2023 Spring Practice Tower
FALL BALL (September 22 - November 5, 2021)
Unofficial Recaps by Roger Tower (unless otherwise noted)
September 22, 2021
Gray 3, Blue 1 (4 innings)
You could feel the anticipation and excitement in the team and in the crowd today,
B. Deskins pitched the first two innings for Blue. Deskins struck out three and walked two, allowed two singles and one run.
A. Smigelski drew a one out walk. M. Garza followed with an infield single to third. W, Burbank singled to center. Smigelski scored.
Garza and Burbank advanced on an outfield error. C. Hannigan walked to conclude Deskins' outing.
M. Perkins opened and pitched two innings for the Gray squad. Perkins struck out three in the first and walked D. Woodcox.
In the second, he walked G. West with one out. West was retired on a fielder's choice grounder to third. That ended Perkins' day.
After two innings, Gray was up 1-0.
In the third, T. Burbank took over for Deskins. J. Riedel greeted him with a triple to deep center. Two strikeouts later, Riedel was still on third.
A. Bulman hit a slow roller to third. He beat it out, Riedel scored. An infield ground out ended the third. In the top of the fourth, T Burbank struck out the leadoff man. W. Burbank doubled to left. He stole third. C. Hannigan walked. W. Burbank scored and Hannigan advanced to second on a passed ball. Hannigan was caught stealing. C. Walsh walked to end the top of the fourth.
T. Burbank struck out three, walked two, gave up three hits and two runs (one earned).
In the third inning, A. DeLeon relieved Perkins. DeLeon pitched two hitless innings. With one out in the third, J. Dunlap walked, He was caught stealing on a great throw to second by catcher Garza. A fly to right ended the frame.
In the fourth, Woodcox reached via an infield error. He advanced to second on a comeback grounder to the pitcher and later advanced to third. Woodcox scored on a ground out to short by J. Long. DeLeon allowed no hits, one unearned run, one strikeout and one walk.
Final was Gray 3, Blue 1.
Scrimmage two tomorrow.
Go Rice!
September 23, 2021
Blue 4, Gray 3 (6 innings)
Once again, the fall weather blessed us with a beautiful day for baseball. The Blue squad rallied from an early 2 run deficit to take an exciting win in six innings by a score of 4-3.
Each squad sent three pitchers to the hill to pitch in two innings each.
The pitchers for Blue were P. Smith, T. Clucas and T. Fox.
For Gray the following pitched in order: D. Greenwood, C. Burgess and D. Shaw.
After a scoreless first inning against Smith, the Gray squad scored two runs in the second inning. A. Bulman singled to left, A. Smigelski walked. A. Cruz singled to center. Bulman scored. M. Garza singled to load-up the bases. After a strikeout, C. Hannigan blooped a single to center to score Smigelski. A strikeout ended the inning.
The Blue team also had four hits total in their first two innings against Greenwood. With one out in the bottom of the first, B.Dukes doubled to center. Garza threw him out attempting to steal third. D. Woodcox doubled to left. A fly out ended the stanza.
In the bottom of the second, G. West singled to right with one out. Garza cut him down on his steal attempt. J. Hoyle singled to short. Hoyle was also out in his steal try. Garza was 3 for 3 in eliminating runners.
Gray 2-0 after 2 innings.
T. Clucas shutout Gray in his two innings of work.
C. Burgess pitched a perfect third inning for Gray. Blue rallied against him in the fourth. With one out, Woodcox singled to center. N. Becker followed with the first HR of the fall. J. Long walked. G. West laid down a perfect bunt single. J. Hoyle walked to load the bases. C. Walsh walked to push across the go-ahead run.
After 4 innings, Blue was in front 3-2.
T. Fox pitched the final two innings for Blue. Gray failed to score in the fifth. In the sixth, W. Burbank walked to start the frame. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. A fly ball out followed. P. Gallo singled home Burbank to tie the score at three. A walk ended the inning.
D. Shaw came on to pitch the last two frames against Blue. He struck out the side in the fifth. Woodcox opened the sixth with a HR to left-center. Exit velocity 101 mph. Shaw then struck out the next two batters before recording the final out on a grounder to shortstop.
Final in 6 inns was Blue 4 Gray 3
Pitching lines:
Blue:
Greenwood 0 R, 4 H
Burgess 3 ER, 3 H, 2 SO, 3 BB
Shaw 1 ER, 1 H, 5 SO
Grey:
Smith 2 ER, 4 H, 4 SO, 1 BB
Clucas 0 R, 0 H, 2 SO, 2 BB
Fox 1 ER, 2 H, 1 SO, 4 BB
Offense:
Gray
Garibay 1 Double; Gallo, Bulman, Cruz, Garza and Hannigan 1 each single;
Bulman. Smigelski,and Burbank 1 each run
Gallo, Bulman and Hannigan 1 RBI
Blue
Woodcox single, double, HR, 2 runs, and RBI
Becker HR, run, 2 RBI
West 2 singles
Dukes double
Hoyle single
Long run
Walsh RBI
Another scrimmage tomorrow evening.
September 24, 2021
Blue 2, Gray 1 (6 1/2 innings)
Unofficial guest recap by Walt Greenberg
It was a picture perfect night for baseball at The Reck and the crowd of about 100 (including a sizable group tailgating in The Roost) were greeted with the sound system operational-- including music and player announcements.
They played a 6 1/2 inning scrimmage, with the pitchers on both sides dominating. Blue beat Gray 2-1, out hitting Gray 5-3 (with one of those 3 hits coming in the extra half inning), but Gray pitchers racked up one more strikeout than those in Blue (11 Ks vs. 10 Ks).
Blue pitchers in order were Chandler, Matthews, Linskey and Davis; Gray pitchers were Vincent, Gallant and Zaskoda. Each pitched 2 inning stints, save for Davis who pitched just one inning.
Cooper Chandler (Sr RHP, Pepperdine transfer) pitched a very quick 1-2-3 inning, with two strikeouts, but in the second inning, after getting the leadoff hitter on a pop out, he walked a batter, followed by a passed ball and then an RBI double by Justin Dunlap. 2.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 BB, WP, 2 Ks. Chandler pitched like the experienced pitcher he is. His fastball was sitting in the 90-92 MPH range, with a solid curve (82 MPH) and changeup.
Tom Vincent (Redshirt Fr LHP, A&M transfer) struggled with his control. After getting a leadoff strikeout, there was a walk, stolen base, wild pitch, followed by a Guy Garibay RBI single. He walked a second batter and the first inning ended with just two outs and a runner on 1B. In the second, Antonio Cruz led off with an RBI double, but after a strikeout, Cruz was caught in no man's land on a grounder to SS and was tagged out. Connor Walsh followed with a single, then another walks, and the inning ended with a opposite field line out by Woodcox. 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 3 BBs, WP, 2 Ks. Fast ball sat in the 87 - 89 range.
Caleb Matthews (Fr, RHP) was the third true Freshman pitcher to impress this week (along with Perkins and Shaw). In his first inning, he gave up an infield single and walk, but struck out one and another was caught stealing (Garza again!). He has a 1-2-3 second inning, with an infield pop and two ground outs. 2.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 BB, 1 K. Fast ball sat in the 90 - 92 range, with a "plus" curveball that sat between 76-79. Throws hard for a small guy at 5'10", 169 lbs.
Reed Gallant (Fr, RHP) also struggled with his control. In his first inning, he gave up a lead off walk, followed by a sharply hit single by Austin Bulman. He was on the verge of escaping the inning on back-to-back strikeouts, but then slipped trying to field a swinging bunt by Garza which turned into an RBI single. He then walked another batter before getting his third strikeout of the inning. Gallant's second inning was much stronger. After a leadoff walk, he got a ground out, followed by back-to-back strikeouts. 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 3 BBs, 5 Ks. Fastball sitting in the 89-90 range.
Matthew Linskey (Fr, RHP) looked like a different pitcher than the one who couldn't find the strikezone last year. After giving up a leadoff walk and a stolen base, he had back-to-back strikeouts, before a second walk and a fly out. In this second inning, he gave up another walk and strikeout, but struck out two more and got an infield pop. 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. His fastball sat in the 89 - 93 range (losing velocity in his second inning of work), and his curve was very effective in the 78 - 80 range. He has the physique of Niemann and Kravetz (6'7", 245 lbs). If Bostick an get him to throw strikes, he can be a very, very effective set-up guy or even closer.
Garrett Zaskoda (Fr, RHP) stuggled a bit with his control, but showed a "plus" curveball. In this first inning, he walked one, but got two strikeouts and a fly out. In the second, he got a leadoff strikeout, but then lost his mechanics -- walk, walk, HBP, before leaving the bases loaded with an infield pop and strikeout. 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 BBs, 1 HBP, 4 Ks.
Micah Davis (Fr, RHP) is another guy who couldn't throw strikes last year, but looked really good in his one inning of work. Leadoff walk, followed by a catcher to 1B pickoff (by Hannigan), strikeout, opposite field double by Justin Long who was thrown out by Garibay trying to stretch it into a triple. Davis stayed in to record a fourth out of the inning via strikeout. 1.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 BB, 2 Ks. He has the liveliest arm I saw tonight -- popping his fastball in at 94 - 95, with a really nice 83 MPH curveball.
And that's a wrap.
September 27, 2021
Gray 4, Blue 2 (5 innings)
Gray beat Blue 4-2 behind a 3 run second inning and an insurance run in the fifth.
M. Davis held Gray scoreless in the first with 2 strikeouts and a line drive out to left.
M. Perkins pitched two scoreless innings for Gray in large part thanks to J. Long's arm cutting down two attempts at stealing in the first. Perkins gave up a single to J. Hoyle in the first and a walk.
In the second, W. Burbank singled following a strikeout. An infield out and a fly to left ended the second.
T. Burbank pitched the second and third innings for Blue. In the top of the second, the first three hitters for Gray reached base.
G. Garibay singled up the middle. Garibay advanced to third on a wild pitch to the screen. A. Cruz looped a single to left to score Garibay. N. Becker followed with a 396' HR to center. Cruz scored. A grounder to short, a strikeout and a pop-up to the catcher ended the rally.
In the second, the first batter hit a fly to left. G.West walked but was picked-off on a throw from the pitcher to first to short. A ground out to third ended the frame.
A. DeLeon pitched the third and fourth innings against Blue.
Following a grounder to first and a strikeout, Hoyle singled to left. B. Dukes doubled to right-center. Hoyle to third. The throw from the outfield got away from the infielder and Hoyle scored and Dukes scampered to third. A strikeout ended the inning.
In the fourth, J. Riedel opened the frame with a 369' HR to right-center. A fly out, strikeout and grounder ended the inning.
In the fourth, R. Garcia made his much anticipated debut of the fall. His fast ball consistently hit 94-95 MPH. The first batter popped a foul to third base. Cruz singled to center. A grounder to second was captured by Riedel. He stepped on second base and fired to first for the inning ending double play. Garcia's day was done.
After four, it was 3-2 Gray.
D, Shaw pitched the fifth for Blue. Long singled up the middle. Long advanced to third on a wild pitch. A strikeout and unassisted ground-out to first left Long at third. A. Smigelski walked. West singled to center scoring Long and sending Smigelski to second. A grounder to third ended the at-bat for Gray.
C. Burgess closed it for Gray in the bottom of the firth. M. Garza opened with a single to center. C. Walsh walked. Two strikeouts sandwiched a fielder's choice grounder to second ending the scrimmage.
Final 4-2 Gray.
Next scrimmage scheduled for Wednesday at 2:45 PM.
September 29, 2021
Gray 4, Blue 1 (6 innings)
The rain threat by-passed Reckling Park and the Owls got in 6 innings of fall baseball today. With the squads swapping uniform colors, yesterday's Blue squad won in the Gray uniforms today.
Final was Gray 4-1 in 6 innings.
B. Deskins pitched a strong first two innings for Blue. Deskins struck out five. B. Dukes was the only base runner with a first inning single to center. Dukes stole second but was stranded there.
P. Smith was also excellent in his two innings for Gray. Smith retired the side in order in the first. In the second, a lead-off walk to G. Garibay was eliminated on a ground-out double play 6-4-3. Another ground-out ended the inning. Smith had one strikeout.
T. Clucas pitched the third and fourth innings for Blue. Following a ground-out, C. Walsh singled to center. For the fall scrimmages, a pinch runner is currently being used for Walsh. J. Hoyle singled to center, advancing the pinch runner to second. Hoyle was forced at second on a grounder by Dukes to the pitcher. The runner took third. With A. Bulman at bat, Dukes broke for second. Clucas threw to first behind Dukes. Dukes was caught in a pickle. The runner on third (PR for Walsh) broke for home. Dukes was able to keep himself in the rundown long enough for the runner on third to score before he was tagged out. Run counts.
In the fourth, Bulman walked to open the inning. J. Riedel tripled to center. Bulman scored. W. Burbank reached on an error ar third base. Riedel held at third. P. Gallo grounded to third. Riedel was tagged out on the throw to the catcher. Burbank to second. J. Dunlap followed with a fly to right that was dropped. Bases were now loaded. A grounder up the middle was turned into a double play to end the inning. On the force outs, the runner at third does not score.
D. Greenwood pitched the third and fourth frames for Gray. He retired the side in the third. In the fourth, D. Woodcox singled with one out. He was out at second on a fielder's choice grounder to short. Greenwood struck out the last batter he faced .
After 4 innings, Gray was up 2-0.
T. Fox pitched the fifth and sixth stanzas for Blue. In the fifth, C. Walsh singled to left. Again a pinch runner took his spot on base. Hoyle laid down a great bunt and legged it to first. Runners now at first and second. Dukes singled to right. The runner at second was out at home trying to score. Hoyle and Dukes each advanced a base on the throw home. Bulman doubled down the right field line. Hoyle and Dukes scored. Bulman took third on an unassisted ground-out to first. An outfield fly ended the rally.
D. Wood pitched the fifth inning for Gray. Wood was perfect with two infield ground-outs and a strikeout.
C. Burgess finished up for Gray. A. Smigelski singled to center. G. West followed with a single to right. Smigelski to third. A pick-off attempt from the catcher to third base went past the third baseman and allowed Smigelski to score. A strikeout and two walks ended the scrimmage.
Final score Gray 4, Blue 1.
Next scrimmage is Friday evening.
October 1, 2021
Scrimmage
Unofficial guest recap
Gray team pitching.
Cooper Chandler started the game and threw one inning. He didn't have his best control and had a defensive miscue behind him. Even still, he showed his ability and presence on the mound we are excited about.
Caleb Matthews came in and showed signs of an electric arm going up to 94mph. He threw strikes and completed 2 innings.
Zaskoda provided 2 innings of work as well.
Roel completed the game for the Gray team and showed signs of the pitcher Rice fans have seen in the past. He was up to 95 mph and had a slider that would be as good as any in the conference.
Gray team offense.
Garibay reached safely in all his ABs and scored 2 runs.
Justin Long had 2 hits on the night as well.
Aaron Smigelski had a BB and 1B to RF as well.
Blue team pitching
Tom Vincent started for the Blue team and worked through some trouble but was able to get through 2 innings.
Reed Gallant came into the game and pitched 1 inning. He had a couple of defensive miscues to work around but was able to get through his inning.
Thomas Burbank pitched an inning.
Dalton Wood pitched 1 inning and retired the side in order.
Micah Davis finished the game and showed top of the line stuff going up to 97 mph and retiring the side in order as well.
Blue Team hitting.
The Blue team did a good job of working counts and putting ABs together and scored 4 in the first inning. The gray team didn't play clean defense in the game as a whole.
Pierce Gallo reached base everytime and had two hits with a BB.
Jack Riedel scored two runs.
Playing under the lights has been a good addition to the fall scrimmages and the players are starting to get their timing and the flow of the scrimmages should continue to improve. We are looking forward to the outside competition against Sam Houston next week.
October 6, 2021
Blue 6, Gray 3
Another lovely fall day for a scrimmage.
Blue put together two three run innings to beat Gray today 6-3.
On the mound first for Blue was T. Burbank. He pitched two innings. Gray scored an unearned run in the second frame. J. Hoyle reached second base on an infield error. Hoyle stole third and scored when the throw from the catcher went into left field. Burbank walked one and struck out two.
T. Clucas pitched the first two innings for Gray. In the bottom of first inning, J.Riedel ripped the first pitch to left-center for a double. D. Woodcox was HBP. G. Garibay reached second on an infield error. Riedel scored. Woodcox to third. N. Becker hit a sac-fly to left to score Woodcox. Garibay took third. A. Cruz drove home Garibay on a fielder's choice ground out. A . Smigelski was HBP and P. Gallo walked to load the bases. A strikeout ended the first.
In the second, J. Long doubled to center. J. Riedel singled to right. Riedel held at second. A fielder's choice grounder to third forced Riedel. Two fly ball outs ended the rally. Clucas allowed 3 runs, one earned run, 3 hits, one strikeout and hit a batter.
P. Smith pitched the third and fourth innings for Blue, He struck out the side in the third. In the fourth, A. Bulman singled with one out. Bulman advanced to second on a grounder to first. Hoyle reached on another infield error. Bulman to third. W. Burbank hit a ground rule double to left. Bulman scored. Hoyle to third. Hoyle scored on a passed ball. Burbank to third. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases. A fly out to center stranded all three runners. Smith allowed 2 runs, no earned runs, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts,.one walk and a hit batter.
Tanner Fox pitched in the third and fourth for Gray. in the third, A. Cruz hit a 420' HR to center to start the inning. Smigelski walked. He stole second and advanced to third on the throwing error. He held third on a pop fly to center. With the infield drawn in, he was out at the plate on the infield grounder to second and the throw home. B. Dukes reached first on the play. Dukes stole second. Long drove home Dukes on his HR to left. An infield out ended the inning. Fox struck out the two batters he faced in the fourth. Fox allowed 3 earned runs on two hits. He had 2 strikeouts and one walk.
G. Zaskoda closed out the fourth inning. He struck out a batter after an infield error.
C. Burgess pitched the fifth for Blue. He pitched a scoreless frame. With one out, G. West reached first on an infield hit. West stole second and reached third on a passed ball. A strikeout, walk and ground out ended the day.
Blue 6, Gray 3.
Sam Houston State next on Friday at 6:00 PM.
October 12, 2021
Gray 8, Blue 4 (8 1/2 innings)
Today the baseball scrimmage featured 17 pitchers throwing one inning each. Gray used a big 7 run inning to best Blue.
Each squad scored in just 2 innings.
In the bottom of the second, J. Dunlap led off with a homer to left.
Blue rallied in the fifth inning with 7 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. C. Hannigan opened the inning with a walk. A. Rosengard singled up-the-middle. B. Dukes walked to load the bases. G. Garibay walked to push home a run to tie the score at 1-1. A strikeout followed for the first out. N. Becker doubled down the right field line. Rosengard and Dukes scored. Garibay to third. A. Smigelski dropped a single into short center. Becker held second. Garibay scored. J. Hoyle singled to right to load-up the bases. M. Garza grounded to rightsize. First to pitcher to retire Garza. Becker scored. Smigelski to third. Hoyle to second. Hannigan laced a ball down the third base line into the left field corner for a triple. The two base-runners scored. Inning concluded.
It was now 7-1 Gray in the middle of the 5th.
In the bottom of the 6th, D. Woodcox homered to right with one out. J. Long walked. After an outfield fly out, Dunlap hit his second homer of the day. The inning ended on a strikeout.
Gray leads 7-4 after 6.
Gray scored the last run on the day in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Hoyle doubled to left. Garza singled to score Hoyle. Two walks followed until a fly to center ended the scoring.
That was the last run;
Final Gray 8, Blue 4.
The following pitchers faced three batters and allowed no runs: C. Matthews and M. Linskey for Blue. B. Deskins, D. Wood, T. Clucas, G. Zaskoda and M. Davis for Gray. Zaskoda gave up a lead off single to W. Burbank. Burbank was eliminated on infield DP. Davis walked a batter with one out and then the runner was picked-off. A fly ended the frame.
The following faced more than 3 batters and allowed no runs.
For Blue, R. Garcia walked a batter. A. DeLeon gave up a single to Hannigan. D. Greenwood walked 2 and hit a batter. C. Burgess hit a batter. R. Gallant gave up a single to Garibay and walked a batter.
For Gray, T. Burbank gave up a single to Long.
Owls play UH Friday night at Houston.
October 18, 2021
Gray 5, Blue 3 (6 1/2 innings)
It was a beautiful cloudless day. Gray won today 5-3.
G. Zaskoda pitched the first two frames for Blue. In the first for Gray, A. Smigelski singled to center. He took second on a throwing error on a pick-off attempt. After a ground-out to third for the first out, Smigelski advanced to third on a wild pitch. A. Bulman singled to center. Smigelski scored. On a double to center by P. Gallo, Bulman scored. B. Dukes drove home Gallo on a single to left. W. Burbank was HBP. A fly out was the second out. Another HBP to M. Garza loaded the bases. A grounder to second ended the first.
Zaskoda retired the side in order in the second.
T. Vincent pitched innings 1 & 2 for Gray. In the bottom of the first, A. Rosengard singled to open the frame. D. Woodcox hit a grounder to short. The runner was forced at second. Woodcox then stole second and third. He scored on J. Long's infield hit.
After 1 inning, Gray was up 3-1.
In the bottom of the second, J. Dunlap walked with one out. He then stole second. N. Becker doubled down the first baseline. Dunlap scored. A ground-out and pop-fly ended the rally.
After 2 innings, Gray was on top 3-2.
C. Burgess pitched innings 3 & 4 for Blue and M. Perkins took the mound for Gray.
Each pitcher threw a scoreless third inning.
In the top of the fourth, Gray tallied once. C. Hannigan walked. He advanced to second on another errant pick-off throw. With one out, Smigelski singled up the middle, Hannigan took third. G. West's sac-fly to right scored Hannigan, Smigelski advanced to third. Two walks loaded the bases. The inning ended on a fly-out.
Blue would answer in the bottom of the fourth with a run. With one out, Dunlap was HBP. He reached second on a ground-out to first. J. Hoyle was HBP. Rosengard singled to center. Dunlap scored. Hoyle to third. Rosengard was out in an attempt to take second on the throw to home. The throw was cut off and Rosengard was tagged for the third out.
After 4, it was 4-3 with Gray hanging onto the lead.
R. Gallant pitched innings 5 & 6 for Blue. T. Clucas pitched those stanzas for Gray.
Reed pitched a 1-2-3 fifth. Clucas did the same for Gray.
Gray struck for the final run of the scrimmage in the top of the sixth. Smigelski started the inning with his third hit of the day. West singled to right. Smigelski to third. On the third failed pick-off attempt of the da,y Smigelski scored and West advanced a base. Bulman was HBP. After a strikeout, Dukes singled to center. West and Bulman each moved up a base. An infield-fly-rule pop-up was the second out. A strike out ended the inning.
After a lead-off walk, Clucas would retire the next three batters,
After 6 innings, Gray leads 5-3.
M. Linskey pitched the final inning for Blue.
After H. Hughes walked, Smigelski hit a soft pop to short on the hit-and run play. Hughes was doubled up as he was nearly at second when the ball was caught. West followed with a double to the left field corner. A pop foul ended the scrimmage.
5-3 Gray.
We do it again tomorrow.
October 19, 2021
Gray 4, Blue 2 (6 innings)
Gray wins with a 3 run rally in the top of the sixth to overcome a 2-1 deficit. Final 4-2 for Gray.
Each squad sent three pitches to the bump today to pitch 2 innings each. I'll review each pitcher's turn in order of appearance.
C. Chandler opened against Gray. In the first, G. West doubled to left-center with one out. A, Bulman reached on an infield single to third. West advanced to third. P. Gallo walked to load the bases. B. Dukes walked to push home West. Chandler struck out the next two batters.
n the second inning, Bulman batted early because of class schedule. He doubled to right-center. Chandler struck out the next batter. H. Hughes reached on an infield error. Bulman to third. Chandler got the second out on another strikeout. West was HBP to load the bases. Chandler's fifth strikeout of the day ended the top of the second.
R. Garcia faced seven batters in his two scoreless innings. His fastball hit 97mph. He struck out two and walked one.
After 2 innings Gray was up 2-1.
P. Smith took over for Blue and pitched 2 perfect innings. Smith struck out one, had three ground outs, a pop foul and a fly to right.
C. Matthews pitched innings 3 & 4 for Gray. N. Becker doubled to center. J. Hoyle hit a hard shot to third that was fielded on a nice play. Unfortunately the throw to first was high and Becker went to third and Hoyle to second. A. Rosengard singled to center. Becker scored. Hoyle to third. D. Woodcox scored Hoyle on a sac-fly to right. Rosengard was caught stealing for the second out. An infield grounder ended the top of the third. J. Riedel walked to open the bottom of the fourth. Riedel was caught stealing. Matthews retired the next two batters on a fly and strikeout.
After 4 innings, Blue led 2-1.
T. Burbank pitched the final two frames for Blue. Burbank struck out the side in the fifth. In the sixth, he walked W. Burbank and C. Hannigan to open the inning. Appearing in his first scrimmage, J. Ben-Shoshan singled to left for his first hit of the fall. The bases were now loaded. A fly to right and Burbank's fourth K brought West to the plate. West fought off a couple pitches before looping a double into the right field corner to clear the bases. West was out on his attempt to triple.
M. Davis pitched two scoreless innings for Gray. With one out in the fifth, Hoyle reached on a bunt singled. He too was caught stealing. Rosengard walked. A fly to right end the fifth. In the sixth, G. Garibay walked. He stole second and third. J. Long walked. Davis got a strikeout and ended the scrimmage on a nice 5-4-3 double play.
Gray holds on for the win 4-2.
Another scrimmage tomorrow.
I will be attending the Women's Basketball scrimmage and Meet-and-Greet dinner tomorrow evening.
October 20, 2021
Blue 9, Gray 0
Unofficial guest recap
Blue defeated Grzy in a blowout today by a score of 9-0. Blue team dominated on the mound and at the plate. Blue sent 3 pitchers to the mound and only give up 1 hit, a late single up the middle by Hal Hughes that only stranded him there. Offensively, they had 11 hits and many of those for extra bases as Guy Garibay Jr. sent 2 offerings over the right field wall, one of which was over 430 ft.
In the first inning, Gray was retired in order by Drake Greenwood, striking out 2. In the bottom of the 1st, Blue only sent 4 batters to the plate as Graiden West reached on an infield single that Dalton Wood could not make a play on. Wood looked sharp, only throwing 12 pitches.
In the 2nd inning, Gray was again retired in order with 3 straight groundouts. It took Drake Greenwood just 25 pitches to get through 2 innings. In the bottom half of the inning, Blue opened the game up. It started with a leadoff walk to Justin Long. After a strikeout to Austin Bulman, Antonio Cruz singled to left and Ben Dukes followed with a double, driving in the first run of the game. Johnny Hoyle then hit a sac fly to center field for the 2nd run of the inning. Ben Rosengard then singled with an RBI and that was followed by a triple by Graiden West who pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury and left the game. Guy Garibay then hit a towering homerun that left the bat at 105 mph. The inning finally ended after Justin Long flied to right after 2 more walks by Dalton Wood.
Blue 6 – Grey 0
In the 3rd inning, Tanner Fox allowed a walk but got the next three outs on flyouts to the outfield on just 5 pitches. In the bottom half of the 3rd, Brandon Deskins came on to relieve Wood and gave up a quick single to Austin Bulman. After Cruz struck out looking, Ben Dukes drove in his 2nd run of the game with a double to left. Johnny Hoyle then followed with an RBI single, his second of the game, but was caught stealing on the next pitch by a perfectly thrown ball by Cullen Hannigan. Rosengard quietly grounded out to end the inning.
Blue 8 – Grey 0
Tanner Fox pitched the top of the 4th inning as well. Although he gave up 2 free passes to Gallo and Smigelski, he retired the other 3 batters on 2 ground balls and a liner to short. In the bottom of the 4th, Brandon Deskins gave up a bomb to Garibay to lead off the inning on the first pitch, a 405 ft. shot to right field. He retired the next 3 in order while striking out one.
Blue 9 – Grey 0
Alex DeLeon came on to pitch the top of the 5th. He retired Justin Dunlap to lead off the inning and then allowed a walk to Hannigan. Will Burbank flied to center field for the 2nd out. Gray had their only hit on the next at-bat as Hughes lined a single up the middle but Hannigan was thrown out at 2nd base after he rounded the base too aggressively and was thrown out by Garibay as he scurried back to the bag for the 3rd out.
Matthew Linskey pitched the sixth for Gray in his only inning of work. After the first 3 hitters reached base safely, he escaped the jam by getting an infield groundout force play at home followed by 2 swinging strikeouts.
A 1-2-3 inning by DeLeon ended the contest. Next game is Friday afternoon.
October 22, 2021
Blue 9, Gray 5 (9 innings)
Unofficial guest recap
A warm day at the Reck and Team Blue was at it again, defeating Gray by a score of 9-5 in 9 full innings.
There was a total of 18 different pitchers in todays contest, each getting their own inning of work.
In the top of the first, Roel Garcia made it look easy with a 1-2-3 inning on 10 pitches and 1 strikeout.
In the bottom frame, Blue quickly got on the board. Benjamin Rosengard led off with a walk and Drew Woodcox doubled him around to score to make it 1-0. After a Garibay groundout, Antonio Cruz a double to bring home Woodcox. Justin Long followed with a clean single of his own and then Ben Dukes drove in the 3rd run of the game with a groundout to short. Pierce Gallo ended the inning with a flyout to right.
Blue 3 Grey 0
In the top of the 2nd, Caleb Matthews came in for Blue. Austin Bulman smoked a double on the first pitch. After a Becker groundout and a Dunlap walk, Manny Garza flared a double down the right field line to score the first run in 2 games for Gray. Will Burbank followed with an RBI fielders choice before Hal Hughes ended the inning with a fielders choice of his own.
Blue 3 Gray 2
In the bottom of the second, Parker Smith had the easiest outing of the day with a 7 pitch 1-2-3 inning.
Top of the 3rd saw Mark Perkins come on a dominate his opponents by striking out the side.
Trey Clucas pitched the bottom of the 3rd and gave up a double to Cruz and a walk but got out of the jam with a couple of strikeouts and a liner to short.
In the top of the 4th,Alex Deleon faced just 4 batters giving up a lone double to Justin Dunlap.
In the bottom of the 4th, Reed Gallant got a little help from his defense as he gave up a single to lead off the inning but Will Burbank threw out Benjamin Rosengard trying to stretch it into a double. He then struck out Woodcox and got a flyout from Cruz.
In the top of the 5th, Garret Zaskoda looked strong, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.
In the bottom of the 5th, Brandon Deskins struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced as well, the last one on a 94 mph heater.
In the top of the 6th, Drake Greenwood pitched for Blue. Jack Riedel led off with a clean single and Jack Ben-Shoshan followed with a moonshot 2 run homer to left field. Grey managed a couple more singles but Greenwood kept the damage at just 2 runs after striking out 2 batters and a pop up to 2nd.
Gray 4, Blue 3
Tanner Fox pitched the bottom of the 6th. After walking the bases loaded, he got Cruz on an RBI groundout to short and escaped with allowing just the 1 run.
Gray 4, Blue 4
In the top of the 7th,Thomas Burbank came on for Blue and quickly got 2 outs. After walking Riedel, Jack Ben-Shoshan smacked a run scoring double to left, his 3rd RBI of the game. Bulman flied to center to end the inning.
Gray 5, Blue 4
In the bottom of the 7th, Tom Vincent came on to pitch for Gray. He gave up a double to Hoyle but surrendered an unearned run after Riedel misplayed a tough ball from Rosengard which tied the game.
Gray 5, Blue 5
Caleb Burgess came on to pitch the top of the 8th and got a 1-2-3 inning on just 9 pitches.
In the bottom of the 8th, Gray sent Dalton Wood to the mound. Ben Dukes hit a sac fly to center after a couple of walks and a single to give Blue the lead for good.
Blue 6, Gray 5
Micah Davis closed it out for Blue in the 9th facing just 4 batters.
Matthew Linskey came on in the bottom half of the inning to get some work. He allowed 2 walks and 2 hits and 3 runs while striking out 1.
Final score Blue 9, Gray 5
2/14