On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, the FBC Kids Pitch Baseball club bested KC Summers 14-4. The game was a matchup of 2 teams with identical records going into the contest, so with the victory, FBC becomes the second seed in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament beginning this Thursday (tomorrow).
Damien Ferguson had a 2 out, 2 run walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to seal the victory for FBC. He now leads his team with 23 RBIs and 23 runs scored. He also is tied in home runs with 2, sharing this honor with Drake Jeffries and Dalton Stephens.
KC went down easily in the top of the first inning as pitcher Trevor Edwards struck out the side in order. Following a leadoff strikeout of Trevor Edwards, Damien Ferguson was issued a full count walk that ignited a 5 run rally in the bottom of the frame. Damien turned some nifty baserunning into the first run for FBC. He stole second base before tagging up and taking third on an infield popup caught by the second baseman. Damien came home on an RBI single hit by Dalton Stephens. Dalton Armes followed with a hit up the middle, and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Brayton Sparrow, who also is swinging the bat very well here of late, had an RBI single into left, with Armes holding at third. Sparrow stole second and Skyler Hood walked to load the bases, and Donovan Ferguson drew a 4 pitch walk to drive in Armes from third, making the score 3-0. Joseph Rader completed the 2 out rally by hitting a fly ball single into right center field that plated both Sparrow and Hood.
KC Summers scored 1 run in the top of the second when Hayden Birdsong singled into right center field, scoring teammate Gavin Conrad, who had reached on a hit by pitch. Conrad had moved up to second on a fielder's choice when shortstop Damien Ferguson dove to his right, gathered the ball up, and threw out Jacob Hendren at third base from his knees, taking a hit away from Reece Jones. FBC's bats came alive again in the bottom of the inning as they sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring 6 runs. Michael Brown walked and stole second and third. Trevor Edwards hit an infield single with Brown remaining at third base. Damien Ferguson walked to load the bases, and Drake Jeffries followed with an RBI walk of his own, making it 6-1 FBC. Dalton Stephens singled into left field, scoring Edwards and Ferguson. Damien challenged the left fielder's arm, and the throw to the plate was late, which allowed Jeffries to move to third and Stephens to advance to second base on the play. Dalton Armes had the second infield single of the inning as both runners held, loading the bases again. Brayton Sparrow drove a fastball hard into the ground, and the ball took a high hop, and all runners were safe as Jeffries scored the fourth run of the inning. Skyler Hood and Donovan Ferguson struck out before Joseph Rader hit his second 2 out, 2 run single into right center field to finish the scoring in the second for FBC.
Dalton Stephens took the mound in the top of the third inning, and some poor defense led to 2 unearned runs for KC Summers. Quinn Camfield and Wesley Otto both reached safely on throwing errors. Camfield was able to go all the way to third base on the bad throw from third baseman Dalton Armes, and he scored on the throwing error by second baseman Alex Platz. Otto took second as the throw eluded first baseman Trevor Edwards, whose coach (and dad) was overheard saying in the dugout, "Of all the innings I had to pick to put our shortest player at first base, I picked this inning!" Both throws were high, and most likely could have been caught by the team's other first basemen. Otto scored when Mason Thomas singled into deep right field. A good play from right fielder Michael Brown prevented the ball from going all the way to the fence, and he quickly threw the ball into the infield, holding Thomas at first. FBC responded with a single tally as Damien Ferguson's single to short drove in Michael Brown from third base. Brown reached on a hit by pitch, and he stole second and third base before coming home on the infield hit by Damien, who really hustled down the line to beat the throw.
Neither team scored in the fourth inning.
KC scored their last run of the game in the top of the fifth inning off pitcher Brayton Sparrow's throwing error, which led to an unearned run crossing the plate. Leadoff batter David Thompson popped up to Sparrow on the mound for out number 1. Quinn Camfield hit a come backer to Brayton, and his throw to first base was wild, sending Camfield to third. He then scored on Otto Wesley's double into center field. Warren Hunter struck out and Joshua Blood grounded out to end the inning, setting up Damien Ferguson's heroics in the bottom of the fifth. Both Alex Platz and Michael Brown struck out looking, bringing the top of the order. Trevor Edwards was issued a free pass. He quickly stole second base to move into scoring position. Damien Ferguson swung at the first pitch, which was a fastball low and in the dirt. Pitch 2 was a fastball that caught the inside of the plate for a called strike 2. Pitch 3 was a waste pitch that was low and away, and this time Damien did not bite, and the count moved to 1 ball and 2 strikes. Pitcher Camfield's next offering was a high fastball, but it was not high enough, and Damien got all of it, sending the ball into deep center field. Once again, as in their previous contest, the outfielders were playing very deep, and stationed about 10 feet from the fence. The ball took one bounce before hitting the center fielder, who did a really good job keeping the ball in front of him. By the time he picked up the ball Damien was rounding second base and heading for third. Damien had the green light from his third base coach, and he hit third base in stride, before turning toward home. Damien was not to be deprived this time. By the time the ball was picked up by the third baseman, Damien was crossing home plate standing up with his first career walk off home run, a 2 run shot to end the game on the 10 run mercy rule, 14-4.
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