18 0
It's safe to say this was the best opening day performance in team history. A walk to Kyle, triple by Mitch and groundout by Andrew staked the Reds to an early 2-0 lead. We continued to tack on runs on hits by Tyrell and Ryan, a steal of home by Sander, and a bases-loaded walk to Arun. We'd amassed a 5-0 lead, when Mitch launched a 2-run triple and then scored on an overthrow to blow the game open. In the 6th inning, with the 9-batter rule no longer in effect, we sent 15 batters to the plate, highlighted by Bryan walloping a bases-loaded triple, while Kyle became the first Red to record two hits in the same inning. 8 different Reds recorded hits, while Arun picked up 3 walks, and both Nicholas and Mike made contact in their Reds debuts. Our pitching was outstanding, as Andrew and Kyle each tossed two scoreless innings. Sander struck out all three batters he faced in his first pitching appearance, and Mitch mopped up with three straight Ks in the sixth. Our defense wasn't tested often, but 1B Sander was solid and P Andrew and C Bryan were able to nab a Cardinal trying to steal home. A very nice way to kick off the season.

14 6
The bats continue to boom. P Andrew was touched up for a run in the first, but rebounded nicely, striking out 5 in two innings and fielding a popup himself. The Reds struck for 6 runs in the bottom of the second, with the last three scoring on a bizarre play, as last batter Andrew, grounded a ball to the left side, and the Yankees threw the ball back and forth across the plate 3 times, allowing Bryan, Kyle and Mitch to score. Kyle tossed a pair of scoreless innings in middle relief as the hit parade continued. Tyrell blasted a booming double to left field, his first of two on the night, while Alexia and Arun each collected their first base hits of the season. Mitch, John and Kyle all kept up their hot sticks, but the hit of the night went to Bryan, who launched a 3-run home run over the fence in right field. He was presented with the home run ball after the game. Sander and Mitch pitched the final two innings, and gave up some hits, but both threw strikes. They didn't get a ton of help from the defence, which got a bit lax with the big lead.

6 3
Not our best performance, but we pulled it out. The pitching staff continued to shine. Kyle loaded the bases with none out in the first, but allowed just a run. He worked out of another bases-loaded jam in the second inning, helping himself by recording two outs at the plate. Andrew pitched the 3rd and 4th allowing just a scratch run. The Pirates managed just a few dribblers, but the defense wasn't sharp, leaving bases uncovered, or throwing to the wrong base. Trailing 2-0, the offense couldn't get going, putting runners aboard, but leaving them stranded. Finally in the bottom of the fourth, Sean and Devlin managed bases-loaded walks to tie the game, then Mitch untied it with a bases-loaded double. On a last batter walk, Devlin managed to sneak home on a very delayed steal for a fifth run. Mitch took over for two innings and pitched his best ball of the season. We tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on an infield single by Tyrell, and an RBI groundout by Arun. Sean was solid in his first game of the year, making a nice play at 2B and going 1-2 with a walk. Sander pitched the seventh and picked up the save.

13 9
The hitting didn't show any rust after a week off. An RBI triple by Bryan, his first of three extra-base hits, and a 2-run single by Andrew staked the Reds to an early 4-0 lead. Sean smacked a hard RBI groundout to score Devlin in the second, sparking a 6 run rally, capped off by Bryan's bases-loaded double. Up 10-0, Bryan made his pitching debut, and posted a shutout inning. He was touched up a little in his second inning of work, but the defense didn't help him either. Players forgot to cover bases and made ill-advised throws, as the Yankees narrowed the lead to 10-5. More balls in play meant more trouble in the top of the 5th, as we were able to make half a play, but we couldn't turn it into an out. Having escaped the inning leading 10-9, the Reds bats awoke to tack on 3-more runs in the bottom of the inning, on base hits by Tyrell, Mitch, Bryan, and a 2-run single by Alexia. The game was called on time limit during our at-bat. There were some good defensive moments: 2B Alexia stopped a hot grounder, P Mitch snared a comebacker, and C Kyle was excellent behind the plate, but we need to concentrate more in the field.

7 6
The Cardinals looked much sharper in our second meeting. They ran up a 7-0 lead on some solid hitting. We continued to struggle at times in the field, but the defense was much improved over our last game. In the first, 2B Michael fielded a hot grounder flawlessly while 1B Bryan snagged a lined shot to end the inning. RF Devlin played a much more attentive game, getting to balls early and hitting his cutoff men quickly. 1B Mitch turned a beautiful unassisted double play to help us out of a jam. The Cardinals also like to bunt, and our pitchers did a nice job fielding them. We still had trouble keeping our focus from pitch to pitch. Offensively, we weren't at our best, and went pretty quietly through the first 4 innings. Kyle looked great, smoking a single and a double. The Reds finally broke through with a pair of runs in the 5th. In the bottom of the 6th, things got very interesting, as we loaded the bases and scored 4 runs, largely on walks, but with hits from Bryan, Tyrell and Kyle sprinkled in. Our comeback came up just short, as the game ended with the bases loaded.

18 8
The Reds offense woke up in a big way. Our first inning went like this: Kyle single, John single, Bryan triple, Tyrell walk, Devlin HBP, Sander single, Andrew single, Arun strikeout. Last batter Mitch launched a ball, which glanced off the glove of the very game Dodger CF. Mitch scooted around the bases for a in-the-park homer. 8-0 Reds. We gave a few runs back in the first as our defense had a couple of hiccups. The bats went right back to work. We sent the maximum 9 batters to the plate for the first three innings. Kyle had another multi-hit game. Sander added a ringing double, Alexia smacked the ball, Tyrell punched another hit, Mitch another... you get the idea. We also showed good patience at the plate, with Ryan, Devlin, Arun and Nicholas taking free passes. With a big lead, John made his pitching debut and did pretty well. He got some help on fine play by SS Kyle on a groundout. Bryan picked up John and completed the game with two fine innings. C Mitch threw out a runner trying to steal second, and we had a quick relay from the outfield to throw out a runner at third on Tyrell's patented "around the world tag."

13 5
A very nice effort from the whole gang. Andrew pitched 2 dominant innings, allowing just a walk. The defense was quite good. 1B Bryan tracked a short pop foul against the fence, 2B John stuck with a rainmaking fly ball to end a Yankees rally, and SS Mitch made a nice pickup of a hot grounder off Andrew's glove for a neat 1-6-4 putout. The defensive play of the game goes to Tyrell, who speared a LASER at first base, saving his own life in the process. At the plate, we squeaked out a run in the first on a bases-loaded single by Alexia. The third inning saw 9 Reds trek to the plate, with hits by Sean, Kyle, John, Tyrell and an RBI double by last batter Alexia, for a 7-run outburst. Tyrell pitched his first game this season, he allowed a handful of runs, but struck out the side. The offense tacked on 5 more runs in the bottom of the fifth, with Alexia again coming through as last batter, for a 3-3 night and RBIs. Kyle and Mitch pitched very well in relief, scattering just a run.

12 7
Our first game on the big Peewee diamond under the lights. We fell behind 4-2 early, as the bats slumbered, but we managed a couple of runs on alert baserunning by Kyle and Devlin, who stole home on overthrows to the pitcher. Mitch belted a triple to open the 4th inning, and scored as the throw sailed into the Dodgers dugout. That sparked a 4-run outburst to give the Reds a 6-4 lead. The Dodgers managed a run off Mitch in two innings, but he got good defensive support from RF Ryan and 3B John, who made a great play on a slow roller. In the top of the 7th, the bats went to work on the 4th Dodger pitcher of the night. Mike picked up his first hit of the season, Bryan his second of the night, John singled, Kyle singled, Alexia singled, Sean and Andrew added RBI walks. In all, we sent 12 Reds to the plate and tacked on 6 runs. Our pitching was outstanding. Andrew threw his second straight game without allowing a hit, while Bryan overcame early problems to fan 6 of the last 7 hitters he faced. Kyle cleaned up in the 7th, and made a fantastic back-handed stab of a sharp comebacker. Few teams can boast this kind of depth.

9 5
A game that began as a pitching duel, with the Reds eeking out a 2-1 lead after 3.5 innings on an RBI single by John and Reema's first career RBI. Kyle ran into some trouble in the fourth, walking in a pair of runs. We looked to be out of the inning with a grounder to first, but the runner on first base crashed into Andrew as he was about to make a play. The Cards ended the inning up 5-2. The defense was very good, as we converted almost every ball in play into an out. The play of the game was CF Sean tracking a shot into the gap and throwing a strike to 2B Arun, who neatly (and somewhat accidentally) blocked off the base and erased a Cardinal trying for a double.

The hitting had its moments, with Andrew singling to end a slump, Sander ripping a base hit, and Nicholas picking up his first career hit, but we were unable to string hits together and score. Finally, in the sixth, the offense broke through. Bryan and Kyle reached. Sean singled in Bryan. Walks to Mitch and John cut the lead to one, then Sean was able to swipe home to tie the game. The Cards started to throw the ball around, and Mitch and John both followed suit.

We have to thank the hoodlums that burned down the park's portable outhouse on Victoria's Day. Without it, Sander had to leave the park to find a washroom, and was called out when he didn't return in time to bat. This ended the inning, usually a bad thing, but we had just 6 minutes to curfew. Mitch was dispatched to the mound, and took care of the top two Cardinal hitters, striking them out on 6 pitches. He struck out the side with less than a minute until curfew wiped out the inning (and our 7 runs).

16 6
Bryan made his first start of the year, and gave up a run over 2 innings. He made a nice play on a one-hop comebacker, and got help from 2B Alexia, who knocked down a hard hit ball to snuff out a Dodgers rally. The Reds offense went right to work in the bottom of the 1st. Kyle singled, Michael walked, Bryan took and HBP, and John unloaded the bases with a double to the fence in right field. The Reds held a 7-1 lead after 2 innings. Michael made his pitching debut in the third, and showed electric stuff, whipping through the heart of the Dodgers batting order like a hot knife through butter. Though he did walk a few batters, Mike was almost unhittable, striking out 6 in 2 innings. Our offense didn't see a lot of good pitches to swing at, but they patiently took their walks, and sprinkled in hits when they could. Kyle went 3-3, Tyrell had an RBI groundout, Sean doubled home a pair of runs and Nicholas continued to take good swings. Add it all up, and the Reds lead 16-6 going into the fifth inning. Tyrell closed out the Dodgers, pitching a shutout fifth. Sander and Kyle both played strong defensively, and Andrew was a vocal leader in the field, doing more talking in one night than in his previous season and a half.

10 8
Another game that emphasized our depth on both sides of the ball. The Reds opened up an early lead when Andrew smoked a ball off the Pirates starter to score Bryan. An inning later a single by Mitch and a bases loaded walk made the score 3-0. The Pirates came roaring back to tie the game, which the Reds well-rounded offense quickly untied in the 3rd with a 9-batter inning, highlighted by bases-loaded double by Mitch. We also got hits from John, Sean, Alexia, Sander. Nicholas continued to sting the ball well, as did Arun and Devlin must be leading the league in HBPs by now. The defense wasn't our best, as we had a few "I got it - no you take it" moments, and a couple of overthrows. There were some bright moments, as when we threw out a Pirates runner at the plate to end a rally. Tyrell scored an insurance run using some very interesting and ill-advised baserunning. He should have been thrown out 3 different times, but sometimes these things work out. Mitch took the mound for the final two innings and closed the Pirates out to secure the win.

18 8
The offense pounced for 3 in the top of the first and never really looked back. A clutch 2-out single by Alexia, her first of 3 hits, scored our first two runs. A series of walks and singles led to 4 more in the 3rd for a 7-2 Reds lead. P Bryan worked a 3-up/3-down relief inning, thanks to a nice play by 2B Mike. The Pirates mounted a rally against Kyle in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring 3 runs, but had their 2 top hitters erased on fine plays by 2B Arun, who made a perfect relay throw to C Bryan to prevent an in-the-park homer, and followed that up by eating up a tough grounder for a second out. Holding an 8-5 lead, the Reds bats exploded in the 6th, while the Pirates defense imploded a little. 15 Reds trekked to the plate, and when it was over 10 shiny new runs were on the scoreboard. On the night we saw hits by: Bryan, Kyle, Mitch, Sander, John, Mike, a booming double by Tyrell, the first two runs of Reema's career, and a pair of bullets hit by Sean that found the gloves of Pirate fielders. There is no more balanced lineup in the league. Mitch became the second Red to record two hits in the same inning.

13 8
Another solid effort against a pretty good Pirates squad saw Andrew return to form on the mound, allowing a run over 2 innings. A pair of RBI groundouts against the Pirates top pitcher got us on the board, and as the game progressed the bats exploded. Multiple hit games from Bryan, Sean, Mitch, a ringing double by Kyle, another muscled by Tyrell, and hits by Andrew and Mike powered the offense to a couple of big innings. Defensively, we got a couple of nice plays from 2B Alexia, and a nice grab from Mike, also at second. We were also able to curb some of the Pirates aggressive baserunning, throwing out a pair of runners at the plate, and another at second base to thwart a double steal and end a rally. Ahead 13-4, Mike got his second taste of pitching, and while he allowed some baserunners, he did strike out the Pirates top slugger.

10 3
And so ends our 4-game odyssey against the Pirates, with perhaps our most complete game against them. With scheduled starter Bryan ill, Andrew started and gave up a leadoff double. C Mitch quickly erased the runner trying to steal third. The next batter popped a dying quail into foul territory, where 1B Sander made a beautiful catch. Andrew allowed just one other baserunner in his two innings, and he combined with 3B John to catch him in a rundown. Kyle threw the ball very well, striking out the side in an inning of work. The bats continued their impressive work. A returning Sander spanked an RBI double, John hammered a double to the corner in right field to score 2 runs. Kyle drew three straight walks out of the leadoff spot. Hits by Mitch, Andrew, Alexia and a bloop double by Tyrell contributed to a pair of 4-run outbursts. Arun found his hitting shoes for this game, hitting the ball in each of his atbats and collecting an RBI single. P Mitch polished off the Pirates allowing just a single over two innings to preserve a club-record 9th straight win.

15 3
On a night when the Yankees fielded just 8 players, the Reds took advantage of the big hole in centre field. Mitch ripped a pair of triples, driving in 5 runs. Bryan returned from illness to log a couple of solid innings, but he still hasn't really scratched the surface of his pitching ability. He was a perfect 2-2 with a walk at the plate. Sander smacked another double, John and Andrew each had hits. The offensive highlight of the night belonged to Devlin, who smoked a ground ball to the right side, making his first contact of the season. On defense, we were all over the ball. C Mitch threw out a pair of would-be base stealers. RF Reema, snagged a solid base hit on one hop and fired a strike to second base, nearly turning a single into a fielder's choice. 3B Kyle made a fine play on a slow dribbler, helped by a great pick by 1B Sander, who stopped absolutely everything hit his way. Tyrell and Sander each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

12 2
The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but that would be all they'd muster against P Andrew, who bounced back with a very strong second inning. Kyle picked him up in the third, and did his Houdini act, walking the bases loaded, then striking out 2 and picking a runner off 3rd base. The Reds offense pounced in the first, with singles by Kyle, John, Mitch and an RBI groundout by Bryan, but the Dodgers wriggled out of the jam. The bats picked up again in the 3rd, highlighted by hits by Nicholas, John, Mitch, Andrew and another fine atbat by Devlin - for a 5 run rally. We tacked on 6 more thanks to a booming double by John, another by Sean, a Tyrell single, and another hit by Andrew. The baserunning was superb, turning every Dodger miscue into another base. Reema became the 15th Red to make contact this year, just a handful of games into her career. The game was called due to lightning after 4 innings.

12 5
The Cards jumped out to a 3-1 lead in this one. P Andrew battled hard and was helped out of a jam by SS Mitch, who snagged a shallow pop-up with the bases loaded. The bats came to life in the third, sparked by a thunderous double by Tyrell that ricocheted off the new scoreboard in centre field. A single by Nicholas set up a two-out rally as Kyle and Mitch delivered RBI hits to stake us to a 5-3 lead. Bryan and Andrew led off the next inning with walks and a single to Sean loaded the bases. Devlin picked up an RBI the hard way with an HBP, and Reema would follow with a bases loaded walk. Tyrell capped off the inning with another double. He picked up a third hit and RBI in the 6th to score Arun, who had pounded a base hit down the left field line. Our defense was quite good, with both Bryan and Mitch throwing out runners trying to steal second. Reema was just fine in her debut at second base, and 2B Arun made a great pickup, too. Bryan pitched a shutout 5th inning, striking out the side, and showing much better mechanics than in his last outing. Mitch closed out the last two innings to clinch the league's best record and the pennant.

12 6
With first place clinched, we decided to have a bit of an open tryout night, shifting some familiar faces into new places. Nicholas got a taste of first base, and it looks like he's got a bright future there. Arun saw action at both second and third base, while Tyrell donned the catcher's equipment for the first time. His arm is certainly suited to the position, as he threw out a pair of runners trying to steal. Unfortunately, his pants weren't quite up to the position change, tearing at the end of the inning and requiring him to move elsewhere. Some sloppiness in the field and at the plate brought our win streak to an end, but we got a good look into our future.

17 5
Tyrell got the start in this game, and he looked great. He got a little help when the Yankee leadoff hitter spanked a one-hopper into right field. RF Devlin pounced on the ball and threw a strike to Andrew at first for a rare 9-3 putout. Tyrell used some serious gas to to whiff the next two batters. Reema, for volunteering to fill out the Pirates lineup the night before, had her choice of positions, and decided to pitch. She didn't have a ton of speed or control, but she used a popup to 3B John, a bullet throw from C Mitch on a caught stealing, and a strikeout to notch a scoreless inning. The Yankees managed a few runs against Reema in her second inning of work, but by then, we had a 10-0 lead to work with. That brings us to the hitting. Andrew and Mitch smashed doubles in their final regular season at-bats. Arun had a huge day, going 3-3 with a double laced down the left field line.

5 4
Wow. Welcome to the playoffs. P Andrew fanned the first two hitters he faced, then his delivery got a bit awkward and he started walking people. A quick visit to the mound revealed that a wasp had been pestering him. (Why us?) Kyle continued his escape artist routine on the mound. He got some terrific defensive help. With runners on second and third and one out, the Yankee batter hit a short pop up to left field. SS Mitch and 3B Tyrell converged, with Mitch emerging with the ball in his glove. He stepped on 3rd for an unassisted double play. Down 3-1, we chipped our way back into the game. Sander walked, stole second, went to third on an Alexia groundout, and scored on an RBI single by John. In the sixth, Sander singled, and advanced to score on groundouts by Alexia and Kyle. With the score tied and the time limit upon us in the seventh, Sean hammered a ball to left field. The Yankee fielder made a valiant attempt on the ball, and went tumbling as the ball tipped off his glove, allowing Andrew to score the winning run. The Reds mobbed Andrew and Sean as we sought some ice for the left fielder.

4 4
Another cardiac night for the Reds. The Pirates scratched out a 3-0 lead after 3 innings, and the Reds offense couldn't get anything going. In the fourth, Arun and Nicholas led off with singles. A strikeout and fielder's choice by Kyle left runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. John followed and swung mightily... missing the first two pitches. He airmailed the 0-2 pitch into the gap in right field, narrowing the lead to 3-2. Mitch tied the score with a single. Kyle provided his usual brand of heart attack relief pitching over two scoreless innings, saving a hit - and his own life - by snaring a laser headed for his mid-section. Bryan began the 5th inning with a double, swiped 3rd and scored on a Sander single, edging the Reds ahead 4-3. The Pirates struck back with an RBI triple, but P Mitch bore down and retired the side. In the bottom of the sixth, a walk to Ryan and single by Mitch started a 2-out rally. Sean slammed a ball to the fence in right field, bidding for his second game-winning hit in two games, but a quick relay pegged Ryan at the plate, right on the button of 8:00, negating a 7th inning and ending a great game in a tie.

7 4
The offense struggled in this one against some excellent Pirates pitching. We were able to put runners on base, but we couldn't get that timely hit to push runs across. We finally got on the board in the 4th inning, after a double by John and a single by Alexia. That was it until the seventh inning, when the Reds finally began to push some runners across, due in part to the fact that the Cardinals were finally running out of pitching, and walking in runs. We managed to narrow the score to 7-4 and had the bases loaded when the Cardinals recorded the final out.

5 4
A very exciting game to wind up our season. Lots of good things in this game. Sean kept up his sizzling playoff, lacing a pair of hits. Tyrell did a nice job behind the plate, and this time his pants held up. John, realizing that this might well be his last Mosquito game, was doing some negotiating with his Dad, asking for $100 if he could hit the water fountain in centre field. Overhearing this, the coach upped the ante to $1000, realizing that John would need quite the miracle of physics to achieve such a feat. He didn't hit the fountain, but an eager John just crushed the first pitch he saw down the left field line, and just inches foul. He would make a bigger impact later in the game.

The defense held the Dodger bats in check with some sparkling plays. P Andrew barehanded (!) a one-hop comebacker, 3B John snagged a liner to end a Dodger rally, and SS Kyle ranged far to his left to make a great catch. P Mitch pitched a pair of scoreless innings to leave the score 4-4 heading to the last of the 7th. John reached base, and quickly stole 2nd and 3rd, aching to swipe home. With two outs, Alexia worked the count to 3-2, with John inching further down the line on each pitch. The last pitch sailed over Alexia's head and banged off the backstop. John took off for home and slide in just ahead of the tag for an exhilarating win. It wasn't quite enough to get us into the championship, but it was a nice end to a fantastic season.

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