Joshua Mills his life in Baseball

[amead17]

American Baseball League




Mississippi League (Short A League)

[amead17]

A new month and hopefully a new start for the Wasps.

I am hoping to go better than I did in June. I had a batting average of .233 with 2 home runs, a double and 10 hits in total from 43 at bats. I scored 5 runs for the Wasps with 3 RBI's.

My room mate Pat Palin had a better month hitting .273.

The new month saw a few face changes at the club as the Black Cats moved payers about. We lost starting pitcher Macho Vigil, Closer Latrell Angton and Relief pitcher Hector Castaneda to the single A Erie Phantoms. The club also demoted Centre Fielder Scott Watson, Second Baseman Matt Crubaugh and Relief Pitcher Danny Hatton down to the Rookie League Rock Hill Ducks.

We received 6 players from the Ducks to top up our side. This included starting Pitcher Eric Hinkley, Relief Pitcher Jesus Nunez and closer Dashawn McKinzy. We also received first basemen Scott Noftall and Chris Klika along with Right Fielder Diego Marez.

We will have to see how these changes help the side.

We continue our 3 game series against the Hattiesburg Ospreys. We are hoping to put up a better performance than yesterdays outing against them.

The manager has gone with the following line-up

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
LF Pat Palin
DH Joe Van Alstyne
1B Chris Klika
RF Jose Becerra
CF Diego Mares
Catcher Josh Pittman

Dave Ziobro will be on the mound for us today. This does not bode well as he has 2 losses in his outings for us this year. Along with his 10.12 ERA

Top of the first and I am into the action straight away. Colombo bunts to my side and I pick up the ball to fire the out to first. Klika gets Maytubby at first after a solid line drive. Ziobro then strikes out White to see the top of the first end.

Bottom of the first and Mendoza hits straight to White for the first out. Bielecki then flies out to left field. I am up next just looking to put bat to ball this game. I swing on the 0-0 pitch and it connects sweetly. It flies out to left field and travels over the wall for a solo home run of 359 feet. This gets our first run of the day. Palin follows me up but puts up a fly ball to right field to end the inning. We lead 1-0

Top of the second and Carder is up on an 11 game hitting streak. He thumps one out to centre field and makes it 12 games with a hit after a single. Thorstad comes in next a slaps a double out to centre field. Carder tries for home but we get the throw back in time to get him sliding for the first out. Ziobro gets Mascoll to strike out. Monaco is up next and hits a fly ball out to left where Palin snags it to end the inning.

Bottom of the second and Van Alstyne starts us off with a solid single to centre field. He then takes a big lead at first but the pitcher sees it and quickly deals a ball to first that gets him out. Klika gets a walk for his first time up at short A level. Becerra then comes to the plate and slaps one hard out to right field. The fielder can only watch as it sails over the wall 358 feet to get him a 2 run homer. Mares grounds out in his first at bat. Pittman then hits a single out to right centre. Mendoza moves him to second after getting a walk. We cannot add to the lead as Bielecki strikes out to leave the game with a 3-0 lead to our side.

Top of the third and we get Briggs on a ground out to first. Vitelli then flies out in foul territory as Palin grabs a great catch. Colombo grounds out to short and we keep them scoreless.

Bottom of the third and I am leading off for the inning. I put one out to left field on the ground but it is fielded and sent to first to get me out. Palin then strikes out. Van Alstyne flies out to centre field to see the score remain 3-0 in our favour.

Top of the fourth and Maytubby grounds to Bielecki for the easy throw to first for the out. Palin gets White on the fly in Left Field. Ziobro then gets Carder to strike out on a bad pitch.

Bottom of the fourth and Klika is out going for first on a slow ground ball to Thorstad. Becerra follows the same way as he hits a grounder to Thorstad. Mares then strikes out to leave the game 3-0 in the favour of us Wasps.

Top of the fifth and Thorstad starts the inning with his second double of the game. Mascoll is excellently struck out next. Palin gets Monaco on the fly in left field. Ziobro then hits Briggs with a pitch to give him a base. Ziobro ends the Ospreys inning with another strike out, this time of Vitelli.

Bottom of the fifth and Pittman starts us off with a base hit down the right field line. Mendoza goes down swinging. Bielecki then grounds to Thorstad who gets Pittman at second and throws to first to complete the double play. The score remains 3-0.

Top of the sixth and we let Colombo make base on an error as Bielecki drops an easy grounder. Maytubby hits a solid single to centre field that moves Colombo to third. White strikes out. Carder hits a single to left field to see Colombo score. Thorstad flies out to Becerra in right field. Mascoll strikes out to see us get out of the inning only giving up 1 run. The score goes to 3-1 in our favour.

Bottom of the sixth and I am leading off again I hit a slow roller to third and am tagged at first base after the throw. Palin gets a single out to left field to get our inning going. Van Alstyne doesn't help with a strike out and Palin then gets stranded as Kilka hits one straight to first for the out. Score still 3-1

Top of the seventh and our manager gives Deshawn McKinzy his first try at short A level on the mound. He gets Monaco to put 1 up into foul territory that Klika gets under for the out. McKinzy is then removed and Cesar Arocho comes in. He gives Briggs an infield single as his first go. He gets pulled and Gus Flores comes in to pitch. I am not sure what the manager is doing but Flores manages to get Vitelli to strike out. Flores then gives Colombo a base hit. We get out of the inning as Maytubby hits straight to Bielecki as Short who gets Colombo at second.

Bottom of the seventh and Becerra is struck out for the first out. Mares then gets his first base hit at short A level with a liner to left centre. Pittman strikes out. Mares then tries to steal second on a Mendoza at bat but gets caught sliding to leave the score 3-1 in our favour.

Top of the eighth and Flores gives White a walk. Flores pulled up on the pitch and he is pulled from the game with the injury. Nick Thompson is now pitching for us as we keep going through our relievers. Carder gets a single to right as the first batter faced. Thompson is then pulled and Jesus Nunez gets his first taste of Short A ball. He gets hit by Thorstad but it grounds into a double play that sees Carder and Thorstad out. White moves to third. Nunez then throws a wild one that Pittman misses and White gets home for the ospreys second run. Nunez gets Mascoll to strike out to see the score sit at 3-2 in our favour.

Bottom of the eighth and Mendoza flies out to left field. Bielecki then grounds out to short. This brings me up for my fourth attempt of the day. I hit a fly ball out to left centre and that sees the side retired and the score still 3-2 in our favour going into the ninth.

Top of the ninth and we see Chris Swindell come into pitch to try and get the game won. He doesn't start well and is let down in the field as well as a single from pinch hitter Pickens turns into a double on a Palin error. We start to fall aprt after this as Quintana, pinch hitting, hits one into centre. Pickens runs for home and the throw misses Pittman to see him score. Quintana also moves to second and the game is tied. We walk Mendenhall, another pinch hitter. Swindell then gives up the lead as Colombo gets a single that sees Quintana run for home. We get the first out of the inning after a Maytubby bunt as Mendenhall is taken by me at third after the throw. We then fall further behind as Swindell gives up a double to left field that sees Maytubby and Colombo home for 2 more. Carder is walked. We get Thorstad on the fly. Next up is Mascoll and he gets his hit in. White and Carder get round to score but we get Mascoll at third to see the inning end. We trail 8-3 and the ninth has left us reeling.

Bottom of the ninth and we need to fire. Palin gets us off to a great start as he hits a solo homer 409 feet to score the first we need. Van Alstyne strikes out to their closer who has just come in. Klika gets a base hit. Becerra throws in a strike out to leave us 1 out from another loss. LaVacca puts up a fly ball to centre to see the game lost.

We go down 8-4 after a terrible collapse in the ninth inning. I wish we still had Angton with us as he was a big miss on the mound in the ninth. I went 1-4 with a home run and a run scored.

We face the Ospreys again tomorrow and I just hope we have something better than we showed at the end of the game today.

[amead17]

Today we face the Hattiesburg Ospreys for the third time and there is quite a bit of trepidation in the room as we players try to figure out a way to beat them. Myself, I see it that we just need to play better in all aspects of the game and we may have a chance.

The loss of Gus Flores to a Oblique strain has hit our bullpen. He will be out for 7 days. The big club has tried to bolster that area by sending Gene Pickup down from the Single A Erie Phantoms.

The Manager has made a couple of changes to the line-up to freshen things up a little

Today sees the following players start

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
DH Chris LaBuff
RF Pat Palin
1B Scott Noftall
LF Tanner Rice
Catcher Tomas Ayala
CF Jose Becerra

Today's pitcher is Eric Hinkley. He hasn't pitched for us yet this year but he has had 2 starts with the Rock Hill Ducks that saw him pitch 8.2 innings without a decision.

Top of the first and Hinkley doesn't start well as the first pitcher faced is hit by a pitch to give him a base. He gains control on the next batter as he strikes out Maytubby. He then gets White to strike out as well. He throws a wild pitch at Carder that sees Colombo advance to second but he is then stranded as Carder strikes out.

Bottom of the first and Mendoza grounds into short for the out. Bielecki strikes out next up to see me come to the plate to try and get our game going. Their pitcher fires in a nice one that is just in my hitting zone and I clobber it 343 feet over the left fence to bring in the first run of the game on a solo homer. LaBuff grounds to second to see us retired with a 1-0 lead from my home run.

Top of the second and Pickens grounds out to second. Thorstad tries a bunt but Noftall grabs it and fires to first for the out. Watts then flies out to Centre to end the Ospreys inning.

Bottom of the second and Pat Palin starts us off. He clubs a solid base hit out to left field. He decides to take on the throw and slides in to second to turn it into a double. Noftall hits an infield fly to give our first out of the inning. Rice flies out to centre field then Ayala strikes out to strand Palin at second. We still lead 1-0

Top of the third and Hinkley starts by getting Lecain to strike out. Bielecki gets Brundy on an infield fly to make it 2 outs. Colombo then comes up and slaps one to left centre but Bielecki makes a great lunge to snag the ball for the out.

Bottom of the third and Becerra starts us off tamely with a strike out. Mendoza hits a bouncer to third for the ground out. Bielecki then makes a solid hit to right field that sees a base hit made. This will bring me up for my second at bat of the day. I hit a high hopper to second that sees me out on the throw. I leave Bielecki stranded with the score remaining 1-0 in our favour.

Top of the fourth and Maytubby gets a base hit from a bunt. White then puts a base hit into left field to see Maytubby to second. Carder flies out to left field to keep the runner set. Pickens hits one out to the wall at centre field that sees Maytubby home and White to third after it comes up as a double. Thorstad then hits a double to the left wall that sees both White and Pickens score. We get Watts on the fly into right. Lecain then hits a single wide of me at third which sees Thorstad home. We manage to get Lecain on the steal attempt to finish the inning but we now trail 4-1 and it doesn't look good.

Bottom of the fourth and LaBuff flies out to left. Palin attempts to start a recovery with a base hit to right field. Noftall flies out to short centre. Rice manages to get a base hit to short right centre to move Palin to second. The inning then ends with 2 men stranded as Ayala hits a grounder to short that goes to second to tag Rice. We trail 4-1.

Top of the fifth and Ayala gets Brundy on a pop up into the right foul territory. Colombo makes a base hit just in front of Becerra in Centre Field. Palin gets Maytubby on the fly in right field. Colombo moves to second on a White single to left field. Carder then keeps his 13 game hitting streak alive by putting up a double to the right wall that sees Colombo score. The manager has seen enough and pulls Hinkley with Nick Thompson his replacement. White and Carder run for home on a Pickens single to crack the game wide open. We get Thorstad on the fly to end the inning but are now 7-1 behind and staring at another defeat.

Bottom of the fifth and Becerra gets a base hit. We need a few of those strung together to get into the game but Mendoza fires into a double play to see both himself and Becerra out. Bielecki then strikes out to end the inning with us down 7-1.

Top of the sixth and Thompson gets Watts to strike out. Lecain then gets a base hit out to short left centre. Lecain then steals second on a strike. Brundy gets struck out. We then get Colombo to strike out to end the inning.

Bottom of the sixth and I am leading off. I need to get us off to a good start. I get a solid hit single out to left field. The Ospreys change pitcher and the new guy gets LaBuff to strike out swinging. Palin follows up and he hits into a double play at short that sees both myself and him out. We continue to trail 7-1.

Top of the seventh and Maytubby flies out to Centre. White gives a catch to Palin in right field. Carder then picks up another base hit with a strong hit into right field. Pickens hits a curve ball my way and I field it and throw to second for the final out of the inning.

Bottom of the seventh and we start with a base hit from Noftall out to right field only to be out next batter up as Rice hits into another double play. Ayala gets a walk. Becerra ends the inning with a strike out and we continue to trail 7-1

Top of the eighth and Thompson gives Thorstad a walk. Becerra gets Watts on the fly with a lunging catch. Lecain goes down swinging. I then gather a solid grounder from Brundy and fire to first to end the Ospreys inning.

Bottom of the eighth and Mendoza is out first up with a slow roller to first. Bielecki then grounds out to Short to bring me in for my fourth attempt of the day. I strike out for the first time to end the inning and leave the score 7-1 in the Ospreys favour.

Top of the ninth and Colombo strikes out. Maytubby then rubs salt into our wounds by striking a solo homer 426 feet over the left centre wall. White grounds out to first. We then get Carder on the fly to centre to hopefully end the misery of facing Ospreys batters. We trail 8-1.

Bottom of the ninth to just end the game. Mascoll takes LaBuff on a pop up to the right foul territory. Palin gets a walk as does Noftall and we get our most players on base all game. Rice strikes out to bring up Ayala. Ayala pops one out to left centre that is taken on the fly to end the game.

We go down 8-1 and we were only ever in the game in the first couple of innings. We managed 8 hits to the Ospreys 12 but just couldn't turn them into runs. I myself went 2-4 with a home run that gave me a run and an RBI.

We are now starting to drop away at the bottom of the division on 4-9 and need something to get us going. We have a day off tomorrow so hopefully we can clear our heads before the trip to the Bossier City Rhinos the day after.

[amead17]

Independence day and we are hoping for a win today.

We have had a day off to try and straighten out the problems we have had so far this year. The Big Club have also made a few minor adjustments to try and help. They have sent relief pitcher Nick Thompson and Centre Fielder Diego Mares down to the Rookie Level. Centre Fielder Chris Severson has been promoted, from the Round Hill Ducks to us, while we have received Relief Pitcher Gilberto Rodriguez from the AAA Tulsa Aggies.

We start a 3 game road trip today against the Bossier City Rhinos. Hopefully we can perform better than we did against the Hattiesburgh Ospreys.

The Manager has gone with the following line-up

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Steve Bielecki
1B Angelo Espinal
3B Joshua Mills
LF Tanner Rice
DH T.J. Kiritsis
CF Chris Severson
Catcher Tomas Ayala
RF Jose Becerra

The pitcher on the mound today is Matt Hood who has a record of 0-1 from his 2 starts.

I feel sorry for my room mate Pat Palin as it seems he is not trusted by the manager. He has the best hitting average in the club and yet he cannot make the team now that Chris Severson has been promoted.

Top of the first and Angelo Mendoza get the game underway with a bunt that is fielder at the plate for the first out. Bielecki gets the first base hit of the game out to right field. Espinal grounds to short for the Rhinos to complete the double play and end the inning.

Bottom of the first Hood gives Medellin a hit first up for the Rhinos. Mendoza then drops a ground ball at second to allow Celius to get a single and move Medellin to second. Archambault strikes outbefore Hood loads the bases with a walk for Daniels. Rodriquez flies out to Bielecki at short for the second out. Salinas then flies out to right field for Becerra to retie the side and leave the score 0-0. Somehow we got away with one.

Top of the second and I am leading off. I go down swinging for my first strike out of the day. Rice Grounds out to short. Kiritsis then grounds out to second to see our inning over in a flash.

Bottom of the second and Hood gets Crown to strike out. Mendoza then gets an infield fly to take Kranz. Engelbrecht then strikes out to leave the game scoreless.

Top of the third and Severson gets his first at bat at this level. He hits a high hopper to first and is tagged out. Ayala gets hit by a pitch next and it seems to send him down in pain. Our trainer checks him over but he shakes it off and can continue to first base. Becerra then puts a solid hit out to right field where it bounces in just before the fielder. Ayala moves to second on the base hit. Mendoza continues to struggle with a fly out to short. Bielecki hits a nice infield hit that sees everybody advance and load the bases. Angelo Espinal is up next with the bases loaded. Espinal allows the first ball to pass him. The catcher misses it and Ayala comes home for our first run. Becerra and Bielecki advance a base. Espinal clubs the next pitch over to the left wall that lands safe and sees him get a double. That scores both Becerra and Bielecki. I am up next to try and bring Espinal home from second. I hit a line drive out to the right field but the fielder makes the move and gets me on the fly to end the inning. We lead 3-0.

Bottom of the third. We get Medellin after he bunts. I then make my first useful contribution to the game with a diving catch to my right to take Celius on the fly. Archambault then flies out to centre to leave the game 3-0 in our favour.

Top of the fourth and we begin with Rice Grounding out to short. Kiritsis then flies out to right field. Severson then strikes out to see no extra runs scored.

Bottom of the fourth and we allow Daniels a double to right field to start the inning. Rodriquez then puts a fly ball up out to left field that is taken. Daniels has to turn and try to get back to second but the throw by Rice gets there first for the double play. Salinas gets a base hit out to centre field. Salinas then looks to steal second on the next batter but Ayala is onto it and guns him down with the throw to end the inning. We continue to lead 3-0.

Top of the fifth and Ayala continues to be in the wars as he is hit for a second time by a pitch. He takes a base. Becerra advances Ayala with his second hit of the day as it goes into centre field. Mendoza's bad day continues with a strike out. Bielecki loads the bases for the second time today with an infield hit short of first base. Espinal fails to capitalise this time on the loaded bases as he flies out to centre. This brings me up to face with the bases loaded. Hopefully I can find my first hit of the day and help the team out. My poor form of today continues as I hit one straight to short who throws to first to end the inning. I strand 3 which is not good but we still have the lead 3-0.

Bottom of the fifth and Crown starts the inning with a base hit to left field. Rice gets Kranz on the fly in left field. Engelbrecht then gets struck out looking by Hood. Hood gets strike out number 5 as Medellin swings and misses.

Top of the sixth and Rice starts us off with a strike out. Kiritsis then hits a little bounces to the infield and manages to outrun the throw to first for a base hit. Severson strikes out again. Ayala finally gets a decent at bat and gets to hit the ball but it goes to short for the out.

Bottom of the sixth and Hood gives Celius a walk to start. Archambault then hits one out to left centre that drops in for a double that sees Celius run for home to score. The manager has seen enough and decides to pull Hood and go to the bull pen. He sends Deshawn McKinzy in first up. Daniels takes a hit off of McKinzy to move Archambault to third. McKinzy then gets Rodriquez to strike out. Espinal gets Salinas on a pop up out to the right foul territory for the second out. Bielecki then ends the inning by getting Crown on a high pop up to the infield. Our lead has been cut to 3-1.

Top of the seventh and Becerra, who is having an excellent day, gets a double out to the left centre wall. The Rhinos then walk Mendoza for some reason. Bielecki picks up his fourth hit of the day as he puts one out to right centre to load the bases for the third time in the game. Espinal is the first to try and bring them home. He hits a solid one to left field that falls in and it sees both Becerra and Mendoza run for home to score 2. I come up next with Bielecki at second and Espinal at first. I face a new pitcher and I hit one straight up into the air and an infield fly is called. I am out as Daniels catches it. Rice follows me up and hits one to short that sees him out at first. Bielecki and Espinal manage to advance. Kiritsis comes up next and he goes the same way as Rice and the inning ends with only 2 added to the board. We now lead 5-1

Bottom of the seventh and McKinzy gets Kranz to strike out. Elgelbrecht puts a hard one out to left for a base hit. Medellin then hits one to left field for Rice to grab for the out. McKinzy gives Engelbrecht a base on a wild pitch. Celius manages an infield hit that Espinal cannot get to in time at first. I then manage to keep the score as it is as Archambault hits one my way. I gather and fire to first for the out and retire the Rhinos.

Top of the eighth and Severson hits a fly ball out to right centre for the out. Ayala grounds out to Short. Becerra then fails for the first time today going down swinging.

Bottom of the eighth and we get Daniels on a ground out to Mendoza at second. Rodriquez is struck out by McKinzy. McKinzy also gets Salinas with the strike out. We keep the 5-1 lead going into the last.

Top of the ninth, Mendoza flies out to centre to start us off. Bielecki cannot add to his 4 hits as he strikes out. Espinal then hits an excellent hit out to left field only to see their fielder make an excellent one handed grab at the wall to end our final inning.

Bottom of the ninth and the manager sends Swindell in to try and close the game out. I hope it works a lot better than last time. Crown gets a single to start the inning off. Swindell gets Kranz to strike out. I then help to end the game as I field a grounder at third, fire to second for the first out before it is shuttled to first to complete the double play.

The day off seems to have done the team a world of good as we record our first win for a while and move to 5-9. It did not do me any good though as I went 0-4 in the game. Matt Hood got player of the game.

We suit up against the Rhinos tomorrow and hopefully we can do the same again.

[G-Force]

Good detail on the games. Keep it up!

GH

[amead17]

A new day and the team are looking forward to the second game at the Bossier City Rhinos after yesterdays win.

I am hoping to show an improved performance after my poor showing.

The manager has gone with the following line-up for today's game.

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
DH Joe Van Alstyne
LF Tanner Rice
1B Chris klika
CF Chris LaVacca
Catcher Tomas Ayala
RF Jose Becerra

Pitching for us today is Tyler Crostic. Crostic has 2 wins from 2 games pitched. We are hoping to keep that record up for him. Pat Palin failed to make the line-up again and it is hard to see him miss out.

Top of the first and Mendoza starts with a solid base hit into right field that slips past the first baseman. Bielecki strikes out which brings me up to try and advance Mendoza. I hit the ball straight to the first baseman expecting to be out but he throws to second to get Mendoza. The ball comes back to first but I beat it in to get on base. I move up to second on a solid base hit to centre from Van Alstyne. Rice comes in and puts a grounder out to third which sees Van Alstyne tagged by the throw to second to retire the side.

Bottom of the first and Crostic gets Narvaez up first with a ground out to Mendoza. Daniels then comes in and fires are hard one out towards left field. I move round and make the quick pick up and throw to first to get the out. Archambault then hits a high one out to Left Field which lands in the glove of Rice on the dive to retire the side. No score after the first.

Top of the second and Klika holes out to left field first up. LaVacca then hits a return ball to the pitcher and he is out at first. Ayala then puts up an infield fly to see us retired.

Bottom of the second and we get Celius on a ground out to Mendoza. Crostic gives Rodriquez a walk. Rice gets Salinas out in left field on a slow pop up. I help to get the third out by picking up a ground ball from Apple and making the throw to second for the out. Score remains 0-0.

Top of the third and Becerra starts the inning with a strike out. Mendoza then hits one out to the right foul territory and is caught by Celius. Bielecki puts a solid base hit out to right field to see me come up for my second at bat of the day. I strike out to strand Bielecki and see the side retired.

Bottom of the third and we give Wright a base hit to centre to start the inning. Crostic gets Roberts to strike out. Narvaez hits one straight back to Crostic for the catch. Daniels puts a base hit out to right field that sees Wright move to third and within scoring range. Crostic gets out of the inning unscathed by getting Archambault to strike out and leave the game scoreless.

Top of the fourth and we get a start from Van Alstyne with a hit to short right centre. Rice strikes out. Klika manages to move Van Alstyne to second on a base hit to centre field. LaVacca flies out to centre to hold the runners in place. Ayala then gets the bases loaded for us as he hits one out to left field. Becerra up next and we need a special from him to get the scoring going. He doesn't respond and puts up an infield fly to see the inning end and 3 stranded on base.

Bottom of the fourth and Crostic gives Celius a walk to start the inning. Rodriquez hits out to right field for a base hit that sees Celius move to third. Salinas gets a ground ball out to me at third. I fire to first for the out but Celius runs for home and the first score of the game. Rodriquez moves to second. Crostic walks Apple. Crostic gets Wright to strike out. We give up our second run on the next batter as Roberts gets a single to centre that sees Rodriquez round third and head home. We give up another as we start to unravel. Narvaez gets a hit to centre that sees Apple move to third and then run for home without a throw. We finally get out of the inning as Crostic strikes out Daniels. We now need to start getting things going as we trail 3-0

Top of the fifth and we don't start well as Mendoza strikes out on a close call. Bielecki advances to first after a glancing blow from the pitch. I am up next to try and start our scoring. I pop one up to short to be caught on the fly. Van Alstyne strikes out as we fail to make any headway into the Rhinos lead.

Bottom of the fifth and we get Archambault on a fly out to centre to start the inning. Celius strikes out to make it 2 down. Mendoza then gets the ground out from Rodriquez to finish a quick inning. We still trail 3-0.

Top of the sixth and Rice puts up a fly out to left field for our first out. Klika strikes out as we start to struggle under the pressure of a run chase. LaVacca goes the same way as we topple over 1, 2, 3.

Bottom of the sixth and the manager has seen enough from Crostic. He sends Gilberto Rodriguez in to pitch the start of the sixth. Rodriguez gets Salinas to strike out up first. He gives Apple a single to left field next. Wright is the next Strike out as Rodriguez gets his second. Roberts then takes an infield hit as Bielecki cannot get the runners at short. LaVacca manages to retire the side on a fly out from Narvaez to keep us in the game. We still trail 3-0

Top of the seventh and Ayala faces a new pitcher. He gets a hit to drop in just in front of Salinas to get the inning started. Becerra then step into the box and hits a sweet one to right centre that sails over the track and wall for a 2 run home run measured at 415 feet. We are back in the game as Mendoza comes up. Mendoza gets a walk from a new pitcher but Bielecki strikes out. I am up next to try and bring home the tying run. I face a strong pitch but get it right out of the middle of the bat. It sails out to left and travels over the wall for a 2 run homer to put us up 4-3. Van Alstyne goes down swinging to another new pitcher. Rice then flies out to centre to finish the inning and leave us up 4-3.

Bottom of the seventh and we change pitcher again. Cesar Arocho comes in to pitch for us. Daniles pops up an infield fly for Mendoza to get the first out. After the out Arocho is pulled and Dashawn McKinzy is sent in. Archambault puts up a fly ball to right and Becerra brings it in. We then get out with a lucky one as Rice catches Celius at the left wall to retire the side to keep the score 4-3 in our favour.

Top of the eighth and we start with a single from Klika to left field. He then advances after LaVacca is hit by a nasty pitch. Ayala hits into a double play at short as the Rhinos get both him and LaVacca. Klika makes it to third on the out. Espinal is sent in to pinch hit for Becerra. Espinal puts one out to left field but sees it fall into the fielders glove to strand Klika.

Bottom of the eighth and McKinzy gives Rodriquez a single to right field to start. This sees him pulled and Andres Sevilla sent in to pitch. I am then the focus as I catch an easy pop up and fire to first to get both Salinas and Rodriquez on a double play. Sevilla then strikes out Apple to retain our 1 run lead.

Top of the ninth and we face the Rhinos closer as they try to keep themselves in the game. Mendoza is struck out first up. Bielecki goes the same way after miss judging a pitch. I am also struck out as the Rhinos closer does his job. We still lead 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth

Bottom of the ninth and the Manager calls for Swindell to try and get the save. I help out as I pick up a grounder from the pinch hitting Hyman and fire to first for the out. Cronk then puts a base hit out to right field as the tying run on base. Swindell gets Narvaez to strike out and it comes down to the Rhinos last out. We win a close one as Daniels pops up to second and Mendoza takes the catch.

We win 2 games in a row for the first time this season as we squeak home 4-3 on 2 home runs and move to a 6-9 record. This is the first time we have come from behind to win and I had a major part in that. I went 1-5 with a home run and 2 RBI's and a run.

We face the Rhinos in the third game of 3 tomorrow and we can expect a reaction from them so will need to be at our best.

[amead17]

Today sees our final game in Bossier City against the Rhinos. Hopefully we can make it 3 wins in a row. I am also looking to improve my hitting.

The manager has opted to mix things up in the line-up

CF Chris Severson
SS Steve Bielecki
2B Chris LaBuff
3B Joshua Mills
LF Tanner Rice
DH Joe Van Alstyne
1B Pat Palin
RF Jose Becerra
Catcher Josh Pittman

Pitching today is Antonio Torres. Torres has a 1-2 record for us this year. He is hoping to add to the win column.

Pat has managed to get back into the team today but it sees him in his third position of the year. He will play first base.

Top of the first and Severson gets a base early after being pinged by a fastball. Bielecki flies out to left field, as does LeBuff. I am up fourth to try and keep the inning going. I hit a grounder to short stop that goes to second to tag Severson and retire the side.

Bottom of the first and we start poorly in the field as Narvaez takes a single to shallow centre. Torres gets Celius to strike out. Archambault gets one out to right field for a base hit that sees Narvaez advance to third. Daniels then adds to our poor start as he raps on into right field that sees Narvaez home. Archambault moves to third. Palin gets the second out from a pop up to right foul territory of Rodriquez. Apple strikes out and we end the inning 1-0 down.

Top of the second and we get a walk for Rice to start the inning. Van Alstyne then grounds into a double play at second to see both himself and Rice out. Palin's timing is off after 2 games out and he strikes out to retire the side.

Bottom of the second and Torres gets Medellin to strike out first up. Kranz grounds out to Bielecki at short. Engelbrecht then strikes out to leave the score 1-0 in the Rhino's favour

Top of the third and Becerra pops one up in the infield that sees him out on the fly. Pittman gets a base hit over by the left foul line. Severson clubs a beautiful one out to left that falls into the corner by the left foul line. This sees Pittman run for home and Severson slide into third for a run scoring triple that ties up the game. Bielecki grounds out to third to leave Severson stood at third. LaBuff then puts up a slow pop up to the left field that falls safe. This sees Severson score. I am up again looking to get my game started. I take a strike but LaBuff tries to to steal second and fails as the throw beats him. That retires the side with me up again in the fourth. We lead 2-1

Bottom of the third and Torres gets Narvaez with a splitter for the strike out. He then uses a curve ball to get Celius. Torres makes it 3 out of 3 with another curve ball claiming Archambault.

Top of the fourth and I will lead off. I clip a solid line drive out to centre that lands in for a base hit. I then move up to second on a ground out by Rice that goes towards first base. I make another move on a Van Alstyne ground out to second and am now positioned in third ready to run home. Palin is up to try and bring me home. Palin receives a wild pitch that goes through everybody. I run for home to score. Palin flies out to right field and that retires the side but we now lead 3-1.

Bottom of the fourth and we get Daniels on a fly out caught by Becerra. Bielecki gets Rodriquez on a dive at short to take the second out. Torres then gets another strike out as he gets Apple with a full count.

Top of the fifth and Becerra strikes out for our first out. Pittman goes down swinging on a full count. Severson gets another hit out to centre to continue his solid game. Bielecki puts a grounder out to the right field that sees him get his first base hit of the day. Severson makes the move and gets to third. We fail to capitalise on the strong position as LaBuff flies out to centre and see us retired with the score still 3-1 in out favour.

Bottom of the fifth and Bielecki gets Medellin on a ground out to start the inning. He gets Kranz the same way on the next out. Palin then gets into the action taking a grounder at first to get Engelbrecht.

Top of the sixth and I am leading off again. I hit a soft one out to left field and somehow it falls in for a base hit. Rice flies out to centre for the first out. I then do something that I perhaps am not made for as I try to steal second. I do not make it and am beaten by the throw. Van Alstyne then strikes out to leave the game with a 3-1 lead for us.

Bottom of the sixth and Torres gets another strike out with Narvaez swinging through the pitch. Celius also strikes out swinging to make it double digit strike outs for Torres on the day. Archambault hits a solid base hit out to left field. That is it for Torres as the manager pulls him. Gilberto Rodriguez comes in and the first thing he does is give Daniels a base hit to centre. A wild pitch then sees Archambault move to third and Daniels to second and in scoring range. Rodriguez then sees a double go past me to left field that scores both Archambault and Daniels to tie up the score. Apple gets a hit as I cannot make the throw to get the tag moving Rodriquez to third. We manage to get out of the inning with the game tied as Rodriguez gets Medellin to strike out. Game score is 3-3.

Top of the seventh and Espinal pinch hits for Pat Palin but he strikes out facing a new Rhino pitcher. Kiritsis also pinch hits for Becerra. He manages to get one out to right field that falls in for a base hit. Kiritsis then moves to second on a wild pitch to Pittman. Pittman puts up a base hit to centre that moves Kiritsis to third. Mendoza pinch hits for Severson for some reason. He strikes out to put us down to 1 out left in the inning. Bielecki then strikes out to leave Kiritsis and Pittman stranded.

Bottom of the seventh and we get the Pinch hitting Salinas on a ground out to short. Engelbrecht then grounds out to short as well. I get involved for the third out as I field a grounder and fire to first for the out.

Top of the eighth and LaBuff starts us off. He hits one out to right field and all the fielder can do is watch the ball sail over the fence for a solo homer of 348 feet to give us the lead again. I am up next. I put one out to left field and as I start to make my run for base Apple makes a dive to take the catch and see me out. Rice puts out a solid hit to left that goes in for a base hit. Van Alstyne then puts a grounder out to short that goes to second and then first for the double play. We are retired with a lead of 4-3.

Bottom of the eighth and the manager pulls Rodriguez and sends Cesar Arocho in. Arocho gets Celius to strike out on a fast ball. That is all for Arocho as Andres Sevilla goes in to pitch. He does not start well and Archambault hits a long one 359 feet over the left fence to level the game. Sevilla regains control to get Daniels to strike out. He gives Rodriquez a walk. We get out of the inning with the score tied a 4-4 after Apple sees a ground out to short that has Daniels out at second.

Top of the ninth and we need to make the most of this inning. Kilka who was a fielding substitution comes in and strikes out first up. LaVacca then puts a base hit up to centre field. Noftall pinch hits for Pittman but he hits into a double play at short to end the inning.

Bottom of the ninth and we need to keep it scoreless to take it into extras. Sevilla continues and Bielecki grabs a ground out off Medellin. Salinas gets a base hit to shallow right. Hyman pinch hits and grounds out to Bielecki that moves Salinas to second. We send it into extras as LaBuff gets Narvaez on a pop up fly to end the inning with the score 4-4.

Top of the tenth and we don't start well as Mendoza hits a ground out to second base. Bielecki holes out to right field for a fly out. LaBuff goes down swinging and we need another scoreless inning in the bottom of the tenth.

Bottom of the tenth and the manager sends in Swindell to keep the score level. We get Celius to strike out again. That is his fifth of the day and we have his number. Klika gets Archambault on a ground out at first. Swindell then strikes out Daniels to send the game into the eleventh.

Top of the eleventh and I am leading off. I strike out to give us a poor start. Rice hits a grounder to short and is out at first. Van Alstyne then gives us a chance by hitting a triple out to the left field as he beats the throw. We don't get anything as Klika flies out to right to strand Van Alstyne.

Bottom of the eleventh and the manager changes pitchers again sending in Dashawn McKinzy. I help get the first out picking up the grounder from Rodriquez before throwing to first for the out. Apple gets to second base after an error by Klika that sees the tag at first missed by a wild throw. Medellin strikes out. We then throw the game away as Salinas puts up a fly ball to centre that LaVacca fluffs and puts down. Apple runs for home to take the game.

We lose 5-4 and it is a tough loss to take as we were in the game right from the start.

I went 2-5 with a run scored that is better than previous days. Our pitcher Antonio Torres got player of the day. We are now 6-10 for the year.

We go back home for tomorrows game with a 3 game series starting against the Dothan Oilers.

[amead17]

We are back home to see if we can turn around our current poor home form (3-8) with some better play.

The big club has again been tinkering after Casey McCauley returned from the disabled list. These moves have seen both Joe Van Alstyne and Chris Klika demoted to the Rock Hill Ducks while McCauley re-joins the club along with a promotion for Phil Bonier from the Ducks.

This will mean changes in the line-up for the first game of the 3 game series against the Dothan Oilers.

The manager has gone with the following line up

CF Chris Severson
2B Casey McCauley
SS Chris LaBuff
3B Joshua Mills
DH Angel Espinal
1B Scott Noftall
RF Tanner Rice
Catcher Tomas Ayala
LF Jose Becerra

The pitcher for today will be Dave Ziobro who had a no decision last time out. He is currently 0-2 so we are hoping we can put 1 in the win column for him.

I am now the only Wasp to have played every game this season. Pat continues to find his playing time curtailed as the manager decides to use other players.

Top of the first and Ziobro gets off to a perfect start by striking out Hall but Cheatom then puts a nice solid hit to left field for a base. Cheatom advances to second after Ziobro gives Marsh a walk. Things get worse as Culver puts one up over centre field that Severson can't get to and it drops in by the wall for a double. This sees Cheatom home for the first run while Marsh moves to third. We continue to struggle as Severson misses another one that gives Montalvo a double. This sees Marsh and Culver home and we are already 3 runs behind. Ziobro finally gets some control back by striking out Blalark. He also gets Soto to end the inning but we are down 3-0 and already under pressure.

Bottom of the first. Severson makes up for his poor fielding display to get us off to a solid start with a base hit. Severson then takes off for second and gets the steal. Severson moves up to third on a McCauley fly out to deep centre. We get our first run when Severson makes it home on a ground out by LaBuff. I am up next with nobody on and 2 out and the lead cut to 2. I pop an easy one up over the infield for the third baseman to take to end the inning. Score is 3-1 in the Oilers favour.

Top of the second and Ziobro gets Hinton swinging. He makes it 2 for the inning by also getting Swarn on the strike out. Hall then ends the inning by hitting straight back to Ziobro for the ground out.

Bottom of the second and Espinal gets us off to a good start by hitting a ground rule double as it skips over the wall on the bounce. Noftall flies out to right for the first out. Rice then get caught close to the crowd as he puts one into the left foul territory. Ayala gets a walk. Becerra strands Espinal and Ayala by hitting a soft one out to right centre for the catch. We still trail 3-1.

Top of the third and Ziobro continues his improvement getting Cheatom to strike out. Marsh grounds out to Short. I then retire the side on an infield pop up by Culver.

Bottom of the third and Severson hits a fly ball out to centre for the catch. McCauley puts one up just over second that is taken for the out. LaBuff then strikes out to leave the score 3-1 for the Oilers.

Top of the fourth and Ziobro gets another as Montalvo strikes out. We fail to get Blalark on an infield hit towards first. Soto then puts one out to short. We get the runner at second but Soto makes base at first. Ziobro gets strike out number 8 as Hinton goes down swinging.

Bottom of the fourth and I am leading off. I hit a soft liner out to Centre that drops in for a base hit. Espinal hits a pop up over the infield that the catcher grabs for the first out. Noftall strikes out. I then get stranded as Rice puts one out to Centre that is taken on the run to retire the side. We continue to trail 3-1.

Top of the fifth and first up is Swarn. He hits it might way and I make the pick up but don't throw to first to well. It goes in the dirt but my blushes are saved as Noftall manages to save it and get the out. The manager sends a new pitcher in as he pulls Ziobro. The new Pitcher is Gene Pickup. The first batter he faces is Hall who hits one my way. I miss it but manage to pick up the dropped ball and fire to first to just get the out. Pickup then gets Cheatom to strike out to end the inning.

Bottom of the fifth and Ayala starts off with a line drive out towards short that is taken by a leaping catch. Becerra gets the inning going with a solid hit out to left field for a base. We don't capitalise as Severson hits hopper to short and the Oilers complete the double play getting Becerra and Severson. We are still 3-1 down and starting to run out of innings to get it back.

Top of the sixth and another poor fielding show by Severson sees Marsh manage to get a triple to start the inning. Culver gets a walk. Pickup then gets Montalvo to strike out. We give up another run as Blalark gets a base hit into short centre. Marsh makes home and Culver moves to second. We get Soto on an infield fly. Pickup then gets the inning ended with a strike out of Hinton to limit the damage to 1. We are now 3 behind again 4-1.

Bottom of the sixth and McCauley strikes out. LaBuff then pops a fly out up over to short. I am up third and need to get something going for us or we could be struggling. I get a nice infield hit that goes to second but allows me to make the first base. I am left stranded again as Espinal strikes out to leave it 4-1 Oilers

Top of the seventh and we get Swarn on the fly out to start the inning. Severson then catches Hall out in centre for the second out. We end the inning after a little pop up fly nestles in Noftalls hands.

Bottom of the seventh and Noftall strikes out and we continue to struggle to make base. Rice flies out to right field to remain hitless today. Ayala then grounds out to second for the end of the inning. Oilers still lead 4-1

Top of the eighth and we give Marsh another base hit as he lashes into left field. I get involved on the next play starting off the double as I take the grounder from Culver and fire it to second before it is moved to first. This gets Marsh and Culver. Montalvo flies out to right to end the inning.

Bottom of the eighth and we need something to stay in this. Becerra faces a new pitcher but nothing changes as he grounds out to first. Severson is then caught on the fly in foul territory to the left. We finally get another base hit as McCauley puts an infield hit up to second. LaBuff fails to keep things going as he grounds out to third and leave the score 4-1

Top of the ninth and we need a good inning to stand any chance in the game. Giberto Rodriguez comes in to pitch for us. He gets Blalark to strike out swinging but then gives up a double to Soto down the right line. We then walk Hinton for some reason when he is hitless. Swarn strikes out to make it 2 down. Hall comes into bat and he puts a single up over centre field. The walk of Hinton then hurts us a as Soto makes a run for home and beats the throw to put us further behind. We get out of the inning as Rodriguez strikes out Cheatom but we are now 5-1 behind and need something special in the bottom of the ninth to win

Bottom of the ninth and I am leading off. I need to make a base hit or we could be looking at a big loss. I don't make it as I pop an infield fly up to be caught by second base. Espinal strikes out as we tamely start to go down. Noftall also strikes out and we lose the game 5-1.

That is our ninth loss at home and we just cannot seem to find the confidence to win at our home ground at all.

In truth we were never in it as the base hits just did not materialise. I went 2-4 getting a third of our 6 hits.

We face the Oilers again tomorrow and hopefully our confidence hasn't been knocked to badly before that game.

[amead17]

We start the second game at home to the Dothan Oilers today. We are hoping to try and turn our terrible home form round.

The big club has decided the team needs a shake up and has given the pitching a right change. These changes have seen Gene Pickup and Chris Swindell promoted to the Erie Phantoms at single A level. We have also seen Andres Sevilla, Gilberto Rodriguez and left fielder R.J. Furtado demoted down to the Rookie Rock Hill Ducks. In return we have picked up starting pitchers Donte Conston and Danny Burns, relief pitchers Nick Thompson, who rejoins us, and Ray Petty along with Right Fielder Adam Queen who all get promoted from the Rock Hill Ducks.

It was an interesting team meeting before the game with so many new faces in the locker room.

The manager has decided that the following line-up is today's attempt to win.

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Casey McCauley
DH Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
RF Pat Palin
LF Tanner Rice
CF Chris Severson
1B Chris LaBuff
Catcher Tomas Ayala

Eric Hinkley gets the start today. So far this year he has gone 0-1 from 3 starts. We are looking to add a win to his stats today.

Top of the first and we get Moncada on a ground out to first to start the game off. I get into the game early by fielding a grounder from Cheatom and making the out with the throw to first. Marsh gets a base hit to short centre to get the hitting started. We give Marsh second on a wild pitch. Palin then ends the inning by getting Purcell on the fly in right field.

Bottom of the first and we start poorly again as Mendoza grounds out to third. McCauley then grounds out to short to see us 2 down very quickly. This continues as Bielecki grounds to first for the retirement of the side. Game tied at 0-0.

Top of the second and we get Montalvo on a pop up fly to second. Hinkley then gives Blalark a walk. Hinton gets a hit out to right centre that falls in safe. Blalark moves to third on the hit. The Oilers start the scoring with a Larocque double that sees Blalark home and Hinton to third. We give up another 2 runs on a smash out to right centre that rolls to the fence. Hall picks up a double that sees Hinton and Larocque home for 2 more runs. Our poor form at home seems to be continuing. We finally get a grip of the inning as Moncada grounds out to short and Cheatom strikes out to leave the score 3-0 in the Oilers favour.

Bottom of the second and I am up first. Hopefully I can get us started or it might be a long day again. I nearly make a base hit as the throw from short goes in the dirt but their first baseman just about manages to get me with the tag for the first out. We finally get a base hit as Pat Palin puts up a solid double to the right field that sees him just beat the throw on a slide. Rice then comes up big with a double that sees Pat make the run for home to score our first run of the game. Severson flies out to right centre. We cut the lead to 1 on a LaBuff single to right field that sees Rice get home. Ayala gets a base on an error by their third baseman that sees LaBuff move to second. We are finally moving as Mendoza comes up next and slaps a base hit into left field. LaBuff runs for home and levels the score. Ayala moves to second. Our inning is ended as McCauley comes in and hits a grounder to short to see Mendoza out at second. The game is tied at 3-3

Top of the third and we are back in it. Hinkley finally gets his range as he gets Marsh to go down swinging. Purcell gets a base hit that falls just in front of Palin in right field. Montalvo goes down as the second strike out of the inning. Strike out number 3 sees the side retired as Blalark misses.

Bottom of the third and we start with a pop up fly to the right side foul territory that sees Bielecki out. I come in next and am one of only 2 Wasps yet to get a base. I make second base on an error as their short stop throws another in the dirt at first but this time it is missed. I then move up to third after Palin puts a grounder to centre that is thrown to first for the out. Rice comes in a puts one out to left field that lands safe. This brings me home for the go ahead run. Severson sees the inning end as he sends a ground out to third. We now lead 4-3

Top of the fourth and it is not good news for Hinkley. Hinkley pitches to Hinton who grounds out to second. After the out Hinkley is seen holding his hand. Out trainer comes on and after assessment decides to take him out of the game. The Manager sends in Ray Petty to try and finish the fourth. Petty fields a return grounder to get Larocque at first. He then does the same to Hall on another grounder up the middle to end the inning.

Bottom of the fourth and we see LaBuff out on the fly over to left as their fielder stretches to make the play. Ayala puts a slow grounder towards third but the fielder is quick and makes the throw to first and the out. Mendoza then grounds out to short to see the inning ended in quick fashion. We still lead 4-3

Top of the fifth and Petty continues. He gives a base hit to Moncada as the first act of the fifth before he gives up a homer to Cheatom that goes over right field for 396 feet. This sees us behind again. LaBuff gets Marsh in the right foul territory for the first out of the inning. Purcell gets a base hit on a grounder towards first that he beats in. We get Purcell at second as Montalvoo gives McCauley a choice of batter on a grounder. McCauley then gives up an error as he cannot handle a grounder from Blalark. This sees Montalvo to second. McCauley makes up for the error by getting Blalark at second to end the inning from a Hinton grounder. We now trail 5-4.

Bottom of the fifth with McCauley up first but he drops a bouncer right in front of home plate that sees him out at first. Bielecki gets an infield hit towards second to get us started. I am up next looking to try and get a base hit to keep the momentum going. I don't do it as I strike out looking. Palin follows me with a strike out to see the score remain 5-4 in the Oilers favour.

Top of the sixth and the manager pulls Petty for Jesus Nunez. He gives Larocque a walk too start his pitching but gets Hall to strike out for the first of the inning. Moncada gets a base hit out to centre to move Larocque to second. Larocque then moves to third as Cheatom gives up a fielders choice that sees Moncada out. We get away with the inning as Palin pulls in a fly ball from Marsh.

Bottom of the sixth and Rice strikes out to start us off. The Oilers then change pitcher but Severson hits a solid base hit to right field. LaBuff flies out to deep centre. We are then retired as Ayala puts one to close to short and Rice is tagged at second. We continue to trail 5-4.

Top of the seventh and Nunez gets Purcell to strike our. We then get lucky as we get Montalvo to strike out after Ayala challenges the call. The same thing happens to Blalark as an Ayala appeal gets him on a strike out.

Bottom of the seventh and Mendoza grounds out to third to start us off. McCauley flies out to centre field up next. Bielecki gets a base hit our to right field to bring me up to try again. I get a walk as the pitcher misses 4. Espinal then pinch hits for Pat Palin. He strands both myself and Bielecki as he hits straight to the centre fielder on the fly. We still trail 5-4.

Top of the eighth and another change of pitcher as Dashawn McKinzy comes in. McKinzy gets Hinton to strike out. Larocque flies out to left field for the second out. We give Hall an infield hit as McCauley doesn't get the grounder in time. Moncada then hits one out to the left corner that Rice struggles to get to. This allows Hall to move from first to third and then onto home for a run. Moncada gets a Double. We get Cheatom in left centre to retire the side but we are now 6-4 behind and struggling again in the field.

Bottom of the eighth and we get a base hit first up with Rice finding left field. Rice moves to second as they walk Severson. LaBuff goes down with an infield fly. We have the bases loaded after Ayala puts one just in front of centre field for a base hit. Mendoza puts one out to centre field that falls in for a base hit. This sees Rice home. Severson then tries to make it but is caught at home plate to be the second out of the inning. We end up only getting 1 back as McCauley grounds to short to see Mendoza out. Score is 6-5 in the Oilers favour going into a tight ninth

Top of the ninth and the manager decides to send in Danny Burns to pitch. We get Marsh out on the fly in left field. Purcell gets a walk. We then get Purcell trying to steal second. I fail to get Montalvo up next as the throw to first doesn't reach in time. Montalvo moves to second as Blalark walks. Burns keeps the game alive by getting Pinch hitter Culver to strike out.

Bottom of the ninth and Bielecki is up first to face the Oilers closer. He strikes out to bring me on to bat. I get a hit and make base as the tying run. Phil Bonier comes in to pinch hit behind me. He strikes out. Kiritsis then comes in as a pinch hitter and he hits straight back to the pitcher to strand me and give us another loss. Not sure why we had the pinch hitters when a set batter may have gotten us the runs.

We lose 6-5 and make it into double digits for home losses on the year.

I go 1-4 with a run scored and a walk.

We have a final game against the Oilers tomorrow and we must find something to get the home wins going.

[amead17]

Today sees us play the final game of the series against the Dothan Oilers hoping to avoid a white wash for the series. The big club have made a couple more changes to the team. Pitcher Gus Flores came back from the DL and was immediately demoted to Rock Hill, Going with him was Ray Petty after only 1 game with us. Pitcher Trevor Farner has been sent down to us from the Triple A Tulsa Aggies.

For the final game against the Oilers the manager has decided on the following line-up

SS Angelo Mendoza
2B Casey McCauley
DH Angel Espinal
3B Joshua Mills
LF Pat Palin
RF Tanner Rice
CF Chris Severson
1B Jose Becerra
Catcher Josh Pittman

On the mound today for us is Matt Hood. We managed to get a win last time out with Hood on the mound and are hoping for the same again this time.

Top of the first and Hood starts well with a strike out of Stodolka. Montalvo then flies out to centre. Hood gives marsh a walk. Cluver then puts in a base hit just beyond short. Marsh moves to third. We get out of the inning unscathed when Hood strikes out Cheatom.

Bottom of the first and Mendoza starts us off with a fly ball out to the centre fielder for the first out. McCauley gets our first base hit as he hits a hard grounder into right field. Espinal then hits a solid grounder into centre field that sees him get a base hit. McCauley moves up to third to threaten. I am up next to try and bring him home. I manage to bring him home but only because I put up a long fly ball out to centre that is caught. My out sees us score our first run. Palin follows me up and flies out to left centre to see the inning end with the score 1-0 in our favour.

Top of the second and we get the first out on a dive by Severson to make a wonderful catch off of Campos. Blalark then goes down swinging for a strike out. Larson picks up a walk but Briand strikes out to end the inning.

Bottom of the second and Rice starts with a fly out to right field. Severson then comes up and compliments his good fielding with a strong hit that sees the ball fly 417 feet to double our lead on a solo homer. Becerra comes up next and slaps a long one to the left wall. He decides to go for 2 and just makes it on the slide for a double. Pittman pops up into foul territory for the second out. We end the inning leading 2-0 as Mendoza grounds out to third to see the ball move to first and the out.

Top of the third and Stodolka is up again. This time he hits out to right centre where Severson calls for it and makes the catch. Montalvo gets a solid double out to the right wall. Marsh then gets a walk on a full count. Culver puts in a base hit to left field to see the bases loaded. We give away the lead as Cheatom hits a base hit that sees both Montalvo and Marsh make it home. A wild pitch from Hood then sees Culver to third and Cheatom to second. Hood finally regains control as he strikes out Campos. Blalark then goes down the same way to end the inning with the game tied at 2-2

Bottom of the third and we start slowly with McCauley flying out to centre field. Espinal is up next and he strikes out. I am up third and with the bases empty need to get something started for our side. I get a grounder out to left field but the third baseman gets to it and sends it to first to end the inning.

Top of the fourth and Hood starts the inning by getting Larson to strike out. Hood is then pulled and Nick Thompson is sent in to pitch. Thompson sees Briand get bat onto the ball but Mendoza comes up with the grounder and the throw to first for the out. I finally get into the game as Stodolka hits one my way that I grab and fire to first for the out.

Bottom of the fourth with Palin up first. He doesn't get anything as he goes down swinging. Rice follows him with another strike out. Severson also goes down swinging to see 3 strike outs to end the inning. The game is tied at 2-2.

Top of the fifth and we get Montalvo on a pop up to first base with Becerra making the play. Rice then grabs a fly ball from marsh for the second out. Culver gets a hit out to right field as he finds the hole. We end the inning as Thompson gets Cheatom to chase a bad one for the strike out.

Bottom of the fifth and we continue with the strike outs as Becerra is the next to go down. Pittman is next out but at least he got bat to ball giving a fly out up to right centre. Mendoza finally breaks the lull in our hitting with a slow one up the middle that sees him make base before the throw can be made. Mendoza moves to second as McCauley gets a walk. Espinal is up next, trying to keep things going which he does by putting a base hit out to left field. Mendoza takes third and runs for home unchallenged for the run. McCauley moves to second. I am up next to try and keep the revival going. I fail again as I put a slow bouncer to third that sees me out at first on the throw. We retake the lead with the run giving the game a 3-2 score line.

Top of the sixth and we get Campos on a fly out to deep centre to start the inning. Severson then makes another catch at the centre field wall to get Blalark. Larson grounds out to short to see the Oilers retired.

Bottom of the sixth and Palin gets a line drive to fall in for a base hit out to left field. Rice is out after his pop up drifts into foul territory for the first baseman to catch. Palin moves up to second when Severson puts a nice dink out into centre field for a base hit. Becerra is the second out going down on strikes. Pittman faces a new pitcher and puts up a small fly ball over the infield for the out to leave the game 3-2 in our favour.

Top of the seventh and Nick Thompson gives up a soft fly ball to left field for Briand to get a base hit. Briand then moves to second on a sacrificial bunt by Stodolka. Montalvo flies out to left field for the catch by Palin. Thompson retires the side by striking out Marsh to leave Briand stranded.

Bottom of the seventh and Mendoza starts us off. He puts a grounder to third for the out. McCauley gets one to go into the hole on the left but the Short Stop grabs it and gets him at first with a quick throw. Marsh hits one in the air towards third who grabs it for the out to leave the score 3-2 Wasps.

Top of the eighth and the manager makes a pitching change. Thompson is replaced by Dashawn McKinzy. McKinzy gives a base hit to Culver as his first act. Donte Conston comes in to replace McKinzy as the manager goes to the bullpen again. He gets Cheatom to strike out to get the first out. The manager then changes pitchers again (though I am not sure why) bringing in Cesar Arocho. We get Campos on a pop up to short for the second out. The manager does it again and replaces Arocho with Jesus Nunez. Nunez gives Blalark a base hit that sees Culver move to second. We then retire the side as Nunez gets a second go and sees Larson fly out to right field.

Bottom of the eighth and I am starting us off. I need a hit otherwise I could end up without one for the game. I try to force it but miss big and end up striking out. Palin flies out to left field for the second out. Rice gets a walk. LaBuff comes in as a pinch hitter and grounds out to short to retire the side. We go into the ninth defending a 1 run lead and wondering who the manager will decide to go for as pitcher.

Top of the ninth and Nunez continues for the first batter. We get the first batter as Briand grounds to short who gets it to first for the out. Nunez then gets Stodolka to strike out. Nunez then gives up a double to Montalvo as Rice cant get the ball in from the centre wall to second quick enough. Montalvo moves to third as Marsh hits abase hit to left field. We then give up the lead again as Culver gets a base hit into centre that scores Montalvo. We get Cheatom next up with a fly out but the game is all tied at 3 apiece and we need something from the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

Bottom of the ninth. Bielecki pinch hits and gets a base hit out to right field. He moves to second as the pinch hitting Bonier grounds out to short. Mendoza is given a walk to make base. McCauley then strikes out to leave us 1 out to get the run. Espinal is up next and he gets a piece of one that sends the ball into right field for a base hit. Bielecki rounds third and heads home to score the winning run and make it our game 4-3.

We have finally won a home game after 5 losses. I had a bad day going 0-3 with an RBI.

We are now 7-12 for the year. Up next for us is a trip across to Mississippi to face the Southaven Demons. It could be a tough trip as they are 12-7.

[amead17]

Today we have made the 3 and a half hour trip north west to Southaven to begin our 3 game road trip against the Demons. The Demons are currently 12-7 and second in our division. It is going to be a tough trip and hopefully we can be up to the task.

The manager has gone with the following line-up for the first game of the series.

LF Angelo Mendoza
2B Casey McCauley
1B Angel Espinal
3B Joshua Mills
SS Steve Bielecki
CF Chris Severson
DH Chris LaBuff
RF Tanner Rice
Catcher Tomas Ayala

Pitching for us today is Tyler Crostic. Crostic is currently 2-0 from 3 games so hopefully we can continue his luck and get the win today.

Top of the first and the game doesn't start well for us as Mendoza strikes out. McCauley does the same thing and we are very quickly 2 down. The inning ends when Espinal pops a grounder to third to see the tag at first.

Bottom of the first and we get the first out on a fly to Mendoza from Owens. Poer then finds the gap in centre for a base hit. We then get the inning finished with a double play as Wardlow bounces one to short who goes to second for the out before the second out is made at first. The score is tied at 0-0

Top of the second and I am leading off after our quiet first inning. I don't get anywhere as I ground one to short who fires to first for the out. Bielecki has no better luck as he pops a line drive straight to first for the out. Severson follows us out as he flies one to right field to be caught.

Bottom of the second and the Demons start with a tight double from Gonzalez after he gets one out to the left fence. McHugh then puts one out to right field that Rice just makes low to get the catch. Crostic gives Robeson a walk but then gets Crumbley to strike out for number 2. The Demons are retired as Crostic comes up with strike out number 2 of the inning. Game stays 0-0

Top of the third and we lead off with LaBuff. He puts one towards third on the ground. It is picked up and sent to first for the out. Rice strikes out trying to find one he likes. We finally get a hit as Ayala sends one out to the left fence that rolls safe. He gets a double after beating the throw with the slide into second. Mendoza comes up next and hits a solid single into left field. Ayala sees his opportunity and heads for home to score the first run of the game. McCauley comes up next but sees the inning end after his hit to right centre is quickly fielded and sent to first for the out. We lead the game 1-0.

Bottom of the third and Crouse makes his own downfall as he swings at one in the dirt that Ayala grabs and tags for the out. Owens hops one out to second where McCauley fields and sends to first for the out. We then get the side retired as Espinal takes a grounder at first from Poer to end the inning with the lead still 1-0.

Top of the fourth and we start with an Espinal infield fly that lands in the glove of Poer. I come in second looking to get the inning going. I fail by striking out for the first time today. Bielecki puts one out to deep right but the fielder is under it and we end the inning still only leading 1-0.

Bottom of the fourth and Wardlow starts with a grounder to short for the out. Gonzalez puts one out to short centre that Severson takes on the stretch to get out number 2. Crostic gives McHugh a walk followed by Robeson taking a base hit to short centre. We then get lucky as Crumbley puts a base hit into left field. McHugh decides to try and make home but Mendoza puts the throw right on the money and we get McHugh at home plate to retire the side and maintain our 1-0 lead.

Top of the fifth. Severson starts us off by hitting a fly out to his opposite number at Centre field for the out. LaBuff strikes out to make it 2 down. Rice then sends a little flare out to right field that is taken on the run to end the inning.

Bottom of the fifth and I finally get into the game defensively as White hits a grounder my way. I field and send to first for the out. I get my second opportunity straight after as Crouse sends a grounder my way as well and I do the same with the throw to first for the out. Crostic then gets Owens to go down swinging to maintain our slender 1-0 lead.

Top of the sixth and we start with Ayala getting struck out. Mendoza puts a slow bouncer to short for the out at first. McCauley then puts a fly ball out to deep centre only to see the fielder make an easy catch to retire us again.

Bottom of the sixth and Crostic makes the first out on a return grounder from Poer that he sends to first. Wardlow is the second out after he pops a high one up out to short for the catch. We maintain our 1-0 lead by getting Gonzalez on a grounder to short for the out at first.

Top of the seventh and Espinal starts us off. He hits a solid liner but it heads straight to third for the catch. My third attempt to try for a hit comes next. I strike out for the second time as I struggle to find my swing. Bielecki follows me up and he hits one out to the centre wall that the fielder cannot reach. He heads for second and beats the throw on the slide for a double. The Demons change pitcher and the new guy gets Severson to strike out and strand Bielecki.

Bottom of the seventh and we start by giving McHugh an easy single into the hole in left field. We make amends on the next play though as Robeson hits one my way. I fire to second to get McHugh before the relay goes to first to get Robeson and complete the double play. Crostic gets the next batter to strike out and maintain our 1-0 lead.

Top of the eighth and LaBuff strikes out. Rice then hits a fly ball out to right field for the catch and the out. We then get lucky as Ayala hits one to short. The fielder picks it up but then his throw to first is wayward and Ayala makes it. He then heads to second as they search for the ball. Mendoza gets a walk so they can get to McCauley who proceeds to strike out and end the inning.

Bottom of the eighth and the manager makes the first pitching change of the game. He sends Dashawn McKinzy in for the first batter. White gets the pitch he wants but hits it straight to second who sends it to first for the out. McKinzy then strikes out Crouse for the second out. The manager then pulls McKinzy and sends Cesar Arocho in to finish the inning. Owens gets a base hit to left off of Arocho. Arocho is immediately pulled and Trevor Farner is sent in. Farner gives Poera a base hit to centre that sees Owens move to third and in range with the tying score. Farner gets us out of the inning without any damage as he strikes out Wardlow to leave us our slender 1-0 lead going into the ninth.

Top of the ninth and Espinal again leads off. Espinal grounds straight to third for the easy throw to first and the out. I am up next and need to deliver to give us some room in the game. Not a good game with the bat for me as I strike out for a third time. Bielecki hits a grounder to short and he is out at first to leave us relying on our defence to take the game.

Bottom of the ninth and the manager sends for Danny Burns to pitch. Burns makes an error on the return grounder that sees Pinch hitter Hakola get to second. Burns strikes out McHugh to get the first out. He gets Robeson the same way to leave us 1 out away from a tight win. Burns makes it 3 in a row as he takes pinch hitter Castrejon and we take the game 1-0.

The team win a tight one away from home with only 3 hits to move to 8-12 but my game was woeful with the bat going 0-4 with 3 strike outs.

Tyler Crostic was outstanding on the mound to take the player of the game honours for his 7 innings of excellent work.

We play the same team tomorrow where we hope to repeat the win and I hope to help with the bat more than I did today.

[amead17]

We have the second game against the Southaven Demons today. I am hoping I can put up a much better performance than yesterday and cut out the strikes that plagued my batting.

The manager has gone with the following line-up for today's game

SS Angelo Mendoza
2B Casey McCauley
3B Joshua Mills
DH Angel Espinal
RF Pat Palin
CF Chris Severson
LF Tanner Rice
1B Scott Noftall
Catcher Tomas Ayala

Taking the mound for us today is Antonio Torres. Last time out he saw a no decision in the loss to the Bossier Rhinos to leave him at 1-2 for the year.

Pat has been bought back into the team for the game which makes our room happier again.

Top of the first and Mendoza leads off for us. He gets us off to a solid start with a little roller that sees him make first before the throw can be made. McCauley strikes out for the first out and brings me up to bat. I let us down as I hit one straight to the Short Stop who starts the double play that sees both Mendoza and myself out.

Bottom of the first and the Demons start with Owens. Owens goes down swinging at a curve ball that gives Torres his first strike out of the game. Wardlow hits straight to Mendoza who throws to first for the second out. Poer gets the Demons first hit of the game as he gets one out to left field that takes some chasing. This allows him to record a double beating the throw on the slide. I get away with one next as Hutchinson sends one over to me. I pick up and make the throw to first but its in the dirt. Noftall manages to scoop it and get the out to keep the game scoreless.

Top of the second and we lead off with Espinal but he hits it straight to second who makes the throw to first for the out. Palin is next up and he starts his game with a solid base hit out to left field. Severson then lets Palin down by sending one straight to third. This starts the double play that sees both Palin and Severson out.

Bottom of the second and Torres will pitch to McHugh. Torres gets him to swing away and find the strike out. Torres then pings Robeson with one that sees him get a base. On the next batter Robeson makes a lead for second and after the strike is given heads for the base. Ayala can't get the throw to second in time and Robeson picks up a steal. Robeson moves to third after White clips one to first for the second out of the inning. I get us out of the inning in spectacular style as a line drive heads my way fast and I have to make a lunging catch one handed for the out of Crumbley. The game remains scoreless as I manage to get Robeson stranded.

Top of the third and Rice will be up first. Rice gets one out to deep left field and it lands safe. He makes a run for second and just beats the throw with the slide. Noftall puts one out to short that they grab and fire to first for the out. Ayala hits one straight back to the pitcher that sees him out at first by a couple of steps. Mendoza gets a walk after building up a full count. McCauley then puts the pressure on my at bat as he hits a base hit to move Rice to third and Mendoza to second. I am next up with the bases loaded looking for my first hit in a couple of games. I take the pressure in my stride this time as I slug one out to the deep left corner. This sees both Rice and Mendoza head for home and the first 2 runs of the game. I just beat the throw to second for a double with McCauley held at third. Espinal cannot keep the momentum going as he hits straight to third who makes the throw to first for the out. I am stranded at second as we finish the inning 2-0 up.

Bottom of the third and Torres gives a base to Crouse with a walk. Owens follows him up and gets one out to Right field for a base hit. Palin fields and makes the throw towards third but Mendoza decides to go to second instead and get Ownes leaving Crouse on third. Torres then makes a mistake with a pitch to Wardlow that ends up in the dirt. This allows Crouse to come home and cut our lead in half. Torres gets Wardlow to strike out after that mix up for the Crouse score. I am involved again as Poer hits one my way which I take easily to end the inning with the score 2-1 in our favour.

Top of the fourth and Palin is starting off for us. Palin gets one into right field but he makes a bad choice and tries for second. He fails to beat the throw with his head first slide and is tagged out. Severson gets a hit out to short centre to get a runner on base for us. Rice flies out to left field. Noftall then puts a hard grounder to short who picks up the ball and gets Severson at second to end our inning.

Bottom of the fourth and Hutchinson is up first against Torres. Torres gets another strike out as he gets past Hutchinson. McHugh is up next and he gets a solid piece of a Torres pitch that goes out to right field. It keeps going and sails 355 feet to tie the game at 2-2 with a solo homer. I get Robeson on a grounder that I send to first. White then grounds out to first to seethe inning end with the score 2-2.

Top of the fifth and Ayala is into the batters box for us. Ayala leaves the same way he came very quickly after striking out. Mendoza makes base on an error as their short stop fumbles the throw. McCauley goes down swining for out number 2 to see me up again. I take a ball for my first pitch that sees Mendoza head for second. He gets there just ahead of the throw for a steal. I then get to a full count and try to get a walk but the ump says I went to far and gives me out on strikes. The announcer bellows out that I now have 20 strike outs all year (as if I need reminding). I strand Mendoza.

Bottom of the fifth and Torres is facing Crumbley to start off. Crumbley gets one out towards short but in the air for Mendoza to catch. Crouse then lifts one out to left field for Rice to catch. Rice then also gets Owens after a run and catch in left field. The game stays tied at 2-2.

Top of the sixth and Espinal is leading off. He gets us going by hitting one out to right field that drops in for a base. Palin follows up but fails to put bat on ball this time as he is struck out. The Demons change pitcher and Severson goes down on strikes to be out number 2. Rice follows him the same way to end the inning and strand Espinal at first.

Bottom of the sixth and Torres get the nod to continue. Torres gets Wardlow to strike out for the first out. That is all he gets though as the manager decides to make the change on the mound and sends in Jesus Nunez. We get lucky on the first batter he faces. Poer hits one out to the right wall which lands for a base hit. Poer decides to try and be a hero and heads for third but all the extra fielding practice between myself and Palin pays off as he gets the throw in to me and I make the tag for the out. Nunez then faces Hutchinson and gets him to strike out swinging to leave the game 2-2.

Top of the seventh and Bielecki pinch hits for Noftall. Bielecki perhaps wishes he hadn't as he is hit by a pitch that sends him to first. Ayala comes up next and puts a solid base hit out to left field and moves Bielecki to second. Bielecki moves up to third and Ayala to second after Mendoza grounds out to third base. McCauley strikes out to leave the final out in my hands with 2 in range to score. I hit a solid one out to centre field that takes a hop just in front of the fielder. This allows both Mendoza and Ayala to run for home to take us back into the lead. I sit safe at first. Espinal then goes and strikes out to leave me stranded at first. We have a 4-2 lead.

Bottom of the seventh and Nunez continues. McHugh gets a grounder out to short but is out on the throw to first. Nunez gives Robeson a walk. That prompts the manager to pull him and send Cesar Arocho in for the next batter. Arocho gets White to put one up above second that McCauley takes easily. Arocho is then pulled and Nick Thompson is sent for to pitch. Thompson throws a strike to Crumbley. Robeson tries for second but Ayala gets the throw away and McCauley makes the tag to retire the side. The score is 4-2 in our favour with 2 innings left.

Top of the eighth and Palin gets to lead off facing a new pitcher for the Demons. Palin fires a fly ball out to centre but the fielder takes it easily. Severson gets a base hit out to right field on a little flare hit. Rice holes out to right field for the second out. Phil Bonier comes in next after fielding at first in the last half inning. Bonier strikes out to see our inning end.

Bottom of the eighth and Nick Thompson gets to try to get Crumbley again. Crumbley puts one out to left field that sees him get a single. Crumbley advances to second after Crouse hits a grounder to McCauley who fires to first for the out. Owens puts a long one out to right centre but Severson has it covered all the way for the out. McCauley closes out the inning by taking Wardlow's infield fly to see the score remain 4-2 in our favour.

Top of the ninth and we have Ayala coming in first of all. Ayala grounds out to third. Mendoza is out on a return grounder to the pitcher. McCauley then grounds out to short to see us retired hopefully for the last time.

Bottom of the ninth and our closer Danny Burns is sent in. He faces Poer first and gets him to swing at a sinker that sees the strike out. Hutchinson sees the same sinker but he gets a piece of it and makes a base hit into centre field. Burns gets pinch hitter Hakola to go down swinging. Burns then brings home our second win against the Demons with another strike out, this time of Robeson.

We take the game 4-2 and I had a big hand in the score. We are now on a 3 game winning streak and starting to look a little more healthy on 9-12.

My game saw me go 2-4 with 4 RBI's and a strike out. Torres took player of the game honours.

We have the final game of the Series against the Southaven Demons tomorrow.

[amead17]

We play the final game of the 3 game series in Southaven against the Demons today. We are trying to make it a clean sweep after 2 wins.

The manager has decided to go with the following line-up for the game

CF Chris Severson
2B Casey McCauley
DH Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
RF Pat Palin
SS Chris LaBuff
1B Scott Noftall
LF Jose Becerra
Catcher Josh Pittman

We have Dave Ziobro on the mound for us today. He has not started well with a 0-3 record from 5 starts.

Top of the first and we lead off with Chris Severson. Severson starts with a fly out to centre field for the first out of the game. McCauley then gets a nice little base hit out to short centre to get the inning going. We go nowhere from there as Bielecki sends a grounder straight to third and we fall to a double play to see us start with no runs.

Bottom of the first and Ziobro is facing Robeson as their lead off man. We don't start well in the field as Robeson hits one to LaBuff at short. He fires to first but puts it in the dirt and Noftall cannot gather. We end up giving Robeson a double on the error. I get in the action next up by making an easy pick up from Wardlow to ground him out at first. Poer goes and clubs one out to right field that has Palin running for it. He makes the catch but then pulls up sharply and is seen holding his knee. The trainer visits him to check him over but Palin shakes the injury off and he can continue. Our poor start continues as Hakola gets one out to the right wall. Severson has to dig it out allowing Robeson to score and Hakola to move round to third for an RBI triple. It doesn't get any better with McHugh up next as he gets a base hit out to centre field that scores Hakola. Ziobro puts one in the dirt to White for the walk and McHugh moves to second. Up next is Crumbley and Ziobro gets his composure back by striking him out to end the inning. We trail 2-0 in the early going.

Top of the second and I am the lead off man for the inning. I don't do well as strike out number 21 comes up. Palin follows me up but grounds out to short. LaBuff then strikes out and it looks like we might struggle this game.

Bottom of the second and Crouse is the first up for the Demons. He puts one out towards the left hole but I scamper to make the pick up and throw to first for the out. Ziobro gets Manfreda to strike out with a fast ball. Robeson up for the second time but he hits a return grounder to Ziobro for the out at first. The Demons continue to lead 2-0.

Top of the third and we get a little bit of luck as Noftall puts a little pop up out towards short. The fielder looks like he has it comfortably but then drops the catch allowing Noftall to make first on the error. Becerra shows he is a little rusty after missing a game by putting a fly out over to the left fielder for the out. Pittman follows up with another fly out, this time to Centre field. We get some more luck as Severson puts one out to short left. Their short stop gathers and fires to first but is off target and it allows Severson to make base. Noftall moves to second. Our luck continues as McCauley puts up a dolly of a catch to centre field only to see it bounce out of the fielders glove. He takes first moving Severson to third and Noftall runs for home and the score. Bielecki comes up next with only the 1 out left. Bielecki manages to get some of the ball and put it out to the left corner. This sees Severson and McCauley head for home to give us the lead in the game. Bielecki's hit gives him a double. I am up next to try and keep the mini rally going. I strike out again and it looks like I am going to have that sort of game with the bat. The inning ends with the score 3-2 in our favour.

Bottom of the third and the Demons will lead off with Wardlow. Ziobro continues his improved game by striking him out. Poer hits a little looper to short centre that falls in for a base hit. Ziobro gets Hakola to strike out for number 2. McHugh puts one out to right field that lands just in front of Palin. Poer makes it to third base as Palin decides not to chance the throw. Ziobro gets the inning over with strike out number 3 to leave the game 3-2.

Top of the fourth and Palin gets to lead off. Palin gets one to pop up to the left foul territory that the third baseman easily takes for the first out. Labuff then strikes out to see us 2 down very quickly. Noftall then follows him by chasing a bad one to see the side retired.

Bottom of the fourth and Ziobro faces Crumbley up first. Ziobro gives him a walk to start the inning off. Crouse comes in and crunches one out to deep right field. It falls in for a base hit that sees him move to second beating the throw. Crumbley goes to third. The game is tied as Manfreda puts up a sacrificial fly out to right field. Palin takes the catch but cannot get the ball to home plate fast enough to get Crumbley. His score makes it 3-3. Robeson keeps the scoring going by hitting a hard grounder into left field to score Crouse. Robeson gets an RBI single. Ziobro brings some stability back to the inning by getting Wardlow to strike out. Ziobro then catchers a return liner from Poer to end the inning with the score 4-3 in the Demons favour.

Top of the fifth and Becerra is our lead off man. He doesn't get on base as he strikes out. Pittman is out on a grounder to short. Severson follows with a grounder to second for the quick end to our inning.

Bottom of the fifth and Ziobro continues, facing Hakola. Ziobro makes the ball talk and gets strike out number 7. That is all he will get as the manager pulls him and sends in Trevor Farner. Farner is facing McHugh first up. He gives a hit up to McHugh as he gets it into left centre. Farner then puts in a wild pitch to White that Pittman cannot handle. This sees McHugh to second. White gets nicked by one and takes first base. We get the second out as Crumbley puts a fly ball out to left territory for Becerra to take. Crouse loads the bases as he gets a base hit out into left field. We manage to survive as Manfreda puts a fly ball out to left centre that Becerra manages to catch. Game remains 4-3 in the Demons favour.

Top of the sixth and McCauley will go up first. McCauley puts a two hopper to short that sees him out. Bielecki is then caught after a soft fly ball out to right field. This brings me up to try and get the inning started. I am just trying to get bat on ball after 2 strike outs. Their pitcher puts one right in the middle of my hitting zone and I go for it. I make a run for first but slow down as I watch the ball sail over the right centre fence for a solo home run of 430 feet to tie the game up at 4-4. Palin comes into the batter box after my home run but he puts an infield fly up that sees us retired with the score 4-4.

Bottom of the sixth and Farner continues to pitch. He manages to start the inning well by getting Robeson to strike out. Wardlow then grounds out to LaBuff short for the second. Poer then comes in a hits a low line drive my way. I make the dive and come up with the catch to retire the side. Score remains 4-4.

Top of the seventh and LaBuff is facing the new Demons pitcher. LaBuff tries to go big to centre right but cannot make it as it lands in the glove of the fielder. Angel Espinal pinch hits for Noftall but he gives a grounder to second for the out. Bonier then pinch hits for Becerra but he strikes out to see us all out for the inning.

Bottom of the seventh and we still go with Farner. Hakola is first up in the inning and he gets all of one from Farner to send it over the left field wall for a solo home run of 403 feet and the lead back in the hands of the Demons. McHugh fires one straight at McCauley for the out. White then strikes out. Drumbley hits a little flare out to left field that Mendoza takes to end the inning with the score 5-4 in the Demons favour.

Top of the eighth and Pittman is first up for us. He doesn't last long as he gives a ground ball to short for the out. Severson walsk into the box and back out again as he strikes out without a swing. McCauley follows him the same way as we go down quickly.

Bottom of the eighth and we have a pitching change as Farner is replaced by Donte Conston. Conston is to face Crouse first up. Palin gets the first out as he makes the catch at short right. Manfreda then flies out to left field for the second out. Conston gives Robeson a walk. Robeson then moves right round to third after pinch hitter Hutchinson gets a base hit to left field. I get the side retired as Poer hits one my way that I fire to second to get Hutchinson. Score remain 5-4 Demons.

Top of the ninth and we need something to keep the game alive. Bielecki is up first and he faces the Demons closer. He strikes out to see me take the box next. I get lucky as I hit a bouncer to the infield. Poer comes it to make the pick up but fumbles it and I make base as the tying run. Kiritsis comes in to pinch hit for Palin. I make it home after Kiritsis hits one right out to the right side fence that hits the top of the fence and falls safe. Kiritsis makes it to third to be the go ahead run. LaBuff comes in but he strikes out to leave the game poised with one out left for our final inning. Mendoza gets walked by the Demons to bring in Bonier. Bonier strikes out to leave the score 5-5 and us trying to keep it clean in the bottom of the ninth to go to extras.

Bottom of the ninth and Conston continues on the mound. Hakola is first up and grounds to second for the easy out. Pinch hitter May gets a base hit out to short right field. McCauley gets the second out on a fly ball to right field from White. We take the game to extras as Conston gets pinch hitter Wedge on a return grounder. Game tied at 5-5.

Top of the tenth and Rice is pinch hitting for Pittman. Rice faces a new pitcher but is retired after hitting a grounder to short. Severson then gets unlucky as he sees his long ball out to right centre taken on a dive by the fielder. McCauley cannot make base after he flies out to left field to see us finish the inning.

Bottom of the tenth and closer Danny Burns comes in to try and keep us in the game. He is not good first up as he gives the pinch hitting Gonzalez a base hit past short. We get Manfreda on the fly to left centre. Robeson then strikes out for number 2. Hutchinson then gets one out to right field for a base hit that sees Gonzalez take the winning run to third base. Hutchinson moves to second and Poer to first after getting a walk. Hakola comes in with the bases loaded knowing they only need one. Burns lets the team down by giving Hakola a walk that sees Gonzalez score and take the game for the Demons. It is not the way to lose a game.

We go down 5-4 but we put up a fight that showed some character. I went 2-4 after a poor start getting 2 runs and an RBI but with 2 more strike outs.

We are now 9-13 and facing a long overnight 5 hour bus trip from Southaven to Kenner Louisiana for our next set of games against the Monsters.

[amead17]

Another day and the big club have been tinkering with the squad again. They have sent Nick Thompson back down to the Rookie league while sending us Jose Juarez from the AAA Tulsa Aggies.

We are hoping the overnight trip from Southaven to Kenner has not made to many of us sluggish before today's game. The Kenner Monsters are 8-14 so we have a chance to do something if we concentrate.

The manager is going with the following line-up after viewing a very short batting practice this morning.

2B T.J. Kiritsis
SS Casey McCauley
1B Chris LaBuff
3B Joshua Mills
DH Steve Bielecki
CF Chris Severson
LF Pat Palin
RF Tanner Rice
Catcher Tomas Ayala

We have Eric Hinkley on the mound today. Hinkley is 0-1 from 4 games and we are hoping to improve that for him.

Top of the first and Kiritsis is the lead off man. He gets a piece of one but it flies straight to the fielder in centre field for the first out. McCauley goes down swinging for the second out. We go down 1, 2, 3 in quick succession as LaBuff puts up a fly ball to right field for the catch.

Bottom of the first and Hinkley is facing Cobas first up. It is a quick at bat as Hinkley gets him to strike out. Viter manages to get bat to ball but puts it up over right field for Rice to make an easy catch. The Monsters inning goes as quickly as ours as Hinkley gets Shumate to strike out and leave the game scoreless.

Top of the second and I am the lead off man for us. I add to my strike out total as I whiff on a slider to be the first out. Bielecki gets a piece of the ball but his grounder is fielded at short and fired to first for the second out. Severson makes it 3 up and 3 down as he gives the pitcher a quick return catch to retire us.

Bottom of the second with Madrigal up first for the monsters. Madrigal puts one up over left field and Palin races in to make the catch. The trainer has to be called in as Palin holds his arm. After inspection it is deemed to not be serious and he can continue. Hagins comes in next and puts a hopper to short for McCauley to send to first for the out. I get involved for the third out by taking the infield pop up by Stark to retire the side and leave the game 0-0.

Top of the third and Palin is first batter up. He gets nothing as he strikes out. Rice follows him with another strike out as the pitchers continue to hold sway. Ayala get his bat on one but it rolls straight to first for the out.

Bottom of the third and we are the first to crumble as Delaney picks up a base hit to right field from Hinkley. I manage to make a good throw for the first out as a grounder from Rose leaves me unbalanced. The ball just beats him to first. Delaney moves to second. Hinkley gets Altman to strike out for number 2. We then give up a second hit as Cobas makes a slow roller to second for the base. Delaney moves to third. Viter comes in next and Hinkley serves up another hittable ball that sees a long base hit out to right centre . This allows Delaney to make home base for the first run while Cobas runs for third and just beats the throw. We get out of the inning with only 1 run scored as Hinkley strikes out Shumate to see the score 1-0 in favour of the Monsters.

Top of the fourth and we need to wake up in the batters box or it could be a long day. We finally find something as Kiritsis sees one he likes and puts it all the way out to the Centre wall for a double on a slide to second. McCauley then gets a walk as we get 2 onto base. We are not so lucky up next as LaBuff hits straight to the short stop who begins the double play that sees both McCauley and Labuff out. Kiritsis moves to third and in scoring range. I am up next to try and bring him home. I end up stranding him as my little pop up fly to left field is easily taken by the Monsters left fielder.

Bottom of the fourth and Hinkley continues on the mound. Madrigal starts off for the Monsters but hits out to Centre field for the catch to be taken. Hagins hits a long one to the left corner that Palin struggles to get to. This allows Hagins to beat the throw at third for a triple. Stark puts a soft one out to left field that falls in for a base hit. This scores Hagins. Hinkley is seen holding his back after the pitch and the trainer is straight out to see to him. He cannot continue so the manager has to bring in Jesus Nunez to pitch earlier than probably required. Nunez gets Delaney to pop up to second for the second out. He then strikes out Rose to end the inning with the score now 2-0 for the Monsters.

Top of the fifth and we go with Bielecki to start. Bielecki flies out to centre field for the first out. Severson goes in a similar fashion out to left field. Palin is the last up but is struck out after trying to hold his swing.

Bottom of the fifth and Nunez continues. He gets Altman on a strong strike out as he was left looking. He also strikes out Cobas as he starts to get into a groove. We retire the side as Viter puts a long one out to right field for Rice to catch. Monsters still lead 2-0.

Top of the sixth and Rice is up first. Rice gets hit by a nasty one that will give him a base. Ayala then fires straight to third for the Monsters to clean the bases on a double play getting both Ayala and Rice. Kiritsis puts one out to the right foul line and sees it land in the glove of the Right Fielder for the final out of the inning.

Bottom of the sixth and Nunez faces Shumate first up. Shumate gets a piece of one and sees it land in for a base hit on the left side. Palin gets Madrigal on the run for the first out. We then walk Hagins and this moves Shumate to second. Nunez pitches a ball to Stark and Ayala is quickly up and throwing to me to tag Shumate for the second out after he tries to steal. Nunez then walks Stark and moves Hagins to second. Delaney comes in next but fires straight to short and we get the side retired on a ground out. The score remains 2-0 Monsters.

Top of the seventh and McCauley is first in. McCauley hits it straight to second base but the fumble lets him make base as we get a runner on. LaBuff puts a little fly out over to short for the first out. I am next in trying to help to get our game going. I strike out for the second time as I continue to struggle with my rhythm. We get only our second base hit of the game when Bielecki puts one out to right field. This allows McCauley to make third after taking a big lead at first. Mendoza pinch hits for Severson but he strikes out to strand Bielecki and McCauley.

Bottom of the seventh and Jose Juarez comes into the game to pitch for the first time for us. He faces Rose first up and sees the ball hit to left field, but Palin ranges under it to make the catch. Altman is up next and puts one out to left centre that fall in for a double just in front of the wall. We walk Cobas hoping to set up a double play chance. Juarez then loads the bases by giving Viter a walk. Juarez is not pitching well as he sees the next one to Shumate go into centre field. This scores Altam and Cobas to double the Monsters lead. Juarez is immediately pulled and Dashawn McKinzy is sent in. McKinzy gets Madrigal to strike out. Hagins then goes for it but can't get enough of it and Queen drags it in for the third out to see the inning end 4-0 in favour of Kenner.

Top of the eighth and Palin is the first man up. Palin strikes out chasing a bad one. Rice comes in facing a new pitcher. He hits a fly ball out to centre that falls in for a base hit. He makes a charge for second and beats the throw for a double. Rice moves up to third as Ayala grounds out on a throw from third to first. Rice makes home and our first run after a wild pitch from the Monsters pitcher. Kiritsis gets one out to left field to get on base. McCauley puts one out over the right foul territory to end the inning on a catch. We now trail 4-1.

Bottom of the eighth and McKinzy continues. Stark is the first out of the inning after flying out to Centre field. Delaney goes down swinging for a strike out to McKinzy. Rose gets a base from a walk. That is it for McKinzy as we send in Cesar Arocho to pitch. Arocho gets Altman swinging and the inning ends with the score still 4-1 in the Monsters favour.

We need to get something big in the last inning to keep the game alive.

Top of the ninth with LaBuff leading off. LaBuff gives a return grounder to the new pitcher and is out first up. I am in next and need to get something to not go hitless again. I get bat onto ball but it is a slow roller back to the pitcher who fires to first and gets me tagged. Bielecki then strikes out to end the game with a loss for us 4-1 against the Monsters.

The overnight trip did us no favours as we went down to the loss. We only managed 4 hits all game with 2 of those in the eighth. I myself seemed to be asleep most of the time in the batters box going 0-4. We move back to 9-14 after the loss.

Hopefully tomorrow we will be more refreshed and can find our batting again.

[amead17]

A new day and we go into the second game of the 3 game series against the Kenner Monsters more refreshed. Hopefully that will lead to a better performance all round.

The manager has decided to give me a rest for the game today. With the way I played last game I am not surprised but hopefully it is just the one game.

The line up is as follows.

2B Angelo Mendoza
SS Casey McCauley
DH Angel Espinal
RF Tanner Rice
CF Chris Severson
LF Pat Palin
Catcher Josh Pittman
1B Jose Becerra
3B Adam Queen

On the mound for us today is Matt Hood. Matt has a 1-1 record from 4 starts and we are looking to get him above .500 form the year in wins.

Top of the first and we start the game off with Mendoza in the batting box. Mendoza strikes out to give us a poor start. McCauley also strikes out on a close call. Espinal grounds out to third to see our first inning end.

Bottom of the first and the Monsters lead off with Mike Teal. Teal hits a line drive straight to Mendoza at second for the out. Tineo then gives a return grounder to Hood for the second out. Hood then strikes out Cobas to end the Monsters first inning and leave the game scoreless.

Top of the second. It feels strange watching the team knowing this is when I would normally come into bat. Rice starts us off with a little fly ball out to centre field for the first out. Severson does a similar thing to right centre for the second out. Palin then strikes out to see a 1, 2, 3 for our second inning.

Bottom of the second and Hood faces Madrigal first up. Hood strikes Madrigal out for his second of the game. Rose then puts one out to left field that Palin takes in stride for the second out. Viter gets a return grounder to Hood and it is an easy out to end the inning. Score still 0-0.

Top of the third and Pittman will lead off. He puts a fly ball out to left centre where it is caught for the first out. Becerra has our first hit as he gets one down in right field. He decides to go for 2 but is beaten by the throw to be tagged out. Queen, who is in for me today, puts a little fly ball out to left field for an easy out to end the inning.

Bottom of the third and Hood continues against Delaney. Hood gives Delaney a walk to move him to first. He then strikes out Altman for the first out. Novak goes down the same way for out number 2. Teal comes in for his second at bat but hits a grounder to third for the out and the game remains scoreless.

Top of the fourth and Mendoza is up again. Mendoza hits a fly ball to centre for the Monsters to get the out. McCauley hits a grounder towards third. The third baseman gets the pick up but decides against the throw to give McCauley a base hit. Espinal put a little pop up out over third base for the second out of the inning. Rice gets a long grounder out to centre field that sees him gain a base hit. McCauley uses that to move from first to third. McCauley and Rice then get stranded as Severson strikes out to end our inning.

Bottom of the fourth and Hood is facing Tineo again. Tineo puts a grounder to Queen at third for the easy out. Hood then gets Cobas to strike out for the second time in the game. The Monsters then get their first hit of the game as Madrigal gets one out to centre field. Madrigal moves to second on a base hit from Rose. Hood gets strike out number 6 as he makes Viter swing and miss to end the inning and keep the score 0-0.

Top of the fifth and Palin is leading off. Palin strikes out for a second time. Pittman then strikes out to give the Monsters pitcher strike out number 6. Becerra also goes down swinging to end the inning.

Bottom of the fifth and Hood looks to continue this tough pitchers duel. Delaney comes up first but he sends a grounder to second for the out. Altman strikes out for Hood's seventh. Novak puts up a blooper to left centre that Palin gets under to end the inning with a 0-0 ball game still in tact.

Top of the sixth and Queen is up to get us going. Queen strikes out. Mendoza then does the same. McCauley gets a strong hit out to left field that comes back off the wall to give him a double. This sees the Monsters blink first and change pitcher. Espinal is the first to face the new pitcher but gives him a return grounder to strand McCauley and end the inning.

Bottom of the sixth and Hood goes again, his first time getting this far into a game. Teal gets a little fly ball out to right centre that falls in for a hit. Teal makes the move to second after a Tineo ground out to first. Hood then intentionally walks Cobas. Madrigal puts one up over the left foul territory that Palin manages to real in for out number 2. Hood then gets strike out number 8 as Rose goes down swinging. The game remains scoreless.

Top of the seventh and Bielecki comes in as a pinch hitter for Rice. Bielecki strikes out. Chris LaBuff then pinch hits for Severson. He sends one straight at second for an easy catch. Kiritsis then goes in as a pinch hitter for Palin. Kiritsis strikes out to end our inning.

Bottom of the seventh and the manager has decided that Hood has done enough for the day. He send Cesar Arocho in to try and keep the game scoreless. Pinch hitting Shumate is the first batter he faces and Shumate sends a blooper out to second for Bielecki to take. Arocho only gets the one batter as Dashawn McKinzy is then sent in. McKinzy gets Delaney to strike out. McKinzy sees the game remain scoreless as the pinch hitting Stark hits a grounder to second for the easy out.

Top of the eighth and Pittman is up first. He gets one out to the right line and sees it fall in for a base hit. Bonier then pinch hits for Becerra. Bonier gets one past third base and out to the left wall. This gives him a double and allows Pittman to run from first right round to home to break the tie and score the first run of the game. Queen continues up next. Bonier moves to third on a Queen ground out to the pitcher. Mendoza gets an intentional walk. We go 2 up as McCauley hits a sacrificial grounder to short. This scores Bonier and moves Mendoza to second. The Monsters change pitcher with Espinal facing. Espinal hits a grounder to third and the side is retired with our lead at 2-0.

Bottom of the eighth and McKinzy will continue. Novak is up first and gets one to land right in front of McCauley for a base hit. Teal strikes out for the first out of the inning. Tineo hits a hard one straight back to the McKinzy who turns and fires to second to Novak. There is no throw to first for the double play. McKinzy strikes out Cobas to keep out lead at 2-0.

Top of the ninth and Bielecki starts with a strike out. LaBuff then also strikes out. Kiritsis then sends one to short for an easy ground out. We need something good from our closer in the bottom of the ninth.

Bottom of the ninth and the manager does send for Danny Burns. Burns gives Madrigal a hit first up. The Ump then calls a Balk and Burns does not look happy with it as Madrigal moves to second. Rose strikes out as burns uses his anger to get him swinging. Hagins is a pinch hitter but can only put a little fly ball out to McCauley in right field. Burns then gets Delaney to chase a bad one and that is the game.

We win 2-0 in a game where the pitchers held sway for most of it. I did not make it on so have nothing to report from myself other than a restful sit in the dugout. Matt Hood got player of the game.

We play game 3 tomorrow against the Monsters and hope to make it 2 from 3.

[amead17]

Today we finish the 3 game series against the Monsters. I am hoping that the day off will have done me good and I can help the team win today.

The manager has made a few tweaks to the line up again and goes with the following.

2B Angleo Mendoza
SS Casey McCauley
3B Joshua Mills
DH T. J. Kiritsis
LF Pat Palin
RF Tanner Rice
1B Scot Noftall
Catcher Tomas Ayala
CF Adam Queen

On the mound today is Tyler Crostic. Crostic has been our best pitcher so far this year with a 3-0 record from 4 starts. We are hoping he can continue this form.

Top of the first and Mendoza is the lead off man for us. Mendoza gets a little roller on the infield that stays close to home plate. The Catcher fails to pick it up and we get our first base on an error. Mendoza doesn't get any further as McCauley hits one straight to second for the double play to see them both out. I come up next to see how the day off affected my timing. I manage to get bat on ball but it flies out to the right fielder who takes the catch to retire us.

Bottom of the first and Crostic will face Stark first up. Crostic gets strike out number 1 of the game to start the inning off. I then get involved as Shumate sends a slow roller my way that I pick up and fire to first for the out. Contreras then tries to hit a long one but it falls into the glove of Rice in right field to see the game scoreless after 1.

Top of the second and Kiritsis gets some help being given a base on balls. Palin fires one out to Second and we run into another double play that sees our first 2 batters of the inning out. Rice strikes out to see us end the inning scoreless.

Bottom of the second with Madrigal up to face Crostic first. I am involved again as Madrigal sends one over to me that I fire to first for the out. McCauley then takes the ground out at short to get Rose before Viter gets the Monsters first hit by putting one out to right field. I get the final out as St. George sends one into the gap in left field that I pick up and fire to first for the final out of the inning. Game remains 0-0.

Top of the third and we don't start well as Noftall goes down on strikes. Ayala goes the same way as the Monsters pitcher finds a groove. Queen then puts a pop up over home plate that sees us retired in quick fashion.

Bottom of the third and Crostic will face Altman. Altman fires a high one out to left centre for the first out. Teal pops one up to second for the next out. Stark comes in for his second attempt. Crostic gives him a nice one to hit and it goes towards the right wall. Rice cannot reach it at the wall and it goes for a solo home run of 371 feet to see us go behind. We get out of the inning with only the 1 run against us as Shumate sends a bouncer to first for the easy out. We are down 1-0.

Top of the fourth and we are starting our second time round. Mendoza up first flies out to left centre for the first out. McCauley sees his strongly hit ground ball picked up at second for the next out. I come in for my second go but strike out to sees us go down very quickly.

Bottom of the fourth and Contreras comes up first. Mendoza gets him on a pop up over second. Crostic gives Madrigal a walk. Rose sends one over to short. But we cannot make the double play as Rose beats the ball at first to get base. Madrigal was out at second. We keep the score down to 1-0 in the Monsters favour by getting Viter on a fly out to right for the end of the inning.

Top of the fifth and Kiritsis is up first. Kiritsis sees one he likes and bangs it long out to left field. It hit it so well the fielder could only sit and watch as it flies over the fence for a solo home run of 364 feet to tie up the score. Palin doesn't follow up very well as he strikes out. Rice tries to get one into right field but the second baseman of the Monsters gets a glove to the liner to take the catch. Noftall then puts an easy catch out to the left fielder to leave the game tied at 1-1.

Bottom of the fifth and Crostic is facing St. George. Crostic looses control of one and it hits St. George for a base. There are a few words exchanged as St. George moves to first where he is met by the trainer who examines him. He is to be taken out of the game with an injury. Pinch runner Hagins gets to move to second as Altman hits one straight to first where he is tagged out. We then make a bad error as McCauley fails to get a grounder to Noftall correctly. It flies past him and into the wall. This allows Teal to move to second for a double on the error while Hagins moves from second all the way home to give the lead back to the Monsters. That is it for Crostic as he is pulled by the manager and Trevor Farner is sent in. that perhaps wasn't a good move as Farner allows Stark to get one out to left centre for a base hit. This sees Teal to run for home and double the Monsters lead. We calm down and Shumate puts a fly ball out to right field for the second out of the inning. Ayala then does what he is good at and gets the ball to second to see Stark caught trying to steal. This leaves the game with the Monsters leading 3-1.

Top of the sixth and we need to try and get back into the game again. Ayala is up first and he puts a long one out to right field but it drifts into foul territory where the fielder makes a great catch by the seating. Queen then strikes out for number 2. Mendoza puts a weak one out towards third but the fielder cannot get the ball up and out in time so Mendoza gets a base hit. McCauley then lets the side down again by hitting into another double play at second seeing both him and Mendoza out to end the inning.

Bottom of the sixth and Farner is facing Contreras. He gets Contreras to strike out. Madrigal then fires a strong one down the right line that falls in for a base hit. He then turns it into a double as he beats the throw from Rice. Palin makes a great dive to get the second out taking one from Rose. Viter strikes out and we remain 3-1 behind going into the last 3 inning of the game.

Top of the seventh and I am up for my third attempt. This could be my last go the way the team is playing so I need to make something happen. I get bat on ball but see it pop up over second for the first out of the inning. After getting a home run in the last at bat Kiritsis fails to connect this time and strikes out. Palin gets the inning going with a long one out to left field that hits the wall. It lands in for a double as the throw cannot get to second in time. It turns into nothing as Rice, facing a new pitcher, hits a grounder to second for the out and the end of the inning.

Bottom of the seventh and we continue with Farner. Hagins bats one to McCauley at short for the easy ground out. After the out the manager pulls Farner and sends in Cesar Arocho to face Altman. Arocho does not start well as he gives an easy hit to Altman that sees the ball land out near the centre wall. This gives him an easy double. Arocho is pulled immediately and Jose Juarez is sent for to pitch. Juarez faces Teal and makes him strike out for the second out of the inning. Stark then puts a pop up right over home plate for the easy catch by Ayala. The game remains 3-1 in favour of the Monsters.

Top of the eighth and Noftall is first up. Noftall puts an easy fly ball out to left field for the first out. Ayala then grounds out to short for the second. Queen gets the inning started by hitting one past the third baseman and into left field. He moves to second for a double. Queen gets stranded as Mendoza hits a grounder straight to short for the last out.

Bottom of the eighth and Juarez continues on the mound. Juarez gets Shumate to strike out so he remains hitless. Contreras then strikes out for number 2. Madrigal goes down swinging as well for a quick inning. The Monsters lead 3-1 going into the last.

Top of the ninth and we need to fire to get the game back. McCauley starts the inning well by getting a base hit towards third after facing a new pitcher. This brings me up to try and get my first hit of the game. I fail again and go hitless with another strike out. Obviously the rest day did me no good at all. Kiritsis then gets hit by one that sees him get a base and McCauley move to second. With the tying run now on base the manager decides to pinch hit for Palin with Espinal. Espinal hits one towards first and he is out but McCauley moves to third and Kiritsis to second. LaBuff pinch hits for Rice to try and get the game tied. The Monsters load the bases as the pitcher hits LaBuff with one. The manager sends in another pinch hitter in Bielecki in place of Noftall. It doesn't work as Bielecki strikes out and we lose the game 3-1 with the bases loaded.

It was a tough game with the bat to start with and we only really got going towards the back end hence the loss 3-1. I had a very poor game with 0-4 with 2 strike outs. I really need to improve as it seems to be all or nothing for me with the bat.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the league so hopefully I can sort my batting issues before the next set of games at home to the high flying Metairie Silverbacks.

[amead17]

We are back home for a 3 game stand against the Metairie Silverbacks. They are currently leading the Mississippi League with a record of 18-7. Our 10-15 is nowhere near their record. Also, with our terrible home record, this series is going to be doubly tough for us. We went 0-2 the last time we faced the Silverbacks this season.

I spent the off day getting in some extra batting practice to try and find my rhythm again after going 0-4 in my last 2 outings. The Black Cats decided to leave well alone in the player department over the day off so we go into the game with the same squad.

The manager has picked the following line-up for today's game.

SS Angelo Mendoza
2B Casey McCauley
DH Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
LF Tanner Rice
RF Pat Palin
CF Chris Severson
1B Scot Noftall
Catcher Tomas Ayala

The pitcher on the mound for the game today is Antonio Torres. Torres is 1-2 from his 5 games but has been improving as the season goes along. Hopefully we can help to improve the record for his pitching.

Top of the first and Risoli will lead off for the Silvebacks. Risoli tries a bunt to start the game but Ayala is onto it quick and sends it to first for the out. Bradt then hits one out to deep centre but Severson get under it for the second out. Up next is our worst nightmare come back to visit, Totten. Totten clips one, that sees half his bat go spinning, my way but it only comes to me slowly so I don't have time to make the throw so keep hold of it to limit it to a single. Barr comes up next and slugs one out to centre field that rebounds off the wall for a double. Totten rounds third easily and heads home for the first run of the game. Barr moves to third on a wild pitch from Torres to Miller. We get out of the inning with only 1 run against us as Miller goes down swinging.

Bottom of the first and we start with Mendoza. Mendoza gives us the perfect start by getting one out to left field for a base hit. McCauley can't keep it going as he hits a pop up fly to right field for the first out. Mendoza makes the move to second after Bielecki hits an infield grounder that he beats to first for the second hit of the game. I am up next hoping that the extra batting practice has given me my rhythm back. The Silverbacks decide not to risk it and give me a walk to load the bases. Rice is up next to try and drive some of us home. Rice hits one out towards second that is easily fielded and I am tagged out. Rice makes first for the base hit that sees Mendoza come home for our first run of the game. Bielecki moves to third. Palin is up next to try and give us the lead. Palin strikes out to his own disbelief and we are retired with the game tied at 1-1.

Top of the second and Torres faces Stoneback up first. Stoneback puts a grounder my way that I pick up and fire to first for the out. Torres then gets Tessen to swing away with a strike out. Lyons finishes the inning by putting a pop up behind home plate for Ayala to take easily.

Bottom of the second and we start with Severson. Severson gets a walk to put him on base. Noftall hits a solid one out towards left but the Silverback short stop makes a leaping grab to get the out. Ayala puts one into right field to claim a base hit that sees Severson risk taking third with the slide. He beats the throw to get to third. Severson cannot score as Mendoza hits into a double play that sees both himself and Ayala out. The inning ends with the score still 1-1

Top of the third and Outley will be the first Silverback up. Outley clips one out to the right field line that Palin cannot get to. This gives him an easy double. Risoli then strikes pout for the first out of the inning. I get in on the action again as Brandt hits one towards left. I reach and pick it up to fire over to Noftall at first to get the out. Only problem is it brings up Totten again. Hopefully we can limit him. Totten gets a good piece of one that goes into left centre and lands for a base hit. This sees Outley round third and head home to get the Silverbacks the lead. Barr comes in and tries to hit one past short but Mendoza is there to take the ball and shovel to second for the final out of the inning. Silverbacks have a 2-1 lead.

Bottom of the third and McCauley will lead off for us. McCauley hits a grounder straight at first for the first out. Bielecki then gives first base a pop up fly in foul territory to make it 2 out. This brings me up to try for my first hit after the walk in the first. I get a piece of one but can only put a little looper up over second to watch it fall into the fielder glove for the out. We still trail 2-1.

Top of the fourth and Torres is facing Miller. Miller gets a solid base hit out to right field to start things off for the Silverbacks. Stoneback strikes out on a Torres fastball to give us number 1. Tessen gets one past Mendoza at short to allow Miller to move to second on the base hit. Miller moves to third as Lyons puts one out to Second. Tessen is out at second but we cannot make the double play giving Lyons the base hit. Outley comes in and hits one into the middle that gets in for a base hit. This allows Miller to score and Lyons to move to third. Risoli does a similar thing as another grounder makes it into centre field to score Lyons and move Outley to second. Our manager has seen enough and pulls Torres, sending in Trevor Farner to try and complete the inning. Farner gets Bradt to hit a pop up infield fly that Noftall takes and that ends the inning woith the score 4-1 in the Silverbacks favour.

Bottom of the fourth and Rice will start up for us. Rice gets us off to a good start with a strong base hit out to right field. Palin comes in next but he hits straight to short for a double play that takes both himself and Rice out. Severson gets the inning going again with a base hit out to Centre field. Severson then moves to second as Noftall gets a line drive to fall safe in centre field. Ayala then puts one out towards the left fence but it falls into the glove of the left fielder and retires us to leave the game 4-1 for the Silverbacks.

Top of the fifth and Farner continues by facing Totten. Farner gives Totten a walk. Severson gets Barr on a long fly out to centre field for the first out. Totten moves to second on a grounder from Miller who is out at first. We keep the scoreline 4-1 as Stoneback hits a return grounder to Farner for the final out of the inning.

Bottom of the fifth and we are back up to Mendoza for our first batter up. Mendoza gets one to go out to short right that lands safe for a base hit. McCauley then fires one out to left centre that hops in front of the fielder to allow him a base hit. Mendoza moves to second. Bielecki comes up next and puts a slow roller towards short. It is slow enough that he can make base and load the bases. I am up next and need to bat well to try and get someone home. I get a piece of the pitch and send it to short Centre where it falls in for a base hit,my first in a while, to score Mendoza and see everyone else advance 1 base to leave the bases loaded. Rice is up next to try and keep the runs coming. Rice clips one out to right field that falls in for his third base hit of the game. McCauley scores and Bielecki and myself advance to keep the bases loaded for Palin. The Silverbacks pitcher then throws a wild one at Palin that the catcher misses. This sees Bielecki make home. I move to third with Rice moving to second. The game is now tied and we still have no outs in the inning. We take the lead as both myself and Rice make home plate from a Palin double that bounces to the Centre wall. Palin slides into second to beat the throw. This prompts the Silverbacks to change pitcher. Things don't change for the Silverbacks as our monster fifth continues with a Severson single that sees Palin round third and come home for run number 6 of the inning without any outs. Noftall becomes the first out as he strikes out but Severson makes a play for second and beats the throw to steal a base. Ayala flies out to Centre for the second out of the inning. We have batted through the whole line up as Mendoza comes up for his second try of the inning. Mendoza sends one out towards first which the fielder gladly takes to end the inning but we are now in front 7-4 after that surprise monster run.

Top of the sixth and Farner will face Tessen to protect the lead. Palin grabs a fly ball from Tessen for the first out. Lyons then puts up a long ball to left that Rice gets under for out number 2. Outley gets a walk as Farner misses. I get in the game again on defence as I pick up a slow roller and get it to first for the out in time.

Bottom of the sixth and McCauley is first man up. The sixth doesn't start as well as the fifth as McCauley strikes out. Bielecki comes in next but he flies out to deep centre to sees us 2 down in quick order. I come in next and go back to my favourite play when batting of striking out. We remain 7-4 in front.

Top of the seventh and Farner will continue. Bradt is first up for the Silverbacks and slaps one out to right field that lands for a base hit. Bradt decides to try for second and Palin cannot get the throw in to second in time as Bradt has a sliding double. Farner then gets going as he makes Totten miss on a fast ball for out number 1. Barr comes in next and does what he is good at by hitting a long one out to left field that beats the fielder and the fence to go 337 feet and bring home 2 on a homer that cuts our lead to 1. Farner gets pulled for that and we send in Jose Juarez. Miller is the first Silverback to face him and he puts a grounder to second that goes to first for the out. Stoneback does the same thing and that retires the side with the score 7-6 in or favour.

Bottom of the seventh and we need to try and get our lead back. Rice is up first trying to keep his hitting record going. He fails as a long fly ball to left field is taken by the fielder. Palin then picks up strike out number 20 for the year as he goes down swinging. We get a base after Severson is hit by a change up. Espinal pinch hits for Noftall. Severson starts his run early as Espinal clips one out to left field. It lands safe and Severson makes it to third on the base hit. Ayala hits one out towards right field but it clips Espinal on the way through and that ends the inning as Espinal is out. We still lead 7-6.

Top of the eighth and Tessen is first up for the Silverbacks. He hits a grounder to second but McCauley cannot get the ball out of his glove allowing a base hit on the error. The Silverbacks send Hoople in as a pinch hitter. Hoople gets a base hit out to centre that sees Tessen run for third beating the throw. Juarez gets Outley to swing away for a strike out. We give up the lead on the next batter as Pinch hitting Lopez gets one out to left field to score Tessen. Hoople moves to second. We get out of the inning with the game tied as Mendoza starts a double play that gets both Lopez and Batter Bradt to end the inning. Game tied at 7-7.

Bottom of the eighth and we can still win this if we bat well. Mendoza is up first facing a new pitcher. Mendoza fires a long out out to centre field but a diving catch by the fielder sees him out. McCauley gets a walk after watching a fastball. Bielecki finds the gap in right field to get a base hit. McCauley decides to advance to third with no throw from the fielder. I am up next to try and get the leading run over the plate. I go down swinging again. I really need to sort that out. LaBuff pinch hits for Rice. LaBuff puts one up over the foul territory that is taken and we end with 2 stranded on base.

Top of the ninth and we need to be good to make sure we go into the bottom with a chance. The manager sends our closer Danny Burns in to get the job done. It doesn't work as Totten comes in and hits a solo out to left field that goes 334 feet for the lead to the Silverbacks. Barr then picks up a base hit out to centre field as Burns struggles. Burns finally gets control to strike out Miller. Barr moves to second as Burns walks Stoneback as his struggles continue on the mound. Tessen sends a fly ball out to Centre which is taken but Barr manages to tag up and then move to third beating the throw. Hoople comes in and Burns manages to get him to strike out to limit the Silverbacks to 1 run and give us a chance in the bottom of the ninth.

Bottom of the ninth facing the Silverbacks closer and our manager pinch hits for Palin with Kiritsis. Kiritsis strikes out. Severson hits a grounder to third for the second out of the inning and we look to be going down to another defeat. Bonier strikes out and that is another home defeat for us 8-7.

It was a good game to play in but the defeat hurts after we lead 7-4. We need to sort ourselves at home or else this is going to get painful. I managed to go 1-4 with a walk, a run and an RBI along with 2 strike outs to have a better game than the previous 2.

We face the Silverbacks again tomorrow at home and hopefully we can turn it around.

[amead17]

We are facing the Metairie Silverbacks for the fourth time at home this season today. We have yet to win one of these games but yesterday saw us get the closest we have so far with only a 1 run loss. We are hoping that the batting will continue its good form from yesterday while the pitching can tighten up a little to give us a win.

The manager has gone with the following line up for today's game.

CF Chris Severson
2B Casey McCauley
SS Chris LaBuff
3B Joshua Mills
DH Angel Espinal
RF Pat Palin
1B Scot Noftall
LF Jose Becerra
Catcher Josh Pittman

On the mound today is Dave Ziobro. Ziobro has struggled to find the wins this year with an 0-3 record from 5 starts. We are hoping he will get some form today to allow us to get him that win.

Top of the first and Risoli is leading off for the Silverbacks but Ziobro gets him to swing and strike out to start the game off right for us. Bradt then also strikes out for number 2. Ziobro loses control against Totten and hits him hard on the hand with one. This gives him a base but a pinch runner will have to come in as Totten is taken away to be xray'd. We get the Silverbacks retired as Barr hits a long one out to centre field for Severson to take.

Bottom of the first and we lead off with Severson. Severeson gets one to go past second on the ground to give him a base hit to start the game for us. McCauley's little blooper down the left line is taken cleanly for the first out. LaBuff puts a solid hit out to left field where it falls in for a base hit and moves Severson to second. I am up next hoping to get going early. Not a good start as I strike again. Espinal follows me up with a strike out as well as we strand Severson and LaBuff. The game is scoreless.

Top of the second and Miller is first to face Ziobro. Miller strikes out for number 1 of the inning. I get into the action next as Lopez hits a grounder my way that I scope up and fire to first for out number 2. Duran gets the Silverbacks first base hit as he hits one down the right line. Rodriguez then also gets a base hit to the right side allowing Duran to second. Duran then decides to try for third. Palin sees it quickly and gets the throw off and I make the tag, as Duran slides in, to end the inning.

Bottom of the second and Palin is first up for us. He gets one to go out towards left field but the fielder comes up with a great one handed catch to make the play. Noftall then flies out to a running catch by the Silverbacks right fielder. Becerra gets a slow roller off towards third and can make base as their isn't time for the throw to get the out. Pittman puts a grounder out towards second and it is gathered for the final out of the inning to leave the game scoreless.

Top of the third and Ziobro faces Lyons first up. Lyons gets a clean hit and it sails into left field for a base hit to start the inning. Risoli hits one towards short that Labuff fields and gets Lyons on the tag at second. Lyons slide stops LaBuff making the throw to first for the double play. Bradt gets one to go past first into right field for a base hit. Risoli makes second and then tries for third. Palin cannot get the throw in quick enough and the slide beats my tag attempt. Recio, in for Totten, gets a walk to load the bases. Ziobro continues to struggle with his aim as he gives Barr a walk as well to allow Risoli to score the Silverbacks first run. Ziobro gets back in the groove to strike out Miller and Lyons to limit the damage to 1 run and give the Silverbacks a 1-0 lead.

Bottom of the third and Severson gets the lead off again. Severson puts one out to right field only to see the fielder take an easy catch. McCauley then strikes out for number 2. LaBuff is given a walk to see me come up for the second time in the game. I strike out for the second time and just can't get any timing. Game stays 1-0 Silverbacks

Top of the fourth and Ziobro opens up with a strike out of Duran. Rodriduez also strikes out for number 2. Lyons also goes down swinging for 3 strike outs in the inning.

Bottom of the fourth and Espinal is leading off for us. He strikes out for a second time in the game. Palin flies out to centre field for the second out. Noftall gets us a base hit with one out to left field that finds the gap. Becerra gets a big piece of one next that eludes the centre fielder and rolls to the wall. This gives him a double and sees Noftall move to third. Noftall then makes the run for home to bring the game back to level as we get our first run. Pittman strikes out to strand Becerra but the inning finishes with the game tied at 1-1.

Top of the fifth and we don't stay tied for long as Risoli gets one right in the middle of the bat and all Palin can do is watch it clear the fence as it goes 370 feet for a solo homer. Palin gets some comfort up next as he hauls in a Bradt liner on the stretch to get the first out. That is it for Ziobro as the manager then sends in Jesus Nunez. Palin then gets another wonderful catch on the slide to get Recio but he stays down after the play. The trainers are examining his shoulder and decide they have to take him out of the game. We get out of the inning with just the 1 run against us as Barr grounds straight to LaBuff at short for the out. Score is 2-1 Silverbacks.

Bottom of the fifth and Severson starts with a walk for our first runner. McCauley then gets one to go through short and out into centre field for a base hit. Severson goes for third and no throw is made. LaBuff strikes out for the first one of the inning. This sees me come in again looking just to get bat on ball. I am way off timing today as I get strike out number 3. It is definitely not my day with the bat. Espinal puts one out to right field that eludes the fielder and gives him a base hit. Severson scores to tie the game and McCauley moves to third. Queen, in for Palin, hits a return grounder to the pitcher to end the inning with the game again tied up at 2-2.

Top of the sixth with Nunez facing Miller. Miller gets one out to left field that Becerra misses. This allows him to get to second and beat the throw for a double. Lopez strikes out for the first out of the inning. Nunez gets an infield fly of Duran for the second out. Our right side field then gives up more runs as Rodriguez gets one into right field allowing Miller to score. Lyons also puts one out to right centre which gets in for a base hit. Severson fields and sees Lyons going for third. He fires to me and I make the tag to end the inning. We trail 3-2.

Bottom of the sixth and we start with Noftall facing a new pitcher. Noftall gets one out to centre field to get a base hit to start the inning. Becerra puts a long one out to centre field that goes over the head of the centre fielder and goes to the wall. This gives him a double on the slide with Noftall moving to third. Pittman goes down swinging. Severson also strikes out for number 2. McCauley goes the same way to strand Noftall and Becerra and leave the score 3-2 for the Silverbacks.

Top of the seventh and we change pitchers with Cesar Arocho coming in. Risoli hits one out to the left foul territory for Becerra to take. That is all Arocho will pitch as Dashawn McKinzy comes in. The first batter he faces is Bradt who puts one into centre field for a base hit. Recio is McKinzy's first out as Severson takes one on the fly in centre field. McKinzy then strikes out Barr to end the inning.

Bottom of the seventh and LaBuff will start us off with me following. LaBuff pops up over home plate for the first out bringing me in. I am nervous how this will go as I have struggled all game. I finally get bat on ball but send it straight to the right fielder for the catch. Espinal gets one out to left field that falls in for a double. Mendoza comes in to pinch hit for Queen. Mendoza gets an infield base as he gets one out towards first. Espinal moves to third. Bielecki pinch hits for Noftall. Bielecki sees one in the dirt and Mendoza is on the move to try and steal second. The throw is not good and goes past the fielder. This allows Espinal to run for home and Mendoza to move to third. Bielecki then faces again and gets one out to right field that falls in for a base hit. Mendoza comes home to give us the lead. The Silverbacks change pitcher again with Bonier pinch hitting for Becerra. Bonier is out on a grounder to second to end the inning but with us leading 4-3.

Top of the eighth and McKinzy starts well getting Miller to strike out. He also gets Lopez swinging for another strike out. Duran manages to get one out to left field and a base hit. Jose Juarez comes in to replace McKinzy. Rodriguez puts a fly ball out to left centre where Severson takes an easy catch to retire the side.

Bottom of the eighth and Pittman comes up first for us. Pittman is out on the fly to right field. Severson then comes in and gets and infield base hit as the ball is slow to the Silverbacks short stop. McCauley is out number 2 as he hits one straight to the Silverbacks short stop on the fly. LaBuff gets a base hit out to short centre that sees Severson move to third. I am up again for the fifth time today and with 2 out I am the teams last chance to score runs this inning but am not confident things will happen. I get it out to right field but not far enough as it falls into the fielder's glove and we end the inning still only 4-3 up.

Top of the ninth and we send in closer Danny Burns to finish the job. First up is Lyons who grounds between third and short but LaBuff is there to pick it up and get the throw to first for the out. Burns then gives Risoli a walk on a full count. Risoli moves to second as Bradt hits one to first for the ground out. Pinch hitting Stoneback strikes out to give us the win 4-3 and Burns the save.

We have won the game against the Silverbacks 4-3 but I was of no help at all with the bat going 0-5 with 3 strike outs.

We finish the series tomorrow with the third game of 3. The was some very serious news after the game for my room mate Pat Palin after we were told he had torn the Labrum in his left shoulder and would not return this year.

[amead17]

We start the 3rd and final game of the home series against the Metairie Silverbacks. After our first win against them this season we are hoping to do the same again today. I myself am just looking for a hit after only making 1 out of my last 17 at bats.

The loss of Pat Palin for the season has seen the Black Cats to make one change to our squad by sending Relief Pitcher Nick Hill down to us from the AAA Tulsa Aggies.

The game today will see the following line up after the selection by the manager.

SS Angelo Mendoza
CF Chris Severson
3B Joshua Mills
DH Chris LaBuff
2B Casey McCauley
RF Tanner Rice
1B Phil Bonier
Catcher Tomas Ayala
LF Chris LaVacca

On the mound for us today is Eric Hinkley. Hinkley is 0-2 from 3 starts with us and we are hoping we can turn that form round.

Top of the first and Bradt will be Silverback to face Hinkley first. Hinkley does not start well as Bradt gets one out to the left wall that he turns into a double by beating the throw with a slide. I doesn't get any better when Meek comes up next. His slow roller towards first is picked up but he beats the throw for an infield hit. Bradt moves to third. The first runs come home next as Risoli gets one out to the left wall along the left line. He gets a double and it scores both Bradt and Meek to put us 2 down without even starting to bat. It has taken time but finally Hinkley gets going as he strikes out Stoneback. I then help by getting a Miller grounder over to first for the second out. Hinkley gives Duran a walk but then strikes out Lyons to keep the score down to 2 runs.

Bottom of the first and we need something to get confidence. Mendoza comes in first but can only put a fly out to left field for a catch to the Silverbacks fielder. Severson then, uncharacteristically, strikes out for number 2. This brings me in for my first at bat. I put a solid one out towards centre field but watch it fall into the glove of the fielder for my first out of the game. We are down 2-0 after the first.

Top of the second and Hinkley will be facing his eighth batter of the game already. Outley fires a grounder straight to Mendoza at short for the first out. Herron then puts an easy fly out to Centrre field for out number 2. Bradt gets a walk from Hinkley after a full count. Meek also gets a full count before sending a grounder to Mendoza who fires to first for the end of the inning.

Bottom of the second and we are starting with LaBuff. LaBuff grounds out to third to be number 1 of the inning. McCauley then becomes out number 2 on a fly out to left field. Rice strikes out to see us go down 1, 2, 3 for the second time in the game. The score remains 2-0 to the Silverbacks.

Top of the third and Risoli will face Hinkley for a second time. Risoli tries to get a long one out to centre field but it falls into the glove of Severson for the first out. Stoneback gets one down and through the infield for a base hit up the middle. Hinkley then walks Miller to move Stoneback to second. Another walk sees Duran make base with Miller and Stoneback moving on a base. Lyons puts a long one out to Centre field that Severson takes but Stoneback tags up and runs for home beating the throw and getting the third Silverback run. We only lose 1 run as Outley hits a hard one towards second that McCauley picks up and fires to first to end the inning. Silverbacks lead 3-0.

Bottom of the third and we are slowly slipping further behind while we struggle for hits. Bonier tries up first but puts a pop up into foul territory for the first out. Ayala gets the ball toward short centre but into the fielders glove for the second out. LaVacca is up next and he grounds out to first to see 3 innings and 3 up and downs for us as we really struggle. We trail 3-0.

Top of the fourth and Hinkley is finished as the manager sends for Farner. The change doesn't help much as Herron gets a base hit down the left line for the first of the inning. We get Bradt as he hits a fly ball down the right line for Rice to catch. Ayala makes another good move as a ball to Meek in the dirt is scooped up and thrown to second to catch Herron trying to steal. Farner then puts Meek on base by walking him. Ayala then ends the inning by firing to second on a strike to catch Meek trying to steal.

Bottom of the fourth and we start our second set of at bats. Hopefully we can start to find a hit. There is no hit for Mendoza as he flies out to the right fielder. Severson then strikes out for a second time bringing me in. I get bat on ball for the second time in the game but this time sees it roll into the left field for a base hit, the teams first. I get no further as LaBuff fires a grounder straight to first to end the inning and leave us 3-0 behind.

Top of the fifth and Farner faces Risoli first up. Risoli fires a grounder straight to Bonier at first to be out. I am back in the action on the next as Stoneback hits a grounder my way and I fire straight to Bonier for the out. Farner gives Miller a base hit as he gets one out to short right centre. We get the Silverbacks inning ended as Duran fires straight to McCauley who sends it to first for the out.

Bottom of the fifth and McCauley is our lead off. He fires a fly ball out towards left but it falls into the fielders glove for the first out. Rice then grounds out to short stop for our second out. Bonier is the final out of the inning as he puts a line drive straight to second base for the catch. We are 3-0 behind still.

Top of the sixth and Farner continues. Farner gets his first strike out as he gets Lyons swinging. Bonier makes the second out getting a grounder from Outley and stepping on the first base bag. We keep the Silverbacks out as Rice takes an easy catch in right field from Herron.

Bottom of the sixth and Ayala will be first man up for us. Ayala puts a little fly out to short centre that the fielder takes. LaVacca gets base hit number 2 for us as he gets a soft one out to centre to fall in. We don't get anywhere as Mendoza fires straight to second and into a double play that has both himself and LaVacca out. We still trail 3-0.

Top of the seventh and we go with Nick Hill on the mound. Again our new pitcher does not start well as Bradt gets a base hit up into centre field. Ayala cannot get the third catch of a stealing runner as Bradt beats his throw at second. Hill gets Meek to strike out for the first. Cesar Arocho is sent in to pitch for the next batter. It is a bad move as Risoli gets a hard liner down the right line to go in for a base hit and more. Bradt scampers for home to score and Risoli claims a double from the hit. Arocho is pulled immediately and Dashawn McKinzy comes in. Another pitcher another disaster as Stoneback gets hold of one and sends it 385 feet for a 2 run homer to make the score 6-0 in the Silverbacks favour. We get Miller on the fly out to left centre. Duran then gets a single just past Bonier at first. Lyons also gets a base hit on the first base side as he gets it short in the infield. Duran moves to second. Outley gets a base hit out to the right side as well and this sees Duran move round third and make the run home. Lyons moves to second. We finally somehow get out of the inning as Herron gets a base hit into right field. Lyons goes round third and tries for home but Rice gets the throw to home plate for the out. We are now 7-0 down and out of the game and just playing for pride.

Bottom of the seventh and Severson will lead off. Severson picks up his third strike out to keep his bad day going. I am up next trying to add to our hits of which I have half. I don't make it as I strike out. LaBuff also strikes out to see us go down 1, 2, 3 all swinging.

Top of the eighth and McKinzy will continue. Bradt strikes out for the first Silverback up. Meek also strikes out as the batters tire. Risoli sends a 2 hopper to second for the third out of the inning.

Bottom of the eighth and McCauley is first in against the new Silverbacks pitcher. He strikes out for the first one to go down. Rice gets a hit out to left field to add a third to our poor count. Bonier then sees our inning end as his grounder goes straight to second to allow the doiuble play on him and Rice. We are still 7-0 down.

Top of the ninth and we get Stoneback in the left field on the fly to start the inning. Miller puts one into foul territory and I get under it for the second out. Duran then strikes out to give us 3 outs to try and find at least 7 runs.

Bottom of the ninth Ayala strikes out for number 1 and it doesn't look very good. LaVacca gets a hit out to centre field for only our fourth of the game. Mendoza hits a fly out to centre field to see the fielder make the catch and leave us only 1 out left. Severson strikesout for a golden sombrero and we go down 7-0 in a whimper.

It was an absolutely diabolical game for us today with only 4 hits on our way to a 7-0 loss. I made one of those hits from my 3 at bats.

We are on the road to the Lake Charles Express for our next 3 games. We are hoping this loss wont hurt our confidence to much.

The manager has called me in to talk about the club house after the loss and the grumbling it has caused. He sees me as one of the sides captains even though I am probably the youngest on the team. He has asked what the team needs and I have said wins, mainly, but also personally someone to help me try keep the tension down between players.

[amead17]

We have travelled the 480 or so miles from Tuscaloosa to Lake Charles over night to face the Express in their home stadium. We are hoping that to shake off the dismal performance of yesterday and try for the win today.

The manager has decided to go with the following line up for the first game of the series.

SS Angelo Mendoza
CF Chris Severson
DH Steve Bielecki
3B Joshua Mills
2B Casey McCauley
RF Tanner Rice
1B Chris LaBuff
Catcher Tomas Ayala
LF Jose Becerra

On the mound today is Matt Hood. Hood has probably been our best pitcher this year so far after getting a 1-1 records from 5 starts. Hopefully we can help him build on that record today.

Top of the first and Mendoza will lead off. Mendoza picks up strike out number 20 for the season to begin the game. We then suffer a big blow as Severson is hit by a pitch in the shoulder. The trainer has him taken out of the game. Hopefully it is not serious with Palin already out for the season. Queen takes Seversons place at first base. Bielecki hits a looper out to right field to be out number 2. This brings me in for my first go of the game. I get one to go along the ground but straight to Short where they go to second base and tag Queen out for the end of the inning.

Bottom of the first and Hood faces Blodgett up first. Blodgett gets to a full count then gets one to go out to centre field and in for a base hit. Hood gets Brittain to strike out for the first. Roethler is up next and gets one out to the centre wall for a double. This sees Blodgett round to third. Hood uses a fast ball to get Pena to strike out for number 2. We then have a disaster in the field as Gilberds hits to Mendoza at short. Mendoza fires the ball to LaBuff at first but it is in the dirt and then skips out of the field of play. This allows Blodgett and Roethler to score while Gilberds moves to second. We end the inning 2 runs behind as Wedlow is caught at second by McCauley. We trail 2-0

Top of the second and McCauley is starting first. McCauley gets a good start as he gets one out to the left corner for a double. Rice puts one out to centre field but sees it fall into the glove of the fielder. LaBuff comes in and gets a nice base hit out to the left line that sees McCauley move to third just as rain starts to fall. We go no further as Ayala hits one straight to second that gets turned into a double play to end the inning.

Bottom of the second and we give another double up to start an inning as Tennant gets one to the centre wall as Queen cannot quite reach. Becerra gets Reich on the fly down the left field line for the first out. Shang goes down swinging for number 2. Tennant is stranded as we get Blodgett on a pop up fly over the infield with a McCauley catch. 2-0 for the Express

Top of the third and Becerra becomes our first out as he hits a grounder straight back to the pitcher. Mendoza is given a walk to make base. Mendoza then gets caught stealing on a Queen strike for the second out. Queen then goes down swinging to end the inning.

Bottom of the third and Brittain begins for the Express as the rain ends. Brittain gets a walk. Roethler hits one out to centre that Queen manages to get to for the first out. I get into the defensive action and start a double play that ends the inning as Pena hits my way. Game stays 2-0 in the favour of the Express.

Top of the fourth and Bielecki goes first for us. Bielecki hits a grounder to first but cannot beat the fielder so is out. I come in with the bases empty. I go down swinging on 3 strikes. McCauley follows me with another strike out to end the inning.

Bottom of the fourth and Hood faces Gilberds for the second time. Gilberds picks up a base hit out to short centre to get the Express going. Our poor outfield fielding continues as Wedlow gets one down in right field and turns it into a double with Gilberds going to third. Ayala misses one from Hood when facing Tennant and it allows Gilberds to score, moving Wedlow to third. We give up a second run when Tennant grounds out to first but allows Wedlow to score. Reich grounds out to second for the second out of the inning. Queen takes Shang in centre field to end the inning but we now trail 4-0.

Top of the fifth but we still don't get going as Rice strikes out. LaBuff grounds out to third and Ayala grounds to short to see a very quick 1, 2, 3 for us.

Bottom of the fifth and we get Blodgett out on a little flare to right field that Rice takes. Brittain grounds out to first for the second out. Roethler then strikes out to make the fifth a very quick inning. We still trail 4-0.

Top of the sixth and we start with a Becerra strike out to keep the quick procession up. Mendoza strikes out as well. We finally get base hit number 3 as Queen gets one to go out to centre field missing the fielder. Bielecki comes in facing a new pitcher and he hits a fly ball out to right that the fielder takes to end the inning.

Bottom of the sixth and Hood continues by facing Pena. Pena is hit by a Hood pitch and they have a few words as Pena moves to first base. Hood gets pulled and the manager sends in Nick Hill. Hill gives Gilberds a walk first up allowing Pena to go to second. Hill gets Wedlow to strike out. We see the lead go further away from us as Tennant gets one to go over Queens head in centre field to the wall for a double. This scores Pena and sees Gilberds to third. Reich cannot get one past McCauley who dives from second to take the catch for out number 2. Queen makes an error on one that lands in front of him giving Shang a double and allowing both Gilberds and Tennant to score as our game falls apart. We finally get out of the inning as Blodgett grounds to Mendoza for the final out. We now trail 7-0 and are heading for another big loss with no batting.

Top of the seventh and I am coming in just looking to get a hit for myself after seeing the team start to fall apart in the sixth. I am given a walk. I am then out on the next play as McCauley hits into a double play straight to short. Rice strikes out to end the inning.

Bottom of the seventh and Brittain starts up first. Hill gets him to strike out for the first out. Roethler gets a base hit to short left centre. Mendoza gets Pena on the fly at short for out number 2. I get the inning to end with a sharp pick up from a Gilberds grounder that I send to second to get Roethler. We still trail 7-0.

Top of the eighth and we start with LaBuff. LaBuff grounds out to first. Ayala then strikes out as we continue to really struggle. Becerra grounds out to first to see another very quick inning for us.

Bottom of the eighth and we give up another double in the outfield as Wedlow gets one past Rice on the right side. Wedlow moves to third as Tennant also gets a base hit out to the right field side. We give up an 8th run as Reich gets one to go past second for a base hit. Wedlow scores and Tennant moves to second. Shang flies out to left for the first out. Tennant moves to third and Reich to second as I get Blodgett on a ground out over to first. Another run scores as we cannot get the infield grounder by Brittain to first in time for the out. Tennant scores and Reich is at third. Our inning and game then goes from disaster to complete abysmal shambles as Hill gives a nice one to Roethler that he smacks beyond the right field fence to score 3 runs. Queen then makes another error as he cannot catch an easy fly ball from Pena who gets a double off the end of Queens glove. Gilberds gets a base hit to left field that sees Pena to third. Our disaster inning then continues as Wedlow gets a base hit out to left field that sees Pena score and Gilberds to second. We finally get the inning over when Tennant grounds out to second but with 6 runs against us in the inning we now trail 13-0 going into the last.

Top of the ninth and now the game is gone we suddenly find a hit as Mendoza gets one out to centre field. Pinch hitter Espinal strikes out. Bielecki also strikes out. I come in for go number 3. I strike out and the game is over.

We lose a disaster of a game 13-0 and only get 4 hits as a team. We slip to 11-18 as a team. I go 0-3 with a walk. If we continue to bat like this we could be on the end of some very horrible scorelines going forward as the team just cannot buy a run or even a hit.

We will face the Express again tomorrow and I am going to have to help trying to raise the teams morale after another thumping loss.