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 OREM 13-14 JUNIOR LEAGUE DODGERS |
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GAME 5 - White Sox vs. Dodgers |
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May 16, 2008 - 5:30 PM - “There was a deer crossing the road. While out on the highway we find ourselves driving an 18 wheeler at 80 miles per hour. We see the deer and hit the gas smashing him to smithereens. What was the deer wearing?... White Sox! Now let’s go get ‘em.” That was the inspirational message shared before the game. It was the perfect message for a group of 13-14 year olds, yet was originally based in silliness and meant to catch their attention, but it actually turned into the theme of the game. Our team played hard, hit hard, ran hard, and really did the best that they could. |
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HONORABLE MENTIONS - Obviously Matt played huge today with great hitting, but excellent pitching. He struck out 7 batters, caught a short pop-fly, and fielded a grounder to first base to account for all 9 outs in his three innings on the mound. Matt needs to add today’s game date to the game ball that he already has on his shelf. Jonas also made the final game winning hit through the shortstop to easily bring in Brooks from third to score the tenth run and invoke the 10-run mercy rule. |
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 SHORT STAFFED - As Dodgers we were short staffed with just 9 players. The White Sox had only 7 at the start with 2 more 12-year olds playing up to fill their roster until the final two made it through traffic getting back from Lagoon. It was odd to see Josh Street wearing a White Sox jersey playing left field. By the end of the game both teams had 9 roster players, yet we both suffered from not having our normal full rosters to draw from. We were much more fortunate because you can take away any 3 Dodgers and we still have a good versatile team. This is great news for us because there will be more overnight Scout camps throughout our season. |
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| HIT THROUGH THE LINEUP - Our second inning is when we put the pedal to the metal and hit the deer at full speed. We made it through our complete batting order and blew the game wide open. The scorebook is incredible for our team. Here is the way it lays out... | ||||
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 ADAM - On base 2 for three with 2 walks, scoring 2 times, with two steals. Adam was bummed when the umpire imposed the 2-out catcher rule when he got his walk and the umpire required that he get a courtesy runner so that he could get his gear on and be ready for the inning change. Bummed, he came back to the dugout and Jonas got to experience Adam’s base running joy. Jonas then stole second and then scored on a single by Matt with Shaun chasing right up behind him. Adam also walked in the third and stole his way home. It is great to see his base running confidence. behind the plate, Adam was great today as he stopped the majority of the balls that just three weeks ago would have sailed right by his glove. |
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 SHAUN - Shaun had a great game in the field. He played center field, shortstop, first base and third base. It made no difference where he played, because his head was always into the game and he was involved in the important plays. It is great to see his fielding confidence. At the plate he struck out twice and had a walk, but he still managed to make it exciting as he led off third in the second inning with an incredible lead knowing that the catcher would throw back to third. Before that could even happen the pitcher threw over to third and Shaun headed for a pickle knowing that he was safe wherever his speed took him. He made it back to third safely and ultimately stole home on the next pitch. His was the sixth run of the game for us and the fourth of the second inning two out rally. Once again, we gained the confidence that our Dodgers can do great things even with two outs. |
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| .................. He’s out!!! ................................................ Nope... He’s Safe! | ||||
MATT - Matt was our glowing “All-Star” today as he hit a double and two singles, scoring twice himself and bringing in 3 RBI’s. Matt even turned on his speed to steal third in a close play (click on the photo and look at his close-up). On the mound, he had 7 strike outs, caught a pop fly, and then fielded a ground ball to first. This means that he accounted for all 9 of his outs while pitching three innings on the mound. This was incredible, and Matt should treasure this game for the rest of his life. The White Sox had no answer as they only had 3 batters in the first, 4 in the second, and 4 more in the third. Matt gave up a total of two singles and only 4 of their first three innings of batters even got their bat on the ball. He just dominated as he drove his 18 wheeler through the heart of their lineup... Way-To-Go-Matt!! |
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 JULIAN - Julian had two walks and hit into a fielder’s choice. He was able to steal and got tagged out on a close play at home plate. We left him stranded on third with the bases loaded in the second inning. Julian confidently took the mound in the fourth inning and did very well as he faced just 5 batters, striking out the last two to end the inning. I was somewhat concerned for Julian as he was taking the mound with their 3,4, and 5 batters coming up to plate. The first batter was walked and the second two hit singles, but just before the second single we picked off the runner stealing third to make it one out with runners at second and third. What could have been a nightmare inning was squelched with his two strike outs that ended the inning, stranding two on base. Julian is fun to watch out on the mound because he smiles no matter if he is ahead or behind in the count. But the greatest moment is when his normal smile turns into a huge smile when he strikes out the last batter and heads to our on field huddle. He reminds me |
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BROOKS - Brooks ended up with a walk and a double. We left him stranded with the bases loaded, but in our final at bat he clobbered the monster line drive to left center that brought him standing up at second base, followed by his own decision to steal third. When he stole third I heard the White Sox manager say loudly, “Michael, you’re up by nine.”  I could not tell what he was meaning, but I assumed that he wanted me to call off the runners, so I told Brooks to get a lead but not to come home unless he was hit home. Brooks was puzzled and seemed to appear as though I did not have confidence in his running abilities, which is anything but the case. If I had given him the green light there were three pitches that he could have easily scored. I told him quietly that we were trying to keep him back to not invoke the mercy rule. It was then that I remembered that the opposing coach was trying to get out of there to get his players out to a midnight capture the flag campout at the sand dunes. Coach Street tried to get his attention to confirm that he really wanted us to get the game ended when all of the sudden Jonas |
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ZACH - In his quiet manner, Zach once again kept his awesome hitting streak alive. SPECIAL MENTION: Zach came to bat in the fourth to face a new pitcher that was getting his first try at pitching in the Juniors. After watching Brooks get a double, he swung hard and now carries the distinction of being that pitchers very first strike out. The umpire gave that pitcher a game ball to remember his very first strike out. Zach took the honor in stride and will always secretly hope that the pitcher becomes a Major League All-Star and that Zach was his first conquest. |
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| JEREMY - Jeremy was a great sport as he was able to keep up his spirit’s even though the day did not turn out the way that he wanted. Jeremy has been putting in lots of extra hours working on his batting. I could sense his disappointment as he went down swinging hard the first two times at bat. I can now see a maturity in him as he puts it behind him and looks forward to the next time to bat. It was especially hard in the second inning as he came to bat twice with the second occurring with two outs and the bases loaded. This is every young man’s dream to hit the long ball over the fence to be the hero. Jeremy gave it his best effort and went down swinging. That is the best that we can ask. He gave it his all and the pitcher just got a good one in on him. I have watched his batting form and he is set to hit. I have watched his confidence blossom. What I look forward to now is improving his consistency so that his bat always makes contact. Then we can consistently get his speed to work for us on the bases. In the fourth inning, Jeremy did make good contact, but it went to first base for the out. | ||||
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WINNING WITH GRACE - There was a fine line crossed by our team as the game was called by the mercy rule. IN SUMMARY - In the period of just two games we have gone from being the receiver of a spanking to the giver. We received our spanking with dignity and we gave the spanking with grace. We will not play the White Sox again this season and we will never fully know how we would have faired with both teams at full roster, but in this beautiful summer evening game we came out on top as the victors... Way-To-Go-Dodgers!!! |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
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| Aaron with a huge lead off third base. | ||||
| Aaron on a perfect passed ball steal. Take a look at the catcher and the position of the pitcher heading towards home. This was accomplished by Aaron’s huge lead and commitment to the steal once he saw the ball get by the catcher. He is really fast and that makes it near impossible to pick him off stealing any of the bases. | ||||
| Ball!!!... Just a bit inside. I feel bad for the batter, but I am thankful he safely got out of the way. | ||||
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| Julian caught in the power portion of his wind up. | ||||
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Strike three!!! |
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| Zach gets a great led off third base to ultimately score. | ||||
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| Shaun was brushed back by an inside pitch. | ||||
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| In the bottom of the fourth Brooks hit a great stand up double that allowed him to steal third and ultimately score on Jonas’ perfect hit. | ||||
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| Jonas got the game ending hit that brought Brooks across the plate to invoke the 10 run mercy rule... Great hit Jonas!!! | ||||
What are your after game thoughts? |
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