The Outlaws played in the Northern California Travel Ball Veterans Day Classic at Mather. With Sharon and I in Santa Barbara during the last tournament, I have not seen the Outlaws play seen October 4. It seems like forever ago.
The Outlaws played NorCal Valley in the first game. With the brackets on Sunday set so that all of the teams can advance, the coaches pursued a strategy of saving the top four pitchers for Sunday. Jack was scheduled to start the first game, but his arm was tight after he warmed up. This quickly turned into one of the days where nothing went right...
At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2. In his first at-bat, he hit the first pitch for a medium fly ball into right center. The right fielder was able to track the ball down for an out. Jack hit for first pitch for a hard grounder to the right side in his second plate appearance. The first baseman was able to field the ball and beat Jack to the bag for the out.
With his arm tight, they played Jack at first base. He had 7 put-outs and 1 assist and was involved in 1 double play. In the top of the first, Jack made a nice play on a ball hit to the right side. He ranged far to his right to field the ball and then led Jordan [pitcher] covering the bag for the out.
Giving up 9 walks and committing 3 errors, the Outlaws fell to NorCal Valley by the score of 6 to 1. The Outlaws managed only one infield hit! The box score is here.
The Outlaws turned around and played the Bulldogs in the second game. This is a team that they have faced a number of times over the last couple of years: winning some and losing some. They lost to the Bulldogs two weeks ago in the bottom of the seventh in what Rod described as a triple stomach punch.
At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2 with a walk. In his first at-bat, he ran the count to full and drew a walk. Jack promptly got picked off; he strayed too far from the base and the catcher threw behind him and he got tagged out in a run down. Jack hit a 1 and 1 pitch for a hard ground ball up the middle in his second plate appearance. I was sure it was a single when it left the bat. Unfortunately, with the turf wet, the ball slowed down more than I expected. The second baseman did a nice job of getting to the ball and just barely threw Jack out. oy vey... In his third at-bat, Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch for a hard line drive right at the first baseman who was playing deep for an out.
In the field, Jack played seven innings at first base. He had 9 put-outs. It was an adventure. Cooper [shortstop] and Josh [third base] bounced a number of balls to him that he had to dig out. There was also a throw airmailed about two feet over his head and a throw that bounced five or six feet in front of him that he was not able to dig.
Looking very flat on a cold and wet afternoon, the Outlaws lost to the Bulldogs by the score of 5 to 0. They managed only two hits: one each from the 9th and 10th batters in the line-up. The box score is here.
With the rain coming down harder at the end of the Bulldog game, the last two games of the tournament got rained out and rescheduled for Sunday morning. They then restructured the play-off brackets so that only 6 of the 8 teams advance. There is a good possibility that the Outlaws will be seeded 7th and be eliminated from the tournament. Unfortunately, we might have to go to Mather to find out if we play or not. The coaches are not pleased.
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