Season Openers

OK for those who may or may not know I am the Head Coach for the Berean Bulldogs baseball team. On Tuesday, March 4, 2008, we had our opening games against the Trinity Tigers of Greenville, NC, in Greenville. While we split the season openers, by dropping the first game and picking up the second, we learned some valuable lessons. The score for Game 1 was Trinity 19, Berean 9. The second game finished Berean 10, Trinity 9.

Game 1

Pitching:

Game one saw four different pitchers on the mound for Berean. Jimmy Birkholz pitched the first two innings in a back and forth contest that ended with us down by one. Jimmy is a 9^th grader whose normal position is first base. This was his first game on the mound. While he struggled a little with finding the strike zone his mechanics and velocity looked well. I am confident that Jimmy will develop into a fine pitcher.

Up next was Junior Greg Adams. Greg pitched one inning shutting down the first two batters. Greg hit one batter, walked one, and then surrendered some more runs due to fielding errors. I look forward to seeing Greg on the mound more often with a better supporting cast (more about that latter). Greg was pulled after one inning because of a situation with Senior Shawn Andrews.

Shawn Andrews would pitch next, due to losing a contact while running the bases. Shawn is a hard throwing pitcher but struggles a little with his control. He was unable to field without one contact so we hoped he might be able to still pitch without the contact. Shawn's limited vision attributed to many walks and many runs. At this point Coach Michael Germany and I were looking at our rosters wondering who could replace Shawn (we had two pitchers who were not eligible for game 1). We finally decided to try another infielder who has a strong arm but who has only pitched once in the past with a shaky outing.

Shawn Andrews was replaced by Freshman Christian Andrews (his little brother and our normal third baseman). Christian surrendered one more run before a long fly ball was fielded by Sophomore Jared Smith in left field. With a 10 run lead we had one more at a bat as we moved into the top of the fifth inning of the five inning contest.

Christian returned to the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning with a eight run deficit. The game should have ended since the home team had the advantage but due to an oversight by the officials and coaches the game continued. (A normal game is seven innings and the mercy rules do not apply until the fifth inning. However, this was the first of two five inning games for a "Double Header.") Due to the oversight Christian would surrender two more runs bringing the score to 19-9 Trinity.

Fielding:

While both teams committed errors the team that had the most mental errors was the loser tonight. While most hits were fielded cleanly and smoothly the ones that came with two outs and runners in scoring position were not fielded as well. The infielders who made the errors rushed throws or sacrificed proper fielding techniques in an attempt to get out of scoring trouble. We had a couple of balls dropped when being fielded bare handed and pulled the first baseman off the bag more than once. This is not to say that we did not some heads up plays as well. Sophomore Ryan Ikeya made some fantastic decisions while playing second base. He resisted the temptation to make a bad throw and allow a run to score. He also made a fabulous overhead catch while holding his foot on the bag to force an inning out at second. This play was the highlight of game one. Christian Andrews also performed brilliantly at third. He was very alert to the runner and outs situations and was always in proper position to field any ball hit his was. He was called upon to make the hardest throw in baseball. With a ball hit just over the bag and then bouncing into foul territory Christian made a backhanded catch, rotated and threw to first. The runner was called safe by a step. However, as I said before this is the hardest throw in baseball and he got it there. With time and growth He will be a solid anchor on the corner.

Hitting:

Jared Smith and Junior Stephen Johnson proved to patient hitters at the plate collected more than one walk. Seniors Shawn Andrews and Van Dues continued their hitting dominance of Trinity pitchers. Others who bats came alive this year were Ryan Ikeya, Christian Andrews, and Greg Adams, who hit with surprising power over previous seasons (Greg began early lifting weights and conditioning for the season and it looks like it is paying off.)

Base running:

Aggressive. The players ran aggressive as we practiced manufacturing scoring opportunities. With heads up alertness all but one avoided being picked off at the base and all stole at least one base. Senior Shawn Andrews stole home. As the pitcher began his windup he got a good jump and crossed the plate before the catcher caught the ball. Christian pulled out of the batter's box based upon the signals allowing Shawn to pass unhindered.

Game 2:

Pitching-

Game two saw one of our pitchers return to eligibility. Seventh Grader Darryl Bonner pitched all five innings. While he may have struggled some with pitch placement, pitching for the first time from the full distance of a high school field (little league fields are smaller), and not having to hold a runner on base, he performed exceptionally. He displayed a powerful curve ball and mental toughness in pressure situations.

Fielding:

The boys settled down and made better throws. The outfield struggled with some pop ups due to the high winds. One ball hit into right-center blew into right field proper before hitting the ground. Our right fielder over pursued the ball not expecting it to float so much. This was also the first time many of the outfielders played "under the lights" as most of our games finish before dark. Senior Shawn Andrews made some fantastic catches displaying his fielding range at Shortstop.

Hitting:

Greg Adams and all the others continued to show their presence at the plate. Greg hit a ball that traveled about 310 feet before being caught just short of the center field fence. Had it not been for the winds I am confident Greg would have had his first career dinger.

Base Running:

See above minus the stolen plate at home. This was our greatest strength and it made the difference in the game.

Overall Lessons:

When you are on a team things you do to make yourself ineligible affects the whole team. Fast and controlled is better than as fast as you can and uncontrolled. Patience at the plate equals runs on the scoreboard. And most important if you fall you can get it up and be successful next time.

I will keep you posted on as we play. Our next Game is an away game against Faith of Goldsboro on March 17^th. Until then hard practices await as we fix some of weaknesses and strengthen our strengths.

Record: 1-1