Always see daylight

One of the things Coach Sean has stressed for 7U baserunners is that when they're going from second to third and the ball is hit on the left side, they should see daylight between the ball and the infielder's hand before they try to advance to the next base. In other words, they should make sure the ball is actually thrown before they run, so that they don't run into a tag by a tricky infielder.

You know who else might want to join 7U at practice next week to practice that play? The Colorado Rockies.

A bigger version is here. The moral? It happens even to the pros.

Cannonball Contender 1: Gavin

Our leadoff cannonball batter--and as you'll see, I do mean that literally--is Gavin...

The Great Cannonball Competition begins

Thought you had this weekend off, didn't you? Nope. Coach Sean has created a formidable challenge for this weekend: The Great Cannonball Competition. Rules are as follows:

Pictures should be tweeted at West Raleigh or emailed to Coach Sean. Contenders will be posted to the blog. The coaches will then vote on the best one. Winner will get a prize at Monday’s practice.

Judges will use the following criteria to pick the winner:

• Technique/Form – cannon ball should be tight
•  Facial Expression - gotta be good and funny
• Size of splash
• Props/apparel can be used to enhance the Cannonball experience for both the Cannonballer and the Spectator

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

This weekend's team photo

One of this weekend's many highlights was the taking of the official 2012 team photo. What an impressive group of pure baseball talent, savvy baseball minds and fine-looking representatives of West Raleigh Baseball:

Oh, and also--the coaches are in it, too.