In a Perfect Game tournament designed to see how many pitchers were on each roster, the Canes used five hurlers in a five-inning, 9-2 opening win over the Kernersville Bulldogs. That's right, the same Kernersville Bulldogs they just played in the last game.
The game had very little rhythm, owing in part to the 832 multiple pitching changes. Any pitcher who threw over 20 pitches was ineligible for Sunday's action, so the Canes conserved arms and kept everyone available for what they hope is a long Sunday.
With a pair of rained-out practices this week, there was a little offensive rust, but the hitters did eventually put together nine hits while taking advantage of five walks.
The victory left the Canes 1-0 in pool play, with a one-game break before the day's second contest.
First inning
Jake walked and stole second. Gavin walked. Drew lined a two-run skillet. Chace doubled. Andrew smacked a two-run single. Ashton powered an RBI single.
Score after one inning: Canes 5, Bulldogs 1
Second inning
Gavin walked and stole second. Chace singled him home.
Score after two innings: Canes 6, Bulldogs 1
Fourth inning
Bryce singled and took second on an error. JT walked. Gavin singled home Bryce. A wild pitch moved up both runners. Drew hit an RBI single. Chace blasted a sacrifice fly.
Score after four innings: Canes 9, Bulldogs 2
Fourth inning
Bryce singled and took second on an error. JT walked. Gavin singled home Bryce. A wild pitch moved up both runners. Drew hit an RBI single. Chace blasted a sacrifice fly.
Score after four innings: Canes 9, Bulldogs 2
Pitching Performances
Chace started and went two-thirds of an inning before being bitten by the pitch count.
Asher retired all five batters he faced.
JT worked a full inning.
Drew contributed another two-thirds of an inning.
Brady finished it up with a full inning in the fifth.
Dugout wisdom
After Colin unleashed a fairly high-pitch sneeze, JT was not impressed. From the opposite end of the dugout, almost as if he was talking to himself, he said, "That was a Hello Kitty sneeze. I have man sneezes."
With the Perfect Game rules being slightly unfamiliar, there was a lot of discussion about the run rule. As the Canes built a 6-1 lead that turned into 6-2, it was like an SAT prep class in the dugout. "So how many do we need now?" someone would ask, and then a broad range of answers--usually with a span of at least four runs--would follow. Then Eli would provide the correct answer. At one point, with an exasperated shake of his head, he turned to me and said, "Man, it's a good thing I'm here."
Asher retired all five batters he faced.
JT worked a full inning.
Drew contributed another two-thirds of an inning.
Brady finished it up with a full inning in the fifth.
Dugout wisdom
After Colin unleashed a fairly high-pitch sneeze, JT was not impressed. From the opposite end of the dugout, almost as if he was talking to himself, he said, "That was a Hello Kitty sneeze. I have man sneezes."
With the Perfect Game rules being slightly unfamiliar, there was a lot of discussion about the run rule. As the Canes built a 6-1 lead that turned into 6-2, it was like an SAT prep class in the dugout. "So how many do we need now?" someone would ask, and then a broad range of answers--usually with a span of at least four runs--would follow. Then Eli would provide the correct answer. At one point, with an exasperated shake of his head, he turned to me and said, "Man, it's a good thing I'm here."
Game 1 Web Gems
- With a runner on third in the first, Chace leaped to snag a high hopper over the mound, then threw to Drew at third to get the overaggressive runner.
- More good PFP work in the fifth, as Brady fielded a couple of grounders--including a swinging bunt he had to charge--and threw to first to get a pair of outs.
Game 1 line score
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
R
|
H
|
Bulldogs
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
X
|
3
|
3
|
Canes
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
X
|
X
|
9
|
9
|
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