Angels In The Outfield Game 1: Canes 19, Morehead City Mavericks 0

Well, sports fans, here's how the fall 2016 season began for the 12U Evoshield Canes:

It's pretty self-explanatory what's happening in that photo...Coach Sean is changing his flat tire while John looks for his pants.

Coach Sean eventually did show up for the game, just in time to coach the Canes to a 19-0 victory that avoided all the "wheels fell off" puns being used in the blog. The season-opening victory over the Morehead City Mavericks was shortened to four innings by the run rule, and it was a fairly complete performance: three pitchers combined on the shutout, 11 of the 13 players on the roster reached base, and the defense committed zero errors. 

Game 1 Canes scoring plays

Second inning

Drew doubled, and then hustled all the way home on Ben's fielder's choice. Brady doubled and scored when Colin smacked it through the left side.

Score after one and a half innings: Canes 2, Mavericks 0

Third inning

Asher singled and stole second. Bryce singled him home. Bryce stole second. Chace lined a one-out single and took second on the throw. Drew doubled home a pair, then alertly tagged up and went to third on a pop to first. Andrew went through the left side to score Drew. Brady singled and stole second. Colin went oppo for a three-run homer.

Score after two and a half innings: Canes 9, Mavericks 0

Fourth inning
Asher went back through the middle and stole second. A wild pitch put him on third. Bryce walked and stole second. A wild pitch scored Asher and moved Bryce to third. JT walked. A wild pitch scored Bryce and advanced JT to second. Chace doubled in a run, then stole third. Ben's single scored Chace and went to second on a misplay in the outfield. Ashton dropped it in front of the left fielder. Brady singled home Ben. Jake lined a two-out RBI double. Asher ripped a two-out RBI single. Bryce walked, then JT worked an RBI walk. Chace and Drew hit RBI singles before Coach Sean got a little overaggressive in the third base coaching box and was called for interference, making the third out of the inning.
Score after three and a half innings: Canes 19, Mavericks 0

Pitching Performances

Andrew, Brady and JT teamed up on a two-hit shutout, striking out a combined seven hitters and at one point collectively retiring nine batters in a row.

Dugout wisdom
When the lead grew to 15-0, the players in the dugout began discussing how they could move the game along a little more quickly. Chace offered, "When I'm at bat, if the first pitch is in there, I'm going to swing at it."

Drew stared at him for a second, and then replied, "Uh, Chace, I think that's what you're supposed to do."

Game 1 Web Gems

• After a leadoff single, the Canes got some timely assistance from the field umpire, who deflected a line drive to Gavin, who stepped on second and then pegged to first for the double play.
• With runners on first and second in the fourth, the Mavericks got aggressive, but JT alertly fired to Ashton at third, who slapped on the tag. 

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Canes	0	2	7	10	X	X	19	15
MC Mavericks	0	0	0	0	X	X	0	2