A bases loaded, 2 out triple in the top of the last inning by Damien Ferguson proved to be the decisive hit as FBC defeated the powerful Kiwanis club 7-5 in Kids Pitch Baseball play on Thursday, June 11, 2009. FBC's record improved to 8-7 as they had lost 9-4 earlier in the day to PBPA in completion of a game halted due to rain on May 15.
Most of the game with Kiwanis had been a pitching duel, as both teams exchanged goose eggs, until the top of the third inning, when FBC broke through for a single tally. Drake Jeffries singled with 2 outs and nobody on, and he promptly stole both second and third before coming home on a single by Dalton Stephens. FBC made it 2-0 in the top of the fourth as Skyler Hood walked and stole second base. Brayton Sparrow singled to right, advancing Hood to third. Joseph rader singled into right center, bringing in Hood from third base.
History was made in the bottom of the third inning when the battery of Damien and Donovan Ferguson made their first appearance. Damien took the mound, and Donovan put on the catching gear to move behind the plate as receiver. The debut proved to be quite successful. Damien made quick work of things as he carved up the Kiwanis batters, setting them down in order with 3 strikeouts.
Kiwanis touched Damien for one unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. Leadoff hitter Preston Hayes hit a one hopper back to Damien, who fielded the ball and threw to first baseman Dalton Armes. The normally sure-handed Armes dropped the ball, however, allowing Hayes to reach safely. Hayes reached second as Donovan Ferguson nearly nailed Hayes stealing. Cayden Collings followed with what looked like a run-producing single into center field, but Drake Jeffries fired the ball into third baseman Brayton Sparrow, who applied the tag on the sliding Hayes for out number 1. Elijah Schlabach, who had hit 3 FBC batters earlier, was hit by a pitch that bounced in the dirt before getting him in his left leg. His dad (and third base coach) argued briefly that since the ball had hit the dirt first, it should be called a ball. He wanted his slugging Elijah to get a chance to hit, but the umpires actually got the call right, and Elijah was awarded first base correctly. Damien then struck out cleanup hitter Clayton Hirsch. Schlabach stole second base safely to bring up Ethan Carmean. Carmean popped up to shortstop Dalton Stephens, and Stephens was bumped by Schlabach heading for third, keeping Stephens from making the play. The umpires did not get this call right, however, as Schlabach should have been called out for offensive interference, and Schlabach was able to continue around third base and score to make it 2-1 FBC. Damien struck out Gavin Bennett to end the inning, keeping his team clinging to a 2-1 lead.
Kiwanis tied the game at 2 apiece in the bottom of the fifth as Trevor Edwards went in to pitch. Edwards had some control issues and his velocity was not there. Trevor hit Mitch Tuttle to start the inning. A wild pitch sent Tuttle to second. Brody Shook walked, placing runners at first and second. Tuttle stole third base, and he scored on a fielder's choice as Shook was forced at second. Edwards then struck out the next 2 batters, setting the stage for the sixth and final inning.
Skyler Hood started the 2 out rally by walking. Brayton Sparrow, who has been hitting the ball well lately, had his second hit of the game as he singled up the middle. Joseph Rader was hit by a pitch thrown by pitcher Clayton Hirsch, bringing up Alex Platz with the bases loaded. Platz worked the count full before being awarded first base on a pitch that was just inside, giving FBC a 3-2 lead. Trevor Edwards was hit by an errant 0-1 fastball, driving home Sparrow from third and giving FBC a lead of 4-2. Damien Ferguson then stepped up to the plate.
The outfield moved very deep into position, due to Damien hitting 2 very long but foul balls in his previous plate appearance. Hirsch tried to get ahead of Damien by throwing a high fastball by him, but the pitch was not high enough. Damien took a ferocious cut, bat met ball, and Damien sent it deep into flight. As the sweet part of the bat kissed the ball, a resounding "ping" filled the cool, night air. The ball sailed high and deep into right center field, and the fielder for Kiwanis raced back to try and track the missile down. He did raise his glove in a last second, valiant attempt to catch the shot, and the ball did just graze the top of his glove. Although he was not able to make the spectacular catch, his efforts probably saved the hit from being a grand slam as the ball was slowed down somewhat. The ball was finally picked up and fired into the infield, sailing towards the fence along first base. Damien speeded towards home plate with all he had, sliding across home plate just as the ball reached the catcher, who had received the throw from the pitcher. Although it truly did seem that Damien was safe and had beaten the throw home, the umpire ruled him out, ending the inning, but not before FBC had rallied for 5 runs to take a 7-5 lead.
Everyone always wants the close calls, but in this case, it would have been a lot better if the umpire would have been in proper position to make the call. He was standing behind the catcher, who was blocking his view, so he could not have seen if the tag was made before Damien reached the plate. He could not have seen if a tag was even made at all.
Kiwanis scored 3 runs and they had the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth to make things interesting, but Drake Jeffries induced Brody Shook to hit the ball meekly in front of home plate. Catcher Skyler Hood pounced on the ball like a cat on a mouse, and he stepped on home plate to force the runner from third, ending the game.
Drake Jeffries and Damien Ferguson were awarded game balls.
No comments:
Post a Comment