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"11u Battle Tough Conditions, Fall Short"

By Mark Marinch, 02/12/19, 8:30AM PST

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The Lightning 11u played in the Pre-President’s Day tournament this past weekend. Sometimes in competition, the final score does not show the true nature of the game. In every game, there are singular plays that may seem small, but have great impact on the game. This weekend those plays did not go our way. However, the boys were resilient after two losses on the first day, and fought back from being the last seed to make the championship game. They fell short, but competed through tough conditions and continued to move in the right direction.

The 0-2 record on the first day could have easily been 2-0, but there were too many runners left on base against two good teams. Eli A. and Jake M. both pitched well, but the Lightning could never gain the momentum offensively for them. Hitting is the toughest thing to do in sports, and on this day they did not do it well.

Sunday’s games were much more competitive all around and were in some of the toughest possible conditions to play in. JJ S. sparked the offense in every at-bat, getting on base 8 out of 9 times. Santiago W. and Xzavian J. both had 3 hit games. Brady S. had the most critical rbi of the day, a squeeze bunt that took the life out of the High Heat in the last inning of a long game. Alfonso C. did a little bit of everything, catching well, notching multiple hits and pitching in the championship. Kyle J. had the most dominant LVBA 11u pitching performance yet, throwing 5 quality innings in an elimination game. Michael B. looked sharp in his first pitching outing in months, in another high stakes elimination game. Finally, Luke L. had the defensive play of the day, with an inning ending double play by throwing out a runner at home.

Despite the losing record, the boys competed very well this weekend. They learned how little aspects of games on the first day can greatly impact the second day. Playing three games in a day is tough at any level. Pros don’t even play that much. Another weekend in the right direction for a team with a world of potential.