Border Wars Quarterfinal: Rock Solid Red 13, Canes 11

In a game that was almost the reverse of the day's opener, the Canes handily outhit Rock Solid Red, 12-8, but still failed to come out on top in the most important category, losing 13-11.

This time, it was free bases issued by the Canes that bit them, as they handed out eight walks, hit three batters and committed three errors. Of the 13 runners that crossed the plate for Rock Solid, only four of them originally reached base via a hit.

Despite the miscues, the offense kept chipping away, and eventually put the tying runs on base in the bottom of the sixth. The time limit ran out before the seventh and final inning could be played.

No champion was crowned in the 13U division, as rain washed out the subsequent semifinal. The Canes are off next weekend.

Quarterfinal Canes scoring plays

First inning
Jake lined a double, tagged and went to third on Gavin's fly ball to right, and scored on Chace's single. Drew walked. Wes' fly ball moved Chace to third, where he scored on a wild pitch.
Score after one inning: Canes 2, RSR 0

Third inning
Jake, Gavin and Chace singled. Drew's sac line drive drove in Jake. Wes was hit by a pitch. Eli's two-strike single scored a pair.
Score after three innings: Canes 5, RSR 2

Fourth inning
Andrew singled and scored on Gavin's double.
Score after four innings: RSR 10, Canes 6

Fifth inning
Drew doubled and Chace singled. Eli's sacrifice fly scored Drew.
Score after five innings: RSR 10, Canes 7

Sixth inning
Jake reached on a line drive to left. Gavin doubled. Chace walked. Drew walked, scoring Jake. Wes' grounder to short wasn't handled, scoring Gavin. Another sac fly from Eli scored Chace. Ty singled home Drew.
Score after six innings: RSR 13, Canes 11

Pitching Performances

Bennett started and didn't give up a hit as he worked into the fourth.

Drew threw two and a third innings of good relief, and then Asher and Ty got the final two outs.

Dugout wisdom
During the half-hour break between games, Coach Sean was telling a few players about how as a kid, he used to have to pick out the belt for his father on the very rare occasions that Coach Sean broke the rules. This was shortly before Coach Sean would walk uphill both ways to school. I mentioned that my dad used to talk about how he had to pick out his own switch. Asher's eyes got wide. "Like a switchblade?" he said. Yes, they were very tough on the mean streets of Garner.

Quarterfinal Web Gems

• Against the first batter of the game, Gavin charged a slow grounder and made a quick running throw while Chace dug out the toss to retire the speedy leadoff batter.
• Chace showed good range well into foul territory to haul in a pop fly in the third.
• Wes backpedaled to make a good play on a fly ball into shallow center in the fourth.
• Elias somehow came up with a sinking liner in center for the second out of the fifth. 

Quarterfinal line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H
Rock Solid Red	0	0	2	8	0	3	X	13	8
Canes	2	0	3	1	1	4	X	11	12

Border Wars Bracket Game 1: Canes 15, Warhawks 4

In a very unusual linescore, the Canes were outhit, 7-6, by the Warhawks but still took a 15-4 victory in the first game of bracket play at Border Wars in Rocky Mount.

Even some of those six hits weren't exactly crushed, but the Canes took advantage of being handed 13 walks and a couple of hit batters and turned those free bases into runs. The Canes defense played error-free in the five-inning game (due to the time limit) to support three pitchers, all of whom threw well.

The victory moved the Canes into the quarterfinals against Rock Solid Red.

Bracket Canes scoring plays

Second inning
Wes drew a leadoff walk and stole second. A pair of wild pitches scored him. Ty walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Asher tried to move him over with a bunt, but when the pitcher threw the ball into right field, Ty scored and Asher went to second. A pair of wild pitches scored him. Andrew walked and stole second before scoring on wild pitches. Jake singled and took second on an error. Elias walked. Wild pitches scored both Jake and Elias.
Score after two innings: Canes 6, Warhawks 1

Third inning
Bryce and Ty walked. They both moved up on Andrew's bunt. Jake walked. Gavin powered a two-run single.
Score after three innings: Canes 8, Warhawks 1

Fourth inning
Chace smacked a leadoff double. He took third on a fielder's choice that saw Wes reach first. Bryce walked. Ty crushed a three-run triple. A wild pitch scored him. Bennett walked. Colin singled. Jake walked. Two runs scored on Gavin's sacrifice fly. Elias singled home Jake.
Score after four innings: Canes 15, Warhawks 4

Pitching Performances

Macon pitched well during his two innings of work.

Bryce fired a scoreless third and then gave way to Colin, who worked out of a jam in the fourth before finishing it in the fifth.

Dugout wisdom
In the fifth inning, the Warhawks batter lofted an easy pop fly to center. "That's a can of corn," Coach Kevin I said. "Unshucked," replied Coach Kevin II. Asher gave a quizzical look. "I have no idea what that means," he said. After a thorough explanation, it did turn out that Asher does, in fact, know what shucked and unshucked corn is, so send your complaints elsewhere.

Bracket Web Gems

• With a runner on third in the third, Wes ranged into shallow center to snag a pop fly, then fired a strike home to keep the runner at third.

Bracket line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H
Warhawks	1	0	0	3	0	X	X	4	7
Canes	0	6	2	7	X	X	X	15	6

Border Wars Game 2: Canes 16, RockIt Black 1

Fresh from the between games team meeting, the Canes exploded for 16 runs in four innings and cruised to a 16-1 win over RockIt Black. The team had managed just six hits in six innings in the first game. They picked up five hits in the first inning alone against RockIt, and posted 13 for the game, the third-highest hit total in 13 games so far this spring. The eight-run second inning was the biggest single frame of the spring season.

The 2-0 mark in pool play left the Canes with the fourth seed, which means bracket play begins on Sunday at 10:15 a.m.

Game 2 Canes scoring plays

First inning
Gavin singled and stole second, then set the tone for the game by hustling all the way home on a wild pitch. Elias worked a one-out walk. Macon singled. Drew walked. Jake singled home a pair. Asher singled. Chace's single scored Drew. Ty's long sacrifice fly scored Jake.
Score after one inning: Canes 5, RockIt 0

Second inning
Wes was hit and stole second. Elias walked. Macon's single scored Wes. Jake walked to load the bases, and then Asher cleared them with a fielder's choice (you had to be there). Ty walked and stole second. Gavin singled home two, and then Wes singled home Gavin. Elias lined an RBI double.
Score after two innings: Canes 13, RockIt 0

Third inning
Drew and Bennett walked. Chace doubled home a pair.
Score after three innings: Canes 15, RockIt 0

Fourth inning
Elias singled. Andrew reached. Drew ended it with an RBI single.
Score after four innings: Canes 16, RockIt 1

Pitching Performances

Gavin started and gave up just one hit in two innings.

Bryce had a strong inning and a third of relief.

Elias got the final two outs on five pitches.

Dugout wisdom
Elias and Jake were having what can only be described as a dad joke-off in the later innings of the game. This included such classics as Eli saying, "I had a dream I was a muffler last night...I woke up exhausted." It was that type of (questionable) humor, all of which was punctuated by Jake's barking laugh.

Suddenly, Asher appeared out of nowhere and said, "What do you call a one-legged girl?" No one knew the answer.

"Eileen," he said.

He was given the dubious honor of being the winner of the dad joke-off.

Game 2 Web Gems

• Gavin and Chace worked a perfect pickoff at first in the first.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H
RockIt Black	0	0	0	1	X	X	X	1	3
Canes	5	8	2	1	X	X	X	16	13

Border Wars Game 1: Canes 10, Virginia Venom 5

In a game that won't be a part of the Canes all-time highlight reel, the Canes sputtered through a 10-5 win over the Virginia Venom in a six-inning game that opened Border Wars pool play. The offense raced to nine unanswered runs but then saw the advantage trimmed to 9-5 before adding an insurance run in the top of the sixth.

The lack of emotion and effort in the game led to a heart-to-heart meeting down the right field line between games. Everyone agreed more of both would be needed in the second game...which started as soon as the meeting was adjourned.

Game 1 Canes scoring plays

First inning
Gavin walked and stole second and third. Drew walked. Chace was hit by a pitch. Wild pitches scored two. Wes walked, and so did Eli. Macon drew an RBI walk. Elias worked a perfect steal of home.
Score after one-half inning: Canes 4, Venom 0

Second inning
Jake reached and stole second. Gavin walked. Chace's double scored two.
Score after one and a half innings: Canes 6, Venom 0

Third inning
Elias singled and stole second. Ty walked. Asher's double scored two. Asher scored on Jake's two-out single.
Score after two and a half innings: Canes 9, Venom 0

Sixth inning
Gavin walked and took second on a wild pitch. He stole third and scored on Chace's liner to right.
Score after five and a half innings: Canes 10, Venom 5

Pitching Performances

Chace started and fired two shutout innings.

Asher had a shutout inning.

Andrew gave way to Colin, who worked a strong inning and two-thirds before Wes finished it out.

Dugout wisdom
The fine facilities in Rocky Mount did not provide a cage for the teams to hit pregame. That left the Canes playing pepper in the middle of a soccer field. Or, as Andrew likes to call it, target practice. With a couple players in his group standing about ten feet away from him, he took a full donkey hack at the pitch, narrowly missing decapitating a couple of teammates. His explanation: "It hit the sweet spot!"

The third pitch Asher threw resulted in the Venom coach being "confined to the dugout," presumably for calling the umpire a huckleberry (old school Mavericks reference!). As the coach was debating the merits of the call and then sent packing, Drew turned to the Canes dugout and said, "This is why I love baseball."

Game 1 Web Gems

• Ty speared a liner down the first base line for the second out of the second inning.
• Colin leaped to grab a line drive in the sixth.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H
Canes	4	2	3	0	0	1	X	10	6
Venom	0	0	0	0	5	0	X	5	5