Frederick Hustlers (13U)

The Frederick Hustlers traveled to Hickory on Sunday for a round-robin with the Hickory Hornets and Maryland Redbirds and came out on the losing end of both games. Mental and physical mistakes dominated the day as the young Hustlers never got out of the starting gate. The first inning of the first game set the tone for the day. The first batter reached on a HBP. After a stolen base, the second hitter grounded to third and the throw was air-mailed to first. Before the inning was over, the Hustlers found themselves in a 2-0 hole and that proved to be too much as Hickory won 5-1. Neither team hit the baseball. The Hornets simply pitched and played better defense. Marshall Mott and Tyler Prather each singled while Matt Cunningham had a double. Nine of the eighteen Hustler outs were by popups or fly balls and that won’t get it done at good 11U baseball. Justin Ropp and Joe Pippin shared the pitching duties.

Game two was somewhat of a different story in that Marshall Mott was a stud on the mound for the Hustlers. The big lefty sailed thru four flawless innings and only gave up one hit. He struck out the side in the second inning and left with a 2-0 lead. His pitch count was low but the four inning CRAB League pitching restriction got him. Andrew McElwain came on in the 5th and the Hustlers self-destructed. The first batter flew out to center but the second batter reached on an error by the 3rd baseman. Following a fielder’s choice which would have ended the inning, the Redbirds took advantage, strung together four hits and scored four runs. The Hustlers responded with two of their own in the bottom of the 5th to knot the score at four. Mott led off the inning with a sharp single and after a pop out to third, Joe Pippin reached on a hard grounder thru the wickets of the shortstop. That set the stage for McElwain’s double over the left fielder’s head. After a scoreless sixth by the Redbirds, the Hustlers had a chance to notch their first win of the season. Ryan Bennett greeted the reliever with a line drive to center field. But after a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, the Hustlers ran into bad luck. Bennett took off on a hit and run andTyler Prather’s line drive which was headed for the right center gap hit Bennett instead. The Redbirds scored four in the 7th thanks largely in part to an unusual error at first followed by two walks. The Hustlers showed some fight plating three in the bottom of the inning before losing 8-7. Tyler Prather led the Hustlers in game two with two hits.