State tournament G6: WR 7U 20, Winterville 10

It's a testament to what an incredible season 7U Blue put together that a 20-10 win that utilized the mercy rule after five innings felt like a nail-biting, pressure-packed affair. This, finally, seemed like a close game. And from the moment Coach Lance rolled into the parking lot with a blast from the 8U Blue RV, to the last swing of the bat from Ben, it felt every bit like a championship game is supposed to feel, including the kid from Winterville who walked over to the West Raleigh dugout three separate times to inquire if 7U Blue was using illegal bats. His final trip eventually prompted Coach Eric's Hall of Fame line of the season: "No. I'm not talking to you. Go away." Simple yet effective.

West Raleigh had played from behind in the day's two earlier games, but this time they faced a 3-0 deficit going into the bottom of the first. As Coach Sean said after the game, "I loved how you guys responded. You just said, 'No big deal. They haven't seen the West Raleigh bats yet.'" The answer was an 8-run bottom of the first.

That trend continued throughout the game. Winterville scored in the top half of the first four innings, building a little momentum going into the bottom half. But then 7U Blue answered every time--in all five of the game's innings, they plated an equal or greater number of runs than what Winterville had scored in the same frame. Because of that, the visitors were never able to make any progress on trimming the lead, and West Raleigh maintained the comfortable--or at least it was probably supposed to feel comfortable--advantage.

The championship was clinched with a three-run bottom of the fifth, capped by Ben's RBI double that scored Joey. Coach Sean (or, as the PA announcer likes to call him, "Scene Gallagher") celebrated in his usual fashion, except instead of a lampshade on his head, this time it was a water cooler.

That was the first of two coolers dumped on him, a process that taught us all a very valuable lesson: due to the height difference, it is extremely hard for a seven-year-old to dump a cooler on an adult.

In looking through the quick snaps I took with my phone (any of the pros out there who want to send me a link to your shots, we'll put that on the blog ASAP), my favorite shot isn't even in focus. It's the moment right after the 20th run crossed the plate and the teams had shaken hands. As Coach Sean returned to the dugout, the entire team sprinted out to him to celebrate:

 
A lot of hard work by a lot of great kids went into the joy that's evident in that shot.

The next move for 7U Blue is uncertain. There might be one more tournament in their future, but Coach Sean said he wanted to give everyone a few days off to try and wash the incredibly sweaty load of laundry decompress. An email will be forthcoming from him in the next few days. In the meantime, these stats sum up the incredible run to a state championship for 7U Blue:

• West Raleigh outscored the opposition 116-13 at the state tournament.
• As a team at the state tournament, West Raleigh pounded out 137 hits and batted .634.
• For the entire summer, in games played only against 7U competition, West Raleigh outscored the opposition 197-18.

Coach Sean punctuated his postgame comments to the team with this: "I haven't been more proud of a group I've been associated with." It was evident in the way everyone lingered to take photos--literally staying until the field personnel turned the lights out (or, in this case, maybe the lights just went out)--that everyone agreed with him.

Oh, and one more thing: there is no practice on Sunday. Spend your time admiring the shine on your state championship trophy:

Championship game West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
Facing their biggest deficit since playing the 8U Blue squad in Wilmington in mid-June, 7U Blue responded with a big inning that stole the momentum right back from Winterville. Bryce reached in his leadoff spot, then came all the way around to score on JT's thunderous triple. Gavin drove in JT with a single, and then Chace singled. Jake singled, and some adventures in the Winterville infield brought home a pair. Mason's grounder to third put runners at the corners, and Joey singled home Jake. Ben picked up the first of a couple big hits with an RBI single and hustled all the way around to score to complete the scoring.
Score after one inning: WR 7U 8, Winterville 3

Second inning
JT led off with a single and moved to second on Gavin's single. Chace singled home JT, and then Jake blasted a two-run double.
Score after two innings: WR 7U 11, Winterville 5


Third inning
Gavin's two-run single scored Elias and Bryce after the inning began with a bit of a debate with the opposing scorekeeper. Luckily, everyone involved stayed totally calm. In fact, after the medication and the laughing gas, I barely even remember what happened, other than I know for darn sure that Alex was supposed to be leading off, just like he did. For those wondering what was being said during the discussion behind the plate, I believe the other coach said, "I really admire your team's full commitment to the Frogg Togg," and I replied, "I do not find that cowbell one of your fans is ringing at all annoying."
Score after three innings: WR 7U 13, Winterville 7


Fourth inning
All four runs crossed the plate with two outs. Timmy started the rally by reaching on a grounder to the left side, and then Alex singled. What happened next is a little hazy, because I was having high-level rules discussions with Coach Chris, the oracle of the baseball rulebook. I do know that Elias put the ball in play and beat it out. Winterville proceeded to toss the ball all over the field, and by the time the dust had settled, three runs were in. Bryce followed with a hard grounder that couldn't be fielded, and then JT singled in Bryce.





Score after four innings: WR 7U 17, Winterville 10

Fifth inning
Needing just three runs to clinch the state championship (due to the mercy rule), Gavin led off with a single. Chace followed with another single--the pair went a combined 8-for-8 in the title game--before Jake's fielder's choice put runners at the corners with one down. Mason's grounder scored Gavin, and then Joey's two-out single scored Jake. Ben smoked the walk-off, state title-clinching hit with a double deep to center that scored Joey and touched off a wild celebration...oh, and the kids were happy, too.
Score after five innings: WR 7U 20, Winterville 10



Championship Game Web Gems

• Against a team that wanted to make liberal use of the bunt, the West Raleigh infield defended that play very well. JT and Mason made several strong plays charging in from third base and taking away the bunt, and Asher came out from behind the plate to throw out one bunter.
• With two runners on and Winterville threatening to cut into their 8-5 deficit in the second inning, Chace stayed with a spinning grounder straight down the first base line, swallowed it up, and tagged the bag to end the threat.
• The backbreaking defense came in the fifth. Winterville put their first two hitters on base--the bottom two batters in their order. That brought up their hard-hitting top of the order. The leadoff man rocketed a shot down the third base line, but there was JT waiting for it. He snagged the ball out of the air, and without hesitation turned to fire to second to double off the lead runner.
• On the very next play, Gavin got some major air and hauled in a line drive for the third out.

Game 6 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Winterville	3	2	2	3	0	X	10	11
West Raleigh 7U	8	3	2	4	3	X	20	20