JUNE 19, 2007 - Tuesday - Braves vs. Dodgers - City Center #1 - Dodgers Win 5-4
Congratulations to our team for winning its first tournament game. I must say that I am conflicted inside because even though we won, it doesn't fully feel like a win. The game was distracted by the heat and a major protest involving the Braves line-up. I know that it goes down as a win, but we weren't really hitting on all cylinders.
We also
I have been pondering what actually happened in the game and am left to wonder where the enthusiasm went. We won the toss and were the home team... That's a bonus. We held them to one run in the first and then came up and got Eli, Aaron, and Adam on base scoring both Eli and Aaron. Then we stranded Adam on third by a few strikeouts and instead of being thrilled with our lead we seemed to be out of gas. If this was due to the heat, then I encourage all of the parents to send their son to the next game with a couple of really cold/frozen Powerades to keep them refreshed.
I guess that I need to turn my thinking around and remember what went right.
ELI WAS A SURE BET - It was very comforting to watch our leadoff hitter, Eli, come to the plate. Whether by getting walked, or by hitting hard, he consistently got on base. Once on first, the steal to second was a given. Then the big lead allowed him to score on Aaron's consistent hitting behind him and any hit was enough to score him from second.
AARON"S CONSISTENT PLAY - Aaron continued to be a consistent player both at the plate and in the field. It does not matter where the pitch is, Aaron can get the bat on it. He has some power, even though he does not flaunt it. Oftentimes it does not look like he is even taking a hard swing, but he makes solid hard contact that propels the ball out to the field.
ADAM'S ALWAYS GETTING ON BASE - The one, two, three punch of Eli, Aaron, and Adam has been very effective. Adam has been able to both walk and hit consistently. He is the third speedster on our team that once they get on base they seem to steal their way into position to score. It is fun to see his joy each time he safely makes it to first base. He dropped his first hit right beyond the first and second baseman about 15 feet onto the grass for a perfect base hit to score Aaron in the first. THe next time up he drilled it up the middle with a perfect line drive.
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