Game Cancelled

Tonight's game (Mon) has been cancelled/postponed. Johnson City had 3" of rain today. The game will be tomorrow (Tues) at 8 PM. I am updating the bracket and left-hand column. As of now, we don't know how they're going to arrange the remainder of the bracket.

2nd Game

I thought about being cruel and making you wait until the end of the post to know who won, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If you've looked at the updated bracket, our team lost. You can't really tell it by looking at the score (1-11), but it was a heart-stopping game -- honest!
This pic (left) is of Dad and Samuel before the game. Samuel has his hoodie on his pitching shoulder to keep it warm. (It would have been a less cluttered picture if I'd gotten my camera out sooner.)

First inning: Samuel pitched to five batters (12 pitches) and had 1 strike-out. Throughout the entire game, our pitchers did EXCELLENTLY; it was our fielding that was sadly lacking. There was only 1 run scored in the first inning. On offense, P walked to first, but he got out there when he tried to steal second during the next batter. Mat and J both struck out. SCORE: 0-1.

Second inning: Samuel pitched to four batters (11 pitches). No score for Kerrville! On offense, we had two strike-outs, one walk, and then another strike-out. SCORE: 0-1.

Third inning: Samuel pitched to seven batters (28 pitches) and had 1 strike-out and 1 walk. One run in for Kerrville. Things were looking up on offense: Mas got a single and ended up crossing home plate during the following runs: Co walked; P struck out; Mat hit a pop-fly; J walked; and S struck out. SCORE: 1-2.

Fourth inning: Samuel pitched to six batters (25 pitches) and had 1 walk. Then, his alotted pitch count finished (75+ pitches: 2 strike-outs, 2 walks), he was followed up by Mat. Kerrville went back to the dugout with five more runs due a lot more to errors than poor pitching. On offense, Da walked, Samuel and G (in for Dr) struck out, Mas had a single, and Ch (in for Co) struck-out. SCORE: 1-7. This particular inning was full of chaos. For example, one particular play (on defense) had a foul ball across the third base line. The third base runner ran down and ran into the ball. He was called out. Meanwhile, the batter ran to first. They threw the ball to Samuel (pitching at the time), who threw it to first and got that guy out. The runner who had been on first or second, ran across home plate in the ensuing melee. It was eventually figured out (the third base runner was out, the batter went to first, and the one-who-ran-across-home-plate returned to second) but that is just an example of this terribly long and disheartening inning.

Fifth inning: They pulled Mat during this inning so that he could pitch again soon (40 pitches: 2 strike-outs and 1 walk). S came in for him. Kerrville got three runs overall. On offense, P and Mat walked, and J, S, and Dan struck out. SCORE: 1-10.

Sixth inning: Kerrville only got one run. S finished out with 21 pitches to his name (2 strike-outs). Samuel struck out, Dr got a single, Mas walked, and Co struck out. FINAL SCORE: 1-11.

After the game, the entire team (yes, we counted this time) went to a Johnson City restaurant called El Rancho and had their supper at 11:00 at night. The boys surrounded the boom box, playing a variety of rap music, including a popular favorite, apparently, "Soldier Boy." According to Samuel: "The adults drank beer, ate chips, and talked boring stuff. The kids' favorite meals were burritos, enchiladas, cheeseburgers, and nachos. And we ice-skated around the floor in our cleats." As a side-note, not all the adults drank beer, and most of them had more than just chips.

I do definately have pics and video for all of you. We maxed out our little camera's memory card, but we brought a different camera, also. The video quality isn't quite as good, but it saves a lot more video and pictures. So, I'll be posting those up here today, when I get time and have looked at all the media ('cause we got a lot!). Added 6/30/08: All pics/videos that are going to be up for this game are up!

Again, we got to bed at 1 in the morning. This afternoon, we are going to the Wimberley nursing home to represent our church. You are welcome to drop on by!

My apologies to everyone who checked out the blog this morning in vain! (Although I did update the bracket as soon as we got home. Remember, the link is over in the left-hand column.)

~m~
P.S. Writers love comments, and I'd love to know, without cheating, if anyone is reading this! Also, all-star baseball players love encouragement! Click on the little "Comment" button at the bottom of the post and give us a shout-out. If you want, you can leave anyonymously (or choose "Anonymous" but sign your name/nickname). We'll understand. :)

1st Game

I suppose we should start on Thursday night, because that is when the parents got together and decorated cars. Here's another pic of Samuel with our car. And a few more of some other cars.

For the beginning of the game, all the team members were called out by name and then they recited the Little League Pledge:


Blanco scored 3 runs during the first inning (Mas pitching), and, truth be told, we were getting pretty worried. During the normal season, 3 runs was usually the margin of winning. We were even more worried when our first batter (P) got out at first, and our second (Mat) struck out. Blanco's pitcher was very ON! Then someone seemed to have flipped a switch somewhere, for our next four batters (Samuel being the last of these, and therefore 6th in the lineup) walked. The next two batters (Dr & Mas) both got doubles, and the last batter in our lineup walked. P struck out, and that was the end of the first inning. SCORE: 7-3. (Samuel was responsible for 1 of these points; he also stole both 2nd and 3rd, though not at the same time.)

There were no scores for Blanco during the 2nd inning (Mas pitching). Mat got a single to start us off; J walked; G (in for S) struck out; Da walked; Samuel had a pop fly, as did Ch (in for Dr). We finished that inning with only one more point than we had had. SCORE: 8-3. Here's a video of Samuel batting this inning.

Mas pitched the third inning, and Blanco had one run. As for us, Mas got out at first, Co walked, P (back at the top of the lineup) got out at first, Mat had a single, as did J, the next batter. S walked, and D got out at first. That was the end of the 3rd inning. SCORE: 11-4.

No score for Blanco in the 4th inning (Mas pitching). Samuel started us off by walking to first. Dr, after him, got a single. Mas got out at first, and Co struck out. P had a pop fly, and that was the end of the inning. Both Samuel and Dr ended up stealing home. SCORE: 13-4. Here's a video of Samuel's batting during the 4th inning:

Mas only pitched a part of the 5th inning. His total for the game was 5 strike-outs, 4 walks, 3 singles, 2 triples, and 6 pop-flies/outs-at-first/etc... Mat came in after him. Blanco scored 2 runs on the 2 boys combined, and then it was our turn. Mat got a single, J struck out, G (in for S) walked, and then S subbed back in for him. D got out at first, and S had an amazing single. After him, Ch (in for Dr) struck out. SCORE: 15-6. Here's a video of Samuel's batting (and hit) during the 5th inning:

In the middle of the 6th inning, they pulled Mat from pitching because they wanted him to be under 21 pitches, so that he could pitch the next game. His numbers were 3 strike-outs, 0 walks, 1 double, and 0 pop-flies/outs-at-first/etc... P came in for him. Blanco ended up getting 3 (possibly 4) runs. We didn't bat, since we were already ahead, and thus the game was ended! P's numbers were as follows: 0 strike-outs, 2 walks, 0 hits, 2 pop-flies/outs-at-first/etc..., and 2 that should have been outs-at-first. SCORE: 15-9.

Coach Chance (Co's dad) and Asst. Coach Amy (P's mom) gave them a post-game speech.

Well, we were all in a celebratory mood, and word went around that certain people were going to meet at the Sonic in Dripping Springs. I didn't count, but I think we had about 9 of our 11 players there, on the patio of an otherwise empty Sonic. It was quite a scene, with painted cars pulled into the closest slots, and a all-star baseball team of sweaty boys, all high on victory and released from intensity. Nothing was helped by giving them shakes (sugar!) and malts and sundaes. Several yards away, there was a car-search and almost-arrest going on, and they got great entertainment out of watching that (it was pretty far away, but they found it intriguing). Then, when they were pulled away, they played tag and generally goofed off and caused trouble.

As you know, we got home late. Lights went out at 1 AM. I did update the bracket with all the information I knew. I'm going to put it right below this post, but don't forget to check below in case there're any newer, less pressing, posts. After the tournament (or when there is a lull in the action), I'll move it back down to where it belongs.

~m~

First Win

Well, we won the game!!!!! Final score: 15-9 (Some reports put it at 15-10, but I believe 15-9 was the official. I'll see if I can find out more tomorrow.) Our next game is at 7:30 PM, in Johnson City, on Saturday (6/28), if you want to stop by! Check out the updated bracket (see left column, or scroll down a bit) for more schedule info.

Brief overview:
Samuel did not pitch; we believe he's pitching tomorrow, but we really don't know. He stepped up to the plate four times: he was walked twice, got out with a pop fly, and had a MARVELOUS single for his last at-bat. He also crossed home plate twice!

I going to have a whole outline (w/pictures & hopefully video) of our evening for you tomorrow. It's after midnight now, and I'm supposed to get ready for bed, so I'll leave you with these 2 pictures to satisfy your curiosity -- for a short time, at least:

~m~

The Bracket

Below is the bracket for Samuel's all-star baseball tournament (Little League Minor). His team is the Wimberley Texans (in red capital letters on the bracket). They will be playing surrounding teams and have the capability to go all the way to a state victory. ~m~

Decorated Car

Hey all -- we decorated the car last night in the camaraderie of the rest of the team parents. In all the sports we've ever done, this was our first time to do so. We'll definately have some pictures up for you today.
The first game's tonight! Check the bracket either late tonight or early tomorrow to see how we did. I may even have some sort of game description.
~m~

Anakin

Just a note to let you know that Anakin, our white sheep, has passed away. He was about 5 years old. You can see his starring role in the V Productions logo below. ~m~

Comments

Please let us know of any comments you may have anent this blog. We'd really like feedback about the font size/colors and the readability thereof. Also, content and loading speeds.

It's easy to comment. Just press the little "Comment" button at the bottom of the post and follow the directions! (You can do this with any post.)
~m~
BTW, the bracket will be down in the posts for a while. You can get to it directly by clicking "Bracket" over in the JCT (Johnson City Tournament) box on the upper right hand side. Once the tournament starts, I'm going to try to keep it up on top!

Welcome!

Well, this is the new blog. We're not sure how often we're going to use it or how much we're going to post. What we do know is that we'll be posting the results of Samuel's all-star tournament season that comes up next weekend! Let us know what you think.

For those of you who like this but would like something a little more interactive, we did think about creating a myfamily.com site just for this. The downside to this is that you would have to have a (free) account. All it wants is your email, and you'd have to create a username and password. Let us know if you feel up to something like that, or if you are satisfied with our narration.
~m~ (You'll know my posts; they'll be in pink...I think.)