SPRING PRACTICE (January - February 2014)
Unofficial Recaps by Roger Tower and Bruce Chase
February 12, 2014 - Gray 5, Blue 1:
It was a great day for the final preseason practice and scrimmage of the spring. The day started with a lengthy session of various fielding drills. This was followed by batting practice that was concluded with practice versus a left-handed pitcher.
The scrimmage kicked-off at 5:16 PM with Evan Rutter starting for Blue.
John Williamson led-off and singled to center. The next batter lined out to third. Connor Teykl drew a four pitch walk. Williamson to second. JC Reeves singled to left scoring Williamson. A ground-out to first ended the inning.
Matt Ditman started for Gray. He retired the side on two ground-outs and a strike-out.
Trevor Teykl relieved Evan. Kirby Taylor singled to left. Trevor struck out the next hitter. A wild pitch moved Kirby to second. A deep fly-out to right advanced Kirby to third. A ground-out to second ended the rally.
Austin Orewiler came in to pitch the second inning for Gray. Austin struck-out the lead-off man. Keenan Cook singled up-the-middle, Keenan stole second-base and took third as the throw skipped into center. Hunter Kopycinski singled to center driving home Cook.
The next hitter forced Hunter at second on the fielder's choice to first. The final out was an infield ground-out third to first.
Nick Orewiler pitched the third and fourth inning for the Blue squad.
In the third,Kevin McCanna reached on an infield single to second. A wild pitched moved Kevin to second. Michael Aquino singled to left. Kevin to third. An error on a pick-off attempt scored Kevin and moved Aquino to third, Connor Teykl walked. A wild pitch scored Aquino and Teykl took second. A ground out to short advanced Teykl to third. Blake Fox drove home Teykl. Kirby Taylor walked. Fox to second. Chase McDowell singled to right-center. Fox scored. A strike-em-out throw-em-out double play ended the frame. Four runs scored.
John Williamson pitched the bottom of the third for Gray. Ford Stainback singled to right after the lead-off man struck-out, Two fly ball outs to right ended the bottom of the third.
Nick retired the side in order in the top of the fourth.
The final was 5-1 Gray.
Pitching lines:
Rutter 1.0 inn 1 R 2 H 1 BB
T. Teykl 1.0 inn 0 R 1 H 1 SO
N. Orewiler 2.0 inn 4 R 4 H 2 SO 2 BB
Ditman 1.0 inn 0 R 0 H 1 SO
A. Orewiler 1.0 inn 1 R 2 H 1 SO
Williamson 1.0 inn 0 R 1 H 1 SO
Hitting summary: 10 hits, all singles, no one had more than one hit. The following players each ahd a single:
Stainback, Cook, Kopycinski, Williamson, Aquino, Reeves, Fox, Taylor, McDowell, McCanna
RBI: 1 each for Kopycinski, Reeves, Fox, McDowell
SB: Cook
Go Owls!
February 10, 2014 - Gray 0, Blue 0:
At 1:30 PM it looked as if the worst of the rain may have passed us by. Unfortunately another heavy shower began around 2:00 PM. The team finally started pulling the tarp at 3:10 PM and play began at 3:42 PM.
Pitching again dominated. The pitchers were backed by two infield double plays.
Three and one-half innings of scoreless ball were squeezed in between the bands of rain.
Kevin McCanna and Ryan McCarthy each pitched two scoreless innings for Blue. Blake Fox also pitched two scoreless innings for the Gray while Caleb Smith got in one scoreless inning.
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Kevin walked one in the first. In the second Connor Teykl singled to left. Hunter Kopycinski walked. Kevin achieved the first out on a pop foul to the first baseman. An infield grounder to second was turned into a 4-6-3 double play to close the frame.
Kevin went 2 inn and had 0 R, 1 H, 1 SO, and 2 BB.
Fox retired the side in order in the first, in the second J. C. Reeves doubled over the center fielder's head. Ford Stainback walked. Blake then got the big double play ball 6-4-3.
A ground out to first ended the inning.
Ryan McCarthy pitched the third and fourth innings for Blue. In the third, he retired the side on two fly outs and a come-backer. In the fourth he had another come-backer, a fly to right, a walk to Connor, and a ground out to short.
Ryan pitched 2 inn and had 0 R, 0 H, 0 SO, and 1 BB.
Caleb Smith pitched the third inning for Gray. Caleb struck-out the lead-off man. Kevin McCanna reached on a wind aided pop that fell between the catcher, the pitcher and the first baseman. Another strike-out followed. The inning ended on a fly out to center.
Caleb pitched 1 inn, 0 R, 1 H, 2 SO, and 0 BB.
The game was called after 3 1/2 innings when the rains came back and the radar showed more storms to follow.
Another 0-0 tie.
There were just 3 hits on the day. C. Teykl had a single to left. Reeves had the double to center. McCanna had the infield single.
February 9, 2014 - Gray 0, Blue 0:
I could almost hear Ernie Banks asking to play two today. It was beautiful today. There was a nice crowd that showed up for the RBI get together.
It was a solid day for the four Owl pitchers. None allowed a run. Each one was clutch with runners in scoring position . The defense had two outfield assists and turned timely double plays.
Chase McDowell started for the Blue team. Charlie Warren led off with a double to right on the first pitch. After that, Chase retired the side on a fly to center and two infield pop-ups.
Jordan Stephens started for Gray. The lead-off man was retired on a line drive out to short. Shane Hoelscher doubled to left. Jordan retired the next two hitters on a fly to left and a strike out.
J. C. Reeves started the second with a single to left. A fly-out to right and a pop-up to short kept JC at first. Andrew Murphy drew a walk. Kevin McCanna singled sharply to right. Brian Smith fired a strike home to nail Reeves at the plate to end the inning.
Stephens struck out the first two batters in the second before walking McDowell. A fielder's choice grounder to third forced Chase at second. That was the end of Jordan's pitching for the day.
His line was 2 inn, 0 R, 1 H, 3 SO, 1 BB.
McDowell continued to pitch for Blue. In the third, he retired the side in order. In the fourth, he allowed a one out single to Connor Teykl. Connor advanced to second on a ground out to short. He took third on a wild pitch. He was stranded on a fly out to center.
In the fifth, Chase retired the lead-off man on a fly to right and Kevin McCanna reached an an infield error. Chase struck-out the next batter. Michael Aquino reached on an infield single to third.
Keenan Cook lined a shot to center-field. John Williamson turned and ran back toward the batter's eye. He stuck his glove hand up and speared the ball for the third out.
Chase finished his five innings with 0 R, 5 H, 1 SO and 1 BB.
Jon Duplantier relieved Jordan in the third. He retired the lead-off man on a grounder back to himself. He tagged the runner out. Andrew Dunlap singled to right. Williamson singled to right. Dunlap to second. The second out of the inning was a fly to right.
Ford Stainback singled to right. This time it was Keenan Cook who delivered the throw home to retire Dunlap as he tried to score.
In the fourth, Jon retired the first hitter on a grounder to third. Leon Byrd walked but was picked off. A ground-out to short ended the fourth.
In the fifth, Jon walked the lead-off man. He then induced a double play grounder short to second to first for two outs. Two walks followed but a grounder to second ended the frame.
After five innings, it was still 0-0.
Duplantier continued to pitch for Gray. In the sixth, Hoelscher led off with a single to left. Stainback walked. Jon then came up with a big strike-out for the first out. The inning closed on a 4-6-3 double play.
In the seventh, Jon retired the side in order getting a strike-out, a grounder back to the mound, and a pop-foul to the first baseman.
For the day, Duplantier pitched five innings. 0 R, 4 H, 2 SO, and 5 BB.
Zech Lemond relieved Chase and pitched the sixth and seventh innings. Zech retired the first two hitters on a grounder back to the mound and a pop-up to center. Kirby Taylor tripled to the right field corner. Another center field fly ball ended the sixth.
In the seventh, Andrew Murphy singled sharply through the hole on the left-side of the infield. A grounder back to Zech pushed Murphy to second. A grounder to second sent Murphy to third. A third infield ground out (third base) ended the game.
Lemond pitched two innings. 0 R, 2 H, 0 SO, and 0 BB.
For Blue, Hoelscher had a single and a double. Williamson, Stainback and Dunlap each had a single.
For Gray, Warren had a double. Singles were hit by Aquino, Reeves, C. Teykl, Taylor, Murphy and McCanna.
Hopefully the Owls get in two more scrimmages before leaving for Stanford.
February 5, 2014 - Gray 12, Blue 1:
The game began on a cool sunny afternoon. As the sun set and the temperature dropped those of us who were still present when John Williamson took the mound in the top of the tenth were nearly frozen to our chairs. Hopefully it gets warmer for this weekend.
The Gray team won 12-1 on the strength of three two run doubles (Ewing, Kopycinski and McCanna), a two run single (Cook) and solid pitching by Ditman, Rutter and Mason.
Gray opened the game by scoring 5 runs in the top of the first. Charlie Warren and Shane Hoelscher each walked. With one out, Skyler Ewing doubled to left scoring two runs. Keenan Cook walked with two outs. Hunter Kopycinski doubled to center scoring Ewing and Cook. Hunter scored on an infield error.
Blue stranded John Williamson and J. C. Reeves after each had singled.
It was 5-0 after one.
Trevor Teykl continued pitching for Blue and faced 3 hitters in each of the next three innings. Austin Orewiler pitched a scoreless fifth.
Matt Ditman pitched 5 shut-out innings for Gray.
After five innings it was 5-0 Gray.
In the sixth, Gray scored two runs with two outs. Kopycinski singled and Kirby Taylor walked. Kevin McCanna drove them home with a double. A fly-out to left ended the rally.
Rutter pitched a scoreless sixth.
After 6, it was 7-0 Gray.
In the seventh, Hoelscher singled to left. He advanced to second on a fielder's choice grounder to second. Ewing tripled to center scoring Hoelscher. Aquino ripped a single past third to score Ewing. Two outs followed.
Blue appeared ready to get on the board when Andrew Murphy singled to right. He was eliminated on a 4-6-3 double play. Brian Smith hustled his way into a double on a ball hit to left of center. He was picked off second base to end the inning.
Gray's lead was now 9-0.
In the eighth, Nick Orewiler held Gray scoreless. Blue finally got on the board in the eighth. With one out, Williamson singled. He moved to second on a passed ball. He reached third on an infield ground-out. He scored on a single to right by J. C. Reeves. McDowell walked but an infield pop-up ended the frame.
It was now 9-1 Gray.
Gray added three more runs in the ninth. Ewing singled with one out leaving him a home-run shy of hitting for the cycle. Aquino walked. An errant pick-off throw advanced each runner a base.
Cook's single to center scored the runners. Hunter reached on an error. Cook to second. Keenan and Hunter pulled off a double steal to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Kirby Taylor scored Cook with a double to right. Hunter stopping at third. The inning was called.
Connor Mason pitched a scoreless ninth.
12-1 Gray after 9.
Williamson finally made his appearance in the top of the tenth.
He struck out the first two men he faced. A full count walk followed. A grounder to short forced the runner at second to end the scrimmage.
Game over. Final Gray 12 Blue 1.
Time to get home and warm-up.
It's good to be back.
February 4, 2014 - Gray 4, Blue 3:
Gray (4 runs - 12 hits)
Gray hitting:
Warren 5ab, 2h, 0r
Aquino 5ab, 2h, 1r, 3k
Stainback 5ab, 1h, 1r
Ewing 4AB, 1h, 0r, 1rbi
Teykl 4ab, 2h, 1r, 1k
Kopycinski 3ab, 2h,0r, 1BB, 3rbi
Cook 4ab, 2h, 1r
Murphy 4ab, 0h, 0r
Dunlap 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k
Gray pitching:
McCarthy 5ip, 20bf, 2r, 4h (1-2b), 1k, 1BB
C Smith 4ip, 13bf, 1r, 2h (1-2b), 4k, 3BB
Blue (3 runs, 6 hits)
Blue hitting:
Williamson 5ab, 1h, 1r, 2k
Hoelscher 4ab, 2h (2b), 1r, 1rbi, 1sac
Byrd 4ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB
Reeves 3ab, 1h, 0r, 2BB, 1rbi
Taylor 5ab, 1h,0r
McDowell 3ab, 1h (2b), 0r, 1BB
McCanna 3ab, 0h, 0r
Fox 4ab, 0h, 0r, 3k
Blue pitching:
Fox 4ip, 19bf, 4r, 7h, 2k
McCanna 5ip, 20bf, 5h, 4k, 1BB
Time: 2:22, weather: Cloudy and cool
February 3, 2014 - Gray 3, Blue 2:
Gray (3 runs - 7 hits)
Gray hitting:
Williamson 3ab, 1h, 0r, 1BB,1 rbi
Hoelscher 4ab, 1h (2b), 0r, 2K
Stainback 4ab, 2h, 1k, 1 rbi
Ewing 4ab, 0h, 0r, 1k
Byrd 4ab, 1h, 0r, 2k, 1rbi
Kopycinski 4ab, 0h, 0r
Smith 3ab, 0h, 0r
McDowell 3ab, 2h (1-2b), 2r
Gray pitching:
McDowell 5ip, 16bf, 1r, 4h, 4k, 1WP
Duplantier 3ip, 10bf, 1h, 1k, 1BB, 1WP
Blue (2 runs - 5 hits)
Blue hitting:
Warren 3ab, 1h, 1r
Aquino 3ab, 1h (2b), 0r, 1k
Cook 3ab, 0h, 0r, 2k
Reeves 3ab, 0h, 0r
Teykl 3ab, 2h, 1r, 1k
Murphy 3ab, 0h, 0r
Fox 3ab, 1h, 0r
McCanna 3ab, 0h, 0r
Dunlap 1ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB, 1k
Blue pitching:
Stephens 4.1ip, 17bf, 2r, 4h (2-2b), 4k, 1BB
Lemond 3.2ip 13bf, 1r, 3h, 2k
Time: 2:04, weather: cloudy & cool
January 31, 2014 - Blue 6, Gray 2:
Gray (2 runs - 10 hits)
Gray hitting:
Williamson 4ab, 1h
Hoelscher 4ab, 2h, 1r, 2k
Stainback 3ab, 0h, 1BB, 1K
Ewing 4ab, 2h, 1r, 1k, 1rbi
Byrd 4ab, 1h, 1sb
Kopycinski 4ab, 0h, 1k
McDowell 3ab, 1h, 1bb, 1k, 1rbi
Smith 3ab, 1h
Dunlap 3ab, 2h, 1k
Gray pitching:
A Orewiler 4ip, 17bf, 3r, 4h (1-2b), 4k, 1hbp
Rutter 2ip, 10bf, 2r, 2h, 1BB
Williamson 2ip, 10bf, 1r, 3h (1-2b), 3k, 1BB
Blue (6 runs - 9 hits)
Blue hitting:
Warren 4ab, 2h (1-2b), 1k, 2rbi, 1SH
Aquino, 3ab, 0h, 1r, 1BB
Cook 3ab, 1h, 1SB, 1k, 1rbi, 1SF
Reeves 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB, 1k
Teykl 4ab, 2h, 1r, 1k
Taylor 3ab, 1h (1-2b), 1hbp
Fox 4ab, 0h,0r, 1k
Murphy 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k
McCanna 4ab, 3h, 1r, 1rbi
Blue pitching:
Ditman 4ip, 14bf, 1r, 3h, 2k, 1BB
T Teykl 3ip, 11bf, 0r, 1h, 5k, 1BB
N Orewiler 2ip, 9bp, 1r, 6h, 1WP
Time:2:29, weather: cloud & balmy January 30, 2014 - Gray 6, Blue 1: Gray (6 runs - 8 hits) Gray pitching: Blue (1 run - 3 hits) Blue hitting: Blue pitching: Time: 2:08, weather: cloudy and cool January 29, 2014 - Gray 4, Blue 1: Gray (4 runs - 6 hits) Gray pitching: Blue (1 run - 2 hits) Blue hitting: Blue pitching: Time: 2:02. Weather was a bit chilly but it was a nice day.
Gray hitting:
Williamson 5ab, 2h, 1r, 1sb, 2k, 1BB
Hoelchser 5ab, 2h, 1r, 2k
Stainback 4ab, 0h, 0r, 1bb, 1rbi
Ewing 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k, 1rbi, 1SAC
Byrd 3ab, 1h, 2r, 2sb, 1BB
B Smith 4ab, 0h, 0r
Kopycinski 3ab, 1h, 2r, 1BB
McDowell 2ab, 2h, 0r, 2BB, 1rbi
McCanna 4ip, 14bf, 0r, 1h, 1k, 2bb
Mason 2ip, 9bp, 0r, 2h, 1bb
McElligott 0ip, 3bp, 1r, 2bb, 1hbp
Warren 4ab, 1h, 0r
Taylor 4ab, 0h, 0r
Cook 2ab, 0h, 1r, 1sb, 1hbp, 1BB
Reeves 1 ab, 0h, 0r, 3BB
Teykl 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB
Murphy 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1k
Fox 3ab, 2h, 0r
C Smith 3ip, 19bf, 4r, 5h, 2k, 4BB
McCarthy 4 ip, 17bf, 2r, 3h, 4k, 1BB
Gray hitting:
Williamson 3ab, 0h, 1rbi, 1SAC
Hoelscher 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k
Stainback 4ab, 1h, 0r, 1sb
Ewing 4ab, 1h,1r
Byrd 3ab, 2h, 2r, 1sb, 1BB, 1k
Kopycinski 3ab, 0h, 1r, 1BB
Fox 2ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB
Smith 3ab, 2h (1-2B), 0R, 1k, 1rbi
Dunlap 0ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB
Stephens 4ip, 13bf, 1r, 1h, 3k, 0BB
Fox 3ip, 11bf, 0r, 2h, 6k, 0BB
Warren 3ab, 0h, 0R, 1k
Aquino 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1k
Cook 2ab, 0h, 0r, 1k
Reeves 2ab, 1h(2b), 1r
Teykl 2ab, 0h, 0r,1k
Taylor 1ab, 1h, 0r, 1rbi, 1SAC
McCanna 2ab, 0h, 0r, 2k
Murphy 2ab, 0h, 0r
McDowell 2ab, 0h, 0r, 1k
McDowell 3ip,17bf, 4r, 4h, 2k, 3BB
Lemond 3ip, 10bf, 0r, 1h, 1k, 1BB
January 26, 2014 - Gray 8, Blue 3:
Gray (8 runs - 9 hits)
Gray hitting:
C. Warren 3ab, 1h, 1run,1 SB, 1HP, 1RBI, 1 SAC;
M Aquino 4ab, 2h (1-2B, 1-3B), 2runs, 1BB, 1K, 2 RBI's;
K. Cook 4ab, 0h, 1run, 1BB;
J.C. Reeves 3ab, 2h (2-2B) 1BB, 1RBI;
B. Fox 3ab, 2h 0runs 1BB;
K. Taylor 1ab, 0h, 1run, 3BB 1RBI;
L. Byrd 4ab, 1h, 1run, 1RBI;
A. Murphy 3ab, 0h, 0runs, 1SB, 1BB, 1K;
K. Mc Canna 2ab, 1h, 1run, 1RBI, 1BB, 1RBI, 1 SAC;
Gray Pitching:
T. Teykl 3IP, 11BF, 0r, 1h, 3K's;
A. Orewiler 2IP, 8BF, 0r, 1h, 2K's;
N. Orewiler 2IP, 11BF, 2runs, 3hits, 2K's;
C. Mason 1IP 5BF, 1r, 2hits.
Blue(3 runs-7hits).
Blue hitting:
J. Williamson 4ab, 0h, 0r 1K;
S. Hoelscher 4ab, 0r, 0h 3K's;
F. Stainback 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB;
S. Ewing 3ab, 1h, 2runs, 1BB, 1K;
C. Teykl 4ab, 3hits, (1-2B), 2RBI's;
H. Kopycinski 4ab, 1h, 0r, 1K, 1 RBI;
C. McDowell 4ab, 1h, 0r, 1K;
B. Smith 3ab, 1h, 0r, 1SB, 1HP;
A. Dunlap 1ab, 0h, 0r 2BB;
Blue Pitching:
J. Duplantier 2IP, 12BF, 3runs, 3hits,;
M. Ditman 2IP, 10BF, 1run, 3hits, 1K;
E. Rutter 2IP, 7BF, 2hits,;
John Williamson 1.1IP, 10BF, 4runs, 1 hit, 1K;
Time 2:37. Weather was picture perfect.
January 25, 2014 - Gray 4, Blue 2:
You have to love Texas weather. After the cold and iced roads of yesterday, today was a beautiful day for spring baseball.
Gray pitching bested Blue in a 4-2 scrimmage that went into the tenth inning. The game was called due to time limits.
The first three Gray pitchers held Blue to four hits while walking only one and hitting one other batter.
Blake Fox gave up a triple to Brian Smith. Smith scored on a sac-fly. Charlie Warren singled off Blake. Blake struck-out one, walked one, and hit one.
Jordan Stephens pitched three perfect innings while striking out three.
Chase McDowell threw three shut-out innings while striking out four. He allowed singles to Charlie Warren and Kevin McCanna.
Max McElligott pitched in the tenth giving up three walks and one run. He retired two before time ran out. The run scored on a sac-fly by Hunter Kopycinski.
Kevin McCanna pitched 2.2 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. He struck out one and walked two. In the first, Michael Aquino singled to left. He advanced to second on an error on a pick-off attempt. He scored on a single to center by J C Reeves.
In the second, Chase McDowell walked with one out. After a line-out to short, Fox dropped a double into center to score Chase.
In the third, a lead-off double by Aquino was followed by two outs. Connor Teykl walked and Ryan McCarthy relieved McCanna.
McCarthy retired the batter on one pitch.
Ryan pitched a total of three innings allowing 1 run and 6 hits. He hit one batter, walked none, and struck-out one. He gave up an RBI single to Murphy, a single to McDowell, two singles to Fox, and two singles to John Williamson.
With two out in the sixth, Caleb Smith relieved McCarthy. Caleb retired the batter on a fly out.
Caleb pitched 1.2 innings giving up an unearned run in the ninth. Kirby Taylor got tow singles off Caleb. Kirby also stole two bases. Kirby's second hit in the ninth came with two out. He stole second and advanced to third on an infield error.
Zech Lemond relieved Caleb. Another infield error allowed an unearned run to score. Lemond retired the next batter in the ninth for the third out and pitched a perfect tenth inning striking out one.
For the Gray, Fox had three hits. Williamson, Aquino and Taylor each had two hits. Reeeves, Murphy and McDowell each had one hit.
For the Blue, Warren had two hits and Brian Smith and Kevin McCanna had a hit apiece.
Go Owls!
Gray (6 runs - 8 hits) Gray hitting: 5ab, 2h, 1r, 1sb, 2k, 1BB5ab, 2h, 1r, 2k 4ab, 0h, 0r, 1bb, 1rbi 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k, 1rbi, 1SAC3ab, 1h, 2r, 2sb, 1BB4ab, 0h, 0r3ab, 1h, 2r, 1BB2ab, 2h, 0r, 2BB, 1rbiGray pitching:4ip, 14bf, 0r, 1h, 1k, 2bb 2ip, 9bp, 0r, 2h, 1bb 0ip, 3bp, 1r, 2bb, 1hbpBlue (1 run - 3 hits)Blue hitting:4ab, 1h, 0r4ab, 0h, 0r 2ab, 0h, 1r, 1sb, 1hbp, 1BB 1 ab, 0h, 0r, 3BB 3ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB3ab, 0h, 0r, 1k 3ab, 2h, 0r Blue pitching:3ip, 19bf, 4r, 5h, 2k, 4BB 4 ip, 17bf, 2r, 3h, 4k, 1BBTime: 2:08, weather: cloudy and cool Gray hitting: 3ab, 0h, 1rbi, 1SAC 4ab, 0h, 0r, 2k 4ab, 1h, 0r, 1sb 4ab, 1h,1r 3ab, 2h, 2r, 1sb, 1BB, 1k3ab, 0h, 1r, 1BB 2ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB 3ab, 2h (1-2B), 0R, 1k, 1rbi 0ab, 0h, 0r, 1BB