"You guys were awesome today," he told them. "Not because of the way you hit the ball or your defense, but because of your mental toughness."
That's because the Shock played excellent defense in the first two innings, holding 8U Blue scoreless in back-to-back frames for the first time this season, and also marking the first time this summer that 8U Blue had multiple scoreless innings in the same game.
"But you guys didn't get down," Coach Sean told them. "You could have been panicked, but you knew eventually we would get them, and that's the way you played."
The offense rumbled to life in the third, plating three runs, and then exploded in the fourth and fifth. That enabled the 8Us to get an extra ten minutes or so of pool time--really the most important part of any trip--by ending the game an inning early.
While outscoring two opponents 29-0, the story of the day was really the West Raleigh defense. They allowed just three hits in the two games combined, and did not allow a runner to reach third base in any of their eight defensive innings. Just one opposing runner reached second base in the two games, and that was in the first inning of the first game. 8U Blue made just one error combined in the two games.
One game remains in pool play, which will be played (ALLEGEDLY) at 3 p.m. Sunday. That game will lead into a 4:30 matchup in either the consolation or championship games.
Game 2 8U Blue scoring plays
Third inning
After a lengthy scoring drought--two whole innings--the offense cranked up in the third. Carter and Andrew rapped back-to-back singles. Asher dropped down a sacrifice bunt, which must have had some especially intimidating power, because Carter came all the way around to score from second. Bryce singled, moving Andrew to third, and then JT lifted a sacrifice fly to left-center. Gavin singled in Bryce for the third and final run of the inning.
Score after two and a half innings: 8U Blue 3, Shock 0
Fourth inning
Joey led off with a single--the leadoff men were quietly a key storyline, as the 8U Blue leadoff hitter reached in all eight offensive innings on Saturday--and took second when Ben's hard shot to third wasn't fielded. With one out, Elias cranked a two-run double. Carter went through shortstop, and then Andrew singled in Elias. Asher used the ol' rope-a-dope fake-a-bunt-then-hit-it-over-the-third-baseman's-head play to score Carter with the final run of the inning.
Score after three and a half innings: 8U Blue 7, Shock 0
Fifth inning
Gavin led off with a double to left. Chace's shot to third was too hot to handle and Gavin scored. Jake crushed an RBI triple and scored on Joey's single, with Joey moving up to second on an outfield error. Ben drove an RBI single. Mason singled to reignite the offense, putting runners on first and second. With one out, Carter singled up the middle and took second on the throw. Andrew lined a hard sacrifice fly to left. Asher popped it off the glove of the first baseman, scoring Carter and invoking the seven-run rule.
Score after four and a half innings: 8U Blue 14, Shock 0
Game 2 Web Gems
- Bryce was kind of a ball hog in the first inning, getting all three outs in 1-2-3 order at second base. He fielded a grounder and threw to first, caught a pop fly and then snagged another grounder and made another solid throw to end the inning.
- Ben made a great play up the middle at pitcher in the fourth, taking away a sure hit up the middle by spearing a sizzling grounder, then throwing to first for the out.
| Game 2 line score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H |
| WR 8U Blue | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | X | 14 | 17 |
| Shock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 1 |
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