Very early Sunday morning, the Outlaws were back at the Woodland Sports Complex to play in the All World Sports Weekend Warrior tournament. Seeded 4th out of 9 teams, they played the 5th seeded Woodland Assassins. This is a newer team that includes a couple of players that the Outlaws have faced playing for other Woodland teams. It was a miserable morning: cold with a stiff wind out of the north.
At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with two RBIs and a strike-out. In his first at-bat with Greysen on third and Trevor on second, he grounded a 2 and 0 pitch to the third baseman to drive in Greysen and was thrown out at first. With Trevor at third, Jack grounded a 2 and 0 pitch hard to the right side in his second plate appearance. I was sure that it was through, but the second baseman made a great diving stop and threw Jack out at first. Trevor scored for an RBI. In his final at-bat, Jack struck out looking on a 2 and 2 pitch that was very low and outside. The umpire was calling a very low strike on the outside of the plate.
In the field, Jack started at third base. With no outs in the top of the first, they switched him to shortstop. Jack ended up playing four innings at shortstop; this is more innings that he has played at shortstop since Cal Ripken AAA almost four years ago. He also played an inning at third base and parts of the sixth inning at first and in left field. Jack had one error, one put-out and two assists. He handled two grounders to shortstop and threw the runner out at first. At first, Jack took one throw from the shortstop to record a put-out. In the top of the first, Jack handled a throw from the catcher to tag a runner trying to steal. The throw was high and the runner was called safe. In anger, Jack whipped the ball back to Cooper wide and the runner raced home.
The beginning of the game was a mess. The Outlaws committed three errors [including one by Jack in a fit of frustration] and gave up two runs in the top of the first. They then turned around and scored three runs in the bottom of the first and five runs in the bottom of the second. Committing six errors overall, the Outlaws held on to beat the Assassins by the score of 9 to 6. The box score is here.
The Outlaws turned right around and played the first seeded Sutter Storm in the semi-final game of the tournament. This is a team that the Outlaws have played several times over the last couple of years.
At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with a walk and a strike-out. In his first at-bat, he walked on five pitches and stole second, but ended the inning there when Josh struck out. Jack struck out swinging on three pitches in his second plate appearance. It is the first "bad" at-bat that I have seen him have this spring. He popped a 1 and 1 pitch into right field in his third plate appearance. The Storm had several pop-ups drop in front of the Outlaws fielders, but the Storm right fielder was playing in and made a nice catch to get Jack out. In his final at-bat, Jack crushed 1 and 1 pitch to deep center field. I was sure that it was going to be over the center fielder's head. The center fielder made a leaping snow cone catch for the out. At the time, the Outlaws were trailing by the score of 8 to 9. If the fielder does not make the play, it would have been a home run to tie the game.
In the field, Jack played six innings at first base. Jack had one error and six put-outs. He took throws from the shortstop and third baseman and handled a grounder to the right side himself. Jack took his eyes off a ball on a throw from Jordan for an error. With one out and runners on first and second in the sixth inning, the batter hit a grounder to the right side. Trying to get the double play, the Outlaws got the runner at second, but the runner at first beat the relay to Jack at first. The runner going from second to third took a big turn around third. Jack ran straight at him across the diamond. The runner was stuck in no mans land and waited for Jack to throw the ball before committing either to home or back to third. The runner looked like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car. Jack ended up tagging the runner out himself.
The Outlaws fell behind by the score of 6 to 0 after four innings, but rallied to make it a game. They ended up losing by the score of 8 to 7 and being eliminated from the tournament. The box score is here.
The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 4 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. The game log is here.
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