The weather cleared and for those looking for omens we got a rainbow at 8pm to symbolize good times ahead. The humidity returned and we got a chance to play our game on what turned out to be a beautiful night for baseball. As many were unable to attend I will offer a bit more commentary about the game
Tim Sticco got his first start and threw a terrific five innings yielding only 1 hit while striking out 6. Great job Tim ! Tim and Charlie kept them off balance and Tim's fastball proved to be too much for them as the only hit they managed was a bloop fly ball that drifted over SS. Tim left with a 3-2 lead and earned the win.
see Tim in action here on You Tube here ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aX0-eoiwi0&feature=channel
We had several players making their debut at new positions. Tim Collar played third and handled all 3 chances successfully. Bobby U played SS and had a terrific game making several plays including a beautiful play coming in and across towards second to grab a ball and throw out a batter.
Bob Ryan played first base and made a nice play on their bunt and caught a very high difficult pop in the 8th as well as grabbing a couple throws that were a it off the mark but he was able to catch the ball and hold the bag.
Jim Lewicki made his OF debut. Chuck played CF without I believe having to make play Roneil ,as always a vacuum at second, had several plays including handling a sinking line drive in the 9th . John Radkins played RF and made a nice play in the 9th on a fly ball. John also gave chase to a long foul ball in the first which is now a You Tube hit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJSe_uz7B7o&feature=channel_page
Charlie did a great job catching for Tim and I and held them to one SB. Charlie also and made a big catch of a foul pop when Tim worked out of an early jam with runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out.
The Reds made several fine plays in the fielding with their SS catching everything in sight and throwing out two guys from deep in the hole. He later grabbed a rocket off the bat off Chuck with the infield in to prevent another run. They played well enough to win but we were able to get runs when we needed and get outs when they threatened.
We scored one in the first when Roneil and Booby U led off the innings with walks. Charlie hit a ground ball to short who threw to second for one but the throw to first went by the first baseman scoring Roneil. In the 4th Charlie walked and with Bobby running for him stole second. Chuck hit a ball in front of the plate and raced to first beating the throw, moving Bobby to third. A wild pickoff to first scored Bobby, and Chuck raced all the way to third. Tim C hit a SF to right scoring Chuck with our third run.
Ridgefield got their 2 runs in the fifth with the benefit of a couple breaks a walk , a hit bats man and a couple wild pitches scored one and the bloop single another bring the score to 3-2 after 5.
I replaced Tim in the 6th and Ridgefield got the leadoff hitter on when an infield throw was off the bag. They bunted next and Bob Ryan made the play to Roneil for the first out. this guy advanced to third ( i forgot how) and with one out we brought the infield in to face their 3 and 4 hitters. But with the humidity helping me get loose Charlie and I were able to strike out the next two hitters ending the threat.
In the sixth we added another run when Roneil singled and stole second. Booby U singled to CF scoring Roneil giving us a 2 run lead 4-2.
They did not threaten thereafter and we walked off the field with a nice 4-2 win. The pace of the game as much tighter than the Trumbull Monday night game and all left with a good feeling for having played especially when it did not look so promising earlier.
Three wins in a row and lots of good signs . The pitching and defense over the three games was solid and we have started to hit.
Practice Sunday morning: We will have a practice Sunday morning for those who can make it at 9 am for 2 hours. This will be a good chance to hit 50 -100 swings to get your stroke going. We will use the time to get everyone some work and gear us up for the second half of the season. I think we are on a nice evolution and are improving in many facets of the game.
Jim and I confer frequently about how to maximize everyone's experience and we intend to proceed as we have thus far. So congratulations on a solid first half and lets really play well in the second half.
Cheers,
Dave
Note: I will start to get videos of each player starting the next game which by the way is Sunday July 12 in Stamford vs The Stamford Mets
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