Pirates 2011 20-0
18 by the 10 run rule.
Conference Champion
Regional Champion
Burnett County Champion
West of Alpha Champion
North of Branstad Champion
Team Brownie!
Gator Aide Gulpers.
TNT has been the motto all year.
It is important for everyone to know that the Cameron Coaches are Great people.... We have known them for many years and go to Coaching Clinics with them. After the game, they came over and congratulated our players...... They are a class act.......
You can tell it was an exciting game.... I didn't take any pictures... I am on my way out for dinner and some celebration. I also lost my phone so anybody who finds it......can pitch and bat first.... It was very, very fun. We have reached a NEW level...I could tell. And there is sooooo much more to go....... so Let's play soon!!
This newsletter will not be posted until verrrrrry late. Coach Adam Hale send a Jack Handy Deep Thoughts quote.
"Laurie got offended that I used the word "puke". But to me, that's what her dinner tasted like."
-Jack Handy
My favorite is...... If your friend is already dead....and being eaten by vultures, do you think it would be OK to break off pieces and teach the vultures new tricks?
-Jack Handy
See ya in the morning.....Great game Pirates.....
We anticipated a very close game. The Comets were a quality team with quality coaching. The record for the year was 19-1 going into the game. You do not win 19 games by being lucky. I watched them warm up and they were very solid. I thought the shortstop and pitcher were exceptional athletes as they warmed up. I also thought that the team looked pretty good. I noticed that the coach was hitting some shots at the players. Sometimes, we just hit baby balls to make the players look good. I had not seen the pitcher throw but the defense looked solid.
It was fun to see so many people at the game. Cameron brought a good crowd and filled the right field line. Grantsburg also produced lots of people filling the bleachers, the left field line, and behind the fence in left. The night was a bit windy but had blue sky. Rich had prepared the field. The grass was cut, the fence was trimmed and it was a beautiful night for a softball game.
Grantsburg had the higher rank and was automatically designated as the home team. The umps arrived from Bruce and lake Holcombe. Our captains immediately met them at the dugout door and offered them cookies and brownies…. Later, it did NOT help Tiffy at all. But, it doesn’t hurt. Thanks Tiff’s grandma for the goodies….
Macy took the mound for Grantsburg. With two strikes Schuman bounced one off the fence for an opening double…. It got our attention. With one out, Krueger grounded to third. Making one of only a couple mistakes, we did check the runner but threw to the fence scoring the first run. In 20 games it was the first time that we were EVER behind. Macy settled down and got through the first.
Grantsburg came out like a heavy weight fighter and hit Cameron with a major shot! Cameron’s defense played up hoping to stop Kylie. She slapped one over the left fielder’s head for an opening double. Sam followed and lined a shot to left. Tiff came up and found the gap for a triple scoring a couple of runs. Nic picked up hit #4 in a row as she singled. Emily ripped a shot to left for hit#5 in a row… Things were looking good. Cameron, however, plugged the leaks and that was the extent of the scoring. Grantsburg did collect 3 runs but had a chance to end it early.
Grantsburg had one of its many great plays in the second. With one out, Bowerman singled. Zych tried to drop down a bunt but Nicole made a quick move and caught the foul ball. With a quick release and a nice stretch by Wendy the double play was completed and the inning was over.
Grantsburg came to bat in the bottom of the second. Lauren squared to bunt, pulled it back, and hit a shot to the 5 hole placing a runner on first with nobody out. Kylie followed with a single and Sam walked. Things were looking really good for Grantsburg. With the bases loaded Tiff was at the plate. She scorched a line drive right at the pitcher. Kruger made a great reaction catch. The throw towards third got away and lauren raced in with run #4 and the other runners advanced. Nic hit a sac fly to center scoring Kylie and the second inning ended 5-1.
Lauren had two hits for the night.
Cameron survived the big blow and threw some punches of their own. In the 4th Krueger doubled and Morgan singled making the score 5-2. Sam came in to pitch. The first batter grounded to third but for our second mistake, threw it away scoring another run. With a runner on first, Bowerman grounded deep in the hole to Kylie. Kylie checked the runner and made a perfect throw to Wendy who fired to Macey for the second double play of the game. When the top of the 4th was over the game had closed to 5-3. Cameron put more pressure on in the 5th. With two outs, they had back to back singles. Kruger hit a fly ball to right but Lauren ran it down and made it look routine.
Grantsburg was having an issue in the middle innings as they kept hitting pop ups. The 5th started the same way with Tiff and Nic both popping up for the first two outs. The Emily just drilled a gap shot for her second hit. Gabbie very quickly singled up the middle scoring Harlei who came in to run for Em. After several foul balls, Macy hit one off the wall in left center scoring Gabbie. We now had some breathing room.
Nic was soooo excited she almost looked at the camera!
Grantsburg got it going again in the 6th. Lauren was first to bat and picked up her second single of the night. Kylie tried to slap but it made for an easy force at second. Sam was next and hit a bloop ball over first for a double scoring Kylie. With Sam at second, Tiff hit a shot for another hit which scored Sam. On the play Tiff was eventually out at second.
Now for the explanation: By watching video replay it was obviously an uncalled obstruction. When you watch the video, Tiffany dives into the base. The Cameron player is in the way and contact is clearly made before the ball arrives. It is the classic case of obstruction, but it was NOT called. We asked the base ump to confer with the home plate ump but the call stood. Once they declared that the Tiffany was out, there was not much else to do. But, the emphasis in the rule book is very clear. Players cannot obstruct a base when they do not have the ball. After the play, Tiffany had a negative reaction. Something to keep in mind is…..if a player ever gets ejected from a tournament game, THEIR season is over.!!!! Fortunately, Tiff was not tossed.
Jessica came in to pitch the 5th inning. After striking out the #8 and #9 batter, she walked Schuman. With one strike on Czyscon, Tiff snuck behind the runner and Nicole gunned her out to end the game. It was a great finish to a good game.
Cameron would end the game with 6 hits and one walk. They would strike out a total of 8 times. Grantsburg would collect 13 hits for the night. Kylie, Sam, Tiffany, Emily, and Lauren would each have 2 hits. The remaining hits were by Nic, Gab, and Macy. Grantsburg only walked one time and struck out twice…both in the first inning. Cameron had ended their season with a fantastic record of 19-2.
Looking at the scoreboard I see Frederic did lose. Northwood is going to the sectional as is Shell Lake in D4. Our old rival St. Croix Central advanced and will play Bloomer in the sectional. Grantsburg will be playing Hurley at Hurley next Tuesday. Hurley advanced with a 2-1 victory. We have played Hurley two other times in the past. Hurley beat us the first time at Fall Creek. They beat us the next year at Somerset. I also noticed the Baldwin remained undefeated and advanced with a 4-1 score. The Baldwin and Rice Lake show down would be worth watching…. Details of the trip will be forthcoming…. My estimate is that we will leave in the area of 9:00 on Tuesday morning…. Players should bring some lunch or snacks. I would also guess we would stop somewhere for breakfast…. Players will get the details at Friday’s practice. By Monday, I will have details of where the field is…and how to get there.
So this team has now made it to 20-0. It is a very nice accomplishment. The strengths of this team are many. Tonight, we scored 9 runs. It is the season low. If we were not a hitting team, we could have lost the game after giving up 3 runs. It happened last year to Arcadia. The ability to put the ball in play is also a strength of this team. Even though we made a couple of costly mistakes, even I am impressed with the ball handling, throwing, and decision making. This team is very skilled. Making it to 20 wins was a very nice accomplishment. We had to explain to some freshmen why we were still playing after the 5 innings were over. They just thought we always put stuff away in the bottom of the 4th. We live and learn. Some of the frosh have a LOT to learn.
On Friday night we will have a short practice and be done by 5:00. We are trying to arrange a scrimmage with Rice Lake again. This scrimmage will either be Sunday night or Monday night. It will be in Grantsburg. It sounds like the weather around here is going to be hot next week. Perhaps the weather in Hurley will be above freezing. The winner of the Grantsburg-Hurley game will come back to Grantsburg to play in the sectional finals. I reallllllllly hope that it is us!!
If anybody needs be Friday during the day, I will be at the river with the 8th grade. Our math class is measuring pine trees using the tangent ratio. Then, in the pm, some of us will fish. Bring snacks and find me!
TWIS: The team took the field tonight and we couldn’t find Macy. Hope is getting better. She made head bands for the players and bracelets for the coaches. MP was Make Plays. I could have hit the bus, but it would not have looked good. 2 double plays…sweet. Kylie’s arm is about the same. Sam pulls the ball sooooo much that our dugout empties while everybody hides in the back room. Tough Tiff. I like it when Em gets hits…she doesn’t hurt me. Jess was fishing up nort’. I guess the seniors had a dance off today. Nic was sooooo excited today that she smiled. Julie is still smiling from Stacey’s homerun. Mac works all the time. She remembers those school days…when she didn’t work. We took the team pic after the game. The one on this page is low res. I kept a better copy if you want. Gabb gets eggs from Chris before games. Nic had a sac fly tonight. Out of the 6 innings, we ripped the ball in 3 and hit pop ups in the other 3. Out of the 18 outs, 16 were in the air!!!! Unbelievable. The other team does NOT have to work very hard when the ball is hit in the air 19 times…wow. So…now it is time to go away and play. The home games were nice…now Road Trip!!
