11.13.06

Veterans Day Super Series Tournament Phoenix, AZ

It was a great weekend as the Mud Hens took 2nd Place in a very strong National Division field in the Veterans Day Super Series Tournament at the Rio Vista Sports Complex.

Game #1:
This one only lasted 3 innings as we defeated the Baja Thunder from Tucson, Arizona 20-0 in 3 innings. The boys came out firing on all 8 cylinders at the plate and didn’t stop until the game was over because of the run rule.

Game #2:
The Mud Hens defeated the Arizona A’s in this contest with solid pitching and timely hitting and moved to 2-0 in tournament pool play.

Game #3:
Unfortunately we came up short in this contest against the Desert Firebirds. The boys came out on fire with the bats but poor defense and base running was our demise and instead of being the #1 seed we fell to the #5 seed for Sundays Championship Round finishing 2-1.

Game #4 Quarter-Finals:
Once again the boys came out fast and put up 3 quick runs on the board against the Arizona Heat and never looked back. This one went the distance but solid hitting and pitching proved enough and the Mud Hens advanced to the Semi-Finals and earned their Winter Nationals Berth !!

Game #5 Semi-Finals:
Certainly this well played game by both teams was one of the most entertaining and dramatic wins in a long time against the Baja Thunder. Chasing a 4 run lead late the boys rallied and hit a grand slam to tie it up. Then in our last at bat the Mud Hens had a runner on 2B with one out and a single up the middle was enough to score the run from 2B but not without the play being very close. This game will be remembered for a long time and put the Mud Hens in the Championship Game against the Arizona A’s.

Game #6 Championship:
Not another game down to the last out but that’s exactly what happened in this extremely close contest. Bottom of the 6th bases loaded and only 1 out but a base running error on a soft line drive hit up the middle that was caught by the SS who turned and fired to 1B for the game ending double play.

All in all the boys played well enough to get in the Championship Game but not well enough to win it. There were some very bright moments over the weekend and some we are going to want to forget but the Mud Hens played with lots of character and pride. They also showed that in spite of not playing our best baseball that they can still win games but learned to be a consistent winner they are going to have to play better as a team and eliminate the fundamental mistakes that plagued us all weekend. Once the mistakes are reduced there is no telling how good this team can be.

It’s going to be a great year.