Warriors Struggle in Third Scrimmage

In Friday night's scrimmage against the Hurricanes, the Warriors held a 2-0 lead with two outs in the fifth inning. From that point on, things fell apart. The Hurricanes scored 6 runs in the fifth and added 2 more in the sixth inning. The Warriors scored once more in the bottom of the seventh. The scrimmage ended with a score of 8-3 in favor of the Hurricanes.

The Warriors went with six pitchers in the scrimmage: Lance Cardinal, Ryan Novak, Jimmy Robley, C.J. Brucki (2 innings), Anthony Lauciello and Sam Marc. For the most part, the pitching was OK. Lance Cardinal walked three hitters in the first inning, but did not allow a run. After the first inning, the Warriors walked just three hitters over the next six innings. At least four defensive errors contributed to the eight runs allowed.

I expect our team to take its lumps as we allow pitchers with very little experience to develop their skills during these scrimmages. Overall, our pitching staff is showing more promise than I would have expected at this stage of the season. Our main objective at this point is to throw strikes--and we are accomplishing that.

The Hurricanes did hammer out 11 hits versus just 3 hits for the Warriors. Robbie Maxfield lined a double into leftfield to start the game and Sam Marc later drove him home with an infield grounder. Ryan Knightly lined a single in the centerfield to start the second inning and scored while C.J. Brucki was caught in a rundown. The final hit did not take place until the seventh inning when Ryan Novak singled sharply to centerfield. Clearly, it's going to take more than three hits to win ballgames. Our upcoming hitting clinic is one of the scheduled events that should help us out.

The defense fell apart during this game. Some basic fundamentals such as the drop step were not executed. Our infielders also had trouble fielding several ground balls.

Baserunning was a problem once again. Runners are having trouble with the timing of their secondary leads. We should not be taking a secondary lead until after the pitcher has committed to the plate. In the case of a lead off from first base, this means that the secondary lead should not take place until the righthanded pitcher breaks his left knee as he begins to move into the balanced position. Our runners are advancing too early and getting picked off as a result.

When we take our secondary leads, they are not usually aggressive enough--particularly when leading off second base. This causes runners to be thrown out a third base on plays that shouldn't really be close.

The last aspect that we talked about is the importance of maintaining intensity. We all want to have fun at the park. But, this time can't just be a social activity. Players need to be aware of what's happening on the field. This is important to accelerate a player's learning curve. And, it's also important for players to support their teammates who are out on the field.

I expect some team leaders to emerge from this group. There are at least seven or eight players who have exhibited the potential to lead. We need a few to step up and keep the team alert and positive when things start to breakdown on the field.