The Joes come out swinging on Opening Day!

With all the hoopla and circumstance surrounding Madeira's Inaugural Opening Day one might think that the Joes would succumb to the pressure of it all. But not these young men! With at least half of Madeira and parts of Madisonville watching the Joes slugged their way to a 10-0 win! As usual the Joes displayed poise in all 3 areas of the game:

• Adam, Garrett, and Patrick combined for 5 innings of NO RUN, NO WALK pitching! Wow, what a performance! Adam K'd 5 of the 6 batters he faced. Garrett - who was the victim of baseball bad luck and several "balls with eyes" in his first inning of work - found himself in a bases loaded, no out jam. Did he flinch? Not the G Man. He calmly retired the next 3 batters including a double play from his pitcher's spot! Patrick - who caught for the first time ever and did a great job behind the plate - came in to close out the 5th and struck out all 3 batters he faced!

• Defense was again on our side with Hans making a great play from 3rd (accompanied by a great Henry scoop at 1st), and Garrett making 2 plays from the pitcher's mound.
  
• The bats started slow but heated up quickly! Hits were recorded by Patrick, Matthew (2), Jacob, Henry, Mark (2), and Adam. Adam made sure his hit counted as he laced a screamer to right center for a Grand Slam! Not to be outdone, Mark followed with a round tripper of his own - back to back jacks to blow open a tight game. Wow! Runs were scored by Patrick (3), Matthew (2), Jacob (2), Hans, Adam, and Mark. Taco and Jon Jon both worked walks in our 6 run 4th.
  

All in all, a perfect game on a perfect opening day!

My HUGE thanks to Bob "TMZ" Bell and his lovely wife Jonelle for the incredible slide show that follows.