Game CT6  Chaparral 3  Johnson City Press 4     

Friday July 2, 2010, Seaver Field:   In a game fully befitting a City Tournament Final, we took on the best team's best pitcher for all 7 innings in our 6th game of the week and matched him stroke for stroke to a 3 run tie after 7 innings.  We even outhit Press 6 to 4 and were out walked 8 to 4, but we still came up short by just 1 run with a couple bad breaks.

Mitchell Wilber took the mound to open this City Championship game and pitched very well for the 4 innings he had remaining of his 10 inning allotment, allowing 2 hits but no earned runs, walking 1 and striking out 6.  He gave up a single in the 1st and an error in right field allowed this runner to 2nd, and then unfortunately a pair of passed balls allowed him to score.  In the 4th another batter reached on an error, moved to 2nd on a passed ball and to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored with 2 outs on another error in the field.

Our side was similar during these innings as Mitchell Wilber reached on error in the first and then scored on Justin Wiseman's sacrifice fly to right field.  In our 2nd Phillip Zastrow got a base hit and moved to 2nd on an errant pickoff attempt.  Phillip was advanced to 3rd base on a Connor Williams single and scored easily when this ball was misplayed in left field. 

In the bottom of the 4th, Wesley Smith was hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on Colin Ice's bad hop single.  Wesley then stole 3rd when the pitcher used the windup motion and scored on Connor Williams' second base hit of the contest.  Calvin Wingate walked to load the bases with no outs and it looked like we were in pretty good shape.  Mitchell Wilber came to bat and hit a fly ball to centerfield on which Colin Ice tagged up and attempted to score from 3rd, but he was tagged out on a close play at the plate.

Justin Wiseman worked the top of the 5th 3-up and 3-down with a strikeout, fly ball, and a grounder to Calvin Wingate at 3rd.

Hunter Tester took the hill in the top of the 6th and gave up a walk to the first batter.  Press laid down a sacrifice bunt to move this runner to 2nd but he also got 3rd when we didn't get back to cover the base in time.  A wild pitch then allowed this tying run to score.

In the bottom of the 7th with the score tied, Mitchell Wilber drew a 1 out walk, stole second, and advanced to 3rd on Hunter Tester's ground ball, but with 2 outs we just couldn't get him home from there.

In the top of the 8th, a hit batsman advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and ended up scoring the deciding run on a bad hop ground ball that jumped over shortstop Calvin Wingate.

Congratulations Chaparral on a great run of 6 games in 5 days with 4 wins and for matching our 2nd place regular season with runner up honors in the City Tournament. 

It's been a privilege to work with you this season!

Game CT5  Chaparral 21  Tan Shack 18     

Thursday July 1, 2010, Roller Field:  In the nightcap, a very strange game opened with a 12 run first inning followed by, yes, a 24 run 2nd inning.  Pretty funny how you feel going down 4-0, up 8-4, down 16-8, and then back up 20-16.  But such was the nature of this one until both teams brought in some more experienced pitchers.  As it was we prevailed and saved some punch for Press in tomorrow's finals.

Connor Williams started for us on the mound, getting through the 1st inning allowing 3 earned runs from just 2 hits but with 4 walks. 

In the bottom of the 1st, our offense began in stellar fashion as Mitchell Wilber, Hunter Tester, and Justin Wiseman consecutively rocked the fence with deep triples.    We then benefited from Gad Nagba being hit by a pitch and both Phillip Zastrow and Jordon Dugger reaching base due to fielding errrors.  Connor Williams then walked to load the bases and Calvin Wingate promptly unloaded them with a big 3 run double.  Mitchell Wilber then doubled for his 2nd extra base hit of the inning to bring Calvin home to score.

In the top of the 2nd, Calvin Wingate came on to pitch with no outs and bases loaded.  He ended up yielding several dinky base hits plus a double that allowed the 3 inherited runners to score.  A couple of fielding errors, 1 hit batter, and 3 base hits later the inning had allowed 12 Tan Shack runners to cross the plate.

But then in our half of the 2nd, we actually matched Tan Shack with 7 base hits of our own plus 6 walks and we capitalized on a fielding error to bring home 12 of our own.  Highlights of this inning were 2 hits by Gad Nagba and run scoring doubles from each of Hunter Tester and Connor Williams plus an RBI single from Jordon Dugger.  Wesley Smith and Josh Ramsaran also added base hits in that inning.

After these 2 wild innings, Justin Wiseman assumed the pitcher's plate and proceeded to hold Tan Shack the rest of the way to just 2 more runs on 3 hits and 2 walks with 1 strikeout.  In the 3rd inning with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, a base hit went to Wesley Smith in right field who made an excellent throw to cutoff man Gad Nagba near 1st base who then threw a strike to catcher Mitchell Wilber allowing him to easily tag out the runner from 2nd attempting to score and end that inning.

Then in the 4th, a leadoff walk appeared to be erased with a 1-6-3 double play, but we did not get the call at first.  But fortunately for us, the very next hitter lined out to Hunter Tester at shortstop and a quick throw to Gad Nagba at 1st was able to reclaim our double play and end this game.

All the early runs took a lot of time, so this one passed the 2 hour mark and ended at  just 4 innings.  That too was good to help us with more pitching for Press on Friday.

Game CT4  Chaparral 10  Evergreen Terrace 9     

Thursday July 1, 2010, Roller Field:  Playing early for the 1st time this tournament, it was warm and sunny as we broke open a pitchers duel in the bottom of the 3rd with 6 runs on 6 hits.  In the 6th we added 3 more on 2 big hits and a squeeze play that gave us what ended up being the deciding run.

Mitchell Wilber pitched the first 3 innings from the mound, yielding 2 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks with 5 strikeouts.  Trey Simmons worked the 4th and gave up 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks.  Hunter Tester got the win with the final 3 frames on the mound. yielding 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks with 6 strikeouts.

On our side, Hunter Tester had the big bat of the game with a triple and 2 doubles for 3 RBIs.  Josh Ramsaran and Mitchell Wilber added 2 hits apiece.  Connor Williams, Gabe Hirsch and Justin Wiseman each added RBI singles to our cause.  Trey Simmons had our other base hit and also put down a great sacrifice squeeze play bunt that allowed Hunter Tester to score our 10th run.  Calvin Wingate hit an RBI ground ball.

This game got very exciting in the top of the 7th when Evergreen had bases loaded with 1 out.  A ground ball was sharply hit to Jordon Dugger at 3rd who elected to go for the out at 1st base.  His throw pulled Justin Wiseman off the bag and the ensuing throw to the plate also got away, but catcher Mitchell Wilber was able to retrieve it and make the toss to Hunter Tester covering home to tag out the attempted tying run.  So with 2 out and runners at 2nd and 3rd, Hunter Tester then got his 6th strikeout to end the game.

Game CT3  Chaparral 11  McLeod 9     

Wednesday June 30, 2010, Roller Field:  On this comfortable evening we started with a Mitchell Wilber single misplayed by the left fielder which allowed him all the way to 3rd where he scored on a wild pitch.  Then in the field with one out and one on first, a hard shot to Jordon Dugger at 3rd base was well played and relayed to Colin Ice at 2nd base who made a very athletic grab while somehow staying on the base.  In our 2nd inning, Jordon Dugger and Wesley Smith had hit singles when a 2 out well hit grounder from Josh Ramsaran went through the 1st baseman and then hit Wesley, who was mistakenly called out, ending the inning :(

In the 3rd, Mitchell Wilber doubled and stole 3rd before scoring on an errant throw from the catcher.  Then Hunter Tester walked and Justin Wiseman reached on an error.  Both of them scored on wild pitches.  In the 4th Mitchell Wilber walked and scored after Hunter Tester had walked on Justin Wiseman's misplayed grounder.  Then Gad Nagba rocked a double to bring these two home.

In the 5th, Calvin Wingate reached on an error and later scored on Gabe Hirsch's RBI ground ball which was misplayed allowing Gabe to reach safely.  Trey Simmons had singled as well and these 2 were knocked in with a big double by Phillip Zastrow.

And in the top of the 6th, Calvin Wingate drew a walk and was able to move to 3rd on wild pitches, and score a very important safety run on a passed ball.

Justin Wiseman earned the win going the first 3 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 4 hit batsmen with 4 strikeouts.  Calvin Wingate worked the 4th and 5th innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.  Hunter Tester was called on to be tonight's fireman, and got the job done and earned a Save by striking out the side around a walk and a single.

Team intensity was good tonight, and it had to be to win this one.  It's going to take even more to prevail in both games on Thursday.  We can do it!

Game CT2  Chaparral 18  East Tenn Rent-Alls 7     

Tuesday June 29, 2010, Roller Field:  Much better weather tonight as it was warm and overcast but a pretty competitive ensued through the first 5 innings where we held a slim lead of 5 - 4.  But then our bats took total control with 5 and 7 base hits in the last 2 innings respectively.

Winning pitcher Mitchell Wilber really took the fight out of our opponents this night with 3 scoreless innings allowing just a single and a walk and a batter who reached on a strikeout advance.  Mitchell tallied 10 strikeouts in those 3 innings.  Jordon Dugger came on to close this one out and got the job done in spite of surrendering 2 hits and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts.

On our side Mitchell Wilber also led with a triple a double and a pair of singles for 4 base hits and 4 RBIs on the evening.  Jordon Dugger also did some heavy hitting with a double and a pair of singles.  Justin Wiseman added a triple and a single for 3 RBIs.  Connor Williams also doubled and singled for 2 RBI.  Gad Nagba hit a pair of singles and an RBI grounder.  Our other hits came from the bats of Trey Simmons, Colin Ice, Hunter Tester, and Wesley Smith.  Phillip Zastrow added an RBI sac fly to our cause.

Game CT1 Chaparral 7  Tan Shack Smokies 11     

Monday June 28, 2010, Roller Field:  In deteriorating conditions due to some steady rainfall that plagued this game from about the 3rd inning on, we came up short in this one defensively with 7 errors in the field.   Otherwise each team had 5 base hits and 8 walks or hit batsman, so it really was the errors that made the difference.

Justin Wiseman led our offensive effort with a single and a triple to deep right center field.  Calvin Wingate added a 2 run double and Phillip Zastrow also contributed an RBI base hit.  Gad Nagba beat out a throw to first for our other base hit.

Defensively our highlight was when Jordon Dugger came to the mound with no outs and bases loaded in the top of the 5th and final inning.  On his first batter, Jordon quickly fielded a comebacker which he delivered to catcher Mitchell Wilber who was able to make a strong throw to Justin Wiseman at first base for a nice and badly needed double play.  Jordon then struck out the next hitter to get us out of that jam with no further damage.

Hunter Tester worked the first 3 innings of this game, allowing only 2 earned runs on 4 base hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts.  Justin Wiseman entered in the 4th inning and struck out the side but not before some throwing errors allowed a hit batsman to score.  The muddy conditions proved too much in the 5th, as 7 hitters reached in a row on 1 hit, 5 walks, and another hit batsman.

Team intensity was lacking especially early on in this game.  Truth be known if we'd had better conditions or even time for the last 2 innings we probably would have pulled this one out.  But we didn't and now we are faced with a call to put together a string of wins to earn the right to keep competing. 

Game 15 Rescheduled  Chaparral 13   East Tenn Rent-Alls 3     

Saturday June 26, 2010, Roller Field:  On this warm summer morning, we showed up early  and took some good swings for 9 runs on 6 hits in the first inning to jump ahead to stay.  Mitchell Wilber earned the win on the mound, throwing 3 no hit innings, walking just 1 and striking out 3.  Trey Simmons worked the final 2 frames, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks and fanning 2 as well.

Offensively, Hunter Tester and Mitchell Wilber led the way equally with each having a triple and a single with an RBI and a stolen base.  Calvin Wingate doubled and singled for 3 RBIs and also stole a base and scored a run.  Gad Nagba doubled, singled, and scored as well.  Jordon Dugger added a 2 run single, stole 2 bases and scored twice.  Trey Simmons rounded out our base hits for the day with an infield single.

Our 10 hit effort in this game was greatly aided by 10 walks and hit batters plus 6 errors.  We don't expect that kind of help going forward, so we must remember to keep up our intensity and make every play possible.

Game 16  Chaparral 7   JC Press 6     

Friday June 25, 2010, Roller Field: Never give up!  And again I say never give up!  We went to the bottom of the 7th in this game down 6 to nothing with our 6th, 7th, & 8th hitters coming to bat.  Many teams would have simply surrendered at that point but not Chaparral.  Instead we got right down to business with a single from Phillip Zastrow followed by an infield single from Wesley Smith.  Then Jordon Dugger hit a hard grounder to short that was misplayed to load the bases.  Gabe Hirsch got an RBI by drawing a bases loaded walk and then Mitchell Wilber pounded a 3 run triple down the left field line.  Hunter Tester singled to drive in Mitchell and then Hunter advanced to 3rd on Justin's Wiseman's single.  A throwing error at the end of this action allowed Hunter to score the tying run and Justin to move up to 2nd all with no outs.  Trey Simmons sacrifice bunted Justin to 3rd, but that was as far as he got.

Back out for the 8th inning, we survived a 1 out triple to keep the game tied.  In the bottom of the 8th, Wesley Smith got hit by a pitch with 1 out and Jordon Dugger drew a walk to bring up Mitchell Wilber with those 2 on and 2 out.  Press elected to walk Mitchell intentionally and move the winning run to 3rd base.  Hunter Tester came to the plate and drove a 2 ball 2 strike pitch hard on the ground into rightfield for the game winning walkoff hit that brought Wesley Smith home with the winning run.

On the evening, Justin Wiseman was 3-for-3 with a double.  Mitchell Wilber hit the 3 run triple plus a single and stole 2 bases.  Hunter Tester had the 2 big RBI singles, including the game winner.  Trey Simmons, Phillip Zastrow, and Wesley Smith provided our other base hits.

On the mound Hunter Tester threw the first 4 innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 5, and walking 4.  Justin Wiseman got the victory, going the final 4 frames without an earned run on 4 hits, no walks, and also getting 5 strikeouts.

After 7 days off we really needed a hard fought win to build momentum for our City Tournament and that's exactly what we got.  Keep up the intensity and always believe that we can come behind and we will be just fine.

Game 14R  Chaparral 5   Horton Sports  4     

Thursday June 17, 2010, Seaver Field: Unlike Tuesday when some ugly weather stole this game right before the first pitch, this very warm early evening had only a few white puffy clouds on blue sky.  A very competitive baseball game did break out as two of our league's very best pitchers squared off.  Fortunately for Chaparral this night, we got up early and held on late.

In the top of the 1st, the leadoff batter for Horton Sports reached on an error and ended up scoring on a 1 out ground ball that was also misplayed.  A 3rd error of the inning allowed this runner to advance to 3rd base.  Then we caught a break as a line drive to shortstop Connor Williams was caught and quickly relayed to 3rd baseman Jordon Dugger for the double play to end the inning.  In the bottom of the 1st, Mitchell Wilber got our first base hit, stole 2nd, and scored on Hunter Tester's deep triple to right center field.  Hunter scored on a wild pitch and then with two outs, Trey Simmons singled to left center, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, and scored as well on a wild pitch.

In the 2nd on a pair of singles Hortons got to 1st and 3rd with 1 out, but an alert throw from catcher Mitchell Wilber to 2nd baseman Colin Ice both retired the runner attempting to steal and also held the other runner at 3rd base.

In our 3rd, Connor Williams walked and advanced to third on Mitchell Wilber's 2nd single of the contest.  Connor then scored on a wild pitch.  After Hunter Tester had walked and with Mitchell on 3rd with 1 out, coach called a squeeze play which ended up getting Mitchell out.  Hunter Tester advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch and started for home on another ball that got behind the catcher, but this one got corralled in time to stop Hunter in his tracks.  Fortunately for us, the rundown back toward 3rd base led to an errant throw into left field that allowed Hunter to turn around and score our 5th run.

In the top of the 4th, a hit batter, and single, and a triple plus a wild pitch all with no outs gave Hortons 3 runs to draw the score to 5 - 4.  But that is where it stayed as Hunter Tester then struck out the side and and allowed no base hits the rest of the way to hold our 1 run advantage and claim our victory.

In the complete game 7 inning victory, Hunter allowed just 4 base hits for 3 earned runs, walked 3, and struck out 13.  In the 5th, Gad Nagba added our 5th and final base hit.

Good teams find a way to win the close games and we got that done tonight.  Congratulations Chaparral.  Keep this momentum and our intensity and we will soon find out just how far we can go.

Game 13  Chaparral 12   Tan Shack 0     

Monday June 14, 2010, Seaver Field: On this humid Summer evening with a gentle breeze,  the winds began blowing our way with 2 out in the bottom of the 2nd when Phillip Zastrow reached on an error, advanced to 3rd on a Colin Ice base hit and then scored on a wild pitch.  Colin then scored as well on a misplayed ground ball from the bat of Josh Ramsaran.  Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Gabe Hirsch led off the inning with a deep double.  Calvin Wingate followed with an RBI double of his own and Mitchell Wilber did the same.  Hunter Tester walked and later scored on an RBI ground out from Colin Ice.  Our 4th was more of the same as Wesley Smith started the inning with a deep double that bounced just short of the left field fence and Gabe Hirsch advanced him to 3rd on a well hit single up the middle for his team leading second hit of the contest.  Hunter Tester, Gad Nagba, and Trey Simmons followed soon after with consecutive RBI singles to give us the runs we would need to end this one in record time at just 4 and one half innings.

Trey Simmons went the distance for a complete game 3 hitter, striking out 3 and walking just one.  Trey got some early first inning help from catcher Mitchell Wilber, who gunned down the game's first baserunner attempting to steal 2nd with a perfect throw to shortstop Hunter Tester.    In the late innings, Calvin Wingate made 3 good plays at 3rd base on a ground ball, a popup, and a low line drive he caught to end the game.

The team had 9 base hits from 8 different hitters.  This was a great effort with 4 of those hits including 2 doubles coming from the bottom half of the lineup. 

In this game, nearly every bounce went our way.  That won't always happen, so keep up the intensity no matter what does.

Game 12  Chaparral 15   Coca-Cola 5     

Saturday June 12, 2010, Roller Field:   Summer warmth was in the air but so was some breeze on yet another great day to play baseball.  This game started incredibly tight as after 2 innings Coke had managed to match our 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks with 5 of their own on 3 hits and 4 walks.  After they retired us in order in the top of the 3rd it seemed they had all the momentum, but after shutting them down in the bottom of that inning we swung it back equal and then took it for good with a big 5 run 4th on 4 base hits.  Our team racked up 18 base hits on the day which is simply fantastic!

Mitchell Wilber got the win on the mound going 4 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 3 earned runs, walking 5 and striking out 6.  Justin Wiseman fired the 3 final shutout frames, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk and fanning 6 as well.  Connor Williams went a good way back in centerfield for a nice catch to help Justin's cause.

We definitely hit with confidence in these last 2 games and overall we are playing better in the field.  We just need to keep to our mission of striving to win by giving all and speaking only encouragement to our teammates.  This will be the key to our success going forward.

Game 11  Chaparral 7    Evergreen Terrace Apartments  1   

Friday June 11, 2010, Roller Field:   On this humid evening we had to be patient to even get on the field as the game before us went 11 innings and didn't finish until nearly 9pm.  Then we had to be patient at the plate as a pitcher's duel began to form.

Mitchell Wilber led off our 1st inning with a triple, but a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to center left him stranded.  In the 2nd, Trey Simmons reached on an error, moved to 2nd on a wild pitch, and to 3rd on a Phillip Zastrow ground ball.  A one out RBI grounder to 2nd base from Calvin Wingate brought Trey in to score the game's 1st run.

In our 3rd, Mitchell Wilber led off the inning with a double.  Then Justin Wiseman smashed a double to drive in Mitchell, and then scored himself on Hunter Tester's RBI single.

In our 5th, Justin Wiseman led off with a walk and was running on the pitch Hunter Tester drove for a double which allowed Justin to score easily.

In our 6th, we got 3 more insurance runs starting from a one out double by Jordon Dugger.  This was followed with a 2 out inside-the-park Home Run by Mitchell Wilber.  Justin Wiseman then reached on and error and Hunter Tester again doubled him home for his 3rd RBI base hit of the night.

This was a good baseball game against a good team and intensity was required from the start for us to prevail.  On the field we got that done this night as we played nearly error free.  One highlight was an excellent 8-1-2 relay from Connor Williams to Hunter Tester to Mitchell Wilber to retire a runner trying to score from 2nd on a base hit up the middle.  And in the final inning 1st Baseman Jordon Dugger cleanly fielded a hard hit ground ball with 1 on and no outs.  Jordon stepped on 1st to get the batter and then fired it to 2nd to try for the runner.  The throw was late but was perfectly timed to pickle the runner who had gone 3 steps past 2nd base.  Too many throws ensued but thanks to an outstanding athletic stop by catcher Mitchell Wilber, who had really hustled to back up 3rd base, we were able to finally tag this runner out.

Our pitching this night was very, very good as Mitchell Wilber and Hunter Tester combined for the 1 hitter.  Mitchell worked 3 scoreless innings, allowing only a single baserunner to reach base after a strike 3 was not caught nor thrown well to 1st base.  Mitchell struck out 7 in those 3 innings.   Hunter Tester came on to pitch the final 4 innings, allowing only a single unearned run on just 1 base hit while striking out 4 and walking 4.

The team seemed to have that much needed intensity between the lines tonight.  Add some respect and better team attitude around the dugout and we may well find ourselves able to rise to any challenge that comes our way.

Game 10  Chaparral 5    McLeod  10   

Tuesday June 8, 2010, Roller Field:   On another fine evening to play baseball we got behind early as 5 of the first 6 McLeod hitters scored.  From that point on we actually played even with each of us plating exactly 5 more runs.

Justin Wiseman led our attack with a pair of singles for 1 RBI, a walk and a run scored.  Connor Williams added an RBI double and also scored.  Hunter Tester and Trey Simmons also each doubled and scored.  Our other base hits in this contest came from Gad Nagba, Phillip Zastrow, Colin Ice, and Wesley Smith.

Defensively a standout play came from 3rd Baseman Jordon Dugger, as he backhanded  fielded a very fast ground ball to his right and then completed a strike to 1st base for a marvelous play. 

On the mound, Justin Wiseman started and gave us 3 innings, yielding 4 earned runs on 4 base hits.  Justin walked 3 and struck out 6.  Connor Williams worked the 4th and 5th innings, allowing just 2 runs on only 1 hit .  Hunter Tester came on to pitch the bottom of the 6th, allowing just 1 run on no hits, walking 1 and striking out 2.

As before we just need to make a few more plays or take a couple better swings to be more competitive.

Game 9  Chaparral 16    SAE Lions 5   

Monday June 7, 2010, Roller Field:   On this moderate early evening we got on top early to stay mostly with our legs.  After 1 and a half innings we held a 10 to 1 lead on just 2 base hits along with 6 walks, a strikeout passed ball, and an error.  Thanks to a multitude of wild pitches we didn't leave anyone on base during these innings.

Hunter Tester led our day from the batter's box with 3 hits including a double, 4 runs scored, plus an RBI and a stolen base.  Mitchell Wilber, Gad Nagba, Phillip Zastrow, and Josh Ramsaran added our other base hits of the evening.  Justin Wiseman walked in 3 of his 4 plate appearances and scored 3 times.  Connor Williams added a pair of RBI ground outs.  Elijah Mathes also hit an RBI ground ball.

Defensively Jordon Dugger made a couple of nice plays on well hit ground balls toward him at 3rd base. 

Trey Simmons was effective on the mound for a complete game 5 hitter, allowing 6 walks and getting 5 strikeouts.  Double plays were his best friend in both the 4th with a comebacker that went 1-6-3 and in the 5th when a leadoff hit batter was erased on a line drive to centerfielder Gad Nagba who was able to relay a throw to 1st baseman Justin Wiseman that easily retired the baserunner.  Trey was still going strong in the 6th as he struck out the side 3 up and 3 down to end this game.

Game 8  Chaparral 19    Tan Shack 4   

Thursday June 3, 2010, Seaver Field:   On this warm summer-like evening we took a narrow 3-1 lead to 1 out in the top of the 3rd inning when 3 walks a base hit and two errors ended up plating 3 runners.  Immediately after a pitching change, Jordon Dugger came to the plate still with one out and bases loaded.  On a 2 and 1 count, we put on the squeeze play and Trey Simmons broke from 3rd on the pitcher's long windup.  Trey was nearly touching Jordon when he laid down a perfect bunt to complete the RBI sacrifice.  From that point on we were getting it done on both sides of home plate with a brief exception in the bottom of the 5th when 2 errors allowed 3 unearned runs to score and close our margin to just 9 which allowed the 6th inning to start.

Hunter Tester threw a complete six-inning five hitter, allowing just 1 earned run, walking 4, and reaching a total of 14 strikeouts in this game.   Jordon Dugger actually closed out this game with a very athletic catch in foul territory near his 1st base position.

Offensively, yet again Mitchell Wilber led the charge by going 4-for-5 with a double, 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and 4 runs scored.  Phillip Zastrow had an RBI sac fly plus a pair of singles for 2 RBIs and he scored twice.  Hunter Tester also added a double, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored.  Our other base hits in this game came from Gad Nagba, Connor Williams, Gabe Hirsch, Trey Simmons and Calvin Wingate.

For the game in addition to our 12 base hits, we were given a total of 11 walks/hit batters plus 4 errors.  It was a good Chaparral team effort, as the line score shows.  We are improving, but unfortunately not quite as fast as some of the other teams. 

Game 7  Chaparral 7    Evergreen Terrace 8  (8 Innings) 

Wednesday June 2, 2010, Seaver Field:   Ouch!  This game just plain hurts as we were so close to coming out on top.  One less error, walk, hit batter, base running miscue or just one more solid defensive play, best intensive effort, or a base hit and it likely would have been enough to have won this game.  As it was it came down to stopping a base runner with some good throws and catches and we just couldn't get it done on this night.

On the mound, Mitchell Wilber threw great for his limit of 7 innings, with the scorebook showing 5 earned runs on 6 base hits, just 2 bases on balls and 20 Strikeouts!  What the scorebook didn't show was how weak a couple of those base hits were hit or how slightly better defensive efforts would have turned a few of them to outs.  Congrats to Justin Wiseman for stepping up to his debut catching performance for 5 of those innings.

Offensively, Mitchell also led the effort with a pair of singles and a run scored.  Hunter Tester hit an RBI single, stole 3 bases and scored twice.  Phillip Zastrow added an RBI single.  Gabe Hirsch also singled, walked, and scored.  Connor Williams walked twice and scored twice.  Gad Nagba walked, stole 2nd and scored.  Justin Wiseman hit into an RBI fielder's choice and had a pair of stolen bases.  Calvin Wingate walked, reached on an error and stole 2 bases as well.

As was mentioned repeatedly in the post game meeting, we simply must play with more mental intensity and with more team enthusiasm. 

Game MT1  Chaparral 0    Evergreen Terrace 4   

Monday May 24, 2010, Seaver Field:  On this sunny and very fine evening for baseball, a pitcher's duel quickly formed at Seaver Field.  Unfortunately for us this night the top of the 4th started with a check swing slow roller to third on which 3rd baseman Jordon Dugger made a good play, but the runner beat his throw to first.  The next hitter got a bloop single which was followed by a deep fly to center just beyond the reach of centerfielder Calvin Wingate that fell for a 2 run double.  A walk and an error later this runner scored as well.

Hunter Tester was awesome on the mound going all 7 innings and allowing just 3 earned runs on 6 hits, walking two, and piling up 18 strikeouts!

Offensively, we just couldn't get it going this night as several well hit balls simply either hopped directly into Evergreen gloves or hung in the air until a glove was under it.  Hunter Tester pounded out a late double and Mitchell Wilber had an early infield single and then stole 2nd base.  Justin Wiseman and Colin Ice added our other base hits.

So we are left to pick it up from here after this early exit from the mid-season tournament.  The team displayed some good enthusiasm at times tonight, so we will just have to build on that heading into Game 7 on Tuesday June 1.

Game 6  Chaparral 14    Coca-Cola 4   

Thursday May 20, 2010, Seaver Field:  On another great for baseball evening in the mid-60s, the game was great as well for the first 3 1/2 innings when we came to bat up by a score of 4 to 3.  But 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 errors later we'd pushed across 4 runs that separated the teams this night.  The 5th inning brought more of the same and pushed this one to the 10 run rule in the bottom of the 5th.

Mitchell Wilber got the complete game victory on the mound while scattering 5 hits, 4 walks, and 2 hit batsmen while racking up 11 K's.

Offensively, Mitchell also led the charge by going 3-for-3 with an RBI, a stolen base, and 3 runs scored.  Justin Wiseman totalled 3 RBIs on a double, a single, and a pair of ground balls.  Coach made a poor call trying to get Justin to stretch his double into a triple which brought about the unacceptable result of making our first out in the bottom of the 3rd inning at third base. 

Hunter Tester stroked a pair of singles for 2 RBIs, a stolen base, and one run scored.  Calvin Wingate led off the game with a nice single and later scored.  Phillip Zastrow added an RBI single.  Trey Simmons had a single and later drew a bases loaded walk for an RBI.  Gabe Hirsch had an RBI single, stole 2nd, and scored.  Colin Ice and Elijah Mathes also both singled and scored plus Elijah added a very nice sacrifice bunt.  Gad Nagba had an RBI ground out, walked and stole both 2nd and 3rd before scoring.  Jordon Dugger, Josh Ramsaran, and Wesley Smith each walked and scored.

This was a really good turning point effort as we played error free in the field and totalled 13 base hits against some of the league's better pitching.  As always there are clear paths to improvement as we need to run the bases smarter and more aggressively and with more intensity.  And lastly we can strive even harder to get our feet quickly in position to make the tough plays in the field.

Game 5  Chaparral 5    JC Press 11   

Tuesday May 18, 2010, Roller Field:  On this wonderful mid-60s evening, we got out early with a 2 - 0 lead thanks to aggressive base running by Mitchell Wilber (who reached on a single and stole 2nd) and Justin Wiseman (who reached on an error, also stole second and later made it home on a wild pitch.)

And we held on to that lead in the bottom of the 1st thanks to catcher Mitchell Wilber retiring a runner attempting to steal at 2nd, and then Jordon Dugger's grab of a smoking hot line drive, which became a double play as Jordon completed the throw to Colin Ice on 2nd base.

But that 2 run advantage disappeared quickly as in the bottom of the 2nd, Press made the most of 2 batters hit by pitch plus 2 others who reached on singles.   Then in the bottom of the 3rd the Press bats seemed to come alive as a pair of walks bookended  consecutive doubles.

On the day, Gad Nagba led our efforts with 2 base hits, a stolen base, and an RBI.  Justin Wiseman added a pair of singles and scored from all 3 plate appearances. 

Jordon Dugger and Mitchell Wilber had our other base hits.

On the mound, Justin Wiseman tossed the first 3 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, and 5 walks/hit batters.  Calvin Wingate came to the hill at the start of the 4th.  Calvin had the super changeup working well as several good hitters had trouble getting their bat near it.  He closed out as well with 5 earned runs, 5 hits allowed, and 3 walks/hit batters.

This was a good yardstick to measure our team's ability to compete with one of the best teams in our league.  More improvement is necessary but we can also appreciate how far we've come already.

Game 4  Chaparral 22    ET Rent-Alls (Bobcats)  9   

Monday May 17, 2010, Roller Field:  Much better tonight on all fronts as the weather was very comfortable for this evening matchup.  Chaparral had 11 players present and every single one of them had at least 1 base hit!   I'm certain I've never been able to say that before - Congratulations Team!

On the mound, Starting and Winning Pitcher Trey Simmons worked 4 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 K's.  Jordon Dugger came on in the 5th to close this one out.  Jordon allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk for only 1 earned run.

Our defense definitely improved from Saturday's heat.  One highlight was a 4th inning 2-on 2-out grounder deep to shortstop on Justin Wiseman's right.  Justin got there, got square, and made the long throw toward 1st Baseman Gad Nagba, who was able to snag the short-hop to keep them scoreless in that inning.

Offensively, this was a great team effort.  Mitchell Wilber led the charge with a pair of doubles for 3 RBIs and 4 Runs scored.  Also in the 2 hit club this evening were Gad Nagba, Phillip Zastrow, Colin Ice, and Trey Simmons.  It's impressive to look down a boxscore and see almost no zeroes at all.  Leadoff hitter Calvin Wingate started the game with a double.  On the evening, Phillip Zastrow tallied 4 RBIs.  Wesley Smith, Josh Ramsaran, and Jordon Dugger each added RBI singles.

Gabe Hirsch singled, drew a pair of walks, and scored twice.

Team morale was more positive tonight too, but again there really wasn't much adversity to overcome in this game.  Still this will help build confidence for when that challenge comes again.

Game 3  Chaparral 9    Horton Sports 13   

Saturday May 15, 2010, Roller Field:  On this hot and sticky mid-May day that felt more like mid-June, our 7-2 lead after the top of the 2nd looked and felt pretty good.  But 2 pitchers, 3 hits, 4 walks, 2 errors and a balk call later, we unfortunately found ourselves down to stay in this one.  As it was the long innings took their toll, and the umpires felt justified calling the 2 hour limit in this one after just 4 innings.  Like our previous outing, the next inning may well have made the difference, but in this one we will never know.

Mitchell Wilber led our offense with a single and a double for one RBI with 2 stolen bases.  Brother Phillip Zastrow was right behind with a pair of singles and 1 RBI as well.  Justin Wiseman added a double and scored twice.  Gabe Hirsch and Trey Simmons added RBI singles.  Our other hits came from Josh Ramsaran and Wesley Smith.   Gad Nagba, Jordon Dugger, and Colin Ice each walked and scored.

Defensively, we seemed to find it very difficult all game long to make good stops and throws.  One brief highlight was a nice relay from Justin Wiseman to catcher Jordon Dugger who made a difficult tag on the plate for our first out in the bottom of the 4th inning. 

We're also finding it difficult to keep to our mission of encouraging our teammates at all times and striving to win by putting forth our very best effort at every opportunity.  A little improvement here will go a long ways to helping this team.

Game 2  McLeod 14    Chaparral 8  

Monday May 10, 2010, Seaver Field:  Well it wasn't pretty but the truth was that through 6 innings in this one we'd played well enough to prevail and we were up by a score of 6 to 5.  By a few seconds the 7th inning was started and we can safely say it did not go well for Chaparral.  Three hits, 3 walks, 4 errors, and a hit batter later we were down a little too far to come back again.

Trey Simmons pitched very well early for us with 3 shutout innings plus an out in the 4th.  Trey gave up just a lone earned run and just 2 hits, one of which was a very bad hop grounder to shortstop.  He allowed 6 walks but also posted 6 strikeouts.  In the first, Jordon Dugger made a great catch behind his head on a shallow pop up near 3rd base. 

Justin Wiseman took the hill with 1 out in the 4th, bases loaded, and the score tied 2-2.  One pitch was all it took as shortstop Phillip Zastrow fielded a ground ball, stepped on 2nd, and threw a strike to first for an inning-ending, rally killing,  6U, 6-3 double play.  Phillip ending up repeating this feat after 3 had scored in the 5th with another 6U, 6-3 double play.   On the 4 inning outing, Justin Wiseman tallied 2 strikeouts on 3 hits and 8 walks/hit batters.

Justin Wiseman further aided our efforts with 3 RBIs plus 3 stolen bases on 2 hits, including his 2 run double that went all the way to the base of the outfield fence.  Mitchell Wilber also added a pair of base hits with an RBI.  Other hits in the contest came from Calvin Wingate, Gad Nagba, and a sharply hit single by Gabe Hirsch.

Calvin Wingate, came on to pitch with 1 out and bases loaded in the 7th.  He faced 4 hitters getting a ground ball that was misplayed, a single, and a pair of strikeouts to end the top of that long, long, inning.

The lesson today was to play more focused and less tight.  We have to do better at the basics such as keeping our feet moving to get fully in position when fielding a batted ball.  This includes being mentally ready by knowing where you are going to throw the baseball when it comes your way.

Game 1  Chaparral 9   SAE Lions 4

Game 0 Jamboree Scrimmage   Chaparral 10   Horton Sports 4