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Bearcats Bring Home Second in Their Second Tournament
April 2, 2006 -- HAMPTON, GA -- Strong pitching, defense and offensive play paved the way for the Bearcats second place finish at the North Forty Shootout. The players provided a glimpse of their true potential. See the Game Results for details.
OTC Finishes Tied For Ninth in the USSSA NIT
April 9, 2006 -- PEACHTREE CITY, GA -- The 11U Major division in the NIT had 24 teams from all over the country and as far away as Texas and California. The Bearcats are starting to come together as a team as they took their first game over the Dekalb Tigers 7-2. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the weekend. We advanced to bracket play, but it was a direct result of how we played our first game and not the last two in pool play. We have the game to compete at this level, but we have got to bring it to the field day in and day out. Refer to the Game Results for more details. Tournament Results can be found on the USSSA website.
Tournament Champions - Field of Dreams Invitational
April 23, 2006 -- CONYERS, GA -- The OTC Bearcats take first in the Field Of Dreams Invitational going 4 and 1 for the tournament. The Bearcats faced some tough pitching over the weekend, but persistance pervailed and the bat caught fire at the right time. See the Game Results for some play by play descriptions and highlights of each game.
We certainly want to thank Team Thunder for hosting a great tournament even with the adversity of some really foul weather. Despite the amount of rain that fell Saturday morning, the field was kept in great condition.
Bearcats Go One and One In The Rain Shortened Tournament of Champions
May 7, 2006 -- JOHNSON CITY, TN -- The rain had top billing at the Tournament of Champions in Johnson City Tennessee over the weekend. Considering the 32 teams that arrived on Friday from Georgia all the way to New York, the tournament had the potential to be a superior contest of 11U major teams. The tournament’s first round was cancelled due to weather, so the Bearcats did not get a chance to ease in and faced a powerful hitting Greeneville Marlins team in the second round. Greeneville jumped on the Bearcats for five runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. The Marlins pitcher (Loyd) was one of the best we’ve seen; but we started to make progress the second time through the lineup. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the game ended after four innings with the Marlins 12 and the Bearcats 1.
In the second game, the Bearcats were also visitors against the College Park Stars out of New York; but this time we were the first to strike with some hard hit balls that forced a couple of errors. The Bearcats capitalized on these and scored three in the top of the first. In the bottom of the first, the Bearcats made a couple of mistakes on a passed ball and gave one run back to the Stars. The second was uneventful for both teams as pitching and defense dominated. The Bearcat’s third inning started with a double from Eric that one hopped fence in right-center. Cameron then drove in Eric with his first double of the year that went over the center fielders head. Jake proceeded to go opposite field with a line drive to bring Cameron over the plate for the Bearcats fifth run. As time was running out, the Bearcats took the field for what turned out to be the last chance for the Stars. After John Wayne caught a line drive back to short for the first out, the Stars were able to get the next two batters on base with a solid hit and a walk. They failed to advance the runners on a bunt attempt and then their lead off batter Castana came to the plate. He had already hit one single and one double in his previous plate appearances, so Michael had to be careful since he had the power to tie the game with one swing. After going one and one with two outs in the inning, Castana hit a high fly shot to right center. The Bearcat coach’s held their breath as they thought that it may have the distance. Even if it did not go yard, it was certainly in the gap and would score at least two runs. The Bearcat center fielder (Tyler Irvin) had a better idea and got a great jump on the ball. With a fully horizontal dive he pulled the ball in for the third out that ended the inning and the game for the Stars. What an outstanding play and a great memory for the whole team. The Bearcats won 5 to 2.
On Sunday the real rain came and the tournament had to be cancelled. Thanks to the Greeneville Marlins for hosting the tournament and we'll see you again.
Bearcats Go Three And One In The Clash Of Champions Tournament
May 21, 2006 -- HAMPTON, GA -- Overall the Bearcats had a great tournament defeating some top class teams in exciting fashion to take third place in the Clash of the Champions Tournament. We would like to extend a special thanks to the 12U Georgia Braves for hosting a great tournament. Having three umpires in the semi-final games was a great touch to a great weekend. We also want to congratulate the Georgia Vipers for winning the championship. For details of the individual games, refer to the Game Results menu option.
The Bearcats Compete With The Best In Georgia
May 28, 2006 -- KENNESAW, GA -- The Kennesaw Generals hosted 16 of the best 11U major and AAA teams in the state of Georgia this weekend at their annual invitational tournament. The Bearcats did not play their best baseball; however, there were some great accomplishments and we are consistently improving our game. Until the final inning on Sunday morning, the Bearcats were beating the team that eventually went on to win the Kennesaw General's Invitational tournament. It became painfully obvious that at this level, mistakes make the difference and just maintaining a lead is not enough. We would like to thank the 11U Kennesaw Generals for letting us play in their tournament. It was a great event and well managed. We also want to congratulate the South Gwinett Mustangs for playing four games on Sunday to win the championship. For details of the Bearcats individual games, refer to the Game Results menu option.
USSSA State: Adversity Builds Character...
June 13, 2006 -- MORROW, GA -- The Bearcats defeated the Powder Springs Longhorns and the Jack City Dodgers in their pool games scoring twenty-four runs. On the flip side, the Bearcats only allowed three runs with some great pitching and solid defense which earned them the number one seed for the tournament. Then the rest of the story...
In their first bracket game, the Bearcats got in a hole early, but easily prevailed against Jack City Dodgers once the pitching got back on line. The second bracket game was a tough fight against a strong hitting Homeplate Chilidogs. The Bearcats struck first, but the Chilidogs tied it up in the third and took a three run lead in the top of the fourth. The Bearcats brought three across in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game and pitching prevailed for both teams in the fifth. With time expired, the International Tie Breaker Rule was imposed. The Chilidogs executed their game plan to perfection and put two on the board before the Bearcats could retire the side. The Bearcats could only manage one in the bottom of the sixth and were headed to the losers bracket.
In the third bracket game against the North Henry Express, with some flat bats and costly errors, the Bearcts found themselves in an eight run hole after two innings of play. It wasn't until the Bearcats had one out in the third that they got their first run on a Michael Trebendis solo homerun. Eric Smith also hit a homerun in the third to close the gap to six. The Express would only manage one more run in the last three innings as the Bearcat defense finally got it together. As the Express' pitching began to tire, the Bearcats were patient at the plate and with some timely hits, pushed three more runs across the plate in the fourth. Eric started the fifth with a solid hit to left center and then the Bearcats earned three straight walks to close the gap to three. On a new pitcher, DJ hit a SAC fly to center and Matt got a solid hit to left to close the gap to one. Time caught up with the Bearcats, and they found themselves eliminated from the tournament, by giving seven unearned runs and the game to the North Henry Express.
Adversity builds character and this is a prime example of how baseball emulates life. Sometimes things are not going to go as you plan; but NEVER GIVE UP! If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger!
See the Game Results menu for details of the individual games.
Bearcats Win Their Two Pool Games
June 27, 2006 -- PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL -- Great pitching, timely defense and good offensive took care of the first two teams that the Bearcats played in the Simply The Best World Series. The Bearcats only allowed 1 run in two games and scored 18. See the Game Results for details.
Bearcats Walk Their Way To Their First Bracket Game Win
June 28, 2006 -- PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL -- Like games in the past, the Bearcats took advantage of some shakey pitching to get their first win in bracket play. The War Eagles had some strong hits; but the Bearcats made some great defensive plays to leave five on base. In the first, DJ caught a fly ball in center and then gunned down the runner trying to tag from second which ended the inning for the War Eagles. John Wayne closed out the second inning by turning an unassisted double play by tagging second on a ball hit up the middle and then easily threw the batter out at first. The third inning ended on a obstruction call, when the War Eagle runner ran into Joshua at second as he was trying to catch an infield fly. See the Game Results for details.
Bearcats Display Great Determination By Scoring Seven Late To Beat The Jackhammers
June 29, 2006 -- PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL -- After allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in the first, the Bearcats battled back to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Eric pitched a great game holding the Jackhammers in the bottom of the sixth to send the game into extra innings. International tie breaker rules do not come into play until the two hour mark. The Jackhammers brought in their next pitcher and Cameron started the seventh with a solid hit over third. DJ drew a walk and made it to second on a passed ball. Matt hit a shot to third, but Cameron forced the third baseman to play him and Matt got to first on a fielders choice. With the bases loaded Tyler hit a opposite field shot to put the Bearcats up by two. The Bearcats then strung together four consecutive hits (Michael, John G., Eric & John Pope) to score five more runs before the Jackhammers Baseball team could get three outs. Matt came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and saw the minimum. The Bearcats advance to the semi-final game beating the Jackhammers 10 to 3. See the Game Results for details.
Bearcats Make A Run, But Come Up Short
June 30, 2006 -- PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL -- The Maverick's left hander shut out the Bearcats through three innings. The Bearcats had opportunities in the first and second inning but did not get the runs across. The Bearcats first run came in the fourth after John Pope got hit with a pitch and Cameron drove him in with a double to right field. With a couple of errors on the Maverick infielders, Matt had a solid hit to center to load the bases. Michael then hit a single to drive in two runs and advance to second. John G. hit into a 6-3 out, but got an RBI as Matt crossed the plate to make it 7 4 Mavericks. Eric then hit a solid double down the left field line to score Michael which made it 7 to 5. Pope hit a high fly to right, but it wasn't enough to advance the runners and the Bearcats were down to their last out as time expired. Jake got a solid hit to center to advance the runner to third and later advanced to second on a pass ball. With two outs, the game ended when Cameron popped up to the infield for his only out of the day, finishing 2 for 3 with a double. The Bearcat defense has been better and they certainly can defend the bunt better than they did. Like the errors that the Mavericks made in the fifth which opened the door, the missed opportunities by the Bearcats were the difference in the game. See the Game Results for details.
The Bearcat's Tournament Ends; But They Displayed Some Great Teamwork
July 1, 2006 -- PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL -- Hits were not abundant for the Bearcats; but, they displayed some great teamwork by getting runners to third and sacrificing to score their runs. Unfortunately, they could not get the hits when they needed them and ended the game leaving nine runners on base. The Bearcats pitching was great as usual only allowing two earned runs through six innings. The Clippers had some clutch hits after a couple of hit batters and a walk that accounted their runs. See the Game Results for details. Although it was hot, it was a wonderful week of baseball. The Bearcats played some great teams and experienced the high's of coming from behind to win a game big in the seventh to the lows of making six errors and giving your opponents four unearned runs that cost you the game. This experience has made the Bearcats a better team. For the tournament, The Bearcats won 4 and lost 2. They scored 42 runs, allowed 20 (9 earned) and had 43 hits for a .355 team batting average and a .484 on-base-percentage. The pitching had an 1.94 ERA; 30 strike-outs and only allowed 10 base-on-balls. The Bearcats finished third for the tournament. Congratulations to the Carrollton Clippers for shutting out the Mavericks twice to take first place in the Simply The Best World Series.
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