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Head Coach Stan Aten ● Ph. 440-915-1078 ● Stan@BereaBaseball.com

GAME RE-CAPS

Luc was a Beast, but couldn't tame Bulldogs

B.A.T. Bulldogs 14, Braves 11 ●  June 15th @ Brunswick

Luc on the eve of his birthday was pumped up from the moment he learned he would get the start at second base defensively for the Braves. Coach Aten was looking for a spark and someone to breath some life into the Braves defense and Luc stepped up to the challenge. Hustling through infield drills, Luc reminded the stalemate Braves middle infield what it meant to be penciled into the line-up at such a glamorous position. First however, Luc would have to adapt to his other new role as the Braves #2 batter vs the B.A.T. Brunswick Bulldogs and he tackled that task just as handily, ripping a base hit into right field to start off a Braves one-out, 3-run rally in the first. The Braves capitalized on several Bulldog miscues, as Rob reached base on an error, Matt walked, and Jacob reached base on an error, scoring Luc & Rob. Louis put the ball in play, grounding out to the short-stop, scoring Matt in the process as the Braves leaped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the inning.

Matt received his first CVBA Regular Season start on the mound for the Braves, handing a 4-5 score over to Rob with 2-outs in the third. Matt faced 16 at the plate in 2-2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, walking 4. The highlights of the first inning defensively came from Luc though as he put away the Bulldogs lead batter on a ground-out, speared a diving catch line-drive for out #2, and put away a pop-up for out #3, but in between the Bulldogs managed three hits and a pair of walks to tie the score at 3-3.

Both teams sent four to the plate in the second inning, with CJ leading the charge with a lead-off single to the left-center gap, but was stranded at third after swiping a base.

 …. More later

Braves mail-one-in to Stingrays

With the Braves playing their 21st game of the season, 16th of the CVBA season and third of four games in five nights, they figured the Stingrays were worth their 9-1 record and mailed it in. However, they left there feeling that had they faced them on fresher legs, they could compete with the first place team. There wasn't any secret meeting or pact to bail on a regular season game, but collectively the Braves clearly weren't into competing tonight. Ryan Creter received the start, and again looked promising. The young pitcher will learn that it is a sin to walk the lead-off batter of any inning, as it is an almost automatic score in travel ball. After putting the lead runner on, a fly-out to Matt in center produced the first out, followed by another walk, and another fly-out to Matt in Center field. However the second fly ball generated a sacrifice and got the Stingrays on the score board first, as the lead-off batter who walked, scored. The fifth batter of the inning reached base on a Braves error by the second baseman, before Ryan forced a ground ball to Rob at short-stop for the final out. The Braves tied the score (1-1) in the top of the second as Jacob lead off with a base hit, and Sean and Teddy followed with walks. Jacob was thrown out at the plate after stealing third and attempting to score on the over-throw. It was a poor judgment by the Braves third base coach who sent him, especially with no-outs. Sean found his way to third on the play at the plate to Jacob, and stole home himself on an attempted pick-off move over-throw. It was a good thing the Braves manufactured the runs though as the Braves next two batters struck-out consecutively. Ryan, like many other Braves starting pitchers of late, received little help from the lackadaisical Berea defense. The first two to lead off the Stingrays second inning, reached base on errors (one at third & one at short-stop). A base hit to left field loaded the bases. Ryan managed a strike-out of the tenth batter, which technically should have gotten him out of the inning still tied 1-1. A slow grounder in the gap between third & short-stop was fielded, but no play was made, scoring a run. The next batter grounded to short, and a double-play was attempted, cutting down the runner at second, but not in time at first, scoring another run. A base hit to center added to the score. Ryan finally fielded the final out on a chopper back to the mound. Ryan faced 14 at the plate through 2-innings, hurling 44 pitches, striking out one. He surrendered 5 Runs (Only 1 earned) on a combination of 3 hits and 3 costly errors, accompanied by a pair of walks. The Braves put up little fight offensively; Rob had a 2-out base hit in the third, but was left stranded. Matt forced a lead-off walk in the fourth inning, which resulted in the Braves second run when Sean drove him in with an infield ground-out. Teddy pitched relief in the third; facing 13 at the plate in the inning, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits, walking two, hit a batter, and struck-out two. He hurled a ghastly 57-pitches in a single inning. Teddy didn't look prepared, and hasn't seemed to capitalize on the opportunities on the mound. Louis pitched the forth and final inning, allowing 6 runs on 4 hits, walking 3, hitting a batter, and striking out one in recording two-outs before the Braves were mercy ruled.

The Braves will suit up and travel to North Royalton in less than 24hrs, where they will re-group and attempt to finish off this tough stretch in the schedule on a high note.

Braves lose in extra innings

The Braves gathered three hours early for Saturdays game, and worked on base running, fielding, and took batting practice. The extra work proved little help as the team continued to make the same selfish and cerebral mistakes. The Bruins jumped out to a 7-1 lead before the Braves cut it to 7-4 through three innings and took the lead 8-7 after four. Louis received the start, facing 10 at the plate into the 2nd inning, surrendering 5 runs on 2 hits, walking 3. Rob entered with two on and no outs in the second. Rob kept the Bruins at-bay through the sixth, as the Braves mounted a 10-7 lead, the final run coming from the bat of Louis' and his first career Home Run over the right-center field fence. However, four of the first five Bruins batters to step into the box singled to start the seventh, tying the game at 10-10 with one aboard and one-out. Sean was called upon to record the final outs. Matt gunned down the base runner trying to steal third and Sean struck-out the third out on a 2-2 pitch. DJ reached base on balls in the bottom of the seventh, and he positioned himself into scoring position on a passed ball. With two-outs, the Braves attempt to squeeze in the winning run by having Tony lay down a bunt, but the Bruins pitcher fielded it well for the final out. Sean walked the lead batter in the top of the 8th inning before forcing a pop-up to second base. The Bruins #2 hitter laced a base hit into left-center before the Braves received a lucky break on an over-throw exchange between the catcher and the pitcher. Jacob backed-up the throw from his second base position and gunned down the lead runner at the plate for the second out. With two-outs and a full-count pitch on it's way, the Bruins #3 hitter placed a ground ball right through the Braves short-stop position, although the Braves short-stop not recognizing that a final fielded out would end the game, broke to cover the second base bag, and the single through the infield scored the go-ahead run for the Bruins. The Braves elected to put the Bruins clean-up hitter on intentionally and pitch to the #5 hitter who was 0-for-3 with three infield outs on the evening. The move didn't produced the desired results as the batter drove in a pair on a center field single. The Braves got out of the inning though when a relay to the plate was returned back to second to cut down the batter attempting to take second. With the Braves down 13-10 in the extra inning, they got exactly what they had hoped for with the first three to reach the plate, reached base safely. Jacob singled to the left side of the infield, and Louis drove him in with a shot between the shortstop and third base gap. Rob drew a walk from a new pitcher and the Braves had the tying run on second after a stolen base positioned him there, and no-outs. Matt, who had been red hot in having a major hand in the Braves recent come back wins, looked uncomfortable this time around and struck-out for the first out. Sean grounded out to the short-stop for the second out, scoring Louis from third and placing Rob, who represented the tying run, at third. The third base coach reiterated over and over to Rob to find a way to get across the plate, and the opportunity presented itself on a soft pop fly into the heart of the infield and just out of reach of the pitcher. However, Rob darted than stopped as if to wait around and see if it was caught or not, and by time he re-started again, the ball was recovered by the short-stop and the throw home was in plenty of time to cut Rob down for the final out at the plate as the Braves lost 13-12.

Such base running blunders have continued to be an area of growth for several key players on the Braves roster. No matter how much they are reminded of how many outs there are or prompted to be aggressive, they just don't trust in their coaches to react without a timid thought process. The failure of pitchers to take command of the base runners on the bases even though repeatedly being reminded and instructed to throw over, and keep runners in-check, is another area that has been present all season and was compounded on Saturday night. Defensive players out of position and having to be told repeatedly where to locate at the positions that they have been playing for nearly all 20 games this season is another mystery and why the Braves called for the thorough early practice session.

Jacob lead all Braves with 3-hits, including a 2-RBI double in fourth inning, and he scored three times as well. Louis went 2-for-5 with 3-RBI's with a Home Run in the 6th. Matt had two hits and drove in 2 runs.

The Braves face the 9-1 Strongsville Stingrays on Monday night before traveling to North Royalton to face the Bruins again.

Saturday June 5th ● Groza #3

Braves win third straight

Jacob, Teddy & Ryan pitched well and the Braves bats sprayed base hits from top to bottom of the line-up, but the defense allowed the Rangers to prolong the contest for nearly 3-hours. The Braves scored from every spot in the line-up. Jacob handed over a 12-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Braves defense allowed the Rangers back into the game, cutting the lead to 12-10 through 5 innings. The Braves bats answered the call, cranking out 6 hits in the top of the 6th inning in addition to a pair of walks, and a pair of hit batters, for a total of 9-runs in the inning. Leading 21-10, the Braves had an opportunity to end the game by way of the run-rule in the bottom half of the inning, but again errors in the porous defense prolong the marathon game.

Ryan debut on the mound in his first CVBA action with 1-out in the 6th. He struck-out the first batter he faced on a 2-2 pitch. The defense was little help though as every forced ground ball or blooper into the teeth of the defense seemed misplayed. However the outing by Ryan was encouraging as he faced 9 at the plate, striking out 3, walking none. Jacob received the start and faced 16 over 3-2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking one. Teddy provided middle-relief, facing 13 at the dish over 2-2/3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits, striking out 2 and walking 3.

CJ lead all batters with 4 hits, including a double in the 7th. CJ scored twice, and drove in a pair of runs as well. Teddy went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, along with two RBI's. Matt & Rob provided 3 hits apiece, with Rob hitting two triples and Matt hitting one. Rob also added three RBI's. Jacob and DJ each added a pair of hits. Tony reached base in all five plate appearances, scoring four times. Sean belted a Triple in the 6th. The Braves batted .471 as a team and improved their CVBA Regular Season Record to 9-5.

Friday June 4th ● Foxx Field, Lakewood

Braves 6-Run 7th Inning downs Blue Devils

The Braves couldn't do much right on this night ... except win in heroic fashion again. On a night that the Braves bats were severely out-hit 21-to-13, and the pitching staff just couldn't find the grove, the good guys still won. Matt's 2-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh with one-out and the bases loaded, proved to be the game winner as the Braves swept the Blue Devils on the season Home/Away series.

Sean received the start on the mound and took an inning to get warmed-up, and his defense was little help. The first pitch of the game was lined back to the mound and ricocheted off Sean's glove. A bunt single wasn't played any better as the Braves looked lackadaisical after the long Memorial Day weekend. The scorebook revels Sean giving up 3-hits in the inning and a walk, although I think the scorer was being nice to the Braves defense as these could have just as easily been three errors and a walk. Between all the fumbling and lazy effort, Sean managed to strike-out three, sandwiched around the poor defense and the Braves found themselves down 3-0 before ever coming to the plate. Sean regained form and pitched the Braves through the 2nd & 3rd Inning; Striking out 4 and only allowing one-hit in shutting out the Blue Devils. The Braves bats weren't very much help early going though and the score remaining tied after two innings of play and through the third at 3-3. Sean ran into trouble in the fourth as again three hits and a walk produced 3 runs for the visiting Independence team. Even a pair of strike-outs wasn't enough to get out of the inning cleanly, as a dropped third strike on the third out wasn't thrown or fielded well at first base, allowing the third run before recording the final out back at the plate as the Blue Devils went for more. Sean faced 21 at the plate through four innings, allowing 6 Runs on 12 questionable hits (mostly errors), striking out 9, while walking a pair. The Braves trailed 6-4.

Rob entered in relief to start the 5th Inning and he couldn't stop the bleeding as the Blue Devils added 7 runs in just 1-1/3 inning of work. Rob faced 12 at the plate, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk and 2 strike-outs. He was pulled in the 6th with the Braves down 12-6. Louis entered in the top of the 6th with a runner on third and 1-out. That runner would eventually score on a passed ball as Louis walked the first batter he faced, making the score 13-6. He got the Braves out of the jam though when the next batter flied out to second and Jacob alertly threw to first securing a double-play as the Blue Devil base runner left early. Louis gave up a walk, followed by a single, after striking out the lead batter to start the seventh, then K'ed the final two outs to blank the visiting team and leave a 13-8 deficit for the Braves bats to work on in their last at-bat.

The Blue Devils made a pitching change of their own in the seventh, and it proved costly as the Braves received four walked and one hit batter in the final inning. Sean scored the first run on a wild pitch, as CJ, Luc, and Tony loaded the bases with their base on balls with one-out, and down 13-9. Louis beat out an infield single to really spark the rally, scoring CJ to cut the lead to 13-10. Jacob walked, as Luc walked in to make it 13-11. Rob was grazed off the back by a pitch, allowing Tony to walk in and cut the lead to one (13-12). Matt stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and the infield & out-field in. Matt blooped a full-count pitch into shallow right/center, as the Independence Center fielder made a valiant effort to make a diving catch, but the ball found it's way into the grass as Louis tied the score from third. Jacob having to wait to see if the ball was going to be caught or not, took off from second and the Blue Devils took too long to retrieve the base hit, and the throw was off the mark as Jacob scored the winning run.

Tony, recently moved to the lead-off spot, reached base in 4-of-5 plate appearances; walking three times, and mounting an RBI single in the fourth. Tony scored three times on the night and swiped 6 bases. Matt went 4-for-5 on the evening, driving in 3 runs, including the game winner, with a run-scored of his own. Sean went 2-for-3 with 2-runs scored, an RBI and 4 stolen bases and Luc anchored the Braves offense going 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs scored on 6 stolen bases and an RBI in the second inning. Jacob had 2 Runs scored and 2 RBI's on one hit. CJ went 1-for-1 in limited play, with a walk, scoring once.

The Blue Devils had 21 hits, but couldn't put the Braves away when it counted, as the Berea squad continues to find ways to win ball games.

Tuesday June 1st ● Groza Field #2

Grand Slam Exorcised Demons

Matt's Homer in the fourth Inning was good, but the Braves still trailed 7-3. His two-run Homer in the Sixth was exciting, but again the Braves still trailed 8-5. However when he came to the plate again in the 6th with the Braves batting through the entire line-up and now leading 9-8 with bases loaded and two-outs, the thought was of him to just get a hit and keep things going. When he fell behind in the count with two-strikes, it appeared that the Braves would limp into the final inning trying to protect a one-run lead. That's when the night turned truly special. Not that a two Home Run night isn't special, but with one swing Matt changed Groza Field #3 forever. At least for Head Coach Stan Aten, who couldn't help reflecting back on single game performances he's witnessed on the far field at Groza Park. The coach never witnessed anything so magical as Matt's Third Home Run Blast on the evening, second of the same Inning, and capped with the last Home Run being a Grand Slam that put the Demons to rest for good. The Braves scored 10 runs in the inning, lead by Matt's 6-RBI's in the 6th Inning and seventh of the game.

Just when the Braves appeared to heading into the Memorial Day Holiday break on a three-game losing streak and in a stale team hitting slump, the bats came alive with 7 hits in the 6th Inning and 4 walks, totaling a 10-run rally to send the team into the extended time off on it's highest note of the season.

There were other hero's in the game, and the coaching staff stressed a complete team effort surrounding Matt's magical night. Rob not only came into the game in relief to hold the visiting Westlake Demons to one run over the final 3-1/3 inning, but he also went 3-for-4 from the dish with 4-RBI's of his own and two runs scored. Teddy went 2-for-3 with a run scored and 3 stolen bases. Luc & Tony shared the lead-off role and together went 3-for-4 with two runs scored as the Braves re-vamped batting order seen 8 of 9 in the order score with 4 spots scoring multiple times.

Sean started on the mound and wanted this game due to some history with this particular Westlake team. He faced 20 over 3-2/3'rds, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits, striking out four with only 1 walk. In relief, Rob faced 14 at the plate, allowing one run on two hits, striking out one and walking one.

Three game Balls were awarded to Matt, as we were informed that tonight's big hits were his first, second, & third Home Runs that he ever hit over a fence.

The Braves head into the Memorial Day weekend sporting a 7-5 record.

Celebration at the  plate on Matt's Grand Slam

(Click to enlarge)

Wednesday May 25th ● Groza Field #3

BRAVES DROP TWO IN A ROW

The Braves traveled 20 miles to the Northwest last evening and were flat in an 8-3 loss to the  Shoremen in Avon Lake, and 24hrs later their trip30 miles to the Southeast plays out much the same in a 10-6 defeat to the Explorers in Hudson. The Braves straggle home for a night off before regrouping and attempt to get back on track against Westlake on Wednesday.

The Braves weren't too bad in Hudson, the Explorers were just better. The teams traded punches early with the Braves jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-out rally. Jacob, Rob & Matt all singled with two outs with Rob driving in Jacob and Matt driving in Rob for an early lead. Louis took to the 'HILL' (no exaggeration there), and gave up a lead-off walk which scored on a two-out single as well, but the Braves maintained a 2-1 lead after the initial complete inning. The Braves #7, #8 & #9 hitters went down 1-2-3 in the second even though Teddy singled to start off the inning. DJ was called out on an attempt bunt-foul with two-strikes as the Braves base coaches mixed signals and errored in judgment on the play, and Luc flied out to Right field while Teddy errored by failing to get back to the base and was doubled-up at second base. The Explorers tied and then took their first lead in the bottom of the second. This time a one-out walk came back to haunt for the tying score and a two-out single followed by an error at third base gave the Explorers the lead. The Braves fought back in the top of the third, as the top five batters reached base on singles by Tony & Jacob, walks by Louis & Matt, and Rob reached base on an error. Jacob & Rob's hits both drove in runs as the lead changed again. However, Louis was caught in a well executed 1st-and-3rd play from Hudsons defense, and the Braves noted and pointed to the play as a measuring stick for how much better their own defense needs to get. Louis had a great jump on the play and darted for home with speed, but the Explorers executed the cut-off play to perfection from their catcher-to-second baseman and back to the catcher to tag Louis out at the plate. When the dust settled, the Braves had taken a 4-3 lead, but the Explorers were gaining momentum from their defense. Hudson lead off the third with the #2 batter and he and the #3 batter both singled to center field consecutively. One out was recorded on an RBI single to short, tying the score at 4-4. An error on an exchange between a routine mid infield grounder and  a whiff on the throw at first base put the Explorers ahead for the fourth and final lead change in the game. Out #2 was put away by Teddy in center field, and an alert quick throw on the money at the plate halted the runner on third to stay put on the tag up. Louis walked the next batter and the Braves coaching staff felt the need to make a change of pitchers. However as Coach Aten used the time-out to switch Jacob out of the catcher gear in order to pitch, a meeting at the mound ended with Louis talking the Head Coach into allowing him to finish-out the inning. The Coach liked the enthusiasm, and granted Louis to continue even though a lengthy time-out was used to trade out catchers from Jacob to Matt. The Coach was left later to explain the strange maneuver to the opposing coach and umpires, as it appeared as a stall tactic to put a damper on the Explorers rhythm. Louis came through on his request to finish the inning as he struck-out the final out, but not before a wild pitch allowed the sixth run to score, giving the Explorers a 6-4 lead.

The Braves loaded the bases in the fourth put a fly-out to left field ended the threat with no runs scored. Jacob relieved Louis on the mound to start the fourth. The young pitcher gave up a lead-off hit, then struck out the #10 batter, and forced a pop-up back to the mound. With two-outs and a runner on third, Jacob made the mistake of worrying about the base runner instead of securing the final out at the plate and an errant throw sailed out of play as Hudson's 7th run scored on the play. A following single would have scored the run anyhow before Jacob struck-out the final out. Both teams held each other scoreless in the 5th even though the Explorers again lead off with a single. The base runner stole second and a fly-out to short-stop held him there, recording the first out. A grounder to short forced a throw to first for the second out and a relay by DJ back to third base cut-down the runner trying to advance for a double-play. The Braves went down 1-2-3 in the 5th as batters #4, #5 & #6 went down in order although two hard hits were right at the second baseman. The Braves received a lead-off hit from Teddy to start the 6th and Ryan singled him in. The Braves loaded the bases again, but this time a grounder to the short-stop side of second base was fielded with the force-out at second recorded to end the threat. The Explorers sent seven to the plate in the 6th, smacking three hits and reaching base on an error while adding three more runs to their score. Sean walked with one-out in the seventh, Teddy moved him into scoring position with a base hit, and DJ drove Sean in with a grounder to the rightside of the infield. The game ended on a strike-out.

Hudson is a returning team with experience and were a bit sharper than the first year Braves. Although the Braves aren't far behind, they will face several experienced teams down the stretch which will serve as a good measure to their own growth and what they need to work on for next season.

Louis faced 18 at the plate in the starting role, allowing 6 runs on 4 hits, walked 3 and struck-out 1. Jacob took on 15 batters in relief, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, walking none, striking out 3.

Teddy lead the Braves with 3-hits on a 3-for-4 night with a run scored and 4 stolen bases. Jacob went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and RBI and 3 stolen bases. Luc, Tony & Ryan all went 1-for-2, with Tony reaching base 3 of 4 plate appearances from the lead-off role, scoring once. Rob added 2 RBI's from the clean-up role. Ryan added an RBI with his single and two stolen bases.

Braves survive shoot-out with Mavericks

The Berea Braves traveled to Middleburg Hts. where they tied the Mavericks 7-7 on April 14th. Friday evening wasn't much different, as each time the Braves jumped out to a lead, the Mavericks seemed to match or better them. The Braves put up 2 in the first and the Mavericks countered with 3 of their own. The Braves laid 5 runs on the Mavericks in the second, but they matched the scoring with 5 themselves to lead 8-7 after two innings of play. That's when Sean started to find his rhythm on the mound. Sean struck out 10 over six innings of work. He only allowed 2 base runners for the final five innings, after allowing 7 in the second inning alone. The Braves rode Seans arm taking the lead back in the top of the fourth, but the Mavs matched the score (again) in the bottom of the inning. The Braves added two more in the fifth, then hung on as the Mavericks threatened in the bottom of the 7th.

Rob cranked out three hits, and Louis followed with three of his own. Sean, Matt, and Jacob each added two hits each.

Rob received the start and faced 8 in one inning of work, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits, walking one and striking out three.

Sean relieved in the second and faced 26 batters through the remainder of the game (6-innings). Sean got better as the night progressed, striking out 10, while surrendering 7 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks.

Tony's single in the 5th helped put the Mavericks away.

Complete Team effort needed to battle the Buccaneers

The Braves bottom half of the batting line-up was ridiculed among these write-ups after last Fridays game for failing to generate much offense in the Braves 6-2 loss to the Titans. Batters #4-thru-#9 went a combined 0-for-19 in that affair, only reaching base 3 times and totaling 10-strikes-outs. The Coaching staff called for a batting practice 90-minutes prior to Sunday's game hoping to fix not only the batting woes, but to get in some outfield work as well, and it paid off big time! The same batters who combined for the 0'fer on Friday, cranked out 15-runs on 10-hits, driving in 10-runs, swiped 16-bases, and generated a dozen base on balls. Not only that, but the outfield defense chimed in with CJ & Luc hauling in key catches in leftfield & center. In fact, the outfielders produced from the plate as well; with CJ batting 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs, and Luc batting 2-for-4 with a walk as well. Tony had his own production, pinch running for DJ in the first inning and swiping three bases, including the tying run in the bottom half of the inning. When inserted into the line-up, Tony drove in two runs going a 1-for-3, and scoring three times on the afternoon. Teddy who often serves as the teams center-fielder, filled in nicely at first base and scored four times, driving in 3-runs, with a double and three walks. Teddy also stole 5 bases. Ryan, another Braves outfielder who stepped up at third base for Sean who went down injured in the second inning after taking a grounder off of his ankle, drove in a pair on a huge one-out double in the second inning and then backed up the effort defensively putting away a hard hit grounder in the top of the third. DJ stepped in as catcher and did a fine job, but then shed his chest protector and shin guards and went 2-for-2 from the plate, with 3-runs batted in and a pair of runs scored. The usual suspects brought their game as well as Rob continued to produce from the lead-off role, adding a Home Run over the Center Field fence with CJ aboard to start off the 3rd inning. Rob had three hits, including a double in addition to the home run blast, and totaled 3-runs scored. Louis went 1-for-2 and avoided being hit by a pitch, which is rare for the ball magnet, but managed 3-base on balls in crossing the plate twice. Matt also walked three times, in scoring four times, while swiping a half-dozen bases on 1-for-2 batting.

Rob received the start and did an excellent job managing the high scoring Buccaneers. Rob hurled 75 pitches over 4-1/3 innings, facing 26 at the plate, surrendering 9 runs on 10 hits, striking out 3. He handed a 15-9 score over to Louis and the reliever finished the last 2-2/3 innings, facing 16 at the dish, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits.

The key to this game, such as the case in most 11U ball games, was in giving up free base on balls. The Braves pair gave up only 1 Walk, to the Buccaneers 14 free base runners, plus one hit batter. Of the 15 batters put on by way of walk or hit batter by the Buccaneers, those free base runners produced 12 runs. Of course, the lone runner to reach base on balls for the Buccaneers, he scored as well. For you young pitchers out there reading these reports and wondering why you don't receive time on the mound even though you have a great arm, it is most likely this category right here that is keeping you out of the game.

Excellent job by the Braves pitchers to allow your defense (and offense) to help you win these games!

The Braves are now 5-3 on the young CVBA season, as the Buccaneers fall to 2-2.

Groza Field #3 ● Sunday May 16th, 3:00pm

Pitching & the Top of the Line-up can't slay Titans on their own

Sean gave the Braves an outstanding start, before handing over the reins with two-on, one-out and a 2-0 lead into the 5th. Sean had just struck-out the Titans #9 batter, and started the #10 batter off on two straight balls. At 74-pitches thrown, the Braves coaching staff believed they saw his mechanics start to break-down and were eager to hand the ball over to Rob to close things out. Rob forced the #10 batter to pop-out back to the mound. With two outs and holding a 1-run lead, Rob got the groundball into the defense as hoped, but it found its way through the hole between third & short-stop to score the Titans first run. Rob finished the inning, fielding a grounder back to the mound and the Braves and Titans were now tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The Braves top of the order was up and Rob (the Braves lead-off batter), took a pitch to his mid-section, giving the Braves a lead runner. Rob stole second on the next pitch as Louis took the called strike, allowing Rob to advance. The top of the Braves order is instructed that if they are given a take sign to advance to second and it is a called strike, that they won't be allotted another take sign to get them to third, but that they need to grab a big lead-off, get a good secondary jump, and steal on their own on a safe pitch to do so. Rob got caught being conservative through three balls, and on a 3-1 pitch Louis hit a hard hopper to the left side and Rob was tagged out at third. The base running error cost the Braves, as Louis eventually scored after stealing his way to second and crossed the plate on a well hit single by Sean, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead. Sean was stranded, and the Braves took a one run lead into the 6th inning.

The Braves also errored at the plate in the second inning, which cost them a run. With Teddy aboard on a lead-off walk, and stealing his way around to third, Tony failed to fire out of the box on a dropped third strike and force a throw, which stranded Teddy at third as Rob walked to load two-on with two-outs and Louis crushed a deep flyball to center that was put away Willie Mays style by the Titans Center fielder. Had Tony remembered to run on the dropped third strike, Teddy probably scores on the throw to first, and possibly the throw is off and the Braves open up the big inning they never got.

The wheels came off in the top of the 6th. Rob gave up a lead walk, but the defense received a gift on a 2-1 pitch to the next batter. With the runner stealing, a routine floating pop-up was hit toward the short-stop side of second base, with Louis merging on the ball, what appeared to be an out first and a possible double-play, ended with the middle infield whiffing on the catch and two runners aboard, with no outs. The Braves coaching staff didn't think that Rob appeared to have his best stuff tonight and looked for a spark from the arm of Louis. The Titans #5 batter (3-for-3 on the night) ripped a hard liner double through the right side and deep enough into the left-center gap to score two on Louis' first batter. A steal of third base gave the Titans another good scoring opportunity with no-outs. Louis forced a high fly ball directly to the Braves Center Fielder, but there was no urgency on the catch, and a late throw on a tag-up from third nearly sailed out of the field of play and the Titans scored their third run of the inning. Two consecutive bas hits added another run before the Braves middle-infield fielded the final out. The Titans now took a late 5-2 lead.

The Braves went down 1-2-3 in the 6th, as the bottom of the Braves order; batters #4-thru-#9, went a combined 0-for-19 on the night. The Braves #1-thru-#3 batters finished 5-for-10, with both runs and both RBI's. The top three were stranded on the bases 6 times, reaching base 8 of their 12 plate appearances, with no strikeouts, whereas the bottom six in the line-up only placed three base runners aboard the entire night, all three by way of walks, with ten strike-outs between them.

The Titans added an additional run in the seventh as the lead runner reached base on balls, stole second, and a base hit drove him in. Teddy made another catch in center, before the Braves re-inserted Rob, much to the Titans coaching staffs objection. However, after presenting the rule, allowing a pitcher to re-enter as the pitcher as long as he stayed in the game and was removed on the coaches first visit to the mound (which he was), Rob served his second appearance on the hill. Rob struck-out the second out and forced a line-out to a diving Matt at second.

Rob reached base on a single in the seventh, but was stranded and the Braves fell 6-2.

Sean faced 19 at the plate as the Braves starter, striking out 8, walking only 1, in surrendering 1 run on 7-hits. Rob relieved the next 2/3's of an inning, facing 5, allowing 2-runs on 1-hit, walking one. Louis came in with no outs in the 6th, faced 8 through 1-1/3 innings, allowing 3-runs on 4-hits, walking one. Rob pitched again for the final 2-outs, facing a pair, and recording a strike-out. Sean hurled 74-pitches (17+16+20+13+8), Rob combined for 26 total pitches thrown (9+8+9), and Louis tossed 25 pitches (11+14).

The Braves have a tough stretch of 7 games in 13 days, so the rather low pitch count should help.

Rob Batted 2-for-2, with a walk, and was hit by a pitch, plus scored a run. Rob reached base on all four plate appearances, one more than the entire last 6 batters of the Braves line-up. Sean added two-hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Louis added a base hit in the first inning and scored the Braves final run in the 5th inning.

Groza Field #3 ● 6:00pm

Defense nearly perfect in win over Blue Devils

Rob pitched a complete game as the defense pitched-in for the assist.

Rob pitched all 6-innings (78-pitches thrown), striking out 9, and the Braves defense took care of the rest. Matt lead all batters, going 3-for-3 with 3-Runs scored, 2-runs batted in, on 7 stolen bases. Outstanding defense by the Braves infield in executing a textbook run-down between 3rd & Home and executing a 4-6-3 Double play. Teddy also secured away a flyball in Center with two-on and two-out, as the Braves chipped in for a great team effort. All nine Braves in the line-up scored in the 6th Inning, with DJ and Tony scoring twice in the Big Inning.

Independence Diamond #1 ● 6:00pm

CVBA REGULAR SEASON GAME May 4th, 2010 - vs Lakewood Rangers

Braves hold off late surge from Rangers

Louis gave the depleted Braves pitching staff the outing they needed, and in the process nearly pitched a complete game. With the Braves using three other pitchers at their single game (team imposed) pitch-maximums over the weekend, the Braves turned to Louis to carry the bulk of the load and he stepped up to the occasion. Louis managed to hurl just 5 pitches to get out of the first inning, 10 in the second, 11 in the third, and just 12 in the fourth, to get himself off to the efficient start needed to carry the Braves deep into game. Meanwhile the Braves bats were slow to get started as the Rangers starter kept the Berea squad swatting at air the first trip through the line-up. Teddy started off the scoring with one-out double in the second inning and was driven in by Sean with a double of his own with two-outs. CJ reached base after getting hit by a pitch, but the spark dwindled there as the Braves stranded two. With the Braves lead-off batter set to be first up in the third, the expectations were high. Rob laced a double into the outfield gap and Louis followed with a Texas Leaguer into short right field. Among the sloppy ball handling by the Rangers, Coach Aten sent Rob home on the over-throw into second, but a well thrown ball by the Rangers third baseman halted Rob at the plate for the first out. Jacob, Matt, Teddy & Ryan all followed suit with singles, sandwiched around DJ's walk. Ryan's single was ripped hard into the outfield. scoring a pair. CJ drew a two-out walk and Teddy reached base on a catcher interference call before Rob drove a shot to opposite field scoring both. When the dust settled, the Braves scored 8 runs in the inning and lead 9-0, after three innings of play.

Louis retired the first ten batters he faced. Despite an error at third base in the first inning, Rob fielded a grounder at short, and recorded a double-play himself after snagging a liner with the base runner moving and tagging him for the final out. Louis recorded a pair of strike-outs in the second and Rob put away the final out on another groundball. Louis struck-out the first out in the third and fielded two consecutive balls back to the mound to retire the side 1-2-3 for the third consecutive time. Things seemed to be going much the same as Louis fanned the #10 batter to start the fourth. However an error at third gave the Rangers life, and they took advantage of it. The next batter singled for Lakewoods first hit of the game, then followed a double, scoring the lead runner. The Rangers attempted to send another run home, but Rob gunned him down at the plate for the second out. A hit batter put two on, and a single through the left side gave Jacob the opportunity to gun down the second Ranger out at the plate in the Inning, as the threat was stomped out there. The Rangers made a pitching change late in the third, and even though Matt crushed a one-out Triple into the outfield gap, he was left stranded as the Lakewood reliever fanned out #2 and fielded out #3.

After four innings of play, the Braves lead 9-2.

Louis got back on track in the fifth inning, after giving up a high flyball to center that was misplayed by the Braves center fielder; A full-count walk and eventual stolen bases put a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. Louis struck-out the next two to come to the plate and forced a groundout back to the mound to end the scoring threat. Luc singled in the bottom of the fifth, but his hit was sandwiched between a pair of Braves strike-outs and the Braves stranded Luc at third with a pop-up to the Third baseman.

The Rangers came right back in the 6th, with a pair of lead-off singles. Louis fielded the first out, but another singled scored one and a throw to third from the Braves catcher skipped into left field for the second run in the inning. Louis forced a ground-out to first and another strikeout to end the inning. The Braves added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Rob singled to start things off. Louis took a pitch to move Rob into scoring position and then singled, driving him in. A groundout to second moved Louis to third with one-out, but a pair of strike-outs ended the inning.

After six innings of play, the Braves lead 10-4.

Louis was trotted back out to finish what he had started. Once again, Louis fielded his position for the first out. A full-count walk added a runner and it seemed harmless that he stole his way around to third as Louis worked the second out by way of strike-out. An error at third scored the run, followed by three consecutive base hits and a throwing error from the catcher on an attempt steal of third that scored two additional runs. The coach had seen enough and the pleasure of seeing Louis finish the game was over-shadowed by the reality that the Braves lead was slipping away. Rob was brought in relief and the first two batters he faced ripped singles up the middle. With the tying run now at second base, and the potential go-ahead run at the plate, Rob allowed the Hometown faithful to breath a sigh of relief as he struck-out the final out on a 2-2 pitch.

PITCHING

Louis faced 32 at the plate in 6-2/3 Innings for the Win, allowing 8-runs on 8-hits, with 8-strike-outs, 2-walks and a hit batter.

Rob recorded a save, facing three, giving up 2-hits and striking out one.

BATTING

Rob lead all batters with 3 hits, including a double, 2 RBI's and a run scored. Louis went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Matt went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI. Teddy went 2-for-3 with a double, and 2-runs scored. Luc went 1-for-1 with a pair of stolen bases. Ryan drove in two runs on a 1-for-3 night and a run scored. Sean also doubled.

Groza field #3, Berea ● 6:00pm

The Braves show a lot of heart, but can't tame Bulldogs

The Braves were chewed up and spit out in a horrible 17-3 loss to the Bulldogs last Tuesday evening, but this time after traveling out to Avon Lake, the Braves came out fighting and took the first bite and kept on chewing. The good guys didn't finish on top, but perhaps played their most complete game to date.

Rob received the nod on the mound and did a nice job locating his pitches. If the Braves wanted to look back at where they may have buried the Bulldogs, they need to look back to the first inning. With the lead runner on, the Braves recorded two-outs. Rob then forced several ground balls back into the teeth of the defense, but himself mis-fielding one and the corners mis-fielding two others, Berea gave up a 3 run start to fall behind 4-3. Not only that, but in an inning where Rob pitched well enough to get out of in 14 pitches thrown, his error and two others prolonged it to 36-pitches, shaving an inning off of his outing. The Braves jumped out in the top of the Inning on Robs lead-off single. Rob stole his way into scoring position and Jacob put the ball in play on the right side of the infield, scoring Rob. Louis and Matt followed, both reaching base on balls. Louis scored on a gutsy tag-up on a fly ball out to a backpedaling first baseman. With two-outs, Matt scored on a wild-pitch making it 3-0 Braves. The Braves scored three runs on one-hit, and were aggressive in stealing a half-dozen bases, along with the infield tag-up.  

The Berea squad went right back to work after surrendering the lead in the bottom of the first. In the second, they batted through the order, as Sean lead off with a single, and Luc followed with a one-out walk. Rob singled, loading the bases. Jacob again put the ball in play, driving in Sean, as the Bulldogs recorded out #2 at second base. Louis walked re-loading the bases and Matt drove a full count pitch into the Right-center gap, scoring a pair. Teddy walked loading the bases for the third time in the inning, but the threat ended there on a strike-out at the hands of a pitching change by the Bulldogs, and the Braves stranded three. However, by now though, everyone in the ball park realized that this time around the Braves were here to play.

Rob trotted out to the hill in the second, sporting a high pitch-count from the mishaps in the first inning. He needed a quick inning, and he got it! The lead batter hit a 1-1 count pitch to Louis at short-stop and Louis disposed of him, but not without a great stretch and catch by DJ at first base. The next play, was SportsCenter highlight material, and maybe Coach Tom's 'SportsCenter Highlight practice sessions' this winter paid-off. The Bulldogs lead-off batter ripped Rob's first pitch into the gap between first & second. Teddy laid out for the line drive, and made the diving catch, sending the large Berea crowd, as well as the entire Avon Lake side to Ooohh-and-ahhhh over the magnificent play. Right on cue, the third batter of the inning also hit the first pitch offered from Rob, right back to the mound and DJ made another great stretch and grab to put the Bulldogs down 1-2-3, in just 5-pitches thrown!

After two-Innings of play, the Braves led 6-4.

The Braves went down 1-2-3 themselves in the top of the third at the hands of the Bulldogs reliever, and Rob faced four at the plate in the bottom of the inning. Rob struck-out the lead batter on a full-count pitch that left the batter looking at a called third strike. Rob also fielded his position again for out #2. A walk put the lone base runner on, and a steal of second put him in reach of scoring, but more defense ended that threat as Ryan ran down a well hit ball to Right field for the final out of the inning.

After three-Innings of play, the Braves still led 6-4.

The Braves added-on in the fourth, as the top of the order started things off. Rob singled for his third consecutive time, and Louis doubled putting runners at second and third with one-out. Matt put the ball in play to the right side of the infield, scoring Rob, but Louis was left stranded at third on a strike-out to end the threat. Rob found himself in trouble in the fourth. The lead batter dropped a single into shallow center field, and stole his way into scoring position and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The second batter drew a walk on five pitches and the third batter grounded one through the left side of the defense. With Rob at 67-pitches thrown in the contest and the tying runs aboard with no-outs, the Braves went to Sean in relief. Sean struck-out the first batter (batter #10 in the Bulldogs line-up), to get to the Lead-off batter. Another grounder through short scored two, tying the score. That lone base runner stole his way to third, but a 2-2 offering was batted back to the mound and Sean alertly made the play at the plate, as Matt applied the tag at the dish for out #2. Sean fanned the final out to end the threat.

After four-Innings of play, the Braves and Bulldogs were tied at 7-7.

We believe the Bulldogs were going to stay with their ace, who entered the game in-relief with two-outs in the bottom of the second, got them out of a bases loaded jam and continued to fire well located pitches. The Bulldog ace would climb to around 100-pitches thrown on the evening, and the Braves can take home a lot of pride that after getting blown-out just five days earlier that they forced the Bulldogs into digging deep to compete with them here tonight.

The Braves were held scoreless in the 5th, even though DJ lead off the Inning with a smash to deep-deep Left field. The coaches felt that had this contest been played back on diamond #3 at Groza Park, that ball may have been a homer. Sean walked and both base runners advanced on a wild pitch, giving the Braves a pair of scoring threats with no outs. The bottom of the Braves order struck-out though and Rob's consecutive hit streak was halted at 7 consecutive at-bats (over two games) as he grounded out to the first baseman. In the Rob's last seven at-bats, dating back to his second at-bat of the first inning of Saturday's game, Rob recorded 5 singles, a double, and a triple. The Bulldogs took the lead for the first time since the bottom of the first inning, as the first two batters singled, followed by a groundout back to the mound and a bunt single. An error on a mis-played infield flyball dropped behind third base, a walk, and a pair of wild pitches, scored four in the inning before Sean took care of the final out himself by way of strikeout.

After five-Innings of play, the Bulldogs now lead 11-7.

The Braves added one in the 6th on consecutive one-out base hits from Louis and Matt, but a pair of strike-outs stranded Matt. The Bulldogs added a pair in the bottom of the inning on a walk and pair of errors receiving the ball at first base. A runner was halted at the plate, attempting to steal a run and Sean K'ed the final two batters.

After six-Innings of play, the Bulldogs lead 13-8.

The Braves went down with a lone base runner in the seventh as Tony was hit in the foot by a pitch.

PITCHING

Rob, as the Braves starter faced 19 at the plate, surrendering 7-runs on 6-hits, striking out 3, walking 4 in hurling 67-pitches in 3 innings of work.

Sean, relieved with no-outs in the 4th, facing 17 at the dish, giving up 6 runs on 4 hits, walking one and striking out 6 in 57-pitches thrown over 3-innings.

The Bulldogs reliever pitched 5-1/3 inning, facing 24 at the plate, giving up 2-runs on 5 hits, walking one, hitting a pair and struck-out 8. We have him (unofficially) recorded at 92-pitches without recording foul balls.

Rob lead all Braves with 3-hits, Louis went 2-for-2 (double) with a pair of walks. Matt went 2-for-3 and drove in 4-runs. DJ doubled.

Weiss Field #4, Avon Lake ● 6:00pm

The Braves swept the Strongsville Vikings on the season series, winning April 24th 16-6, and May 1st 25-5.

BATTING: Rob recorded 4-hits, including a double & a Triple. Rob also scored two-runs, and drove in 4-RBI's. Teddy went 3-for-3 with a walk, he scored three times, swiped 4 bases and drove in 3 runs. Ryan went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Ryan scored three times, swiped a team leading seven bases and drove in a run. Jacob finished 3-for-4 in five at-bats, reaching base by getting hit by a pitch in the 5th inning. Jacob score three times, swiped 5 bases and drove in a run. Louis scored on each of his four plate appearances, officially going 1-for-1 from the dish with a walk and getting hit by two pitches. Louis swiped 5 bases and also drove in a run. Matt went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, scoring three times and batting in 3 runs. DJ went 2-for-3 with a walk, also scored three times and drove in a pair of runs. Sean doubled in the first inning and scored twice.  The Braves as a team batted .531 (17-for-32), swiping 27 bases.

PITCHING: Teddy received the start and struck-out the side in the first inning, but ran into control problems in the second. Teddy hurled 46-pitches in 1-2/3 innings, facing 10-batters, giving up 4-runs on 2-hits, walking 4 and striking out 3. Jacob relieved the final 3-1/3 innings, throwing 58 pitches in facing 15 at the plate, giving up 1-run on 2-hits, 2-walks, with 6-strikeouts.

Foltz field #1, Strongsville ● 1:30pm

Braves Bullied at Home

The Berea Braves 11U Travel Baseball Team was manhandled by the Avon Lake Bulldog on a very chilly evening on Tuesday at Groza Park.

GROZA FIELD #3, 6:00pm

Braves win Home Opener!

The Berea Braves 11U Travel Baseball Team were off and running (literally) to open the CVBA season. The Braves scored 16 runs in four innings, on only 7 hits. The Braves swiped 24 bases as they dominated the Strongsville Vikings on the base paths for a 16-6 score. With a tight strike-zone, the Braves made the Vikings pay for walking (17) batters. Rob lead all hitters with 2 hits, 3 runs scored and an RBI. Louis drew four walks in four at-bats, scoring three times and stealing 7 bases. Ryan Creter went 1-for-1, scoring twice and stole three bases. 9 of the 10 Braves batters scored in the game. Louis was the Winning Pitcher.

Louis was the starting pitcher, facing 15 at the plate in 2-1/3 innings, 71-total pitches, surrendering 2-runs on 2-hits, walking 5 and striking out 6.

Rob was brought in in-relief, facing 7 batters in 1-2/3 innings, 33-total pitches, allowing 1-Run on 1-Hit, walking a pair, and striking out 4.

Sean was brought in the close out the game, facing 9 at the plate in 1 inning of work, hurling 41-pitches in walking 4, hitting one batter, surrendering 3-runs on no hits, striking out 3.

Difference in the game:

The Braves stole 24 bases after being given 17 Base on Balls.

The Vikings stole 5 bases, & advanced on 4 wild pitches on 12 Base on Balls.

Too many walks by both teams, but the Braves were the much more aggressive base running team. The Braves out-hit the Vikings 7-3. Braves batted 30 times in 4 at-bats, the Vikings batted 31 times in 5 at-bats.

GROZA FIELD #2, 11:00am

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 SCRIMMAGE April 14th, 2010 - Berea Braves @ Middleburg Hts. Mavericks

Braves sluggish verse Middleburg

Braves @ Middleburg Mavericks, Diamond #3

The Braves traveled down the street to Middleburg Hts on a chilly, damp, Tuesday evening for a scrimmage.

After getting off to a great start in their preseason opener, the Braves were flat and impatience this time around. Jacob lead off the game swatting at the first delivered pitch and was retired by the second baseman. Teddy showed a lot more patience, taking the count to 3-2 while fouling off 5 pitches, before taking a called third strike for the second out. Sean gave the Mavericks second baseman another gimme, sending a routine grounder his way for the third out as the Braves went down 1-2-3.

Matt received the start on the mound. Matt, the teams starting catcher, was given the opportunity to get in some game situational work. He did well, despite having trouble keeping the ball down and his release point lower. It is an aspect we worked on in the gym and will continued to work on as the season progresses. Matt’s 0-1 offering to the Lead batter was grounded out to Tony for out #1. The Mavericks second batter took Matt to a full count, before Matt fanned him – Braves catcher, DJ, dropped the swinging third strike but promptly disposed of the runner at first to ensure the second out. Matt fielded in his own defense of the third batter of the inning, throwing him out to end the inning.

The score was even after one, without either team allowing a base runner. Matt hurled 17 pitches, seven for strikes, and seven balls, allowing no-hits, no-runs, no-errors.

Matt lead-off the second inning, giving the Maverick second baseman more easy work by hitting a 1-0 pitch directly at him. Louis placed a Texas Leaguer over the short stop for the first base runner of the game. After stealing second, Louis scored on an RBI (run batted in) single from Rob to short right field. Rob, stole second and remained there with one-out. Confusion set in and caused the first base running blunder of the game. With the Mavericks middle infield forgetting to hold Rob on at second, Rob was able to take a giant lead. He should have taken third on his own, without a sign from his coach, as his secondary lead-off after the pitch was netting him halfway to third. Instead, the worst possible scenario happened, Tony popped-up a 1-2 pitch to the second baseman and Rob was caught in no-mans land between the two bases for a double play. This is an area the players are really going to have to use better judgment. If a Coach has to yell out to you that the middle infielders are failing to hold the runner on, or that the pitcher is in the wind-up and not the stretch, then we just tipped off the defense of their mistake(s). A take-sign could no longer be given to the batter, in order to steal the runner over, because the batter had two quick strikes called on him. What started off as a 1-0 lead with a runner on second (and halfway to third) with only one-out. Quickly ended in a double-play and the scoring threat thwarted.

To make matters worst, the Mavs continued to make the best of things. Jacob now on the mound for the Braves, was up in the count with a 1-2 count on the Mavericks mammoth clean-up hitter. Coach Aten mumbled in the dugout that he wished for Jacob to pitch the batter inside and under his hands, as the big guy just used a lumbering long swing at an outside pitch and looked to be in no shape to catch up with inside heat. Coach Tom was on the same page, from his position in calling balls & strikes from behind the pitching mound, he also instructed Jacob to pitch inside. Unfortunately, Jacob bit off too much, plugging the stout boy in the thigh and handing him a free base. Lead-off walks kill ya in this league, you can almost shade in the diamond in the scorebook (which is the symbol for a run scored) with each batter given first base for free. That is exactly what the end result was. The second batter laced an outfield double, putting a pair of runners in scoring position. Jacob battled back, fanning the third batter for the first out, but then a baby soft blooper dropped safely between the mound and the short-stop position, tying the score and putting runners on the corners. A wild pitch scored the runner from third, and just like that, the Braves found themselves down for the first time this season. Jacob battled again, striking out the fifth batter of the inning on a 2-2 count. Had the Braves came up with the infield blooper off the bat of the fourth batter in the inning the Braves could have stranded a pair and gotten out of the inning un-scored upon. However, could-of, would-of, should-of’s is the part of this game that makes it so interesting. Two play, the poor base running and the un-aggressive attempt to secure an easy blooper to the mid-infield really swung this game into Middleburgs favor and left the Braves playing catch-up from here on out. With just two outs and a runner still on, the sixth batter to the plate singled also, followed by another hit batter and a double and a walk. Wild pitches advanced and then scored the batter who reached by double. Jacob, without much help behind him, put-down the tenth batter on a 0-2 called strike to end the threat.

When the dust settled, the Braves were down 6-1 in the bottom of the second, and things started to get a little uneasy in the Braves dugout.

DJ lead-off the third inning for the Braves, taking a 1-0 pitch for the team. With the lead runner aboard and Luc walking on a full-count pitch, the Braves stole their way to second and third. A dribbler to first off CJ’s bat, scored DJ. Ryan chased some high pitches and found himself getting whiffed in three pitches. With the top of the order up, and a runner at third, Jacob chased the first pitch again grounded out to the pitcher, stranding Luc on the bases.

Jacob has a tough task this season, he will be asked to bat lead-off for the Braves to start the weekend tournament. One aspect of Jacobs game that he will need to work on is showing patience at the plate. He was up twice and grounded the first pitch in each at-bat into the infield for ground-outs. Jacob is aggressive and probably not use to drawing walks, or taking a pitcher deep into the count, but as a lead batter he is going to need to engineer better looks, possibly taking the first pitch or two, and even purposely waiting until he gets behind in the count in order to see more pitches and help with timing up the pitches. By grounding out on the first pitch, in essences we now send two batters to the plate without seeing much from the starting pitcher. Jacob’s role as a Lead-off hitter will be to get on base any way he can. We need his speed and base running skills on the bases dearly and will have to find a way to get him comfortable in this lead role. In this case, he wasn’t the lead-off batter of the inning, but we will need the last batter in the line-up and our batter batting in the #1 hole to prolong the innings in order to get to our bigger bats in the #3, #4, #5, & #6 spots. The problem with tonight’s game is that we ended an inning with our #1-#3 spots four times in the seven innings.

Sean took to the hill in the third inning and retired the side 1-2-3, while facing Middleburgs #3, #4, & #5 hitters on a called third strike, ground-out to second, and a swinging strike-out … all on 9-pitches.

The Mavericks lead 6-2.

Teddy took a called third strike on a 2-2 count. This recap may be filled with a lot of lessons learned, coaching, and instructional references- and here goes another one; The Braves broke out brand new helmets for this game that have been put aside awaiting the season to start for over a month. Throwing, kicking, or slamming any equipment won’t be tolerated. The violating player was slotted to make his debut on the mound in the subsequent inning, but a call to reprimand him for a rather minor incident seemed like a good time to send a message to all that this is “our equipment”, paid for through fundraising, and many volunteers hard work, and dedication, along with a steeper registration fee than a normal recreational league. This isn’t token city recreational department equipment that doesn’t have a face on how it got here. A player was scratched from the line-up for his minor infraction and we don’t expect that we will have any further incidents from any of us, including the coaches, and fans.

Back to the action … Matt singled to right field, but a pair of ground-outs to the right side of the infield surrounding his at-bat ended any threat of adding to the good guys score in this inning.

With Sean slated to start Game #1 of the weekend tournament and looking well oiled, the Braves shelved him and went to Louis for some pitching work. The Mavs lead off with a single. Louis went to work on the rest, netting consecutive 2-2 count called third strike-outs. In the middle of working over those batters, Matt, now at catcher, retrieved and stuffed a Maverick attempting to steal home on a passed ball and the Braves retired the side in order again for the second consecutive time.

In the top of the 5^th Rob lead off with a single and stole his way around to third on Tony’s full-count walk. DJ reached base by way of an error on the Mavs first baseman, driving in Rob in the process. Luc singled scoring Tony and CJ popped up to the short-stop for the first out. Coach Aten made a costly mistake coaching third base. Being mis-informed about how many outs there were, he sent DJ home on a passed ball, believing there were two outs and trying to manufacture a run. DJ was tagged out at the plate and to the coaches surprise it was only the second out. Ryan drew a walk which would have loaded the bases with only one-out with the top of the line-up due up next had the base coaching error not occurred. Jacob also drew a walk loading the bases with two-outs, but the threat stalled there as Teddy ground-out to the first baseman. The Braves however closed the gap to 6-4.

Louis was trotted out for a second inning of work. He had a bit of a rough start, falling behind in the count 3-0 before nailing the batter in the thigh with a fast ball. The base runner stole second and the attempt to throw him out, trickled into right-center field. The Braves middle infield was noticeably lazy in retrieving the ball and set the table for another key blunder. In an attempt to hold the runner at second, Louis swirled and threw to the bag, the ball sailed high and skipped into center field. The runner advanced to third and the Braves again seemed to give-up on the play. Give the Middleburg Hts. Coaching staff credit for recognizing the lackadaisical play, as they called for the runner to take home as the Braves Center field held the ball with no help from the infield to provide a cut-off. The runner advanced and scored, putting the Mavs up 7-4. Louis retired the final two outs of the inning by way of strike-out.

Sean lead off the top of the 6^th with a single. Remember the coaching blunder in the 5^th inning? This key base hit, instead of being a lead-off hit could have mounted to great things with the bases juiced. Matt reached base on balls giving the Braves two on the base paths when the Braves received the big hit they had been waiting for. Louis drove an 0-1 pitch deep to center, scoring two. He came out of the box with a vengeance, being waved around first and picked up the signal from the third base coach on his way to second. He was waved on to third as the Mavericks center fielder relayed to the short-stop and the short-stop made an almost perfect throw to third to catch Louis in a close play at the bag. Louis was called out, being credited for a two-RBI double, closing the gap to 7-6 in favor of Middleburg. Rob singled to extend the inning and stole his way around to third. Tony put the ball in play to the right side of the infield, grounding out to the first baseman, and scoring Rob to tie the game at 7-all. DJ walked and stole his way around to third. The Braves tried to squeeze bunt in DJ, but the Mavs played it well defensively throwing out Luc at first for the third out. [Score: Mavs 7, Braves 7]

The Braves held in the bottom of the 6^th, putting the Mavericks down 1-2-3 with Rob now at the helm. Rob fanned the first out, got the second batter to dribble one out in front of the plate, which Jacob fielded from his catcher position and threw the runner out at first. Rob retired the final out on three straight pitches, though the last being mis-handled by Jacob and thrown out at first.

Score after 6 innings: Mavericks 7, Braves 7

CJ lead of the final inning with a walk. A strike-out created the first out as CJ stole his way around to third. Jacob put the ball in play, grounding out to the second baseman, scoring CJ and giving the Braves their first lead since the top of the second inning. Teddy ground-out to second as well to end the inning. The Braves now had to go out and protect the lead to win. Rob fielded a grounder back to the mound for the first out. Consecutive base hits put the winning run on the base paths and a sacrifice bunt scored the tying run. Rob retired the final out on a 1-2 pitch and with darkness looming and an already lingering practice-scrimmage, the two teams ended there in a tie (8-8).

Rob lead all Braves batters going 3-for-3 from the plate, with 5 stolen bases an RBI and two runs scored.

DJ swiped 6 bases on the night, getting caught trying to take a 7^th.

PITCHING:

1^st Inning … Matt: 14-pitches (7-strikes/7-balls)

2^nd Inning … Jacob: 28-pitches (13-strikes/15-balls)

3^rd Inning … Sean: 9-pitches (7-strikes/2-balls)

4^th Inning … Louis: 13-pitches (8-strikes/5-balls)

5^th Inning … Louis: 17-pitches (12-strikes/5-balls)

6^th Inning … Rob: 12-pitches (10-strikes/2-balls)

7^th Inning … Rob: 18-pitches (10-strikes/8-balls)

Team Total … 109 Pitches (67-strikes/44-balls)

Very efficient pitching by the Braves pitching staff.

 SCRIMMAGE April 11th, 2010 - Berea Braves @ North Royalton Bruins

Braves look sharp in Debut

Braves vs Bruins at Royalton Field House Sunday April 11th

For the first time facing another team, the Braves looked ready to put all the hard work from the indoor winter workouts to good use. All ten Braves in attendance batted in the first inning. Teddy & Louis started things off with a one-out walk. They stole their way into scoring position before Matt drove them both in with a double off the fieldhouse wall. Matt stole third setting the table for Sean to bat him in for a 3-0 lead. Rob was hit-by-a-pitch and Tony reached base on balls, loading the bases. CJ drew a bases loaded walk, recording an RBI (run batted in). The scoring ended there with the Braves stranding three, but up 4-0 in the top of the first.

Sean took the hill for the Braves defensively and did a nice job getting ahead in the count, forcing ground balls and received great support from his defense. Tony put away the lead-off batter from his second base position and Jacob fielded and threw out the second batter for out #2. The Bruins strung together consecutive hits, but got caught trying to take an extra base as Louis gunned down the lead runner at the plate as Matt applied the tag.

After a full Inning, the Braves lead 4-0. Sean hurled 15 pitches, 8 for strikes and 6 balls in surrendering two-hits.

To start off the second Inning, Jacob laced a lead-off double and advanced to third on consecutive ground-outs from Teddy & Louis. With two-outs Coach Aten prompted Jacob to make something happen. Jacob took a considerably long lead-off forcing the pitchers hand into engaging him in a run-down, as Jacob beat the throw to the plate for the Braves 5th run. Matt and Sean singled and stole their way into scoring position as things stalled there on Rob's groundout to second.

Jacob took over duties on the mound. He fielded the first out on a 0-1 count dribbler back to the mound. A full count walk later turned into a runner on third as the Bruins base runner stole his way into scoring position. Jacob pitched well, but with the coaches calling balls-n-strikes from behind the pitcher and up by 5 runs, the questionable pitches went to the batter. The coaching staff made a big deal about this only walk from the Braves staff, because most travel baseball games can be scored by the amount of walks. For instance, the Bruins walked 12, and the Braves walked 1, at one point in this game the Braves lead 11-1. Coincidence? Jacob is a true competitor, he threw six more pitches to finish the inning, all strikes for a pair of strike-outs, and through two-innings of play the Braves sent 16 batters to the plate and the Bruins sent 8.

After two innings the Braves lead 5-0. Jacob threw 14 pitches, striking out 2, and walking 1.

The Braves sent ten batters to the plate again in the third. Tony drew a lead-off walk, followed by CJ reaching base on balls, and Luc and Ryan being hit by pitches. Ryan recorded an RBI in taking one for the team with the bases juiced. Jacob drove in CJ on a base hit, and Teddy drove in Luc on a fielders choice. Ryan was called out advancing to third when he collided with the short-stop, preventing the defender from making a play on the ball. Louis drew a bases loaded walk of his own, adding his first RBI as a Brave. Matt hammered a shot off the ceiling of the Field house which could have been his third hit of the night, but was ruled a fly-out in this situation, although the hit drove in Matt's third RBI from the clean-up spot. Sean also drew a walk in the inning, and when everything settled the Braves were up 11-0.

Rob made his debut on the mound in the third. His first pitch was ripped into the out field for a lead-off double. Rob disposed of the second batter he faced on a full-count called strike-out. Rob fielded a ball back to the mound but failed to check the runner, now on third after stealing his way there. The Run scored as the Braves recorded out #2. On a hopper through the short-stop for a questionable error, the Field turf created too high of a bounce to field. A throw-down to second from Jacob, who was now catching, was misplayed - allowing the base runner to advance to third. Rob took care of the rest, fanning the third out on a 2-2 count called strike.

After three Innings, the Braves lead 11-1. Rob threw 20-pitches, striking out a pair, netting two base runners and one-run, on one-hit, and a reached base by error.

The Braves with a comfortable lead, became a bit relaxed in the fourth inning. They only sent four batters to the plate, stranding a lead-off walk at third, going down 1-2-3 thereafter on a groundout back to the mound sandwiched by a pair of strike-outs while looking.

Louis was really throwing hard in warm-ups and it looked to translate into quick work. However The Bruins clean-up hitter crushed a 0-1 pitch for a lead-off double. The runner advanced to third on a wild pitch. Louis made a great play on a batted ball back to the mound; initially looking the lead runner back to third, he recorded the first out at first base. The runner would score anyhow though on a ground-out to second for the second out. A bunt was fielded by Louis but the throw sailed down the right field line, placing the runner at second. A pair of base hits drove in the second & third runs of the inning. And the Braves finished the contest with an unassisted grounder to Teddy at first.

Louis threw 20 pitches, giving up 3-runs (none earned). The Braves won the 4-inning affair 11-4.

Sean was the Winning Pitcher.

BATTING

q       Jacob went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, 3 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored.

q       Matt went 2-for-2 with 3 RBI's, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored.

q       Sean went 2-for-2 with a walk, 2 stolen bases, an RBI, and a run scored.

q       Teddy scored a pair of runs, while swiping 3 bases, and an RBI.

q       Louis drew 2 runs scored on 2 walks, a stolen base, and an RBI.

q       CJ drew 2 walks, an RBI, stolen base, and a run scored.

q       Eight of the Ten Braves scored. All Braves batters batted three times a piece through four innings of play.

The Braves batted .333 as a team.

Coach Aten & Coach Tom were very proud of the players and the way they performed. Coach Aten stated, "We looked like a veteran team, and all the hard gym work we put in this winter is starting to pay-off." Coach Tom made a point to give credit to the Pitchers, as even though he called balls-n-strikes from behind the mound, he had to give them very little instructions on what to do with the ball. Coach Tom reminded pitchers of the situation they were facing, but the coaching staff in general were able to focus on coaching bases with minor use of instructional assistance, which means the players prepared well and used what they learned this winter in the game-like situations. Hats off to the entire Berea Braves 11U team on a great start.

 The North Royalton Bruins finished 5-15 last season in the CVBA.

BBAT  DIRECTOR

Dave Ticherich

Ph. 440.570.3562

e-mail

BEREA REC DEPT.

451 Front Street

Berea, OH 44017

Ph. 440.826.5890

CVBA

Cuyahoga Valley

Baseball Association

CVBABaseball.com

FIELD LOCATIONS

Maps to Berea Fields

Dora Lee Field & Groza Park

N.E. Ohio Fields

Northeast Ohio Locations

WEBMASTER

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stan@createns.com