“We have Bats! We have Defense! We have Pitching! We have Style! Who are we? PHANTOMS!!!” is the new cheer for this season. Team Echelbarger came out to play great baseball and win an awesome game against Showcase Sports.
Sometimes as head coach you need to chew out the team to start the fire within the players. We had a chat before the game on how we needed to step up, be focused, cheer for our teammates, call the plays and play Phantoms baseball. I told the team that it was up to each individual player to bring it and not the responsibility of the coaching staff to get them fired up.
We have Pitching! We had 6 innings of solid pitching with 73 combined strikes. Chris started the game facing 3 batters, 8 strikes, 2 strike outs, 0 hits, 0 walks and 0 runs. Ryan pitched the second facing 4 batters, 9 strikes, 3 strike outs, 0 hits, 1 walk and 0 runs. Jordan pitched 3 innings facing 18 batters, 46 strikes, 8 strike outs, 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 earned runs.
We have Defense! Christian had a 4-3 play with Benji in the first inning. Alex B caught a grounder at first base to tag the runner out to end the 5th. Christian had a 4-3 play with Ryan to get the 1st out of the sixth.
We have Bats! Christian lead us off with a lead off single, Chris drove him in with a first pitch triple. Sean has an RBI double to score Chris and Benji drive Sean home with a double. Chris leads off the third inning with single, Jordan moves the runner to 3rd but is thrown out at 1st, Sean drives Chris home with a single. Sean steals home on a error to the pitcher and Ryan takes 1st base on a catchers interference. In the fourth inning Ceasar gets walked, Ian hits an RBI single, Jack hits an RBI single, Alex B is walked, Chris hits an RBI single, Jordan hits an RBI single and Sean drives in the 5th run to end the inning.
Alex R was our MVP of the game. I told him that he would get the game ball if he struck out the last batter of the game and he did! He had a 1-3 play with Ryan in the sixth and hit a single in the 5th.
We have Style! The team showed real character on the field today and commanded the game from the first pitch. We have one more regular season game before the playoffs and the Phantoms look ready to play.
Our next game is Wednesday, May 26th against Distinctive Glass at 7:00 pm on Lynndale Field 2. See you there. Go Phantoms!
Final Score: Showcase 4 – Echelbarger 10
