June 22, 2007 - Friday - Dodgers vs. Mariners - City Center #1 - Dodgers Win 4-3
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Adam on deck - Aaron hitting
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PLEASE NOTE: This game summary is not completely accurate and still quite confusing. It was written at midnight after our game, the night before our next 9 AM game. At 2:30 AM I finally collapsed at the keyboard knowing that once the next game started much of the info in my head would be replaced. Please enjoy it for what it is and maybe someday I can get it figured out.
I am still overcome with the excitement of a dramatic win over our good team friends the Mariners. The game was well fought and ended with all of the drama that a young man could ever dream.
We showed up early to the park, the same way we had yesterday, except that yesterday the game was cancelled due to the lack of a mound at Windsor and of the two 5:30 games it seems that we were drop kicked until tonight. We beat the Mariners to the park by 15 minutes and were rewarded with the third base dugout in the shade. At 96 degrees with no wind this was the best move we ever made.
COIN TOSS -At 5:15 PM both Eli and Brian, accompanied by Coach Chuck, they headed to the plate for the official coin flip. The Nascar commemorative coin played against us and we lost the toss. As visitors we knew that it was best to jump right on the Mariners and then never look back.
ELI SCORES - Eli took the lead with a hard hit down third base and then immediately stole second. Aaron popped out followed by Adam dropping one into right center. Nathan had a good hard hit but was left stranded along with Adam on base... Bummer.
The second inning came and went with a line drive out to second followed by two strike outs.... That was a quick inning.
In the bottom of the second Eli chased down a high fly ball over second base and into shallow center field. He made it look routine and it was great to see the catch made. Eli followed it up with a high fly catch right behind Nathan at third. Jeremy was very effective on the mound as the Mariners were either hitting easy grounders or pop flies. This was perfect for us as we were making the plays.
JOSH DOUBLES HARD - The top of the third was quite exciting. Josh started us off with an incredibly hard shot down the first base line for a perfect slide into second base for a double. Dylan hit hard and got Josh to third while he stood upon first base. I told Josh to watch for the fake throw down to second. With no outs there was little reason to risk it. He took his lead and when Dylan stole second the catcher came up throwing hard to the short stop who was about 10 feet behind and to the left of the pitcher. Josh bit and tried to steal home. Unfortunately, he was easily tagged out with the fake throw to second. I later spoke with him and he thought I meant a fake throw back to third and not the classic fake to the shortstop.
DYLAN CHARGES THE PLATE - The energy was still high with Dylan on second. Nathaniel hit and they threw him out at first while Dylan made it safely to third. With Eli at the plate there was a passed ball and Dylan charged home in a very close play at the plate.... You're OOUUTT!!!
In the bottom of the third Eli used his charm and continued being the "Ball Magnet!" As the ball magnet the ground balls and pop flies kept coming is way. Brian earned his keep at first base as he was catching everything that our infielders threw at him. We looked really sharp. Scott Snowden, the Mariners' coach, came by our dugout and commented that we needed to take the S off our jerseys and shorten it to just plain Dodger with Eli being that player. He made the majority of fielding outs and the Mariners kept hitting the ball his way.
DEJA VU - HIT THE PITCHER'S HEEL - Eli led off the fourth inning with a huge shot straight back at the pitcher. It looked like deja vu as it hit the pitcher's heel and bounced off towards first base for an out. Adam got on with a hit to center followed by a huge shot by Nathan that left him on second and Adam at third with two outs. Matt came up and hit a deep shot over the center fielder's glove and he scored Adam leaving Nate at third and him at first. Our dugout was alive with excitement.
In the bottom of the fourth there was a hard line shot down third base that was just out of the reach of Nathan. Then came a high fly ball to right field with Dylan sporting dark shades bringing it in like it was a routine play. Next came a ground ball to Eli for yet another out.
We watched Josh come to the plate at some point (It is all a blur) and he hit a dribbler down to first and the first baseman bobbled it and yet he was able to toss it to the pitcher on first for the out.
MORE ELI & UH OH'S - In the bottom of the fifth Eli caught a line drive low at his ankles about 5 feet to his right for an out. The second out was a grounder also to Eli. Two up and two down with 4 to 1 lead. The next hit was a routine grounder to Matt at second base. The impossible happened and it went right under his glove, through his legs, and it slowly rolled to a stop about 10 feet behind him. We held our breath in the dugout hoping that we were not unraveling.
With a runner at first the next batter hit the same ball to the same spot, with the same force. Matt had his glove lower this time and he scooped it up and made a careful throw to first to end the inning.
Pulling everybody together outside the dugout we rehearsed the situation. We were the Visitors with only a three run lead. We needed runs, and we needed them now. This is where the excitement took over and I am not sure what happened. Somehow Eli got out, Aaron got out, and Adam tried to dodge the inside pitch only he hit the ball with his back turned and it died right in front of the plate. He took off running and the inning was over... This was either the 5th or the sixth, I can't sort it out in my mind.
All that I know for sure is that Julian had an incredible line drive hit to right, at some point in the game, that scored a run to give us the 4 to 1 cushion. This must have happened in the top of the fifth, but it is all a blur right now. Leading into the bottom of the sixth inning, all we had to do was hold on... This was looking like a sure win, yet we had given up similar leads in the regular season more than once only to come up shorthanded.
BOTTOM OF 6TH - We went out into the field in the bottom of the sixth with the score being 4-1. Jeremy took the mound and immediately got two runners on base with both of them scoring on wild pitches and plays. Two more runners got on and our buffer zone was gone. There were no outs with the tying run on second and the winning run on first. Coach Chuck headed to the mound for a big change up. Our hopes had slipped away and we just knew that there was virtually no way to pull off a win with the tying run on first and nobody out.
MAJOR SHAKE-UP - Jeremy took center field. Brian came to the mound. Eli put on the catcher's gear. Adam went to second base. Aaron took over the shortstop duties. This was a strong infield, outfield, and pitcher/catcher combination. I warmed Brian up and tried to lift his spirits and allow him to relax a bit. I shared the tip for him to follow through with his left foot and I let him know that he was going to do just fine. Holding my breath I went back to the fence by our dugout knowing that the destiny of this game was in his hands. Did he have the mental toughness for the task? Or would he crumble under the pressure?
BRIAN TAKES THE MOUND - We watched Brian take the first batter to a full count and then strike him out. The next batter came up and quickly went back down on strikes. This was amazing to be on the verge of disaster and now to be needing just one more play for the win. At this point it looked like a whole new ballgame. Brian stood at the mound and threw a strike. The batter took a swing and hit the ball. Thankfully he only got the bottom edge and it popped up about 40 feet right out to the pitcher's mound where Brian loudly called for the catch. We all held our breath as time slowed down we watched the ball enter the deep web of his glove only to be swallowed up for the game winning final out.
JUMPING FOR JOY - Jumping up for joy our team screamed with enthusiasm. I saw Adam jumping up and down as he was running straight towards me. He lunged at me for a hug and I caught him and spun him in a circle twice before letting him down again. I then gave Matt a high five and went from player to player as we quickly collected in in a tight circle and gave the Mariners a cheer.
What a relief to win this tournament game. This means that we play in the morning at 9 AM to see if we can remain in the winner's bracket for the championship. I am hopeful that we can carry the enthusiasm into tomorrows game with the Padres. We have peaked at the right time and this is really exciting. The feeling of winning this game today was incredible. This could have just as easily been the World Series game 7. This one game made our entire season worthwhile.
GAME BALLS - The home plate umpire made his way over to our gathering spot and awarded the game ball to Jeremy, who threw 5 great innings and held them to just 3 runs.
Coach Chuck then gave a second game ball to Brian for the outstanding save. Yes, the pitchers received the game balls, but our batters also deserve a big round of applause. Our bats were alive and even though not everyone was successful, each player contributed in a big way.
Eli should have also received a game ball for his multitude of infielding plays, hitting, and scoring. He is so humble that he looks to share the praise and spread the game balls around to the other teammates. We could all use a large dose of his sportsmanship.
SPORTSMANSHIP - Sportsmanship was the key to our great post game feeling. As coaches, both teams have the greatest respect for each other. We both had our full rosters, minus one player. We both had good pitchers, and we both gave it our all. It would have been heartbreaking to lose, but we held on for the victory. Go Dodgers!!!
