AAU Summer Championship title game: WR 8U Blue 13, Carolina Shock 6

I'm sure you are probably wondering what such talented baseball players do to kill time in tournaments like this, where there is a lot of down time and waiting. If they have some good ideas, you might even consider stealing them for yourself, since the 8U Blue fan club has an equal amount of down time, but isn't provided with an arsenal of snacks, drinks, water sprayers and other toys.

Well, here's what 8U Blue did while waiting for Sunday's doubleheader: they answered math problems. And had a "not moving" contest.

Seriously, this really happened. Here's a photo of Coach Regan quizzing several players with her devious multi-part math problems:

Notice how into it the players are. Seriously, they REALLY liked the math problems. I don't have a photo of the "not moving" contest, but I can report that Gavin and Chace stayed completely immobile for over 15 minutes. That's not an exaggeration--we timed it. I realize none of this sounds especially fun when you read it, but at the time it was kind of entertaining. And let's be honest, what else did we have to do? And did you really think your 8-year-old son could stay completely quiet and still for 15 minutes? We truly do get to see them do the completely unexpected pretty much every single weekend.

Eventually, there were baseball games to be played. The day's final game was against the Carolina Shock for the AAU Summer Championship. 8U Blue had a fairly quick turnaround from the 7-6 walk-off win over the DC Bomb Squad, and they promptly had to battle back from a deficit again. This time, it was just 2-0, as the Shock plated a pair of runs in the top of the first.

This time, however, it didn't take the Blue offense as long to respond. They ripped off five runs in the first and seven more in the second to take control of the game, and eventually claimed a 13-6 victory that gave them the tournament title.

The game included an approximately 15-minute rain delay, some occasional confusion with the pitching machine (the Shock were doing coach pitch, but strangely, according to what we heard in Mooresville, this did not automatically enable them to win the game) and an umpire who accused Bryce of trying to steal his girlfriend (this actually happened).

The end result, however, was a second tournament championship in as many weekends:

Players indicated that the championship was for Coach Bruce, even firing off an, "I say Coach/You say Bruce!" cheer in the final inning. Coach Bruce's whereabouts were undetermined, but he was believed to be at a potty convention.

West Raleigh celebrated with their usual wild abandon, as indicated by this paparazzi photo from a certain photographer who was on I-40 on the way home:

Practice is slated for Monday night. With uncertain timing and weather, stay tuned for more details.

Championship Game 8U Blue scoring plays
First inning
Bryce led off the game with a hard shot to shortstop. With two down, he was still on first. But 8U Blue posted five two-out runs, starting when Chace singled Bryce to second. Jake drove an RBI single to center, and then Chace raced around to score when the throw was errant. Joey collected an RBI single, and then Ben's single to left couldn't be handled cleanly, allowing Joey to race around and score and Ben to go all the way to third. Mason scored him with a single to left.
Score after one inning: 8U Blue 5, Shock 2

Second inning
Once again, the leadoff man reached--this time, it was Carter with a single. With one out, Asher dropped a bunt single that put runners on first and second. Bryce slashed an RBI single to left that was the beginning of a parade of RBI hits. Before it was over, JT (triple scored two), Gavin (double), Chace (double), Jake (single) and Joey (single) all drove in runs on the way to West Raleigh's only run-rule inning of the game, a seven-spot in the second.
Score after two innings: 8U Blue 12, Shock 2

Fifth inning
Gavin led off by smoking a triple to right. Chace scored him with a sacrifice fly to left center.
Score after five innings: 8U Blue 13, Shock 6

Championship Game Web Gems

• Carter made a nice play on a line drive to left field with one out and one on in the third.
• In a quirky play that ended the fourth, the Shock tallied a run on an overthrow in the West Raleigh infield. But Chace made sure the damage wouldn't be worse, as he chased down the errant throw behind first and hustled it back into the infield, where the runner had been too aggressive rounding first. Chace applied the tag to end the inning and prevent further damage.
• Bryce made a nice play ranging up the middle to field a pop fly with two outs and one on in the fifth.
• West Raleigh ended the game in style. With a runner on first and one out in the sixth, JT snared a rocket at third base, then threw to Carter at first to double off the runner and seal the win.

Championship game line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Carolina Shock	2	0	0	1	3	0	6	13
WR 8U Blue	5	7	0	0	1	X	13	16