This past weekend we traveled out to Williston to play the
Tetons. We were originally scheduled to
play on Saturday here, but with the weather going to be cold and windy, we
opted to play all four out there. The
weather was a balmy 67 degrees with a small breeze blowing out, so it was a
good choice, in regards to the weather that is.
We were hoping to get home field advantage against them because we knew
we are used to our field and we could use any little advantage we could
get. We were close yet again in two of
the four games, but still can’t seem to be on the winning side of the
scoreboard. With that being said, here
is a recap of the games:
Game 1
The first game of the first day are usually our worst games because we come right off the bus and it takes us a while to get things rolling. With that being said, this was just the case for this game too. We got ourselves in a hole early again by being down 0-8 in the second inning. There wasn’t much more to this game statistically other than Torres getting the lone RBI for our only run in the fifth. We lost this one 1-11.
The first game of the first day are usually our worst games because we come right off the bus and it takes us a while to get things rolling. With that being said, this was just the case for this game too. We got ourselves in a hole early again by being down 0-8 in the second inning. There wasn’t much more to this game statistically other than Torres getting the lone RBI for our only run in the fifth. We lost this one 1-11.
Game 2
The second games of the first day are usually our best and we play our best ball then. We have always been a team that comes out with a chip on our shoulder and makes it a game. We are also a team that putts around until crunch time and turns it on to make a game out of it. We were down 0-6 going into the third, and then tacked on 3 of our own. Then in the fourth, they extended it to 3-8. In the fifth we put up another run and in the sixth is when we made it go time. We put up another 3 runs to make it a 7-8 ball game. Our defense runs off of how well we do at the plate, and vice versa. We were playing solid D and our guys were getting the bat on the ball. In the seventh we put on one more to tie it up. But right at the end, WSC had a timely hit and they win on the walk off.
The second games of the first day are usually our best and we play our best ball then. We have always been a team that comes out with a chip on our shoulder and makes it a game. We are also a team that putts around until crunch time and turns it on to make a game out of it. We were down 0-6 going into the third, and then tacked on 3 of our own. Then in the fourth, they extended it to 3-8. In the fifth we put up another run and in the sixth is when we made it go time. We put up another 3 runs to make it a 7-8 ball game. Our defense runs off of how well we do at the plate, and vice versa. We were playing solid D and our guys were getting the bat on the ball. In the seventh we put on one more to tie it up. But right at the end, WSC had a timely hit and they win on the walk off.
Game 3
Although we do not play well on the first game, the first game of the second day is a different story. It may be because we didn’t have to get up at 6:00 am to be on the road by 7:00, so we were able to sleep in. We started Engebretson for this game because we knew that they struggled with lefties, as we saw in fall ball against them when we beat them. With that being said, it wasn’t that they were hitting the ball well in this game, it is that we allowed them to get guys on base to have simple base hits bring in a lot of runs. Since we played all games ath their place, this day we would be the home team on the scoreboard for both games.
The game started out with us walking the first three batters, and them going up 0-3 before we even got an out. After the second inning, we were already down 2-9. We were struggling at the bats because we couldn’t get anything rolling the way we wanted it to. When it started to turn in our favor was in the fifth inning when we put in Holtzclaw to pitch. At that time, we were down 4-11 and needed a spark to get our spirits up. Claw (as the guys call him) allowed only one run in that inning as we put on five. The score was now 9-12 and we were back in the ballgame. The guys had their heads high and it looked as if we could get out of this next inning and try and put a few more runs up, but the Tetons had other plans. They put on four more runs in that inning and we only put on two. The score was now 11-16 and with one inning to go, we had to find a way to win. When it was our turn to bat, we were towards the bottom of our lineup, so we needed the guys to figure something out and find a way to get on. That was not the case as we didn’t get any runs in at all that inning. We lost that game 11-17.
Although we do not play well on the first game, the first game of the second day is a different story. It may be because we didn’t have to get up at 6:00 am to be on the road by 7:00, so we were able to sleep in. We started Engebretson for this game because we knew that they struggled with lefties, as we saw in fall ball against them when we beat them. With that being said, it wasn’t that they were hitting the ball well in this game, it is that we allowed them to get guys on base to have simple base hits bring in a lot of runs. Since we played all games ath their place, this day we would be the home team on the scoreboard for both games.
The game started out with us walking the first three batters, and them going up 0-3 before we even got an out. After the second inning, we were already down 2-9. We were struggling at the bats because we couldn’t get anything rolling the way we wanted it to. When it started to turn in our favor was in the fifth inning when we put in Holtzclaw to pitch. At that time, we were down 4-11 and needed a spark to get our spirits up. Claw (as the guys call him) allowed only one run in that inning as we put on five. The score was now 9-12 and we were back in the ballgame. The guys had their heads high and it looked as if we could get out of this next inning and try and put a few more runs up, but the Tetons had other plans. They put on four more runs in that inning and we only put on two. The score was now 11-16 and with one inning to go, we had to find a way to win. When it was our turn to bat, we were towards the bottom of our lineup, so we needed the guys to figure something out and find a way to get on. That was not the case as we didn’t get any runs in at all that inning. We lost that game 11-17.
Game 4
By this time in the series, all of our guys were shot and we were running out of pitchers. We saved Choy for this game because of all the off-speed “junk” he throws and how it was a completely different look than the rest of our pitchers. Hoping that it would be enough to mess with them was what we were banking on, because it was our best option. It worked in the first inning as we took the lead 1-0 and he only threw 12 pitches. Choy was doing a great job of getting ground balls and letting the fielders do the work. From the second on, they adjusted and were hitting the crap out of the ball. There wasn’t much we could do when they would just place the ball in the gaps and progressively advance the runners. In the fifth, we brought in Kody Lane to relieve and again bring a different look. At this point we were down 1-9 and needed something to bring us back in the game. We were worried because Kody has yet to pitch in a game this year, or even throw bullpen in practice. He has always been in my ear saying “Coach, if you need me to pitch, I can.” Well I took him up on his offer to see how well he did. That first inning he pitched well and didn’t allow any runs in. OI was hoping this would be the spark we needed to make one of our classic late in the game runs. Well I hoped a little too much as we did not score any that inning, but still knew that we had the sixth and seventh to score. It didn’t matter as the Tetons put a big number on the board (8 runs) and our wind was taken out of our sail. We lost this game 1-17.
By this time in the series, all of our guys were shot and we were running out of pitchers. We saved Choy for this game because of all the off-speed “junk” he throws and how it was a completely different look than the rest of our pitchers. Hoping that it would be enough to mess with them was what we were banking on, because it was our best option. It worked in the first inning as we took the lead 1-0 and he only threw 12 pitches. Choy was doing a great job of getting ground balls and letting the fielders do the work. From the second on, they adjusted and were hitting the crap out of the ball. There wasn’t much we could do when they would just place the ball in the gaps and progressively advance the runners. In the fifth, we brought in Kody Lane to relieve and again bring a different look. At this point we were down 1-9 and needed something to bring us back in the game. We were worried because Kody has yet to pitch in a game this year, or even throw bullpen in practice. He has always been in my ear saying “Coach, if you need me to pitch, I can.” Well I took him up on his offer to see how well he did. That first inning he pitched well and didn’t allow any runs in. OI was hoping this would be the spark we needed to make one of our classic late in the game runs. Well I hoped a little too much as we did not score any that inning, but still knew that we had the sixth and seventh to score. It didn’t matter as the Tetons put a big number on the board (8 runs) and our wind was taken out of our sail. We lost this game 1-17.
After the games our guys were really down. They have been right there for a lot of
games, but have been unable to seal the deal.
They have shown a lot of grit and heart in all 10 of the games. One of the guys said, “We have been
walked-off 4 times now, so our record could easily be 4-6 right now.” He hit it right on the head. We have taken it right down to the wire for a
lot of our games, but have put ourselves too deep in a hole early to come out
of it. Mental lapses and fielding errors
have been our demise which has lead us to where we are now.
This week we are going to work on A LOT of fielding drills
and catcher blocking, as these are our weakest areas. If we can get these areas fixed, I believe
that we can make a turnaround and get some wins.
Our next games will be here at the LUMBERYARD as we host
Dawson on both Saturday and Sunday. Game
times are at 1 & 3 both days. Come
out and catch a game and see your Jacks in action!
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