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April 6, Giants (4-0) vs Yankees (4-0)
This was the battle of the unbeaten's. Who would prevail? The Yankees who lead the league in runs with 28 ... or the Giants who lead the league in defense only giving up TWO for the season?? Which was going to break ... YANKEES "O" or GIANTS "D"???
Looks like Easter Break took it's toll for the G's offense early as only Caden, Colin and Ben got hits first time through the lineup ... but there are two great things in the world ... Triple Scoop Ice Cream Cones AND a Triple By a Giant, which Caden blasted to get the 2nd inning going. Then Ben stepped up and hit a monster Double scoring Cade.
But that was only the sparkler to the TNT fireworks ready to go off in the 4th ... with two outs and nobody on, Tyler decided enough was enough and hit a double to center ... Mitchell and Caden followed with strong singles, and Aidan found a creative way of getting on base by hitting the ball AND the catchers glove ... so now with bases loaded and two outs, our RBI master listened to Coach Tony as he relayed last minute wisdom, and on a full count, Switzer ANNIHILATED the baseball ... sending it over the CF and towards the Kaseberg Playground ... and giving him a GRAND SLAM!!! And the hitting parade continued as Anthony, Ryan and Cameron also had base hits getting back into a groove.
Defensively the Giants were on their "G" game .... chalking up six put outs and ZERO ERRORS. Colin fired three to 1B Caleb for outs, SS Tyler took the routine grounder for the out and 2B Dylan made a great defensive play scooping the hard hit grounder and throwing him out at 1B Tyler ... and finally ... to end the game ..... 2B Ben slid to his left and finished the contest by throwing a dart to 1B Aidan.
Our "Tough As Nails" award goes to Tyler .... while playing SS he approached the dugout mid-inning and dropped his tooth into Coach Drew's hand .... and then ran back to position ... SAY WHAT????
Game Ball Winner: I didn't even have to say it .... as it was unanimous by the coaches, teammates and parents on who was taking this ball home. Batting 2-2 with an RBI double and a 4-run Grand Slam ... and making the final play to seal the deal ... no doubt about it this one went to MR. BEN SWITZER!!!
GIANTS 6 YANKEES 1
March 27, Giants (3-0) vs Angels (2-1)
This one was a hard fought battle from beginning to end. But even in a low scoring affair, there were some great moments that must be recognized ...
Starting Pitcher Mitchell confidently delivered throws that were so dialed into homeplate, I thought for sure the ball and plate were magnetized! His two innings yielded only a couple hits ... and a couple uncharacteristic errors behind him ... allowed the Angel runners on base, but he kept his composure, and more importantly, kept them from crossing homeplate. Mitch consistently racked up strikes .... which every out those innings were by strikeout!
Caden has been working hard to prepare for his first outing as pitcher ... and us coaches believed it was time. So in the 3rd we looked to our young 8yr old and asked him to keep the Angels off the basepaths ... and so he did. Cade faced three batters in his debut, two of which didn't get a sniff of the ball striking out, and the other lined out to Cade (who was so excited he immediately "sorta threw the ball around", love the instincts!). Cade deservingly came back another inning and forced the heart of the Angels order into groundouts, which he personally took care of himself with strong throws to the #1 bag.
Ryan joined the party in the 5th and continued the scoreless tradition by only facing four batters, finishing them off with a 4 pitch strikeout. He also showed his defensive prowess at 2B .... after a strong hit, Ryan slowed the ball, quickly chased it down, turned and threw a LASER to Caleb for the close out!
And the Giants needed dominate pitching because the bats were asleep ... as a matter of fact, we got on base only four times!!! Caleb started the rally with a drive down the 3rd base line followed by a strong single from Mitchell. Tyler continued his hot hitting, getting enough of the ball and an RBI scoring Caleb for the run we needed. But would it be enough???
With only a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning, we needed some insurance ... so at the bottom of the order, our little man came up and stepped up BIG! On a full 3-2 count Colin took his final pitch against the wind and knocked it clear over the left fielder for a monster double scoring Mitchell for the final run!! Since he took the game into his own hands, why not finish it? So Colin came in as the closer in the 6th and only needed 11 pitches to record the save!!
This was definitely the game for the 8yr olds ... as Cade and Mitchell pitched strong and got a big hit, Caleb scoring the winning run and defensively chalking up SIX assists playing the important first base ... but for today, it was Colin who showed he can do more than just play defense and pitch .... he can get the BIG HIT!!! Great job game ball winner!
Giants 2 Angels 0
March 23, Pirates (1-1) vs Giants (2-0)
I had a funny feeling in my stomach after Monday's practice ... it was either the shrimp scampi I ate for dinner ... or the feeling of Oh Oh Oh Man, these bats are really jumping! And luckily it was the latter ... and I did seriously walk away from practice thinking "if these kids hit in the game like they did tonight, LOOK OUT!!"
And look out they did ..... Tyler, Mitchell, Caden and Ben absolutely put their stamp on the ball and sent them packing for the hills ... knocking doubles and triples into the outfield. Nick, Dylan, Caleb, Colin, Anthony and Aidan all smacked the ball and ran hard to first getting hits. Cam and Ryan ran into some tough pitchers, but their bats will be back on track sooner than later! Mitchell was our stud hitter tonight, and was our only player to bat 1.000 for the evening ... going 3-3, RBI and a monster double into Right Field. Tyler's big hits, including this season's first TRIPLE, helped four Giants to cross the bag that means the most.
Pitching was another highlight of the evening. Colin started the game and went up against 7 of the Pirates finest over 2 innings getting 3 Ks and allowing just a hit ... and only once did he reach a 3 ball count for the coach to come out, crazytown! Aidan relieved him in the 3rd and did not allow a hit facing only 4 batters ... Closer Tyler worked the final two innings facing 7 batters and getting his own K and only allowing 1 hit.
With the pitching rolling along defense was minimal ... but the D stayed awake to make some great plays ... 2B Ryan made the routine play to 1B Aidan ... P Colin and Aidan made nice unassisted pop up grabs ... P Tyler made a great reaching catch for the out behind the mound .... SS Colin took a grounder and made the strong throw to 1B Caleb .... and finally 3B Akey made the nice play catching his own pop up down the line. Stat line I really like to see .... 0 errors.
In every game you hope for special moments .... and the beauty of them is you absolutely have no clue when they will take place, and even by whom. Tonight we witnessed one. With a runner on second and the Giants needing only one more run to seal the deal ... MR. CADE strolls to the batters box with his biggest opportunity of his life (okay, maybe a little dramatic, but I'm pretty sure it was for tonight!!) ... he takes a practice swing and steps up to the plate ... and wastes no time as he agrees with the first pitch and takes it DEEP to centerfield for the walk off game winning double.
They say kids forget about games, strikeouts, big hits, wins, loses, etc, etc ... I'm going to guess our Game Ball Winner Caden will remember this one for quite some time .... I know we will !!!
PIRATES 0 GIANTS 6
March 20, Giants (1-0) vs Red Sox (1-0)
"I left my heart ... in San Francisco " ~ Tony Bennett
Back to back solid games by the G-men. And when these guys put in the work .... the effort .... and listen ... GIANT things result. We like what these guys have done in the first few weeks and look for everyone to continue progressing as players, teammates and people.
OFFENSE: The rust is coming off the bats quicker than expected ... Colin, Tyler, Caden, Aidan, Ryan and Anthony went ..... ready for this ..... 12-12! The Sox had some tough pitchers but the Giants remained focused and put together a nice 5-run rally.
PITCHING: We now have gone through SEVEN different arms and ALL of them are very impressive (most teams hope they have 3-4 pitchers … but we just might have a full team of them)! Against the Sox, Caleb started strong out of the gate and threw so consistently that their coach only came out once to finish an at-bat during the opening inning … and the younger brother kept their bats quiet only allowing one run over two innings. Colin showed his heat seeking ability by throwing nine total pitches and recording two strikeouts in his first inning of work. While Cameron finished the game with a strong inning of his own not allowing a hit, proving he hasn’t lost a step from the 2009 campaign.
DEFENSE: P Caleb showed his skills early by fielding a couple grounders and making the put outs to 1B Tyler ... the Sox cleanup hitter launched one into the outfield but LF Anthony treated it like just another can of corn ... 3B Cameron demonstrated his big play making ability with the long throw to 1B Aidan and later Cam made an unassisted force out two-handed tag at 3rd. 2B Nick had a successful 4-3 to 1B Aidan … and SS Mitchell stabbed a hard hit line drive for the out. Giants D: 8 put outs, 7 strikeouts, 4 assists, 3 errors
While defense has always been a tradition of our teams … solid pitching and timely hitting will only add to why this group can be extremely successful ... and the very reason why we picked this Game Ball recipient – Caleb S. He pitched … he hit … and he displayed his defensive range by jumping on a popup … diving into a tuck roll … and eventually holding up his glove with the wrapped ball inside, easily our defensive play of the year so far! No doubt this kid is a joy to watch play … and his positive attitude makes him fun to coach too!
GIANTS 6 RED SOX 1
March 16, Giants (0-0) vs A's (0-0)
I'm not sure what my happiest moment was .... could it be driving the quad around in preparation of opening day? Watching the Giants players approach the field with game faces on? Seeing the kids play well each and every inning? Or maybe eating pizza with the team? Answer: D - All the Above!
If you know us coaches we really get excited about defense ... and 9 put outs, 9 strikeouts and 1 error is pretty darn exciting! 1B Tyler displayed his glove work immediately as he snagged a line drive to get the season rolling and continued the game with 4 put outs of his own from all over the field. P Ryan played like Greg Maddox with cat-like reflexes and nice exchanges to first base, not once, but twice. 2B Nick and 2B Colin kept their gloves dirty and made the routine plays to first ... and after a nice line drive from the A's, CF Mitchell retrieved the ball quickly and put a stop to the runner trying to extend the hit to a double getting the out! Aidan, Caleb and Mitchell all played first base perfectly catching every delivered ball for assists.
But let's not forget about the offense ... everyone got the bat on the ball. Colin started the season with a hit and scored from 1st base after Tyler's smash into the outfield, booyah!!! Tyler and Big Ben both flexed their muscles going 4-4 collectively, with 3 Doubles, 3 RBIs and a Run. Mitchell crushed a double down the RF line and scored .... Caden scored the go ahead run off Nick's RBI .... Akey hit the stuffing off the ball to the outfield both at bats ... and Caleb took one for a ride opposite field that I think is still in the air ... Dylan had a nice single ... and Ryan, Anthony and Aidan hit the ball hard, but the A's came to play and were able to just beat them to the bag.
Looks like we have some arms on this squad ... Aidan didn't look nervous in the first Giants game taking the ball like a seasoned veteran and confidently working an inning of only 13 pitches and getting two strikeouts. Ryan entered the game cold but warmed up quickly going two innings allowing ONE hit. Tyler looks to be in midseason form as he came in for relief and struck out FOUR batters. Facing the heart of the order Mitchell played closer for the evening not allowing a hit (well, unless you count "hitting" the batters) ... but did this rattle him? Heck no as he delivered the ball with confidence chalking up TWO of his own strikeouts for the save.
I wish there were 12 game balls to distribute because everyone played their hearts out .... so we needed to pick someone who played prepared, determined, and confident ... someone we can all look up to .... someone we can call CAPTAIN .... and the no brainer choice is our man, our season opener pitching winner --- Captain Ryan Jarrett. Great game kid!
Giants 4 A's 1
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