On Thursday, our son Michael's Hueneme Frosh baseball team boarded the bus for their last game of the 2011 season. The short ride would take them to Oxnard H.S., home of a solid Yellowjacket squad that entered the contest with a 12-7 record.
If you follow this now occasional blog, you know that Mike's Vikings only have ten players on their roster of which five had never played baseball before this season. Predictably, this would be a season of learning while winning would be elusive indeed.
The Vikings came out swinging!
Drawing First Blood
The Vikings started things off right scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. The Yellowjackets responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning. By the end of the fifth inning, Oxnard had extended their lead to 9-2.
Time for the Vikings to roll over and give up.
NOT!!!
The BEST offensive inning of the year!!!
BY FAR!!!
It was so gratifying to watch these kids rally in this magical inning that included a three-run homer followed by a triple.
One of about six pick off throws
None were successful and this Viking eventually stole second base.
On Deck
This warm-up swing eventually led to a triple and another run.
PLAY AT THE PLATE!!!
By the end of the Vikings' turn at bat in the top of the sixth inning, Hueneme had scored SEVEN RUNS to tie the score at 9-9.
YAHOO!!!
Bringing the Heat
Great pitching and defense in the bottom of the sixth inning, the score was still 9-9 going into the final frame.
Getting a Good Rip at the Plate
In the top of the seventh inning, the Vikings scored again to take a 10-9 lead! Hueneme was only three outs away from a win.
It was not meant to be.
The Yellowjackets pushed across two one out runs to win the game 11-10.
Mike huddles with his team one last time
For the season, the Vikings only won one game. By today's win-at-all-costs standards, this is not good but I beg to differ.
I saw a group of inexperienced kids continue to battle, week after week, game after game, inning after inning. They had a ton of opportunities to give up and just stop trying but they didn't.
They battled, they hustled, they learned about team work and playing the game correctly. Seeing this improvement is what coaching and high school sports should be all about.
Finally, I was so proud of the job Michael did coaching his kids. He was patient to a fault, something he definitely did not learn from me. He used every negative situation, believe me there were many, as a postive teaching tool for his players.
GREAT JOB VIKINGS!!!
3 comments:
Give Mike my congratulations on what I agree is a successful season! I have been scratching my baseball itch through his team and your blog, so, George, I'm going to request that you start blogging about Dodger games. I hope they show the same improvement as the Vikings... Thanks!
I am proud of the Vikings for never giving up, and competing practice after practice, game after game.
Being from Sweden I can only say one thing. Go Vikings!
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