Southeast Regional Semifinal: East Rowan 5, WR 11U Blue 2

The 2016 summer season came to a sudden end on Saturday morning in Williamsburg, as East Rowan stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat 11U Blue, 5-2.

Things looked promising in the first inning, as West Raleigh pounded out four straight hits and loaded the bases. But after scoring two runs, East Rowan made a pair of nice defensive plays to stem the rally, and from there, the Blue bats went silent. After going 4-for-5 in the first five at-bats of the game, the West Raleigh offense managed just one hit the rest of the way, compiling a stunning 1-for-17 finish. Only one baserunner reached scoring position after the first, and no balls left the infield in the final 12 at-bats.

East Rowan would go on to win the regional crown, while the West Raleigh summer came to a close.

Semifinal 11U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Gavin worked a one-out walk. Chace singled. Drew singled home a run. Chace went to third on a throwing error and scored on Banks' single.

Score after one inning: 11U Blue 2, East Rowan 0

Pitching Performances

Drew started and went into the fourth, striking out five.

Banks threw an inning and a third of good relief.

Chace entered in the sixth and worked through the top of the lineup.

Dugout wisdom
If you want your car to sound like the team van--and really, who doesn't?--here's the 2016 regionals playlist. Word to the wise: make sure you get the clean versions of a couple of these songs.

300 Violin Orchestra by Jorge Quintero
Can't Get Enough by Becky G
Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake
Roots by Imagine Dragons
Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses
Ride by Twenty-One Pilots
Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J
They Just Don't Know by Gyft
My Boo by Ghost Town DJs
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Wing$ by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Game Time by Trox
GDFR by Flo Rida
Regulate by Warren G
Hall of Fame by The Script
Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker
Work by Rihanna
Sandstorm by Darude
Honorary playlist:

Do You Want to Build a Snowman? and Let It Go from Frozen
Sweatshirt by Jacob Sartorius

Semifinal Web Gems

• Ben made an incredible leaping catch in left-center against the leadoff man in the third.
• JT made a nice play moving to his left to scoop up a grounder to third in the fourth.
• Colin, Gavin and Chace teamed up on a key 4-6-3 double play in the fifth. 

Semifinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
East Rowan	0	0	0	3	1	1	5	6
WR 11U Blue	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	5

Southeast Regionals: Off Day

A sweltering Williamsburg (motto: "In colonial times there was no breeze") Friday turned into a good day for an off day. Thanks to a quirk in the bracket, West Raleigh completed pool play on Thursday evening and had no scheduled games on Friday. But with a spot in bracket play already clinched, there was no reason to pack the suitcases just yet.

Friday started with an early practice, with the intention of getting off the field before the temperatures reached 90 100 molten. The one-hour session ended just as Supper Optimist's game was ending, so the team (minus Ben, who was very busy) took the opportunity to get a group shot with former Boston Red Sox World Series champion Trot Nixon:

That time @ben_s_27 had a chance to get a team photo with World Series champion Trot Nixon but was too busy catching Pokemon in the team van.

A photo posted by West Raleigh 11u (@westraleigh11u) on Jul 15, 2016 at 8:22am PDT

11U Blue was back at the hotel just in time to grab lunch before heading to the off day team activity, which turned out to be laser tag, a climbing wall and--an unexpectedly popular activity, although it probably shouldn't have been surprising given all the Frozen sing-alongs--a giant indoor playground.

Here is some friendly laser tag advice: NEVER PLAY LASER TAG WITH JAKE. He is an assassin.

On what Coach Kevin correctly deemed a "four-shower day," the team returned to the hotel just in time to rinse off and head back out, this time for a beach park in Jamestown. The weather was completely beautiful and not at all problematic:

But all (eventually) ended well:

Single-elimination bracket play begins Saturday morning at 9 a.m. against East Rowan. Oh, and remember Coach Sean's press conference last night? A story from the local paper on the tournament can be found here.

Southeast Regionals Game 4: WR 11U Blue 15, Julington Creek 2

11U Blue finished Southeast Regional pool play with a perfect 4-0 mark after a 15-2 win over Julington Creek on Thursday night in four innings.

The victory means West Raleigh will be the top seed from the American Division of the regional bracket. The remaining seeds will be determined after tomorrow's play, but 11U Blue knows they will play at 9 a.m. on Saturday against the 2 seed from the National Division.

Thursday's nightcap once again featured some control issues, as Julington issued six walks and hit two batters. That largely led to the eight-run second, which Jake then capped with a grand slam.

West Raleigh pitchers retired the final nine batters in a row.

Tomorrow is an off day but still complete with numerous activities, including a 10 a.m. practice.

Game 4 11U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Bryce singled and stole second. Gavin lifted a fly ball to right that moved Bryce to third, and an overthrow scored Bryce. Chace walked and stole second, then went to third on a wild pitch. Drew walked and stole second. Banks' single scored a pair.

Score after one-half inning: 11U Blue 3, Julington 0

Second inning

Elias was hit by a pitch and stole second. A wild pitch put him on third. Bryce walked, and then craftily drop-kicked the ball to deep center while stealing second, allowing Elias to score. Chace singled home Bryce. Wild pitches put Chace on third. Drew walked. Banks singled home Chace and then took second on the throw. Ben walked. JT got a bases-loaded HBP. Jake "The Salami King" Barbour, who only hits grand slams, knocked another grand slam.
Score after one and a half innings: 11U Blue 11, Julington 2

Fourth inning
JT singled. Colin's shot went past short, and then JT scored on a couple more errors. Elias hit another one past short and stole second. Colin scored on an error. Bryce singled. Andrew singled home two.
Score after three and a half innings: 11U Blue 15, Julington 2

Pitching Performances

Bryce started and threw two good innings.

Asher and JT combined for two perfect innings of relief.

Dugout wisdom
As often happens with an undefeated-in-pool-play team, there were many media obligations after Thursday (You know something about a midweek tournament? You have NO CLUE what day it is. I actually had to look at a calendar to figure out it was Thursday) night's win. Coach Sean, as usual, spent the most time with the scribes, and the team van had already loaded and been rocking while he was still amazing the press with his mastery of nouns and verbs:

He did finally make his way to the van, and his arrival was greeted with rousing applause:

If you're curious, the paper that was interviewing him was the Virginia Gazette, so expect a big expose on all the free RVs, weekly team meals at the team compound, high coaching salaries, etc.

Also, the 11U Blue players timed the opposing 5-and-10s, which checked in at...34 seconds.

Game 4 Web Gems

• Banks made a sweet running catch as he sprinted towards the corner in right field against the leadoff man in the fourth.

Game 4 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 11U Blue	3	8	0	4	X	X	15	12
Julington Creek	2	0	0	0	X	X	2	3

Southeast Regionals Game 3: WR 11U Blue 15, Surry North 0

Here's what happened: West Raleigh managed just five hits and the first six batters in the 11U Blue order were retired in order for the first time this summer.

Oh, and West Raleigh won the game, 15-0, in four innings.

Andrew was terrific on the mound, allowing just one hit. And 11U Blue had the biggest offensive inning of the summer largely by standing there and watching, as they worked 10 walks in a 15-run third inning and also got two homers in that same frame from Chace. Two of the four biggest innings of the summer have now come at the Southeast Regionals.

The victory moves West Raleigh to 3-0 in pool play, with the final game coming tonight at 7 against Julington Creek. With the various tiebreaker scenarios, things are looking very promising for advancing to the four-team bracket round on Saturday morning.

Game 3 11U Blue scoring plays

The inning of the endless walks

You have to remember that coming into this inning, the first six West Raleigh hitters had been retired in order, with three of them by strikeout. Sometimes you see the big innings coming. This wasn't one of those times. Andrew walked and took second on a passed ball. JT launched an RBI double. Colin, Jake and Bryce walked, scoring one. Gavin doubled home two. Chace blasted a two-run homer. Banks worked a one-out walk. Ben scampered to second on his liner to left. Andrew, JT, Elias, Asher and Bryce walked. Chace cranked a three-run homer.
Score after three innings: 11U Blue 15, Surry North 0

Pitching Performances

Andrew threw four innings of one-hit baseball, walking zero and striking out four while needing just 38 pitches.

Dugout wisdom
This isn't dugout wisdom, but it's some little-known Southeast Regional trivia. Did you know that Thursday's game was the first ever between two members of the Gallaher coaching tree? That's right. Sean Gallaher, of course, is the patriarch of that particular illustrious tree. And the Surry North coach played Surry Legion ball in the summer of 1993, under a moonlighting Wake Forest assistant coach who was coaching the team--and that moonlighting assistant coach was Sean Gallaher.

The next expected meeting of the coaching tree will be in about 25 years, when Coach Sean is coaching his grandkids and faces off against Coach JT and mini JT. Or wait...maybe there is another in the Gallaher coaching tree, shown here addressing the team after the game:

Also, some dugout jinxing was provided by Ben, who announced before the top of the fourth, "Andrew, you've got a no-no going!" The third hitter of the inning proceeded to single to deep right-center.

Just another day in the team bus:

Game 3 Web Gems

• Andrew, Chace and Gavin executed a perfect pickoff and rundown against the leadoff man in the second.
• Coach Sean made a nice barehanded stop of a hard-hit grounder in the loooooooong third inning.

Game 3 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Surry North	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	1
WR 11U Blue	0	0	15	X	X	X	15	5

Southeast Regionals Game 2: WR 11U Blue 13, Orlando 3

West Raleigh improved to 2-0 in pool play with a 13-3 thumping of South Florida champion Orlando. The game was shortened to five innings by the run rule.

The highlight of the day was the 11U Blue offense, which pounded out four home runs, including three of them in a mammoth 10-run third inning. That was more than enough to back up great pitching and error-free defense in the field.

West Raleigh has two games on Thursday, and could clinch a spot in Saturday's bracket play before Friday's action even begins. Most importantly, it allowed Coach Kevin to have a happy birthday and the team to have another big Frozen sing-along on the way back to the hotel in the team van.

Game 2 11U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Gavin singled, went to second on a throwing error, and scored on Chace's single.
Score after one inning: WR 11U Blue 1, Orlando 0

Third inning
Gavin singled. Chace blasted a homer into the weeds in center. Drew reached on a shot past first base. Banks cranked a homer into the weeds in center. Ben walked. Andrew demolished a homer into the weeds in center (by this point, there was a search party of West Raleigh parents in the weeds (note that before editing this read "parents in the weed"--good thing I checked over it!)...as they emerged, it looked like a scene from Field of Dreams). JT singled. Elias singled. Gavin singled. Chace hit the very rare three-run single. Drew singled. Banks singled home Chace.
Score after three innings: WR 11U Blue 11, Orlando 3

Fifth inning
Bryce singled, and Gavin sent everyone home happy with a homer to left, where there are not quite as many weeds.
Score after five innings: WR 11U Blue 13, Orlando 3

Pitching Performances

Chace started and went three excellent innings, including retiring the first six batters he faced.

Banks relieved with two innings of stellar relief, including retiring five of the final six he faced.

Dugout wisdom
I don't know if you know who Domingo Ayala is, but if you don't, I can tell you don't hang around 11-year-old baseball players very often. Domingo Ayala is a pseudo-real baseball player who makes sometimes-funny (editor's note: the players think he is ALWAYS funny) videos. So, once you watch this one, you'll understand why a couple players took infield this way:

Game 2 Web Gems

• Chace pounced on a sacrifice bunt down the first base line in the third inning and made a quick throw to retire the hitter.
• Drew made a nice snag of a hard two-hopper to third in the fifth.
• Andrew hustled after a sinking liner to center in the fifth, but when he didn't come up with it, Elias backed him up and held the hitter to a single.
• Colin finished it up with a quick double play on a liner to second, as he snagged the line drive and tossed to Chace at first for an easy double play.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Orlando	0	0	2	1	0	X	3	4
WR 11U Blue	1	0	10	0	2	X	13	17

Southeast Regionals Game 1: WR 11U Blue 10, Glen Allen 4

This was a really strange game. Given the history, it should’ve felt very good to rout Glen Allen, 10-4, in the first game of the Southeast Regionals. And the West Raleigh offense pounded out 17 hits in six innings, as all 12 players reached base at least once. And the 11U Blue pitching staff limited Glen Allen to just three hits.

But despite all that, it never quite felt like everything was consistently put together. The offense started out on fire, going 11-for-18 in the first two-plus innings, but then went through a 3-for-10 slide that prolonged the game. And the pitching, while effective at limiting the hits, gave up a very uncharacteristic eight walks. 

But the good news is West Raleigh left the field feeling like there were plenty of areas where they could improve before a 4:30 date with Orlando this afternoon.

Game 1 WR 11U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Chace drew a two-out walk. Drew singled and took second on the throw. Banks dropped in a liner to center that scored a pair.

Score after one-half inning: WR 11U Blue 2, Glen Allen 0

Second inning

JT was hit by a pitch (“We got ice!”). Colin smoked a two-run homer. Bryce made it back to back with another homer. Gavin singled and stole second. He moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a two-out single from Banks. Banks stole second. Andrew singled and stole second. Ben cracked a two-run single.

Score after two innings: WR 11U Blue 8, Glen Allen 1

Sixth inning

Gavin singled and stole second. He moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on Drew’s double. Banks singled home Drew.

Score after five and a half innings: WR 11U Blue 10, Glen Allen 3




Pitching Performances

Drew started and allowed just one run.

Colin, Banks and Gavin teamed up on 4.1 innings of outstanding relief.

Dugout wisdom

This didn't occur in the dugout, but it's hard to hear what's going on in the dugout when you're not actually in the dugout. So you'll have to content yourself with this engineering marvel from the pregame batting cage, as a couple of Blue players managed to stack a couple bats on top of each other. Note they are NOT TOUCHING THE BATS, because they wanted to make that clear.

Game 1 Web Gems

•   With a runner on first in the third, Gavin, Jake and Chace teamed up on a key 6-4-3 double play.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 11U Blue	2	6	0	0	0	2	10	17
Glen Allen	1	0	0	2	0	1	4	3

Southeast Regionals: Day One

Did someone say free Chick-fil-A? Dress like a cow day, which Chick-fil-A always seems to time to coincide with baseball season, meant Tuesday's journey to regionals started with the cow:

As Coach Kevin wheeled the team van out of the parking lot at Crossroads--with multiple police cars carefully tracking the vehicle's every move--we received numerous condolences from parents of players who thought we were in for a raucous three-hour drive to Williamsburg for the Southeast Regionals.

They didn't count on technology.

For the first 90 minutes, the van was virtually silent, as everyone was too busy playing their phones, iPads, Gameboys and Ataris (oh wait, those last two were Coach Kevin and Coach Adam). But after a brief travel stop for a bathroom break sugar fix, things livened up. 

The regional playlist is currently 17 songs strong. But you know what the biggest hit of the trip turned out to be? This one:

In case you were wondering what happens in the team van on the way to regionals. #hangintherejoan

A video posted by West Raleigh 11u (@westraleigh11u) on Jul 12, 2016 at 1:58pm PDT

That's right, songs from Frozen. With 11-year-olds, you just never know.

The evening's activities included team check-in for the regional, along with a not-announced home run competition and opening ceremonies. Once West Raleigh found out there was a homer contest, they decided, well, they might as well win it. Chace took first place and Gavin took third.

Because 11U Blue knew nothing about the home run contest, they showed up at the location with no bats. This makes it a little tough to hit home runs, even for Chace and Gavin. So a frantic call was placed to Coach Kevin, Coach Eric and Coach John, who were in the middle of some very important socializing. They put their socializing back in the cooler and sprinted to the field, where they arrived just in time with the bats. Meanwhile, some of the rest of us were having a very manly dinner, just sitting around with the fellas and, you know, doing what fellas like to do:

Back at the field, each team picked a representative to read the Babe Ruth baseball pledge. Asher was chosen for our team, so he had to do some practicing with lots of encouragement:

Games tomorrow will be at 10 and 4:30. Should I be concerned that, as of 9:30 p.m.,  this is a live look at our hotel room air conditioner?