Joes post first win of 2012!

After a tough opening day loss, the Joes took care of business against an over-matched Fairfax club posting a run-rule 15-4 victory.

Sam again got the starter's nod and - even with a Disney hangover - pitched two innings giving up only 1 run and only allowing one walk!  Jacob was solid again as he hurled 3 innings giving up only 3 runs with two walks.  Great mound work.  Unfortunately, our offense scored too much in the 5th inning and we left Robby warming up in the bullpen.

At the plate, the Joes came out firing scoring 6 runs in the 1st and they never looked back.  Mark (triple and a single), Adam (two singles), Jacob, Matthew (two singles and a double), Robby, Garrett, and Sam (double) all had hits.  Crossing the plate was Mark (2), Adam (3), Jacob (3), Matthew, Hans, Robby, Nick R, Garrett, Sam, Taco, and Henry as EVERY JOE scored!

A good offensive outing to get win #1.

New look Joes give City Champions all they can handle!

There were some fresh faces taking the field when the 2012 Joes ran onto the field for their season opener.  As fate would have it, our first game was against our biggest rival - Terrace Park.  After ending the Joes season last year (in route to the city title) this strong TP squad showed why they are the team to beat in D4 - posting a 14-7 win.

This game was much closer than the score indicated as the score was 8-6 going into the 4th.  The Joes had several chances in the 4th and 5th but the score was still 8-6 as we entered the 6th.  TP finally took control of the game but it was anyone's game until that point.  We look forward to playing them again.

Sam took the hill as our Opening Day starter and battled through 3 innings.  Jacob threw 2 innings of scoreless baseball in the 4th and 5th and he and Matthew teamed up to finish the 6th.

Adam (double), Jacob, Hans (single and double), and Nick (single and double) led the way at the plate and Mark, Robby (2), Hans, Garrett, Matthew, and Nick scored runs.  Jacob also worked two walks to get on base three times.  Nick hit a laser in the 5th that needed eyes but instead found the mitt of the TP third baseman.  Sam, Taco, and Garrett worked two walks apiece.

In the 1st, Mark made a nice catch from CF, Nick made a put out from 3B, and Garrett nabbed a pop up to end the inning.  Jacob and Nick made two put outs in the 2nd, and Nick made another nice play from 3B in the 3rd.  In the 4th, Hans and Robby teamed up for a heads up play as Hans - playing RF - fired a laser to Robby at 1B to nab the TP base runner.

A solid effort in our first outing.

Joes get first tourney win in thriller over Fairfax!

Wow, where do I start? We told the Joes that teams would be gunning for them as they entered the District 4 tourney as the #1 seed. That proved to be true as the Joes held on for a 10-9 win over this spirited Fairfax team.

The Joes seemed to feel a little tourney pressure as we committed five - yes 5 - first inning errors to allow FF to jump out 4-0. They Joes showed why they are the #1 seed as they answered with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning behind hits from Nick, Henry, and Peter. FF jumped ahead again by scoring two in their 2nd. In fact, it was 8-4 before Nick singled and scored in the 3rd behind a Matthew single. Down 8-5 the Joes got serious in the 4th as they plated 5 runs. Peter led off with a double, Mason doubled, Taco reached on a HBP, Patrick drove in a run, and Mark drove in another. Mark, Nick, Peter, Taco, and Mason scored to take a 10-8 lead. We needed them all. FF loaded the bases with no outs in their last at bat. After a walk drove in a run the tying run was 80 feet away with NO OUTS. Then the Joes D took over. Peter nabbed a pop-up from SS and threw to 2B for the double play attempt. When the ball sailed into CF, Matthew was right where he was supposed to be and expertly fired to home as the FF runner was trying to advance. The ball was right on target and Nick caught it and held on for a 8-2 put-out! What execution and what a heads-up play by Matthew! However, another walk put the tying run on 3B again. The Joes tourney run seemed to be destined to end early as the FF batter lined a screamer to LF. But Adam positioned himself perfectly and snared the liner for the last out. What an ending!

On the hill , Matthew gave us 4 solid innings. Mason finished the last two and did just what we needed as he surrendered only one run.

Defensively, Nick caught a runner trying to steal in the 2nd. Mark made a nice play on a pop-up to 3B in the 4th. Peter had a nice 6-4 put-out also in the 4th. Hans and Nick continue to give us really solid work behind the plate. They are great receivers for our pitchers and are both really starting to make opponents think twice before they attempt to steal. Nice job Nick and Hans.

Terrace Park edges season series with 7-4 win

This was a tough one. The Joes pitching was outstanding as Peter and Matthew combined for a 2 hit outing. However, some untimely errors allowed TP to cross the plate 7 times on those 2 hits. I will take the pitching effort anytime as Peter threw 4+ innings conceding only 2 hits. Matthew finished the game and did not allow a hit.

The game looked promising early on as Mark got us started with a single in the 1st. He came around to score and was followed by Nick as the Joes took a 2-0 lead. Peter led off the 2nd with a single and scored. Adam led off the 4th with a single and scored on some heads-up base-running. Patrick singled in the 5th but was stranded.

Defensively, Adam made a nice 6-4 force out in the 2nd. Henry caught a pop-up at 1B in the 3rd. Mark ended the 4th with a 4-3 put-out. Garrett caught a pop-up in the 5th and ended the inning with his 101'st 4-3 put-out of the season.

As Coach Markey said after the game , "It's not that we played poorly, we just didn't play well enough to win". Nicely summed up as we will have to play better to advance in the tourney.

Joes Take Apart All Saints

After a tough loss, the Joes rebounded for a business-like 9-2 win over All Saints. This All Saints team is much improved and they stifled the Joes bats for miost of the day. But expert base-running allowed the Joes to overcome the slow bats.

Nick singled in the 1st but was stranded. Adam walked to start the 2nd and scored on a passed ball. The Joes blew it open in the 3rd as Patrick started the inning with a solid single. Nick followed with a double, Garrett with another single, and Peter ripped another double. They scored four in the inning as Nick, Garrett, Adam, and Henry scored. Mark singled in the 4th but was stranded. Garrett, Peter, and Taco scored in the 5th and 6th to end the scoring.

Mason started on the hill and threw 3 very solid innings giving up NO runs and walking only two. Adam threw the last 3 innings and gave up 2 runs with NO walks. Great pitching by Mason and Adam.

The D played well as usual. Mason and Henry caught pop-ups in the 1st. Henry made a great catch on a fly ball to CF in the 2nd, and Peter got the second out in the 2nd with a 5-3 put-out from 3B. In the 3rd, Peter caught a pop-up SS, Mason nabbed a grounder from the pitcher's spot, and Garrett made his 100th straight 4-3 put-out. In the 4th, Patrick caught a pop-up at 1B. One of my favorite plays of the year happened in the 5th. With a runner on 3B, Mark caught a liner at 2B. Without thinking Mark turned and fired to 3B for the double play attempt. The runner managed to get back in time but it was a great, heads up play that showed Mark knew exactly what his job was BEFORE the pitch. Nice job Mark. Nick made a 6-3 put-out in the 5th. Matthew ended the nice glove work with a nice catch on a fly ball to CF in the 6th.

A nice win as the Joes prepare for the district tourney.

Joes Battle but drop one run decision

If a season is long enough, there are bound to be games like this. At all levels - from tee ball to the big leagues - sometimes a team is just not ready to play. This loss is squarely on the head coach as I did not have the Joes ready to play. Nevertheless, the Joes hung in until the end but came up one run short in a 9-8 defeat.

The game started well as the Joes plated four in the 1st as Mark, Matthew, Garrett, and Adam scored behind a Jacob single. Nick singled and scored in the 3rd and Kai had a solid single in the 4th. In the 5th, the Joes took a short-lived lead as Hans and Patrick scored behind a double by Nick. Behind a run, Adam lead off the 6th with a walk and got to 3rd with two steals. However, he was thrown out on a very close play trying to score on a tag up. The right decision, but just not our night.

Matthew started and threw 4 innings walking only four. Peter hurled the 5th and walked only one. Both pitched good enough to win.

Unfortunately, the Joes usually stellar defense was not up to par and several softly-hit balls found holes as Deer Park was able to cross the dish nine times. Garrett continues his excellent glove work with another 4-3 put-out in the 1st and Adam ended it snaring a pop up from SS. In the 2nd, Mason made a really nice catch on a hard hit ball to CF. In the 3rd, Matthew and Garrett teamed up to pick off a runner on 2B, and in the 4th, Garrett was again in on the action as he caught a pop-up at 2B and fired to a waiting Adam who was covering the bag for a double play! Peter made two 1-3 put-outs when he was on the mound.

A loss to a good team, but a team the Joes want to see again!

Joes Dominate Nativity in 20-2 win

This one was over before it started. Although Nativity jumped out to an early 1-0 after 1/2 inning, the Joes took firm control of this game in the bottom of the 1st plating 8 runs behind hits from Mark, Nick, Matthew (double), Adam (double), and Henry. In the second, the Joes scored exactly half that as Mark and Jacob had hits. In the 3rd, Nick, Kai (double), Henry, and Mason (double) had hits as we scored eight, and we closed out the run-rule win with another run in the 4th behind hits from Mason and Nick. Mark (2), Nick (3), Matthew (2), Garrett (2), Adam, Jacob (3), Kai, Henry (2), Peter (2), and Taco (2) all scored runs.

As good as the offense has been, the pitching has been even better. We were able to put five on the mound and Matthew, Mason, Adam, Peter, and Jacob combined for 4 innings of ONE walk baseball. I guarantee you that there is no other team that can put 5 pitchers in a game that only walk one batter. Simply outstanding. Matthew recorded a K in the 1st, Mason faced one over the minimum in the 2nd, Adam hurled a perfect 3rd (he has retired 6 batters in a row), Peter got the first 2 outs of the 4th, and Jacob got a K for the last out of the game.

The D wasn't tested much but they made the plays hit to them. Patrick snared a fly ball to CF in the 1st and Mark had 4-3 put-out in the 1st. Garrett began the 2nd by nabbing a pop fly and Mason ended it with a 1-3 put-out. Garrett smoothly started a 4-3 put-out to end the 3rd, and Nick ranged to his right at SS and nailed the runner for a really nice 6-3 put-out in the 4th. Taco ended it catching a pop-up at 2B.

A business-like win for the Joes as they continue to fight for the 2nd seed in the tourney and now lead the league with 10 wins! The Joes also lead the league with an average of 11.7 runs/game - a full 2 runs ahead of the next place team.