Lyle's Family Barbershop Kid Pitch baseball team fell 7-6 to Diepholz in a weather-shortened game on Monday, May 24, 2010, leaving them with a 4-3 record for the season.
Lyle's had momentum back on their side as they had just scored 3 runs to move within 1 of Diepholz when lightning was seen in the distance and the game was called in the top of the sixth.
Bad weather was not the only thing that went against Lyle's that evening: a wrong call that benefitted Diepholz also ended up proving to be very costly. Garrett Branson of Diepholz was at third base with no outs in the top of the fourth inning when he attempted to go home on a passed ball. Stealing home or coming in on a wild pitch or passed ball is not allowed in this league, so Branson was tagged as he started walking back towards third base. He should have been ruled out immediately, but the umpires ruled the play a dead ball, and they allowed Branson to stay at third. He then scored when Conor Branson singled him home 2 batters later. And that was the difference in the game.
As unfortunate as that was, however, what really hurt Lyle's the most was they took too many strikes at the dish, which led to far too many strikeouts and far too few hits. All in all, Lyle's struck out 9 times in 5 innings with 4 of these being called third strikes.
Garrett Jones led off the game for Diepholz. Jones hit the 0-2 delivery from Preston Hayes to third baseman Syrus Sears whose throw to first was wide, allowing Jones to reach safely. Jones stole second and third base before coming home on a groundout that went pitcher to first base. Garrett Branson singled into left, stole second and third, and then he, too, scored on a single hit off of the bat of Brayton Sparrow. Conor Branson flew out to right center fielder DeAndre Thomas for out number 2, and Keagan Rhodes popped out to shortstop to end the inning.
Preston Hayes led off the bottom of the first by driving the ball deep into right center field for extra bases. As Hayes rounded first he ran into first baseman Garrett Branson who was standing in the basepath. The umpire signaled obstruction, and Hayes continued towards second base. When the obstruction occurred the ball was beyond the right center fielder and at the fence, and the umpire ruled that Hayes was only allowed second base on the play. Unbelievable! When asked for an explanation as to why he was not allowed third base at the very minimum, the umpire would not provide any reason, just saying second was all he was allowed.
Hayes stole third base and he came home on a grounder hit by Donovan Ferguson as the shortstop made a very good play to his left in the hole, robbing Donovan of a base hit. Quinn Camfield singled and stole both second and third, and he came home on a single hit by DeAndre "Mr. Clutch" Thomas. Thomas had a stolen base and was joined at first by Konour "Slammer" Smith, who was issued a free pass. Julian Harshbarger and Dakota Vasquez both went down swinging to end the first inning with the score tied 2-2.
Hayes had a good second inning on the mound for Lyle's as he struck out 3 batters while issuing one walk. Lyle's was able to capitalize and they took the lead with a 2 out rally. Isaac Ray and Sam Owen both struck out, but Syrus Sears hit a single into left. Preston Hayes followed with a triple into right center field, but he was stranded as Donovan Ferguson's blast into center field was hauled down, ending the second.
Donovan Ferguson had a good pitching performance in the top of the third, striking out the first two batters he faced and then inducing an inning-ending groundout to second baseman Isaac Ray. Unfortunately for Lyle's, however, they did not take advantage of the momentum, and they went down in order in their half of the inning, leaving the score 3-2 in favor of Lyle's. Quinn Camfield popped up to pitcher Gavin Bennett, and both DeAndre Thomas and Konour Smith were strikeout victims, bringing on the disastrous top of the fourth.
Donovan Ferguson walked Gavin Bennett, bringing up Garrett Branson. Branson singled into left center field. Bennett attempted to take third base on the play, and the throw from Quinn Camfield in left center to third baseman Julian Harshbarger was right on the money. Bennett went way towards the pitcehr's mound to avoid the tag of Harshbarger before racing towards second, and Harshbarger hung onto the ball just a tad bit too long. He threw it towards second and Bennett reversed course and ran back towards third base as no one for Lyle's was covering. Bennett most likely should have been called out for running out of the baseline to avoid the tag, but he was not. Still, the defensive breakdown with nobody covering third should not have happened, and Bennett was perched safely at third base as Branson took second on the play.
Things did not get any better for Lyle's as Brayton Sparrow stood at the plate. Sparrow fell behind 0-2 before hitting a slow roller to third base. Harshbarger attempted a play on the runner at the plate, and both the runners and Sparrow were safe and the score was tied. Had Bennett been called out for running out of the base line, Sparrow would have been thrown out at first and Lyle's still would have been holding a 1 run lead. The first pitch to the next batter, Conor Branson, was in the dirt, and Sparrow stole second. Branson attempted to come home, which is not allowed, and he was tagged out as he walked back towards third. It was then that the umpires ruled incorrectly that it was a dead ball, and Branson scored on the next pitch as Branson singled into left, moving Sparrow to third. So instead of being out of the inning with no runs allowed if Lyle's would have received correct calls, Diepholz held a 4-3 lead with nobody out and runners at the corners. Ferguson got Keagan Rhodes to groundout short to first, driving in Sparrow from third. Ferguson then finished strong by striking out the next 2 batters, Mason Campbell and T. J. Rappe. The damage was done, however, and Lyle's was on the short end of a 5-3 score.
The hitting woes continued for Lyle's in the bottom of the fourth as Julian Harshbarger, Isaac Ray and Sam Owen all struck out. Dakota Vasquez had a 1 out walk, but he was left stranded at first.
Preston Hayes was back on the mound in the top of the fifth inning, striking out Aron Emerick to start things off. Alex Platz was then issued a full count walk, but Hayes was able to catch Dawson Sikorski looking for out number 2. Jacob Brown, however, was granted a full count base on balls to place runners at first and third as Platz had swiped second and third during the at-bat of Sikorski. Brown stole second and he scored on the ball hit to shortstop Quinn Camfield, whose throw sailed up the line towards the plate, allowing both Platz and Brown to reach home safely. In Camfield's defense it appeared the runner at second running to third interfered with the play, making no attempt to avoid the throw, although that would have been a tough call to make in that situation. Gavin Bennett ended the inning as Isaac Ray made a very good play on Bennett's sharply hit grounder between second and first, easily throwing out the runner.
The bats woke up for Lyle's as the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Syrus Sears grounded out to first base unassisted for out number 1. Preston Hayes walked on 4 pitches, and Donovan Ferguson had an infield single to the second baseman. Quinn Camfield singled home Hayes, and Ferguson scored on a very good base running play as he was able to slide under the tag as DeAndre Thomas grounded out pitcher to first for out number 2. Konour Smith tripled down the right field line, plating Camfield, but Julian Harshbarger grounder out second to first to end the frame. It was as the teams were just beginning to play in the top of the sixth inning with Camfield pitching for Lyle's that lightning was seen in the east and the game was called with Lyle's on the losing side of a 7-6 score.
Lyle's had momentum back on their side as they had just scored 3 runs to move within 1 of Diepholz when lightning was seen in the distance and the game was called in the top of the sixth.
Bad weather was not the only thing that went against Lyle's that evening: a wrong call that benefitted Diepholz also ended up proving to be very costly. Garrett Branson of Diepholz was at third base with no outs in the top of the fourth inning when he attempted to go home on a passed ball. Stealing home or coming in on a wild pitch or passed ball is not allowed in this league, so Branson was tagged as he started walking back towards third base. He should have been ruled out immediately, but the umpires ruled the play a dead ball, and they allowed Branson to stay at third. He then scored when Conor Branson singled him home 2 batters later. And that was the difference in the game.
As unfortunate as that was, however, what really hurt Lyle's the most was they took too many strikes at the dish, which led to far too many strikeouts and far too few hits. All in all, Lyle's struck out 9 times in 5 innings with 4 of these being called third strikes.
Garrett Jones led off the game for Diepholz. Jones hit the 0-2 delivery from Preston Hayes to third baseman Syrus Sears whose throw to first was wide, allowing Jones to reach safely. Jones stole second and third base before coming home on a groundout that went pitcher to first base. Garrett Branson singled into left, stole second and third, and then he, too, scored on a single hit off of the bat of Brayton Sparrow. Conor Branson flew out to right center fielder DeAndre Thomas for out number 2, and Keagan Rhodes popped out to shortstop to end the inning.
Preston Hayes led off the bottom of the first by driving the ball deep into right center field for extra bases. As Hayes rounded first he ran into first baseman Garrett Branson who was standing in the basepath. The umpire signaled obstruction, and Hayes continued towards second base. When the obstruction occurred the ball was beyond the right center fielder and at the fence, and the umpire ruled that Hayes was only allowed second base on the play. Unbelievable! When asked for an explanation as to why he was not allowed third base at the very minimum, the umpire would not provide any reason, just saying second was all he was allowed.
Hayes stole third base and he came home on a grounder hit by Donovan Ferguson as the shortstop made a very good play to his left in the hole, robbing Donovan of a base hit. Quinn Camfield singled and stole both second and third, and he came home on a single hit by DeAndre "Mr. Clutch" Thomas. Thomas had a stolen base and was joined at first by Konour "Slammer" Smith, who was issued a free pass. Julian Harshbarger and Dakota Vasquez both went down swinging to end the first inning with the score tied 2-2.
Hayes had a good second inning on the mound for Lyle's as he struck out 3 batters while issuing one walk. Lyle's was able to capitalize and they took the lead with a 2 out rally. Isaac Ray and Sam Owen both struck out, but Syrus Sears hit a single into left. Preston Hayes followed with a triple into right center field, but he was stranded as Donovan Ferguson's blast into center field was hauled down, ending the second.
Donovan Ferguson had a good pitching performance in the top of the third, striking out the first two batters he faced and then inducing an inning-ending groundout to second baseman Isaac Ray. Unfortunately for Lyle's, however, they did not take advantage of the momentum, and they went down in order in their half of the inning, leaving the score 3-2 in favor of Lyle's. Quinn Camfield popped up to pitcher Gavin Bennett, and both DeAndre Thomas and Konour Smith were strikeout victims, bringing on the disastrous top of the fourth.
Donovan Ferguson walked Gavin Bennett, bringing up Garrett Branson. Branson singled into left center field. Bennett attempted to take third base on the play, and the throw from Quinn Camfield in left center to third baseman Julian Harshbarger was right on the money. Bennett went way towards the pitcehr's mound to avoid the tag of Harshbarger before racing towards second, and Harshbarger hung onto the ball just a tad bit too long. He threw it towards second and Bennett reversed course and ran back towards third base as no one for Lyle's was covering. Bennett most likely should have been called out for running out of the baseline to avoid the tag, but he was not. Still, the defensive breakdown with nobody covering third should not have happened, and Bennett was perched safely at third base as Branson took second on the play.
Things did not get any better for Lyle's as Brayton Sparrow stood at the plate. Sparrow fell behind 0-2 before hitting a slow roller to third base. Harshbarger attempted a play on the runner at the plate, and both the runners and Sparrow were safe and the score was tied. Had Bennett been called out for running out of the base line, Sparrow would have been thrown out at first and Lyle's still would have been holding a 1 run lead. The first pitch to the next batter, Conor Branson, was in the dirt, and Sparrow stole second. Branson attempted to come home, which is not allowed, and he was tagged out as he walked back towards third. It was then that the umpires ruled incorrectly that it was a dead ball, and Branson scored on the next pitch as Branson singled into left, moving Sparrow to third. So instead of being out of the inning with no runs allowed if Lyle's would have received correct calls, Diepholz held a 4-3 lead with nobody out and runners at the corners. Ferguson got Keagan Rhodes to groundout short to first, driving in Sparrow from third. Ferguson then finished strong by striking out the next 2 batters, Mason Campbell and T. J. Rappe. The damage was done, however, and Lyle's was on the short end of a 5-3 score.
The hitting woes continued for Lyle's in the bottom of the fourth as Julian Harshbarger, Isaac Ray and Sam Owen all struck out. Dakota Vasquez had a 1 out walk, but he was left stranded at first.
Preston Hayes was back on the mound in the top of the fifth inning, striking out Aron Emerick to start things off. Alex Platz was then issued a full count walk, but Hayes was able to catch Dawson Sikorski looking for out number 2. Jacob Brown, however, was granted a full count base on balls to place runners at first and third as Platz had swiped second and third during the at-bat of Sikorski. Brown stole second and he scored on the ball hit to shortstop Quinn Camfield, whose throw sailed up the line towards the plate, allowing both Platz and Brown to reach home safely. In Camfield's defense it appeared the runner at second running to third interfered with the play, making no attempt to avoid the throw, although that would have been a tough call to make in that situation. Gavin Bennett ended the inning as Isaac Ray made a very good play on Bennett's sharply hit grounder between second and first, easily throwing out the runner.
The bats woke up for Lyle's as the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Syrus Sears grounded out to first base unassisted for out number 1. Preston Hayes walked on 4 pitches, and Donovan Ferguson had an infield single to the second baseman. Quinn Camfield singled home Hayes, and Ferguson scored on a very good base running play as he was able to slide under the tag as DeAndre Thomas grounded out pitcher to first for out number 2. Konour Smith tripled down the right field line, plating Camfield, but Julian Harshbarger grounder out second to first to end the frame. It was as the teams were just beginning to play in the top of the sixth inning with Camfield pitching for Lyle's that lightning was seen in the east and the game was called with Lyle's on the losing side of a 7-6 score.
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