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May 18, Giants (12-1-1) vs Yankees (9-3)
I love big games ... there's just something a little extra about them ... and no doubt when the #1 team goes up against the #2 team, it will be an epic battle. And I knew the Yankees and Giants kids wouldn't disappoint as both teams came ready to play ...
As the home team we were forced to play defense first ... and defense they played ... as SS Colin started the game off with a toss over to 1B Caleb for the out. 2B Ryan came up big with the ball and finished it with the underhanded toss to KK. And finally to finish it out P Caden struck out the batter for the 3rd out.
With the score 2-0 the Giants didn't take long to score as Colin and Caleb both hit the ball hard to the outfield ... and Tyler and Aidan hit sacrifice RBI's to tie the game up 2-2 after one.
Determined P Cade started the Top of the 2nd with a 4-pitch K ... and 2B Mitch followed with his own underhanded toss to Caleb for the assist. What happened next was simply amazing ... as the Yankee batter popped up the foul ball down the 1st base side, C Nick jumped out of his untied shoes and dove head smacking first on the dusty ground, extending his arm as far as it could possibly go, as the ball settled softly into the mitt like an egg in its nest ... easily the play of the game ... probably play of the year ... and I even turned on ESPN that night for the Top 10 Highlights expecting to see it ... amazing.
The Giants took the momentum into the bottom half as Nick lead it off with a drive into rightfield ... then Mitchell, Ryan (RBI), Dylan (RBI) and Colin (RBI) followed scoring 3 runs putting the G's up 5-2.
P Colin relieved in the 3rd and allowed 1 run, but made a nice FO1 back peddling catch ... as the other 2 hitters struck out. The home half momentum was definitely on our side as the next 8 batters (Caleb, Tyler, Aidan, Cam, Mouth, Nick, Mitchell, Ben) all hit the ball (5 into the outfield) scoring 5 runs and NO OUTS ... SWEET!!! Score 10-3.
Defense finished it in the last inning as 3B Akey snagged the line drive ... and for the other AMAZING moment, RF Anthony flew under the big fly ball and immediately exchanged the ball from the glove-to-hand-to-1st as Aidan one hopped the throw for the DOUBLE PLAY like a professional.
At the end of last game we encouraged the players to strive for a game ball ... and no doubt they are ALL stepping up to the challenge. Ryan is 4-4 ... Cam and Anthony are hitting the ball HARD ... Aidan and Caleb are playing insane defensive 1st base while Caleb is in the ZONE with 12 hits in last 13 at bats ... C R A Z Y T O W N !!!
But today's Game Ball was an EASY one ... as he went 2-2 ... scored 2 runs ... and made the play of the DECADE by laying out and sacrificing his body and face for THE out. Unbelievable job Mr. Nick O'Brien!!! "dadada ... dadada"
GIANTS 10 YANKEES 3
May 15, Giants (11-1-1) vs Angels (5-6-2)
Great day for baseball at the home Richards Field ... as the Giants came out strong scoring every inning and holding the Angels scoreless over four innings.
STUD HITTERS: We always ask for production up and down the lineup, but it was the lower half 9-12 hitters that really came through today (7-8, 2B, 5 Runs, 5 RBIs). Ryan, Dylan, and Anthony were big producers ... and Big Ben took it a step further with a "to the fence" crushing double! And in the final inning, Cade smacked the ball for a team leading 3 triples (for the season ... otherwise, that would be some kind of record).
STUD PITCHERS: Starting pitcher Colin came out dealing as he had a hand in 5 K's, facing the minimum 6 batters over 2 innings. Tyler also replicated those stats facing 6 batters with 5 of them striking out as well.
STUD DEFENSE: 1B Caleb made an outstanding play by chasing the overzealous baserunner towards second base ... and making the perfectly timed throw to SS Tyler for the exciting pickle out! Then SS Cade made the strong throw to 1B Caleb for the out ... and finally, 1B Aidan confidently (almost too much so) casually scooped the grounder just beating the runner.
My favorite formula is (and nope, it's not the Quadratic) ...
Lights Out Pitching + Timely Hitting + Perfect Defense = GIANT WIN
Giants 11 Angels 4
May 11, Giants (10-1-1) vs Angels (5-5-2)
And the train continues to gain steam ... as this team is on the right track ... and heading in the right direction ...
The Hit Parade started early as Colin and Cade (3B) blasted shots into Right Field ... Caleb followed suit with a hit and Aidan (2B) drove him home. In the 3rd, Dylan lead things off with a grounder to 2nd base, which he beat out by RUNNING LIGHTENING QUICK!! I swear I blinked after contact, and when I opened my eyes a second later Dylan was standing on the bag! Then Anthony, Colin, Caleb, Tyler, Aidan and Nick hit singles. With 4 runs in, bases loaded and 2 outs, Mitchell steps in and BLASTS ........ the catchers mitt into play! The leather was just as good as the ball so he scores the 5th RBI of the inning. In the 5th Anthony starts it off with a hit and scores the final run off the bat of Colin. Choo Choo ...
Pitching was decent as SP Cade was able to minimize the 1st inning damage to one run on a nice 4 pitch strikeout ... and it only took 3 pitches the start of the 2nd inning for the quick K. RP Aidan faced the minimum three batters taking care of business ... RP Tyler closed it out only allowing a run over 2 innings and striking out two. Chugga Chugga Chugga ...
Defensively the Giants were ON ... SS Colin quickly exchanged the ball to 1B Caleb who had to one hop the catch for the out and making Colin a quarter lighter ... 1B Aidan took the unassisted grounder for the out ... P Tyler made a couple of plays to 1st and a nice "I GOT IT!!!" catch ... and finally 3B Cade stood tall as he snagged the popup midair. Choo Choo ...
OVERALL D: 2 RUNS, 5 HITS, 5 PO, 10 Ks, 0 ERRORS
The Hit Club members are Anthony (2-2, 2 R, 2 SB), Colin (3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB) and Caleb (3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB). These guys are raking the ball and in the ZONE!
Game Ball honors went to a deserving leader of this team ... it seems whenever we need a big run to start a game .. or with 2 outs .. or to finish a 5 run inning .. or to end a game, this player is the one up to bat and getting the timely hit. His play at catcher is a huge reason why our pitchers are so successful .. and his ability of "framing" and "freezing" the ball forces the umpire to call strikes. He is the backstop .. the brick wall .. the catcher ..... So WHO is this man behind the mask??? Why it's Nick O'Brien of course!!! Keep up the solid work kid!
Giants 9 Angels 2
May 4, Pirates (6-5) vs Giants (9-1-1)
Today was incredible ... fantastic ... outstanding ... ecstatic ... unbelievable ... inspiring ... joyful ... uplifting ... prideful ... by far one of THE best day's of my life. At exactly 10:04am Tuesday morning, I was sitting in the doctors office with the Head of UCDavis Spine Center ... and the surgeon looked into my eyes after thorough review of the CT scans and said, "your daughter's tumor in her C6 vertebrae is ..... without question, 100% - benign." There are moments in your life, when time stops ... and this morning it clearly happened ... and the result was relief and appreciation ... and today, so very proud to be a DAD.
And the exact same feelings continued later that afternoon at 6:53pm ... as I felt extremely proud to be a COACH. This team continues to work hard ... and is finally grasping how this game should be played with movement, communication and execution. The past couple of practices have focused on Outfield to Infield relationship, and these kids are no doubt playing at a higher level, and tonight's game is proof ...
I don't even know where to start, because all components of the game were ON ... offensively, we were like the Beatles with 19 hit singles ..... like In-N-Out with 1 animal style double ..... like Peter Pan's Jack with 1 RunHome ..... and we scored like a box of donuts, with a dozen runs. Hey, EVERYONE had a hit, and the STUD list is PACKED with players: Mitchell (2-2, 2 RBI), Ben (2-2, 1 RBI), Caleb (3-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, SB), Colin (3-3, 1 RBI, 3 R, 3 SB), Tyler (3-3, 1 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB). And this next kid wasn't part of the 1.000 club, but no way can I keep him off this list ... as Mouth swung at the very first player pitch and sent it all the way to Kaseberg West Field for a HOME RUN, booyah!!!
Pitching and Defense were just as impressive ... SP Caden was in the zone as he chalked up 3 K's, and also took care of the comebacker for the 1-3 to 1B Caleb ... who himself took care of the unassisted comebacker as he played foot tag with the base for the out ... and 3B Akey snagged the popup like a professional. RP Colin relieved Cade for the final two and immediately started with a caught looking strikeout ... he added two more K's and the defense behind him took care of the rest - 1B Aidan found a present as he swooped up the grounder for the U3 ... and SS Radar Ryan homed in on the line drive taking care of business. But the two biggest plays (one only counts in the scorebook, but trust me, they both will count here) were the movement, communication and execution performed by RF Pickle and Mouth ... Dylan quickly retrieved the shot down the RF line, and as he did in practice, fired it to "TWO, TWO, TWO", as SS Tyler put on the tag ... and Anthony who took the one hopper and fired his into first base for the rare (9-3) out!
Overall: 14 batters faced, 6 K's, 6 put outs, 2 hits, 0 errors
Tyler has played out of his mind all year ... batting around .800, leading the team in hits, RBIs, also pitching lights out, and fielding everything that comes his way. But even though he had a "TYpical" day - going perfect at the plate - it was something else that made him deserve the Game Ball ... he showed LEADERSHIP ..... as he started the chatter rally's and fired up the team, not letting them be quiet for a moment. That kind of attitude and support is impossible to teach ... it must come from inside. And there is no doubting the heart that beats inside of our leader .... Tyler Hill. You make this game look easy kid !!!PIRATES 0 GIANTS 12
May 1, Pirates (6-4) vs Giants (8-1-1)
After the Red Sox tie, expectations were high at last practice. Kids were focused and ready ... which is a good thing with the Pirates coming into town. And it was pretty easy to predict that this game would have plenty of fireworks as both teams brought their bats and gloves today ...
To start it off, 1B Caleb took care of the leadoff batter with the nice backhanded foul pop up out ... then after a few hits and two runs the Giants D calmed down with P Tyler throwing out the runner and 2B Ryan making the sweet play on the hard hit line drive stopping the bleeding! C Nick made a nice play at home with the tag but the result ended in the runner being safe .... So with the Home team up to bat Colin and Caleb smack base hits and Aidan sends them home for 2 RBI's. SCORE: 2-2
P Tyler held the Pirates to one hit the top following inning as him and 3B Colin take care of the popups ... Mitchell lead off the 2nd with an opposite field blast and Dylan followed with his RBI opposite field hit to Right Field scoring Mitch ... with 2 outs Anthony takes care of business shooting one into right field orbit! SCORE: 2-3 Giants
Inning 3 was INCREDIBLE for both sides as NO OUTS were recorded ... SAY WHAT? The Pirates start the hit parade and score 5 runs with nice hits ... but the Giants were unphased as Colin starts the inning with a hit ... then Caleb sends one into CF scoring him ... next Tyler smacks one into CF for the RBI ... Aidan follows with an infield hit ... then Hot Hitting Cameron drives both of them home on a nice hit ... and finally Nick makes contact finishing our own 5 run inning!!! SCORE: 7-8 Giants
P Colin enters the game facing the Pirates heart of the order and only allows one hit and run as he made the nice 1-3 out to 1B Aidan, LF Mitchell makes the HUGE catch and 2B Ryan finishes them with the 4-3. Bottom of 4, Mitchell again leads the inning off with a single this time to RF ... Ben follows with a hit to the outfield ... and with 2 outs, Anthony again CRUSHES the ball for an RBI DOUBLE ... Caden drives one into left and Colin hits a double for the final RBI of the day. FINAL SCORE: 8-12 Giants
Bats were jumping as the 1.000 batting club has FIVE players in this matchup ... Aidan (2-2, 1 R, 2 RBIs, 2 SB), Anthony (2-2, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBIs), Cameron (2-2, 1 R, 2 RBIs, 2 SB), Colin (3-3, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI), Mitchell (2-2, 2 R, 4 SB)There were so many plays and hits against this worthy opponent that I thought this was going to be a tough one on who deserves the Game Ball ... but it ended up not even being close! This kid went 2-2 at the plate, both hits were off the player pitch, both hits were with two outs when we needed a rally, both hits scored runs, and he CRUSHED his first double of the year!!! Yep, I probably don't even need to say it because you know it, but today's player of the day is Anthony the Mouth!!!! Great Attitude, Great Hits, Great Job!
PIRATES 8 GIANTS 12
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