Joes overcome slow start to post 15-11 win

This was a game of two halves. The first found the Joes down 5-2 to a team that had won only one game all year. Fortunately, the second found the Joes - as we would expect - rebounding from that start and outscoring the Cardinal Pacelli team 13-6 to log their seventh win of the season.

Adam drove in a run in the 1st with a solid single. The bats really got going in the 3rd as we scored 3 runs behind hits from Nick, Adam, and Kai. We carried that momentum into the 4th as we scored 6 more times behind hits from Jacob, Peter, Mason, Mark (a two bagger), Nick (another two bagger), Garrett, and Adam. The 5th was productive also as we posted 4 runs behind hits from Jacob (another two bagger), Mark, and Nick. Runs were scored by Mark, Nick (3), Garrett, Adam, Henry (2), Jacob (2), Peter (2), Taco (2), and Mason. Nine of eleven Joes scored, eight had hits, and ten reached base.

On the hill, Adam started and gutted through three 3+ innings. The game really turned when Mason came in and finished the 4th - allowing no runs in that inning. That allowed the Joes to grab - and keep - the momentum in this game. Mason went on the finish the game logging 3 full innings.

On D, Kai had a huge play in the 1st as he caught a fly ball in RF and fired to Henry waiting at 1B for an inning-ending double play. Garrett had 4-3 put-outs in the 2nd and 5th, and Henry had an unassisted put-out from 1B to start the 3rd. Mason had a put-out from his pitcher's spot and Mark caught a pop-up from 3B in the 4th. In the 5th, Nick got his first action behind the plate and found himself in the thick of it as he attempted to pick off a base-runner attempting to steal 3B. The throw was a bit off the mark (throwing in that gear is a challenge) but Mark was right where he needed to be in LF backing up the play. He scooped the ball, and fired to Nick at home. The ball beat the runner who retreated to 3B but was caught and tagged by Nick. What a great play by both. In the 6th, Nick nabbed his first would-be base stealer at 3B and Taco ended the game by snaring a deep fly ball to LF.

A solid rebound from a slow start. We continue to stress that the way the Joes can get better is by improving their mental approach to the game. Baseball is a game that requires you to handle failure and requires that you be ready on every pitch. Whether in the field or at the plate, you have to be ready on every pitch and you have to stay mentally focused on the job at hand. We can get away with making mental errors against lesser teams, but we will need to improve to compete with the stronger teams in our league.