Sunday, August 04, 2013

Super Series Battle of the Bats Day 2


The Walbeck Elite played in the second day of the Super Series Battle of the Bats tournament. Seeded fourth out of nine teams after the pool play, they faced the East County Prospects in the first elimination game.

Leading off, Jack had a rough game at the plate. He was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. In his first at-bat, Jack struck out swinging on a 0 and 2 pitch off the plate trying to protect. He grounded a 1 and 1 pitch to the second baseman in his second plate appearance and was throw out at first. In his third at-bat, Jack walked. He ended up coming around and scoring a run. Jack struck out swinging on a 3 and 2 pitch in his fourth plate appearance.

In the field, Jack played left field for seven innings. He had no put-outs or assists.

Falling behind 2 to 0, the Elite scored in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to win the game by the score of 8 to 6. They had 8 runs on only six hits. The Prospects committed five errors.

Walking to the car to get lunch, Jack was very discouraged. During lunch and just before the next game, I ended up challenging him more than I probably ever have.

The Elite's second game of the day ending up starting 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. The Guam Crusaders played the East Bay Mustangs in a ten inning game. The Walbeck Elite played the number one seeded Fairfield PAL.

At the plate, Jack was 1 for 3. In his first at-bat, he ran the count full, fouled off three pitches and then hit a fly ball to centerfield for an out. Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch for a line drive down the right field line in his second plate appearance. I was sure that it was a double or a triple. The right fielder made a great diving catch for the out. In his third at-bat, Jack grounded a 2 and 2 pitch up the middle for a single. They tried to pick him off first. He and the first baseman got tangled on the ground as the pitcher threw the ball away. Jack pushed the first baseman down as he tried to get up and go to second. Although he was bigger than Jack, the first baseman got visibility upset. Jack was out at third when he tried to advance on Nick's fly ball out to centerfield.

In the field, Jack played seven innings in left field. He had one put-out on a fly ball to left center that he went a long way to track down.

Giving up three unearned runs, the Elite lost the game by the score of 3 to 1 and were eliminated from the tournament.

This marks the end of the summer season. It was interesting to watch the boys go around and say good bye to each other. There are a couple of boys on this team that Jack has gotten to know that we might not play with again. There is a meeting next Sunday to turn in the jerseys and talk about where the program goes from here. Unfortunately, we are going to be out of town on vacation. Talking to Matt Walbeck at the pool party last weekend, he was indicating that the team might play a couple of tournaments in the fall.

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