Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Omaha Slumpbuster Day 3



After two very early mornings, we had a lazy morning on Friday. Jack slept late. I went out for a run from the hotel. The Ramada Plaza has no work-out room!?! Heading down the street, I stumbled upon the Keystone Trail. I ended up running for about an hour and 6 miles along a very nice trail.

Back at the hotel, I spent an hour in the "lobby" with Rod listening to people complain about the hotel. There was a jackhammer running in the background. We are staying at the Ramada Plaza in Omaha. This is the worst hotel experience that I have ever had; the place is a mess. Essentially, it is under construction and should not be an operating facility.

The group finally rallied to meet for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Council Bluffs. From there, we rushed back to the hotel and got the boys ready for the game.

The Outlaws played the Oswego Cobras from Florida in the third and last pool game. The Cobras had lost both of their first two pools games.

At the plate, Jack was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. In his first at-bat, Jack hit a 1 and 3 pitch into the hole. Shortstop got to the ball, but was not able to find the handle and Jack was safe at first. He stole second, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on Breyton's single. Jack had a great second plate appearance. He drove a 1 and 2 pitch into right field for a single. Jack stole second and scored on Breyton's double. His third at-bat was odd. Behind in the count 1 and 2, Jack swung like he was trying to kill the ball. I found out later that Scott told Jack to swing for the fences. The fences were only 270 feet. Jack was trying to hit a home run!

In the field, Jack started and pitched three innings and played two innings in left field. This was probably the best outing that Jack has had on the mound in recent memory. He threw 47 pitches: 28 strikes and 19 balls. Jack walked one, give up one hit (a medium grounder to the left side), and struck out three. He picked the batter who got the single off first. Several Outlaws parents commented how much they liked Jack's swagger on the mound.

Jack had one put-out and four assists. In each of the first three innings, he handled a grounder back to the mound and threw to Josh at first for the out. One of these was a very athletic play. On a soft roller to the right side, Jack chased the ball down, scooped it and flipped it to Josh with his glove. Jack also came in from left field to participate in a run-down between second and third and applied the tag.

The Outlaws jumped all over the Cobras starting pitcher. They scored six runs before there was an out in the inning. The Outlaws won the game by the score of 11 to 0. The box score is here.

The Outlaws finished pool play with 3 wins and no losses. They were seeded 6 out of 52 teams. For pool play, the tournament divides the teams into three brackets. The Outlaws will play the 11th seeded Denver Pirates in the 13u division 1 bracket at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Heading back to the hotel, the team had a group dinner at Anthony's Steak House.

I finished the evening in the lobby with a small group of parents. This included more running amok about the accommodations and an interesting run-in with the general manager.

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