Mariners to Play in Championship Game !

The Bellevue AA Mariners advanced to the finals of the Thunderbird Little League on Tuesday night and will face the Rays on Wednesday. It is a double-elimination tournament, so teams are "out" once they lose two games. The Mariners have lost one game (to the Rays); the Rays have not lost any, so the Mariners will need to win two in a row against them to win the championship. The three other teams in the league have been eliminated.

In the first game of the playoffs, Jack had perhaps his best little league game ever. While playing 3B in the first inning he turned an unassisted double play on a sharp line drive. While playing C in the second inning he blocked the plate and held onto the ball to make a nice tag on a runner trying to score. At bat he got a double, a single, and a long fly out that scored a runner from third who tagged up. However, the highlight of the game was his pitching. Scheduled to pitch the final two innings, Jack came in an inning early and for the first time all year pitched three full innings, giving up just two runs and striking out four. The Mariners won, 16-8, and Jack got the "game ball."

The Mariners lost to a tough Rays team on Sunday, but then defeated the Nationals on Tuesday night, 17-11. Jack was ineligible to pitch in those games (eligibility is determined by pitch counts and having thrown 51 pitches on Saturday, he cannot pitch again until Wednesday). However, Jack went two-for-three with a double on Tuesday.

The Mariners play again at 5:30 Wednesday night, and if they win, play 5:30 Thursday night. Here's a pair of photos of Jack on Tuesday against the Nationals - hitting his double and then on second base.

Little League Baseball in Bellevue

Much of the month of April has been spent at little league games in and around Bellevue. Both Jack and Henry are playing this year - Jack in AA ball, and Henry in Tee-Ball.

In Jack's first game (actually the end of March), in his very first at-bat he got up with the bases loaded and promptly hit a double to right field. His brother, Joseph was taking pictures and here is the actual at bat:

Waiting for the pitch...

... making contact ...

... and running into second base !

Since then, Jack's team (the Mariners) has been doing very well, and have won 5 of their 8 games. Jack's favorite position has been pitcher and he has done very well. Largely thanks to the hard work he has put in in our backyard, he has a great motion and is able to throw strikes most of the time. In his first outing, he pitched 2 innings, gave up no runs, two hits, and struck out 5 batters (and retired another one himself on a ground ball to the pitcher). The season lasts until mid-June, so more posts on Jack's season to come!

Henry is playing Tee-Ball on the Rays. He has just played in two games so far, but has had one of the hardest hit balls in both games. He also got the chance to make a bunch of plays in the field, as he had several ground balls hit to him in one inning.

Waiting to get up to bat

Stepping to the plate

Enjoying a well-deserved Slurpee after a hard-fought game