June 23, 2007 - Saturday - Padres vs. Dodgers - City Center #1 - Dodgers Win 12-2
Wow... What a difference an inning makes. We learned an incredible lesson today as we watched our team's offense explode and immediately end the ballgame. This huge win solidifies our status as we know get to wait for the championship game this upcoming Thursday evening. We have two games to win one.
COIN TOSS -Eli redeemed himself this morning by winning the coin toss and opting to be the home team. This made a huge difference as it allowed us to get the final shot at winning, instead of having to hold on to our lead like the night before.
MATT TAKES THE MOUND - A well rested Matt took the mound Saturday morning and he was confident that even if he gave up hits, his team would back him up. He threw four great innings and that was all that was needed to secure the win. I am sure that he is disappointed that he cannot pitch in the championship game, but he should be thrilled to know that he played a major role in our getting to that game.
PLEASE NOTE: If we have to play a second game Thursday night, then Matt is available to pitch.
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Matt's Inside Curveball - This must have been an effective pitch because the ball is in Adam's glove and the batter's bum is firmly planted in the soil.
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TEAM DEFENSE - We made great plays Saturday. The outfielders caught the ball and the infielders made the tough plays. Here are some memorable plays and catches.....
JOSH- Early in the game a deep ball was hit to left field and Josh first went a bit back, then to his left, then a bit up to his right, finally raising his mitt high over his head and he snagged the ball. This gave our team a huge spike of adrenalin and you could hear the moans from the Padres' dugout.
AARON - In similar fashion a high deep ball was hit to center field and Aaron drew a bead on it and running to his right he swallowed it up.
ELI - Strangely, Eli missed the first two balls that came his way. Any of us would have also missed the balls too, but after the last game we thought he could never miss. The first was a seven foot off the ground slow line drive lob that landed on the edge of the outfield immediately past second base. From the moment it was hit it was obvious that it was unreachable, but before it hit the ground Eli came into view and got his glove within 6" of catching it before it hit the ground. So even though he didn't catch it, he surprised us with his effort and he made it much closer than anybody ever expected.
The second hit was a ground ball well hit up the middle and there was never a chance to field it, except for the fact that it passed on his side of second base and he rarely misses a ball on his side of the field.
Later in the game, Eli made a superstar performance as the ball was hit on the ground on 6' on the first base side of second base. Julian was in the gap making his way towards the ball but it was too far for him to reach. On a dead run, Eli came from the normal shortstop position all the way passed second to the edge of the grass and caught the ground ball, all while managing to turn his shoulders square to first base and make the incredible throw for the out at first. This was one of many daggers that pierced the heart and will of our opponents. This was one of the top 10 Dodgers plays of 2007.
NATE'S CONCENTRATION - Early this morning I knew that our chances for a win were good as Adam, my son Aaron, and I pulled into Nathan's driveway five minutes early at 7:45. Nathan was sitting on his front porch ready to go. This is summertime and Nathan is rarely described as a morning person, yet he was up, enthused, and ready to play ball.
Take a look at the photo and look at his concentration on third base. With every pitch he was ready to make the play. I think that his tall imposing figure at third scares most hitters and they want to do anything but hit the ball his way. They know that Eli at shortstop will throw them out so together they literally shut off half the infield.
DYLAN - Dylan saw the most excitement in the outfield as he witnessed a ball sail way over his head as he was on a full run and he caught up to it as it landed just before the right field fence. He chased it down so quickly and threw it in that he held the runner to just a double. Later in the game he watched Colton, the Padres all-star, hit one all the way to the shallow outfield of the 7-8 year old's field just to the east of ours. Luckily for us, this rocket powered shot was about 15 feet foul when it sailed over our home run fence.
JULIAN - While Colton ran back to home plate after his foul shot, you could feel the tension knowing that he would repeat his performance and bring the ball into the fair field of play. Sure enough, he hit a powerful one bounce line drive right at Julian at second base. Any normal human being would have either jumped out of the way, or passed out from the shock. Julian was ready and he caught the incredibly hard hit ball and threw him out at first. This was a game changing performance because the score was just 4-2 and the padres were just about to tie up the score. Julian's play made it seem like we were invincible. This ended threat by the Padres and brought us up to bat for the most incredible inning of offense we have ever had.
KEY TO OUR VICTORY - Look closely at the following photo as it defines the team that we have worked so hard to become. The first thing that you notice in the photo is that nobody made the catch. Looking closer you realize that all three players in the vicinity are on the move trying to make the play. This is what great teams do, they always hustle after every ball while working together to make the best plays possible. If one person misses, then another is there to back them up. I couldn't have been happier when I went through the picture and found this photo from our first inning. Eli had barely missed it, Aaron is chasing it down from center, and Julian is running to second base to hold the runner to just a single. Seeing their determination it is no wonder that the game turned out as it did? Congratulations Dodgers on your great efforts to improve throughout our season; never giving up.
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The Dramatic First Inning Images
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Eli Takes It High!
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Eli Scores!
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Coach Petersen w/son Jona in the 1st... They almost missed it!
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Aaron - Inside Pitch
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Aaron took this bean ball in the first to get on first base. Look how far the ball is away when he is ducked down. They gave him the base as the ball bounced off the top of his helmet, but the umpires took a timeout and discussed together the fact that when it hit Aaron's helmet his head was over the plate and the ball was really a strike.... That must have been some curve ball to get Aaron ducking in such dramatic fashion!
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Adam hit hard and brought in Aaron to third and then he quickly stole second base.
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Nate fouled off the pitch before whiffing hard... Click on the image and look at his tongue... He obviously wanted all of that pitch. |
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| Julian hits hard to bring in both Adam and Aaron to bring the lead to 3-0 in the first inning. |
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| UP - Matt swings hard |
Down - Mat hits and scores Julian |
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Brian Took the walk to continue the rally.
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Jeremy held off swinging at this outside pitch. |
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| Brian was stealing fast as Jeremy hit the dribbler down to first base. |
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Looking at the scorebook for the first inning is really quite fun. Eli got up and was sitting in the dugout within just a few pitches having hit, stole, stole, and then stole home.
Aaron was beaned, stole second, advanced by Adam, and scored by Julian.
Adam hit, stole second, and was scored by Julian.
Nate whiffed in powerful fashion wanting to hit over the fence, but instead placing his bum on the pine.
Julian Hit hard in the hole between second and first. he stole second and then scored on a high fly out by Matt.
Matt hit high and hard for an out, but he got an important RBI and he kept the enthusiasm going.
Brian took a walk, but could not advance as Jeremy quickly hit a slow dribbler to first to end the inning.
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THE GREATEST 4TH INNING
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PLEASE NOTE: Matt started the inning.
Eli kept the inning going with a line drive single to right field that scored Nathaniel from second. Eli immediately stole second base and then scored on Aaron's hit.
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| Aaron also hit a high bouncer to thrid and he snagged it, but his speed let him beat out the wild throw to first. |
| Adam hit a good shot to the first baseman and it bounced up and hit the first baseman in the wrist and deflected towards the second baseman who picked up the ball and could not get it back to first in time for the out. Adam then stole second. |
| Nate hit the ball and made it to first on a fielder's choice gone bad. This put him on first and Adam on third. Then Nathan stole second. |
| Julian hit the ball between the pitcher's mound and third base. The pitcher picked up the ball and instead of getting Adam at home he threw Julian out at first.... Run 8 for the inning made it 12-2 and the game was stopped due to the mercy rule! |
| Matt started off the inning with a strikeout.... One out! |
| Brian hit a great single and then stole second base. He later scored on Jeremy's powerful double. |
| Jeremy hit a powerful double to break his slump. Coming into second he was pumped. He had a recent dry spell and this was the perfect way to bring his season to an end since he will be at Thuder Ridge Scout Camp during the championship game. |
| Josh followed Jeremy with a single to keep the inning going. It was good to see both Jeremy and Josh make good contact.. |
| Dylan hit a hard line drive to left field that landed right at the feet of the left fielder and he stretched it into a double. This hit scored Josh. |
| Nathaniel hit a single to right field and the right fielder didn't thro it in. Meanwhile Dylan rounded third and scored safely at home. Nathaniel then stole second and popped the base right up out of the ground. |
When Adam made it to first base, I went over to the Padres' head coach and asked him what he would like me to do. I explained that Adam would be the tenth run and I could hold him back if he would like. He looked at me and said. "You just play your game. You guys have earned it." And with that I decided to let Adam make his own decisions while running the bases. He stole second, and then got to third on Nate's hit. While standing at third I told him to do whatever he liked, but let him know that he should show no hesitation. Julian hit the ball to the pitcher on the third base side of the field and the pitcher threw him out at first instead of throwing Adam out at home. That made it a ten run lead in the bottom of the fourth and the game was immediately called on the mercy rule.
Adam was so energized as he crossed the plate that he just kept on running back to the dugout to be with his team. Nathan rounded third about the same time and he also heard the game being called and he just kept running across the diamond to join his team as well. It was so sweet to see Jeremy with his index finger pointing proudly into the air, followed by Adam with both hands clenching their fists with his arms stretched proudly outward.
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Offering congratulations to the Padres was a pleasure.
Coach Chuck offered the game ball to Julian as he made a great defensive play and he has come up with 3 key hits in the last two games.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - It is great to be able to relax and realize that we have a few days to rest up for the championship game this coming Thursday evening. We will either be playing the Mariners or the Padres for the championship. We have to win one out of two and they would have to win them both. Sadly, we will be short Jeremy and Josh as they will be on Scout and Church outings... Nathan is trying to go late to his Handcart Trek and Aaron is going to be brought back from Maple Dell for the game. It is sad that we have worked this hard to play for the championship and yet we have so many conflicts to deal with that leave us shorthanded.
