Weekend recap: Top Gun Super State Championship

The offensive numbers from this weekend are as gaudy as the pink shirts that were handed out after the win on Sunday. As always, you can find the individual wrapups here, but here are some of the more impressive cumulative numbers from the four games in Cary:

• As a team, 8U Blue hit .722 and slugged .940. Just for the sake of comparison, they hit .560 and slugged .707 in Clemmons.
• 8U Blue had almost as many extra-base hits (27) as the four opponents had total base hits (29). 
• In Saturday's game one against the Raleigh Raptors, the Raptors had four hits as a team. Gavin, Chace and Mason each had four hits by themselves in that game.
• In Saturday's game two against the North Wake, the Daredevils had four hits as a team. Gavin, Chace and Jake each had four hits by themselves in that game.
•  Overall, 8U Blue outscored the opposition 86-14 in Cary, and outhit them 108-29. 
• West Raleigh came to bat in 22 innings, and had the maximum runs allowed in 15 of those innings (68.2%). After having eight scoreless innings in Clemmons, 8U Blue had just two in Cary.
• For the first time this summer, every hitter in the lineup had at least two hits in the Sunday game against the Western Wake Wildcats.
• Every hitter on the roster has now had at least one three-hit game this summer.
• The offensive explosion did slightly mask some occasional defensive struggles. 8U Blue committed 17 errors in the four games--a total higher than the team had committed in the entire season prior to this weekend. More thoughts on that below.
• Coach Kevin spent approximately 21 hours in the car driving to and from Syracuse, all of which were spent coming up with new ideas for his collection of pregame speeches. I was able to capture some video of his pregame talk on Sunday, which was excellent:

Here's a look at the points of emphasis from last week:

More consistent outfield play, especially on ground balls and line drives to the outfield. 8U Blue has played very well on fly balls so far and will continue to work on one-hoppers and rounding into balls in the gap.

This one still needs work, and expect to see some time spent on this in practice this week. 8U Blue made three outfield errors on Sunday alone.

Increase the team batting average from .560 in Clemmons to at least .575 in Wilmington. The plan to do this began last night at TPA, with a focus on not pulling off the ball and hitting straight through it to produce line drives rather than pop flies.

This one was mixed. Great job increasing the team batting average and rocketing past the .575 goal. Not a great job doing it in Wilmington...but I guess we can let that slide, since the actual tournament was held in Cary (no matter what the trophies said).

Decrease the errors and have zero innings with multiple errors. This is a carryover from last weekend.

There were just two innings with multiple errors, but the overall error total was too high. There are a few possible explanations for the error increase: 1. Blowout nature of the games meant a loss in focus. 2. Players are still being moved around and getting accustomed to different positions. 3. The infield was essentially a slab of concrete and produced multiple unpredictable hops. 4. 8U Blue practiced on the field just twice last week.

With that in mind, the defense still must be tightened up, because the better opponents in district play and beyond will take advantage of mistakes.

Put the ball in play in every at-bat. The big barrel bats are permanently put away now, so everyone can get comfortable with the bats they'll be using in Cal Ripken play.

Almost. It's really hard to quibble with any aspect of the offensive performance this weekend.

Zero scoreless innings.

I actually thought this one was unreachable...but they almost did it. There were just two scoreless offensive innings, both of which came against the very solid North Wake Rockets.

Some goals for the district tournament this weekend:

• Win the district tournament. None of this summer's other goals can happen without winning the district.
• Refocus on defense. Seventeen errors in four games are simply too many.  
• Stay in a groove offensively, and hit at least .650 as a team in Wake Forest.
• Make adjustments from pitch to pitch offensively. This means getting adjusted to a new machine, or to a change in the current machine. 

Practice is tonight at Ephesus from 5-7. Tuesday is an off day, and then the team will practice on Wednesday and Thursday before (likely) beginning play in the district tournament on Friday night in Wake Forest.

 

 

Top Gun Super State title game: WR 8U Blue 9, North Wake Rockets 3

After steamrolling through the first three games of the tournament, 8U Blue found itself in unfamiliar territory in the championship game against North Wake: the Rockets scored a run in the bottom of the second (only a terrific double play had kept the Rockets off the scoreboard in the bottom of the first). That put West Raleigh behind at the end of an inning for the first time since the first game last Sunday in Clemmons.

But the offense--which had been held scoreless for the first time this weekend in the first two innings--responded by churning out two runs in the top of the third, then cracking it open with five runs in the top of the fourth. 8U Blue played just enough defense to win over the final innings, claiming the Top Gun Super State championship with a 9-3 victory.

Fortunately, after Coach Kevin channeled Roy Orbison and drove all night, Sunday's games included Bryce (oh, and Coach Kevin), meaning the full roster was able to accept their championship hardware (which inexplicably listed the tournament as being played in Wake Forest, even though I feel pretty sure we were in Cary, unless those cupcakes were laced with something other than Oreos):

The win capped a fun Father's Day, as the dads raked in a major haul, including gift cards, a team picture, and the right to be photographed next to their smelly sons. The situation works out especially well for the dads because Mother's Day doesn't fall during all-star season, and we all know the dads would probably forget anyway.

Since the boys had played hard through four games, they deserved a little something also. After a stern talk from Coach Sean on the importance of preparing for districts this week--no soda, no going to bed late, no taking candy from strangers, look both ways before you cross the street, and don't eat yellow snow--each player was given the much-desired pink practice shirt, featuring their nickname on the back:

It's a safe guess that you'll see several of them on the practice field on Monday night. Remember that practice will be at Ephesus instead of West Raleigh, and will be from 5-7.

Championship 8U Blue scoring plays
Third inning
After back-to-back singles from Ben and Elias, Asher sacrificed them to second and third. Andrew grounded a game-tying fielder's choice to third, and then Bryce picked up a clutch two-out RBI single to give West Raleigh their first lead of the day.
Score after two and a half innings: 8U Blue 2, Rockets 1

Fourth inning
After playing a little small ball in the third, West Raleigh went big in the fourth, and scored five runs with just six hitters going to the plate. Joey and Gavin started it with a pair of doubles. Chace's shot to shortstop put runners at the corners. Jake singled, scoring Gavin, and then took second on the throw, while Chace hustled to third. Carter's single scored both Chace and Jake. Mason's single was hit so hard it took the third baseman's glove off, and it scored Carter while activating the five-run limit.
Score after three and a half innings: 8U Blue 7, Rockets 1

Fifth inning
Playing small ball once again, West Raleigh scored a run without a true ball to the outfield. Ben's line drive to shortstop just eked over the defender's head. Elias sacrificed him to second, and Ben raced to third on Asher's fielder's choice. Andrew came through with a two-out single to score Ben.
Score after four and a half innings: 8U Blue 8, Rockets 1

Sixth inning
Getting the leadoff man on base again produced a run. JT and Joey strung together two straight singles to start the inning. After a fielder's choice moved JT to third, he scored on Chace's fielder's choice.
Score after four innings: 8U Blue 9, Rockets 1

Championship Web Gems

• North Wake put runners on second and third with just one out in the bottom of the first. But in a big momentum-turning play, Jake caught a fly ball in shallow right, loaded up, and fired a strike to Asher at the plate, who tagged the runner trying to score from third in what turned into an inning-ending double play.
• Carter grabbed a sinking liner down near his knees in right field for the final out of the third inning.
• Before the bottom of the fourth, Bryce somehow managed to throw the infield warmup ball under the closed dugout gate and into the dugout, where it came to rest almost next to the ball bucket.
• With one out in the fourth, the North Wake batter singled and then got adventurous. But Joey picked up the ball in left-center and immediately fired it back to Bryce at second base. Still hot off his major infield warmup ball achievement a few moments earlier, Bryce whirled and threw a seed to Chace at first, who slapped the tag on the hitter, who had taken too wide a turn.
• With a runner on in the fifth, the hitter hit a bullet back through the middle. Mason got a glove on it at pitcher and redirected it in the infield. JT tracked it down and threw to Bryce at second to get the force out.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 8U Blue	0	0	2	5	1	1	9	13
NW Rockets	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	9

Top Gun Super State Semis: WR 8U Blue 25, Western Wake Wildcats 8

The impressive offensive display continued in the Top Gun Super State semifinals, as West Raleigh 8U Blue whipped the Western Wake Wildcats, 25-8. Thirteen straight 8U Blue hitters reached base before the Wildcats recorded a hit, and Blue reached the five-run limit in every inning. Overall, 8U Blue sent 37 hitters to the plate, and only three outs were recorded. You read that right--in five offensive innings, West Raleigh made just three outs. The 32 hits tied a season high set in yesterday's win over the North Wake Daredevils.

Yes, the bats are a little hot. The hitting must have resonated, because the fans of the hard-hitting, big barrel-wielding Wildcats were heard to yell, "Check their bats" of the thin-barrel 8U Blue hitters. Presumably, this is because they were so impressed by the hitting performance that they want to go to the store tomorrow and purchase similar bats, and were checking to see what kind they were. That's the only explanation that makes sense.

By the conclusion of the win, 8U Blue had been to the plate 16 times in this weekend's tournament, and had scored the run limit in 14 of those innings. The victory moved West Raleigh into the championship game against a familiar opponent, the North Wake Rockets.

Semifinal 8U Blue scoring plays
First inning
JT started his 4-for-4 day with a leadoff triple. Joey popped an RBI single off the machine. Gavin ripped a ground rule double under the fence in right-center. Chace powered a two-RBI single to left. Jake pulled an RBI single to right-center. After Carter's single, Mason went the other way for an RBI single, as West Raleigh sent just seven hitters to the plate to get the five-run limit.
Score after one inning: 8U Blue 5, Wildcats 0

Second inning
And then the 8U offense did themselves one better. This time, they needed just six batters to plate the five runs. Ben's liner to shortstop got through to lead off. Elias singled to left, putting runners on first and second. Asher singled back through the middle, scoring Ben. Andrew's single scored Elias. In his first at-bat of the weekend, Bryce cracked a two-run triple. JT scored Bryce with a single.
Score after two innings: 8U Blue 10, Wildcats 0

Third inning
Needing some variety, this time 8U Blue decided to get all of their five run limit with two outs. With Chace on first, Jake singled. Carter's single wasn't fielded cleanly, allowing both runners to score and Carter to move to second. Mason's single put runners at the corners. Ben singled home Carter. Elias singled, loading the bases. On his way to a four-RBI day, Asher doubled to finish the inning.
Score after three innings: 8U Blue 15, Wildcats 1

Fourth inning
With Bryce on first and one down, JT launched his second triple of the game, scoring Bryce. Joey drove home JT. Gavin put runners on first and second for Chace, who doubled home Joey. Jake drove home a pair with an opposite-field double.
Score after four innings: 8U Blue 20, Wildcats 5

Fifth inning
Carter and Mason started the inning with singles. Ben smacked an RBI single back through the middle. Elias singled through the left side, scoring Mason. Asher singled and brought in Ben. Andrew's single to left scored Elias, and after Bryce's single, JT singled to score Asher, as 8U Blue again hit the five-run limit without a single out.
Score after five innings: 8U Blue 25, Wildcats 5

Semifinal Web Gems

• Playing shortstop on a very firm infield that produced some interesting hops all weekend, Gavin showed quick reflexes in snaring one that bounced much higher than expected in the first inning, then flipping to second for the force.
• Chace alertly tracked down an errant throw on the first batter of the second inning, then put the tag on an indecisive runner who had taken too big a turn.
• 8U Blue executed a perfect cutoff play on the next hitter, as the ball was driven to left-center for what looked like a possible single. But the runner tried to stretch it into a double, and Elias fired in to Gavin, who relayed to JT, who slapped down the tag to get the out.
• Two hitters later, Elias made a nice leaping grab in left-center to end the inning.
• The first double play of the weekend ended the third. JT caught a liner at third, then fired across the diamond to Chace at first base to double off a wandering runner.
• Playing pitcher, Andrew showed good reflexes to his right, scooped up a hot grounder, and threw to first to retire the leadoff man in the fourth inning.
• With the Wildcats mounting a rally in the sixth, Carter tracked down an errant throw at first, and alertly saw that the lead runner was steaming for home. Carter fired to Asher, who applied the tag at the plate for the first out of the inning.

Semifinals line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Wildcats	0	0	1	4	0	3	8	12
WR 8U Blue	5	5	5	5	5	X	25	32

Top Gun Super State Game 2: WR 8U Blue 27, NW Daredevils 1

If possible, the offensive performance in Saturday's second game might have been even more impressive than the game one fireworks. This time, 8U Blue posted a season-high in runs (27) and hits (32) on the way to a 27-1 victory over the North Wake Daredevils. For the fourth time in ten games this summer, every batter in the lineup had at least one hit, and 10 of the West Raleigh batters had at least two base hits.

The offense was unquestionably the story of the day, as 8U Blue hit a combined .724 in the two games, and very nearly had more extra-base hits (21) than hitless trips to the plate (24). The two teams West Raleigh defeated on Saturday had a combined eight hits; two West Raleigh hitters (Gavin and Chace) had eight hits apiece just by themselves.

Credit to Coach Bob for possibly the worst pitching performance of all time, as he gave up 52 runs and 63 hits in 11 innings while operating the pitching machine. The 63 combined hits in the two games are just one fewer than 8U Blue managed all of last weekend in Clemmons.

The undefeated mark in Saturday's pool play means 8U Blue earned the top seed in Sunday's gold bracket. They will take Thomas Brooks field 8 at 1:30 against the winner of the Northview Blue-7U Wildcats game. The winner of that game will be in the 3 p.m. championship contest, also on field 8.

Game 2 8U Blue scoring plays
First inning
Joey hit a one-out single. Gavin (4-for-4 with three doubles) drove him in with a double. Chace followed suit with another RBI double. Jake lined an RBI shot to right. The final RBI of the inning went to Carter on a one-out fielder's choice.
Score after one-half inning: 8U Blue 4, Daredevils 0

Second inning
The first run-rule inning of this game started with Asher reaching on a single. Runners moved to first and second on Andrew's drive to the left side. JT doubled home Asher, and then Andrew also scored when the ball wasn't handled cleanly. Joey singled, putting runners at the corners. Gavin's double plated JT, Chace's single scored Joey, and Jake's double scored Gavin.
Score after one and one-half innings: 8U Blue 9, Daredevils 0

Third inning
With Carter on first and one out, Mason lined a single that wasn't handled, allowing Carter to score and Mason to move to second. Elias powered it through the left side, scoring Mason. Asher singled to put two runners on, and then Andrew hit a towering double to left that scored Elias.
Score after two and a half innings: 8U Blue 14, Daredevils 0

Fourth inning
Gavin smoked a one-out single that turned into two bases after an outfield miscue. Chace singled him home. Jake singled, and then Ben's single scored Chace.
Score after three and a half innings: 8U Blue 16, Daredevils 0

Fifth inning
Elias led off with a perfectly placed double to left-center. He moved to third on a fielder's choice, then scored on Andrew's single. 8U Blue sent four more runners across with two outs. Joey singled, scoring Andrew. Gavin's double put runners at second and third. Chace (who had an impressive five-RBI game) scored a pair with a double to center, and then Jake finished the scoring with a line drive straight back up the middle that scored Chace.
Score after four and a half innings: 8U Blue 21, Daredevils 0

Sixth inning
The last offensive inning of the day might also have been the most impressive, as 8U Blue scored six runs while recording zero outs and sending only seven hitters to the plate. It began with a leadoff single from Ben that outfield issues turned into two bases. Carter's double scored Ben. Mason's single scored Carter. Elias reached on a single that sent runners to first and second, before Asher's single loaded the bases. Andrew drove in two more, for a game total of four RBI, with another long double to left. JT scored a pair with a hard single that invoked what had suddenly become a six-run limit instead of a five-run limit.
Score after five and a half innings: 8U Blue 27, Daredevils 1

Game 2 Web Gems

• Playing third base, Jake made an agile play to his left on the first hitter of the fourth inning. With the ball pounded into the dirt almost in the hole, Jake ranged over, gloved it, then made a strong throw to first base to easily get the runner.
• JT raced across the dirt in the outfield to gather a sinking liner in left-center in the fifth.
• With a runner on first later that same inning, JT continued his solid play in the outfield. He tracked down a ball hit over his head and fired to Gavin covering second for the force out--the third force recorded by an 8U Blue outfielder on the day.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 8U Blue	4	5	5	2	5	6	27	32
NW Daredevils	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	4

Top Gun Super State Game 1: WR 8U Blue 25, Raleigh Raptors 2

Coach Bruce was reported to be very happy to hear that 8U Blue would be playing virtually in his backyard, with the Top Gun Super State tournament scheduled for Thomas Brooks Park. But I didn't realize how happy he was until we left our house this morning and realized that evidently Coach Bruce had come all the way to Orange County to provide a personal escort to Cary. I especially like his personalized license plate:

Realizing his team would have to play without Coach Kevin (value: debatable) and Bryce (value: irreplaceable), plus the foul ball catching skills of Jennifer, Coach Sean knew he would have to do something spectacular during Saturday's pregame team meeting. Coach Kevin had requested that Coach Sean use Pregame Speech No. 461, which can be found in Coach Kevin's book entitled, "2,831 pregame speeches" and subtitled, "Things Biscuit Taught Me."

But Coach Sean went one better. He used Pregame Speech 461, and added his own special twist: a pregame dance party featuring 8U Blue's own Tiny Dancer, Asher:

The results of the dance: undeniable. 8U Blue went out and scored the five-run limit (well, the run rule sort of fluctuates depending on who is doing the interpretation) in every single inning, bludgeoning their way to a 25-2 win over the Raleigh Raptors. The homestanding West Raleigh squad pounded out a season-high 31 hits...a season high that wouldn't last very long. Ten different hitters scored at least two runs and ten different hitters had at least two hits.

The game was shortened to five innings due to the time limit, setting up West Raleigh's second game of pool play, against the North Wake Daredevils.

Game 1 8U Blue scoring plays
First inning
Got a snack? OK, here we go. JT led off with an opposite-field single. With one out, Gavin cracked a double. Chace picked up the first RBI of the day with a single, and then Jake drove in Gavin with a single. The last three runs came across with two outs. Carter's shot to third wasn't handled, scoring Chace, and then Mason--on his way to a monster (four doubles, five RBI) game--blasted a double to clear the bases and invoke the run rule.
Score after one inning: 8U Blue 5, Raptors 0

Second inning
With one out, Asher singled. He moved to third on Andrew's double. JT smacked a two-run double and moved to third when Joey's shot to the right side wasn't fielded. Gavin lined a single that scored both JT and Joey after some outfield misadventures. Chace singled, and then Jake's double plated Gavin to once again activate the run rule.
Score after two innings: 8U Blue 10, Raptors 0

Third inning
Once again, it started with one out. Carter singled and scored on Mason's double. Elias singled, putting runners at the corners. Asher's opposite field single scored Mason. Andrew singled to load the bases for JT, who promptly scored Elias with a single. Joey and Gavin picked up back-to-back RBI singles to send 8U Blue to the five-run limit for the third straight inning.
Score after three innings: 8U Blue 15, Raptors 0

Fourth inning
Chace led off with a single and ran to third on Jake's double. With one out, Carter drove in Chace with a single. Mason--stop me if this sounds familiar--doubled, scoring Jake. Elias's RBI single scored Carter and Asher drove in Mason with a single. Andrew's single loaded the bases again, and then JT's shot to shortstop scored Elias and ended the inning.
Score after four innings: 8U Blue 20, Raptors 1

Fifth inning
This time, 8U Blue recorded just one out while scoring their five runs on just eight batters. Joey led off with a single. Gavin hit a thunderous double deep to left-center. Chace's single drove in Joey. Jake blistered it through the right side to score Gavin and put runners on first and second. Carter's bullet on the left side wasn't fielded, allowing Chace to score. Mason (yawn) doubled yet again, driving in Jake, and then the last RBI of the game went to Elias on a single to left.
Score after five innings: 8U Blue 25, Raptors 2

Game 1 Web Gems

• With runners on first and second, Elias didn't take anything for granted in the first and backed up shortstop on a ground ball. That worked out well for him, because he was in position to scoop it up and fire to JT at second to get the force.
• 8U Blue got another force out from their outfielders in the second. With one down and a runner on first, the batter lined a shot to right-center. Andrew barehanded it and threw to JT at second to get the out.
• West Raleigh catchers recorded two outs on popups: Asher grabbed one in the second and Jake snagged one in the third.
• Gavin made a smooth play on a tough hopper to end the Raptor top of the fifth.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Raptors	0	0	0	1	1	X	2	4
WR 8U Blue	5	5	5	5	5	X	25	31