I captured this photo of Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame plaque while visiting Cooperstown a couple of years ago. You can click within the image for a larger view:
CLICK HERE to view more Hall of Fame plaques of some of my favorite players.
2011 Chicagoland Tournament Champions & 2011 Lombard Tournament Champions!
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Grand Slam
The Warriors have set a team record with three grand slams in the 2011 season. Matt LeVigne, Tyler Dempsey and Rick Sisco have each hit a grand slam this season. The all-time Major League leader in grand slams is Lou Gehrig--who hit an astounding 23 grand slams in his career. That record has stood for many decades.
I captured this photo of Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame plaque while visiting Cooperstown a couple of years ago. You can click within the image for a larger view:
CLICK HERE to view more Hall of Fame plaques of some of my favorite players.
I captured this photo of Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame plaque while visiting Cooperstown a couple of years ago. You can click within the image for a larger view:
CLICK HERE to view more Hall of Fame plaques of some of my favorite players.
Warriors Advance to Semi-Finals!
The Warriors went undefeated in pool play during the Chicagoland Memorial Weekend Tournament after beating Oak Lawn 11-1 on Monday. Once again, the Warriors executed its winning strategy of strong pitching backed by a solid defense. The Warriors pitching staff walked just one hitter today in six innings of play. This was the first time that the Warriors have advanced in this 13 team tournament over the past four seasons!
CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #12.
In the top of the second inning, Rick Sisco came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. With two strikes on the count, Rick connected and drove the ball high and deep over the leftfielder for a grand slam. This hit changed the dynamics of the game. Rather than moving into the bottom of the second inning in a dog fight with a fired up Oak Lawn team, the score was suddenly 5-0 in favor of the Warriors and the Oak Lawn players began to give up hope. This was the team's third grand slam of the season. Matt LeVigne and Tyler Dempsey hit grand slams earlier in the year.
The Warriors tagged on another two runs in the top of the third inning when Cody Rutledge lined a single into centerfield after two outs to score Matt Carroll and Tyler Dempsey.
The Warriors went with the lefty, Matt Carroll, in relief in the fourth inning. Matt also contributed three strong innings. He allowed just one unearned run, struck out four and walked one.
Other offensive achievements included a triple to deep left-centerfield off the bat of Jason Enguita (his second of the season) and Trent Sichelski's three hits in three plate appearances.
The Warriors continued to use the bunt as a weapon. In game 2 of pool play, Matt Olinski laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Today, Steve Sismelich and Zac Zavod successfully sacrificed runners. Note that a sacrifice does not count as a plate appearance so that it does not negatively impact a player's batting average.
This tournament marks the first time in four years that the Warriors have successfully advanced through pool play. The Warriors won all three pool play games and allowed just two runs in the process!
The biggest difference between this year's team and our opponents is the depth of the pitching staff. Going into the semi-finals, our pitching log looks like no other log. We've pitched six different pitchers--and no pitcher has made more than one appearance or pitched in more than four total innings! And, we still have other pitchers who are more than capable who haven't yet appeared in a tournament game.
Here's how our pitching log looks after three pool play games:
Pitcher (Innings):
CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #12.
The Warriors struck first in this one with a run in the top of the first inning when Matt Carroll drew a walk and later scored his 24th run of the season. Matt's runs scored total is now tied for the most on the team with Steve Sismelich. The team's hitters in the first two spots of the batting order are getting the job done.
Zac Zavod pitched three scoreless innings for the Warriors. He allowed just one hit and walked none. The infield defense executed two double plays in the first two innings to help move things along.In the top of the second inning, Rick Sisco came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. With two strikes on the count, Rick connected and drove the ball high and deep over the leftfielder for a grand slam. This hit changed the dynamics of the game. Rather than moving into the bottom of the second inning in a dog fight with a fired up Oak Lawn team, the score was suddenly 5-0 in favor of the Warriors and the Oak Lawn players began to give up hope. This was the team's third grand slam of the season. Matt LeVigne and Tyler Dempsey hit grand slams earlier in the year.
The Warriors tagged on another two runs in the top of the third inning when Cody Rutledge lined a single into centerfield after two outs to score Matt Carroll and Tyler Dempsey.
The Warriors went with the lefty, Matt Carroll, in relief in the fourth inning. Matt also contributed three strong innings. He allowed just one unearned run, struck out four and walked one.
Other offensive achievements included a triple to deep left-centerfield off the bat of Jason Enguita (his second of the season) and Trent Sichelski's three hits in three plate appearances.
The Warriors continued to use the bunt as a weapon. In game 2 of pool play, Matt Olinski laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. Today, Steve Sismelich and Zac Zavod successfully sacrificed runners. Note that a sacrifice does not count as a plate appearance so that it does not negatively impact a player's batting average.
This tournament marks the first time in four years that the Warriors have successfully advanced through pool play. The Warriors won all three pool play games and allowed just two runs in the process!
The biggest difference between this year's team and our opponents is the depth of the pitching staff. Going into the semi-finals, our pitching log looks like no other log. We've pitched six different pitchers--and no pitcher has made more than one appearance or pitched in more than four total innings! And, we still have other pitchers who are more than capable who haven't yet appeared in a tournament game.
Here's how our pitching log looks after three pool play games:
Pitcher (Innings):
- Bartle (4)...1 win
- Sismelich (4)
- Dempsey, Tyler (3)...1 win
- Zavod, Zac (3)...1 win
- Carroll, Matt (3)...1 save
- Rutledge, Cody (1)...1 save
Sometimes Forfeits Can Be Beneficial!
Sometimes, a team can be rewarded by forfeiting a game. A perfect example is this afternoon's tournament game versus Oak Lawn. Although a win will assure the Warriors of a spot in the tournament's Final Four, a loss with a reasonable amount of Runs Allowed would also secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Let's say the Frankfort allows two runs in its game this morning. If the Warriors were to lose to Oak Lawn, but allow 8 runs or less, the tie-breaker would favor the Warriors over Frankfort as Frankfort would have allowed 10 runs in the tournament versus the Warriors' 9 runs allowed. Given that a forfeit results in a score of 7-0, a forfeit actually result in the Warriors advancing in the tournament!
That being said (or written), our team will attempt to advance the right way...by playing the game and striving to beat Oak Lawn.
Two seasons ago, the Warriors faced a similar situation in the Oak Lawn Westside tournament. In the final pool play game, the opposing manager realized that our low scoring game (it was 2-1 in favor of the opponent in the seventh inning) would have resulted in both team advancing based upon the Runs Allowed tie-breakers if the final score would remain at 2-1. The opposing manager asked me if I would consider making three quick outs in the seventh--so that both teams could advance.
I told him that we would take our chances and that we did not wish to advance in that manner. Our team will always strive to win and the integrity of the game was at stake. Fortunately for us, we scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game! Unfortunately for our opponent, they lost out of the Runs Allowed tie breaker with the 3 runs allowed and were eliminated from the tournament. And, the opposing manager was not happy about it!
Let's say the Frankfort allows two runs in its game this morning. If the Warriors were to lose to Oak Lawn, but allow 8 runs or less, the tie-breaker would favor the Warriors over Frankfort as Frankfort would have allowed 10 runs in the tournament versus the Warriors' 9 runs allowed. Given that a forfeit results in a score of 7-0, a forfeit actually result in the Warriors advancing in the tournament!
That being said (or written), our team will attempt to advance the right way...by playing the game and striving to beat Oak Lawn.
Two seasons ago, the Warriors faced a similar situation in the Oak Lawn Westside tournament. In the final pool play game, the opposing manager realized that our low scoring game (it was 2-1 in favor of the opponent in the seventh inning) would have resulted in both team advancing based upon the Runs Allowed tie-breakers if the final score would remain at 2-1. The opposing manager asked me if I would consider making three quick outs in the seventh--so that both teams could advance.
I told him that we would take our chances and that we did not wish to advance in that manner. Our team will always strive to win and the integrity of the game was at stake. Fortunately for us, we scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game! Unfortunately for our opponent, they lost out of the Runs Allowed tie breaker with the 3 runs allowed and were eliminated from the tournament. And, the opposing manager was not happy about it!
Hall of Fame
I captured this photo while visiting baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The most difficult part was waiting for the Hall to clear of visitors. In this image, I waited until the few remaining people were positioned behind the marble posts.
CLICK within photo to view larger version.
CLICK within photo to view larger version.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Warriors Win First Two Tournament Games
The Warriors won its first two games of the Memorial Weekend tournament on Saturday. The team took care of business in the first game by holding its opponent scoreless. Minimizing the runs allowed can be critical in tournament play as "Runs Allowed" is one of the first tie-breakers in determining which teams advance into the semi-finals. The Warriors played a nearly perfect game to beat Chicago Pilsen by a score of 3-1 in the second game.
CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #11.
The Warriors got off to a good start by scoring six runs on six hits in the first inning against Midlothian. Everybody was hitting--and hitting the ball hard. The Warriors pounded out 25 hits in this one and converted those hits into 22 runs in just four innings of play. Remarkably, the team drew just two walks in this game.
The Warriors turned its focus to shutting Midlothian down as the "Runs Allowed" tie-breaker has come back to haunt the Warriors in this tournament in recent years. Last season, the team was eliminated in pool play as a result of allowing one more run than another contestant over the entire weekend.
But, Midlothian would have little success against Connor Bartle and a solid defense. Connor gave the Warriors four strong innings--allowing just three hits and walking none. The defense was flawless and committed no errors in the game.
Offensively, everybody was hitting. Three players had four hits in the game, including Steve Sismelich, Jason Enguita and Cody Rutledge. Matt LeVigne hit his third homer of the season as well as his fourth triple. Matt Carroll had three hits, including an important bunt single in the first inning.
The biggest concern was whether such a large victory would cause the Warriors to lose focus moving into the second game against a much stronger opponent.
The second game, against the Chicago Pilsen Wolves, was a classic pitchers' duel. Steve Sismelich was the starting pitcher for the Warriors and threw a masterpiece through four innings of play. With the support of some great defensive plays (particularly with runners in scoring position and two outs), Steve held Pilsen scoreless. In the first inning, Matt LeVigne made a nice running catch in centerfield. Rick Sisco made two critical catches in rightfield. And, Connor Bartle took charge on a high pop fly in the infield that appeared as though it might fall. Sismelich's team leading ERA (earned run average) dropped to 0.72--which currently ranks as the most effective in Warriors' history.
In the meantime, the Warriors also failed to score through the first four innings. The Warriors had just one hit (and no walks) in this span.
Tyler Dempsey appeared in relief in the top of the fifth inning. After the first hitter reached base on a blooper to rightfield, the runner stole second and went to third on a throw into centerfield. So, Pilsen had the lead run on third base with no outs. Dempsey struck out the next batter. The final batter of the inning hit a ground ball back to Tyler. Tyler looked the runner back and fired to Connor Bartle at first base for the out. Connor then completed the double play by making a nice throw into Jason Enguita at the plate to retire the runner attempting to advance from third base.
After four innings of play, the Pilsen manager made an observation that this was a very well played baseball game and we would have to see which team would be the first to "flinch."
The Warriors finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Matt LeVigne lined a triple to deep leftfield. Cody Rutledge singled to right to score Matt. Matt Olinski then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Cody into scoring position, but the next two Warriors struck out to end the inning.
Tyler Dempsey held Pilsen scoreless with the assistance of a nice two-out catch by Rick Sisco in rightfield to prevent Pilsen from scoring two runs on the hit. The Warriors bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth to get two insurance runs on a double down the leftfield line off the bat of Tyler Dempsey. Steve Sismelich and Rick Sisco scored on the hit.
Pilsen threatened in the seventh inning when the lead off hitter tripled to centerfield followed by another base hit. With the tying run at the plate, the Warriors went to Cody Rutledge to close the game. Cody retired the next three hitters in order, and the final hitter on a strikeout, to earn his first save of the season.
CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #11.
The Warriors got off to a good start by scoring six runs on six hits in the first inning against Midlothian. Everybody was hitting--and hitting the ball hard. The Warriors pounded out 25 hits in this one and converted those hits into 22 runs in just four innings of play. Remarkably, the team drew just two walks in this game.
The Warriors turned its focus to shutting Midlothian down as the "Runs Allowed" tie-breaker has come back to haunt the Warriors in this tournament in recent years. Last season, the team was eliminated in pool play as a result of allowing one more run than another contestant over the entire weekend.
But, Midlothian would have little success against Connor Bartle and a solid defense. Connor gave the Warriors four strong innings--allowing just three hits and walking none. The defense was flawless and committed no errors in the game.
Offensively, everybody was hitting. Three players had four hits in the game, including Steve Sismelich, Jason Enguita and Cody Rutledge. Matt LeVigne hit his third homer of the season as well as his fourth triple. Matt Carroll had three hits, including an important bunt single in the first inning.
The biggest concern was whether such a large victory would cause the Warriors to lose focus moving into the second game against a much stronger opponent.
The second game, against the Chicago Pilsen Wolves, was a classic pitchers' duel. Steve Sismelich was the starting pitcher for the Warriors and threw a masterpiece through four innings of play. With the support of some great defensive plays (particularly with runners in scoring position and two outs), Steve held Pilsen scoreless. In the first inning, Matt LeVigne made a nice running catch in centerfield. Rick Sisco made two critical catches in rightfield. And, Connor Bartle took charge on a high pop fly in the infield that appeared as though it might fall. Sismelich's team leading ERA (earned run average) dropped to 0.72--which currently ranks as the most effective in Warriors' history.
In the meantime, the Warriors also failed to score through the first four innings. The Warriors had just one hit (and no walks) in this span.
Tyler Dempsey appeared in relief in the top of the fifth inning. After the first hitter reached base on a blooper to rightfield, the runner stole second and went to third on a throw into centerfield. So, Pilsen had the lead run on third base with no outs. Dempsey struck out the next batter. The final batter of the inning hit a ground ball back to Tyler. Tyler looked the runner back and fired to Connor Bartle at first base for the out. Connor then completed the double play by making a nice throw into Jason Enguita at the plate to retire the runner attempting to advance from third base.
After four innings of play, the Pilsen manager made an observation that this was a very well played baseball game and we would have to see which team would be the first to "flinch."
The Warriors finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Matt LeVigne lined a triple to deep leftfield. Cody Rutledge singled to right to score Matt. Matt Olinski then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Cody into scoring position, but the next two Warriors struck out to end the inning.
Tyler Dempsey held Pilsen scoreless with the assistance of a nice two-out catch by Rick Sisco in rightfield to prevent Pilsen from scoring two runs on the hit. The Warriors bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth to get two insurance runs on a double down the leftfield line off the bat of Tyler Dempsey. Steve Sismelich and Rick Sisco scored on the hit.
Pilsen threatened in the seventh inning when the lead off hitter tripled to centerfield followed by another base hit. With the tying run at the plate, the Warriors went to Cody Rutledge to close the game. Cody retired the next three hitters in order, and the final hitter on a strikeout, to earn his first save of the season.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
You Make the Call (Part 3)
This is the third question in a series of baseball rule questions that will be posted on this website:
Q #3: The runner on first base is stealing on the pitch. The batter foul tips the pitch (directly into the catcher's glove) to make the count 1-1. Does the runner have to return to first or can he remain on second with a stolen base?
A #3: The runner remains on second base. There is nothing foul about a foul-tip. If the ball nicks the bat and goes sharp and direct to the catcher's hand or glove and is caught, this is a foul-tip by definition. A foul-tip is a strike and the ball is alive. It is the same as a swing-and-miss. If the ball is not caught, it is a foul ball. If the nicked pitch first hits the catcher somewhere other than the hand or glove, it is not a foul-tip, it is a foul ball.
The next baseball rule question will be posted in a few days...
Stars to Shine on June 4th
The OYA Pony League All-Star game will have a new look this season. Unlike in recent years, this year's game will feature the top performers (including Warriors players) in the League--and should be a highly competitive baseball game. Each Pony League team has been asked to nominate its top 4 players based upon performance (offensive and defensive contributions) so far during this OYA Pony League season. The only restrictions are that a player must have played in the vast majority of the OYA games to date and that at least one 13 year old player must be nominated from each team.
Nominations are due from each team tonight and will be announced on the OYA website early next week.
The All-Star players will be placed on one of two teams. The "West" team includes players from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona State and Notre Dame (2 players). The West team is managed by the League's first place manager as of May 27th--who is Pat Carroll.
The "East" team consists of players from Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame (2 players). The East team is managed the League's second place manager as of May 27th--and that's me!
Other All-Star events include the Home Run Derby and Baserunning Challenge. Each team will be nominating representatives to participate in these two events as well. Players are eligible to be nominated for more than one event.
Nominations are due from each team tonight and will be announced on the OYA website early next week.
The All-Star players will be placed on one of two teams. The "West" team includes players from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona State and Notre Dame (2 players). The West team is managed by the League's first place manager as of May 27th--who is Pat Carroll.
The "East" team consists of players from Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame (2 players). The East team is managed the League's second place manager as of May 27th--and that's me!
Other All-Star events include the Home Run Derby and Baserunning Challenge. Each team will be nominating representatives to participate in these two events as well. Players are eligible to be nominated for more than one event.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
You Make the Call (Part 2)
This is the second question in a series of baseball rule questions that will be posted on this website:
Q #2: A batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. He beats the throw to first base. After running through the base, the runner veers to his left--rather than running straight down the foul line or moving to the right of the foul line. Seeing that, the first baseman immediately applies the tag on the batter-runner. You are the base umpire. Do you call the batter out?
A #2: Whether the runner veers left or right is not the determining factor. The umpire must decide whether the runner made an attempt to advance to second base. If an attempt to advance was made, then the runner would be called out. If no attempt was made to advance, regardless of which way he veered, the runner would be called safe on this play. In any event, runners should veer slightly right of the foul line to remove all doubt!
A #2: Whether the runner veers left or right is not the determining factor. The umpire must decide whether the runner made an attempt to advance to second base. If an attempt to advance was made, then the runner would be called out. If no attempt was made to advance, regardless of which way he veered, the runner would be called safe on this play. In any event, runners should veer slightly right of the foul line to remove all doubt!
Team Website Hits New Milestone
The Warriors' team website reached another milestone this week when it recorded its 35,000th visit! As a result of this activity, the site appears more readily in Google searches.
I first created this website as way to cut back on the number of phone calls that I would have to make. I had no idea that the site would generate this much activity!
I first created this website as way to cut back on the number of phone calls that I would have to make. I had no idea that the site would generate this much activity!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Tyler Dempsey Off to a Great Start...
Tyler Dempsey is off to a great start to the 2011 season. After nine games of play, Tyler leads the team in numerous offensive categories, including:
- Batting Average
- On-Base %
- RBI
- Runs Scored (tied)
- Walks
- Doubles
Warriors Take Down Jets 16-3
The Warriors defeated the Midway Jets by a score of 16-3 in five innings in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. The afternoon game had many similarities with the win over Tinley Park earlier in the day.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #9.
The Warriors jumped out to the early lead after scoring a run in the top of the first inning when Tyler Dempsey doubled to score Jason Enguita. Tyler elevated his batting average to a team leading .704. But, the Midway Jets struck back with two runs in the bottom of the frame on three walks and a Warriors' error on a pick off attempt at first base.
Cody Rutledge started the second inning off with a single to centerfield, but the Warriors failed to score in the inning. Midway extended its lead with a run in the bottom of the frame on two hits before the inning ended on a ground out to Tyler Dempsey at second base.
The Warriors scored seven runs in the third inning to take an 8-3 lead. Matt LeVigne tripled to deep leftfield in the inning. It was Matt's second triple of the season and he leads all Warriors hitters with six extra base hits for the season. Matt appeared to be fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for the last ten days or so.
Cody Rutledge pitched his first inning as a Warrior in the bottom of the third inning. The lead off hitter reached base on a Texas Leaguer down the leftfield line. But, he was retired moments later attempting to score on a base hit to centerfield. The shortstop, Zac Zavod, made a perfect relay throw to Jason Enguita at the plate for the out. Cody struck out the next hitter with a sharp curve ball. The Jets failed to score in the inning.
The Warriors put the game out of reach with eight runs in the fourth inning. The Jets made two costly fielding errors in the inning and a total of six errors in the game. The Warriors drew four walks in the inning as well.
Zac Zavod struck out three Jets in the fourth inning. Zac leads the pitching staff in WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). He has allowed just five baserunners in five innings of work.
Steve Sismelich pitched the fifth inning. After hitting the first batter, he retired the side in order to end the game. Steve now leads the pitching staff in ERA (earned runs allowed).
The Warriors have used an astounding 10 different pitchers in the season so far. This bodes well for tournament play when most other teams will be relying on just two or three pitchers to throw many innings in a single weekend.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #9.
The Warriors jumped out to the early lead after scoring a run in the top of the first inning when Tyler Dempsey doubled to score Jason Enguita. Tyler elevated his batting average to a team leading .704. But, the Midway Jets struck back with two runs in the bottom of the frame on three walks and a Warriors' error on a pick off attempt at first base.
Cody Rutledge started the second inning off with a single to centerfield, but the Warriors failed to score in the inning. Midway extended its lead with a run in the bottom of the frame on two hits before the inning ended on a ground out to Tyler Dempsey at second base.
The Warriors scored seven runs in the third inning to take an 8-3 lead. Matt LeVigne tripled to deep leftfield in the inning. It was Matt's second triple of the season and he leads all Warriors hitters with six extra base hits for the season. Matt appeared to be fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for the last ten days or so.
Cody Rutledge pitched his first inning as a Warrior in the bottom of the third inning. The lead off hitter reached base on a Texas Leaguer down the leftfield line. But, he was retired moments later attempting to score on a base hit to centerfield. The shortstop, Zac Zavod, made a perfect relay throw to Jason Enguita at the plate for the out. Cody struck out the next hitter with a sharp curve ball. The Jets failed to score in the inning.
The Warriors put the game out of reach with eight runs in the fourth inning. The Jets made two costly fielding errors in the inning and a total of six errors in the game. The Warriors drew four walks in the inning as well.
Zac Zavod struck out three Jets in the fourth inning. Zac leads the pitching staff in WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). He has allowed just five baserunners in five innings of work.
Steve Sismelich pitched the fifth inning. After hitting the first batter, he retired the side in order to end the game. Steve now leads the pitching staff in ERA (earned runs allowed).
The Warriors have used an astounding 10 different pitchers in the season so far. This bodes well for tournament play when most other teams will be relying on just two or three pitchers to throw many innings in a single weekend.
One Photo from Friday Night...
I visited the campus of the University of Illinois on Friday and was fortunate to see the Fighting Illini baseball team play the Indiana Hoosiers that night. The Illini ended up sweeping the series to win the Big Ten Conference championship!
Here's one photo that I captured during the event:
Here's one photo that I captured during the event:
Warriors Dominate the Early Game
The Warriors crushed the Tinley Park Bobcats by a score of 21-0 in five innings of play in Tinley Park on Sunday morning. The Warriors played a nearly perfect game. This game marked Cody Rutledge's debut with the Warriors. This game was the first of two road games to be played on Sunday, May 22nd.
Jason Enguita closed out the game for the Warriors. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning despite hitting one batter and walking another. Jason now leads the pitching staff (along with Connor Bartle) with five appearances in the young season.
Team and individual statistics will be updated and posted after the second game of today's doubleheader.
The Warriors took the early lead when Matt Carroll bunted down the third base line for a hit and later scored on Tyler Dempsey's sacrifice fly to shallow leftfield. Tyler was the Warriors' starting pitcher and held the Bobcats scoreless through the first two innings of play. He struck out three hitters in this outing.
The score remained at 1-0 in favor of the Warriors until the Warriors exploded with nine runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Warriors had seven hits in the inning, including doubles by Cody Rutledge, Jason Enguita and Trent Sichelski. The scoring escalated as a result of three Tinley Park fielding errors in the frame.
Connor Bartle pitched the third and fourth innings for the Warriors. He allowed just one baserunner, while striking out two.
The Warriors scored eleven more runs in the fifth inning. Four of the runs scored when Tyler Dempsey hammered a grand slam over the leftfield fence. This was the team's first homerun hit out of the park and its second grand slam of the season---Matt LeVigne hit a grand slam at Homer earlier in the season.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
You Make The Call (Part I)
Q #1: An inside pitch hits the batter on his hand while it is still resting on the bat. Is this a foul ball or a hit by pitch?
A #1: It is a common myth that the "hands are part of the bat." The reality is that the hands are not part of the bat--they are part of the body. So if a pitch hits a batter's hands, the ball is dead and the hitter is awarded first base--as long as he didn't swing and was avoiding the pitch.
A #1: It is a common myth that the "hands are part of the bat." The reality is that the hands are not part of the bat--they are part of the body. So if a pitch hits a batter's hands, the ball is dead and the hitter is awarded first base--as long as he didn't swing and was avoiding the pitch.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Frankfort Square Hands Warriors Its First Loss
Frankfort Square snapped the Warriors' six game winning streak with a 7-1 victory in Tinley Park on Wednesday night. This game was in the seventh inning of play after just 1 hour and 15 minutes before it was called due to lightning strikes in the area. Neither team made an error in the contest.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #7.
The Warriors were retired quickly through the first three innings. Just one hitter, Tyler Dempsey, reached base when he legged out an infield hit.
In the meantime, Steve Sismelich was impressive as the Warriors' starting pitcher. Steve held a hard hitting Frankfort Square team scoreless through three innings. He scattered just three hits and struck out four hitters.
The Warriors would not reach base again until the sixth inning. It was one of those nights when every well hit ball (and there weren't many) was hit at someone. Connor Bartle's line drive directly at the rightfielder in the fifth inning was one of those hard hit balls.
Frankfort Square scored four runs in the fourth inning on three hits and three walks. Hitters shortened their swings against the fastball and placed singles between the Warriors' infielders and outfielders.
Matt Olinski reached base to start the Warriors' sixth inning with a walk. Matt Carroll then beat out an infield hit before Jason Enguita singled to rightfield to score the only Warriors' run of the night. The Warriors left the bases loaded when the inning ended on a ground out to the third baseman.
Matt Olinski made his pitching debut for the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth inning. He retired the side in order. But, with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, the batter drove a triple to deep leftfield to clear the bases. Frankfort Square's 7-1 lead ended up being the final score.
Rick Sisco reached base in the top of the seventh inning on a single to centerfield. This was only the fourth hit for the Warriors in the game. But, the game was called with Matt Olinski at the plate when lightning strikes came too close to the field. Given the minimum 20 minute waiting period and the fact that the field did not have lights, the approaching storm ended the game.
The Warriors suffered its first defeat of the season. However, this was the team's strongest opponent to date. There's an adjustment period for our hitters as they face stronger pitchers. The more we can play better opponents like Frankfort Square, the better. This will be one of the teams that will be participating in the upcoming Memorial Weekend Tournament.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #7.
The Warriors were retired quickly through the first three innings. Just one hitter, Tyler Dempsey, reached base when he legged out an infield hit.
In the meantime, Steve Sismelich was impressive as the Warriors' starting pitcher. Steve held a hard hitting Frankfort Square team scoreless through three innings. He scattered just three hits and struck out four hitters.
The Warriors would not reach base again until the sixth inning. It was one of those nights when every well hit ball (and there weren't many) was hit at someone. Connor Bartle's line drive directly at the rightfielder in the fifth inning was one of those hard hit balls.
Frankfort Square scored four runs in the fourth inning on three hits and three walks. Hitters shortened their swings against the fastball and placed singles between the Warriors' infielders and outfielders.
Matt Olinski reached base to start the Warriors' sixth inning with a walk. Matt Carroll then beat out an infield hit before Jason Enguita singled to rightfield to score the only Warriors' run of the night. The Warriors left the bases loaded when the inning ended on a ground out to the third baseman.
Matt Olinski made his pitching debut for the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth inning. He retired the side in order. But, with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, the batter drove a triple to deep leftfield to clear the bases. Frankfort Square's 7-1 lead ended up being the final score.
Rick Sisco reached base in the top of the seventh inning on a single to centerfield. This was only the fourth hit for the Warriors in the game. But, the game was called with Matt Olinski at the plate when lightning strikes came too close to the field. Given the minimum 20 minute waiting period and the fact that the field did not have lights, the approaching storm ended the game.
The Warriors suffered its first defeat of the season. However, this was the team's strongest opponent to date. There's an adjustment period for our hitters as they face stronger pitchers. The more we can play better opponents like Frankfort Square, the better. This will be one of the teams that will be participating in the upcoming Memorial Weekend Tournament.
Cody Rutledge
Some good news for the Warriors...
Cody Rutledge is expected to rejoin the team in the next two weeks and may possibly be activated for the two road games (Tinley Park and Midway) on Sunday, May 22nd. He has been added to the Memorial Weekend Tournament roster.
Cody Rutledge is expected to rejoin the team in the next two weeks and may possibly be activated for the two road games (Tinley Park and Midway) on Sunday, May 22nd. He has been added to the Memorial Weekend Tournament roster.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Another Warrior Goes Down With Injury
Another Warriors' player, Matt LeVigne, suffered an injury in an OYA Pony League game earlier tonight. Matt injured his knee while attempting to get a jump out of the batter's box after he hammered a ball to deep leftfield--that reportedly would have certainly been another homerun. The opposing team, Oklahoma, was able to get the ball over to first base to retire Matt as he was unable to get out of the batter's box. He was later carted off the field and taken to an ER. We will learn more about the extent of Matt's injury over the next few days, but remain optimistic that he will rejoin the team in a week or two.
This injury occured shortly after Patrick O'Connor's broken thumb in an OYA Pony League game last week! As devastating as this is for the Warriors, these injuries greatly impact the OYA Arizona State team as both injured players play for that team as well.
Given all of the injuries and scheduling conflicts, the Warriors are only able to field 8 players for tomorrow night's game at Frankfort Square. Unlike the OYA Pony League, nine players are required to play a Chicagoland Metro game. So, the Warriors will call Daniel Cachey up from the OYA Pony League (Michigan team) to play with the team for this one game.
This injury occured shortly after Patrick O'Connor's broken thumb in an OYA Pony League game last week! As devastating as this is for the Warriors, these injuries greatly impact the OYA Arizona State team as both injured players play for that team as well.
Given all of the injuries and scheduling conflicts, the Warriors are only able to field 8 players for tomorrow night's game at Frankfort Square. Unlike the OYA Pony League, nine players are required to play a Chicagoland Metro game. So, the Warriors will call Daniel Cachey up from the OYA Pony League (Michigan team) to play with the team for this one game.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Verbal Interference?
The base umpire made an interesting ruling in the bottom of the fifth inning during this afternoon's game versus Bridgeport. Trent Sichelski hit a foul pop fly towards the third base dugout. Bridgeport's third baseman came over to make a play and dropped the ball. The umpire ruled that the players on the Warriors' bench hindered the fielder's ability to make the play by yelling that he was going to hit the fence.
Official Baseball Rules (OBR) define OFFENSIVE INTERFERENCE as any act that "obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play." There is nothing in the Official Baseball Rules (200) that says that the act must be physical.
However, the application of the interference rule for "verbal" interference is not consistently applied. In reality, it is rarely called.
For those who are interested in baseball rules, CLICK HERE to view an interesting article regarding this topic.
Official Baseball Rules (OBR) define OFFENSIVE INTERFERENCE as any act that "obstructs, impedes, hinders or confuses any fielder attempting to make a play." There is nothing in the Official Baseball Rules (200) that says that the act must be physical.
However, the application of the interference rule for "verbal" interference is not consistently applied. In reality, it is rarely called.
For those who are interested in baseball rules, CLICK HERE to view an interesting article regarding this topic.
Patrick O'Connor Suffers Injury
Pat O'Connor broke his thumb while sliding into a base in an OYA Pony League game. This is most unfortunate as Pat was off to a great start with the Warriors. He has achieved a spot on the team's leaderboard for both batting average and on-base percentage. And, his three triples are just two short of an all-time Warriors' season record of five.
It's possible that Pat could be out for up to six weeks. Hopefully, he'll be able to return to the team much sooner than that. During his recovery, Pat is encouraged to continue to participate in team events. In the meantime, the Warriors will consider adding a player to its roster during this upcoming week. This new player would be an alternate and would only be activated as needed to replace injured or otherwise deactivated players.
It's possible that Pat could be out for up to six weeks. Hopefully, he'll be able to return to the team much sooner than that. During his recovery, Pat is encouraged to continue to participate in team events. In the meantime, the Warriors will consider adding a player to its roster during this upcoming week. This new player would be an alternate and would only be activated as needed to replace injured or otherwise deactivated players.
Warriors Top Bridgeport 12-2
The Warriors extended its winning streak to six after beating Bridgeport by a score of 12-2 in seven innings at Centennial #5 on Mother's Day. Outstanding pitching and defensive play led the way in this one.
Jim Robley was impressive in his two innings of work. Jim struck out two and held Bridgeport scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings of play. Connor Bartle pitched the seventh, and final, inning of the game. He allowed two hits, but both runners were retired attempting to steal.
CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #6.
The Warriors jumped out to a three run lead in the first inning when Matt LeVigne doubled to deep leftfield with the bases loaded to extend his team leading RBI total to 17 for the season.
Zac Zavod pitched the first three innings for the Warriors. Zac, and the infield play behind him, was flawless through three innings. The Warriors turned a 6-4-3 double play to end Bridgeport's hopes in the third inning.
The game was tight (4-2) until Bridgeport changed pitchers in the fourth inning of play. The Warriors scored four runs on three hits in the fourth inning. Connor Bartle drove in two runs in the fourth and another two runs in the fifth inning with consecutive base hits. Connor placed himself on the leaderboard in both batting average and on-base percentage.
Jason Enguita struck out the first two hitters in Bridgeport's fourth inning. Bridgeport scored a run in the inning on a double down the rightfield line. The inning then ended when Trent Sichelski made a big league play to field a slowly hit ball to his shortstop position.
Jason singled to center for the second consecutive time to drive Rick Sisco home in the fifth inning. Rick continues to swing a hot bat--reaching base three times in this game.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Warriors Set Offensive Records
The Warriors set several offensive records in a one-sided contest against the Fire in Homer on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors had 27 hits in four innings--including several infield hits. The Fire finally scored runs in the fourth, and final, inning of play.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #5.
The game opened with Steve Sismelich drawing a walk. He later scored on Jason Enguita's single. Soon after, Matt LeVigne homered with the bases loaded (a grand slam) to give the Warriors a quick 5-0 lead. This was Matt's second homerun in two games. He now leads the squad with 14 RBI for the season. The Warriors went on to score 12 runs before making the first out of the game!
Connor Bartle retired the Fire in order in the bottom of the frame. The Warriors have won three games this season with Connor as its starting pitcher.
The Warriors scored another 16 runs in the second inning on 12 hits. The inning was extended as a result of three Homer errors. Also, the Warriors had several infield hits in the inning.
The scoring settled down after that with the Warriors posting a run in the third and four more runs in the fourth inning. Trent Sichelski pitched the final three innings for the Warriors. He did not allow a run until the fourth inning when the Fire had four hits, including a triple to deep centerfield.
Jim Robley made the defensive play of the game when he dove to his left to field a low line drive. After making the catch, he tagged the runner advancing from second base for the unassisted double play.
Although we certainly can't fault our players, games like this aren't very productive for either team. Mercifully, the two hour limit was imposed on this game before it proceeded any further.
CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #5.
The game opened with Steve Sismelich drawing a walk. He later scored on Jason Enguita's single. Soon after, Matt LeVigne homered with the bases loaded (a grand slam) to give the Warriors a quick 5-0 lead. This was Matt's second homerun in two games. He now leads the squad with 14 RBI for the season. The Warriors went on to score 12 runs before making the first out of the game!
Connor Bartle retired the Fire in order in the bottom of the frame. The Warriors have won three games this season with Connor as its starting pitcher.
The Warriors scored another 16 runs in the second inning on 12 hits. The inning was extended as a result of three Homer errors. Also, the Warriors had several infield hits in the inning.
The scoring settled down after that with the Warriors posting a run in the third and four more runs in the fourth inning. Trent Sichelski pitched the final three innings for the Warriors. He did not allow a run until the fourth inning when the Fire had four hits, including a triple to deep centerfield.
Jim Robley made the defensive play of the game when he dove to his left to field a low line drive. After making the catch, he tagged the runner advancing from second base for the unassisted double play.
Although we certainly can't fault our players, games like this aren't very productive for either team. Mercifully, the two hour limit was imposed on this game before it proceeded any further.
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