Top Gun Zone Qualifier Game 2: Canes 13, Durham Indians 1

In the third meeting of the last two weeks between the Evoshield Canes and Durham Indians, the Canes prevailed with a 13-1 victory (don't believe the score on the Top Gun website). The game was shortened to four innings by the run rule.

The victory was highlighted by terrific pitching performances from Elias and Jake (Flamethrower Jr.), who combined for a couple of shutout relief innings.

Sunday will once again start early with an 8:30 first pitch at the Factory.

Game 2 Canes scoring plays

First inning

Bryce and Gavin singled. Drew beat out a fielder's choice. Chace singled in a pair and took second on the throw. Andrew doubled in two. Jake reached, scoring Andrew, and stole second. Ben powered a sacrifice fly. 

Score after one-half inning: Canes 6, Indians 0

Second inning

Bryce singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Drew hit an RBI single. Chace reached on a shot to third. Andrew's fielder's choice drove in a run. Jake smoked an RBI triple. Ben came through with an RBI single.

Score after one and a half innings: Canes 10, Indians 1

Third inning
Bryce reached on an error and stole second. Drew cranked an opposite field dinger.
Score after two and a half innings: Canes 12, Indians 1

Fourth inning
Jake swatted it to left and raced to second. A wild pitch put him on third, and he scored on Ben's sacrifice fly.
Score after three and a half innings: Canes 13, Indians 1

Pitching Performances

Four pitchers--JT, Elias, Jake and Bryce--combined on a three-hitter, with each hurler tossing one inning apiece. It should be noted that Elias and Jake, making their first appearances on the mound of the fall, needed only a combined 23 pitches in their two shutout innings.

Dugout wisdom
What this game lacked in excitement, it made up for in dugout wisdom. Let's start with the fact that in the previous game, Coach Sean briefly relinquished his third base coaching spot...only to watch his team score six runs and Wally Pipp the head coach. As Elias correctly pointed out, that's the second time Coach Sean has been fired, with the other time coming during flag football when he was removed as offensive coordinator.

With the aforementioned Eli on the mound in the second inning, Coach Adam grew concerned that Eli would be lonely on the pitcher's mound with no one to talk to. That led to a very informative mound visit during which the team's new Director of Mound Visits imparted some important pitching advice. Not saying that a raise is in order, but Eli did strike out the next hitter on three pitches.

Coach Sean, probably feeling like he needed to do something to justify his continued employment since he doesn't coach third anymore, started changing up the defense in the later innings. One of those changes occurred when he told Drew, "You're in right." Drew proceeded to turn and face the outfield with a slightly confused look on his face, saying, "Let's see...right field is..." He was eventually pointed in the right direction and (of course) caught the last out of the game.

Game 2 Web Gems

• The second batter of the second inning sliced a would-be double to left. Or, it would've been with a normal left fielder...but JT raced over, gathered it, and threw a rocket to Jake at second, who got the ball in plenty of time to sit and wait to make the tag (and then chase down the poor runner who thought he could get away from him).
• With a runner on second in the fourth, the batter slapped a grounder back to Bryce on the mound. He threw to Asher at first for the out, but then Asher threw back across the diamond to Ben at third, who slapped on the tag for the double play.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Canes	6	4	2	1	X	X	11	13
Indians	1	0	0	0	X	X	1	3

Top Gun Zone Qualifier Game 1: Canes 11, Rivercats 1

Back at the home of Justin Beaver, the Canes opened the Top Gun Zone Qualifier (it "qualifies" you to use your "free berth" which is "free" as long as you "pay" to play in the "zone qualifier") with an 11-1 win over the Rivercats. The game was shortened to four innings by the run rule.

The good news is the quick game might've enabled the Canes to start the second game a little early. The bad news is the second opponent of the day was locked in a close one on a different field. That means the players had to entertain themselves, which is always dangerous:

As usual, though, it was the parents you have to worry about instead of the kids. Left with too much time on their hands, a few of the Canes fans got in a brawl with fans from another team concerning who exactly was bringing the most juice. Here's the aftermath:

You should see the other guys.

Game 1 Canes scoring plays

First inning

Jake walked, stole second, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on Andrew’s two-out single.

Score after one inning: Canes 1, Rivercats 0

Second inning

JT singled. Elias reached on a grounder to second (“MEG!”). Bryce beat out a fielder’s choice. Jake rapped an RBI single. Gavin lined a two-run single. A throwing error moved up both runners, and then Chace roped a two-run, two-out single.

Score after two innings: Canes 7, Rivercats 0

Third inning

Ben walked and went to second on a fielder’s choice. JT ripped an RBI double. Two straight fielder’s choices scored JT.  

Score after three innings: Canes 9, Rivercats 0

Fourth inning

Drew homered into the wilderness. Asher walked and went to third on Ben’s single. Brady ended it with an RBI walk-off single.

Score after four innings: Canes 11, Rivercats 1




Dugout wisdom

After Gavin hit a two-run single in the second inning to put the Canes up 4-0 in the second inning, the Rivercats convened a meeting of a coach and all nine players on the pitcher's mound. After a teammate asked, "What are they doing?" JT observed the scene on the field and said, "I think I scared them with my running."

Pitching Performances

Andrew started and was dominant through three innings, allowing just one hit (that he negated himself with a pickoff).

Asher, a fan favorite of the Rivercats (“Just throw the ball!”…whizz…”Strike three!”), needed 14 pitches to finish it up.

Game 1 Web Gems

•   Andrew flashed some quick feet on a pickoff move to Chace at first in the third inning, which was then followed by a slightly unique rundown that nevertheless ended in an out.

•   Overall, it was the first of two error-free games on the day for the Canes.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Rivercats	0	0	0	1	X	X	1	4
Canes	1	6	2	2	X	X	11	9

Super NIT Championship: Canes 9, Durham Indians 3

The Canes claimed the Super NIT championship with a 9-3 win over the Durham Indians in a game shortened to four innings by a very short time limit and by Ben's desire to preserve his 0-for-0 day. 

In the last two games combined, the Canes defense committed just one error, and they also got outstanding pitching (71% first pitch strikes in the last two games combined). The win gave the Canes their fourth straight championship of the fall and also gave them the opportunity to practice their postgame photo skills. How do you prefer your team photo?

Posed?

Posed but a little crazy?

Or selfie style (it should be noted there were postgame cookies which accounts for some, but not all, of the weird faces):

Championship Canes scoring plays

First inning

Gavin tripled. Drew hit an inside-the-park skillet. 

Score after one inning: Canes 2, Indians 0

Second inning

Colin walked and went to second on an error. Bryce's fielder's choice moved him to third and Asher drove him in with a single. Asher stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Jake walked and--you will never guess!--stole second. Gavin's double drove in two. Drew singled home Gavin. A throwing error advanced Drew to third, and he scored on a wild pitch.

Score after two innings: Canes 7, Indians 0

Third inning
Brady reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. JT's fielder's choice moved him to third. Colin reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. Bryce's shot to the right side scored a pair.
Score after three innings: Canes 9, Indians 1

Pitching Performances

Drew started and threw two scoreless frames, striking out four.

Colin pitched in the third and fanned one.

Brady finished it up in the fourth while also tallying one strikeout.

Dugout wisdom
If this tells you how much wisdom was in the dugout, here was your first base coach for a good portion of the championship game:

When assessing the opposing pitcher, JT said, "This guy is so slow I have time to read the paper while the ball is on the way to the plate. Not that I would ever read the paper."

Brady was dutifully keeping tabs and doing a great job until he encountered a major problem. As he tried to write, he said, "This pencil is out of ink." Someone explain the difference between a pencil and a pen to Brady.

Championship Web Gems

• JT hosed a runner trying to steal second for the final out of the third inning, with Jake applying the tag.
• In the fourth inning, Bryce made a sweet sprawling stop of a hot grounder, then threw to first to a stretching Asher (!) for the out.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Durham Indians	0	0	1	2	X	X	3	4
Canes	2	5	2	X	X	X	9	7

Super NIT Game 2: Canes 8, Dirtbags 0

The Canes played a much crisper game in game two, taking an 8-0 shutout over Dirtbags Black. Chace and Asher combined on a three-hit, no-walk shutout. The combination of crafty pitching and airtight defense meant no Dirtbag runner made it to second base in the game.

Meanwhile, the offense scratched across at least one run in four different innings, eventually enacting the run rule after five innings with a walk-off walk from JT. That led to a one-game break.

Editor's note: Special guest blogging in games 1 and 2 from Asher.

Game 2 Canes scoring plays

First inning

Drew worked a two-out walk and stole second. Drew scored on Chace's double. Andrew walked. Ben was hit to load the bases. Brady knocked a two-run single and took second on the throw. 

Score after one inning: Canes 3, Dirtbags 0

Third inning

Drew walked and again stole second. Chace walked. Andrew singled to score Drew, with Andrew taking second on the throw while Chace scored on a throwing error. 

Score after three innings: Canes 5, Dirtbags 0

Fourth inning
Jake singled and stole second. Gavin flied out, moving Jake to third, where he was able to get kneecapped by the throw (see below). Drew's single scored him.
Score after four innings: Canes 6, Dirtbags 0

Fifth inning
Andrew and Colin had back-to-back singles. Brady's double scored Andrew. Elias was intentionally walked because they knew he had been up late watching the Clemson game. JT got a walk-off walk.
Score after five innings: Canes 8, Dirtbags 0

Pitching Performances

Chace started and went three innings of one-hit, no-run ball while striking out four.

Asher relieved and went two shutout innings while striking out a pair.

Dugout wisdom
Apparently the same is not true in the stands, but there are approximately eight million mosquitos in the Sanford dugouts. Brady responded by grabbing Coach Kevin's bug spray and saying, "I need to put this on so they don't bug me." Hey, at 10 in the morning it's funny.

While Jake was sliding into third, the throw hit him just above the kneecap. JT responded, "That's why you wear a cup." Side note: JT has been wearing his cup in the wrong place.

Some enterprising Canes built the Leaning Tower of Dugout Drinks midway through the game:

In a perfect example of why we can't have nice things, the tower was knocked over/fell over roughly 0.2 seconds after that photo was taken.

Game 2 Web Gems

• With one out and a runner on first in the third, the batter slapped what appeared to be a base hit over second base. The Dirtbags fans and coaches immediately shouted, "That's down!" But what they didn't know was that Jake was playing second, so he sprinted back, hauled in the liner, then threw to first for the inning-ending double play.
• In the fifth, Asher turned in an epic MadSports play by turning a pop fly to pitcher into a diving catch.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Dirtbags	0	0	0	0	0	X	0	3
Canes	3	0	2	1	2	X	8	8

Super NIT Game 1: Canes 9, Indians 7

On a chilly morning in Middle Creek Knightdale Clayton Sanford, the Canes opened play in a Super NIT that was turned into a one-day event because of rain. The first game was a 9-7 win over the Durham Indians in which the Canes once again tried the one-inning approach to conserve some pitching. 

Some uncharacteristic control issues kept the game closer than might have been comfortable, and also served to eat up a great deal of the time limit, which was set at 90 minutes because of the one-day format and the lack of available fields.

The Canes had to turn around and play again immediately after the first victory.

Game 1 Canes scoring plays

First inning

Jake doubled and moved to third on Gavin's fielder's choice. A wild pitch scored him. Drew walked and stole second. Two wild pitches later, he scored. Chace was hit by a pitch. Two wild pitches and a passed ball later, he scored. Andrew walked and scored on a combination of wild pitches and passed balls. Ben walked, moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, and scored on JT's fielder's choice.

Score after one inning: Canes 5, Indians 1

Second inning

Jake walked and stole second. Gavin's triple scored him. Drew's sacrifice fly drove in Gavin. Chace walked, stole second, and went to third on an error. Andrew's two-out single scored him.

Score after two innings: Canes 8, Indians 2 

Third inning
Colin singled. Brady doubled. A wild pitch scored Colin and then time ran out.
Score after three innings: Canes 9, Indians 7

Pitching Performances

Andrew started and struck out a pair in one inning.

JT also struck out a pair in one inning of relief work.

Gavin had a one-third inning relief appearance.

Ben had a one-pitch, two-out appearance of very efficient work.

Dugout wisdom
When the game began, the Sanford field most closely resembled some very deep rough at the Ryder Cup. Brady wisely encouraged his teammates to use the same baseballs for warmups before each inning, and even went so far as to build the Great Pyramid of Brady:

It should be noted that the plan to use the same balls for warmups lasted about ten minutes before the irresistible urge to get fresh pearls out of the buckets took over.

Game 1 Web Gems

• In the first inning with a runner on first, the runner tried to break early, and Andrew calmly stepped off and threw to Gavin for the third out of the inning.
• Brady made a nice play racing back in left field in the all-Brady third inning, and as Asher correctly commented, "That's what the practice drills are for!"
• Brady then ended the inning with a double play, as he caught a fly ball in left and threw to Chace at first to get the third out of the inning.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Durham Indians	1	1	5	X	X	X	7	5
Canes	5	3	1	X	X	X	9	6