BEREA BASEBALL ASSOCIATION TRAVEL

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2011

SEASON

13U TRAVEL

BEREA

BRAVES

2010 12U Archive

CVBA

ROSTER

GAME RECAPS

Berea Brave's Shut-out North Royalton

4 - 0 in home opener

The boys worked hard all winter long on defense, and they proved it at Saturday's game with outstanding pitching by Nick ( 2 hits, 3 walks and striking out 12 batters ) for a complete game. Great defensive plays by Garrett with a diving catch to his left at the edge of the grass at 2nd base. Nice play by Bobby who goes deep up the middle to snag a ground ball, spins and throws the runner out. and we can't forget about Reggie who makes a running catch at his ankles in right field.

Offensively - We struggled a little bit at the plate. The boys must have thought it was still winter out because the bats where ICE COLD! Producing 4 runs on just 6 hits and 2 walks, OUCH !!! I have told the boys during our winter practices that defense will win you games, and that is what happened tonight. Over all the boys played one heck of game. Offensively it must have been first game jitters, and I know they will bounce back with the bats.

Berea Braves win # 2 with a 6 - 1 win over visiting Rocky River Bucs

Can you say pitching and defense again?

I think Nick and Matt had a bet on who would pitch better between each other. Matt tosses another complete game by our starters with 9 strike outs,3 hits, 4 walk performance. Matt pitched himself into a jam in the 4th by walking 2 and hitting a batter to load the bases with just one out, but the DEFENSE came through again to help retire the side

without giving up a run. If playing solid defense wasn't enough the boys decide to do a little trickery on their own without the coach's

knowledge on a play that we practice on for just a few minutes at one practice. With runners on 1st and 3rd (and we all know that the runner on 1st will steal 2nd with a runner on 3rd) the pitcher still makes his throw to the catcher ( and this is all about timing ) and as the runner from 1st takes off to 2nd, the 2nd baseman will run in just to the left of the pitcher and from there the catcher will throw the ball to the 2nd baseman as he is running, this will actually stop the runner from stealing 2nd and we hope that the runner on 3rd will try to steal home.

Well the boys ran the play to perfection, not only did they stop the runner from stealing 2nd, they also caught the runner on 3rd and the 3rd base coach off guard and picking the runner off 3rd. Great job boys !!!! The offense is starting to come alive, Jamar going 4 for 4, Bobby, Zach and Jack chipping in with 2 hits apiece. between those 4 boys, they compiled 10 out of the teams 11 total hits on the night. All the boys actually made good contact at the plate but, it would be nice for the other boys to get one or two of those seeing eye hits.

Braves stun host Lakewood Gold with a 5 - 4 come from behind win in a 8 inning affair

Is it possible for a boy who hasn't pitched in 2 years to start a game on the opposing teams field and having both teams undefeated,

and feel no pressure and pitch a great game? I say yes it is possible, because I witnessed it, the team witnessed it and all of our fans in attendance witnessed it. Bobby in his first start as a Brave comes through with a NO hit, 5 walk and one hit batter in just 4 innings of work, and giving up only 2 earned runs. That is AWESOME !!!!! Great job Bobby. Bobby kept the Braves in the game the entire time he was pitching, even though he was being squeezed by the home plate umpire who had no idea where the strike zone really is, didn't know the count or knew how many outs. GREAT job ump !!!!!! On a coach's decision, we pulled Bobby in the 5th with a 4-2 lead, and a runner on 1st we brought in Nick for the save. But we just couldn't stop Lakewood from tying the game, with an error and a hit that nobody in the infield could come up with. Berea would not give up in the 8th inning, with 2 outs Jack walks to get the inning started, and Nick follows up a with a hit and Jack not stopping scores from 1st to give the Braves the lead for good. In the bottom of the 8th with Berea leading 5-4, our defense and pitching shut Lakewood down for the win. Defensively we where not totally focused, but we did come up with some nice plays that kept us alive. Especially Jack coming up with the ball after a wicked hop right down the 3rd base line and throwing the runner out first. Offensively we are still trying to come around, the boys are hitting the ball hard, but right at people .

Today's game came with the big hit at the right time.

Braves vs. Strongsville Spartans

No where to go but up

It was a tough loss for the Braves. Nothing went right and the elements were not in their favor. The first inning was a slow start. The Braves started the game by scoring one run. However, their defense in the field was not so prosperous. Nick Baker put in a huge effort by providing two outs for the Braves but the boys went into the first inning losing 6-1. Reggie had awesome contact with the ball hitting a single. Garrett followed up with a bunt and got to second on an error allowing Reggie to score. Great job to Phil with a catch in left field. Jamar, Bobby, & Reggie provided the runs. Good hustle boys! From there on out though, everything seemed to go wrong for the boys. The boys just couldn’t seem to get their bats to find the ball, or the ball to find their gloves. Whether it was the heat, the field, or the coaching, the Braves just didn’t seem ready to play. After only 4 innings, the Braves were mercy ruled with a loss of 18-3. They can only go up from here.

A Humbling Experience- Olmsted falls

The Braves were excited heading into the fourth game of their season undefeated. However, maybe they were a little to excited. The game started off a little rocky with pitcher Nick Baker giving up 4 runs in the first inning. When the Braves finally had their chance at bat, they did prove their skill with good contact from Jamar, Jack, and Zack. The second inning picked up the pace with the Braves allowing no runs scored. In the 3^rd inning Nick and Bobby made a great play at second for the first out of the inning. This woke the boys up and gave them more enthusiasm. Great hit by Jack in the 4^th inning allowing Jamar and Bobby to score. In the 6^th inning Nick struck out 3 batters. The Braves brought in pitcher Zack Morris to finish out the game. In the end the Braves gave Olmsted Falls their first win of the season with a score of 8-3. It was a good lesson for the boys. They learned that the records don’t matter because the next time they step onto the diamond, the score is 0-0.

Braves show no mercy- Lakewood Purple

It was tough for the Braves coming into their 5^th game. They knew they had to prove themselves if they wanted to be taken seriously. The game started off a little slow with pitcher Matt giving up 3 runs in the first inning. But when it was the Braves chance at bat, they knew they had to focus. Nick was the first to make contact for the Braves sending teammate Jack to 3^rd base. Matt hit a great ball bringing home Nick and Jack to score ending the first inning with a score of 3 to 2. It wasn’t until the second inning that the Braves really started to get in their groove. Nick was on fire getting all 3 outs with a throw to first and a double play at short with Bobby covering second. Awesome contact from Max with a triple, Jamar with a double, and Nick and Matt with singles allowing the Braves to take the lead. The Braves were really showing their power by not allowing Lakewood to score for the rest of the game. In the 5^th Inning the Braves mercy ruled Lakewood ending the game with a final score of 17 - 5. The boys redeemed themselves from their previous loss and proved they are a force to be reckoned with.