Angels in the Outfield semifinals: Canes 15, Carolina Rage 0

The Canes took a 15-0 semifinal win over the aptly-named Carolina Huckleberries Rage and then were declared the tournament champions after a monsoon.

The semifinal victory was shortened to three innings by the run rule and by the fact that the Rage was running out of coaches. As it turned out, of course, they outsmarted us all, because they got an early start on the walk to the parking lot that we all had to make once the thunderstorm arrived.

The dugout antics didn't overshadow another stellar performance from the Canes pitching (a one-hitter), defense (no errors) and offense (15 runs in three innings). In the three completed games played in New Bern, the Canes outscored three opponents by a combined 45-2 and outhit them 38-6. Canes pitchers issued just four walks in 12 innings--not bad for the first tournament of the "fall." 

History should also reflect that the championship game was briefly started. After the Titans took an early 1-0 lead, leadoff man Jake went the other way for a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the first just before the clouds opened. By virtue of the tie and the top seeding, the Canes were crowned champions for the weekend.

Semifinal Canes scoring plays

First inning

Gavin hit a one-out single and stole second. Drew doubled him home. Chace's RBI single scored Drew. Chace stole second and went to third on a passed ball. Ashton walked and stole second. Bryce walked. All runners moved up, including Chace scoring, on a throwing error by the catcher caused by Chace's aggressive base running. Ben walked. JT worked an RBI walk. Asher got a two-out RBI walk.

Score after one inning: Canes 5, Rage 0

Second inning

Drew singled and went to second on the throw. A wild pitch put him on third. Chace walked. Ashton blasted a three-run homer.

Score after two innings: Canes 8, Rage 0

Third inning
Asher stroked a one-out double. Andrew walked. Gavin cranked a three-run homer. Drew doubled and went to third on a wild pitch. Chace lifted a two-run homer. Bryce reached on a fielder's choice. Elias dropped the ball perfectly behind the right fielder. JT lined a walk-off RBI double.
Score after three innings: Canes 15, Rage 0

Pitching Performances

Ashton threw three innings of one-hit ball, and retired seven of the final eight batters he faced.

Dugout wisdom
A handful of players were discussing ways to shorten a game. Coach Sean's frequent habit of grabbing baserunners going around third when the opponent is in need of an out was mentioned. Coach Sean, who happened to be standing nearby, took offense. "Are you guys saying I cost you runs?!?" he asked with mock indignation.

"You touch us," Jake said.

Some very awkward silence followed, as Jake's comment hung in the air. It was broken by Gavin, who said, "It just got really weird."

Semifinal Web Gems

• After a leadoff walk in the top of the first, Bryce gunned down the runner trying to steal second, with Gavin applying the tag in a momentum-changing play.
• In the fairly commonplace 7-3 putout, Bryce gunned down the batter from left field. He snared a short-hop liner charging in, then threw to Chace at first. The hitter, doing what a normal hitter would do, thought he should round the bag. That was a bad choice, and Chace tagged him out.
• With a runner on first, Drew snagged a hard grounder to third. He tossed to second, where the runner was called safe, and then the runner was also safe at first on the relay. But the runner on second had delusions of grandeur and tried to go to third, only to find that Chace had thrown back across the diamond to Drew, who made the tag.
• Stellar play all weekend by a mixture of Canes catchers. Opponents did not advance a single base on a wild pitch or passed ball all weekend, which is almost unheard of in 12U baseball. Just for comparison, the Canes took four extra bases on wild pitches in Sunday's semifinal alone.

Semifinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Rage	0	0	0	X	X	X	0	1
Canes	5	3	7	X	X	X	15	11