Weekend recap: District Tournament

We may have to put the blogger on waivers. Here we are, a mere 12 hours before the next tournament, and the weekend recap from the district tournament is just now being posted. Don't worry--I have docked his salary from the 8U Blue Slush Fund and he will have to use his own money to fill up his team RV this week rather than using the West Raleigh gas card.

As you might remember if you think waaaaaaay back to Tuesday, 8U Blue captured the district title on Tuesday after a snappy tournament that took just five days. Some key numbers from the weekend:

• Districts were the lowest-scoring tournament of the summer so far for 8U Blue. They averaged 11 runs per game, down from the 12.3 they scored in Clemmons, which was the previous low.
• As you would probably expect from the above stat, the team batting average of .488 in Wake Forest was the lowest of the season and well under the season average. 
• The defense was alternately phenomenal and a little porous. West Raleigh played two error-free games, the first time this season they've packed two zero-error games into the same tournament. But in the other two games, they committed four errors in each contest. The tournament total of eight errors was tied for the lowest in a tourney this season.
• 8U Blue added two more double plays to the season total--including a sweet 4-6-3 that ended what could have been a giant North Wake inning in the title game--to bring the cumulative total to 12.
• JT, as far as we know, didn't pass on his illness to anyone on the team. 8U Blue had to play two games without a full roster, as JT missed Friday night's game and Joey was very limited in the championship game.

Here's a look at the district tournament points of emphasis and the results:

Win the district tournament. None of this summer's other goals can happen without winning the district.

Although you couldn't really tell it by the reaction of the event hosts, winning the district is a big deal. Lots of teams would consider it a highlight of their summer, especially in a solid district like ours.

Refocus on defense. Seventeen errors in four games are simply too many. 

8U Blue significantly cut their errors, and just as importantly, they made the key defensive plays when they had to make them. Take out the one bad first inning against North Wake on Tuesday night and it would have been a terrific defensive weekend.

Stay in a groove offensively, and hit at least .650 as a team in Wake Forest.

This one didn't happen, with the team batting average dipping below .500 for the first time this season.

Make adjustments from pitch to pitch offensively. This means getting adjusted to a new machine, or to a change in the current machine. 

See above. One challenging part of the weekend was the wide variation in pitching machines. Some through much slower (Friday night) while others were throwing gas (Tuesday). Figuring out how to adjust is all part of becoming a more mature hitter.

Now, some goals for this weekend in Greensboro:

• Get back in a rhythm offensively. Get the team batting average for the weekend back above .600.
• Have at least one game in which everyone in the lineup gets at least one hit.
• Score at least 55 runs in the tournament and have no more than one scoreless inning in the tournament.
• No selfish moments (the team talked about this on Thursday during the practice rain delay). Play as a team and for the team at all times.
• Try to set the team summer record by committing fewer than eight errors over the four-game tournament, all while getting players some experience at multiple positions.