This was an interesting game. Wickford's first pitcher wasn't very fast (I originally used a colloquialism here but, that's not fair to the kid who was pitching for the first time), which gave our hitters fits. Everyone at the top of the order was swinging ahead of the pitch. But, on the flip side, the bottom of the order did well, and scored some runs. Connor made a nice slide at home. Alec hit a line drive double to the gap.
The 5th inning was an interesting one. Our infield comprised of Mike at 3rd, Nick at SS, Connor at 2nd, Evan at 1st. This was not our strongest alignment, to say the least, and we actually considered switching up at one position, to get one strong fielder in. It was still a close game, and the top of their order was coming up. But, we decided to go with what we had. I thought to myself "stranger things have happened". Wickford scored 3 runs, 2 earned. Ben was tired, and Riker came into pitch, Ben moved to SS. And then the flash of brilliance occured. Man on 3rd, a pop fly was hit to 3rd. Michael had to go back and caught the ball. For whatever reason, the man on 3rd tagged up. Michael threw a strike home, and the runner was tagged out. Double play. Next batter hit a line drive to SS, caught by Ben. Inning over.
And then, in the 6th, the umpires scored one on us. Wickford brought in their closer. The typical fast but wild pitcher. Connor was leading off. I suggested making the pitcher throw a strike before swinging. And sure enough, Connor walked on 4 pitches. Passed ball, Connor runs to 2nd. Catcher throws down. Connor was safe, but took his foot of the bag (I've been told that he didn't even do that, the toe of his cleat was on the bag), then put it back on, THEN the tag was applied. Safe, right? Not according to the ump. He called him out, BEFORE the tag was applied. That sound you might have heard earlier in the day was the air coming out of our balloon. The pitcher then settled down and retired the next 3 batters. I would not accuse the ump of losing the game for us (at least, not in front of the players ;) ), but, he definitely took away a chance to win. Also, the ump behind the plate was calling his pitches in the mitt. For the first 3 innings, this was an advantage to the other team. The pitchers that lobbed their throws in would get strikes called that were at eye level when crossing the plate, then in the strike zone when hitting the mitt.
As I was writing this, Coach Jamie called, and we were going over the earned/unearned runs. And while this game didn't have the frustrating feel of the last game, we were surprised to see that we gave up a ton of unearned runs again. Looks to be 8 or 9. Also we have given up 40 runs in our first 3 games. 40 RUNS! Yikes.
Finally, I will allude to a story that I told the team before the game. I told them one of the proudest moments I can remember in little league was when my coach called me a smart ballplayer. We were going through a rut of runners being thrown out at home on passed balls (due to indecision, or, the wrong decision to run). Meanwhile, I, being so not fleet of foot, was 4 for 4. And the coach said I was a smart ballplayer, watching the play, making the decision to go, and going, head down, full speed (which isn't saying much). To be called a smart ballplayer, in front of your teammates, is really, a defining moment, at least to me. It will be a laurel I will reserve for those special players that deserve it. This year, I am hoping one of our players can earn it. I also hope, that, by recounting that story to the players, they can aspire to reach that goal as well.
Practice tomorrow. Infield, infield, infield.
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