Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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.


2 comments:

  1. aunt janetMay 25, 2011

    Go Jack!!!!

    Well, it's 9:30 pm EST on Wed night, so it's 6:30 your time. Hope you guys are winning right now! Let us know what happens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 30, 2011

    Mom says congrats!!

    ReplyDelete