Game 3 Recap
We lost today (5-3 against the Oriels) which puts us at 1 and 2. We actually played pretty well but we suffered from extreme slowness out of the batter’s box once they hit the ball. At least four outs by half a step which could have easily been beat if we didn’t wait for a second or two after the hit to see where the ball went. We’ll be working on that quite a bit at next practice.
The kids made some crazy good plays, both in the infield and outfield; There were a lot of proud parents in the stands today. Unbelievable grab by Skyler at pitcher and one so close deep into left field (in and out of the glove on a ripped super high flyer).
A couple of runs got in when one of the kids eventually got a ball in center field and didn’t know where to throw it so he held on to it. And he kept holding on to it. The play is still live when that happens so the kids just kept rounding bases and scoring. It was one of those moments where it got so silly we just had to laugh. He may have held on to it for more than a minute. But he also got a hit for the first time this season which is great because I was starting to think I’d strike him out in every game this year. Ben put one in play but got thrown out. Then I struck him out with 5 consecutive completely unhittable pitches. Sorry kid. 🙁
I toyed with slowing the pitches down for the kids who are struggling a bit while pitching fast to the consistent hitters. The slow pitches are just a lot more difficult to get in the credit card sized strike zones. All but one of the kids put the ball in play so there was some level of success.
Our next three games are against some really talented teams so we definitely have some work to do to avoid mercy rules. We may have a chance but we really need to concentrate on making sure the kids don’t get hurt (those other teams are that big of hitters).
So far I’m really impressed with how much the kids have progressed already. I can’t wait to see what they’ll be doing towards the end of the season!
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that we got to the fields early so I’d be able to warm up a bit and get a feel for speed, etc. The other parents got busy warming up the kids so Kerri jumped in and caught for me — No gear! So cool. I foresee many complete family baseball events in the coming years. Thanks mama!