Top Gun All-Star Weekend Game 5: WR 8U Blue 6, WR 7U Blue 2

In what amounted to a traveling advertisement for West Raleigh Baseball, 7U met top-seeded 8U for the tournament championship on Sunday afternoon at 2:30. The teams began the day by gathering near the pitcher's mound for a few quick reminders of the kind of baseball and sportsmanship they were expected to demonstrate:

 The game marked the fifth game in the past 24 hours for 7U, but the players showed no ill effects from the busy day (the parents, well, you can't expect them to be as focused as a group of 13 seven-year-olds). They held the very powerful 8U team scoreless in the first, and limited them to just a single run in the second and third innings.

8U was also playing very solid defense, however, and they used a big outfield assist in the first to hold 7U scoreless, and then retired nine of the next ten hitters. The "big brothers" (of course, in Alex's case, it was the actual big brother) broke the game open in the fifth, plating four runs on the way to a 6-2 win and the tournament championship. The game greatly impressed the umpires who did the game (and several other games over the weekend). "I can't believe seven- and eight-year-olds can play baseball like that," the home plate umpire was heard to marvel after the game. That's especially impressive considering that he appeared to have seen more than a few baseball games in his time.

Both teams posed for a group West Raleigh photo after the game:

Coach Lance, the 8U coach, was very gracious in his comments to 7U, saying he was impressed with how hard they played and how much fun they had on the field. The rewards for that hustle, fun and hard work? The irresistible shine of trophies...

"I'm proud of how well you played, but more importantly, I'm proud of how hard you played," Coach Sean told the team after the long day. "That is a very good team, but you weren't afraid to play those guys. You went out and played against them like you wanted to beat them, and that's how I want us to play."

Coach Sean also asked, "Should we go play another game right now?" The players answered him with boisterous cheers. The parents, ah, didn't. Fortunately, Coach Kevin volunteered to take everyone to the beach, so a sixth game was avoided.

However, 7U Blue will be back on the practice field tomorrow, with a 5 p.m. scrimmage against a team from Sanford. Players voted to wear their blue game jerseys. There will not be a full pregame.

Coach Sean's assignment between now and tomorrow is to fine-tune his pregame speeches. Coach Kevin has turned into the Maestro of the Pregame, and Coach Sean tried to summon a little "I Believe" magic before the 8U game. You might say that it was not quite as finely tuned as some others. There may have to be a special session scheduled for pregame chant practice, perhaps as a doubleheader practice with Coin Flipping 101.

Game 5 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Sixth inning
After knocking on the door for five innings, 7U pushed across a couple runs in the top of the sixth. The rally was perhaps inspired by Coach Sean, who picked that exact moment to display his vast knowledge of Spanish. Having taken two years of Spanish at a fine institution like Wake Forest, Coach Sean...er...Entrenador Sean knew that the phrase for "lots of hits" was "muchos hitatos." (Side note: this may not be an exactly correct translation)

Despite the somewhat dubious attempt at bilingualism, Senor Ben led off with a single, his fourth straight hit on the afternoon. Senor Elias followed with a single, and then Senor Asher sacrificed the runners to second and third. Senor Alex's fielder's choice scored Ben, and then "El Catfish" Trey laid down a perfect bunt that scored Elias--and Trey hustled it out to beat the play at first and turn the bunt into a single.
Score after five and a half innings: WR 8U 3, WR 7U 2

Game 5 Web Gems

• With the bases loaded in the first, Timmy speared a potentially multiple run-scoring line drive in right field. The catch ended the inning and prevented 8U from getting a big shot of early momentum. It also foreshadowed some very solid outfield play from 7U.
• With runners at the corners, Elias hustled over to the left-field line to scoop up a hard line drive by Luke. He then quickly fired the ball straight to the cutoff man, Gavin, who turned and spotted Lawson trying to score. Gavin made a perfect relay throw to Jake, who tagged Lawson out and cut the 8U scoring off at just one third-inning run.
• Just before the fourth inning began, Coach Sean proclaimed he had a "gut feeling," and moved Bryce to third and JT to left-center. He may not be very good at coin tosses, but Coach Sean's gut feelings are otherwise very solid. Bryce made the first out by fielding a grounder and throwing to first, and then JT plucked a fly ball out of the air in left-center for the second out. Timmy completed the 1-2-3 inning by grabbing a fly ball in right-center, and Coach Sean immediately left the field to go to Las Vegas.

Game 5 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	9
WR 8U Blue	0	1	1	0	4	X	6	11