WWS Championship: Canes 9, Olney Pirates 1

The Evoshield Canes ended the fall with a remarkable 30-0 record after a 9-1 win over the Olney Pirates in the Winter World Series championship game.

For the second straight game, the Canes got a fantastic starting performance on the mound. This time, it was Chace, who needed just 49 pitches to work through five innings. The Canes once again played airtight defense behind their starter, committing zero errors for the second straight game.

For the tournament, the Canes outscored six DI opponents by a 59-17 margin (including 32-1 in three games on Sunday). Coaches emphasized the importance of winning every inning: the Canes played 25 full innings (both top and bottom halves were finished) this weekend. They either tied or led the inning in 24 of those 25 chances.

Championship Canes scoring plays

Second inning

Chace cranked a solo homer. JT singled, Brady doubled, and Ben scored JT with a sacrifice fly.
Score after two innings: Canes 2, Pirates 0

Third inning

Bryce singled and stole second. An error moved him to third, and a wild pitch scored him.

Score after three innings: Canes 3, Pirates 0

Fourth inning
JT cracked a one-out solo homer. Brady singled and went to second on a wild pitch, then third on an error. Colin walked and went to second on an error. Bryce drove home a pair with a single.
Score after four innings: Canes 6, Pirates 1

Fifth inning
Drew waited out a one-out walk. Chace blasted a two-run homer. Asher walked, went to third on JT's single, and scored on Eli's single.
Score after five innings: Canes 9, Pirates 1

Pitching Performances

Chace. Chace. Chace. Chace. Chace. The end.

Dugout wisdom
See, this is why you don't tell Coach Sean anything that might be in the blog. I was nice enough to tell him a funny story about JT, and he promptly told it to anyone within earshot after the game. It went like this: JT had a 3-0 count in the fourth. Coach Sean gave him the take sign. JT promptly hit a home run on the next pitch.

When JT came back into the dugout after rounding the bases, he asked, "Hey, what's the take sign?" Several teammates told him. "Yeah," JT said, "that's what he gave me. I was like, 'Nahhhhhhh, I'm going to swing.'"

Also, credit to Coach Sean for the year's best #humblebrag when he told the Olney Pirates he knew they would be good because he is from near that area, and he played high school ball in that area, so he knew how good they would be. A team full of Coach Seans would of course be unbeatable, except by the Evoshield Canes as coached by Coach Sean.

Championship Web Gems

• Jake made one of the highlight plays of the entire fall with a sprinting, diving, sprawling catch of a line drive in deep left-center that ended the first.
• With a runner on second in the second, JT gobbled up a grounder and threw to Brady at first. The runner got a little too aggressive and tried to make the turn at third and score, but Brady fired to Bryce to nail him.
• Gavin made an amazing play in the hole at deep short in the fourth, but the hitter was erroneously called safe.
• But that's OK, because the Canes quickly flashed even more leather, ending the inning on a Colin-to-Gavin-to-Brady 4-6-3 double play.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Olney Pirates	0	0	0	1	0	X	1	3
Canes	0	2	1	3	3	X	9	10

WWS Semifinal: Canes 8, Quick Strike 0

After a lengthy break that allowed the Canes to demonstrate some of their lesser known talents (toilet paper forts!)...

...they were back on the field for a semifinal game against the Carolina Quick Strike. These two teams have a tradition of very close games, but this one was not close at all, ending in an 8-0 victory in five innings.

The game was dominated by Drew on the mound, as he needed just 53 pitches and allowed just one hit against seven strikeouts. He even seemed to be getting stronger as the game progressed, as he struck out the side in the fifth and fanned six of the final eight batters he faced. The defense behind him played error-free baseball, proving to be a perfect combination for a shutout.

The win advanced the Canes into the Winter World Series gold bracket title game, which followed immediately in Tarboro.

Semifinal Canes scoring plays

First inning

Jake singled and stole second (I've started just writing down the stolen base when he reaches first to save time). Gavin singled and stole second. Drew's sacrifice fly scored Jake. Chace singled home Gavin.
Score after one inning: Canes 2, Quick Strike 0

Second inning

Brady tanked a homer to left.

Score after two innings: Canes 3, Quick Strike 0

Third inning
Gavin walked and scored on Drew's two-run homer.
Score after three innings: Canes 5, Quick Strike 0

Fifth inning
Gavin was hit by a pitch. Drew singled. Chace doubled in two, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Eli's walk-off single.
Score after five innings: Canes 8, Quick Strike 0

Pitching Performances

Drew. Drew. Drew. Drew. Drew. The end.

Dugout wisdom
It would really help if we had a visual to go with this, but that would probably be a little unfair to the kid involved, and we are all about good sportsmanship here on the blog. Let's just say there is a certain kid on a certain opposing team who has very short legs. This led to a long discussion about exactly how short his legs are, which turned into what size pants he might wear. After much deliberation, Brady won the discussion by observing, "That's like the size Baker would wear."

Semifinal Web Gems

• Bryce threw to JT to cut down a runner trying to steal third in the third.
• Most of the rest of the defense consisted of throwing the ball around the horn after yet another routine out or strikeout. 

Semifinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Quick Strike	0	0	0	0	0	X	0	1
Canes	2	1	2	0	3	X	8	8

WWS Quarterfinal: Canes 15, RBA South (Va.) 0

In a game that lasted a brisk hour and six minutes, the Canes took a 15-0 win over RBA South in a game shortened to three innings by the run rule. It was quite a departure from the last meeting between these two teams, but this time, as the RBA coach told his team in the huddle, "They hit the ____ out of the ball." (Coach Sean said ____ means "stuff")

After Andrew pitched his way out of a tough spot in the top of the first, the game was never in doubt again, as the Canes plated five runs in each inning and played spotless defense to earn the shutout. It also was a terrific opportunity to work on math word problems, as Coach Kevin guaranteed that if the Canes won every inning, they would also win the game. There was a short pause, and then Chace announced, "Well...yeah...we'd have more runs than them!" You can call Chace the bus driver because he just took you to school.

The win advances the Canes to the semifinals, which take place at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Quick Strike and Tidewater Drillers.

Quarterfinal Canes scoring plays

First inning

Jake walked and stole second. Gavin doubled him home. Drew's RBI single scored Gavin. Chace singled. A wild pitch advanced both runners. Ben lifted a sacrifice fly. JT smoked a two-run homer.
Score after one inning: Canes 5, RBA South 0

Second inning

Bryce hit a one-out single and stole second. Jake walked. A wild pitch advanced both runners and another wild pitch scored Bryce. Another wild pitch scored Jake. Drew walked in front of Chace's double. Andrew singled home a pair. After stealing second, he scored on JT's single.

Score after two innings: Canes 10, RBA South 0

Third inning
Asher singled. Eli ran for him and stole second. Eli then wriggled his way out of a rundown at second and ended up scoring on the play. Bryce walked. Jake singled. Gavin walked. Drew's mammoth shot to pitcher scored a run. Chace hit a two-run single. Andrew drove in the walk-off run with a single.
Score after three innings: Canes 15, RBA South 0

Pitching Performances

Andrew battled through two tough innings and pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the first.

JT closed it with a perfect third.

Dugout wisdom
This isn't going to sound funny in print, but it was hilarious in the dugout. One of the RBA players was wearing high white socks with his all-dark uniform. It looked pretty much exactly like this. JT then began speaking solely in a British accent while in the dugout, which made it even better when he cranked his home run, leading to lots of "Jolly good show!" salutes for him when he returned to the dugout.

Quarterfinal Web Gems

• In the top of the second, Gavin went deep in the hole at shortstop, then made a strong throw to a stretching Chace to retire the hitter.
• Chace leaped to stab a would-be double down the first base line for the final RBA out of the game.

Quarterfinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
RBA South	0	0	0	X	X	X	0	2
Canes	5	5	5	X	X	X	15	12

WWS Play-in: Canes 16, Aldie (Va.) Senators 11

After a disappointing Winter World Series performance last year, Canes 12U earned their way back into the gold bracket in 2016 with a 16-11 shootout win over the Aldie (Va.) Senators. 

Big hits and timely offense again paved the way, as the Canes swatted three homers (JT, Drew and Chace), and all three of the dingers came with two outs. Overall, 12 of the 16 runs were scored with two outs, meaning 19 of the day's 27 runs crossed with two outs.

Random fact alert: the play-in game against Aldie meant the Canes have played teams from five different states (Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia) in their last six games.

The first contest in the gold bracket will be against RBA South, a familiar opponent from last year's Winter World Series.

Play-in Canes scoring plays

First inning

Jake beat out an infield single and stole second. Gavin's fielder's choice moved him over, and he scored on Drew's single. Drew advanced on a wild pitch. Chace walked. Andrew was hit by a pitch. JT cranked a grand slam on a 1-2 count. Elias doubled and scored on Colin's single.
Score after one inning: Canes 6, Senators 0

Second inning

Jake hustled to second on a ball that dropped into shallow left, then went to third on a throwing error. Drew reached on an RBI fielder's choice. Chace singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Andrew's double scored a pair. Andrew stole third and scored on a wild pitch. 

Score after two innings: Canes 10, Senators 4

Third inning
Jake walked, stole second, and went to third on a throwing error. Drew blasted a two-out homer. Chace followed with another homer. Andrew singled and stole second. Ben hustled out an infield grounder that scored Andrew. JT doubled home Ben. A wild pitch put him on third, and he scored on Brady's single.
Score after three innings: Canes 16, Senators 5

Pitching Performances

Chace started and went two solid innings.

Colin stranded a couple of runners in the third.

Drew struck out back-to-back hitters in the fourth and then got out of the inning with a ground ball.

Dugout wisdom
Jake had a little bitterness after getting slapped with an atomic elbow-esque tag when going back to the bag at first in the first inning. So in the bottom of the first, as JT batted with the bases loaded, Jake announced, "If JT hits a homer here, I'm going to run out there and truck the first baseman."

You can probably guess what happened on the next pitch: JT homered. As soon as the ball cleared the fence, Gavin yelled, "HOLD HIM BACK!"

Play-in Web Gems

• JT made a bullet throw from catcher to nab the Aldie leadoff man trying to steal second in the second, with Gavin applying the tag.
• Brady did a great job getting over to a fourth-inning ball in the right field corner and limiting the hitter to a single instead of a double.
• The fourth inning finally came to an end when Gavin was able to change directions quickly after the ball hit off Drew's glove on the mound. Gavin scooped up the redirected ball and made a strong throw from deep short to get the hitter at first.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Allie (Va.)	4	0	1	6	X	X	11	10
Canes	6	4	6	X	X	X	16	12

WWS Game 2: Canes 11, Olney (Md.) Pirates 5

The Canes moved to 2-0 in pool play with an 11-5 win over the Olney Pirates. Two-out runs were again the story, as Evoshield plated seven of the 11 runs with two outs. 

The offense played a healthy amount of long ball, as three fingers were hit--two solo shots by Chace and a three-run blast from Drew.

One of the quirks of the Winter World Series is that despite the undefeated pool mark, the Canes still had to win a play-in game to earn a spot in the gold bracket. That game followed immediately after pool play in Tarboro.

Game 2 Canes scoring plays

Second inning

Chace dingered (that really should be a word) to left.
Score after one and a half innings: Canes 1, Pirates 0

Third inning

A huge two-out inning, as Bryce worked a two-out walk and went to second on an error. He stole third, and Jake's double scored him. Gavin walked and both runners stole a base Drew hit a three-run opposite-field shot. Chace followed with another homer.

Score after two and a half innings: Canes 6, Pirates 4

Fourth inning
Elias coaxed a two-out walk. A wild pitch put him on third, and Colin's single scored him.
Score after three and a half innings: Canes 7, Pirates 5

Fifth inning
Jake hustled to second on a shot to left. Gavin doubled him home. Drew's grounder wasn't fielded, scoring Gavin. Chace was intentionally walked. Andrew singled. Ben's sacrifice fly scored Drew. JT's fielder's choice scored Chace.
Score after four and a half innings: Canes 11, Pirates 5

Pitching Performances

Andrew pitched into the second, battling through a sore finger.

JT was terrific in relief, throwing three frames out of the bullpen.

Chace finished it up in the fifth, retiring the only two batters he faced.

Dugout wisdom
Sorry to disappoint, but there just wasn't a lot of wisdom in this game. 

Game 2 Web Gems

• Bryce gunned down a runner trying to steal second to snuff out a big Olney second inning, with Colin placing the tag.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Canes	0	1	5	1	4	X	11	7
Olney Pirates	0	4	1	0	X	X	5	5

WWS Game 1: Canes 7, NSA Elite 1

After a long blogging hiatus (but not a baseball hiatus, as the Canes went 4-0 in Pigeon Forge last weekend), the Evoshield Canes returned to the field in Friday night's Winter World Series opener. In a game shortened to five innings by the time limit, the Canes ground out a not-very-attractive 7-1 victory.

In a game which Coach Sean summarized as, "We didn't have very good approaches at the plate," the Canes got three two-out runs in the first two innings, which would be all the offense that was needed to back the pitching of Drew and Asher, who combined to allow just two NSA runners to reach third base all night. For the game, the Canes outhit NSA just 6-5, but played virtually spotless defense to her provide the comfortable margin.

The Winter World Series continues on Saturday afternoon, and then the schedule potentially gets wacky.

Game 1 Canes scoring plays

First inning

Chace doubled, then stole third and scored on a throwing error.
Score after one inning: Canes 1, NSA 0

Second inning

Brady singled and went to second on a balk. He advanced to third on a throwing error, then scored on a wild pitch. Colin reached on an error, stole second, went to third on a throwing error, and scored on Eli's single.

Score after two innings: Canes 3, NSA 1

Fourth inning
Bryce reached on an error and stole third. He scored on a passed ball. Colin walked and went to second on a balk. A passed ball put him on third. Eli walked and stole second. Jake walked. Drew's single scored Colin. Andrew and Gavin drew RBI walks.
Score after four innings: Canes 7, NSA 1

Pitching Performances

Drew started and threw two innings of one-hit ball.

Asher finished up with three innings of scoreless relief.

Dugout wisdom
Wisdom was in short supply in this game, probably because the wisest of them all--Coach Sean--was running just a touch late, and was last seen running poles at the Indian Lakes Sports Complex and muttering, "DARN IT."

Game 1 Web Gems

• Andrew came in and made a nice catch of a sinking liner in the first.
• Chace made a nice snag on a twisting shot down the first base line to end the first.
• With one out and a runner on second in the third, Gavin fielded a grounder to short, held the runner, and threw to Chace at first to get the out. That's when the runner decided to sprint for third, but Chace came up firing, with JT making the pickup and tag on the other end for the inning-ending double play.
• Gavin made a great play and long throw deep in the hole in the fifth, but the runner was somehow called first, presumably because the umpire believed no 12U player could make that play.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
NSA Elite	0	1	0	0	0	X	1	5
Canes	1	2	0	4	X	X	7	6