-flop rule was enforced and EPAG batted again. A lead-off homer was all it could muster though, as a nice diving catch from Burr in left-center led to the game-ending double-play.

The 17-9 victory puts Rez at 14-0 on the season and secures this year's title. Next week, the Warriors have a double-dip versus Pax Christi and St. Andrew Blue on field #5 starting at 7:50.

July 9 vs St. Andrew Red and EPAG

2009-07-08T11:49:00.003-06:00

We enter the final third of the regular season with a doubleheader versus last-place St. Andrew Red and hot-as-ever EPAG. EPAG was this writer's pick to finish second in the standings, after showing some impressive bats going into the All-Star break. EPAG has moved up to third and will definitely be challenging for runners-up shortly. See the lineup below as the Warriors look to extend their regular-season winning streak to 20 with a sweep.

Vs St. Andrew Red Game 1

1. Jason M, LF
2. Austin C, LC
3. Eric J, 2B
4. Chris B, RC
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Jamy A, RF
7. Jeff J, 1B
8. Jonathan E, C
9. Andy B, SS
10.Adam H, P

Vs EPAG

1. Jason M, LF
2. Austin C, LC
3. Eric J, 2B
4. Chris B, RC
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Jamy A, RF
7. Jeff J, 1B
8. Jonathan E, C
9. Andy B, SS
10.Adam H, P

Baby Kate Welcomed in Style

2009-06-29T12:59:00.002-06:00

Kate Selah Marie Colby joined the Resurrection Life ranks this past Friday, kindly holding off making her grand entrance until after the Warriors had completed a sweep Thursday evening. Kate was very pleased to hear from her proud father that Rez Life had done her proud, by knocking off the second and third place teams Thursday in a couple of tough contests. Kate said she is happy for her daddy's team but she just wants to sleep for a while longer. Fair enough.

The Warriors weren't sleepy at all Thursday night, playing some tightly contested game en route to 12-8 and 19-10 victories over Immanuel and Wooddale respectively. The Warriors had to come from behind for just the second time all year in the first game then fought off a furious Wooddale rally before finishing strong in game two.

Soon-to-be-father-for-the-third-time Austin Colby earned Player of the Game honors in game one, going 3-3 with a run scored and three rbi out of the nine-hole. He hit the game-tying three-run homer in the third inning and handled 10 chances at shortstop without an error.

Chris Wold added three hits in that first game and hit his first homerun of the year. Jeff Tenney, Eric Johnson and Chris Burr all had two hits while Jeff Johnson and Jason Merritt added one each.

Wold doubled to start the game for Rez, but three walks packaged around a walk left two runners on with no runs in. Immanuel wasted no time and jumped out with three runs to take a 3-0 first inning edge. With two outs and no one on, Immanuel used a single and two walks to load the bases before a double cleared them all.

Rez managed just one run in the top of the second using three singles from Burr, Austin and Wold. Immanuel again scored three runs to take a commanding 6-1 lead after two innings. Five singles and a Rez Life error allowed the runs to score. It could have been more, but a Tenney to Eric to Jeff double-play ended the threat.

Down 6-1, the Warriors picked it up. Jeff Johnson led the inning off with a walk and moved to second on Jason's single. Tenney hit into a forceout to make it first and third with one out and Eric doubled to score Jeff. With runners at second and third, Burr singled to plate Tenney but Adam grounded out for the second out, making it 6-3 with two outs and two on for Austin. After a five-minute delay to fix the upended second base, Austin calmly walked down the third-base line to Eric and told him he would be hitting a three-run homer to tie the game out of protest for the time delay at second base. Austin obliged with said homer to dead center to tie the game and swing the momentum. Wold followed on the very next pitch with his first homerun of the year, also to center, to make it 7-6 Warriors.

Immanuel started to feel the pressure and went down without scoring for three straight innings. In the bottom of the third, Rez used a 6-4-3 double-play for the first two outs before a grounder ended the inning.

Looking to keep the pressure on, Rez added two runs on a Jeff Tenney homer in the fourth. In the bottom half, Immanuel loaded the bases but Austin made three straight putouts on tow liners and a popout to keep them off the board.

Leading 9-6 going into the fifth, Rez got nothing going. Immanuel stranded two more runners after a nice 4-1 putout ended the fifth frame.

In the sixth, Rez was able to add three runs to its lead. Jeff walked for the second time of the gmae and after a lineout, Tenney tripled to plate Jeff and make it 10-6. Eric followed with a deep fly ball that the left-fielder tried to snag at the fence, but was unable to and Eric had himself a two-run homer.

Immanuel went down in order in the sixth and then the flip-flop rule allowed Immanuel to bat again for its seventh inning at bats. Immanuel got a little rally going, pushing two harmless runs across the plate before Rez ended the game on a grounder to Austin.

Rez managed just 14 hits in the game, but had three doubles, one triple and used four homeruns.

Game two was a more well-played contest as the top two defensive teams in the league squared off. Eric Johnson kept his hot bat going from the first game as he won Player of the Game with four hits in five tries, including a double and a homerun. Jeff Johnson had another great game going 2-3 with two homeruns and a walk.

Austin, Burr, Jason and Wold all had three hits while Jamy and Tenney added two and Adam had one. The team hit three doubles, two triples and used four homeruns in this game.

The Warriors came storming out of the gates, scoring eight times in the opening half inning. Austin launched a triple off the right-field wall to start the game and game home on Burr's rbi single. Eric hit his second homerun in as many swings to plate Burr and make it 3-0 after four batters. Tenney and Jason hit back-to-back doubles before Jeff and Jamy hit back-to-back dingers to make it 7-0 Rez. After the second out, Austin tripled to right-center for the second time in the inning and scampered home as the throw to third went out of play.

Wooddale didn't just lay down though, using four hits and an error to score three times in the bottom half. Rez kept right at it in the top of the second, plating four more runners to take a nice 12-3 lead. Burr and Eric started the inning with singles and after a forceout, Jason brought home Eric with an rbi-single. Jeff Johnson then cleared the bases with a three-run bomb to very deep left-center. Wold singled and Austin walked with two outs but Adam lined out to deep left to end the frame.

Wooddale chipped away a little bit more with two runs on three hits and an error. Rez hit the ball hard in the top of the third, but had nothing to show for it as Eric's double was stranded on the bases. In the bottom half, Wooddale made its charge. The inning started with a flyout, but after an error, Wooddale ripped off six singles plating five runs before a strange 5-6-4 forceout ended the inning.

Now up just 12-10 Rez needed a boost but failed in the fourth. Jeff Johnson walked to start things and Wold singled to make it first and third with one out. Austin lifted a sac fly to right-center to score Jeff but that was all the team managed in the inning.

Wooddale, trailing by just three, looked to take the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Wooddale ripped back-to-back singles to make it first and second with one out and the tying run up. However, Eric made a great play to snag a liner up the middle and step on second to end the threat.

Rez then made sure Eric's gem didn't go to waste, putting up a six-spot in the fifth to create some space. Burr, Eric and Tenney all singled to start the inning and load the bases. Jason hit a two-rbi single to get things going and after an out, Jamy added an rbi single also. Wold and Austin followed with run-scoring singled and Adam kept the inning alive with an infield single. That was all the squad managed as a flyout to right ended the inning with runners on first and third. The damage was done though, as the Warriors now held a 19-10 advantage.

Wooddale was noticeably shaken and went down in order in the bottom half and the game was called due to time. Rez is now 12-0 on the season and has a four-game lead with six games to play. With wins next week, or a Wooddale loss, Rez becomes league champions.

The league is taking a week off so Austin can enjoy time at home with his new baby girl and league play resumes July 9th. Rez has another double header that night starting at 5:50 on field #4. The team plays St. Andrew Red and EPAG.

June 25 vs Immanuel and Wooddale

2009-06-25T08:06:00.003-06:00

This evening marks the potential league-title clinching double-header for the Resurrection Life Warriors. If the Warriors sweep, they should cruise to a league title, barring any major catastrophies. In light of the monumental use of government spending and power that we've seen in the past six months, I thought I'd do my own version of a 'shovel-ready government job that won't produce any lasting revenues or actual jobs for anyone once they are done.' These lineups were NOT put together based on performance, because that would just be unfair. These were compiled so that each player gets the same amount of at bats and opportunities, regardless of how that player has handled any previous opportunities. Thankfully, we've been so solid top-to-bottom, we shouldn't be hurt at all by this. Man, can you imagine if a pro baseball team did that? Last place every year. Or a business? Bankrupt. Or a goverment system? Nothing would ever get done! Oh wait....Without further ado, here are my Barack Obama-approved 'spread-the-wealth' lineups.

vs Immanuel Game 1
1. Chris W, P
2. Jamy A, RF
3. Jeff J, 1B
4. Jason M, CF
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Eric J, 2B
7. Chris B, LF
8. Adam H, C
9. Austin C, SS

vs Wooddale Game 2
1. Austin C, SS
2. Adam H, C
3. Chris B, LF
4. Eric J, 2B
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Jason M, CF
7. Jeff J, 1B
8. Jamy A, RF
9. Chris W, P

Solid Victory Over Hot EPAG

2009-06-22T11:46:00.002-06:00

The Warriors from Resurrection Life played a solid game last week en route to a ten-rule victory over Eden Prairie Assembly of God. EPAG hadn't lost in six total games and was coming in as a very hot team. However, the Warriors proved to be just too tough and cruised to a 15-5 win.

The team had just 19 hits, but in just five innings. Jeff Johnson earned his second Player of the Game honor with a 2-3 game with a walk. Jeff stayed consistent, hitting three homeruns on the game, two three-run homers and one for an out. Jeff drove home six runners and scored three times.

Chris Wold, Jason Merritt and Jonathan Engbrecht all had three hits. Jeff Tenney, Adam Hey and Austin Colby added two each while Eric Johnson and Chris Burr managed just one apiece.

The team used all four homeruns and hit two for outs, to increase its season total to 30 that count and 12 that don't.

The squad started things great, putting up its 11th seven-run inning of the year in the top of the first. Wold singled and trotted home on Jason's line-drive homer off the light pole in left-center. After an out, Burr walked and moved to second on Tenney's line-drive single. Jeff Johnson then exploded through a ball for his first three-run shot of the night. Jonathan followed with another no-doubter, this time a solo job to put Rez up 6-0. Adam singled and after an Austin pop-out, Wold singled to move Adam up one base. Jason finished a great personal first inning with an rbi-double and a lineout ended the frame.

EPAG had its first two runners reach, but nothing came of it as Burr made a nice running catch in right to end the inning. Rez stayed on the offensive with three more runs in the second. Burr and Tenney singled back-to-back and jogged home on Jeff's second three-run homer, another bomb to deep left-center. The team managed nothing else, leaving a two-out single from Austin on base.

EPAG came back in its half, plating four runs on four singles and a walk. Now up 10-4, Rez went down in order in the third inning leaving the door open for EPAG. However, EPAG also went scoreless wasting back-to-back singles. Wold made a fine play to end the inning, kicking a grounder to Eric at second and then hustling back to cover second base for the force-out. An assist and a putout on the play.

Rez fell victim to the homerun rule in the fourth, using its first two outs on homeruns, both line shots. Jonathan singled with two outs but a grounder ended the inning. EPAG had two hits in the bottom of the fourth, but a nice 6-4-3 double-play from Tenney to Eric to Jeff Johnson at first wiped away any threat.

After sitting through two and half straight scoreless innings, the fans were finally woken up with a five-run frame from Rez in the fifth. Austin hit a hustle double to left to start the inning and came home on Wold's tasered double to right-center. Jason doubled but Wold eased in to third with no real hurry to score. With runners on second and third, Eric hit an rbi-single to score Wold and Burr followed with an rbi-grounder. WIth one out, Tenney hit into a forceout to bring up Jeff. Jeff walked to put two on for Jonathan who singled to score Tenney and make it 14-4. Adam followed with another rbi single and Austin lined out to end the frame, 15-4 Warriors.

EPAG needed two to keep things going, but only pushed one across leaving runners on and ending the game 15-5 Rez.

The victory makes Rez a cool 10-0 heading into three straight double-headers. The twinbill this week is against Immanuel and Wooddale on field three starting at 5:50. Wooddale is in second place at 9-2 and a Rez victory will pretty much ensure the league title.

June 18 vs EPAG

2009-06-18T15:43:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors face Eden Prairie Assembly of God tonight at 5:50 on field #2. This just in: the wind is blowing out to left. Watch out. I don't even think the unbelievable level of humidity will keep the balls in the park tonight. EPAG is hot right now and Rez had better bring its A-game. Hopefully there will be no let-down after the all-star break. See the nine-man lineup below:

1. Chris W, P
2. Jason M, LF
3. Eric J, 2B
4. Chris B, RF
5. Jeff T, SS
6. Jeff J, 1B
7. Jonathan E, 3B
8. Adam H, C
9. Austin C, CF

Mid-Season Report

2009-06-17T10:15:00.006-06:00

The 2009 Resurrection Life Warriors roll into the All-Star break with a perfect 9-0 record, and a two-game lead in the league standings. The squad has its most successful first-half of any season in club history and is on pace to set several team records for the Eden Prairie League.

The team has posted several offensive outbursts this year including three games with 24+ runs, already a team record. The team has also had ten innings of seven runs or more with five of at least ten runs. The Warriors set a team and league record with a 19-run inning earlier in the season.

The offense has been so well spread out, the team hasn't suffered any major slumps. The team is averaging just under 19 runs a game at 18.8 and has just one game where the team scored less than 15 runs, a 9-5 victory.

Currently, there are six hitters with an average over .600 and two more that are over .570. There are seven players with on base percentages over .600 and three more at .529 or better. The team's batting average and on base percentages of .587 and .616 would be team records if maintained in the second half.

However, the real burst this year has been the return of the slugger. Starting in 2006 through last year, the team saw a steady decline in power numbers. See the chart below for more statistical info:
slugging%/homers per game/# of guys with 5+ homers
2006: .951/2.3/5
2007: .796/1.9/3
2008: .767/1.0/1

2009 has been a different story. The team is slugging at a 1.009 clip with 2.9 homeruns per game. Everyone on the team, with the exception of Chris Wold, has a homerun in regulation. Wold has two homeruns for outs, so even he's gotten into the action. Three players have four homeruns or more and there is a realistic shot that three guys will finish with ten homeruns or more with another three players with at least five. Jeff Johnson has been a tough-luck homerun hitter with just two on the season, but he has hit an amazing five for outs. That would give him seven on the year which would tie him for the league-lead with teammate Austin Colby. As a team, Rez has ten homeruns for outs, which would put the team's homerun total at 36 in nine games. In 2008, the team hit a total of 25 in 25 games.

What's changed? A lot of things have been working well. With such a consistent lineup, Manager Colby has been able to move the batting order around significantly, putting more people in the position to hit for homeruns with men on base. Everyone has at least eight at bats with runners in scoring position and the team has responded, hitting .652 in those situations.

Austin Colby is again leading the offensive charge statistically, but he isn't doing it from the top of the order. Because of everyone's performance, he has been able to bat 6th or lower four different times, giving the bottom of the order a nice boost. He is currently pacing the team and league in average, .774, on base percentage, .778, slugging percentage, 1.839, OPS, 2.616, runs scored, 23, rbi, 29, and homeruns, 7. He is tied for third in the league and shares the team lead with six doubles. The great first half has led to another starting All-Star spot at shortstop, his fourth consecutive.

Newcomer Jeff Tenney has been steady as you go in the middle of the lineup so far. While his numbers don't jump out at you, they are outstandingly solid. Not only is he playing an excellent third base and shortstop, but he is also hitting in the 4-6 holes with excellent power and production. he is hitting .611 overall with six doubles and five homeruns, tied for third in the league. He has scored 20 times and brought home 19. His OPS of 1.872 is good for third in the league so far and he is the starting third baseman on the All-Star team.

The third starting infielder on the All-Star team is second baseman Eric Johnson. Eric has had the comeback year that this sports writer has been predicting for three full seasons. Eric started off on a tear and has only recently settled into a groove. I can see his average of .647, 5th in the league, and OPS of 1.766, also 5th in the league, holding strong for the balance of the season. Eric has mashed four homeruns and driven home 20 runs, good for third in the league.

Chris Wold has brought a great dynamic to the team from the pitching bump. He is easily the league's best pitcher and his starting nod on the mound for the All-Star game is confirmation of that. At that plate, he has been excellent as well. He is hitting .652, 4th in the league, with three doubles and one triple. He plays great defense from the pitcher's spot and has saved many a single up the middle. Look for Chris to flex a little more of his power muscles in the second half.

The team has placed two outfielders on the starting All-Star squad this year. After taking a year off, 2007 team MVP Chris Burr has come back with more of his solid if not excellent play. He earns his third All-Star nod with a .613 average and 1.712 OPS. He has four doubles, two triples and two homeruns so far while scoring 14 and driving home 15. He has also played left-center and center flawlessly, making no errors in 14 chances.

Jamy Antoine is the second starting outfielder for the Warriors. Jamy seems to be putting together the consistently dominant season the team has been waiting for. He is hitting .581 with a .645 on base percentage, top 10 in the league, and a 1.097 slugging percentage, also league top-10. He is leading the team and league with five triples and has added three doubles and one homerun giving him an OPS of 1.742, fourth on the team and 6th in the league. He is leading the outfield with 16 chances so far, all putouts.

The team managed one more All-Star in 2009, placing seven total on the squad, and expression of the league dominance it displayed in the first half. Jason Merritt narrowly beat the third baseman from St. Andrew Red in the internet voting for the final spot. Last season, Jason lost out on the final spot in the internet voting, but his all-around play and hot finish to the first half pushed him over the Red third baseman this season. Jason is hitting an even .600 with three doubles, one triple and two homeruns. He has scored 15 runs and driven home 13. He hasn't seen much action defensively so far, but he has been perfect when tested.

Jonathan Engbrecht has been solid in the first half, hitting a career-best .571 so far. He has scored every single time he's been on base so far too, 16 times. He has 10 rbi to go with his one double, one triple and one homerun. Jon can erupt at anytime for more power numbers, so we could see a definite spike in those numbers before season's end. Jon has played both the infield and outfield this season, as has been the norm in year's past.

A 2008 All-Star, Andy Briggs struggled early to get his bat going but as of late, he has cruised to a .500 average with a very good .645 on base percentage. He has hit one homerun so far, but that has been his only extra base hit. Look for Andy to poke a few more gaps in the second half. Quietly, he is having another excellent season in the infield. This year, he has played third, short and second with equal success. He should settle in at short and second for the second half and make a run at some league golf-glove honors.

Jeff Johnson has hit the ball a lot harder than the stats would indicate. His batting average of .429 and slugging percentage of .786 hardly do justice to the damage he's put on some balls. He has hit a league-record five homeruns for outs in nine games. If those had counted, his average would be .607 and his slugging percentage would be 1.500 which would be second in the league. Not bad. If he can pick and choose when to swat those bombs, his second half numbers could really be eye-opening.

2009's biggest surprise has come from Adam Hey. He has improved every area of his game which is shown in his .448 average and .529 on base percentage. He also mashed his first career homerun into a biting wind earlier this season. Adam has become a decent catcher and a reliable outfielder also. He has scored 13 times and driven in 10. In 21 games last year, he scored just 14 times and drove home 10. Great first half for Adam.

League Outlook:
It would take something drastic for the Warriors not to win the league title by at least four games. An undefeated season should be the goal now, and with some hot teams around the league the Warriors will have to bring it each week.

I see Rez holding serve the rest of the year and capping the league's first ever perfect season at 18-0. I see EPAG picking up its pace and finishing in second with an 11-6-1 mark and Wooddale completing an amazing turn-around with an 11-7 mark. Immanuel will come in fourth at 9-8-1 with Pax still comfortably behind at 6-11-1.

The two St. Andrew teams will battle to stay out of the basement but Blue will come out on top with a record of 4-14. Red will own the cellar at 2-15-1.

Team Outlook:
Rez won't stop hitting all year. If the wind is ever blowing out, look for a ten-homer game. The team will finish with team-records in average, runs scored, homeruns, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It should be fun to watch.
- Tenney will hit ten homeruns in the last nine games.
- Eric will maintain his dominance and capture 1st Team All-League
- Jeff Johnson will hit five real homeruns....and three more for outs.
- Seven players will hit .600 or better
- Three players will hit ten homers or more
- The team will have a 20-run inning
- Adam will hit .500
- Andy will get a triple
- Jason will win the bet...
- Wold will hit a homerun....at some point
- Jamy will NOT hit 10 triples...but he'll sure try
- Burr will get at least six each of doubles, triples and homeruns
- Jonathan will have a multi-homer game
- Austin will flirt with .800 but ultimately fall short

First-Half Awards:
League:
All-Star: Austin Colby
All-Star: Jeff Tenney
All-Star: Eric Johnson
All-Star: Chris Wold
All-Star: Chris Burr
All-Star: Jamy Antoine
All-Star: Jason Merritt

Team:
MVP: Eric Johnson. I believe that while the lineup has been awesome across the board and Austin is having a ridiculously funny statistical season, Eric has been the anchor. We knew the return of Burr and addition of Tenney would add some serious firepower; it was expected and it has happened. We knew that Wold would be a .650+ hitter near the top of the order. The big question mark was whether or not Eric would be the dominant church-league hitter circa 2003-first-half of 2006 or would he be the one from the second half of 2006 through 2008? He has answered that call with an elite first-half which has given him the edge at MVP so far.

Infield Gold Glove: Chris Wold/Jeff Johnson. Pitcher and first base are not the positions you think of when you consider gold-glove caliber defenders. However, you cannot ignore the numbers. Wold is amazing on the mound. He makes it easier for his middle infielders which in turn makes it easier for the corners. Jeff just makes his plays and goes about it in a business-like way. Will he ever win stlye points? No, but he catches the ball and fields the ball. Well deserved honor for both.

Outfield Gold Glove: Jamy Antoine. For the second straight year, Jamy wins the mid-season gold glove honor in the outfield. This will be a dogfight come year-end. The three main outfielders and Austin all get it done extremely well out there. No one truly stands out, but Jamy has made every play this year, including a couple of tough plays. His arm has been solid and his glove has been perfect so far. Should be a great battle for outfield supremacy in the second half.

Projected Lineup:
1. Chris Wold, P
2. Austin Colby, SS
3. Chris Burr, LC
4. Eric Johnson, C
5. Jeff Tenney, 3B
6. Jason Merritt, LF
7. Jamy Antoine, RC
8. Jonathan Engbrecht, DH
9. Andy Briggs, 2B
10.Jeff Johnson, 1B
11.Adam Hey, RF

24-6 Throttling Lifts Rez to 9-0

2009-06-15T12:52:00.003-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors completed the first half of the season with a perfect 9-0 record after destroying St. Andrew Red 24-6 in four innings last week. The team's bats re-emerged as a force to be reckoned with walloping 27 hits including one double, five triples and five homeruns, with one extra for an out.

Jeff Tenney earned his second Player of the Game on the season with a monster day at the plate. He finished 4-4 with four runs scored and seven rbi. He ripped a two-run homer in the first, a three-run bomb in the second and finished his day with a two-run triple in the third.

Jamy Antoine and Jason Merritt had four hits in the game also. Austin Colby, Chris Burr, and Eric Johnson ripped out three hits each while Andy Briggs and Jonathan Engbrecht had two each. Jeff Johnson and Adam Hey each added one to round out the hitting.

The Warriors came from behind for the first time all season, after trailing for about 3 minutes. St. Andrew Red scored five runs in the bottom of the first after Rez only had four in the top half. The Warriors responded well with 15 runs in the second. Rez added five more in the third before going down in order in the fourth to end the game.

Jason hit a hot-shot that scooted off the shortstop and into left-field for a hustle-double to start the game. Austin followed that with his first of two homeruns, this one to right-center. After the first out, Eric launched one to the right-center gap, further proof that we are indeed in the End Times. Eric legged out his annual triple, and thankfully jogged home on Tenney's first homer, a laser-beam to right-center. Two more singles, from Jamy and Jeff Johnson, were stranded and the Warriors led 4-0 after three outs.

Red started its half inning walk, single, single to load the bases with no outs. After a pop-out, a walk, a single and two more walks plated four runs before a fielder's choice pushed the fifth and final run of the inning across the plate. New pitcher, Adam, struggled a bit to find his command but settled down nicely after that first frame.

Fueled by its first deficit of the season, Rez erupted for 15 convincing runs in the top of the second. With one out, Jason singled and moved to second on Austin's walk. Burr lined a triple to right field to plate both runners. Up 6-5, Eric lined a would-be double down the left-field line, but he was still a bit gassed from his triple so he settled for an rbi-single. Tenney hit a hard grounder for a single and Andy followed with a single to load them up for Jeff Johnson. Unfortunately, Jeff took a close pitch and went down on strikes for the second out. Jonathan then delivered a two-rbi single to make it 10-5 Rez. Adam followed with another run-scoring single and Jason did the same. Austin then pulled a liner over the left-field wall for a three-run shot. Burr singled to start things again and Eric singled to put two on for Tenney. Not to be outdone by the much smaller Austin, Tenney destroyed a ball to center for his second homerun of the game which gave Rez an 18-5 advantage. Jamy hit his first of two triples and trotted home on Andy's liner up the middle to cap the inning's scoring. Jeff Johnson ended the inning wtih a bomb to deep center, but unfortunately, it counted as an out as the team was out of homeruns.

Red, jaws agape, went down quickly and quietly in its half of the inning, still processing the offensive onslaught from the Warriors.

Rez crossed the 20-run plateau in the third inning for the first time in four games. Jonathan singled but was erased on Adam's forceout. Jason ripped his fourth hit of the game to put two on for Austin. Out of homeruns, Austin hit lefty and hit a hard shot off the first baseman to score Adam. Burr singled to score Jason and put runners on the corners with one out. Eric smoked a liner, but right at the third baseman for the second out. Tenney came through with two outs and cemented his status as POG with a two-run triple to right. Jamy followed with another triple to right to end the scoring on the night.

Red managed to push one more run across the plate using two hits. The 8, 9, 10 hitters came up for Rez in the top of the fourth, but each one went down leaving each Rez Life hitter with four plate appearances for the game. Red couldn't take advantage of two walks in the bottom half and the game ended on a nice unassisted double-play ball to Austin at short.

Now at the halfway point, Rez sits atop the standings with a commanding two-game lead over Wooddale at 9-0. Look for the mid-season write-up later this week to summarize the first half's happenings. Next week, Rez plays EPAG at 5:50 on field #2. EPAG is hot, winning four in a row including knocking off second-place Wooddale last week.

June 11 vs St. Andrew Red

2009-06-11T08:59:00.002-06:00

Resurrection Life prepares to face St. Andrew Red this evening at 6:50 on field #4. The first game between these two opponents left a bitter taste for both squads. Rez dominated, winning 24-0, but the game lasted just two and a half innings, hardly fun for either team. This evening's game will hopefully last a little longer, but the Warrior bats will not waste anytime, and will take advantage of that first inning again. See tonight's lineup below:

1. Jason, LF
2. Austin, P
3. Chris B, LC
4. Eric, 2B
5. Jeff T, SS
6. Jamy, RC
7. Andy, 3B
8. Jeff J, 1B
9. Jon E, C
10.Adam, RF

Rez Dominates, 17-0

2009-06-05T12:57:00.003-06:00

The Warriors from Resurrection Life put on a commanding performance last night, defeating over-matched St. Andrew Blue 17-0 in just five innings. The team banged out 21 hits, including eight for extra bases, and reached base 23 times.

Austin Colby, Eric Johnson and Chris Burr all had three hits on the night while Chris Wold, Andy Briggs, Jonathan Engbrecht, Jason Merritt and Jeff Johnson had two apeice. Jeff Tenney and Adam Hey each added one hit.

Jeff Johnson earned his first Player of the Game of the season with his perfect 2-2 performance, including a double, homerun and walk. He drove home two runs while scoring three.

The Warriors were shut out in the first and fourth innings, scoring all 17 runs between the second, third and fifth frames. To start the game, Austin and Wold recorded hard-hit outs. Andy and Eric had back-to-back singles but were stranded after a deep flyout.

Blue did nothing at the plate all game. The team coaxed just one walk, in the third, and just one hit, in the fourth. The hit was erased by a double-play so Wold faced just 16 batters in five innings.

The second inning proved to be the biggest of the night for Rez, as the team scored seven runs on eight hits with four doubles. Burr started with a single and scored on Adam's double to left. Jonathan singled to plate Adam and after a lineout, Jeff Johnson walked to put two on for Austin. Austin roped a double to deep left to score Jonathan to make it 3-0. Wold followed with a double of his own scoring both Austin and Jeff. Andy singled to put runners on the corners for Eric who knocked out an rbi-single. Tenney hit into a forceout for the second out and Burr followed with his second hit of the inning, a double to score Andy.

After Blue went down in order in the bottom half, Rez came back with six more runs in the third to make it 13-0 after three full frames. Jonathan and Jason hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Jeff stroked a double to open the scoring and Austin followed with a two-rbi single. Wold singled to score Austin, who had advanced to second on the throw home on the previous play. After a lineout, Eric mashed a two-run homer for the team's first homer in 10 innings. The next two batters got out to end the half inning.

Rez only sent three batters to the plate in the fourth so both teams were scoreless. In the fifth, Rez added four more runs to win the game via 10-run mercy rule after five innings.

Jeff Johnson started the inning with a no-doubter solo shot to deep left. After an Austin single and Andy reaching base via error, Tenney destroyed one to center for a three-run bomb to finish the Warriors scoring in fine fashion.

The Warrior defense was slick all game and the final frame was no different, keeping Blue off the bases. Rez is now 8-0, just one game away from the halfway point. Next week, the team faces St. Andrew Red, who Rez dismantled 24-0 in just two and half innings in the first meeting. The game is on field #4 at 6:50.

June 4 vs St. Andrew Blue

2009-06-02T09:10:00.002-06:00

Rez Life looks to continue its season-opening winning streak to eight games versus St. Andrew Blue on Thursday. The game is at 5:50 on field #1. Rez handled Blue 16-7 in the teams' first contest and Rez is the heavy favorite for the rematch. The Warriors have run their league-only winning streak to 13 games, which is a team-record. To mix it up a little, Manager Colby is using an on-base-percentage-based lineup for this game. See below for details:

1. Austin C, LC - .750
2. Chris W, P - .714
3. Andy B, 3B - .652
4. Eric J, 2B - .621
5. Jeff T, SS - .621
6. Chris B, RC - .615
7. Adam H, RF - .615
8. Jonathan E, C - .545
9. Jason M, LF - .500
10.Jeff J, 1B - .444
TEAM - .605 - not bad :)

Solid Victory Ups Rez to 7-0

2009-06-01T09:14:00.004-06:00

It wasn't flashy but it was convincing, Resurrection Life started its second trip through the league schedule with a 15-6 victory over Pax Christi. The team played six innings before time halted the contest and reached base 24 times, drawing seven walks while banging out 17 hits.

All nine players in attendance had hits with Jason Merritt leading the way with three. Austin Colby, Jamy Antoine, Chris Burr, Eric Johnson, Jeff Tenney, and Player of the Game Andy Briggs all had two hits while Jeff Johnson and Adam Hey each added one.

Andy earned his first POG of the year with a perfect 2-2 game, scored twice, drove home four and drew two walks. Solid game for Andy. Jeff Johnson only had one hit, but he drew one walk, scored three times and drove home four also in a very solid game.

As is the norm, the Warriors batted first but quickly had two outs with no one on. A classic quote was heard from the bench after lead-off hitter Austin rolled one to first for an easy out to start the game,
"Somebody broke our Austin!" Good stuff. Austin suffered through his first 0-3 stretch in 78 games before breaking out with doubles in his final two at bats.

Burr singled with two outs to start the engine and moved to second on Eric's single. Tenney plated Burr with a single and Jason had the first of his three infield singles to load the bases. Andy patiently drew a walk to score Eric and Jeff Johnson came through with the big blow, a bases-clearing double to deep right-center to make it 5-0. Adam stayed hot, blooping a single over third base to score Jeff and give the Warriors a 6-0 lead, all with two outs.

Pax had two hits in the bottom half but left runners at second and third with just one out. Rez added a pair of runs in the top of the second using three hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly. Burr and Eric singled to start the inning. With one out, Jason reached on an infield single to load them up for Andy who drew another walk to score Burr. Jeff Johnson floated a sac fly to score Eric for the second run. Adam walked to load the bases for Austin who popped out to end the threat.

Pax responded with four big runs in the bottom half, making it 8-4 going into the third inning. Pax had four singles, drew one walk and took advantage of an error for its big inning. Rez went down quickly in the third, stranding a lead-off single from Jamy.

Pax added another one in the bottom portion of the inning to make it a tight 8-5 game going into the fourth. Andy singled with one out in the fourth but was forced out at second on a grounder. With two outs, Adam drew his second walk and Austin broke out of his slump with a liner to center for a run-scoring double.

Pax went down in order in the bottom half and Rez opened the lead for good in the fifth with six runs on five hits and two walks. Burr walked to start the frame and after one out, Tenney and Jason singled to load the bags. Andy roped a two-run single and Jeff Johnson walked to load the bases for Adam. Adam just missed a big fly, flying out to the wall in left for the second out, plating Jason in the process. Austin found his stroke again and roped one to deep right-center for an easy two-run double. Jamy followed with a double of his own to cap the night's scoring for Rez.

Down 15-5, Pax needed one run to keep the game going. Pax got that run using two singles and one error. The Warriors got one more at bat but didn't do anything as three balls in the air ended the hitting for Rez on the night.

Pax lined out twice and grounded out in the bottom of the sixth to end the game due to time.

The victory puts Rez at 7-0 and still leading the league. Wooddale kept pace, winning its game to stay just one game behind at 6-1. This coming week, the Warriors play St. Andrew Blue on field 1 at 5:50.

May 28 vs Pax Christi

2009-05-27T08:23:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors start their second go-around in league play this week. Rez hosts Pax Christi at 6:50 on field 2 after delivering an 18-2 drubbing in the teams' first contest. The team will be playing with just nine, but that shouldn't be a problem. See the lineup below:

1. Austin C, P
2. Jamy A, RF
3. Chris B, CF
4. Eric J, 2B
5. Jeff T, 3B
6. Jason M, LF
7. Andy B, SS
8. Jeff J, 1B
9. Adam H, C

Defense Leads Team to 6-0

2009-05-22T09:48:00.002-06:00

It was bound to happen and Thursday night it did; the offense was mearly average for the Resurrection Life Warriors and the defense carried the team to a 9-5 victory over Wooddale.

The bats didn't like the early gametime and sluggishly pushed out 13 basehits with four doubles and two homeruns. The team did draw six walks and had a total of 19 baserunners in seven innings.

Defensively, the team had 11 infield assists to go with the full 21 putouts with just one meaningless error. Excellent showing from the infield with a couple fine catches in the outfield.

Jeff Tenney captured Player of the Game honors with a 3-3 day at the plate with one of the team's doubles and homeruns. He knocked in three runs and played an excellent third base, shortstop and one inning at first. He finished with four infield assists, three putouts and an unassisted doubleplay.

It looked like business as usual as the first four batters of the game scored for Rez. Chris Wold walked on three pitches and Adam Hey followed with the same. Chris Burr walked to load them up for Eric Johnson who blooped one up the middle for an rbi-single. Jason Merritt had the first hard-hit ball of the game, lining out to the shortstop for the first out. Tenney stepped up and drove one deep, plating two runs on the double to make it 3-0. With runners on second and third, Austin Colby looped a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 4-0 and cap the innings scoring.

Wooddale came out and put two runs across in the bottom half to make it 4-2 after one inning. The team had three singles and used aggressive base-running to advance around the diamond.

The Warriors looked good at the start of the second as Andy Briggs cut one through the tough wind for a solo homer to open things. However, the next three batters went down in order and Wooddale came to bat. Wooddale went down quickly too and Rez stepped up to bat once again.

Adam and Burr had back-to-back singles to start the inning but a popout and hard-hit doubleplay ended the inning without any runs. The defense continued its good play, holding Wooddale scoreless in the bottom of the third keeping the score 5-2 after three. Tenney ended the inning with his nice doubleplay from shortstop.

Good defense leads to good offense as Tenney roped a solo shot to center to start inning for Rez. Jeff Johnson drew a one-out walk but that was it for the team and Wooddale came up in the bottom half down just four runs.

Wooddale singled to open the inning and used two more hits to plate one run. Two lineouts ended the inning, 6-3 Rez.

Wold doubled with one out in the fifth but was cut down on the bases on Adam's hard grounder. Burr lined one down the left-field line but Adam was cut down at third to end the inning.

Wooddale went scoreless in the bottom half to keep the score 6-3 going into the sixth inning. Rez again didn't score, lining out twice and leaving Tenney's single and Austin's walk on base.

This time, Wooddale answered the call, blasting a two-out two-run homer to make it 6-5 going into the seventh and final inning.

For the first time all season, the Warriors faced a serious challenge late in the game. The offense stepped up as Andy walked, Jonathan Engbrecht singled and Jamy Antoine delivered the big blow, knocking a double to right off the wall, scoring Andy with no outs. Wold singled to plate Jonathan and Adam hit a hard grounder to score Jamy to make it 9-5 with one out and one on. Burr singled to put runners at first and second for Eric, but Eric lined out to left and Jason grounded out to end the inning.

Tenney made a nice play on a tough grounder to start the seventh and Austin finished things off with two slick plays at shortstop to end the game. Wold picked up his fifth win of the year as the Warriors held off the upstart Wooddale team, 9-5.

The victory gives Rez a clean sweep of the league the first time through. At 6-0, the team is comfortably in first place with the first rematch of the season next week at 6:50 on field 2 versus Pax Christi.

May 21 vs Wooddale

2009-05-21T09:45:00.000-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors look to expand its league lead by taking on 2nd place and fellow undefeated team, Wooddale at 5:50 on field #2. Wooddale was horrible last season but the team is very young and has obviously improved. With the early gametime, a couple of players may be running late so the expected lineup looks like this:

1. Chris Wold, P
2. Adam Hey, C
3. Chris Burr, RC
4. Eric Johnson, 2B
5. Jason Merritt, LF
6. Jeff Tenney, 3B
7. Austin Colby, SS
8. Jeff Johnson, 1B
9. Andy Briggs, 3B
10.Jonathan Engbrecht, RF
11.Jamy Antoine, DH

Rez Takes Twinbill, 17-11 & 29-12

2009-05-15T13:57:00.005-06:00

The bats were loud and mighty Thursday night for the Resurrection Life Warriors. Those bats enjoyed a non-wind-impeded game smashing out 52 hits and scoring 46 runs in a doubleheader sweep. The team swatted 22 extra base hits NOT including the eight homeruns that were hit for outs.
Game one saw a good start and a warming-up finish for game two's display as the team handled Eden Prairie Assembly of God 17-11. Game two pitted the top two teams in the league but Immanuel proved to not be in the same class as the Warriors rolled 29-12.

Five players banged out three hits in game one, led by Chris Burr who captured his first Player of the Game honor of the season with a 3-4 outing with two runs scored, three rbi, two doubles and a triple. Jeff Tenney, Jason Merritt, Austin Colby and Adam Hey all had three hits also. Jamy Antoine and Chris Wold added two hits and Andy Briggs, Eric Johnson and Jeff Johnson all added one each to round out the base knocks for the game.

Both Wold and Jeff Johnson were tough-luck hitters in the game smashing two homeruns for outs. Jamy and Austin also hit homeruns that counted as outs. The team was able to escape without any damage but losing two innings to homerun outs could potentially cost them in the future.

Andy led off the game with a flyball to left-center that was dropped. A Jonathan Engbrecht flyout moved Andy to third and he came home on Burr's rbi-triple. Eric lofted a sacrifice fly to score Burr to make it 2-0 with two outs and no one on base. Jamy blasted an opposite field solo shot and Tenney followed with a double. Jason lined a shot that bounced off the shortstop's chest to move Tenney to third. Wold came through with a two-out rbi-single making it 4-0. Still with two outs, Jeff Johnson drove a shot to the wall scoring both runners. Austin followed with his first of five homeruns on the night, ending the inning's scoring 8-0 Rez.

EPAG didn't score in its half of the first but Rez went down in order in the top of the second leaving the door open in the bottom half. EPAG was able to push one across on two hits and a sac fly.

Up 8-1, the Warriors got that run back in the third. With one out, Tenney doubled and scored on Wold's rbi-single. EPAG continued to fight, clawing its way to two runs in the bottom of the third on four hits.

Now 9-3, Rez opened it up for good with five runs in the fourth. Austin led off with a solo homer to right for the team's third homer of the game. Adam drew a walk and after back-to-back outs, Burr doubled to put two on with two outs for Eric. Eric stroked a three-run yack to make it 13-3. Jamy came right back with a triple and jogged home on Tenney's third hit of the game. Jason roped a double but the inning ended as Wold crushed a would-be three-run homer for an out.

EPAG responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 14-5 going into the fifth. The Warriors put three more runs up in the fifth to end their scoring for the game. Jeff Johnson lasered a liner to dead center that cleared the fence for the first out of the inning and Austin roped a shot to right that scooted under the fielder's glove and to the wall, allowing Austin to scamper home on the error. Adam singled to start the rally again and Andy found his stroke for a single to set the table. After the second out, Burr doubled to score both runners and end the inning.

EPAG didn't go down lightly, pushing across four runs in the bottom half to keep the game going another inning. The Warriors couldn't take advantage though, hitting two more homeruns for outs, one each by Jamy and Wold. Again, EPAG inched closer with one run in the sixth.

Leading 17-10 going into the last frame, Rez looked to add some run support. However, Jeff Johnson and Austin went back-to-back homerun outs to stifle any potential rally. Adam's two-out single was left on the bases.

The defense held in the bottom of the inning as EPAG managed just one run, giving us the final score of 17-11.

Disappointed by the six homerun mistakes, the Warriors looked to fix that in game two. Austin did not get them off to a good start, lining the first pitch of the game over the fence in right for a solo homer. Jason singled and Burr followed with a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Three batters in, and the Warriors were down to two homers. But, the rest of the lineup stepped up and pushed across five more runs before another homer came into play.

Wold tripled and scored on Eric's single. Tenney singled and Jamy reached on an error. Jonathan lifted a sac fly to score Eric and after the second out, Andy looped one up the middle to plate Tenney and moved to second on the right-center fielder's bobble. Up 6-0, Adam stayed hot and lined a single to plate both Jeff Johnson and Andy. Austin kept it in the park and doubled to right-center but wasn't there long as Jason used the third homer of the inning, a towering three-run blast to left-center. Burr nearly killed the pitcher with a lineout to end the frame, 11-0 Rez.

Immanuel didn't know what hit them and it showed in its half of the first as the team went down one, two, three. Smelling blood, Rez went for the jugular in the second with consecutive singles to start the frame from Wold and Eric. But, a deep Tenney flyout and a line-drive double-play off of Jamy's bat ended that threat quickly.

Immanuel regained its composure and showed why it was undefeated coming into the game and put up a five-spot in the bottom of the second. Six hits and a lead-off walk contributed to the big inning and a nice catch from Jamy ended the inning before more runs could score.

Sensing a little chink in its armor, Rez had to answer with some runs of its own. After the first out, Jeff Johson singled, Andy singled and Adam singled to load the bases for Austin. Austin kindly cleaned the bases with a big-fly to dead center, his first grand slam of the season and the team's final homerun for the game.

Now down 15-5, Immanuel was unfazed having weathered the first inning storm already. The team put another five-spot up making it 15-10 after three innings. The team banged out six singles and used a sac fly to move runners across.

The Warriors wanted to end the game convincingly and squashed any hope of victory for Immanuel in the top of the fourth with nine more runs on eight hits and two walks. Wold, Eric and Tenney reached base single, walk, single to load them up for Jamy. Jamy laced a two-rbi single to start the scoring and Jonathan lined his first hit of the night to center for a double scoring Tenney. Jeff Johnson crushed another ball, but unfortunately it was an out. Andy went right back up the middle for a two-rbi single and Adam singled again to put two on for Austin. Austin drew a walk to load them up for Jason who hit a sharp grounder that the third baseman knocked down but couldn't make a play. Burr brought home two more with a single and Wold hit a sac fly to plate Jason and the final run of the inning.

Immanuel didn't score in the bottom half and the fifth and final inning rolled around for the Warriors. For good measure, Rez added five more runs to put a team-record 29 runs on the scoreboard for the game. Tenney and Jamy hit back-to-back singles and both came home on Jonathan's triple. Jeff Johnson kept his stroke in the park and singled home Jonathan. Andy hit a homerun for the first out and Adam flew out deep for the second out. Austin finished his perfect game at the plate with a double which would have clearly been a triple but pinch-runner Eric held up at third for some reason. Hmm. Jason took advantage of the extra runner and roped a two-rbi single to left to end the scoring.

Immanuel hit a deep blast into the trees for its final two runs of the game and Rez walked away with the 29-12 dismantling. Austin Colby earns his first Player of the Game with four hits, two doubles, two homers, five runs and five rbi. Jason added four hits while Wold, Tenney, Andy and Adam all had three. Burr, Eric, Jamy, Jonathan, and Jeff all had two hits giving each player a multi-hit game, another first in Rez life history. Well done.

The two dominating victories keeps Rez sitting atop the standings at 5-0 and averaging over 20 runs per game. Next week, the Warriors face Wooddale, last year's doormat but this year's surprising undefeated 4-0 team. The game is at 5:50 on field #4.

May 14 vs EPAG & Immanuel

2009-05-13T12:02:00.002-06:00

It looks like the Resurrection Life Warriors will be at full tilt in the doubleheader this Thursday. All eleven roster members will be in attendance, although Adam Hey will be running late. EPAG is just 1-3, but is always a solid opponent and should put up a good fight. Immanuel was last season's third-place team, just a half game behind Rez Life. Immanuel and Rez split last season and both are 3-0, sitting atop the league standings. Game two's winner will be in the driver's seat for the first half league lead.

Vs. EPAG, Game #1
1. Andy B, MI
2. Jon E, C
3. Chris B, CF
4. Eric J, 2B
5. Jamy A, RF
6. Jeff T, 3B
7. Jason M, LF
8. Chris W, P
9. Jeff J, 1B
10.Austin C, SS

Vs Immanuel, Game #2
1. Austin C, SS
2. Jason M, LF
3. Chris B, CF
4. Chris W, P
5. Eric J, 2B
6. Jeff T, 3B
7. Jamy A, RF
8. Jon E, C
9. Jeff J, 1B
10.Andy B, MI
11.Adam H, DH

Is it the Jerseys??

2009-05-08T08:46:00.010-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors welcomed their new jerseys with open arms and smoking-hot bats, erupting for a team-record 19 runs in the first inning of the Black Jersey Era. Obviously the game was an after-thought at that point as the team was only allowed to bat one more time, winning 24-0 versus league cellar-dwellers, St. Andrew Red, in 2 1/2 innings of play.

The team went to the plate 33 times in the game and reached base 27 times. In the first inning alone, Rez banged out 15 hits, drew two walks, scored 19 runs, ripped two doubles, three triples and all four homeruns, each one a no-doubter. A casual observer might wonder what effect the jerseys had on the Warrior bats. Needless to say, it was quite a performance.

Everyone got in on the action. Each player recorded at least one hit, scored at least one run and drove home at least one more. Austin Colby banged out four hits in four at bats, including three in the first inning alone. Jamy Antoine, Eric Johnson, Jeff Tenney, and Jonathan Engbrecht all added three hits apiece. Chris Burr and Adam Hey had two knocks each while Jeff Johnson and Jason Merritt contributed one.

Jonathan captured Player of the Game laurels with his perfect 3-3 game, with three runs scored, two rbi and a massive two-run homer. He has come out smoking this season, hitting a cool .818 after three games.

Really, the black-jersey/white-flare pants combo could have earned the POG for the first inning confidence explosion. We got comments and compliments from nearly every team that saw us, and I have the feeling the black jerseys may have struck a little fear into the heart of the opponent.

A nearby sideline reporter heard the following interchange between the managers and the umpire during the pre-game coin flip:

St. Andrew Red Mgr: "Wow, you guys got new uniforms. Look great."
Manager Colby: "Yes, thanks. First night wearing them."
St. Andrew Red Mgr: "You guys 2-0?"
Manager Colby: "Yes, so far so good."
St. Andrew Red Mgr: "Well you're going to be 3-0. (turns toward the umpire) We're going to get killed."
Manager Colby: Silently nodding inside his own head whispering..."you got that right..."

Fast forward 15 minutes and it's 19-0. How did that happen? Let's see. Austin, back in his customary lead-off spot, strokes a triple off the wall in right to start things. He added this after the game,
"I felt obligated to really try and put a good move on the ball my first time up," he paused. "I didn't want to make the team look anything less than solid, especially with the new jerseys. Gotta admit, felt good rounding second base in some nice, comfortable pants. Fun times."
Austin didn't get to enjoy standing on the bases long as Jamy ripped a hustle double to bring him home and open the floodgates. Eric followed with a sharp grounder to third base that squeaked through to left field. Brother Jeff quickly cleaned up the mess on the bases by lifting a ball as high as it went far, blasting his first homer of the season and making it 4-0 afte four batters. Chris patiently drew a walk and proceeded to walk around the bases after Tenney lasered one out by Brother Jeff's ball over the left-center field fence. Six batters, six swings, 6-0 Warriors. Jonathan started his great night with a single but a Jason popout temporarily stalled the rally. Adam then lined a single to left to put two on for Austin. Austin cut a sharp liner to right that took a nice sideways bounce and scooted to the corner for his second triple of the inning, pushing the score to 8-0. Jamy brought Austin home with a single and Eric lined one down the left-field line and barely beat the throw to second for a double. With runners on second and third, Brother Jeff lofted a high fly to right-center for a sacrifice fly, but the fielder dropped it, allowing Eric to move to third while Jeff hustled all the way to second. With runners on second and third again, Chris deposited a liner over the left-center field fence for his first homerun of the season and a 13-0 Rez Life lead. All with one out.

We now pause for a quick water break....and to chase down some homerun balls...thanks for your patience.

With clean bases, Tenney chopped a single up the middle and Jonathan followed with the fourth homerun of the inning - and final one allowed for the game - to deep left-center making it 15-0 after 16 batters. Jason, desperately worried about making the first two outs of the game, cut a sinking liner to right that bounced past the fielder and Jason was in with a stand-up triple. Pressure off. Adam then hit a grounder at the shortstop who kicked it around allowing Jason to score and putting Adam on first. Austin then tried to ease one into left for a change and punched a grounder through the hole for his third hit of the inning. Not game, inning. With two on, Jamy hit one right back to the pitcher for a potential double-play ball, but the pitcher rushed his throw and everyone was safe. When it rains, it pours. With the bases chucked, Eric calmly drew a walk to drive home Adam. Jeff ripped one to deep left-center which was caught at the wall for the second out, but Austin trotted home to make it 18-0. There was some action after the throw that allowed Jamy to score as well, making it 19-0. It could have been worse but Chris roped one right at the second baseman who somehow blocked it with his stomach and underhanded the ball to second for the final out.

St. Andrew Red, looking a little glassy-eyed, stepped to the plate for its half of the first inning. After four pitches, Red had two runners on after a couple bleeder singles. However, the following batter hit a liner at Tenney at short, who short-hopped it, fired to Eric at second who tagged the runner on second and then touched second to force-out the runner from first. Eric narrowly missed a triple-play but with the confusion on the field, he was unable to get a throw off to first. With two outs, Austin struck out the next batter looking to end the first inning just as impressively as it started.

What can you do for an encore after putting a 19-spot up in the first inning? Rez did its best, adding another five runs on eight hits, which could have been more but Brother Jeff destroyed a would-be three-run homer for an out, because of the four-homerun limit.

Tenney doubled to dead center to start the inning and moved to third on Jonathan's third hit. Jason lined one to the right-center fielder for the first out, but Tenney hustled home to make it a sac fly and a 20-0 game. Adam singled to push Jonathan to second and Austin lined another shot to right which found the corner and placed him gently at third base for the second three-triple game of his career. Austin came home on Jamy's line-drive single up the middle and Jamy advanced to second on Eric's single. Brother Jeff then deposited the second out well beyond the left-center field wall and Chris singled to score Jamy and cap the scoring at 24.

Red, now more in awe than anything, strode to the plate and looped a lead-off single before going down one, two, three to end the second inning. Due to a poor ruling, Red was allowed to bat its half of the third inning to see if the team could score five runs to avoid the 20-run mercy rule. The Warriors were disappointed with this call, receiving only two innings to hit, but maintained their focus and finished the game quickly with excellent defense.

Jason came to the mound in the second and third innings and earned his first ever pitching victory. The defense was perfect for its nine outs and on the year has committed just three errors in three games. After this offensive explosion, the Warriors are hitting .606 on the year with nine homeruns and a 1.046 slugging percentage. Every single player has an OPS of 1.000 or higher with early-season MVP favorite Eric Johnson leading the way with a 2.553 mark. He also is pacing the team with his .909 average, two homeruns and ten rbi - staring a potential halfway Triple Crown in the face.

Through three games, every player has scored at least twice and driven home at least one run. Only three players haven't hit homers, but all three of those will be expected to do so in short time. This could be a record-setting year for the Warrior offense.

The victory puts Rez Life at 3-0 on the season with its first double-header slated for next week at 7:50 and 8:50 on field 3 versus EPAG and fellow 3-0 team, Immanuel. It should be a fun night.

May 7 vs. St. Andrew Red

2009-05-05T13:17:00.005-06:00

Heading into week 3, the Warriors have their first short-manned game of the season looming. Andy Briggs and Chris Wold are both soft-maybes heading into the contest versus St. Andrew Red. See the 9-man lineup below. UPDATE: Andy has been cleared to play so the lineup has been adjusted accordingly. UPDATE #2: Andy has re-told me that he cannot be there. Yes, he recognizes that he is acting like a woman picking out shoes. We forgive him.

Projected Lineup:

Austin C, P
Jamy A, RF
Eric J, 2B
Jeff J, 1B
Chris B, LF
Jeff T, SS
Jonathan E, 3B
Jason M, CF
Adam H, C

Warriors Roll On, 2-0

2009-05-04T07:43:00.003-06:00

Ressurection Life took a little time to warm up in the cool winds last Thursday, but an 11-run explosion in the sixth inning left no doubt about the superior team on the night en route to a 16-7 drubbing over St. Andrew Blue.

The Warriors cranked out 21 hits, including 11 in sixth, and used up all four team homeruns with a very strong wind blowing left to right.

Eric Johnson continued his masterful opening to the season with a 3-4 game, including three runs scored, four rbi, a double and a homer in the first. Jason Merritt, Austin Colby, and Adam Hey all hit three-run homers as well. Adam's blast, a no-doubter through the wind to left, was his first career homerun and propelled him to Player of the Game honors.

Rez opened the game with a scoreless first, stranding a lead-off single from Jason. Blue went down without scoring, leaving a two-out triple on third base. Eric opened the scoring with a solo shot, high and deep into the wind to start the second inning. After an out, Jonathan Engbrecht roped a single up the middle. A pop-out to center by Austin Colby was the second out but the bats picked it up after that. Jamy hit a single and both runners jogged home as Adam launched his bomb to left-center.

Blue did answer with two runs of its own in the bottom half, using three hits and a walk. The third double play of the year between Andy Briggs and Eric ended the inning.

Chris Wold led off with a singl in the third, but that was all the action Rez saw, going down in order after that. Blue followed suit and the game officially had a slow start, 4-2 Rez and the action headed into the fourth.

Rez was able to muster one run, with a single from Jonathan and a two-out triple from Jamy Antoine. Blue came right back and pushed one across to make it 5-3 going into the fifth inning.

Things looked a little gloomy as the Warrior bats were still silent, but thankfully the Blue bats were just as inept and after another scoreless inning, the game moved into the explosive sixth inning.

Jeff Tenney got off the schnide with a single to open the frame. Eric followed suit and after a Jeff Johnson lineout, Jonathan brought home the first run with a single. With two on, Austin lofted one into the cross-stream and it dropped just beyond the right-field fence, hugging the fair pole and staking the Warriors to a 9-3 leade and some breathing room. Jamy singled but was forced out on an Adam groundout. Andy started things again with a single which Jason followed with a bomb through the wind to left-center to make it 12-3 Rez. With the bases fresh, Wold singled and moved to second on Chris Burr's first hit of the season. Tenney coaxed a walk to load them up for early hot-man Eric who roped one through the wind down the left-field line clearing the bases and pushing the lead to 15-3. Brother Jeff followed with a single that Eric was able to hustle around and score on, capping the scoring at 16.

Blue got on the run-scoring bandwagon, scoring four runs on four hits, a walk and two Warrior errors. With the flip-flop rule in effect because of time contraints, Blue batted again for its half of the seventh and didn't manage run, ending the game 16-7 Rez Life.

Wold, Jonathan, and Jamy all had three hits on the night while Jason and Andy added two apiece.

The victory makes Rez 2-0 on the season and drops St. Andrew Blue to 0-2. The Warriors have the late game this week, facing St. Andrew Red on field #2 at 8:50.

April 28 versus St. Andrew Blue - Lineup

2009-04-28T14:25:00.004-06:00

Resurrection Life faces St. Andrew Blue for the first time in 2009 on Thursday. Rez defeated Blue 16-13 and 18-6 in the team's two contests in 2008. Rez will be the heavy favorite on field 4 this week.

Projected Lineup:
1. Jason M, LF
2. Chris W, P
3. Chris B, LC
4. Jeff T, 3B
5. Eric J, 2B
6. Jeff J, 1B
7. Jon E, RF
8. Austin C, DH - I'm creeping back up...
9. Jamy A, RC
10.Adam H, C
11.Andy B, SS

Great Start to Season

2009-04-24T11:55:00.002-06:00

The Resurrection Life Warriors opened up the season in convincing fashion, trouncing Pax Christi 18-2 after six innings. The Warriors lived up to pre-season expectations and dominated from start to finish.

A unanimous pre-season selection as League Champions, Rez Life looked to make a statement in game one and it did. Rez took it to Pax after dropping a pair of three-run games last year. The bats banged out 23 hits and reached base 25 times en route to scoring 18 runs.

With a 30 mph wind gusting in from center, the offense still managed seven extra base hits, including an impressive three-run homer from eventual Player of the Game Eric Johnson.

Leading off the season, Jason Merritt hit a sharp grounder up the middle that the shortstop was able to stab but not collect and throw soon enough to get Jason at first. Chris Wold followed with a liner to right-center to put runners at first and second with no outs. Jeff Tenney just missed one, lifting a high wind-blown flyball to right which allowed Jason to tag and advance to third. With one out, Eric's impressive feat took center stage. He launched his first pitch of the season just over the left-field fence for a three-run blast. Jeff Johnson roped one for a single but Jamy Antoine rolled into a forceout and Andy Briggs' flyball fell victim to the wind for the third out.

The outstanding 2008 defense seems to be in tact as the 2009 version quickly flexed its muscles. After a lead-off single for Pax, a grounder to Andy at short was gobbled up, flipped to Eric at second, and turned into a double play. A lineout to Andy ended Pax's first inning.

In the top of the second, Jonathan Engbrecht started his season with a clean hit to left. After Adam Hey flew out, Austin Colby rolled one into right field out of the ten-hole. With two on, Jason flew out but Chris lined a single to score Jonathan. Another flyout stranded the other two baserunners.

Pax wasted a lead-off double in the bottom of the second, with the Warrior middle infield turning another doubleplay after a two-on, no-out strikeout from Chris.

Rez didn't add anything in the third inning, leaving Eric's lead-off single on base. Pax went down in order, with two grounders and a liner right back to Chris.

The Warriors turned on their bats in the top of the fourth, putting a seven spot on the board. Jonathan singled to start things but was forced out by an Adam grounder. Austin singled to left to push Adam to second. With two on, Jason roped one to right for an rbi-double. Leading 5-0, Chris hit a grounder to second and the second baseman tried to pick Jason off of second but the throw went into the outfield, allowing Austin to score and Jason to move to third and Chris to second. Tenney then exploded through a ball to dead center to drive both runners in, with a double. Eric continued his great start singling home Tenney to make it 9-0. Jeff Johnson singled for his second hit and after a flyout for the second out, Andy lofted a high fly to left-center that the outfielder mishandled allowing both runners to score.

Trailing 11-0, Pax finally got on the board spreading around four hits, two groundouts and a flyball to make it 11-2 after four innings.

Rez had its second scoreless inning in the fifth stranding an one-out single from Austin. Pax also went scoreless, leaving two runners on base.

The Warriors opened again in the sixth, taking advantage of their last at bat of the game. Tenney laced his second double of the night to open the inning, and trotted home to score on Eric's fourth hit. Up 12-2, Jeff Johnson doubled through the wind to put the Johnson brothers on second and third. Jamy then got into the action and cut one into the right-field wind that bounced to the wall giving him a triple and plating two runs. Now up 14-2, Andy roped a single to score Jamy. Jonathan followed with his third hit of the game and after the first out, Austin lined one to right that handcuffed the right-fielder, loading the bases with just one out. Jason just missed a big hit, instead hanging a flyball in the wind, good enough to score one run and make it 16-2. Chris finished off the scoring with a double, plating both Jonathan and Austin.

Pax went down quietly making the final score 18-2. The defense was solid throughout, with 11 infield assists, two double plays and no errors. Because of the wind, the outfield didn't get much action with just one putout happening outside the rim.

Chris pitched a fine game in the wind, striking out two batters which complimented his 4 rbi at the plate. Every single player scored at least one run on the night.

Next week, Rez faces St. Andrew Blue at 6:50 on field #4. If the wind is blowing in the same direction, watch out for some fireworks.

April 23 Vs. Pax Christi

2009-04-23T10:52:00.003-06:00

Pax beat Rez Life by three runs twice last season, 20-17 and 16-13 on a walk-off homer. The Warriors are looking to take some of that frustration out early and often tonight. Look for Rez to be all over the field and walk away with a convincing 18-10 victory.

Expected lineup for tonight’s contest:

1. Jason Merritt, LC

2. Chris Wold, P

3. Jeff Tenney, LF

4. Eric Johnson, 2B

5. Jeff Johnson, 1B

6. Jamy Antoine, RC

7. Andy Briggs, SS

8. Jonathan Engbrecht, 3B

9. Adam Hey, RF

10.Austin Colby, C

Projected Standings

2009-04-22T13:54:00.000-06:00

1. Resurrection Life: 17-1
2. Pax Christi: 11-7
3. Immanuel: 11-7
4. EPAG: 9-9
5. St. Andrew Blue: 8-10
6. Wooddale: 4-14
7. St. Andrew Red: 3-15

2009 Season Outlook

2009-04-22T08:34:00.000-06:00

The season begins today for the Resurrection Life Warriors softball team. The team will suit up versus Pax Christi at 7:50 tonight on field #3. The team is greatly looking forward to season and especially for the opener tonight hoping to even out the recent series with Pax, after dropping two of three last season.

A couple of newer developments have put a slight damper on the Warriors' season, but nothing that the balance of the roster can't handle and push through.

As has been previously noted, Team Captain Lee Valle will be missing in action this year because of a job committment which will have him out of state for the balance of the summer. Losing Lee's steady play at third and outstanding attitude and leadership will hurt. His skill set is unique and won't be easy to replace. Hopefully, Lee will be around for at least one game or two as he will be a welcome addition anytime at the hot corner.

The second round of news to hurt the team is that returning League MVP, Austin Colby, will be out indefinitely with an unknown injury. Many have speculated as to what the injury is, but as of now, the medical staff hasn't definitely come up with the cause of his ailment. This will be a huge blow defensively, as Austin manned center with the 5-man infield and shortstop with the 4-man. Remove Lee from third base and the team's defense just went from top-notch to 'vanilla'.

Because of these developments, some players will be asked to step up their role and really add another level of contribution to the squad. While Austin's injury doesn't appear to be season-threatening, the manager is preparing as if Austin won't be available at all.

In light of this, here is what we expect to see from Rez Life this summer:
1. A league championship: No ifs ands or butts about it, this is the team to beat, even a little banged up. The two previous league champions - and Warrior rivals - did not make the league this year which leaves little competitition for Rez Life. Injury-free, this team would be expected to go 18-0 and have a +10 scoring margin for the year. However, a 16-2 mark is still well within reach and averaging 15+ runs a game is still a strong posibility.
2. More Homeruns...???: With the addition of Jeff Tenney and Chris Wold and the return of Chris Burr, the power in the lineup has increased significantly. However, Austin has led the team in homeruns the past three seasons and his numbers will almost assuredly be down this year. Also, the introdution of the yellow balls will certainly play a role, whether it's a mental role or a physical one is yet to be decided.
3. Scattered lineups: While the team doesn't expect to rely on the substitute to the extent it has had to in year's past, with the varied defensive philosophies and personnel available the team will be moving things around consistently.

Below is the rundown of what each player should be doing for the team this season:
1. Jason Merritt: Jason will take over as the captain in the outfield this season. He is expected to hit near the top of the order and get things going for the big hitters coming up behind. He has showed some flashes of pop and will have to learn how to harness that and know when to use it.
2. Jamy Antoine: Jamy will have to step up his outfield game again this year as he'll be spending more time in the center-field positions. He needs to find more consistency at the plate so he can take advantage of his athleticism. He should be a solid middle-of-the-order hitter with some extra-base-hit potential.
3. Andy Briggs: Andy will be looked at to play every infield position. He will have to be ready to man the hot corner and fill Lee's shoes, play shortstop and lead the infield, and play second base or middle infield depending on four or five-man infield. We need more steady play from the batter's box too.
4. Chris Burr: Chris is expected to pick up where he left off in 2007, without skipping a beat. He should man the three or four hole in the lineup and hit lasers. His glove is guaranteed in the outfield and his arm is solid-average. He may have to come in and play some one-bag a la Steve Garvey this season also.
5. Chris Wold: Wold should be a dominant pitcher. This team has never had a true pitcher and Chris brings that aspect to the table. Slinging lefty, he should lead the league in strikeouts and foul-tips. His glove also plays well in the outfield. His lefty stroke is solid and he will find himself creating run-scoring opportunities for several hitters.
6. Jeff Tenney: Tenney is expected to lead the league in homers, rbi, runs, extra-base-hits, hoses from short to first, hoses from left to second, slugging percentage, scared third basemen, scared left fielders, and solid baseball stories. Other than that, he should bring an above-average glove at third base/shortstop with an exceptional arm. Also, his arm plays anywhere in the outfield, and he will be shagging files on occasion too.
7. Jonathan Engbrecht: Jon should hit for more power. He knows that. When he connects, he hits it hard. This year, the team needs him to rake more consistently and more frequently. As usual, Jon will be playing 10 positions. Going into the season, he may be the starting third baseman or second baseman, as well as right-field, right-center, and the backup pitcher. No pressure Jon, just play all those places well and the team will be fine.
8. Adam Hey: Adam is expected to be one year better than last year. After taking 20 or so years off, he came back and struggled a bit in his first season. In batting practice so far, he was hit the ball much harder and even launched a homerun. If he can carry a .450 average and play solid catcher/second base/outfield, he will be a huge asset to the team.
9. Jeff Johnson: Jeff is healthy, or at least semi-healthy, for the first time in two years and his batting practice sessions have proven that. I expect him to challenge Tenney for the team-lead in homers and extra-base hits. If he can avoid any funks, he can flirt with a .600 average too. Because of Jeff's shoulder issues, he will most likely be relegated to first base/catcher duties this season. We need solid one-bag play out of him to help our 5-man infield.
10. Eric Johnson: This team is so solid this year, that there is much less pressure on Eric to be the big 4-hitter. That should help lighten the load on his shoulders which I think will free him up to hit .600+ again with 18 extra-base hits. If he avoids the grandpa swing (not to be confused with the old-man swing to be described later) he will be a all-league player. His defense will have to stay solid as it was last year. He will be at two-bag or middle for much of the year and the team needs him to be steady.
11. Austin Colby: Austin needs to get healthy. When healthy, he should be the spark-plug that makes everything go. He needs to make the diving play, extend for the sliding catch, and rip the opposite-field triple to ignite the squad. If he's battling this injury all year, he needs to master the old-man swing, which will lead to a solid batting average and on base percentage but no power. If he can't play defense, he needs to be the best catcher in the league. Also, he will be the pitcher if needed on windy days.

Pre-season All-League Teams:
1st Team:
Jeff Tenney, IF
Austin Colby, Utility
Chris Wold, Pitcher
Chris Burr, OF
Jason Merritt, OF

2nd Team:
Jamy Antoine, OF
Eric Johnson, Utility
Andy Briggs, IF

Get you STIRRED up a bit for our real purpose....

2009-02-27T15:34:00.002-06:00

'How have we failed? We've failed to make sin diabolical. We've failed to make sin offensive. We've failed to make Christ attractive.'

'The only time you can say that Christ is all I need is when Christ is all you have.'

'The only answer to hell-fire is Holy-Ghost-fire.'

'Hell, has no exits.'

'The devil doesn't mind you being holy, but he does mind when you're being zealous.'

Leonard Ravenhil...at age 83. Still fired up and going after those sleepy Christians!!!!!

Roster Set

2009-02-25T10:45:00.003-06:00

For the first time in 7 years, the roster has been set pre-March 1st for the Rez Life Warriors. Details of the final 12 will be revealed over the next month by clicking on the name links under the roster heading on the righthand side of the blog.

Some of the players have already been updated.

With 12 yesses, the team should be in good shape, and still have plenty of subs to go to in case of mid-season roster depletion.

Without further ado, here are the 2009 Resurrection Life Warriors:

1. Austin Colby
2. Jason Merritt
3. Eric Johnson
4. Jeff Johnson
5. Chris Burr
6. Jeff Tenney
7. Lee Valle
8. Jon Engbrecht
9. Chris Wold
10. Adam Hey
11. Jamy Antoine
12. Andy Briggs

Also for the first time, each player has played on the team as a regular at some point in the past four seasons. No newcomers to the team in 2009. On paper, this just might be the team to beat.

Pre-Season BBQ

2009-02-17T18:22:00.002-06:00

Date: Saturday, April 4th
Arrival Time: 4:00 PM
Location: 1070 Pond Curve, Waconia, MN - Manager's Camp
Purpose: Pre-season fellowship, good eats, cool treats, and softball-related items

Details: April 4th will be 19 days before our first game and it will be a good time to hand out the jerseys, hopefully hand out the schedules, hang out with each other, go over any other schedule-related items, potentially go hit some balls at the park by our house, and have an all-around good time.

I will plan on having batting practice that Thursday before, April 2nd, to kick off our practice season. We will also be having practice Thursday, April 9th, and Thursday April 16th. Our final three practice days will be Monday April 20th, Tuesday April 21st, and Wednesday April 22nd. All practice times will begin at 4:15 PM at Round Lake fields in Eden Prairie - where all of our games will be this year.

I will most likely be holding at least one or two other side hitting sessions, but those will be in Waconia. I will let everyone know when I'm doing those so each person can make the drive out there if they want the extra practice.

I will start sending out the weekly emails in March, so this info will be repeated more than once before practice starts or the BBQ. Be well and start stretching!!

Warriors Well Represented on All-League Teams

2008-08-15T12:24:00.003-06:00

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.

End of Season Team Awards

2008-08-15T07:27:00.005-06:00

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.

Great Finish for Second Place Warriors

2008-08-14T19:49:00.002-06:00

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.

Rez Dominates to Claim 2nd Place

2008-08-07T19:13:00.008-06:00

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.

What a Weekend for the Warriors

2008-08-06T18:44:00.002-06:00

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.

Big Sweep Pushes Rez to Third Place

2008-08-01T12:34:00.002-06:00

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.

Warriors Trounce EPAG

2008-07-29T13:42:00.002-06:00

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 Stops Immanuel Machine

2008-07-19T08:08:00.003-06:00

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.

Warriors Split to Start Second Half

2008-07-19T07:09:00.002-06:00

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.
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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.

Mid-Season Report

2008-07-08T15:59:00.008-06:00

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

Bats Put to Sleep as are Warriors' Title Hopes

2008-07-08T14:46:00.002-06:00

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.

Triumphant Twinbill for Warriors

2008-06-20T18:40:00.009-06:00

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.

Long Lay-off Proves Beneficial for Bats

2008-06-13T10:22:00.003-06:00

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.

Weather, Missed Chances Knock Warriors Down

2008-05-30T07:42:00.003-06:00

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.

Rez Life Creeps Above .500 with 25-10 Drubbing

2008-05-23T11:27:00.003-06:00

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.

11-8 Win Pushes Rez Life to .500

2008-05-16T12:30:00.005-06:00

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.

Warriors Get in the Win Column

2008-05-15T13:00:00.003-06:00

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.

Warriors Fall in Season Opener

2008-05-05T19:22:00.003-06:00

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.

New Season Brings New Faces

2008-05-01T08:22:00.005-06:00

Well, it looks like Spring has finally joined us and that means we can hit the fields running with our softball team. We had a very successful 2007 campaign and it looks like 2008 could be even more fun.

This year we have several new faces. We had to say goodbye to long-time team members, AJ Larson, Nick Larson, and Matt Shuster. Scheduling and family matters just didn't make the season work for these boys and we'll miss them all. Chris Burr was another 3-year player and he too will have to take a summer off because of scheduling issues. Matt Hanson and Brendan Finn were recent additions to the team but a move to South Carolina and scheduling issues ended their short tenure. All tough losses and impossible to replace, but we wish them well and know we'll be seeing them all soon enough.

The team's roster is set with 12 members this season. There are several returning members, as usual, but we have an influx of new faces thanks to the departed status of so many from 2007. We'll be posting individual player profiles as the first few weeks progress, once everyone has gotten to know each other a little better.

However, we have plenty of veteran players returning and we'll start profiling them today, starting with Team Captain Lee Valle.

You can read all about Lee's on-field exploits in the next post as well as his fashion sense, favorite movies and career stats.

Games start tonight on Field #3 at Eden Prairie Round Lake Park and it should be a great start to the Spring.

Welcome Back Everyone!!

9 Hours of Lock-Up....

2007-09-07T10:41:00.000-06:00

I was fortunate enough to be asked to go play softball and basketball on August 25th with a good group of guys against some pretty stiff competition. This isn't unusual, as I get asked to play a weekend tournament quite a bit during the summer, but this was unique due to the setting for the games and the opponents. I played those games at Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN against 50 or 60 different inmates.

Steve Healy, most of Rez Life softballers know him as Wooddale's pitcher, asked me to join his Sports Ministry cast and travel around to some area prisons and spend a day with the inmates by playing softball, basketball, volleyball and even horseshoes. I didn't initially jump at the opportunity as it would be another full Saturday on the road away from my family, but God arranged this one quite nicely. Appleton is just 15 minutes or so from Jennifer's parents' home in Dawson so we made a weekend of it. She would spend Saturday splashing in the pool with Luke and our five nieces and nephews who live nearby, eating grilled foods and freshly cut fruits while I would go through metal detectors and eat with a plastic spork. Good times for everyone.

I arrived at the prison at 7:45 AM on Saturday and the rest of team arrived shortly thereafter. There were 16 total - the maximum allowed to visit I was told. We shuffled through the first couple of electric, razor-wire-topped fences and soon found ourselves in the admittance room, so to speak. We had to sign in, give our driver's license in exchange for guest badges - which are quite valuable inside the prison walls. When we were playing our games, we had to give a correctional officer our guest badges which were then locked in a lock-box and carried around by an officer until our games were over at which point we scrambled to make sure we had our badge before venturing out into the halls again.

Once inside the prison we were escorted to the gymnasium, a non-air conditioned cement floor with room for two volleyball courts and one full-sized basketball court. The bathroom consisted of two urinals against a wall and toilet in the center of another wall. No private rooms here so get comfortable quickly.

As we entered the gymnasium a handful of inmates immediately came over to greet us, shaking our hands, thanking us for coming. I'd say that four or five inmates remembered the names of a handful of my teammates from previous visits. The volleyball players were then allowed to review their pants and put shorts on for their game. We were not allowed to wear shorts anywhere in the prison except while we played basketball or volleyball in that gym.

The softball and I headed out to the 'field' for a couple of morning games with the prison champion team. One thing that stuck out in my mind immediately was the unbelievably large number of hugely built inmates. It looked like a professional football team's training camp outside. A group of guys doing pullups like gravity was working for them, another group ripping off sets of 50 pushups and a whole herd of folks running around and around and around. Now, I'm put together well-enough to handle myself but all of the sudden I was very aware that I was 5' 8" inches tall and 170 pounds.

The field had a dirt infield which a lot of prisons don't have I was told, so that was nice. It was very soft and sandy which usually is good for the first few innings, keeps the balls from spiking up in the infield. However, it generally doesn't last very long and big pot-holes can form which is where grounders become potential emergency room visits. Left field was an added attraction as a 75-foot long and 10-foot wide sloped drainage ditch cut all the way to deep center. The left-fielder had a choice to make: play in front of said ditch and risk trying to run backwards, downhill then uphill, to make a catch going back or play in the back of the ditch and risk running forward, downhill then uphill, and trying to keep your eyes on the ball coming in front of you. Talk about your home-field advantage. Thankfully, I played shortstop.

The right-field fence was the prison, about 425 feet from plate down the line and out to probably 550 feet in right-center. The left-field wall was another razor-wire topped electric chain-link fence and at about dead left-field, if you got over the fence, you were home free. The left-field foul poul was a prison guard tower that hovered about 35 feet off the ground and was manned by a correctionial facility officer with a shotgun. Just below that guard tower was a rotating surveillance camera that was encased in plastic to protect it from the weather. The fence down the line was roughly 320 - 325 feet and it went out deeper and deeper until it kind of hid behind the prison in right-center. There was four feet of grass in front of the fence and then a three-foot wide walking/running path that served as our warning track. Inmates are not allowed to step on the four-foot wide patch of grass between the track and the fence. If a ball goes there, it is a groundrule double and a guard will retrieve it. You don't want to try and get the ball if it's pinned against the high voltage fence.

The inmates were very excited to play and they could all swing the bat. I did find out quickly what 'prison rules' are as we were somehow shorted two runs in the fifth and sixth innings. After pleading our case - carefully - with the two inmate umpires, we agreed that we maybe didn't score those runs after all. Our team had a very good lineup and I batted fifth and played short. We were able to use nice balls and one kind of decent bat so it was a decent-scoring game. We held on to win in extra innings, 16-15, even with the scoring controversy. The highlight of the game for me and the inmates it seemed was my third at bat. Because of the dimensions of the field, no one hits a homerun over the fence. If you want a homerun, you have to hit it to right-center or right to avoid the automatic ground-rule double track and the electric fence. We had one gentleman on our team that blasted one to deep right that ended up scoring him a homerun. In my third at bat, I decided to let my hands go a bit because I kind of just hit nice easy shots to the right side my first two times up. This time I had the perfect pull pitch, I extended and put a good move on the ball. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was either foul, on or near the warning track (gives that phrase a whole new meaning in a prison, huh?), or off the electric fence. All of those scenarios meant I didn't have to run because my fate would be decided by where the ball landed. The ball kept carrying and I was thinking that it had a chance to hit chain-link. The guard in the tower - in direct line of the ball - started to watch it and his head followed it until it dropped just below his tower with a bang, literally. It smashed the rotating security camera and exploded the plastic casing that surrounded it while giving the actual camera a pretty violent shake. Needless to say I stood there stunned, wondering if I was going to be released that afternoon or if I had just bought myself an added bonus stay. In the two seconds of silence that followed, I quickly checked my possible exit locations and realized that these places are designed for quick exits. After the two seconds were up, the inmates let out an uproariously loud cheer and basically attacked me and patted me over and over on the back and annointed me their all-time favorite player. As I trotted around the bases I couldn't help but crack a smile as I don't recall getting a standing ovation from the opposition while everyone on my own team is a bit white-faced in anticipation of the guards' reaction.

Because of the extra inning in game one, we were only able to get in four innings of game two before this group of inmates had to return to its cell block, called a POD at this institution. We won that second one by six runs and I batted left-handed my last two times up and was heckled because I didn't hit the prison and break a window, even though a window shot would've been roughly 430 feet long and 20 feet up. Price of glory, I suppose. :)

After the inmates were escorted inside, we followed and were able to get our spikes off and our shoes back on. We had 30 minutes to kill in the gym by ourselves before heading to the library where 43 inmates were allowed to come have lunch with us. Usually the inmates grab a lunch tray and then head back to their respective POD for lunch. Eating in the library was a treat.

Steve instructed us to mingle amongst the inmates at lunch and just chat them up. I walked in to the lunch room and saw 43 eyes look up and couldn't quite remember why we had to mingle. Thankfully, the third baseman and shortstop from the prison softball team were in one corner and waved me over to their open spot. I was very thankful for that gesture. At my table were five inmates and two visiting players like myself. Lunch was a special one that day we were informed as grape-colored (notice I didn't say grape-flavored) kool-aid was served with a rubber, breaded cirlce of chicken, a square of mixed vegetables, orange jello, two pieces of plain bread, pepper-ladened spaghetti and an ice cream scoop of butter, which goes on everything I learned. I couldn't get much of the lunch down and suddenly appreciated my wife's cooking on a whole new level. The inmates were kind to me and told me they knew the food was brutal and didn't expect me to eat it. The conversation was good, all of the inmates got around to admitting guilt for their crimes and eagerly talking about what they were going to do upon release. One man had been in and out of prison since 1980 and unfortunately was very clearly disturbed and demon-controlled. Another man had cut a deal to get four years off his sentence that included 6 months of house arrest, 18 months of work-release and 6 months of boot camp. He was very excited to lose those four years.

My favorite new acquaintance was their shortstop. He sat on my left and as we talked I had to stop myself from shaking my head over and over. He was a very good ballplayer and was 27, the same age as me. He'd been in county jail for three years, then St. Cloud for one and was coming up on three and a half years at Appleton. That means he'd been in jail since he was 19. he told me he played high school ball and after graduation, he played town-team ball for a summer until he got drunk, and did something stupid with a couple buddies. He was convicted of attempted murder, felony possession of a firearm, and armed robbery. 19 years old. He could've been me or anyone of a 100 guys I played ball with in high school and college. I kept thinking that if we were in a different place right now, I might be hanging with one of my softball buddies and just shooting the breeze. After some time of chatting, he asked me the hard question, "Does God forgive all sins?" I said that He does as long as the sinner repents fully and truly from the heart and doesn't love their sin. A sinner who sins and says I'm sorry but still knows in the back of their mind that they are going to do that sin again, is not repentful and will not be forgiven. He asked, "What about child molestors?" I said that God's arm is not too short to reach anyone and if child molestors and rapists really repent and get on their knees before God then He will forgive them and wash them clean as snow. But, I told him that I don't know about someone else's repentfulness or salvation. I only know that I've been forgiven and that because Jesus died for my sins, He's given us the pathway to forgiveness and salvation, if I repent and give my life to Him now.

We weren't allowed to do more than 15 or 20 minutes of formal preaching or anything because of certain rules, but Steve stood up and talked briefly for a few minutes before opening it up to the inmates for testimonies. I think four inmates stood to speak and they all had the same baseline to their story, "I was 'insert tragedy or crime here' and then I came to prison and I lost my family. I had nothing. That's when I gave it all to Jesus." Four people in a row stood and talked about how doing things their own way got them almost killed, in prison and without a family, but doing things God's way, or even better letting God do it for them has given them a new outlook and a second chance on their earth-bound life. I was thinking that these people can be such powerful witnesses to all the inmates. It made me think of a conversation I had with Jennifer before I went to the prison. I said that I can't imagine that God wanted any of these people to end up in prison. It just couldn't be what He had in mind for their purpose on earth. Jennifer said that God can use anyone anywhere, and that if their are Christians in the prison, God will use them. She was right again and it just serves as another reminder as to how great and powerful God is and how small and simple we are.

In the afternoon, six of us played basketball against some inmates. We had to play four games - 15 minute running halves - against four different teams. I got plenty of exercise. We played well and had fun, winning all four games by margins of 35, 3, 8 and 2. In the final game I hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer near the end of the game. In the second game, we played against a guy who was roughly 6' 1", lightning-quick with a decent jumper. He could get in the lane at ease and really light it up. He must have had 40 or 50 points. I found out later that he was 24, although his face looked 40, and he had been in and out of institutions since he was 14. I was thinking while we were playing how sports effectively allowed me to go to college for free for four years. This guy had more natural talent than I could dream about and he had been in prison for the better part of 10 years. Where was I 10 years ago for him? Where was anyone? He could be playing anywhere he wanted and could have a college degree to boot.

There wasn't a whole lot of conversation during the basketball games because we were dog-tired halfway through the second game. Before the third game, our correctional officer pulled us aside and told us we'd be playing against a group of guys that aren't allowed to be around other inmates. They have solitary cells and are in specific treatment programs all day long. I thought it was an interesting choice to let us be the first people they could interact with. They were all drug addicts who had been going through withdrawal since being arrested. They had claw marks and band-aids all over their necks, faces and arms. It was almost surreal.

Once the final game was done, we cooled off for a few minutes and headed back down the hall, stopping to say good-bye to everyone and getting about 1,000 'thank-yous' and 'it means a lot to us you being heres'. As we got our licenses back and headed out through the final two fences to get to our cars, I turned back and looked at what Satan probably thinks is his victory lane. I don't think so. I saw some things in there that encouraged me and reminded me again just how sovereign God is. Even though what we did was tiny on the big scale of things, I can tell that these inmates certainly were open to listening.

One of my favorite quotes from Leonard Ravenhill is, "God is not looking for a new definition of Christianity, He is looking for a new demonstration." That's all we can do right? Be a light that shines, be the salt of the earth. Make the other people wonder and want a piece of what we've been given. God was demonstrated in that prison which leaves me with hope.

If you can, please keep Steve Healy's sports ministry in your prayers as they do face a lot of garbage inside those prison walls. It's quite a calling he is leading. I'll be participating some more and passing on more updates.