Coach Brian's Game #6 Blog

Game #6, August 5, 2010 (10:15 am)

ESPN Wide World of Sports Field #4

Opponent: East Cobb Astros (Marietta, GA)

Game Summary

NC Bombers 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 6r 6h 5e

East Cobb Astros 1 4 1 0 3 1 X 10r 14h 3e

NCB Pitching: A.Pierce, C.Loeb (4), R.Mets (6) Catch: J.Reisinger

Losing Pitcher: Aaron Pierce

Top Hitters: H.LoForte 2x2, RBI; I.Garcia 3B, RBI; Q.Connolly 1x4, RBI; M.Kelly 2x3.

Bombers can’t overcome their errors in loss to Astros.

If you would have told me that the East Cobb Astros were going to walk us 12 times today, I would have guessed that we would have scored at least 10 runs on our way to an easy victory. Not the case. The Bombers were done in by a lack of clutch hitting and 5 errors that led to 6 unearned runs as the East Cobb Astros beat the Bombers 10-6 in an elimination game.

The number 7 ranked team in the country scored the first run in the bottom of the 1^st off Bombers starter Aaron Pierce. After getting the first two batters of the inning out, the Astros hit 3 straight ground ball singles giving them a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2^nd, a single, an error, a hit batter, another single, and two sac flies increased the Astros lead to 4-0. A two-out single by #3 hitter Blake Jackson made it 5-0 after 2 innings. The Bombers got on the board in the 3^rd when Corey McGuire walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a wild pitch. Isaiah Garcia, who also walked, scored on Quinn Connolly’s infield single to cut the lead to 5-2. The Astros came right back and took advantage of another Bomber error and scored a run to lead 6-2 after 3 innings. In the 4^th, Matt Kelly led the inning off with his second hit of the day and also stole second. With 2 outs, McGuire walked and Hank LoForte singled to right, scoring Kelly and moved McGuire to third. After a Garcia walk, Connolly hit a ground ball to third that was booted, scoring McGuire and loading the bases. After a pitching change, LoForte took advantage of a big, slow lefty pitching out of the wind-up. On the third pitch to Chris Loeb, Hank stole home, cutting the lead to 6-5. After Loeb walked, Pierce struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning. After surrending a lead-off single, Chris Loeb replaced Pierce on the mound and produced our only scoreless inning. He got a ground ball out, picked the runner at 1^st off, and a fly ball out. The Bombers went 1-2-3 in the 5^th, still down 6-5. The 5^th proved to be the Bombers undoing. After 2 ground balls outs, Astros clean-up hitter beat out an infield single. A flair double to right field and a base-hit bunt gave the Astros a 7-5 lead. With runners on 1^st & 3^rd and 2 outs, the Astros sent their runner early from 1^st and the Bombers were unable to get the out before the runner from third scored (both were safe). After a another single, the Astros again pulled a successful early steal (1^st & 3^rd) giving the Astros a comfortable 9-5 lead. In the 6^th, McGuire walked and LoForte singled to give the Bombers 1^st and 2^nd and no outs. However, McGuire got picked at 2^nd trying to steal third base. That proved costly because 2 pitches later, Isaiah Garcia hit deep fly to right-center, scoring LoForte for a triple. Connolly and Dodson struck out to end the threat (9-6). The Astros scored another run in the 6^th when the Astros #10 hitter bunted a ball back to Loeb who promptly threw it down the RF line. As the runner was going to 3^rd, shortstop Hank LoForte threw it past Matt Kelly at third giving the Astros their final run (10-6).

A disappointing end for the Bombers. It was a very winnable game, especially if we could have played better catch and came up with a few clutch hits. The Bombers finished the Elite World Series with 3 wins and 3 losses. The whole experience was awesome for the boys (and the parents too) as this week has given everyone lifelong memories. Thanks for everyone’s support!!!

Coach Brian

Coach Brian's Game #5 Blog

Game #5, August 4, 2010 (12:30 pm)

ESPN Wide World of Sports Field #23

Opponent: DBAT Mustangs White (San Antonio, TX)

Game Summary (8 innings)

NC Bombers 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 5r 9h 1e

DBA 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4r 6h 2e

NCB Pitching: Q.Connolly, R.Mets (6) Catch: J.Reisinger

Winning Pitcher: Ryan Mets

Top Hitters: C.McGuire 1x4, RBI; H.LoForte 2x4, 3B, RBI; Q.Connolly 1x3; A.Pierce 1x3, RBI; C.Loeb 1x3, RBI; I.Garcia 1x3; M.Kelly 1x1; J.Reisinger 1x3.

Bombers need 8 innings to beat Mustangs.

In the first round of loser’s bracket play, the Bombers took on the #1 seed in Pool A with the loser going home. Quinn Connolly started for the Bombers and promptly gave up a two-run homer to the Mustangs #3 hitter (2-0 Mustangs). The Bombers rallied with 2 hits in the top of the 2^nd, singles by Aaron Pierce and Isaiah Garcia. But the Mustangs retired Tanner Dodson and Mykie Goudreau to end the threat. From the 2^nd inning to the end of the 5^th, Connolly faced the minimum batters (12). Both of the hits he gave up were erased. Catcher Jack Reisinger threw out a runner stealing 2^nd to end the 2^nd inning and Connolly picked off the lead-off hitter in the bottom of third. In the top of the third the Bombers rallied for 4 runs of starter Braden Williams. Matt Kelly led off the 3^rd by getting hit by a pitch. Reisinger followed with a single to left (runners on 1^st & 2^nd). Corey McGuire laid down a base-hit bunt that resulted in a throwing error that scored Kelly & Reisinger to tie the game. After a Hank LoForte pop-out, Connolly hit a pop-up that landed fair just behind 1^st base. McGuire, who had stolen 2^nd, went to third. Pierce’s RBI ground-out scored McGuire and gave the Bombers their 1^st lead 3-2. With Pierce on 1^st, Chris Loeb hit a shot to the left-center gap, scoring Pierce (4-2 Bombers) for a triple and would score on the bad relay throw to third. However, Loeb missed 2^nd base and was called out for the final out of the inning. That was all the scoring the Bombers would do as Williams held us scoreless for the next 4 innings. Ryan Mets relieved Connolly in the 6^th and quickly loaded the bases after surrending 2 hits and a walk. Mets was able to get the Mustangs #2 hitter to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play that was nicely turned by LoForte and Goudreau (Bombers still up 4-3). With 2 outs and a runner on third, Mustangs hitter Will Hollis (who earlier homered) hit a hard ground ball to 2^nd that Goudreau was unable to come up with, tying the game at 4-4. Mets got the next hitter to pop-up and also worked a quick 7^th inning to send the game to extra innings. Matt Kelly led the 8^th inning off with a single to center. After Reisinger struck-out trying to bunt with 2 strikes, Corey McGuire flew out to deep left-center for the 2^nd out. Kelly went to 2^nd on a wild pitch and scored on Hank LoForte’s triple to left-center, giving the Bombers a 5-4 lead. Mets worked a 1-2-3 8^th inning to seal the deal and pick up a much needed win for the Bombers.

Bombers play the East Cobb Astros (ranked #3 by TBS Select) at 10:15am today on Field 4. A win in that game moves us to a 2^nd game right after against the winner of the LA Bayou Bandits and Angels Baseball. The Bombers are here to play another day in Florida!!!!

Coach Brian

Coach Brian's Game #4 Blog

Game #4, August 3, 2010 (11 pm)

ESPN Wide World of Sports Field #23

Opponent: LA Bayou Bandits (Ruston, LA)

Game Summary

NC Bombers 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1r 2h 1e

LA Bayou Bandits 0 0 0 0 0 4 x 4r 4h 1e

NCB Pitching: C.Loeb, Q.Connolly (6) Catch: J.Reisinger

Losing Pitcher: Chris Loeb

Top Hitters: C.McGuire 1x3; Q.Connolly 1x3.

Bandits win the battle of the Southpaws.

Afternoon thunderstorms delayed our game last night. What was supposed to start at 8:30pm didn’t start until 11:00pm. After a scoreless 1^st inning, Aaron Pierce hit a 2-out shot to right field that was dropped (2-base error). He went to third on a wild pitch and then scored on ball in the dirt that only bounced about 6 feet away from home plate (great read!!!). Leading 1-0, left-hander Chris Loeb went right through the Bandits line-up. He retired the 1^st 13 batters before allowing a walk in the 5^th. Up 1-0 going to the bottom of the 6^th, Chris gave up his 1^st hit of the game to left-fielder Colton McSwain. After getting a soft-line out to 1B Quinn Connolly, their left-handed pitcher Dalton Horton drove a pitch to the right-center gap for a triple, scoring McSwain to tie the game-up. Their #10 hitter in the line-up, with the infield in, hit a ground ball that went through Connolly to give the Bandits a 2-1 lead. Lead-off hitter Chris Reid then doubled over Tanner Dodson’s head in left field (3-1 now), went to third on a single, and scored on a passed ball for a 4-1 lead. Connolly struck out 2 batters to end the unfortunate 6^th inning. The Bombers could only manage a walk by Matt Kelly before Chris Loeb ended the game on a ground-out to the pitcher. Bandit lefty Horton gave up only 2 hits (a Corey McGuire lead-off single in the 1^st and a Quinn Connolly line drive to right field in the 4^th) and 2 walks while striking out 6 Bombers. Loeb finished with 6 strike-outs and only 1 walk while pitching 75 pitches (51 strikes). Both starting pitchers were outstanding tonight. The Bandit hitters were able to put together one good inning which won them the game. The Bombers outfielders played their best game of the tournament last night. Tanner Dodson (LF), Corey McGuire (CF), and Isaiah Garcia (RF) recorded 7 put-outs on fly balls. They each made at least one outstanding catch.

On a negative note, starting third baseman David Mickle injured his left hand/wrist while diving into 1^st base. He had to come out of the game in the 2^nd inning and his status for the rest of the tournament is unknown.

Bombers are now in the loser’s bracket and face a tough schedule. Today we will play the loser of this morning’s (8am) game between the #1 DBAT Mustangs and the #8 Georgia Roadrunners. Game time is for 12:30pm. A Bomber win results in a game tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:15am.

Don’t count us out yet!

Coach Brian

Coach Brian's Game #3 Blog

Game #3, August 2, 2010 (5pm)

ESPN Wide World of Sports Field #23

Opponent: Legacy Baseball (Lafayette, LA)

Game Summary

NC Bombers 5 6 1 0 12r 8h 0e

Legacy Baseball 0 0 0 0 0r 2h 2e

NCB Pitching: A.Pierce, T.Dodson (4) Catch: J.Reisinger

Winning Pitcher: Aaron Pierce

Top Hitters: C.McGuire HR, 2 RBI; H.LoForte 1x2; I.Garcia 1x3; Mickle 1x2;

C.Loeb 1x1, RBI; A.Pierce HR, 4 RBI; J.Reisinger 1x2; R.Mets 1x2, 2B.

What a difference 9 hours makes.

The real NorCal Bombers showed up last night at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Legacy Baseball gave us 5 runs in the top of the 1^st by walking 4 batters and making a huge 2-out error. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Matt Kelly hit a ground ball to the third baseman who promptly threw it away to allow 3 runs to score (5-0). In the 2^nd, Ryan Mets reached 1^st on error to lead-off the inning. Corey McGuire hit a 1-2 fastball to deep right-center for a two-run homer (7-0). After a walk by Hank LoForte and a single by Isaiah Garcia, Quinn Connolly scored Hank with a deep fly to left field. With 2 outs, Chris Loeb walked and was followed by a deep home run by Aaron Pierce, scoring Garcia and Loeb (11-0 Bombers after 2 innings). That was more than enough for starting pitcher Pierce. He pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4 batters. Tanner Dodson pitched a scoreless 4^th inning, striking out the side as the game ended by mercy rule (12-0). Mykie Goudreau gave the Bombers their 12th run with a sac fly to score Dodson. After attempting to set the USSSA record for most errors in an Elite World Series (j/k), the Bombers found the right formula for defensive success: strikeouts. Seven of the 12 outs were recorded by strikeout. The Bombers bounced back from a terrible morning loss and awaited bracket play that starts this evening.

The Bombers finished as the number 5 seed in their pool of 8 teams (see below). For the double-elimination bracket to see who makes the final four, the Bombers open bracket play with the #4 seed LA Bayou Bandits who came into this world series with a 63-10 USSSA record. Game time tonight is 8:30pm (ET).

Pool A Seedings:

#1 DBAT Mustangs White (McKinney, TX)

#2 East Cobb Astros (Marietta, GA)

#3 AZ All-StarZ (Phoenix, AZ)

#4 LA Bayou Bandits (Ruston, LA)

#5 NorCal Bombers (Elk Grove, CA)

#6 Angels Baseball (San Antonio, TX)

#7 Raleigh Wildcats (Raleigh, NC)

#8 Georgia Roadrunners (Alpharetta, GA)

12-0 is so much better than 0-18

Coach Brian will update everyone on the game soon, so we will just have to patiently wait for that.

But my job as I stated earlier is side notes so for this afternoon it is the weather....what is up with the weather in Florida? It is so hot I can hardly think, and the boys with uniforms and having to play baseball I can't even imagine. Today right before our second game we got the storm warning horns and recording over the speakers telling to make our way to the main clubhouse...so far back at the front of the complex you can't even imagine.

Here are the boys during our thunder storm break.

The picture below is the boys during the game...can you see how hot they are? They are really pushing through this heat. I am really proud of the way they played this afternoon. Not only becuase they won but they really gave it all they had. They have to keep bringing it. EVERYDAY!

Until tomorrow....Alisa

Coach Brian's Game #2 Blog

Game #2, August 2, 2010 (8am)

ESPN Wide World of Sports Field #23

Opponent: Impact BBC Elite (Chino Hills, CA)

Game Summary

1 2 3 4 R H E

Impact BBC Elite 5 7 1 5 18 12 0

NC Bombers 0 0 0 0 0 0 8

NCB Pitching: R.Mets, H.LoForte (3), M.Goudreau (4). Catch: D.Mickle, A.Pierce (4)

Losing Pitcher: Ryan Mets.

Tough morning for the Bombers.

Our team played about as bad as a team can play. We started off the 1^st inning giving Impact 5 runs (1 earned) from 2 hits, 2 errors, and 1 walk. Impact pitcher Johnny Register made quick work of us in the bottom of the inning. In the 2^nd, Impact had 3 hits, 4 Bombers errors, a walk and a hit batter. Result: 12-0 Impact. Ryan Mets pitched way better than the score indicates. Only 1 run (of the 12) were earned. He threw 63 pitches, 59% strikes and 65% 1^st pitch strikes. We have to give credit to Impact as they put the ball in play and they played catch, which we definitely didn’t do. Not many positives to mention in this one. All 12 players got at least one at-bat as we only sent 13 batters to the plate in this mercy-rule shortened game. The Bombers are at a crossroad here. We have to find a way to play better catch (13 errors in 10 defensive innings so far) or we will be going home early. Our next game is 4pm vs. Legacy Baseball of Louisiana. Bracket play games will begin at 2:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday). I’m confident that we will bounce back today and finish Pool Play 2-1.

Coach Brian

Ugly ~ Awful ~ Terrible

My job for this blog I've decided are the side notes :) It was a horrible game this morning I'm not gonna lie, this afternoon will be better...it has to be.

My side note for the day is...Prayer. Each morning the boys have started off their days with a prayer. As a team we have many different religious beliefs but the boys and families come together in prayer. I LOVE IT! I love baseball I always have and now I have a son who loves baseball too (that's a bonus) but in reality all I want for my son and each of these boys is to grow up and be good men. Men that have their prioritys straight and beginning the day with a word of prayer is a great start.
Second game better be better....I know it will be our boys are awesome!