14 3
Not the ideal way to open the season, but there were some encouraging signs. C Bryan made a great catch on a foul pop to escape a bases loaded jam, while Isaac and Alexia both made their pitching debuts and did pretty well, with Alexia helping herself out by snagging a high fly ball. Offensively, both Marcus and Isaac made contact in their first games, with Isaac driving in the first run of the season. Bryan chipped in with a couple of hits and Alexia smoked a ball into left field for her first hit of the season. After a rough couple of innings defensively, we settled down and played the Pirates pretty evenly through the middle innings. Given some time and practice, we'll compete with this team.

9 8
A much better effort than our first game. The Reds cashed in 4 runs in the top of the first, but the Dodgers quickly struck back. Arun started and pitched pretty well, but he didn't get the kind of defensive support he needed. We made some ill-advised throws that allowed Dodger base runners to keep on running. Offensively, Isaac picked up his first base hit, while Tevon reached base for the first time. Sander and Joel both pounded the ball, and the team as a whole had a better time identifying balls and strikes than in the first game. We held the Dodgers to an 8-8 tie heading into the final inning, but they scratched out a run in the bottom of the final inning for the win.

9 7
A game in which we outhit and generally outplayed the Dodgers, but fell victim to too many walks. We got a couple of thunderous hits from Bryan and Sander, and a two-run single by Arun, while Joel continued to assault the ball. Kevin made his first pitching appearance and looked like a natural. He used a blazing fastball to keep the Dodger bats in check for two innings. 2B Joel and SS Marcus, the World's Smallest Middle Infield ™, combined for a nifty putout as Joel stopped a hot smash and flipped it to second just in time to end a Dodger rally. We had a couple of bad bounces, namely a ball that 1B Arun leaped for and tipped just off his glove. It would have ended the inning, but instead the Dodgers tacked on a couple of runs. The Reds mounted a rally in the last inning, with Joel driving in our 7th run, but he got a little too enthusiastic rounding first and was nabbed before he could get back to the bag.

6 5
We started the game off with a bang on a booming double by Meaghan and a single by Sander, but we couldn't get that key hit to push them across. The Cardinals edged ahead 2-0, but the Reds offense finally came alive, scoring 5 runs in a bat-around inning, rounded out by Kevin's cagey steal of home. The pitching was solid, with Sander and Kevin pitching the first three innings and Bryan coming on to try to close out the Cards. He did this despite having only 2 outfielders, as Meaghan had to leave the game, reducing the Reds lineup to just 8 players. Bryan gave up a long hit to the Cardinals slugger in the last inning, but OF Samson tracked it down quickly and held him to a triple. Bryan stranded the tying run at third, striking out the side. Special mention to Stephan who played a scrappy catcher despite getting beaten up behind the plate.

8 5
Another game, another pitcher added to the staff. Meaghan started this game and pitched well, striking out 5 batters over 2 innings. She allowed only a couple of hits, unfortunately one was a grand slam, and so the Reds were down 6-0 after 2 innings. The offense scrapped back on hits by Marcus, Nicholas, Stephan, Joel and Meaghan, to cut the lead to 6-4. Bryan pitched some fine middle relief to keep the Cardinals close, then switched to catcher and threw a strike to 2B Alexia to retire a Cardinals base stealer. Stephan also distinguished himself behind the plate, pouncing on a wild pitch and diving to tag out a Cardinal trying to swipe home. Sander pitched his best ball of the season in the fifth, holding the Cards scoreless. The Reds had their rally hats on in the bottom of the inning, with the bases loaded and nobody out, when curfew ended the game. Our progress at the plate is very encouraging.

11 9
Joel made his pitching debut in this game, and though his mechanics were inconsistent - he fell off the mound at one point - he threw pretty well, and certainly has the makings of a pitcher. He improved throughout the inning and notched his first career strikeout. Down 5-0 after one half inning, the Reds bounced back with 3 runs, as Bryan stole home and Joel singled in a run. P Kevin looked great in two innings of work, but we got a bit sloppy late in the game, throwing the ball around, and the Pirates led 11-4 heading into the last inning. The Reds wouldn't go quietly, sending the maximum 9 batters to the plate, highlighted by hits by Sander, Isaac, fresh off the DL, his 2nd of the game, Meaghan, and Reema's first career hit. With the bases loaded, last batter Tevon slapped a ball back to the pitcher, and the Pirates forced Alexia at home to end the game. Samson and Kevin both made contact in this game, meaning that every member of the Reds has now hit the ball.

11 5
Easily our most complete effort to date. The Reds plated 5 runs in the first, mostly on walks, with a single mixed in by Joel. Sander pitched two solid innings and received good defensive support. CF Isaac hustled on a short single and made a good throw to SS Joel for a forceout, while 3B Marcus snagged a hot grounder to end a bases loaded threat. P Kevin had another strong outing, pounding his fastball by strong Dodger hitters. 1B Meaghan vacuumed up a smoking two hopper to help him retire the Dodgers in order in the 3rd. The bats stayed red-hot, and even when we made outs, they were tough ones. Bryan, debuting as a right-handed hitter, smashed a hot grounder, Reema battled the Dodgers ace in a great at-bat, fouling off several pitches, and Meaghan hit a laser right into the glove of the Dodger at second base. Ahead 7-4, the Reds loaded the bases on singles by Marcus (his second of the game) and Stephan, and a walk to Tevon. Sander promptly unloaded them with a blast to the fence in right field for a triple. Isaac singled him home for another insurance run.

15 12
Well, this was quite the pitching duel. Kevin started and didn't have his best stuff, trying too often to blow the ball through hitters, piling up walks and spotting the Dodgers a 5-0 lead. Not to worry, as the high-octane Reds offense went to work in the bottom of the inning. Meaghan singled, Marcus singled, Bryan singled, Sander walked, Reema singled, Kevin walked and last batter Isaac slammed a ball into left field and scooted around the bases for a in-the-park grand slam and a 7-5 lead. The Dodgers struck right back for 4 runs in their half of the inning, but the Reds jumped right back on the sticks. Tevon and Meaghan reached base, Marcus singled, Bryan doubled... well you get the idea, and the Reds led 12-9. The Dodgers tied it in the third as the pitching started to get marginally better, and the Reds faced the Dodger ace in the bottom of the third. Tevon reached on a walk, and quickly stole second and third. With two out, Marcus collected his third hit of the day to retake the lead. Bryan followed with a walk, and Sander slammed double into right field, scoring both. The Dodgers rallied again in the fourth, but curfew wiped out the inning. In all, the Reds pounded out 12 hits.

8 6
The Pirates jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on P Isaac, but were denied more runs on a pair of fine plays by 2B Alexia. Isaac's control faltered in the second and the Pirates scored a handful of runs. Joel came on in relief for an inning-ending strikeout. Marcus took the mound in the 3rd, making his pitching debut. The defense behind him was solid, as C Bryan tagged out a runner trying to sneak home, and 1B Sander snagged a liner to start an unassisted double play. Samson made a great effort on a drive to left. We loaded the bases a couple of times but we couldn't break through until the 3rd inning. Down 7-0, Tevon walked, Marcus and Sander singled to load the bases. Walks to Reema and Arun and a hit by Isaac narrowed the lead to 7-4, and last batter Joel put up an excellent battle, just missing a double down the first base line. Against the Pirates ace, the Reds almost completed the comeback in the bottom of the 5th. Tevon walked and was tripled home by Sander, who was driven in by Bryan. With two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Isaac smacked a ball to the right side. The Pirate second baseman made a nice play to end the game.

21 7
Wow. The Reds wasted no time getting to work in this one. Bryan doubled, Meaghan scratched out a single, chopping a ball down the first base line and streaking past the first baseman. Sander, Isaac and Marcus followed, all attacking the ball, and soon it was 4-0. That was just the beginning. The defense was solid behind Sander, with 2B Alexia turning another nice play. Marcus pitched a scoreless inning, with 3B Bryan tracking down a foul pop up. Stephan made his pitching debut, retiring the only batter he faced on a foul pop up to C Sander. But the real story of this game was the hitting, which never let up. Alexia had a couple of hits, as did Meaghan. Sander hammered the ball all night long, including a bases loaded triple, and drove in about 8 runs on the night. Isaac tattooed a pitch to the hill in left field for a double. Marcus picked up three more hits, Arun had three, including a hard double to left field. He had a fourth, but was called out for almost skewering the umpire with a thrown bat. Reema, Stephan and Nicholas also joined the hit parade, making it 10 of 11 Reds hitting safely. Only Samson failed to pick up a base hit, but he had strong at bats all night and chipped in with a couple of walks.

16 6
The pitching improved quite a bit, while the offense kept rolling. We were a little short-handed, starting the game with just 8 players. Tevon walked, Joel singled, and Bryan singled them both home. Arun continued to swing a hot bat, as did Alexia. Reema and Kevin both had excellent at-bats, fouling off several pitches each before drawing walks. We had a couple of mishaps on the bases, as both Alexia and Arun were caught at third base, though slides would have helped in both cases. Nonetheless, we led 5-0 after a half inning. Arun, making his second start, had a better outing, and is gradually getting more consistent with his delivery. 3B Kevin made a terrific play, snagging a grounder that took a bad hop and then firing a chest-high bullet to first base. The Reds batted around in each inning. Marcus arrived by the second inning, just in time to smack a bases-loaded double. Stephan was swinging with some newfound power, smacking a couple of balls to the outfield. Kevin relieved Arun and looked strong, striking out 5 batters in 1 2/3 innings. We could stand to pay more attention in the field, as we were caught not watching the ball a couple of times.

15 13
The first inning of this game was not our finest hour. Our hitters looked awkward against a strong Cardinal pitcher and went quietly with three strikeouts. By contrast, the Cardinals leadoff man smacked a ball to third, which scooted to the outfield and then was overthrown twice for the classic little league homer. The Cards would tack on 5 more runs in the innning for a 6-0 lead. The Reds scratched out a run in the 2nd on a single and 3 stolen bases by Meaghan. The defense was much better behind P Sander and shut out the Cards the following inning, allowing the bats to really go to work. Base hits by Alexia, Marcus, Meaghan, Bryan, Stephan, Sander and Arun quickly had the Reds back in the game. Tevon also had some great swings in this game. The teams traded leads for the rest of the game, though the Reds manufactured a lot of offense via the hit, while the Cards drew a lot of walks against our inconsistent pitching. Our defense let down a little in the final inning, and fell one play short of securing a win, as the Cards came back to win the game, but once again, the hitting progress bodes very well for the future.

13 6
The vacation and injury bug bit hard for this one, reducing the Reds to just 7 players. Fortunately, we got a reinforcement in the form of Victoria, a rookie ball callup who made a spirited Mosquito debut. As part of a two-person outfield, she pounced on everything hit in her direction quickly and relayed it to the infield. Arun got the start, and had decent control, but didn't throw with the velocity he's capable of, yielding a 3-run homer. Alexia relieved with mixed results: a beaning and a strikeout. Bryan cut the deficit to 3-2 with an RBI double to drive in Reema and Alexia, his first of three hits. Being shorthanded allows you to experiment, and we took full advantage. Reema caught for the first time and looked comfortable, and later pitched, while Marcus tried on the catching gear, too. Stephan, on the 15-day DL with a broken wrist, got a taste of coaching first base. Hitting highlights included Kevin picking up the first hit of his career, while Victoria made contact in her first ever at-bat.

12 6
Once again, the Reds were down to 7 players, but we had our moments. Alexia got the start, and was able to get 2 strikes on most batters, but had some trouble with that elusive 3rd one. She got some help when one of the Cards batters got greedy, trying to turn a single into a triple. It took us a little while and an overthrow, but we eventually nabbed him on the rare 9-4-3-6-8-5 putout. Bryan continued to drive the offense with 3 more hits, while Victoria notched her first career walk and stolen base. Reema came out of a minor slump, smacking the ball twice, while Marcus continues to assault opposing pitching, and Arun tries to assault fans by launching a variety of long foul balls. Alexia was solid in her catching debut, while 2B Victoria made a nifty play on a ground ball, and C Bryan and SS Marcus combined to nail a Cards runner at second base. P Kevin held the Cards down for two innings, finding his groove and showing an impressive fastball. Marcus' control was much better in his second outing of the week, and Bryan tossed a shutout inning. A big thanks to Dante of the Cardinals, who filled in for us in left field, drew a walk and even pitched a little as our 8th player.

11 4
Meaghan got the start in this game and struggled through the first few batters, but bounced back very strong, notching a pair of strikeouts. 2B Reema then made a great play with the bases loaded to force the runner at second to end the inning. Kevin relieved and looked great, pounding the strikezone with a blazing fastball, and allowing just a run over 2 innings. Offensively, we had our chances, but some bad breaks and some very good Pirates defense kept us from having a big inning. Our own defense was quite good, with 2B Victoria throwing herself in front of absolutely everything at the keystone, and 1B Arun making a leaping catch to rob the Pirates top hitter. Bryan logged a solid inning of relief and continued his hot hitting, while Meaghan didn't show any rust after a week off, and Marcus one-handed (!) a double to the fence in right.

11 6
A better effort than the previous game, though we took a while to get going. Kevin pitched well again, but ran into trouble in his second inning of work. Marcus had a solid outing, with more life on his fastball, he struck out a couple of the Pirates big hitters. Our own offense sputtered, as runners reached base but we couldn't cash them. We finally managed to string hits together against the Pirates ace. Meaghan led off with a booming double past the left fielder, but was nipped trying for third. Alexia followed with a double down the line in right field. Reema walked and both were quickly cashed in by Bryan. The assault continued the following inning, when both Meaghan and Alexia smashed line drives to first and were robbed on fine plays by the Pirates first baseman. Still, hitting like that won't be stopped for long, and with a couple of breaks, this game could have been much closer.

16 7
Marcus got the start in this one and had a strong first inning. His wrist began to bother him in the second, and he loaded the bases. Arun relieved and pitched his best ball of the season, lasting two innings and allowing just a run. The Reds offense was clicking on all cylinders. Victoria drew 4 walks out of the leadoff spot, and scored her first runs. Meaghan continued to pound the ball, and Bryan took advantage of the larger Peewee field to go 3-3 with a double and an in-the-park homer. Arun blasted a bases-loaded triple and a double for a big day at the plate, while Kevin had a breakout day, with a triple and a pair of solid singles, though his baserunning was interesting to say the least. Alexia and Marcus rounded out the hit parade. Reema played for the short-handed Dodgers, and reached base 3 times, while pitching and catching.

16 10
The Reds bats kept the offense rolling, combining a few walks and some timely hits for an early 5-0 lead. Kevin held the Cards to just a run, and got some help, as SS Marcus pounced on an overthrow and threw out a Cardinal trying to score. Kevin's control left him a little bit in the second inning, allowing the Cards to narrow the lead to 6-5, but he did bear down to strike out the Cards top hitter with the bases loaded. Bryan's torrid hitting continued, and Meaghan was excellent in the leadoff spot, fouling off close pitches, talking her walks and adding a couple of hits. Meaghan pitched the 3rd inning, and the Cardinals threatened, loading the bases with none out. A hard line drive hit into the hole at shortstop could have been major trouble, but Marcus made a beautiful back-handed stab for the first out. He then snagged a hard grounder, tagged the runner heading to third and ran down the runner from first for the unassisted double play. Marcus rounded out the day with a bases-loaded double to seal the victory. 2B Victoria continued her strong play, sucking up a grounder off the bat of a

12 11
Meaghan started the game and managed two strikes on 4 of the 6 batters she faced, but she couldn't finish anyone off, and she ended up plunking two, so she had to be removed. C Bryan managed to catch a runner trying to sneak home, but the Dodgers still had a 5-0 lead after half an inning. Walks to Victoria and Meaghan, a single by Bryan and walks to Arun and Alexia cut the lead to 5-2. The Dodgers tacked on 4 more against Marcus, who threw pretty well, but was inconsistent. Marcus singled to start the second, Meaghan walked, and Bryan doubled them home. Arun then punched a single up the middle to narrow the lead to 9-5. P Bryan held the Dodgers in the third, and then the Reds offense got rolling. Joel walked, stole second and scored on a single by Nicholas. Rahim, playing his first game, hit a fielder's choice, moving Nicholas to second. Marcus drove him home with a double, stole third and scored on an overthrow. A Victoria walk, single by Meaghan and back-to-back doubles by Arun and Bryan resulted in an 11-9 Reds lead. Bryan allowed a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, but with the curfew approaching Joel, just back from vacation, singled, moved to third on two overthrows and was quickly singled in by Nicholas to win the game.

10 2
Our best pitching performance of the year. Kevin started and, once he found his groove, was just about unhittable. He was staked to an early 3-0 lead, as Victoria, Meaghan and Bryan walked to load the bases, and Arun doubled a pair home. Bryan would later score on a bases-loaded walk. Kevin got into a little trouble in his second inning, but SS Marcus helped bail him out, snaggin a grounder and throwing to 3B Arun. The bats kept rolling. Nicholas picked up another hit, and Rahim, in just his second game, picked up his first career hit, while Samson had both a flyout and ground out. Arun finished the day 2-3 with a single, double and RBI groundout. Marcus, Bryan and Meaghan continued their hot July hitting. Bryan closed out the game with 2 quality innings.

14 12
We only had 8 Reds in attendance for this one, but we still gave the Cardinals all they could handle. The Cards jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the Little Red Machine struck back for 3 in the bottom of the first, as the bats stayed hot. The Cards surged ahead 8-3 in the second, but we quickly narrowed that to 8-6. The Cards would jump ahead 13-6, but again the Reds fought back to 13-9. The Cards were able to scratch out one more run against Bryan, but the offense put up another three runs, and had the tying run on second base when this one ended. Bryan and Meaghan continued to punish the ball, and Arun hammered a pair of long drives to left field for extra base hits. The offensive highlight of the game goes to Samson, who picked up his first career base hit to contribute to our 4th inning rally. Our thanks to Robbie of the Dodgers, who was a Red for a night and allowed us to get the game in.

10 8
Another close one against the Cards, which featured some stellar defence. Kevin pitched his way into trouble with some wildness in the first inning, then promptly got out of it, snagging a bases-loaded comebacker, firing home to Bryan, who then zipped a throw to 3B Arun for a 1-2-5 double play to escape the inning. Some good hustle from Alexia behind the plate nabbed a Cardinal runner trying to steal home, while the offense continued to battle as Arun, Bryan and Marcus continued their assault on the baseball.

5 4
Despite the fact that both teams were short-handed, this was a great little game, with lots of hitting and defense for both sides. Arun decided to reinvent the art of playing first, as he purposely stepped on a hot grounder, trapping it with his cleats, then calmly picked up the ball and beat the Pirates runner to first, saving all that troublesome bending over. He would later make a more orthodox putout at 2B. Sander made a fine running catch on a short pop fly in his return to the Reds after a lengthy vacation, and it looked as though he'd been to pitching camp, as he shut down the potent Pirates lineup over 2 innings. The play of the game was a near double play, as Bryan snagged a comebacker tossed to Meaghan at first who fired a strike to C Alexia, almost nabbing the runner from third. The hitting hung tough against the strong Pirates staff, with Bryan showing that he can still switch hit, batting left-handed for the first time in 3 months and hammering a double into the gap in right field. The Pirates added a few cosmetic runs in the bottom of the inning, but they were wiped out by curfew. Thanks to Joel, who played for the Pirates so the game could be played.

16 13
One last tune up before the playoffs, and the bats look ready. The first inning of this game was probably the best we've had all season: Meaghan doubled, Sander singled, Bryan singled, Arun singled, Alexia singled, Samson struck out, Victoria walked, Reema singled and last-batter Kevin scorched a triple to centre for a 7-hit, 7-run inning and a 7-3 lead. The Pirates retook the lead after Kevin had a bout of wildness, but the hitting kept coming, with every Red in the lineup collecting a hit, except for Victoria, and all she did was walk 4 times. Samson had another hit, and we built up another lead. P Bryan ran into some trouble late in the game, and the Pirates were able to squeak out the win just 30 seconds before curfew hit.

Playoffs

9 8
A tight game to open the playoffs. Our starting pitcher was stuck in traffic for the first 20 minutes of the game, so Kevin took the hill and pitched very well, whiffing the first two Cardinals before allowing a double. That brought up the Cardinals cleanup hitter, who skied a ball to left field, where Reema hauled it in with a great catch to end the inning. The Reds scratched out a pair of runs on a walk and two steals to Victoria, and an RBI single and later steal of home by Bryan. A couple of defensive lapses brought the Cardinals back into the game, and then a couple MORE defensive lapses put them ahead 9-4. Basically, we have to take better care of the ball. The offense scrapped back and cut the lead to 9-6 on a clutch 2-run single by Sander, and then 9-8, on singles from Bryan, Joel and Marcus. The defense couldn't retire the home Cards in time to play another inning, and so Victoria made her pitching debut, the youngest Red ever to do so.

10 9
This game didn't start out under ideal circumstances, as Sander was a pitch away from escaping a bases-loaded jam, when Dante - Red for a game earlier this season - smacked a 3-run double just inside the line at first base. 5-0 Cardinals. An HBP to Joel and booming double by Marcus got the Reds on the board, then a pair of bases-loaded walks by Reema and Samson made it 5-3. A line-drive double play by 1B Arun got us out of another bases-loaded jam in the 2nd. The bats clawed back with hits by Sander, Bryan, Arun, Marcus and Isaac, and we used some fine late pitching by Bryan to hold on for a 1-run victory.

5 2
This was a tight game in which both pitching staffs and defenses played particularly well. The Reds vaunted offense was able to reach base, but could never get that clutch hit to break through with a big inning. We got some outstanding pitching performances from Sander, who has established himself as a top pitcher in this series, Bryan and the flame-throwing Kevin.

11 7
We struggled to field a team in what ended up being our last game of the season, but did manage 9 players just before the 6:15 cutoff. Though short-handed, the Reds put up a great fight. The pitching was erratic early, and the Cards took full advantage, running up a 7-0 lead and looking like they would run away with this game. But the bats have been tenacious all season, and this was no exception. Marcus, Bryan, Sander, Arun and Joel all pounded hits, and quickly the score was 7-5. Alas, the bullpen blew up a little and the Cards were able to tack on some late runs. This game should be remembered for a great little play by 3B Arun, P Sander, and C Bryan, who randown the Cardinals all-star slugger with major league precision. A definite play of the year candidate.