Fall Ball Season Game 2 - RAINED OUT!!!

I think we will have to have a little chat with Mother Nature. It seems like every time Aaron is about to pitch a game, the rain falls. I was really looking forward to seeing him pitch tonight, especially since they didn't have to use him in Game 3 yesterday!

I guess you never know what to expect with Fall weather...rain or cold!!!

 

Tonight's Regular Season game is cancelled due to the rain...

 



Fall Brawl Tournament...Games 2 & 3

First weekend of Fall and we are back on the baseball field for Games 2 and 3 today. As the boys secured their first win early in the tournament, their Game 2 was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and not bright and early in the morning.  Thank God for that because it was definitely sweater weather today! Today's games were booked at the Dave Dash Memorial Park in Brampton, Ontario, and the boys were requested on the field at 10:30 a.m. The last time Aaron was on this field was with Mississauga North Tigers, where they took a beating by some really big Brampton boys!!!

Game 2 vs. Humber College

The game got underway right at 11:30 a.m. with Humber taking the field first. Our first batter hits right to the pitcher and he's out at first.  The second hits to short, and is thrown out at first. The third walks and then he gets picked off, before the next batter is done batting!

Bottom of the first and Aaron is sent out to cover short, as the boys take the field. Humber's first batter is out at first, the second is caught in left-field, the third hits and is safe and then the fourth batter strikes out.

Covering Short...





Top of the second and West TO is up at bat again. Our first batter is out at first, the second walks, the third hits towards the pitcher and he's safe on first...but the runner is out at second. The fourth batter hits and is safe on first but the runner is out at second, and then the fifth batter strikes out to end the inning.

Aaron is back out at short as the boys take the field for the bottom of the second. Humber's first batter strikes out, the second hits and is safe on first because Aaron overthrows to first. The third batter hits and the ball bounces right over Aaron and the batter is safe on first. The fourth batter hits towards second, and Aaron runs to cover second and gets the double play, before any runs can be scored. I guess it's safe to say he made up for his errors!!!

Those muscles are really coming in...

Top of the third, with 1 already out, Aaron goes up to bat and is hit with a pitch and walks. He wastes no time stealing second. The next batter is caught in right field, but Aaron makes it to third. The fourth batter is caught in centerfield, leaving Aaron going home!



Waiting for the steal...

On his way to third...

We send out another pitcher for the bottom of the third. Humber's first batter strikes out, the second is caught in centrefield, the third hits a nice double and the fourth is out at first.

Humber is still using the same pitcher for the top of the fourth and our first batter strikes out, the second is out at first and the third walks...but is picked off before the next batter is done batting!

Bottom of the fourth and Aaron dives for the first hit but couldn't stop the ball from going in left-field. I know that's going to hurt!!! The second batter hits to third and they get the double play and the final batter strikes out.

Still a score-less game as we head into the top of the fifth. Our first batter hits a nice double, the second is out at first, the third hits and is out at first but he advances the runner to scoring position and the then the fourth batter hits right into the pitcher's gloves!

Bottom of the fifth and Humber's first batter hits one in right field and he's safe on first, the second hits towards Aaron and he gets the out at first as there was no time for the double play. The third walks, the fourth hits towards Aaron and he got the ball to the second baseman in time for a double play but our second baseman overthrows to first, and the batter is safe and the first run in this game is scored! The next batter hits on in right field and is safe on first.  Time is called to change our pitcher. Our new pitcher hits the first batter and he walks...and the bases are loaded (for the first time in this game)! This inning should have been over already, with no runs. A run is scored on a wild pitch and then the next batter hits in right field and another run is scored. The final batter hits towards Aaron and he gets the out at second...thank God!

Top of the sixth and we really need some runs now, as the time limit is also coming close for this game. Our first batter is caught in centerfield, Aaron goes up and strikes out, the third hits a nice double, the fourth walks and the final batter strikes out...and still no runs for us.

Bottom of the sixth and it was 3 up 3 down for Humber.

Top of the seventh and final inning in this game. If we don't score at least 4 runs now, the game will be over. Our first batter bunts and is out at first! The second is hit with a pitch and walks, the third pops up and the drop the catch but got the runner out at second. The other teams start arriving now and someone recognizes Humber's pitcher (btw, they are still using the same pitcher) and said he's 21 years old. I thought this was an 18U tournament! The fourth batter hits and is safe on first and the final batter hits, breaks his bat and is thrown out at first...to end the game!

We didn't even get a single run!!! The boys get a 2-hour break and then it's game 3.

Andy found out from the officials that there is no age limit in this tournament.

Game 3 vs. Brampton Royals

We had a bit of time to drive around downtown Brampton before we heading back to the field for Game 3. It was busy and crowded as there was some type of festival going on at the time.

Game 3 got started right at 4:30 p.m. with West TO up to bat first. Our first batter hits and is safe on first, the second gets caught, the third hits and is safe on first, but the runner is out at second, the fourth hits a nice double, and the fifth strikes out...leaving a runner in scoring position.

West TO takes the field for the bottom of the first and Aaron is left on the bench. Brampton's first batter hits one in right field and is safe on first, the second hits in centrefield, and is safe on first and advances the runner to third. The next batter is up to bat when our catcher overthrows the ball the second, and the first run is scored! The third batter hits right in the infield, and our defense couldn't get the out or stop the another run from being scored! The fourth batter his a double in right field and 1 more run is scored. The next batter is caught in centrerfield, and the runner is thrown out at third, to end the inning.

Top of the second and our first batter strikes out, the second walks and quickly steals second and third. The third batter is caught in right field but our first run gets scored. The last batter in this inning hits but is thrown out at first.

It was 3 up 3 down for Brampton in the bottom of the second.

Top of the third and our first batter walks, the second is caught behind second, the third hits in centrefield and is safe on first, the fourth gets caught in left field and the fifth is caught by Brampton's second baseman.  Aaron is now warming up...just in case.

Another quick inning in the bottom of the third when Brampton's first batter strikes out, the second and third both hit and are safe on first, the fourth strikes out and the runner is thrown out at second.

Top of the fourth and our first batter hits a nice double, the second walks...and time is called to change their pitcher. Our third batter walks, and the bases are loaded, the fourth hits in left field and 1 run is scored, and the bases are still loaded! The fifth batter gets caught in centrefield and the runner is thrown out at home. The sixth batter walks and the bases are loaded again, and the final batter in this inning is out at first...leaving the bases loaded!

Another 3 up 3 down in the bottom of the fourth!

Top of the fifth and it was 3 up 3 down for us.

We are still using the same pitcher for the bottom of the fifth and Aaron is still in the dugout! Brampton's first batter hits in right field and our defense drops the catch! The second batter is caught in left field, the third hits in right field and 1 run is scored and the batter is tagged out at home...that was just short of a home run! The final batter in this inning gets caught in left field.

It was another 3 up 3 down for us in the top of the sixth...and we're still down by 2 runs!

Bottom of the sixth and Brampton's first batter is out at first, the second is caught in centrefield, the third hits and is safe, the fourth hits to short and our defense couldn't get any outs! The next batter gets caught in centrefield, and no runs for Brampton in this inning!

Top of the seventh, and final inning in this game. If we don't score at least 3 runs NOW, we are going home and not moving on to tomorrow! And the other bummer...Aaron is not going to show his face in this game after all! That's one of the disadvantage of being a pitcher at this level, and with this many players on a team! Our first batter hits and is safe on first, the second hits but is out at first, the third is out at first, the fourth hits and is safe on first...and 1 run is scored! Time is called and Brampton changes their pitcher again. The next batter hits and is caught...and the game is over.

So close...we lost by 1 run!!!

And that, my dear friends, was our entire Saturday...but I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Fall Brawl Tournament Game 1

It's only the second day of Fall 2016 but you could already feel the difference in the weather. It was such a gloomy day today, with grey skies all day, and the weather channel was calling for a 40% chance of rain, so I thought the game would be cancelled for sure. Thankfully, the rain never came...at least not here in Toronto.

Tonight the boys finally get to play their first game as a team. Last week's game against Humber College got cancelled at the last minute, so this is officially their first Fall Ball game.

The team's first game for this weekend's tournament is at the Flower City Recreation Centre in Brampton, Ontario. Aaron played on this field twice before, both with Rexdale Renegades and with the Mississauga North Tigers. The game was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. but the boys had to be there at 6:00 p.m. for warm up.

The Umpires arrived on time and the game got started right at 7:00 p.m, with West TO taking the field first. Aaron remained on the bench in the dugout as the boys headed out on the field. Leaside's first two batters both hit nice ones down centrefield, and this is a big field, and quickly scored 2 runs before the inning ended.

West TO got a few nice hits in the bottom of the first and even had a runner in scoring position but couldn't score any runs before the inning was over.

Top of the second and Aaron is still in the dugout as the boys head back out onto the field. Leaside gets another run very early in the inning. They have a couple runners on base when the next batter hits one down centerfield. Another run is scored and there are still runners on base, but the inning is over before any more damage could be done. We can now see Aaron warming up in the bullpen.

Bottom of the second and we got runners on base and was so close to getting our first run in the game, but the runner gets tagged out at third. I will never understand why they take these chances when we really need some runs.  Another batter manages to get on base and then finally the first run was safely scored. The bases are loaded and the next batter is hit with a pitch, and a run is walked in...and the bases are still loaded!  Another run is scored on a wild pitch. Another batter walks and the bases are loaded again. The next batter is out at first but another run is scored...to tie the game.  With 2 outs, the next batter walks and the bases are loaded once again. The next batter is hit with a pitch and another run is walked in...and the bases remain loaded! The next batter hits a nice one in left-field, bringing in 2 more runs. Another hit and the batter is safe...and time is called to change the pitcher...7 runs after!!!  Why they left their pitcher to struggle this long is beyond me, but it was a break we got early in the game. The new pitcher takes over and we scored 2 more runs before our final batter struck out. Holy smokes, that's 9 runs in this inning alone!!!

Top of the third and West TO head our to the field, with Aaron on the mound! The first batter hits, and should have been out at first but our short-stop throws too high and our first baseman has to jump off the base to get the ball...and the batter is safe!  The second batter is out at first.  he third walks. The fourth hits in left-field and but our defense drops the catch...and the 2 runners on base both score!!! The next 2 batter are both out at first.

On the Hill, for the Top of the Third...

Bottom of the third, with 2 already out, Aaron goes up and he hits...but is thrown out at first.

Top of the fourth and Aaron is back on the mound. The first batter hits and the ball bounces in the infield. Aaron gets the ball and waits on the baseline for the batter, and tags him out. Boy, did I ever regret turning off my camera...that was funny to watch! The next batter is out at second. The third is hit with a pitch and walks. The fourth hits and the throw from short is too high, AGAIN!  Seems like our catcher had a lapse in judgment when he overthrows the ball to second, and the runner on base scores!  The final batter in this inning hits and Aaron throws him out at first.

We got runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, but couldn't score any more runs.

Top of the fifth and another pitcher heads to the mound. Someone said the coach is giving each pitcher 2 innings in this game...so Aaron is done for the night. Leaside got a couple runners on base but no runs were scored.

Bottom of the fifth and we got a runner on base. The next batter hits one in centrefield and brings him home. Another hit and another run is scored. Andy just noticed that everyone is using Aaron's Baum bat...this is the bat that's guaranteed not to break! Time is called at 9:00 p.m. (2 hour game limit) but the coaches decides to finish the inning, even though we are winning. Another run is scored, and with 2 outs, the final batter strikes out.

Game over and the score is 12-7...for us...

Walking off the field with their first win...


 

Fall Ball...Game 1

Fall Ball...until last year, I didn't even know there was such a thing!!!  I guess you do learn something new every day!  By the time we found out the details of these games last year, it was already too late to get Aaron a team / league which actually play the games, as not all leagues do.

 

The end of the Season was supposed to be a bit quiet for us, but Aaron decided to sign up and attend other tryouts.  So far, he hasn't been turned away from any of the teams he tried for!  We also received a couple phone calls from coaches who have seen him play.

 

Tonight he joins the WT Wildcats 18U Elite team for the first Fall Ball game.  On this team, he will be reunited with a couple of his RY Cardinals' teammates, and he will play alongside a few players he has faced with his High School's team.

 

Game 1 -  WT vs. Humber College

 

GAME CANCELLED at the last minute because

Humber College's team never made it to the field...

Exhibition Game, September 7, 2016

Well Aaron decided that he wanted to tryout for other potential teams for the upcoming 2017 Season.  As he put it..."I want to see what my options are".  One of the teams he tried for offered him a spot the same day of the tryout.  West Toronto is the same team he turned down twice (for the 2015 and 2016 Season).

Tonight we headed over to Keelesdale North Park in Toronto, for an exhibition game of the newly selected team.  As this field is not very far from my work, I decided to work a little overtime and then head over to the field.  The weather channel called for rain and the skies was indeed gloomy but still alright for a game.

The game began at 6 p.m. and the U18's were playing against the U16's, with the U16's heading out on the field first.  I don't remember the order of the line-up but Aaron went out early to bat and he hit a fairly good one but they were able to throw him out at first.  The U18's got a couple of runs in before the inning ended.

The U18's headed out on the field , with Aaron covering short.  Andy thought it might be a little challenging for him as he's played second for most of the 2016 season.  The inning didn't last very long and Aaron was able to get the third out, before any runs were scored, when the batter hit the ball right towards him!

The U18's were back up to bat and we could see Aaron warming up in the bullpen...but before the inning was over, the rain came down, pouring!!!  With the thunder rolling and lightening striking in the sky, we all knew the game was over!  I was really hoping to see him pitch tonight, but that's the way it goes sometimes...

 

 

It was the worst drive home I have ever had...people were just stopping in the middle of the road and not staying in their lanes because the rain was falling so hard.  Thankfully, we all managed to make it home safely, and I had enough time to bake Andy's birthday cake for tomorrow...

 

 

Fall Ball - Game 1

 

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