Opening Day!

It's time for some baseball! I've been scorekeeping for Brantley's teams for a while now and I really enjoy it. This year I'm stepping it up. I finally got an iPhone earlier this year and I found a baseball scoring app. I've been practicing with it since baseball practice started. It's a really cool app and I can record so many things. Also, it will gamecast the play by play on the internet real-time! Most people probably won't care, but I think some will really enjoy it. Especially those that are always making update phone calls during the game to update those that can't be there. They won't have to do that any more. Enjoy!

http://iscorecast.com

customer id is 9621A65A5B

Breast Cancer Awareness

For the first time since Brantley has been playing baseball, our baseball club decided to have a breast cancer awareness day. They painted pink ribbons on the field and the boys all wore pink wristbands to show their support. They were all great about it. Brantley even wanted to wear pink cleats. Grandma took some pictures of the game for me and got some great action shots. It was a great game. The Raptors came back for being down 0-7 to win 12 to 11. It was really exciting, albeit it bit disappointing for Brantley to score the winning run in on a walk. The bases were loaded for him and the pitcher walked him. Oh well!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to Brantley! He is now 9 years old which means that he's officially out of his booster seat. I also checked the law and it states that ages 9-12 are recommended to sit in the back seat, but not required. Brantley SO wants to sit in the front seat. I let him some this weekend but I told him not to get used to it.

We've been so busy with baseball every weekend, including July 4th weekend. Luckily, the team had this weekend off so Brantley got to celebrate his birthday. He has wanted to have a sleepover for so long, so that's what he did for his birthday. It was a small sleepover and worked out okay. They stayed up late and got up early. :)

For his birthday lunch with Grandma and Pop, Brantley wanted to go to I55. I was pretty surprised at his choice, and we were even more surprised when we got there and they only had Sunday brunch. Brantley wanted the gator basket which was not on the brunch menu. I thought for sure they would make it for him anyway but they wouldn't and we left for another restaurant for the birthday boy.

Well, it's back to baseball. Practice on Tuesday and 2 more tournaments to go. Overall, it's been a good experience for Brantley. He has learned a lot and finally hit his first home run which was so awesome. I wish I had my camera ready to get that photo op, but I haven't been taking any pictures because it seems to make him nervous. The whole team went out to congratulate him after he crossed home plate. His face was beaming, and I think he was standing taller in the dugout. He was so proud of himself. Here he is after a long day of baseball.

Marathon

Brantley's school puts a group together each year to participate in the kids marathon. Last school year I didn't even look at the paper when it came home. I just thought, he can't run a marathon. But, they had 90 kids running last year. So, this past fall when the paper came home I actually looked at it. It's modified so the kids are supposed to accumulate 25 miles prior to running the last mile at the marathon. They run the same last mile as the real marathon. So, I signed him up and he started tracking his miles with track club last fall. The weather this spring wasn't really good for track club so he missed a few weeks and came in short on the 25 miles. Here is the group of 3rd grade boys. There were 2 more that showed up after I took this picture. I have no idea what his time was and I'm not really sure they tracked it for the kids like they do for the real marathon. Thank goodness the weather turned out okay and I think it was a good experience for him.Here are Brantley and Hunter after the finish.
And, a video of him finishing the race.

More Baseball

Yesterday's game was the most exciting game. The first inning did not go as planned with 3 up 3 down for the Rays and the other team scored 5. Down by 5, the next inning was 3 up 3 down for the Yankees and the Rays scored 5. The Rays took the lead by 3 in the 3rd inning. The Yankees answered in the 4th with 3 runs but the Rays got one in to lead by 1. It was a disappointing 5th inning for both teams with no runs. Top of the 6th, the Yankees scored 5. It didn't look good with the Rays up to bat down by 4. By some amazing feat, the Rays loaded up the bases. Four runs in to tie the game. Bases loaded, 2 outs, no pressure. They did it! 5 runs in. You've never seen a more excited bunch of boys. The Rays won 14 to 13.

Brantley had 3 at bats yielding a triple and 2 singles. It really should have been 2 doubles and a single. His triple was really on errors and one of the singles should have been a double. Brantley was almost to second base but the other runner had stopped so Brantley had to high tail it back to first. He also got 4 RBIs. The other coach actually came over to check to see if Brantley's bat was legal. Our coach told him, sure you can check it. He's our best player. The other coach said, "You just don't see a ball come off a bat like that." To which our coach replied, "Yeah, we've been working on his bat speed." We all had a good laugh about it, but it truly was a great compliment to Brantley.

Baseball Season just got a little longer.

Well, last weekend we decided to let Brantley try out for a travel ball team. I made him promise me that he would be okay with it if he didn't make the team. As I expected, he didn't try out as well as he is capable of playing. He did do a good job fielding and did a great job at first base, but he couldn't hit. Actually, none of the kids at his tryout were hitting except for one. I didn't see any of the next session so I don't know what those kids looked like. Brantley did have one advantage though. The coach for this team saw him play in the championship game last season because he was the coach of the other team. And, he was the coach that saw him play in the scrimmage...the one the dad was referring to when he said there as a coach scouting my boy. Anyway, we got the call tonight and Brantley made the team. He is so excited about it. I hope he can handle it.

Finally...a WIN!

Finally, a big win for Brantley's baseball team. They won 17 to 4 tonight. Not sure how, but they all seemed to hit well tonight. They only fielded 3 outs (the rest of the other teams outs were strike outs) and Brantley was in on all 3. He got 2 at first base and the 3rd was when he was playing second base. He should have been 3 for 3 at batting, but he hit a single on his third at bat and the runner from 2nd to 3rd got out at third base. It was the third out so the run he batted in didn't count and he didn't get credited with his single. He still had 3 RBIs tonight, 2 of them with a huge triple in the first inning. And, he got the game ball tonight!

Baseball Update

Well, it's finally happened. Brantley is so used to having great teams, but not this season. We have 3 experienced 8 year olds on the team, a couple of 7s that are coming along, and the rest of the 13 team members that have a lot to learn. The Rays lost tonight to the Orioles 9 to 3. On the bright side, Brantley is batting a thousand so far this season. Of course, he's only had 4 at bats in 2 games. Having 13 players with only about half that can hit doesn't get you through your line-up very easily. This will definitely be a character building season.

Game 1: Red Sox Vs. Rays

Well, it was a tough loss for the first game of the season and it as cold out there this morning. The Rays lost 18 to 3. They shouldn't feel bad about it though because the coach for the other team and his sons do travel ball so the team was just slightly stacked. Brantley only got 2 at bats and got 2 singles with 1 RBI. He and Jack had the 1-3 connection a couple times but there were a lot of missed balls on the field. The team definitely needs some more practice!

Spring = Baseball

Yes, that's right folks. It's time for baseball again! This season we are cheering for the Rays! Yesterday was their first scrimmage with games starting next weekend. Brantley used his new bat in the scrimmage. He needed a heavier bat and the one I found for him is a composite bat as opposed to an aluminum bat. Composite bats are supposed to be broken in before really hitting with them. We went through 2 buckets of balls with it, but didn't get to soft toss Friday evening because I wasn't feeling well. Brantley decided to use the bat even though it wasn't fully broken in. He sent the ball sailing almost out of the park on his first at bat. It was weird because the composite bats don't make the same sound as the aluminum bats do. So, when he hit it there wasn't the crack that let you know it was an awesome hit. He got a triple out of that one. He had 2 more at bats. One should have been a double or a triple but the coach at first base told him to stay. The other was a single. One of our dads came over to me and said another coach was scouting my boy. How funny! Another funny from the game was the other team had "Mario and Luigi" playing for them. I didn't put that together until I heard our boys saying it. I guess Mario isn't a completely uncommon name, but Luigi has to be a rare name around here. Anyway, the Rays won the scrimmage 14 to 4.

Moving on to Baseball

Well, the basketball season is over with an 18 to 14 loss to Tennessee in the first round of the tournament. Brantley scored 10 of those 14 points. I told him he can't be a one man team and to not be too hard on himself. He played hard. The coach was pretty hard on him the whole game so I'm really happy that he handled the game so well. A crucial mistake happened when they were down by 3 with about a minute and a half left, Andrew got the ball back on a Tennessee inbound and went the wrong way on the court. Oh well....baseball anyone?

Ice Basketball

The first ball he put in got stuck in the net because it's frozen. I didn't have my camera out so I didn't get that shot. Every time the ball got away it just kept going because of the ice. He slipped several times but kept playing anyways. The driveway is so frozen that for the most part our feet didn't even break through. We need some ice skates!

Basketball Update

The Tarheels won last week. Brantley scored 8 points, 2 of which came from free throws after he was triple teamed. Today, we had the 8am game. Brantley is not a morning person. He didn't wake up until the 3rd period, but he scored 9 points in the 3rd. He says he scored 4 more in the 4th, but I'm not sure. Either I just quit counting at 9, or he didn't make any in the 4th. I remember he put up some shots, but can't remember if he made a couple of them. Either way, that is the most points he has scored in a game thus far. Even with that though, they lost today, 26 to 21. They were down 14 to 3 after the first period so they tried to come back. I did get a clip of Brantley making a shot in warm ups. It's actually a pretty nice shot. :)

Tarheels lose

It was a disappointing loss for the Tarheels today, but Brantley needed a good loss. They lost 21 to 10. Brantley put up lots of shots, but only two went in. The whole team put up lots of shots, but nothing was going in. Not to mention the other team had all of the tall kids on it. Brantley said after the game it was his fault they lost. I told him he just needed to practice and do better. Hopefully we will get some practice in this week, but the weather is not looking great for driveway practice.

Basketball time!

Today was the Tarheels first game, since last Saturday was a bye. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the team played together. I was cracking up at Hunter telling some of the others where they were supposed to be. They only have 3 plays, but a couple of the players can't remember what they are supposed to do. Brantley was the starting point guard. He put up several shots that didn't go in but he didn't let it get to him. He was visibly disappointed with the missed shots, but it just made him more determined. He ended up with 8 points and Hunter had 4. Final score was Tarheels 19, Gators 12.

It's official!

Well, there are 3 things that are official tonight. Since the rain out makeup game that was scheduled for last Saturday was rained out, it was rescheduled for tonight. It was freezing out there but fall baseball is officially over tonight (first official thing!). The Bees won tonight, 13 to 4. So, official thing number 2 is the Bees went undefeated! And, official thing number 3 is Brantley is a switch hitter! He finally decided to try to bat left again tonight. He hasn't tried to hit left since the last practice before games started when he couldn't hit anything, right or left. Tonight, he struck out his first at bat, then had the bad luck of a foul ball caught by the catcher with his second at bat. His fourth at bat went to deep left field. It even bounced up and hit a metal sign on the fence with a nice little bang. For some reason, his last at bat he decided to try hitting left. I'm not sure what got into him, but I'm so glad he tried. He had a great base hit! Another dad commented that his swing is better left than it is right. It's a nice level swing which we always try to tell him to do. To end the season, the team went to have pizza together. I wish we could have this team back together for the Spring, but that won't happen. Not sure what lies ahead for Spring, but I have a feeling Brantley will finally have to get used to losing in the Spring.

A formidable opponent

Tonight's game had to be the most exciting game in the season. The Bees played the River Cats and both teams came to win. Both teams were hitting and fielding tonight. The Bees ended up running away with it in the end with a 6 run rally in the 4th inning. Final (unofficial) score was Bees 16, River Cats 10. Brantley had 4 singles and a double. Only one game left in the season!!

Finally a Game!

Saturday's game was cold again, but the Bee's were there to play. This time, they were actually playing a team that could play. Brantley was a defensive demon on the field. I lost count of his fielded outs. The other team still managed to put 9 on the board. The Bees went into the bottom of the fifth up by one. All they needed was 3 up 3 down. The first kid up struck out. The second kid was out at first with a throw from Brantley to first base. And then the third kid hit a high pop fly out to our short stop who was ready for it and made an amazing catch to end the game. It was really exciting. Brantley ended up with 3 singles. He hit a deep pop fly to center field which was caught. None of the other teams we've played would have made that catch. Brantley didn't even think it was caught as he stood on first base. He handled it well though. I have to say he has done much better with handling getting out.

A Beautiful Night for Baseball

The rain is coming again, but it was beautiful tonight. The weather could not have been better. It was another thrashing by the bees - 19 to 1. Brantley was disappointed with his offense tonight. He had 4 at bats for 4 singles. Real disappointing! (sarcasm) The play of the game was when Brantley was playing first. The hit was maybe 10 feet in front of the plate. The catcher came up and grabbed it and threw it hard in to Brantley. He caught it for an awesome out. Next game is Saturday if the fields aren't flooded!

45 degrees never felt so cold!

It was a cold day for baseball. It was in the 40s, but the wind made it feel like we were freezing. I had to make Brantley wear a long sleeve shirt under his jersey and he didn't want his jacket. When we got to the game, he wore his jacket the whole game! I didn't keep an official unofficial score, but I'm pretty sure the Bees won. According to the boys, I think it was 9 to 6. Brantley had 4 singles and a double.