Joseph in Malawi !

Joseph has been in Malawi for nearly four weeks so far and we've spoken with him on the phone twice. There's also a blog they've published with semi-regular updates, and he's also sent some photos to us. Here are some highlights so far. Much more to come once he returns!

Joseph at the blackboard, teaching Physics

The road outside the house

Sunset in Malawi

Phalombe Secondary School, where Joseph is teaching

Joseph's done a lot of hiking, this is a waterfall on one of his hikes

Jack Pitching Versus Woodinville

Jack pitched for Lakeside in a league game May 25 versus Woodinville, at Inglemoor High School. Woodinville had handed Lakeside it's lone loss so far, and while another pitcher started, his arm was sore so Jack came in in the third inning. He pitched three shutout innings to lead them to a 10-0 victory.

Here's him pitching to end the fourth inning.

Jack Rodgers Named MVP

On Wednesday, May 18 the Newport High School Baseball program had their annual end-of-season banquet. This included the coaches, teams, and parents for the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and C-Team. Each team named one MVP for their season. Jack was named the MVP for the C-Team, as a result of his stellar pitching, with a particular call-out for his string of complete games, all with low-pitch counts. Jordan, his coach, had very nice things to say about him, as well as the entire team, and said there were a lot of bright spots ahead as the players moved up to the next level at Newport.

Jack with his coach after the banquet

Jack's coach announcing the award
(We didn't know Jack was going to be named MVP until midway through,

so this video is only from that point on)

13-Run 5th Propels Lakeside to Win in First League Game

Lakeside 15U defeated Granite Falls 20-0 on Saturday, May 13 in their first American Legion game of the season.

Jack played LF for the final two innings (the game only went 5 innings, ending early due to slaughter rule). He got up twice (both times in the 13-run fifth), singling and scoring in his first at-bat, and getting hit by a pitch and scoring in his second at bat.

Here's a video of his first at-bat:

Joseph Leaves for Malawi !

Joseph had a short stay home between the end of classes and his volunteer trip to Africa. He was home on April 24, and then left for Malawi on May 4. He's going with a group of Michigan students and will be there for seven weeks teaching math and science to high school students.

His flight path took him from Seattle to Detroit, where he had a six-hour layover and hoped to get some sleep. From Detroit he flew to Dulles, from there to Ethiopia, and from there to Malawi. He left Seattle Thursday afternoon and arrived in Malawi on Saturday afternoon. Total time of travel was about 39 hours.

Here he at Seatac before embarking upon his journey. Yes, this is all the luggage he took for seven weeks.

(Amazon Prime hasn't extended delivery to southern Africa yet, so if he's forgotten anything he'll need to buy it there!)

End of Newport's C-Team Season

The Newport Knights wrapped up their schedule on May 5 with a loss vs. Issaquah. Jack had pitched in both of the games prior to that.

Last Thursday (4/27), Jack started versus Bellevue at home. He gave up 3 runs in the first inning, but then settled down and cruised through the next few innings. The Knights came back and tied the game, and by the end of the 7th, it was still knotted 3-3. Jack's pitch count was low enough that they sent him back out for the 8th, in which he threw another scoreless frame, and, after Newport did not score in the bottom of the 8th, he went back out and threw yet another scoreless 9th. Then in the bottom of the 9th Newport scored and won the game 4-3 with a walk-off! Exciting game!

Then on Wednesday (5/3), Jack got the start again at Garfield High in the city. The Knights scored 1 in the first and for a while it appeared that might be all they would need. Jack continued his scoreless streak into the 7th inning (that's 14+ straight scoreless innings!), and took the mound with a 1-0 lead. He wound up giving up a run in that inning, sending it to extra innings. He pitched another couple of batters in the 8th before being taken out. The Knights wound up losing 2-1 in 9.

Here's a clip of a typical at bat, culminating in a routine ground ball to SS.