Youth summer baseball has begun! Cook County youth baseball started its season on May 29 with a rainout. We’ve managed a few games under sunny skies since then and we’ve seen some great baseball.
Sunday, June 3 was our first Little League game with the Dodgers hosting the Twins. Ethan Sporn pitched for the Dodgers and Bradley Wilson for the Twins. The Twins jumped out to an early lead scoring 3 runs off the Dodgers in their first two at bats.
The Dodgers held the Twins in check for the rest of the game and mounted a comeback that tied up the game. Neither team was able to get the go-ahead score across the plate, so when the game time limit was reached the game wasstoppedina3to3tie.No one likes ending in a tie, but what a great game to start the season with!
The Cubs’ first game was against the Dodgers. The Cubs have a young team, but they played their first game like champions. The Dodgers had no answer for Andrew Miller on the mound as he shut them down only allowing one run in a complete game performance. The Dodgers played hard, but lost 14 – 1 to the Cubs. Coach Scott Puch is very happy with the way his young team has started the season.
The next game of the Little League season had the Cubs and Twins facing each other for the first time. Seth Kemp started on the mound for the Cubs. The Twins countered with Tristen Bockovich.
The Twins jumped out to a 6-run lead even though Seth Kemp pitched very well for his first time on the mound. The Cubs used some good base stealing to manufacture 4 runs, but in the end could not overtake the Twins. Cameron Roy went 2 for 3 at the plate for the Cubs.
A rematch of the Twins and the Dodgers was the next game on the schedule. Bradley Wilson and Chance Finke took turns on the mound for the Twins. Ethan Sporn pitched a complete game for the Dodgers. The Dodgers used great hitting to control the game from the start. The hitting onslaught included 2 hits from Ethan, one an inside-the-park home run. Also Colton Furlong was perfect at the plate with this season’s first over-the-fence home run. Way to go Colton! The Dodgers controlled the game winning 12 to 2. Parent pitch players improving
The first games of the parent pitch season were on June 5 with the Thunderbirds hosting the Lumberjacks and the Lions hosting the Yankees. The Thunderbirds’ Coach Pat Pierre told me that all his players hit the ball very well and had a great time. Ariana Poyirier of the Thunderbirds however had the best night as she went 4 for 4 at the plate.
The Lumberjacks squeaked out a victory, winning 18 to 17.
In the other parent pitch game it was the Lions who got their season off to a winning start. The Lions opened the season against last year’s champs the Yankees. The Yankees struggled at the plate and only managed 2 runs. The Lions scored 7 runs to take the victory. It was the first game for both teams and it showed. Both teams showed great improvement in their next games, more on that next week. T-ball fun to watch
The other youth baseball league is T-ball. Our T-ball league exploded this year with 72 players on six teams.
The first game of the T-ball season is kind of like watching puppies chase after a tennis ball, but by the time we get to the end of the season they will play like baseball veterans. If you’ve never seen a T-ball game, come out and watch them hit the ball, run the bases, and all chase after the ball. I guarantee it will put a smile on your face. All kids are having a great time playing T-ball.
I would like to thank the Grand Portage T-ball team for providing ice cream after their game to the team that traveled to their field to play last week. That’s a great treat the kids won’t forget!
More to come next week. Come on out and watch some games, it’s a great way to send an evening.
Leave a Reply