Joes put skids on Terrace Park's perfect season!

In what is becoming a magical season, the Joes showed they had another trick up their sleeve - beating an undefeated Terrace Park team. The Joes got out to an early 1-0 lead but the confident TP squad came back to take leads of 3-2 and 4-3 before the Joes put the game away with 5 runs in the 4th on their way to a 8-6 win. In fact, the Joes did not even need their 5th inning at bat to beat a team that had not lost all season! There were many great individual performances but our MVP of this game was M&M. Mark had 2 big hits (including a double) and made two HUGE catches in RF. The game would have been much different if not for his glove work. In fact, with the tying run at the plate, the last TP batter hit a towering ball that looked like it might put the win in jeopardy. But Mark raced over and snared the ball preserving the win. A great MVP performance!

On the hill, Matthew set the tone and let the TP team know that their hits and runs would be hard earned on this night. He retired the side in order in the first and went on to pitch 3 innings of 3 run, 6 K baseball - walking only 2! Great job! Adam came in and and closed it out with 2 solid innings.

The bats were smoking as Patrick, Matthew, Henry, Jon Jon, Hans, Peter, Garrett, and Mark (2) had hits while Adam, and Taco worked walks to get on base in our 5-run 4th inning. The Joes showed once again that they know how to run the bases as they were aggressive all night. Jon Jon and Matthew both had tags on a fly ball to CF which allowed Matthew to score.

Our D was flawless as Adam scooped a grounder and fired to 1B for an out in the 1st, Garrett made a nice 4-3 put out in the 2nd, and then the G Man made another great put out by snaring a line drive in the 4th. In the 5th, Adam caught a pop up from his pitcher's spot, Patrick nabbed a hard hit grounder from 1B for an unassisted put out, and Mark made one of his two great catches to end the game. Those defensive plays save runs and are the difference between a W and an L!

And the coveted blue wrist band? Early in the season, we found ourselves in need of a catcher. As the boys get older, this critical position gets more important. As I looked over our roster, one player jumped out at me as to his ability to handle this demanding position. But - and this is a big but - this player had never caught before. As anyone knows who has ever caught, that gear makes simple things like catching and throwing much more daunting. When I approached him, did he complain or gripe? No, he attacked the position and practiced hard - soaking up instruction and doing everything we asked. And that player has developed into a catcher that is providing the backstop our pitchers need. His steadying influence behind the plate makes our pitchers and defense better. For accepting his new role with such great attitude and putting team first and himself second, Patrick was the proud recipient of this week's HOMER AWARD. What a team player!