The Phantoms win! This team is really starting to gel on the field. We took care of the baseball and didn’t allow any runs after the 1st inning.
The Phantoms offense woke up in the 3rd inning. I was a little worried that we were going to loose because our kids were not swinging even after I had told them that the ump has a huge strike zone. Jack had a nice triple in the 3rd and Alex R had a double in the 4th. We had 5 hits, 12 walks and 9 runs scored.
Reilly started us off in pitching today. Wilcox’s top of the order got to him early with a lead off double followed by a RBI single. He was discouraged after that and walked the next couple of batters. Jordan relieved him in his pitching debut after being out of the country for the last 4 games with 4 innings pitched, 7 strike outs, 6 hits, 0 earned runs and 1 walk. Christian closed out the game with 0 hits, 1 walk and 0 earned runs facing 4 batters.
The story of the day was great defense on the field. As baseball fan I love offense, but I always teach defense at every practice. This was the first game since the start of the season that we’ve had no errors on the field and didn’t allow a run to score on a wild pitch.
Reilly continues to be a solid 1st baseman with 3 put outs. Christian contributed with a line drive catch at 2nd base to end the 2nd. Ryan had a nice 4-3 in the 5th and Jordan had a 6-3 to end the game.
I could have given the game ball to several players tonight, but the MVP of the game was Ian. He had two 5-4 combos with Ryan in the 3rd and very nice 5-3 combo to get the 1st out in the 5th.
The next 4 games are going to test our defense, pitching and patience at the plate. The opponents have aggressive coaches and players that can hit. But I’m hopeful that our team will remain confident and weather the storm.
Our next game is Saturday, April 17th against 3D Roofing at 5:00 pm on Lynndale Field 2. See you there. Go Phantoms!
Final Score: Echelbarger 9 – Wilcox 4
