Game 5: Mudcats 8, Bees 4

Double plays are relatively rare in West Raleigh. They really are. That probably seems hard to believe, considering that the Mudcats seem to convert them with regularity. It happened again on Saturday, as a timely defensive twin killing helped preserve an 8-4 victory over the Bees bright and early at Nowell Field.

With team pictures scheduled for 8:30 a.m., there were lots of bleary eyes and blank stares as the Mudcats gathered around the photo area. But enough about the parents. The kids, as usual, were ready to play at any time or place, and they were soon fortified with the traditional Mudcat Saturday morning buffet of doughnuts, Chick-fil-A and fruit. Add a chocolate fountain next time, and we’ll have everything they have at Golden Corral.

The sugar rush showed, as the ‘Cats put up a quick first-inning run, but left the inning feeling like they potentially could have had even more, as the Bees infield made several solid plays. That proved to be the theme of the day: even on a day when the Mudcats collected 10 hits, there were at least half a dozen hard-hit balls that very easily could have dropped.

With runs likely to be in short supply, the All Blacks responded with stingy defense. They turned in two 1-2-3 innings, and just four batters came to the plate in two other innings. One of those frames was the fifth, when the Bees put the potential tying runs in scoring position with one out, but saw their rally snuffed out by Gavin’s unassisted double play at second base. Incredibly, the play marked the Mudcats’ third double play in just five games.

After solid field maintenance done by Proctor and Pops Landscaping, Coach Sean handed out a pair of stickers to everyone, and capped the day with an unexpected surprise: old school stickers from the Mudcat archives for solid plays on both offense and defense.

The next ‘Cats game is an ESPN prime time affair on Sunday night at 5 p.m. against the Scrappers. Pregame begins at 4 p.m.


Saturday's Mudcat scoring plays
First inning
Gavin led off with a single and moved to third on Brady’s double. After a fielder’s choice, Bryce drove in the first run of the day with a hard grounder to short.
Score after one-half inning: Mudcats 1, Bees 0

Second inning
A huge inning from the second half of the Mudcat order. It began with Donovan reaching second as the leadoff man, then moving to third on a fielder’s choice. Good baserunning by Donovan prevented a double play on Noah’s line shot to third, and gave the ‘Cats two outs with no runs in. But they were just getting started. Brenner drove in Donovan, then Chris and Ben loaded the bases with back-to-back hits. Good hustle from Ben between first and second prevented an inning-ending force out and scored Brenner. Channing pulled a ball straight down the third base line, scoring Chris and Ben to complete the four-run rally with two outs.
Score after one and a half innings: Mudcats 5, Bees 0

Third inning
Charley roped an opposite-field single with one out. With two on and one out, Gabe laced a single between third and short to score Charley.
Score after two and a half innings: Mudcats 6, Bees 2

Sixth inning
After a couple quiet innings, the Mudcat offense woke back up in the sixth. Brady led off with a bullet to center, then scored on Charley’s single. Bryce capped his two-RBI day with a run-scoring grounder to short.
Score after five and a half innings: Mudcats 8, Bees 4


Saturday's Web Gems

• Gavin and Gabe each bounced back from misfortune earlier in an inning to make key plays. In the second, the Bees had a runner in scoring position when Gavin hauled in a pop fly to end the inning. And in the sixth, facing the top of the Bee order, Gabe made a solid play on a hard-hit grounder and fired to second to record the force.
• One of the game’s key moments came in the fifth, with the All Blacks nursing a slim two-run lead. After the Bees hit back-to-back singles to put two on with no outs, Asher and Bryce teamed up to record an out on a grounder back up the middle. Then, with one out and the tying runs in scoring position, Gavin snagged a line drive and stepped on second to double off the runner, ending the threat, preserving the lead and giving the Mudcats an injection of momentum going into the sixth.

Saturday's line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Mudcats	1	4	1	0	0	2	8	10
Bees	0	2	0	2	0	0	4	6