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

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

State tournament G4: WR 7U 25, Laurinburg 1

The single-elimination portion of the ENC 7U state tournament began with a 12:30 game against Laurinburg in Wilson. With West Raleigh in the unfamiliar home position, Laurinburg took an early 1-0 lead. Then, however, 7U Blue came to bat. They pounded out a season-high 35 hits on the way to a 25-1 win.

The win was made possible by the hard work of Coach Ken, who heard a rumor that everyone who contributed got a trophy and promptly tried to look busy:

Coach Sean seemed more impressed by the hitting than the housecleaning. "I don't think the New York Yankees could have stopped you guys the way you were hitting the ball today," he told the team after the four-inning victory that was shortened by both the mercy rule and some creative baserunning. "You killed the ball. And I'm also very proud of the way you played that game."

The win moved 7U Blue into the state semifinals, but not before a quick trip to the movie theater for the team. Coach Sean, meanwhile, had other business to take care of.

Game 4 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
Laurinburg pushed across a run in the top of the first, marking the first time West Raleigh trailed in the state tournament. It didn't last long. 7U Blue batted around in the first inning for the third time in four games...and then they batted around again. In the same inning.

It started when Trey singled leading off. Joseph followed with a hard-hit single that ended up advancing the runners to second and third. Both scored on Gavin's single back through the middle, and Chace signaled the start of a red-hot Saturday for him with a single to right, scoring Gavin. Jake began his 4-for-4 game with a line drive to right that turned into three bases. Bryce drove him home with a single, and then Mason's hard hit to the left side was too hot to handle. Joey singled to drive in a run and Ben's fielder's choice scored a run. With the bases clear, Asher began the parade again, singling back through the middle. Back at the top of the order, Trey singled. Joseph's blast was caught for two outs, but the scoring wasn't done yet. Fourteen more runs came across with two outs.

That began with Gavin's triple to deep right-center, scoring a pair. Chace and Jake each knocked in runs, and then Mason scored two with a double. Joey's grounder to the left side scored Bryce, and Ben singled to left to score Mason. Asher's single the other way loaded the bases. Elias singled to center to drive in a run, and then Timmy did the same. Gavin picked up his third hit and third RBI of the inning with a single, and Chace did likewise (keep in mind that some of these "singles" might have been much more in a typical situation). Jake blasted yet another line drive, this time scoring Timmy, and Bryce's single scored Gavin. Alex singled in Chace to end the inning--an incredible frame in which every player on the roster got at least one hit.
Score after one inning: WR 7U 22, Laurinburg 1

Second inning
Ben singled with one out and moved to second on Asher's single. Elias got his second straight hit, and Timmy, Gavin and Chace each picked up RBI. Coach Sean also showed good creativity by "accidentally" touching Asher going around third base to get an out.
Score after two innings: WR 7U 25, Laurinburg 1

Game 4 Web Gems

• Joey continued his stellar play in left-center field, making a leaping catch of a potential extra-base hit in the first. 
• On the very next hitter, Coach Joe made a ridiculous catch on a foul ball that hit off the alleged "concession stand," where they spent most of their time gleefully counting their money from all the people who had to leave their coolers in the car. Anyway, the ball bounced off the roof, caromed to the side, and Coach Joe made a running catch, after which the PA announcer, who didn't like to hear himself talk at all, informed Coach Joe he could get a lollipop. This is a postgame photo of Coach Joe.
• Back on the field, Gavin jumped high to spear a line drive to end the second.
• In the fourth and final inning, Jake made a stellar scoop of a low throw at first base to get the second out.

Game 4 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Laurinburg	1	0	0	0	X	X	1	5
West Raleigh 7U	22	3	0	X	X	X	25	35

District Tournament G3: WR 7U 12, North Wake 0

Say, do these guys look familiar?

Yep, that's your 2012 coin flip champions 2012 district champions--West Raleigh 7U. Sunday morning's 12-0 win over North Wake capped an impressive weekend with a combined margin of 52-4 over the other seven-year-old teams. The victory also earns 7U a berth in the state tournament in Wilson/Black Creek on July 5-9. Based on past weather at that event, you probably want to start icing down your Frogg Toggs now.

Sunday's game got off to an unexpected start when Coach Sean mistakenly won the coin toss, giving Blue a chance to play defense first. Both teams played solid defense through the first two innings, with only one runner for either side advancing as far as third base. But after neither team could push a run across, the West Raleigh bats woke up in the third, and they would eventually plate a game-winning dozen runs in the frame.

How potent was the 7U offense this weekend? They had 10 offensive innings, and scored at least four runs in seven of them. Sunday's win included RBI from nine different players, continuing the theme of production up and down the order. The team hit a combined .602 for the weekend.

7U has had a tremendous run over the last two weekends when playing against fellow seven-year-olds. In the five games WR 7U has played against other 7U teams, West Raleigh has never trailed and the combined score is 81-5. That's an incredible stat in support of the hard work put in by the players and the occasional help of the coaches. Meanwhile, Coach Sean was heard to wonder why 7U had allowed those five runs. Just kidding, hold your angry calls and emails. Coach Sean actually told the team two things: "I'm proud of how hard you played, and I'm proud of how hard you played with class."

The district championship made Coach Ken so happy that he proclaimed he was going to wear some Carolina shorts...wait, hold on a second. Coach Ken is on the phone...Whoops, sorry. What he actually said was that he was going to burn some Carolina shorts. Close enough.

Game 3 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Third inning
Ben led off with a single and then, well...you know. Timmy followed Ben with another single, and then Elias laid down a picture-perfect bunt and hustled it out to load the bases. This brought up 7U's most formidable imposing low to the ground hitter, Asher. With North Wake having already turned one inning-ending double play and forces at every base, West Raleigh didn't need another ground ball. So Asher mustered up all of his powerful swing, used his backside and top hand (as Coach Sean would say), and ripped a...bunt. Ben raced home for the first run of the day. Soon, Timmy would also score on Alex's grounder to the left side. Trey roped a line shot up the middle that scored Elias, and then Joseph lined a single to left that loaded the bases again. Gavin's grounder scored Alex, but 7U wasn't done.

With two outs, they tacked on eight more runs. That began with Chace's mammoth double to right-center that scored a pair. He motored around to score on Jake's single, and then Bryce slapped a single through the left side. Joey picked up his second hit of the day, this one an RBI single, and Mason's grounder scored Joey, and then Mason got on his horse and scored all the way from first on Ben's triple--his second hit of the inning. Ben then scored his second run of the inning, coming home on Timmy's single (also his second hit of the inning).
Score after three innings: WR 7U 12, North Wake 0

Game 3 Web Gems

• In the first couple innings, when the North Wake defense was making lots of plays, the West Raleigh defense was equally good. Gavin made a jumping catch of a line drive at shortstop leading off the second.
• With a runner on first in the third and North Wake threatening to score first, Bryce ranged far to his left at second base, speared a hard grounder, and made the long throw to Gavin covering second for the force. 
• Timmy and Gavin hooked up on a great left field-to-shortstop relay in the fourth that prevented North Wake from trying to score from third base. This turned out to be important, because...
• On the very next hitter, the ball was deadened right in front of the plate. Alex stepped out to field it, then made a good two-handed tag on the runner coming from third to preserve the shutout.

Game 3 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
North Wake	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	4
West Raleigh 7U	0	0	12	X	X	X	12	14

District Tournament G2: WR 7U 14, Efland Hawks 1

After the early win over North Wake, West Raleigh 7U was scheduled to have around 90 minutes before taking the field against the Efland Hawks, a familiar opponent after a pair of meetings last weekend in Wilmington.

However, the 8U game being played beforehand dragged a little. The lengthy wait was no problem for the 7U focus.

Everyone

remained

razor

sharp.

Despite the long wait and the horde of Frogg Togg Ninjas that swarmed around the waiting area, West Raleigh actually did come out hot yet again, putting up five first-inning runs on the way to a 14-1 win over the Hawks. With the victory, 7U advances to the district championship game on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. against the winner of the North Wake-Hawks game. With a win, West Raleigh would be headed to state. With a loss, the same two teams would play a winner-take-all championship game to determine the district champion.

Coach Sean was pleased with the performance on a hot, sticky day. "Today, you hammered the baseball," he told the team. "You scored runs early and sent a message. It makes the other team feel like they don't have a chance." The combined first inning score in Saturday's two games was West Raleigh 15, Opponents 3. Overall, the 7U Blues pounded out 45 hits and 40 runs in just seven innings of offense on Saturday. Their combined batting average for the day was an astronomical .600.

Coach Sean asked players to observe a 9 p.m. curfew tonight. However, Jennifer is out of town, so Coach Kevin has invited everyone to his house as he prepares a gourmet meal tonight. Whoever has snacks tomorrow should probably bring an extra for Bryce, because there's a strong chance he'll be hungry.

Game 2 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
It should be noted that something very strange happened in this game--West Raleigh was the home team. Don't worry, though. It's not that Coach Sean won the coin toss. It's that the other coach won the toss and chose to be visitor.

Despite hitting in the unfamiliar bottom portion of the innings, the offense started early again. With Bryce on first and Joey on second, Gavin ripped his second straight first-inning triple to give 7U a quick 2-0 lead. Chace singled home Gavin, and then Jake went the opposite way for a long single. Joseph's single loaded the bases, and Ben's fielder's choice scored Chace. Timmy picked up a two-out RBI single to plate Joseph with the fifth run of the inning.
Score after one inning: WR 7U 5, Hawks 0


Second inning
Asher led off with a grounder to the right side and moved to second on Trey's single. With two out, Joey crushed a ball to left that scored Asher. Gavin's hard-hit ball to the left side scored Trey, and then Chace's towering blast to right-center scored Joey and Gavin.
Score after two innings: WR 7U 9, Hawks 1

Third inning
Mason lined a perfectly placed triple all the way to the fence, then scored on Timmy's RBI fielder's choice. With two outs and the bases clear, the offense caught fire again. Asher singled up the middle, and then Alex beat out a grounder back to the pitcher. Trey's single loaded the bases, and Bryce knocked in two with a single. Joey's single loaded the bases again, and then Gavin drove in his third and fourth runs of the day with a single to left.
Score after three innings: WR 7U 14, Hawks 1

Game 2 Web Gems

• In the first, Mason bounced around at pitcher and made a good grab ranging to his right, then threw to JT to get a force at third.
• Leading off the third, Bryce scooped a grounder off the chalk on the third-base line, then made a strong throw to first to retire the hitter.
• In the third, a Hawks hitter lined what looked like a two-out double down the left-field line. But Elias hustled over to cut it off and fired it quickly into the infield, limiting the batter to just a single.
• On the final play of the game, Trey raced to his left at pitcher, made a diving play on a twisting grounder, and made the throw to first to retire the side and end the game.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Efland Hawks	0	1	0	0	X	X	1	3
WR 7U Blue	5	4	5	X	X	X	14	15

District Tournament G1: WR 7U 26, North Wake 3

Here's how you know you are big time. Not when you have alternate jerseys or bat bags with your name on them. But when actual celebrities can't even get a ticket to your games and have to watch from outside the stadium. That's what greeted West Raleigh 7U bright and early on Saturday morning as they began loosening up around 8:15 a.m. See if you can spot the celeb in the following photo, which was taken just beyond the outfield fence at the Factory in Wake Forest:

What do you mean you don't see him? Look again. Yep, that's right, it's Justin Beaver. He may have been setting up for his postgame concert, to which Coach Eric had scored front-row tickets!

The Beavs turned out to have a perfect seat for the first inning, because West Raleigh unleashed its most powerful offense of the season, blasting a season-high 26 runs on a season-high 30 hits. The hit parade began with 10 first-inning runs and never really let up

Could North Wake come back from that kind of deficit? Well, never say never (sorry, had to do it), so the WR bats had to stay hot. They pounded out 16 more runs over the next three innings before the mercy rule was invoked at 26-3 after four innings.

With the win, 7U was able to cheer on West Raleigh 8U to another mercy-rule victory while awaiting the scheduled noon 7U start against the Efland Hawks. Meanwhile, other celebrities began to file into the bleachers to wrestle the prime seats away from Justin Beaver.

Game 1 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
How long do you have? In the most devastating offensive inning of the season so far, 7U sent 15 hitters to the plate and put up a 10-spot. Bryce started it with a single, and Joey--showing off his new bat--blasted a triple that scored Bryce. Gavin, who was on his way to a 4-for-4 game, followed with another triple, making it 2-0. Chace's single scored Gavin. With the bases clear, Jake started the procession again, ripping a single to right. JT and Ben followed with back-to-back singles, and Ben's scored Jake to make it 4-0. JT scored on Mason's single up the middle.

You tired yet? We're only halfway there. With runners on second and third, Timmy drove a single back through the middle, and Elias went through the right side with his run-scoring single. Asher singled to load the bases, Alex's grounder brought home Timmy, and Trey bashed an RBI single. Bryce, batting for the second time in the inning, finished off the scoring with a single that scored Alex. Finally, it was over--10 runs on 12 hits, almost all of them hard-hit line drives.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 10, North Wake 0


Second inning
The offense picked up almost right where it had left off in the first. This time "just" 12 hitters came to the plate. Gavin led off with a single and advanced to second on Chace's single. Good baserunning all the way around meant everyone was safe on Jake's grounder to the right side, and Gavin alertly raced all the way around to score. Joseph whacked an RBI single to left that scored Chace. Ben's single loaded the bases, and Mason's RBI fielder's choice pushed across the 14th run of the day. Timmy's grounder scored Ben. Elias and Asher had back-to-back singles that loaded the bases for Alex, who knocked a two-RBI single into left to finish the scoring.
Score after one and one-half innings: WR 7U 17, North Wake 3

Third inning
Gavin singled and moved to second on a one-out fielder's choice from Chace. Jake roped an RBI single to left-center, and Joseph followed with an almost identical line shot that scored Chace.
Score after two and one-half innings: WR 7U 19, North Wake 3

Fourth inning
Making sure the bats were hot from start to finish, Timmy led off with a hard shot to third. Elias and Asher singled to load the bases for Alex, who picked up his third RBI of the day with another single. Trey's grounder scored Elias. Bryce's single scored Asher. Joey blasted a two-run double to left and then scored on Gavin's single. Chace doubled to left-center, and then Jake drove in the final run of the day with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
Score after three and one-half innings: WR 7U 26, North Wake 3

Game 1 Web Gems

• How selfish are you? You just read about 26 runs and you want great defensive plays, too? There were some of those also. With the bases loaded in the first, Joseph doused North Wake's rally by grabbing a two-out pop-up.
• With a runner on second and one down in the third, Gavin, Chace and Bryce teamed up on a slick double play. Gavin fielded a grounder at shortstop, looked the runner back to second, and fired to Chace for the force on the hitter. But when the runner on second got too adventurous and tried for third, Chace came off the bag firing. Bryce was covering the bag and made the catch and tag for an inning-ending double play.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	10	7	2	7	X	X	26	30
North Wake	3	0	0	0	X	X	3	7

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

Top Gun All-Star Weekend Game 4: WR 7U 3, Winter Park 8U National 2

The win over Efland vaulted West Raleigh into a rematch with Saturday's second opponent, Winter Park National. As you might remember, that was a very tight contest, and this time a berth in the championship game was on the line. This meeting between the two teams produced what was likely the game of the summer so far, with both sides playing solid defense and making quality plays.

After learning from the first meeting, 7U Blue played to defend the bunt at almost all times. This took away a big part of the Winter Park attack, and after laying down a half-dozen bunts on Saturday, they beat out just one bunt on Sunday.

It turned into a defensive battle, and West Raleigh trailed 3-2 going into the top of the sixth (7U was back in the familiar visiting role). All the following videos are courtesy of Coach Tom (Charley's dad from 8U Blue/Mudcats), who had infiltrated the press box in an effort to add a run or two to the 7U score. His efforts from on high were supplemented by the field level cheers of the 8U Blue squad, which almost made it feel like a home game.

Suitably inspired, the 7U hitters took care of the rest. In a promising turn of events, it was the bottom half of the order that generated the rally. First, Ben led off with a single. Elias laid down a perfect bunt, and Ben alertly raced all the way to third when Winter Park failed to cover the bag. That put him on third base with one down for Asher, who grounded the ball back up the middle to tie the game (note that one of the best parts of this video is Coach Gooch's celebration):




With two outs, Trey hit with a runner on first, and promptly laced a single back up the middle:



Bryce's hard shot back up the middle loaded the bases with two outs:



So now all Joey had to do was hit with two outs, the bases loaded, and the potential winning run on third. No problem: he crushed a ball down the third base line to score the eventual winning run (enjoy the anguished "Noooo" cries of the Winter Park scorekeepers in the press box).



After a strong defensive stand in the bottom of the sixth clinched the win, some deliriously happy people--but enough about the parents--and the players gathered under a shady tree to recap the victory.

The win moved 7U Blue into the championship game of the weekend tournament, and they gathered down the first base line to cheer on the 8U Blue team to a decisive win over another Winter Park squad.

Game 4 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Third inning
In a defensive-minded first three innings, West Raleigh scratched across its only run in the top of the third, as the bottom half of the order generated a run, with Alex singling in Elias to give 7U a 1-0 lead.
Score after two and a half innings: WR 7U 1, WP National 0


Sixth inning
With the sellout crowd on its feet, West Raleigh did one of the most fun things in sports: stunned a home crowd into silence. Winter Park held a 3-2 lead when Ben led off the inning with his second single of the day. When Elias dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt, Ben ran with his head up into second, where he discovered that no one was covering third. He raced to the bag and beat all the defenders there, putting him on third base with one down. Asher slapped a ball back up the middle to tie the game. Then, with two outs, Trey singled. Bryce's shot to short was too hot to handle and loaded the bases. That brought up Joey with the bases loaded, two outs, and a tie game in West Raleigh's likely last at-bat in the game. In other words, Coach Bruce was not nervous at all (I can say this, since Coach Ken and I were totally cool and collected during Asher and Trey's at-bats). Fortunately, it was Joey in the batter's box and not Coach Bruce, and Joey promptly ripped a line drive that almost took off the third baseman's glove, scoring Elias (running for Asher, the catcher) with the eventual game-winning run.
Score after five and a half innings: WR 7U 3, WP National 2

Game 4 Web Gems

• Gavin set the defensive tone by sliding up the middle from shortstop, fielding a grounder, and hosing him at first to give 7U two down quickly in the bottom of the first.
• Joseph made a big play to end the third. Winter Park had the potential go-ahead run on third, but JT/JDI/Hot Wings scooped up a grounder to third and fired to first to end the inning and get WR 7U out of what looked like might be a big inning.
• After a one-out triple, Winter Park had a runner on third and a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. With the infield in, Gavin fielded a grounder to short and fired a strike to Asher at the plate, who tagged the runner out to prevent a potential big third run.
• Joseph again snuffed the threat. This time, with the bases loaded, he caught a grounder and again fired to first to end the inning.
• One of the game's many key plays came leading off the bottom of the sixth. The Winter Park leadoff man ripped a double to left. As the throw one-hopped back into second base, Bryce knocked it down with his chest and kept it in front of him. When he picked up the ball, he was very pleased to see the hitter wandering off second, where he was alertly tagged out by Bryce to get a big leadoff out.

Game 4 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	10
Winter Park National	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	7

Top Gun All-Star Weekend Game 3: WR 7U 5, Efland Hawks 1

Something very unfamiliar happened in this game: West Raleigh 7U was the home team. Don't worry, Coach Sean didn't suddenly master the art of the coin toss. Instead, the home team was decided by seed, and Blue earned the right to be the home team for the 9 a.m. start by virtue of their third seed.

The first opponent of the day's eventual tripleheader was the Efland Hawks, the same team 7U had whipped 24-0 on the previous day. Sunday's rematch didn't include quite as many fireworks. In fact, if you missed Sunday's game, we've managed to secure an exclusive photo of pretty much every single thing you didn't get to see. Here it is:

That's a picture of an umpire adjusting a pitching machine. If the two teams were on the field for 90 minutes, I would conservatively estimate that the pitching machine was being adjusted for 89 of those minutes. The game didn't exactly have a lot of rhythm, but 7U persevered and battled through some very long at-bats fighting off some crazy pitches--Timmy had a 10-pitch at-bat, Bryce had a 9-pitch sequence, and Elias saw eight pitches before picking up a fifth-inning RBI--to get the win.

The victory moved West Raleigh 7U into a rematch with Winter Park 8U National, which would prove to be just slightly more exciting than the day's opener.

Game 3 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Second inning
Chace led off with a sharp double to left-center. Gavin followed with another fly ball to left-center, and then Joey scored Chace with a sacrifice fly to the right side. Gavin's aggressive baserunning allowed 7U to get two runs off the sacrifice. Joseph, who along with Mason was responsible for four of WR's nine hits, singled to left to reignite the offense, and then Mason drove him in with a triple.
Score after two innings: WR 7U 3, Efland Hawks 0


Fifth inning
After Efland cut their deficit to 3-1 in the top of the inning, 7U answered right back in the bottom of the fifth. Elias and Asher picked up RBI singles, scoring Joseph and Mason, as 7U tacked on a couple of insurance runs in their final at-bat.
Score after five innings: WR 7U 5, Efland Hawks 1

Game 3 Web Gems

• Elias glided under a fly ball into left field to end the first.
• Chace made a diving snag of a pop foul near the Hawks dugout leading off the third.
• Trey fielded a ground ball by navigating around the pitching machine leading off the fourth, then made the strong throw to first to retire the hitter.
• The West Raleigh defense overall was very solid, as the first 14 Efland batters in a row were retired.

Game 3 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Efland Hawks	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1
West Raleigh 7U	0	3	0	0	2	X	5	9

Top Gun All-Star Weekend Game 2: Winter Park 8U National 8, WR 7U 7

In a very odd game, WR 7U outhit Winter Park National 8U 13-5 but fell victim to the host team's bunt-happy offense and lost 8-7 in Saturday's second game.

Winter Park's 8-year-olds, a team that laid down six bunts in 25 trips to the plate, took advantage of a big
second inning that saw them score five times to seize a 5-3 lead--and the momentum. They tacked on two runs in the next frame to stretch their lead to 7-3 after three innings.

That's when West Raleigh began to respond. 7U put up a single run in the fourth and three more in the sixth, and even had the tying run on base in the final inning.

"I was proud of how you fought back," Coach Sean told the team after the game. "We took control of those last couple innings. We will eliminate some of those breakdowns when we throw the ball around."

The chances to improve will come very soon. After a short night at the pool, Blue rolls back to the field for a 9 a.m. rematch against the Efland Hawks. The winner of that game plays the very same Winter Park National team, so tomorrow could bring a pair of rematches--plus maybe even a third game. The team has already shown improvement in an area of emphasis from last weekend, as they allowed zero first-inning runs in Saturday's games after struggling with slow starts last weekend.

Sunday's pregame, or "Breakfast with 7U Blue," begins at 8 a.m. I feel sorry for the WR 8U Blue team, which is going to stumble downstairs around 9:30 Sunday morning and find out that someone already cleaned out the Fruit Loops in the breakfast bar.

For a complete look at Sunday's game times (8U Blue plays at 12:30) and a possible third game, click here.

Game 2 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Second inning
As the first installment of his 3-for-3 doubleheader nightcap, Joseph led off with a double to left, then hustled to third when Winter Park had a misplay getting the ball back in to the infield. Bryce drove in JT with the first run of the game on a single, and Mason followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Mason cracked another single that drove in Bryce, and after a single by Timmy, Elias's grounder to short drove in Mason.
Score after one and a half innings: WR 7U 3, WP National 0


Fourth inning
Jake smoked a one-out line drive to right field and motored all the way to third, where he scored easily on Joseph's line drive single to left.
Score after three and a half innings: WP National 7, WR 7U 4

Sixth inning
Joey and Gavin reached on back-to-back grounders to the left side to start the rally. Chace singled back through the middle to drive in Joey, and Jake's hard shot to right scored Gavin. Joseph's RBI single gave him four straight trips to the plate with a hit and drove in the third and final run of the inning.
Score after five and a half innings: WP National 8, WR 7U 7

Game 2 Web Gems

• Mason charged in and gobbled up an attempted bunt to lead off the second, firing to Chace to nail the runner.
• In the third inning, Gavin went deep in the hole between short and third to snag a grounder, hopped up from his knees and made the throw to first to retire the Winter Park leadoff hitter.
• Bryce ranged back onto the outfield grass from second base to catch a pop-up, which was part of a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
• Chace made a nice scoop at first base and then a good return throw to Asher at catcher to complete an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	0	3	0	1	0	3	7	13
Winter Park National	0	5	2	0	1	X	8	5

Top Gun All-Star Weekend Game 1: WR 7U 24, Efland Hawks 0

West Raleigh 7U Blue came to the beach...and brought their bats. They opened play Saturday afternoon in the Wilmington All-Star Weekend with a shortened 24-0 victory over the Efland 7U Hawks in four innings. It was the first matchup this year against a fellow 7U squad, and evidently WR must've been excited.

The heavy damage came in the fourth, when--with no inning run limit--West Raleigh posted a 17-run inning to easily push the game into mercy rule territory.

Let's try to put a 17-run inning in perspective. Twelve different players scored a run in the inning, and five different players crossed the plate twice in the same frame. Two players, Alex and Elias, drove in three runs--which would be a pretty good weekend--in the inning alone. How many runs is 17? It's more than has been scored in the entire game by either side in every one of WR's games this year except for one. It's more than have been scored by both teams combined in three of the previous eight games. And those stats are based on complete games...we're talking about one inning.

In other words, it's a lot of runs. The full breakdown is below.

There was very little time to celebrate, as 7U Blue had to turn around and play one of the 8U host teams right after the conclusion of the 24-0 win.

Game 1 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
The offense started relatively quietly, with a two-run first keyed by back-to-back singles from Trey and Joey leading off the game. Both runners came around to score as WR put the ball in play in each at-bat, with Joey aggressively coming home while the first baseman held the ball.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 2, Hawks 0


Second inning
On his way to a 3-for-3 day, Timmy singled home Bryce for the inning's only run.
Score after one and a half innings: WR 7U 3, Hawks 0

Third inning
The offense began to awaken, and all the damage came with two outs. Joey singled Trey to second, putting two runners on for Gavin. He perfectly split the outfielders with a hard line drive into right-center that was slugged all the way to fence, and then flashed some wheels to go with the bat, racing all the way around for a three-run home run. With the bases clear, Jake started the rally again, and then scored all the way from first on Chace's single to right.
Score after two and a half innings: WR 7U 7, Hawks 0

Fourth inning
This was the big one. 21 batters came to the plate on the way to a 17-run--yes, 17 runs--outburst. Grab some takeout and a drink to read the recap. Bryce led off with a single. Mason's fly ball to the right side couldn't be handled, putting two on for Timmy, who lined an RBI single to left. Elias followed with a hard RBI single through the right side. Ben, Alex, Asher and Trey had four consecutive RBI singles, and Joey's wheels turned his RBI single into a three-bagger. Joey scored on Gavin's hard grounder to the left side. In all, nine runs crossed the plate before an out was made. With one out, the parade started again. Chace singled Gavin to third, and then Joseph cranked an RBI double. In his second at-bat of the inning, Bryce drove in Chace. Mason singled to left, and then Timmy picked up his second hit of the inning. Elias drove in a pair with a hard line drive back up the middle (that's three RBI for Elias in this inning alone). Ben reached on a hard shot to the left side, and then Alex drove in a pair with a double to left-center (that's also three RBI for Alex in this inning alone). Asher doubled to drive in Alex and finally cap the scoring at 17 runs.
Score after three and a half innings: WR 7U 24, Hawks 0

Game 1 Web Gems

•  Most of the defensive game was notable for 7U making the routine plays look, well, routine. The Blue infield handled virtually every chance flawlessly, at one point retiring nine hitters in a row and refusing to let the Hawks start any kind of rally.
• Ben made a nice sliding catch of a fly ball in right-center field to end the game.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	2	1	4	17	X	X	24	21
Efland Hawks	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	2

Clemmons Super Regional Game 4: Kernersville Warriors 16, WR 7U 8

Here is a shocker: Coach Sean lost the coin toss in Sunday's second game. Expect at least one station at this week's practices to include the art of coin-flipping.

Another session might include starting the game with some momentum. For the second straight game, the opposition put a big number on the board right away. This time, it was six runs for the Kernersville Warriors. That meant that combined, 7U trailed 13-2 after the first inning in Sunday's games. For the weekend, the combined four-game first-inning deficit was 18-6.

"As coaches, we're going to figure out how to help you get off to better starts," Coach Sean told the team as they gathered down the third-base line after the game. "I am very proud of how you have played this weekend against some very good teams."

Because of the big first inning, the game was eventually shortened to five innings because of the seven-run limit; trailing 16-8, there was no way West Raleigh could come back and win it in the sixth, so that five-inning score ended up as the game's final score.

But their effort did not go unnoticed by the tournament director, who ran a very solid event at a very impressive complex. He made a special point to stop by the postgame 7U huddle and acknowledge the play of the only seven-year-old team in the field. "It's hard to believe you guys are seven," he told the team. "The way you play, when you get into districts and start playing against other seven-year-old teams, I feel sorry for those other guys."

Districts are still nearly two weeks away. For now, the focus turns to a full week of practice before next weekend's tournament, which is likely to be a loaded field of 8-year-olds in Wilmington. Monday night's practice is from 5-7 at the friendly confines of West Raleigh.

Game 4 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
Trey led the game off with a single, then sped to second on a fielder's choice. With one out, Gavin's hard grounder to third wasn't handled cleanly, and Trey scored the first run of the game. Chace came through with a two-out RBI single that scored Gavin.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 2, Kernersville 0


Second inning
The leadoff man reached for the second straight inning. This time it was Bryce with a single. He scored on Mason's double to left. After Timmy's grounder put runners at the corners, Ben's fielder's choice down the third-base line scored Mason.
Score after one and a half innings: Kernersville 6, WR 7U 4

Third inning
The offense continued to be jumpstarted by the leadoff man, as Joey dashed all the way to second on a grounder in the middle of the infield. Gavin moved him to third with one out, and then Jake lined an RBI single. Chace doubled deep to right, and then Joseph's RBI fielder's choice scored Jake. The final run came across courtesy of Bryce's single, which scored Chace.
Score after two and a half innings: Kernersville 9, WR 7U 7

Fourth inning
Asher reached on a grounder through the right side, then moved to second on Alex's fielder's choice. When Kernersville struggled to handle handle the play cleanly, Asher came all the way around to score.
Score after three and a half innings: Kernersville 14, WR 7U 8

Game 4 Web Gems

•  In the first inning, Elias hustled over to cut off a ball ripped down the left field line that looked like a sure double, holding the Warriors hitter to a single.
• With a runner on second later in the first, Gavin went deep in the hole at shortstop. He made a solid play just to keep the ball in the infield, but then faked a throw to first to see how the runner might react. The reaction was that the runner broke towards third, where Gavin easily tagged him out.
• Throughout the third, with the Warriors bashing the ball, Trey repeatedly did a good job of aggressively coming in to field the ball, then quickly firing the ball into the infield to limit the Kernersville runners to just one base.
•  Ben made a good catch of a fly ball near the left-field foul line.
• 7U turned a very unique double play to end the fourth. First, JT scooped up a grounder at third base and made a strong throw to Chace at first to retire the hitter. Once JT released his throw, the runner on second base broke for third. But he underestimated the Chace-JT connection, as Chace then fired the ball back across the diamond to JT, who had broken back to cover third. He received the throw and put the tag on the Warriors runner to get the second out on the play and end the inning.

Game 4 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	2	2	3	1	0	X	8	11
Kernersville	6	3	5	1	1	X	16	11

Clemmons Super Regional Game 3: Southwest Colts 12, WR 7U 3

Sunday's Clemmons Super Regional play began bright and early with an 11 a.m. start against the Southwest Colts, another squad made up completely of eight-year-olds. West Raleigh started slow, and the Colts put up the run limit of seven runs in the very first frame.

From there, though, Blue settled down. They responded to the seven runs with three of their own in the top of the second, and limited Southwest to just seven hitters at the plate over the second and third innings combined.

The Colts pushed across five runs in the bottom of the fourth, giving them a nine-run edge. In the somewhat unusual scoring format, that meant West Raleigh had to get at least two runs in the top of the fifth to prolong the game (teams were limited to seven runs in any one inning, even if they trailed). Ben singled to give Blue a glimmer of hope, but the solid Southwest defense ended the game with a double play.

The loss sent WR 7U to a 2 p.m. rematch against Kernersville.

Game 3 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
Second inning
All the West Raleigh runs came in the second. Jake led off with a single, and with one out Joseph beat out a ground ball that put runners on first and second. Bryce singled in Jake, and then Timmy picked up a two-out, two-run single to finish the scoring.
Score after one and a half innings: Southwest 7, WR 7U 3

Game 3 Web Gems

• In the best defensive inning of the game, a 1-2-3 third, Ben slid over and easily hauled in a fly ball to left center field for the second out. 
• In the fourth, Gavin went deep in the 6 hole to his right, backhanded a hard ground ball, and then fired to Trey covering second base to pick up a force. Trey alertly snagged the toss from Gavin and came down on the bag to get the out.
• To end the fourth, 7U teamed up on a four-player web gem. Alex went back in right field to retrieve a ball that had been walloped to the fence. He hit Trey near second base, who threw to Mason, who fired to Jake at home plate. Jake made the tag and held on to the ball to get the out and end the inning.

Game 3 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	0	3	0	0	0	X	3	8
Southwest	7	0	0	5	X	X	12	11

Clemmons Super Regional Game 2: WR 7U 11, Elon Lil' Phoenix 10

Due to Coach Sean being the worst coin-flipper of all time, WR was yet again the visitor. Of course, Coach Sean manages to deflect the attention for his heads-and-tails failings by announcing his loss this way: "Guess what? We get to hit first!!" This is followed by wild screaming and high fives. Whatever works. In Saturday's Game 2 of the Clemmons Super Regional, WR 7U waited until the top of the sixth to really get the bats rolling, but that was enough to pull out a come-from-behind 11-10 win.

Each side scored three runs in the first, but then Elon added four more in the second. It stayed that way into the middle innings, as the West Raleigh defense tightened up and turned in several highlight-reel plays. In fact, Elon advanced just one runner as far as third base in the third, fourth and fifth. "Playing good defense got us back in the game," Coach Sean told the team. "You battled back and got back into it, and that's how we were able to come back."

The solid defense gave the Blue offense time to awaken. They came to life in the fourth, plating a single run, and then adding two more in the fifth. That set the stage for a five-run sixth, and after trailing for nine of the past 10 innings against a pair of teams loaded with eight-year-olds, 7U had the lead.

As it turned out, every single one of those runs was important. Elon mounted a furious rally in the bottom of the sixth and after scoring three runs, had the bases loaded with two outs. That meant the tying run was on third and the winning run was on second, but Joey smoothly fielded a grounder to second and flipped to Gavin at shortstop to retire the side, end the game, and cap a tremendous comeback.

The team hotel has a pool, so man the lifeboats and batten down the hatches. Coach Sean was so pleased with the win that he announced the team would have an incredibly late curfew of 7:30 p.m. tonight. The players seemed to think they would want to stay up much later than that, and I would have to agree withzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Oh, sorry. 7U Blue is back on the field tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., which means pregame begins at 10. Game time for the second game will be determined by the outcome of the first game. The full bracket can be found here.

Game 2 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
The Blue offense against started hot. Chace's one-out double to right drove in Gavin, and then Jake's hard shot up the middle scored Chace. Joey dropped a clean hit into left-center, and Chace's aggressive baserunning allowed him to score the third run of the frame.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 3, Elon 0


Fifth inning
In what turned out to be a stage-setting rally, the bottom of the 7U order created a pair of runs. Bryce led off with an unplayable ground ball to third, then moved to second on Timmy's single. With one out, Alex singled to left, loading the bases for Asher. His fielder's choice scored Bryce, and then Trey's single scored Timmy to draw 7U within 7-6.
Score after four and a half innings: Elon 7, WR 7U 6


Sixth inning
In the most exciting inning of the season so far, Gavin led off by crushing a double. He scored on Chace's single. Jake singled, but Elon picked up an out on the bases, putting a runner at first for Joey with one down in a tie game. Joey reached base for the third straight time in the game, this time on a single to left. Mason roped a line drive single to left that scored Jake and gave 7U their first lead of the game. Mason alertly took second after the Elon throw, putting runners on second and third. Bryce's infield single scored an important insurance run, which was followed by a Timmy single and a fielder's choice by Ben that scored the fifth and final run of the inning.
Score after five and a half innings: WR 7U 11, Elon 7


Game 2 Web Gems

• No one is exactly sure what happened, but somehow Chace and Asher collided on the right side of the infield chasing a pop-up, and the ball ended up in Asher's bare hand, with his glove on the ground. This is not the Tom Emanski-taught way of catching a pop fly. Chace, meanwhile, was left wondering where the mosquito was that had run into him.
• For the second straight game, Gavin turned a 6-3 double play. This time, he fielded a fourth-inning ground ball up the middle, stepped on second, and then lasered a throw to first to retire the runner.
• With Gavin playing second base and a runner on second in the fifth, the Elon hitter looped what looked like an RBI single up the middle. But Gavin raced backwards, leaped, and snagged the ball at the top of his leap, hauling it in on the dive to end the inning and keep 7U close.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	3	0	0	1	2	5	11	17
Elon	3	4	0	0	0	3	10	13

Clemmons Super Regional Game 1: Kernersville Warriors 8, WR 7U 3

West Raleigh 7U Blue opened play in the Clemmons Super Regional with an 8-3 loss to the Kernersville Warriors. The game was basically a tale of two halves. In the first half, Kernersville pushed eight runs across in the first three innings, taking advantage of a couple WR errors to build a big early lead.

But after falling behind 8-1, 7U battled back, shutting out the Warriors in the final two innings and outscoring them 2-0. The Kernersville defense was strong enough to hold on, though, retiring the final seven West Raleigh hitters in order.

As an added bonus, the game was umpired by two of the liveliest individuals in Forsyth County.

Game 1 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
Joey slapped a one-out single to left. Kernersville misplayed Gavin's grounder, putting runners at second and third. Jake's sacrifice fly scored Joey with the first run of the game.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 1, Kernersville 0


Fourth inning
Gavin led off with a hard shot to center and motored all the way to second when the Warrior outfielder hesitated. He moved to third on Jake's single, and then Chace drove in Gavin with another single. Mason's two-out RBI scored the final WR 7U run of the game.
Score after three and a half innings: Kernersville 8, WR 7U 3

Game 1 Web Gems

• Gavin turned the first of two double plays in the second inning, as he fielded a one-out ground ball, stepped on second, and fired to first to complete the inning-ending double play.
• In the third, with a runner on second, Kernersville blasted a hard-hit single to left-center. Ben fielded it, hit cutoff man JT on the money, and then JT turned and fired to Jake at the plate, who tagged the runner out.
• Playing left-center in the fourth, JT did a terrific job of cutting off a ball in the gap, turning what looked like a sure double into a single.
• Jake came in hard from first base in the fifth, snagging a pop-up that looked destined to drop for an infield single.
• On the very next hitter, Bryce ranged off the infield "dirt" and onto the outfield grass to haul in a sinking pop up.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	1	0	0	2	0	1	3	5
Kernersville	2	3	3	0	0	X	8	13

Top Gun Back Pack Tournament Game 4: WR 8U Red 12, WR 7U 9

Both 8U Red and 7U Blue won their sunrise games on Sunday at The Factory in Wake Forest, setting up a 10:30 first pitch to determine which team would finish the Top Gun Back Pack Tournament at 3-1 (the Carolina Titans went 4-0 to win the event). 7U jumped out early with a quick 3-0 lead, but a couple of porous defensive innings proved to be their undoing, and 8U overcame the highly questionable pitching of Coach Andy to earn the 12-9 win.

As you would expect in a West Raleigh-vs-West Raleigh game, the contest was highly competitive and well played on both sides. The bottom of the 8U order proved to be the difference, as the final five hitters in their order scored eight runs.

The loss completed play in the Top Gun Back Pack Tournament, with 7U Blue finishing the weekend at 2-2, good for third place in the gold bracket after four games against teams with a healthy smattering of eight-year-olds.

Coach Andy was so pleased with his team's win that he promised to wash Coach Sean's car at the next available opportunity. Look for him soon in the West Raleigh parking lot.

Game 4 West Raleigh 7U scoring plays
First inning
7U got on the board quickly. Trey led off the game with a single, and then Joseph's hard grounder put runners on first and second. A fielder's choice moved two runners into scoring position, and then Chace cleared the bases with a long triple to right-center. Jake's single scored Chace to finish the first-inning scoring.
Score after one-half inning: WR 7U 3, WR 8U Red 0


Fourth inning
Chace led off with his second straight triple. Jake repeated the first-inning format with an RBI single. Joey's fielder's choice set the stage for Bryce's RBI triple. With two outs, Mason scored Bryce with a single to left.
Score after three and a half innings: WR 8U Red 8, WR 7U 6


Fifth inning
Timmy singled and then moved to second after a miscue in the 8U outfield. With one out, The Mad Bunter sacrificed Timmy to third. Trey's speed put him on first and prolonged the inning while Timmy hustled home, and then Gavin earned a two-out RBI single.
Score after four and a half innings: WR 8U Red 12, WR 7U 8

Sixth inning
It looked like a potential rally was beginning when Jake led off with a double. But after a nice play in the 8U outfield retired Joey, Bryce moved Jake to third with just one out. Ben's sacrifice fly scored Jake, but that was all 7U could get in the final frame.
Final score: WR 8U Red 12, WR 7U 9

Game 4 Web Gems

• Asher used the technical defensive technique known as "self-defense" to knock down a grounder back up the middle in the bottom of the first, and threw to first to end the inning.
• Joseph made yet another very good defensive play on a wicked line drive that was crushed by 8U's Bryce.
• After a couple of rough defensive innings, 7U regrouped for the fifth. They recorded their second 1-2-3 defensive inning of the game, which featured a good catch in left-center by Ben to retire the leadoff man.

Game 4 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U Blue	3	0	0	3	2	1	9	12
WR 8U Red	1	0	7	4	0	X	12	15

Top Gun Back Pack Tournament Game 3: WR 7U 22, Stedman Black Sox 12

In West Raleigh, players never really want to be the home team. Not because they don't like the advantage of batting last, but because being the visitor means one very simple thing: you get to hit first! This was evidenced early on Sunday morning, as Coach Sean broke the news to 7U that they would be the visitor in the early morning start against the Stedman Black Sox (answer to inevitable question of "Where is Stedman?"--Cumberland County).

The response from the 13 players was quick and unanimous: loud cheers.

"Yeahhhh! We get to hit!" In the mind of a West Raleigh baseball player, a season-long road trip would be much preferable to playing any home games.

7U quickly proved just how excited they were, as they scored a first-inning maximum of five runs in the top of the first inning to take an immediate lead. They eventually got at least one hit from every player in the lineup, a complete top-to-bottom performance that included 12 different players scoring at least one run.

In addition, after some defensive hiccups in the early innings, 7U clamped down at the end, facing just seven Stedman hitters over the final two innings to ice the win.

The 22 runs scored were the most scored by any team in a single game in the five-team 8U division. In fact, 55 teams competed in this weekend's Top Gun Back Pack Tournament. West Raleigh's 22 runs were more than any of those 55 teams scored in a single game.


Game 3 West Raleigh scoring plays
First inning
This could take a while, as for the first time this season, West Raleigh scored in every inning. They began with five runs (the first-inning limit) in the top of the first. Trey started it off by beating out yet another single (his teammates have taken to chanting "Speedy Gonzalez" when he comes to bat). Joey tripled, and then Gavin's single scored Joey. After a pair of fielder's choices, 7U had runners at the corners with two outs. Joseph's single scored Chace, and then Ben singled in Bryce. Mason's infield single scored Joseph and invoked the five-run rule.
Score after one-half inning: WR 5, Black Sox 0


Second inning
The hit parade continued. This time, it was Elias, Timmy and Alex stringing together three straight singles, which scored two runs. Asher's titanic moon shot of a bunt scored Alex, and then problems in the Black Sox infield sent Asher all the way to third. That put him in position to tag up and score on Trey's sacrifice fly to deep shortstop.
Score after one and a half innings: WR 9, Black Sox 2


Third inning
Yes, after all that, we're not even halfway through all the runs. West Raleigh got four in the third. For the third straight inning, the leadoff man reached--this time it was Jake with a single. He moved to second on Bryce's single, then scored on Joseph's double to left. After a fielder's choice put runners on first and third, Mason picked up a sacrifice fly. Then Elias had one of the biggest swings of the day, blasting an inside-the-park home run to right that scored two.
Score after two and a half innings: WR 13, Black Sox 6

Fourth inning
West Raleigh got a two-out run. Trey beat out another single, then scored after back-to-back singles from Joey and Gavin.
Score after three and a half innings: WR 14, Black Sox 8


Fifth inning
The leadoff man reached again; this time, it was Jake with a single. Bryce followed with a line shot to right field, and Jake and Bryce hustled all the way around the bases to plate two more runs. Bryce's teammates mobbed him at the plate after his inside-the-park blast.
Score after four and a half innings: WR 16, Black Sox 12


Sixth inning
In the unlimited scoring final frame, 7U had their biggest offensive inning of the season so far. Three straight singles from Elias, Timmy and Alex scored two, and then Asher's fielder's choice scored Alex. With two down and the bases empty, the West Raleigh offense got started again. Joey singled back up the middle, and Gavin crushed an RBI double to left. Chace's line drive to right scored Gavin, and Jake's single scored Jake to provide the final impressive total of 22 runs.
Score after five and a half innings: WR 22, Black Sox 12.

Game 3 Web Gems

• Joseph and Chace teamed up on a fifth-inning double play, with Joseph grabbing a fly ball at third base and then firing across the diamond to Chace to nab the runner venturing too far off first.
• 7U put together a highlight reel-quality sixth inning. It began with Timmy gunning down the leadoff man trying to stretch a single to right field into a double. He fired the ball in with time to spare, hit the cutoff man, and Gavin made the tag at second base.
• On the very next hitter, Joey flashed some quick reactions at third base, snaring a line drive that had been blistered down the line.
• After an infield single, Jake sealed the win by catching a pop fly at catcher.

Game 3 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 7U	5	4	4	1	2	6	22	27
Black Sox	2	4	2	4	0	0	12	18

Top Gun Back Pack Tournament Game 2: Carolina Titans 16, WR 7U 7

After a short break to recharge with GoGurt, Gatorade and Frogg Toggs, West Raleigh stayed on the same field (and in the same dugout) for a matchup against the formidable Carolina Titans, a team with a mix of 7s and 8s that draws mainly from the Aberdeen area. Many of those players have played together for a significant length of time, and their experience showed early, as they scored five quick first-inning runs on the way to a 16-7 win.

As Coach Sean noted after the game, it was the first time for many of the 7U team that they were playing a true doubleheader, and the fatigue was evident in the first three innings, when the hard-hitting Titans held a 10-3 advantage. "But I was proud of the way you guys battled," Coach Sean said. "You played much, much better in those last three innings. You battled." The scoreboard reflected the effort, as the Titans--who also defeated the West Raleigh 8U Red team on Saturday afternoon--held a slim 6-4 advantage in the final three frames.

The loss, which was umpired by perhaps the best umpire in Little League history (and, let's be honest, he may have been the original umpire in Little League history), dropped WR 7U to 1-1 in pool play. However, scores from Saturday action show that 7U remains alive in the pool play event, and they're doing it with the only all-7U club in the event.

Expect plenty of familiar faces around The Factory bright and early on Sunday morning, as West Raleigh 8U Red also plays at 9 a.m. WR 7U begins play at 9 a.m. on field 2 against the Stedman Black Sox, then faces 8U Red at 10:30 on that same field. Pregame for the first game begins at sunrise 8 a.m.

Game 2 West Raleigh scoring plays
First inning
After a difficult defensive top of the first, West Raleigh rebounded quickly with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Trey reached on a one-out single, and then Gavin made it two on with a grounder to the left side. With two down, Jake ripped a double, scoring Trey. Joe's bullet through the left side scored a pair.
Score after one inning: Titans 5, WR 3


Fourth inning
Chace scored Trey with an RBI fielder's choice, and then Jake's grounder to second scored Gavin.
Score after four innings: Titans 11, WR 5


Fifth inning
Asher lined a one-out single and then moved to second on Mason's hard grounder to the left side. Elias's grounder put runners at the corners, and Timmy came through with a two-out single to score Asher.
Score after five innings: Titans 12, WR 6

Sixth inning
Bryce led off with a single, then moved to second on Trey's single. Gavin's fielder's choice put runners at the corners, and then Chace lofted a long sacrifice fly that scored Bryce, alertly tagging up from third base.
Score after six innings: Titans 16, WR 7

Game 2 Web Gems

• Joey glided over and made a good catch of a fly ball in left-center to end the second inning.
• Joe made a very similar catch in left-center with a runner on second in the sixth.
• Jake ended the sixth by making a running catch near the right-field line.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Titans	5	0	5	1	1	4	16	13
WR 7U	3	0	0	2	1	1	7	8