Scrimmage: Bees 15, Mudcats 10

The Mudcats learned Wednesday night that they have the potential to be a very solid defensive team. There were web gems galore in the 15-10 scrimmage loss to the Bees: a great diving play by Ben Penchuk in center field that cut off a potential extra-base hit and held the hitter to a single; a smooth play coming across the infield by Smiley when he speared a grounder that appeared headed to the hole between third and short and threw out the runner at first; at least one nice scoop at first base of a short-hop throw by Christopher; and a crisp 1-2-3 fourth inning when the Mudcat infield made three consecutive flawless plays.

But what undid the Mudcats, especially in the three big Bee innings--a four-run first, a four-run third and a back-breaking seven-run fifth--were struggles with more routine plays. "If we make the routine plays the way we made the SportsCenter plays tonight, we're going to be a very good team," Coach Andrew told the squad after the loss. The coaching staff did identify a couple of areas for improvement that should cure the defensive issues. There will be an extra focus on being alert on every pitch at future practices and games, and a continued effort to always know what to do with the ball before it is pitched. "There was a little too much standing around," Coach Andrew told the team as he demonstrated the difference between a more casual ready position and the cat-quick, knees-bent stance he wants to see in the future.

Offensively, the Mudcats actually outhit the Bees, 19-16, and put together a near miraculous rally in the top of the sixth, scoring six runs and loading the bases before running out of hits. Every player in the lineup reached base at least once, and eight different players scored runs. Big Ben and Charley each had three-hit days, while Drew and Christopher both picked up doubles and had clutch, last-strike at-bats that led to Mudcat runs.

The challenge now turns to converting those hits into runs. "We probably could've had a few big innings if we ran the bases a little better," Coach Andrew said. "We will work on that next time." That's exactly the point of a scrimmage--to show everyone what a young team needs to work on before the regular season begins on Sept. 9 with an ESPN showdown against the Scrappers.

A helmet sticker was awarded to Smiley for being the defensive "spectacle of the game," according to Coach Andrew (There are good ways and bad ways to be the "spectacle of the game"--Smiley's was definitely the good way). Christopher also picked up a sticker for his terrific work at first base in his first action at that position, and Little Ben (solid defensive play and a two-RBI single in the sixth) and Gabe (quality work behind the plate) also earned stickers.

Coach Andrew also revealed that he has been known to give stickers to the entire team for a particularly impressive effort. That didn't happen on Wednesday, but..."You were right on the edge of getting that," he told the Mudcats. "Here's the deal: at our first game, I don't care if we win or lose, but I want to see a focused, ready-to-play-baseball group on every pitch. If we can do that, that will mean two stickers for the entire team."

Everyone should enjoy their Labor Day weekend, whether that means going to
a hurricane party
the beach, watching college football, or fielding 500 grounders per day and then running stairs for an hour. Hey, when did Coach Andrew get access to post on the blog? The next team activity is Sunday night's Durham Bulls game. The next scheduled practice is Wednesday at 6 p.m. at East Cary.

Wednesday's Mudcat scoring plays
First inning
Smiley leads off with a single to right-center and scores on Christopher's run-scoring two-strike double. Drew earns a couple extra pitches by fouling off the seventh pitch and then strokes a a single to center, scoring Christopher.
Score: Mudcats 2, Bees 0

Fourth inning
Anthony leads off with a single and moves to second on Charley's single. An infield single from Gabe loads the bases, and a ground ball off the bat of J.J. scores Anthony (and almost necessitates the first instant replay review in West Raleigh history as the coaches and umpires tried to sort out the potential obstruction on the bases).
Score: Bees 8, Mudcats 3

Fifth inning
Big Ben starts the inning with a single and advances to second on a throwing error. Asher
accidentally
consciously tries to hit the ball to the right side to move up the runner, and is retired at first with Ben moving to third. Brenner picks up his first career hit and first career RBI with a sharp grounder to the left side.
Score: Bees 8, Mudcats 4

Sixth inning
Drew starts an improbable rally with a leadoff double. He moves to third on Anthony's single and scores on Charley's single. The third straight single belongs to Gabe. With one out and the bases loaded, Little Ben rips a line drive to center that scores two. Big Ben follows with a run-scoring single, and with two outs, Brenner picks up his second RBI with a single to left and Smiley drives in another run with a single to end the scoring.
Score: Bees 15, Mudcats 10

Wednesday's Web Gems

• Smiley's play at third base moving to his left, spearing a hard-hit grounder, and throwing to Christopher to easily retire the runner.
• Little Ben's diving stop in center field that turned a potential double or triple into a single.
• The all-around general heads-up play by the infield at being aware of where the lead runner was at all times, and making the easy play--as with Drew's flip to a wisely covering Anthony to end the first--rather than a potentially hazardous more difficult play.