State tournament G5: WR 7U 11, North Wake 1

The trip to the movie theater was enjoyed by all. That's especially true of the dads, some of whom expressed their approval for the fine cinematography in unique ways.

Back at the field, the 5 p.m. start was pushed back to 5:30, allowing North Wake to finish off a lengthy win over Deep River. That set up a semifinal matchup against a team 7U Blue had defeated twice last weekend at districts.

North Wake hit the ball much harder than they did in those meetings, and took an early 1-0 lead. Only some stellar defense, including a key third-inning double play, kept the Rockets off the board for the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile, West Raleigh cranked out just enough offense--you know you're spoiled when scoring 11 runs and getting the mercy rule in the fourth inning is "just enough offense"--to ice the win.

With the win, West Raleigh moved into the 7U ENC state championship game. That's heady stuff, which meant the kids mostly reacted by eating watermelon and singing Call Me Maybe, while the parents prepared in their own special ways.

Game 5 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
Trailing 1-0 again, Gavin reached on a fielder's choice with two down. Chace blasted a long line drive to left-center that scored Gavin and tied the game, and then Jake singled through the middle. Mason's long single to left scored Chace and gave West Raleigh the lead.
Score after one inning: WR 7U 2, North Wake 1

Second inning
This time, the big inning was the second. Timmy led off with a single, and Alex reached on a grounder back through the box. Elias laid down a gorgeous bunt single to load the bases, and Bryce's fielder's choice scored Timmy. Joseph went back through the middle for a single that made it 4-1, and then Gavin launched a triple to right-center that scored two. Chace singled, and Mason mushed (that's a combination of "Mason" and "crushed") a ball to left-center that scored a pair.
Score after two innings: WR 7U 8, North Wake 1


Fourth inning
Needing just three runs to enact the mercy rule, JT led off with a line drive single to left. Gavin's double scored him, and then Chace's double scored Gavin. Jake singled to put the winning run on third base, and Mason ended it with a walk-off mush to left.
Score after four innings: WR 7U 11, North Wake 1

Game 5 Web Gems

• Bryce made a diving run-saving stop of a grounder at second base with two outs in the first, then threw to first to retire the side.
• On North Wake's leadoff man in the second, JT moved smoothly to his left to gobble up a chopper and fired to first for the out.
• On perhaps the highlight reel play of the day, North Wake had the leadoff man on second base in the third. The second man up hit a grounder to Gavin, who checked the runner back to second and rocketed a seed to first. Chace gathered in the throw from shortstop and came aggressively off the bag when he spotted the runner from second making a dash from third. JT went over to cover the bag, received the strong throw from Chace, and put the tag on the runner for a sweet 6-3-5 double play.
• Asher ended the game by tossing off his mask and gathering a pop fly at catcher.

Game 5 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
North Wake	1	0	0	0	X	X	1	6
West Raleigh 7U	2	6	0	3	X	X	11	16