Sunday, June 15, 2014

2014 Walbeck Elite Game #13

Seeded third and spending the night locally at the Santa Clara Marriot, we got a chance to sleep late. We eventually had breakfast at Bennigan's across the street from the hotel. After breakfast, Sharon and I took a walk through the local neighborhood.

The Walbeck Elite played the Hardtke Baseball Academy (HBA) Red Sox in the semi-final game of the tournament. This is one of the two HBA 18U teams. The Elite played their other team on Saturday.

Batting lead-off, Jack was 0 for 3 with a hit by pitch. In his first at-bat, he grounded a 2 and 2 pitch to the second baseman and was thrown out at first. Jack ran the count to 1 and 2, fouled off a pitch, took a ball and hit the sixth pitch for a hard fly ball to right field in his second plate appearance. The right fielder drifted back and made the catch for the out. In his third at-bat, he ran the count to 1 and 2, fouled off two pitches, took a ball, fouled off the seventh pitch and then was called out on a checked swing. Watching him from the side, it was not a swing… Jack was hit by the first pitch in his fourth plate appearance. This is the first time that he has been hit by a pitch in probably 150 at-bats. Jack said that the pitch never hit him. He was miffed because he really wanted to hit. Jack said afterwards that he was seeing the ball really well in all four of the at-bats.

Playing centerfield, Jack had five put-outs! I can't remember a game where he had that many catches. Jack made a nice running catch in right center. He said afterwards that he almost dropped it.

In a well played game, the Elite lost by the score of 3 to 2. Tied after 7 innings, the tournament used the tie breaker rules where you start the inning with a runner at second. Jack has been involved in a couple of these types of games over the years and I can't remember ever winning one. The scorecard is here.

Rossitto (0-2, 4 appearances, 9.1 innings, ERA 3.000) was the losing pitcher.

For the summer season, the Elite have a record of 4 wins, 8 losses and 1 tie. The game log is here. In spite of the record, I am pleased with how the team is playing. Playing against older teams, the Elite has been competitive in almost every game.

We finished Father's Day with a barbecue at Sharon's brother Tom's house.

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