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Koa Sports

Koa Baseball Fall 2017 Week 5 Recap: Back In Action

Koa’s BABL program had last weekend off in observance of Yom Kippur, but both players and coaches were eager to get back out onto the field and play the game we all love. We had several doubleheaders throughout our three BABL divisions, with plenty of riveting, exciting games to go around.

On the travel side, three of Koa’s teams competed in Elite Baseball Experience’s Columbus Day Showdown, including the 14U team placing second in their age bracket! While some normal games were rained out on Sunday, our travel program still had a busy weekend.

Here are the highlights:

BABL A

Mashers @ Sluggers

Mashers 21

Sluggers 9

The Mashers brought their A-game in their first BABL A game of the day, using the bats to put away the Sluggers. The Mashers came out swinging early and often, with Nathan Z. leading the charge. He also showed off his strong arm, throwing the first Sluggers baserunner out trying to steal second. The Sluggers hit well and managed to pound the zone, with Luke L. throwing a ton of strikes, but the defense didn’t do the team many favors.

Bombers @ Homers

Bombers 4

Homers 7

The Bombers and Homers played a close one in their first games of the day, but a late rally by the Bombers fell just short. The Homers had their bats working, and did just enough on the mound to keep a good Bombers team largely in check. Ian L. and Noah A. each had two-RBI singles for the Bombers in defeat.

Sluggers @ Bombers

Sluggers 2

Bombers 10

After sleepwalking through parts of their first game, the Bombers’ bats woke up in game two, scoring 10 runs on six hits and drawing eight walks. Wyatt R., Ian L., Adam S., and Jay P. combined to give up two runs. Three different Sluggers pitchers combined to let up far fewer runs than they have been allowing recently, with the defense looking sharper than it did in game one.

Bombers @ Homers (Monday Night BABL)

Rained out – I’ll let Milli Vanilli take it from here…

“Blame it on the rain (rain)

Blame it on the stars (stars)

Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you

Blame it on the rain yeah yeah

You can blame it on the rain”

Next Week:

Sluggers @ Mashers

Bombers @ Homers

BABL AA

Screwballs @ Changeups

Screwballs 24

Changeups 9

The Screwballs were in complete control of this game, scoring early, and then putting the game away late following a Changeups rally. Logan Z. pitched three good innings and racked up four hits for the Screwballs. Outside of Logan, it was a good team hitting performance overall from the Screwballs, as every player recorded at least one hit.

Splitters @ Factory

Splitters 14

Factory 0

Shut out alert! The Splitters continue to trek along their way to a top playoff seed in BABL AA, as they took care of Baseball Factory 14-0. They had several quality at bats, drawing plenty of walks and letting their baserunning prowess take over. Luke R. came out guns blazing, throwing quality pitches, getting ahead with fastballs, and setting the tone early.  Luke finished with four strikeouts and a 0.33 WHIP, while limiting baserunners and letting his defense make plays behind him – which is exactly what coach John Paseur wants to see from his team.

Changeups @ Splitters

Changeups 14

Splitters 15

A lot closer for the Splitters, as their second game required a walk-off to win over the Changeups. Will F. started and pitched well for his two innings helping the Splitters to a 10-5 lead after two innings.  After a pair of pitching changes that allowed eight runs to the Changeups, the score was 13-14 after three innings.  The Changeups added one more to tie the game at 14, but the Splitters were able to get men on and move them around, scoring on a walk-off passed ball.

Factory @ Screwballs

Factory 5

Screwballs 6

This game was a lot closer for the Screwballs, but they still managed to pick up the win, and a Saturday sweep! It was a gritty performance in a lot of respects – Lance H. gave the team two solid innings on the mound before departing with an illness, while Bobby B. played with broken hand in RF. Timmy L. pitched three innings in relief, and got the final out with bases loaded and two outs to preserve the win.

Movers @ Sliders

Movers 4

Sliders 5

The Sliders picked up a key win over the Movers in their first games of the weekend. The game went right down to the wire, with the Movers coming up with the bases loaded and nobody out in the final inning. However, the Sliders were able to slam the door shut, striking out the final three batters of the game to preserve the victory. Chand A. pitched four solid innings for the Movers, allowing only one earned run.

Fastballs @ Curveballs

Fastballs 12

Curveballs 6

Offense carried the Fastballs in their first of two wins on Saturday. Landen H. and Will G. each had multiple hits, and Will also threw four tremendous innings and struck out 10 Curveballs! Cooper G. and Noah S. threw plenty of strikes for the Curveballs, getting the ball over the plate and limiting the number of walks – the five allowed by those two combined is the fewest the Curveballs have allowed in a game all season.

Sliders @ Fastballs

Sliders 4

Fastballs 7

The Fastballs took care of business to earn the Saturday sweep, defeating the Sliders 7-4. The Fastballs jumped out to a five run lead in the first inning, highlighted by Connor A.’s RBI double. Matt G. and Isaac M. also contributed to the hit parade throughout the day.

Curveballs @ Movers

Curveballs 7

Movers 9

The Movers avenged their earlier loss, taking care of business against the Curveballs. Robert B. pitched four solid innings, allowing the offense, led by Aidan W., to lead the offensive charge. The Curveballs launched a furious comeback late in the game, scoring three runs in the final innings. Despite their valiant effort the Curveballs came up just short, losing to the Movers 9-7. William K., Koa’s Player of the Week, kept on hitting in his team’s second game. After going 3-3 in game one, he followed that up with another 3-3 in game two, going a remarkable 6-6 on the day. Way to go, Will!

Next Week:

Screwballs @ Curveballs

Splitters @ Fastballs

Sliders @ Changeups

Factory @ Movers

Factory @ Sliders (Monday Night BABL)

BABL AAA

Dingers @ Blasters

Dingers 8

Blasters 4

The Dingers played what coach Aaron Brooks called “their best game of the season” in their first game, knocking off a tough Blasters team. Stevie J. pitched extremely well, giving up only one hit in four innings while striking out eight, while Garrett B. laced two extremely hard hit singles. Haydn C. pitched nearly as well for the Blasters, but the team couldn’t make their scoring chances count.

Launchers @ Dingers

Launchers 16

Dingers 4

Total domination from the Launchers, as they handily beat the Dingers by executing in all aspects of the game. As a team, the Launchers scored 16 runs and had 11 stolen bases while only striking out four times – a great combination of patience and aggressiveness. Cody P. pitched well for the Launchers

Slammers @ Wreckers

Slammers 12

Wreckers 6

The Slammers had not yet beaten the Wreckers this season, but that all changed on Saturday, as they finally got their first win over their rivals. The team jumped out to a big lead early on, and though the Wreckers came back late to make the game close, another offensive rally put them away for good. Oree Y. was a stud on the mound, pounding the zone with eight first-pitch strikes and overall limiting damage. He also managed three hits at the plate, so I guess you could say it was a good day for him.

Next Week:

Launchers @ Blasters

Blasters @ Slammers

Slammers @ Launchers

Wreckers @ Dingers

Travel

Koa 10U vs. Potomac Riverdogs 10U Black

Game 1: 14-7 loss

Game 2: 13-13 tie

In game one of their double header, the 10U Green Wave jumped out to an early lead in the very first inning, but were unable to hold on to it, letting up six runs in the fourth inning which salted the game away. Andrew J. and Andreas J. did their part offensively, giving the team their early spark at the plate. Then, in game two, the two teams tied, with Koa falling behind early, then coming all the way back to take the lead before letting up a bit at the end. Despite getting out-hit 13-7, Koa took advantage of six Potomac errors to take an early lead. Evan K. and Reed S. each had multiple hits, with Jacob E., Tyler R., and Alex C. all contributing in a big fourth inning as well.

Koa 11U Team Morey vs. Koa 11U Team Bernstein

Game 1: practice game – one lane with bumpers, one lane without

Game 2: 615-613, Team Morey over Team Bernstein

If those scores don’t make much sense, it’s because the 11U Green Wave’s games got rained out. But rather than just pack it in and go home, the team enjoyed a bonding experience with a team bowling outing! In game one, the lanes were split up based on who wanted to play with or without the lane bumpers up. Tommy M. and Zach B. had the highest scores in the lanes, so they became team captains for game two. Game two saw five lead changes, but had some serious drama at the end. Going into the tenth and final frame, Team Bernstein led Team Morey by four pins. Coach AJ and Coach Billy recorded spares for their team in the 10th, as did Logan Z. for team Bernstein. It came down to the final bowler of the round, Amy Berman, who needed 13 pins for the tie. Amy knocked down nine with the first ball, and completed the spare with the second. Finally, she knocked down five pins with her third ball to cement victory for Team Morey. Just goes to show that even if Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate, you can always find ways to have fun!

Koa 12U at the Columbus Day Showdown

Game 1 vs. Burtonsville Storm: 4-1 loss

Game 2 vs. Lake Shore Grey Sox: 11-3 loss

Game one of the 12U Green Wave’s pool play games was a pitchers duel until Burtonsville put up four runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 4-1 lead. Jay W. came into relief for two innings without allowing a run, but they were unable to score any runs to help him out. The Green Wave fell behind early in game two but came back to make it a 3-2 game. Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get, with the Grey Sox scoring six runs in the 4th to add some insurance runs.

Koa 13U at the Columbus Day Showdown

Game 1 vs. Elkridge Hurricanes: 5-1 loss

Game 2 vs. WHC Renegades 13U Red: 7-4 loss

It was a tough overall weekend for the 13U Green Wave. After embarking on an eight game winning streak to begin their fall, they unfortunately dropped their two tournament games, one on Friday and one on Saturday. In game one, Koa’s pitching was dominant for five innings, carrying a 1-0

lead until the flood gates opened in the 6th, allowing five runs on two

errors. James R., Miles K., and Andy S. combined to allow only one earned run over six innings. In game two, the Green Wave threatened most innings but was unable to get the key two out hit early in the game. Patrick B. battled on the mound keeping the game close despite pitching through five errors on the day. Offensively, CJ N. led the charge over the course of the weekend, with several other players contributing. The boys will look to get back on track following the tough losses.

Koa 14U at the Columbus Day Showdown

Game 1 vs. BroCar Bombers: 10-0 win

Game 2 vs. WHC Renegades 14U Black: 9-7 win

Game 3 vs. KMS Sports: 11-1 loss

The 14U Green Wave played extremely well in their bracket of the Columbus Day Showdown, going 1-1-1 over three games. In game one, the boys got the job done by showing up ready to play. In game two, the Green Wave weathered an early storm to bounce back strong, scoring eight total runs in the third and fourth innings to turn the game in their favor. It wouldn’t have been possible if not for Will P., who scored three runs from the leadoff spot and earned the win on the mound. Game three was the championship game, which the Green Wave unfortunately dropped 11-1. The boys fell into a deep hole early and weren’t able to get back into the game. Danny M. pitched admirably in relief, but it was too little too late. Despite that crushing loss, 14U still had a fantastic weekend by getting second place in their age bracket, and we were very proud to see them perform so well on a bigger stage! Way to go, boys!

Congrats to the 14U travel team on a great weekend at the Columbus Day Showdown!

Koa JV vs. GMBL Cavalry JV

Rained Out – Take it away, Eurythmics…

“Here comes the rain again

Falling on my head like a memory

Falling on my head like a new emotion

(Here it comes again, here it comes again)

I want to walk in the open wind

I want to talk like lovers do

I want to dive into your ocean

Is it raining with you”

Next Week:

Koa 10U vs. DC Dynasty 10U Navy

Koa 11U vs. Ashburn Rebels 11U Blue

Koa 12U vs. YBA Hustle 12U

Koa 13U vs. Burke Bulldogs 13U Blue

Koa 14U vs. Manassas Cavalry 14U

Koa JV vs. Virginia Copperheads 15U

Player of the Week

William K. – Curveballs

6-6, solid defense at second base between two games

Pitcher of the Week

Danny M. – 14U

4.2 IP, 2 ER, 1BB in relief

Standings

BABL A W-L BABL AA W-L BABL AAA W-L
Bombers 4-2 Splitters 6-0-1 Launchers 4-1
Mashers 3-2-1 Fastballs 6-1 Blasters 4-3
Homers 3-2 Movers 4-3 Slammers 3-3
Sluggers 1-5-1 Screwballs 4-3 Wreckers 3-4
Sliders 2-3-1 Dingers 2-5
Changeups 2-5
Curveballs 1-5
Factory 1-5
Travel W-L
10U 4-5-1
11U 5-3
12U 5-5
13U 8-2
14U 6-4
HS JV 2-6
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