Playing with just 10 players, the 'Cats made just enough plays in the field to keep the game close. During the key stretch of the game, through the middle innings, they retired seven out of eight Thunder hitters. That allowed the offense time to kick into gear. The Mudcats were outscored 7-4 through the first three innings, but went on a 10-1 onslaught over the final three innings, outhitting the Thunder 10-3 in that span.
You might think that the rally was prompted by sparkling defense or a hard-hitting offense. You might even think that perhaps it was Gavin, who announced before his fourth inning at-bat, "I've still got some tricks up my sleeve, I just need to find them." It turned out that the trick up his sleeve was a home run. Nice trick.
And all of those things were nice. But I now present to you the true source of the rally:
Look carefully on the far right of the photo, attached to the fence. That, folks, is a bonsai tree. It was planted there by Coach Sean before the fourth inning. Shortly thereafter, the Mudcats began to play with incredible poise and flair. As you can see from the photo, it also enabled Coach Sean to reach a zen-like state on the field; he began grooving pitches (two Mudcat homers, 10 Mudcat hits post-bonsai planting) and reached a higher state of enlightenment with his defensive strategy. I later snapped this photo of Coach Sean preparing to pitch the sixth inning.
Stickers were presented to everyone for the victory. In addition, bonus stickers were presented to the following players: Quenten (bomb), Gavin (bomb), Colin (nearly knocked Coach Sean's bonsai clippers off), Cameron (timely RBIs yet again), Brenner (key offense from the leadoff spot), Will (good defense at pitcher), Hayden (big-time hustle on the bases and a key hit), Asher (4-for-4 and a couple nice scoops), Jay (aggressive baserunning to score from second on a single) and Jackson (a line-drive hit, plus he picked up a force out from the outfield). In other words, everybody got a bonus sticker--told you it was a team effort.
The Mudcats will hit the practice field on Sunday at 1:30. The next Mudcat game is Thursday at 5:30.
Saturday's Mudcat scoring plays
Third inning
After going scoreless in the first two innings for the first time all season, the offense ignited in the third. Asher laced a one-out single and moved to second on Gavin's single. With two down, Quenten ripped an RBI single to get the 'Cats on the board. Cameron blasted an RBI double and Hayden's shot back through the middle couldn't be fielded, scoring Cameron all the way from second.
Score after two and a half innings: Mudcats 4, Thunder 3
Fourth inning
Once again, it happened with two outs. Brenner singled. Asher singled and stretched it to two bases when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, scoring Brenner. Gavin crushed a home run to left that scored a pair. Colin got the rally going again with a line drive single. Quenten drove a hard-hit ball to the left side that put two runners on, and Cameron's single plated two.
Score after three and a half innings: Mudcats 9, Thunder 7
Fifth inning
Jay reached on a one-out fielder's choice. He moved up to second on Brenner's fielder's choice to the right side. Asher finished off a 4-for-4 day with an RBI single and moved to second on some fielding issues. Gavin swatted a triple to deep left, and scored when Colin ripped an RBI single right past Coach Sean's ear. Quenten finished the scoring by blasting a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left-center.
Score after four and a half innings: Mudcats 14, Thunder 7
Saturday's Web Gems
- Gavin and Colin hooked up on a nice shortstop-to-third force in the first to retire the lead Thunder runner.
- Asher made a pair of nice scoops at first base to preserve outs in the infield, with one coming in the second inning and one in the fifth.
- Jackson came up firing on a single to right field in the sixth inning and hosed a runner at second to get the force.
- Coach Regan foraged deep into a dangerous underbrush to retrieve Gavin's home run ball.
| Saturday's line score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H |
| Mudcats | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Thunder | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 |
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