Slacker Mom

April 11, 2011

So, I have been remiss with my updates. Turns out that after All-Stars last summer we had to face a tough decision about Jayson's baseball options. Many of the Dad's we played with last summer decided to form a new Travel team and thankfully Jayson was invited to join them. We were faced with trying to weigh our loyalty and commitment to NYO to providing him with known coaching and growth and development opportunities. After wrangling with the decision, we decided to test it out and we officially joined the North Atlanta Warriors.

The team started practicing in the winter and played in their first tournament at the end of February. We're a young team and still learning how to pitch and catch. The game is different and we have a long way to go but the boys are coming together and seem to be enjoying it so far.

The past few weeks we've tried to play several league games to get some more practice and get the boys used to playing together. We often lose but every once in a while it all comes together and we squeak out a win. This coming weekend is our first "spring" tournament. We are heading up to Cumming to play in the Battle at the Creek Tournament.

I promise to keep up with the blog and post some pictures. The boy's uniforms are very sharp and they are quite handsome! Should be quite a summer!

Bombers Take Second at State

"B" State Tournament

Chickamauga, GA

Game 1: Won 18-3 against the Chatsworth Giants

Game 2: Won 19-11 against Boundary Waters

Game 3: Won 21-11 against the Powder Springs Warriors

Game 4: Won 7-2 against the LFO Warriors

Game 5 (semi-final): Lost 14-10 to the East Cherokee Rebels

Game 6: Won 20-17 against the Canton Noles

Game 7 (championship game): Lost 9-5 to the East Cherokee Rebels

Our first game was on Friday evening. We all headed up towards North Georgia, checked in our hotel in Chattanooga and ventured out to discover Chickamauga. The field as nestled between the train tracks and the public library and was probably the smallest field we have played on all season. Moreover, it was hard and dry -- almost like concrete. The conditions would definitely change the game.

We easily beat the Chatsworth Giants in the first game which was critical for us. Over the past three tournaments we have lost the first game and headed down to the loser bracket which makes it much more difficult to win. This also gave the boys the excitement and confidence they needed to win.

We played again on Saturday and faced a much tougher team but the boys prevailed and pulled out another win against Boundary Waters, 19-11. The boys played in the pool and went to the Lookouts game that evening. They were having a blast being together and playing together.

Since we were on a winning streak, we played two games on Sunday. The boys were on a roll and managed to beat both teams. We headed back to Atlanta 4-0 and one of the four final teams that would be in the semi-finals on Tuesday night. Everyone was excited to move forward but had to juggle schedules and make arrangements for another mid-week trip back to Chattanooga/Chickamauga.

We faced the East Cherokee Rebels in the semi-final. They were a very strong offensive team and got several home runs. Even though we were probably stronger in the field, we weren't entirely on our game and we lost 14-10 which meant that we had to play again since this was a double-elimination tournament. We met the Canton Noles and the boys played hard to win 20-17. They had made it to the finals of the state tournament. At this point, we felt that no matter what happened they were winners!

After a full day entertaining the kids at the pool, movies and aquarium we headed back to Chickamauga for one final visit. We met up with the East Cherokee Rebels again. They were 6-0 coming into the finals and they were very confident. They went out and quickly took the lead 5-0. While we stayed in the game, we weren't able to gain enough momentum to catch up and lost the game 9-5.

Overall, the Bombers ended the season with a 20-10 season record, two tournament wins, three trophies, a ton of amazing memories and a group of really good friends. Not too shabby!

A Big Win

USSSA's Battle of the 4th Tournament

North Macon Park

Macon, GA

Game 1: Lost to Team Precision 9-2

Game 2: Won against the North Macon All Stars 15-0 in three innings

Third seed after the pool games

Game 3 (semi-final): Won against Team Precision 11-6

Game 4 (championship game): Won against the Diamond Bears 11-9

We headed down to Macon for a one-day, all-day tournament. We were expecting it to be hot and buggy and some parents weren't looking forward to the trip. However, it was cool and breezy with just a few wispy clouds in the sky. A perfect day and we were glad to have to spent it outside.

The first game was at 10 a.m. and as usual it takes a while for our boys to get warmed up. They weren't hitting at all and made some errors in the field. Jayson played third base and made a few good plays and then rotated as pitcher. He had one good hit but that was it. The Bombers lost 9-2 to Team Precision (dressed in black!).

After a break we took on the hosting team, the North Macon All Stars. They had some very young and inexperienced players and we handedly won the game in three innings 15-0. The Bombers were energized by the win and their game started coming together both in the field and at the plate.

We all knew that we would have to step up our game in the semi-final where we faced Team Precision again. They were overly confident and our team was tight in the field and our bats came alive. We beat them 11-6 to make it into the championship game.

Everyone was excited that we had made it this far. Maybe due to our lucky red shirts or maybe due to the weather or the berry energy drinks that we gave the kids... whatever it was, we were happy to be there. We faced the Diamond Bears in the final game and amazingly the team played better than ever. They held them to no runs in several innings and they continued to hit consistently. They held it up and won the game 11-9 to win the tournament. The team and the coaches were so excited. The joy and happiness made the day in the sun in Macon, GA well worth it!

Sheer Disappointment

District Tournament
Wills Park
Alpharetta, GA

Game 1: Lost 13-9 against the Sandy Plains Cougars who we beat to win the Hobgood Showdown
Game 2: Won 21-4 in three and a half innings agains the Midway Wolverines
Game 3: Lost 11-8 against the Buckhead Braves

In the District Tournament only 10 players bat which means four players get rotated in. We found out that Jayson made it as one of the 8 starters and that he'd be batting lead off as well. Good to know that his performance has landed him a solid spot on the team.

We headed up to Alpharetta on a Thursday night fighting the traffic for over an hour. The boys seemed lethargic and unfocused. Seems to be the same story for most Thursday evening games this season. It was hot and sticky to top it off. We played the Sandy Plains Cougars who we had defeated to win the Hobgood Showdown. They were definitely out to set the record straight and they beat us pretty confidently. We made a lot of mistakes in the field and our boys weren't able to pull it together. Jayson played well at pitcher getting 8 out of 18 outs but no one man alone can win a baseball game.

Friday night was a different story and a different opponent. The Midway team struggled throughout and we railroaded them. The boys were hitting consistently and the Midway team's fielding was weak. Jayson played pitcher again and we held them to only 4 runs. It felt good to win one but we knew the road to making it to A State was a tough one.

Saturday put us up against the Buckhead Braves whom we lost to in the first tournament of the season. It was a close game early one but once the boys thought they were behind, it just fell apart. We weren't hitting as well (Jayson included) and we made mistakes in the field -- costly ones. The game ended in a heart-breaking loss which meant that we wouldn't qualify for the A State Meet in Rome. The coaches were devastated. The boys rallied around the thought that this meant they might be able to win the B State tournament and that Chattanooga would be a lot more fun than Rome.

When you face a tough loss like this the best thing for all is to look for the positive and hold on to it.

Extra Innings

All Tournament Players Park

Marietta, GA

Game 1: Lost 3-2 to the Powder Springs Indians in 7 innings

Game 2: Won 11-9 against the Wills Park Eagles in 7 innings

Game 3: Won 11-10 against the Dunwoody Dragons in 7 innings

Game 4: Won 20-10 against the Canton Stingers in 5 innings

Game 5 (Semi-Finals): Lost 20-14 to the Wills Park Eagles who went on to win the tournament

This tournament was filled with close games that ended up in extra innings. It makes you realize that in baseball no lead is ever big enough. The first game was a defensive duel. The Indians didn't expect to be held to two runs until the bottom of the 7th inning where they scored a walk off single to take the game.

The team wasn't deterred and came back strong on Saturday to win both games -- even though both ended up in extra innings. With their wins they earned a second seed, with Powder Springs in first. Sunday's first game was against the Canton Stingers and the boys dominated the game to win in only five innings. Of course we ended up waiting around in the heat trying to keep the boys entertained and focus until the semi-final later that afternoon.

The Wills Park Eagles won their game so we were up against them again. The game was dead even with both teams holding strong defensively and offensively. The Eagles inched ahead but in the bottom of the fifth we took the lead 14-13. The umpires said that we still had one minute left and we continued on to the sixth inning. Unfortunately, the Eagles rallied and our boys were worn out and defeated. They gave up seven runs and weren't able to earn any in return. The game ended with the Eagles winning 20-14.

Throughout the tournament Jayson's hitting was much improved. He was one of the top players in terms of run productivity -- runs and RBIs. He held his own as clean up hitter. In the field, he played pitcher and right center. He continues to play well and pitcher and is improving his skills in the outfield. All in all, even though we didn't come home with a trophy, the team continues to shine!

We are the Champions!

2010 Hobgood Showdown

Woodstock, GA

Game 1: Lost 20-5 to the Oregon Park Sharks

Game 2: Won 22-14 against the East Side Bombers

Game 3: Won 14-12 against the Rome Braves

Game 4: Won 9-6 against the Rome Braves

Game 5: Won 17-12 against the Hobgood Thunder

Game 6 (Championship Game): Won 17-2 against the Sandy Plains Cougars

What a weekend! We started out with a terrible loss on Thursday night against the Oregon Park Sharks. Most of us had battled traffic to get to Woodstock and the boys weren't hitting and were making mistakes in the field. We were afraid that this might be a repeat of our terrible losses here last year.

We played a double-header on Saturday and the boys were in top form. They were hitting and fielding and everything just felt right. One of our key players was out of town so Jayson filled in for him at right center. He played well and held his own. His wasn't hitting as well as he could have been but somehow through various acts of luck, he consistently made it on base. We won two games and earned our place in the "silver" tournament, the second top 8 teams out of 24 to start.

On Sunday, we faced the Rome Braves for the second time. We were seeded third and were the home team. We pulled out another win and then headed on to face the top seed and the home team -- the Hobgood Thunder. They were very confident and expected to win this league. They were taken back by our team who were on fire hitting and made very few mistakes in the field. Jayson rotated from pitcher to left field. We beat them to fight our way into the championship game.

The boys were on a huge adrenaline rush. They were so excited to have made it to the final game against all odds and anybody's expectations. We were up against the 7th seed Sandy Plains Cougars who had played the tournament with only 9 players. Our team was on a high and simply over-powered the other team to dominate the game and earn the championship title and trophies!

Neighborhood Ball

Buckhead Classic
Buckhead Baseball
Frankie Allen Park

Game 1: Won 13-5 against the Buckhead Bucks (B Team)
Game 2: Won xx-xx against Ocee Park
Game 3: Lost 12-13 against the Druid Hills Vipers
Game 4: Lost 4-5 in 7 innings against the Buckhead Braves (A Team)

The first tournament of the 8U A League A Team All-Stars was right next door at Buckhead Baseball. Natural rivals for us. In a scrimmage the night before our team clobbered the Midway team so they started the tournament on a high, feeling very confident.

Jayson started out batting 9th and was a consistent hitter. In the second game, he hit the fence in centerfield with a hard line drive. He played pitcher most innings and rotated to left field where he was starting to get comfortable making plays in the outfield.

Unfortunately some of our key players were off their game during game 3 and we lost a game we should have won. This put us against the number one seed in the semi-finals. To our surprise, Jayson was moved up in the batting order to second. He continued to hit consistently and in a really tough defensive game, we came up short at the end to the Buckhead Braves team and lost by one run in extra innings. The boys picked themselves up but the coaches were really disappointed. They had high expectations for this tournament and unfortunately we weren't able to bring home a much coveted trophy.