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Week 2 around TTBC
Juniors Division:
The Eagles(1-0) played the always tough Buffaloes this weekend and won 5-4 in a nail biter. The game went seven innings and the teams were very evenly matched. Before I get to the game, I think the kids were most excited by their own announcer and walk up songs for the first time in their TTBC careers. Big hit coaches and parents..I highly recommend.
Max Barney toed the rubber throwing 90 pitches, striking out 4 and scattering 6 hits. Max was in command the whole game and when I tried to take him out, he wanted to keep pitching. When it’s Barney time, it’s Barney time!! Jacob Flach came in relief with the bases loaded and closed out the game throwing nothing but cheddar.
On the offensive side, the Eagles came out hot in the first scoring three runs and would never relinquish the lead. Solid hits up and down the lineup with 7 Eagles getting 1 hit each. Waag, Barney, Chai, Nelson, Looram, Kim, and Gusak all had timely hits that helped the team get runs.
But it was the defense that stole the show….solid play by every position with only two errors. 2 errors with 28 balls in play was awesome to watch. The game ended with Daniel Looram chasing down one of his many catches in center field that kept the Buffaloes from tying the game in the bottom of the 7th. Also a huge throw from Ryan Kim from left field early in the game to gun down a runner at home plate with the tag made by Mr Flach Jacket in his catching debut.
The newly minted Patriots were idle yesterday and will play their first game next week.
Majors Division:
Eagles – It felt like nostalgia day at To Shek as Simon Chen did his best imitation of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series performance and helped the Eagles to a 12-3 Opening Day win over the Cardinals. Coming off the IL and still not 100% recovered, Simon didn’t let his teammates down and laced a bases clearing triple in his first at bat to get the Eagles going. Ollie Barnes took the bump and pitched 2 outstanding innings while striking out 5. Gabe Gusak came in to relieve Barnes in the 3rd and also fanned 5 Cardinals looking. Defensively he and Anthony Bacchus together combined on a nifty pick off play at second base. At the plate the Eagles belted out 7 hits and 12 walks. Rory Elkins led the way with two hits and Saul Freidman showed good patience and walked three times. Overall a solid game to start the season. Go Eagles!!!
Pirates– This past Sunday, the Pirates Majors played against the Korean Angels. Unfortunately, the Pirates were humbled in a 11-0 loss. The Pirates held their own against a formidable Angels team in the first two innings, but the game snowballed away after the third inning. Though the outcome was not ideal, it was a good experience for the players to learn from. Next week, the Pirates face the Lions.
Minors Division:
Minors Eagles won their season opener in a 3 inning combined no hitter vs the Martins White. Although the Eagles were also “no hit” by the very young Martins, they worked 16 walks and practiced aggressive base running in their 15-0 win. George Hosford and Aaron Lee pitched 7 combined strikeouts in 3 innings of work. The one ball put in play by the Martins resulted in a “3 Unassisted” put out by George Hosford at first base. The most exciting play of the game happened in the second inning, when the Martins attempted to steal home on a passed ball. Unfortunately for them, Ryder Lee was quick to recover the ball and flip it back to George Hosford covering the plate for the out. The game ended early, and the Eagles used the remaining field time to have an intrasquad scrimmage which ended in dramatic fashion with Aaron Lee tagging out his older brother Ethan who tripped overrunning second base on a double to right field.
Minors Pirates, Strong pitching from Kachin Parich and Colt Pigott, pitching a combined no hitter in a 9-2 win over the Astros Space Cadets. Bats were out, with big hits from Youjia Peng, Colt and Cole Fischer. Good start to the season.
A hit parade ensued this past Sunday as the Typhoons (2-0) brought their bats with them when facing off with the Yalkult Swallows (1-1). After the 10 hit barrage, TTBC Typhoons ended the day with a 13-2 victory.
The offense was led by the new kids on the block as Liam McDermond had three hits and an RBI, Brandon Yates who tacked on two hits and an RBI of his own, and Blake Shapiro who had a 2-RBI single. Brother Parker Shapiro’s 2-RBI triple and contributions from Troy Cheng, Franklin Karnitz, and Levi Elkins all made it a fun filled offensive day for the Typhoons.
On the other side of the ball, it was an error-free game for the defense which helped starter Troy Cheng (1-0) pick up his first victory of the season. Troy went 2.1 innings striking out three. Parker Shapiro came into relief when the team was up 8-2 in the third inning and proceeded to pitch the remaining 1.2 innings striking out five.
Next week the Typhoons have a much deserved rest as they’ll be on the bye week.
Coaches Pitch:
Coach Pitch has also kicked off over the last few weeks and the kids will get their uniforms and hats this coming weekend. We have a group of more than 50 getting started in their baseball careers and parents and coaches are excited for the games starting shortly. More on coach pitch in future write ups.