So today (10 Jun
17) Lukas had his second playoff baseball game.
The game started out by being scheduled for a 9:00 am start, and then
moved to a 2:00 pm start and then back to a 9:00 am start. This constant change of time threw more than
one monkey wrench into getting transportation set up and ready to go. In the end everything worked out for the
best.
I picked Lu up
in Tacoma at 7:15 am thinking I had all of his stuff. However it turned out that I did not have his
cleats. So into the car we jumped and
off to the apartment to pick up the right shoes before heading to the
field. No problem for me because I add a
little extra “problem” time into my trips for just these kinds of
emergencies.
After a quick
stop we were off to the ball fields to warm up with the team. Once we get there we found out that Lu’s
practice hat was in his bag but not his game hat. I got to practice my inner NASCAR and fly
back to the apartment to get his hat before the game.
After a couple
of minor snafus it was warm ups as usual for Lu and the team. He worked on some simple batting / bunting as
well some ground ball fielding drills.
Lu looked tired and out of it but he said that he was feeling good. After a quick motivational talk from the
coach it was time to play ball. This
will be a match-up between the Orioles (Lu’s team) and the Twins to see who
goes straight to the championship game.
Lu’s team was
considered the “home team” for this game so we were in the field first. Lu was positioned in Left Center field. This is a struggle for Lu because there are
long periods of time when nothing happens and he tends to lose focus. The umpire (who we later found out is the
brother to one of the players on the opposing team) was calling a very tight
strike zone for our pitcher. We ended up
walking several batters including a couple of runs.
We were up next
and got a couple of batters on board and scored 1 run out of it. It felt as if the ump was being a bit
generous with the strike zone when the Twins were pitching but it was just
something we had to play through. Lu was
6th on the batting order and unfortunately the third out was
recorded by the 5th batter.
On to the second
inning and it was very much the same as the first. The strike zone was very tight for our
pitcher who seemed to be struggling to maintain where the ump was calling
strikes. After several walked batters we
were finally able to get three outs. One
of which was a terrific heads up play by our catcher who threw a kid out on
first who was leading off to far in between pitches.
Lu led off the
bottom of the second and with the first pitch he got plunked right on the top
of the head. He laughed it off and joked
about this being why you wear a hard hat when batting. A couple of steals later and Lu is on 3rd
base. He is still having difficulty
leading off during pitches but when he gets the signal to steal he is off like
a shot. Unfortunately the rest of the
team struggled with bringing him home.
When the 3rd
inning started our team elected to switch pitchers. Our second pitcher was doing a little bit
better but still struggled with consistency.
After a couple of walks and a couple of hits the Twins were up 9 – 1
after 3 innings. In this league if you
are ahead by 10 runs at any point the game is called so we were up against the
wall at this point.
During the
bottom of the inning the Orioles were able to string together a couple of great
hits and put a few more runs on the board.
This gave them a bit more breathing room but it was still looking like a
huge hole to climb out of.
In the fourth
the Orioles seemed to find their pitching grove and were throwing more
strikes. They were able to hold the
score where it was at 9 – 3. This seemed
to really help to wake up the kids because there was more cheering coming from
their dug out. They were still in a hole
but they proved to themselves that they could hold the Twins to 0 runs.
Another round of
play and they brought in another run to move that gap a little bit closer. After 4 innings the score was now 9 – 4.
With the fifth
inning came another pitcher. The coach
brought out his ace to close the game.
He had his command and he had his power so all he had to do was play
catch with the catcher. 3 quick outs
later and it was our turn at bat again.
Lu gets up and gets a solid infield single. Stole second and third and was primed to
score again. His coach was working as
the third base coach and was helping Lu with leading off and paying
attention.
After a walk and
another steal there is now a runner on 2nd and 3rd. Another great hit into the outfield and Lu is
one of 2 runs to cross the plate. One
more run scores and the game is now 9 – 7 after 5 innings.
All we are
praying for right now is for the Orioles to score 3 quick outs and give
themselves a chance to win this game. And
just like that our closer is able to come through and put another 0 on the
board.
Lu’s team gets
up and we are hoping for a come from behind win. Either way we all know that they played their
hearts out just getting the score this close.
A quick hit and couple of steals and a score puts the game at 9 –
8. The next two batters get out and we
figure it is over. Little do we know
that they are channeling the Mariners because the next person gets on base and
is able to make it around to score on a base hit.
The score is 9 –
9 with a runner stealing his way to 3rd and two outs. All Lu has to do is not get out. First pitch a swinging strike. Second pitch, a wild pitch and the runner
comes in to score. Orioles win it 10 – 9
in the bottom of the 6th.
With all of the
excitement I thought that mom was going to have herself a heart attack and dad
started to get pretty nervous / excited for the team there as well. We were all able to hi-five the little guys
as they ran into the outfield to have their team meeting. You could not wipe the smiles off of any of
their faces.
This little
league game was on par with any professional game played this year. The kids kept their heads about them. Continued to cheer for each other and were
able to dig themselves out of a pretty deep hole to win it.
Thursday is the
championship game and the Orioles are the first team to make it in. Lu did great and the coach has commented many
times about how far he has come as a player since his first day of
practice. If you haven’t seen these
little guys play you are missing out.
A Proud Father;
Scott
