This weekend the RY Cardinals participated in their very first tournament of the Season. Although they said the tournament was being held in Mississauga, it was more like the border of Mississauga and Oakville. The fields, 2 of them, were situated on some abandoned farm land. There was an old barn and combine still sitting on the property nearby.
The sun was hot for the entire weekend and it was quite uncomfortable. I can only imagine how the boys felt having to play in the heat.
For the first game the Cardinals were up against the Mississauga Twins on Friday evening. The game started at 8:30 p.m. and I believe this team was the only AA team our boys played against. The other teams are said to be all AAA teams.
Aaron sat for the first 3 innings of the game and covered 1st base when he went out on the field. He did not pitch in this game. In this email Coach Terry explains the line up for the tournament:
Aaron sat for the first 3 innings of the game and covered 1st base when he went out on the field. He did not pitch in this game. In this email Coach Terry explains the line up for the tournament:
"Hi everyone, just a reminder that tournaments are not like our regular season. We can only have a maximum of 10 batters. This would mean that we would have 1 EP (extra player) that is allowed to rotate into any position during a game. We also have 2 SP's (substitute players). This will mean that during tournaments we will have 2 players sitting for 3 innings and 2 players sitting for 4 innings. The line-up is based on batting and the on base percentage along with some collaborated instinct/input. We will try to make sure that any player will only sit for 4 innings once in a tournament but this naturally would be dependent on how far we make it."
For the first few inning, it appeared that our boys would win the game but then the defence fell apart and it all went downhill from there.
There was also some confusion with the pitch count for the Twins, which both delayed the game and frustrated both Coaches and players.
For the first few inning, it appeared that our boys would win the game but then the defence fell apart and it all went downhill from there.
There was also some confusion with the pitch count for the Twins, which both delayed the game and frustrated both Coaches and players.
We ended up losing the game to the Twins with a final score of 5-2!
We were on the field again bright and early Saturday morning, after getting not much sleep. The Cardinals were up against the Mississauga Tigers for the early morning game. Holy smokes, those boys from the Tigers are HUGE! One kid in particular...number 99...really stood out among the rest. He was even bigger than their coach!
We were on the field again bright and early Saturday morning, after getting not much sleep. The Cardinals were up against the Mississauga Tigers for the early morning game. Holy smokes, those boys from the Tigers are HUGE! One kid in particular...number 99...really stood out among the rest. He was even bigger than their coach!
Our guys took another beating in this game. They were dropping like flies when they went up to bat. Aaron struck out every time he went up to bat! It was good game overall but our guys lost with a final score of 6-2!
For our Saturday afternoon game, the Cardinals were up against the Etobicoke Rangers. Everyone knows the Rangers! They are supposedly the team to be feared and currently the number 1 team in Etobicoke / Ontario.
Coach Terry kept Aaron to open this game and when his very first pitch was called a strike, I have to admit...it was a moment of pride. Aaron went to the tryout for the Rangers back in September last year. When we showed at the field, with Aaron wearing his Rexdale jersey, I knew immediately that he wouldn't be selected for the team...even though the Ranger's coaches had only good things to say about his pitching! It appeared, from the way Coach Roman spoke, that they were looking for certain types of boys! Although I was disappointed he didn't make the team at the time, I was also happy...because their membership costs an arm and both legs! When Coach Roman send the email with the 'disappointing' news, he did suggest I take Aaron to Royal York to try out.
Rumor has it that the Rangers' coach was a bit nervous when he saw Aaron pitch in the first inning.
The first inning ended with a total of 14 pitches and 2 runs scored...those pitches were for you Coach Roman!
Although our guys were able to get 3 runs in the first inning and take the lead, the Rangers made a come back throughout the rest of the game and put another beating on our boys!
The final game of the tournament ended with a score of 8-3, for the Rangers.
The boys all went home disappointed as they had no wins and did not advance to Sunday. We, the parents, were confused at first as to why they were signed up for this tournament, facing the majority of AAA teams! Turns out Coach Terry didn't care about the wins...and wanted the boys to have the experience. Hopefully it was an eye-opener for them, and they walked away with a thing or two!
Although our guys were able to get 3 runs in the first inning and take the lead, the Rangers made a come back throughout the rest of the game and put another beating on our boys!
The final game of the tournament ended with a score of 8-3, for the Rangers.
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| Getting ready to Open the game against the Rangers - May 31, 2014 |
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