CAA Bobcats InMotion! InMotion, the REVOLUTIONARY live-action video feature for the CAA Bobcats 12U baseball team, is back! There are no new videos this week, but you can click here to still catch exciting Bobcats baseball action from previous games!

The Bobcats came into the meeting with LTRC with fresh memories of an unpleasant scene from just one week earlier, during which one of their opponents' coaches loudly lost his temper at one of the Bobcats' players with only one out left in the game-a Bobcats victory. For the current contest, which also featured some interesting banter coming from the sidelines but, thankfully, nothing more, CAA got off to a somewhat slow start. With one out in the top of the first, Nathan Carpenter singled and made it over to third on successive stolen bases. But despite a walk to Joe Szczybor, they were unable to put anyone across the plate.

Carpenter came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and the normally solid, hard-throwing right hander initially displayed some rare control trouble, usually missing high. The result was walks to three of the first four batters. Fortunately for the Bobcats, though, the only one of those four not to walk was the number two hitter, who sent a grounder over to shortstop Brian Shearer. Shearer deftly fielded the ball and tossed it over to second baseman Jeremy Shugars to force the lead runner at second. Carpenter then settled down and struck out the fifth batter, then got the next hitter out on a fly ball to Matt LaPrade in center field.

CAA's offense came alive in the second, thanks in part to LTRC's own pitching control woes. Nolan Clancy led off with a walk and he, too, advanced to second and third on steals. Patrick Daniels also walked, and LaPrade filled the bases when his helmet got nidked by a pitch-although he wasn't aware of it until one of his coaches told him. Shugars then came up and poked a liner into shallow center field, scoring Clancy, but Daniels got tagged out rounding third. Jeremy Davis came up next and rapped a single, bringing in LaPrade and Shugars. Then during the next three batters-Carpenter, Joe Szczybor, and Tim English, Davis stole second, third, and came home on a wild pitch, putting the Bobcats up by the score of 4-0. And in the bottom frame CAA stymied LTRC in a three-up-three-down turn.

Seeking to extend their advantage in the third, the Bobcats came up empty, sending four batters to the plate and managing only a single by LaPrade. LTRC then broke through for a run in the bottom on a two-out single followed by a double, but that would be it for the inning.

The Bobcats again struggled at the plate in the fourth, on just three hitters, but they kept the screws on LTRC in the bottom half, getting the side out in order on two strikeouts and a fly ball to right field.

The Bobcats' bats continued to look like wet noodles in the damp summer heat as they again went down in order in the top of the fifth. Then LTRC, in their turn at the plate, injected the first real drama into the game, and put a major scare into the Bobcats. With one out, LTRC's number one hitter singled, and then errors on the next two batters-one for three bases-followed by a single brought three runs across, knotting the game up at 4 apiece.

But just as quickly, the Bobcats clawed back in the sixth. Clancy led off with a single, LaPrade walked, and A. J. Uebel reached first on an error, bringing Clancy around to break the tie. Another error with Shugars up-this one for two bases-led to another run, and then Davis brought in the third run of the inning on a groundout. By the time the dust settled, CAA was now back up, by the score of 7-4.

Davis came in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth and was rocky at first, allowing a run on two walks and a single while recording one out. But then he regained his pitching form and got the next two hitters out on a strikout and a popup to the mound. When the ball settled into Davis' glove for the third out, practically everyone on the field was surprised to learn that the game ended because BCML rules called for a six, not seven, inning game. So, almost without realizing it, the Bobcats had been catapulted into the championship game.

And for that game, to be played immediately after, CAA's opponent was Overlea, who'd defeated White Marsh in the other semifinal showdown. Once again, the Bobcats were the visiting team, and in their half of the first they showed their fatigue, as LaPrade, Davis, and Carpenter were all retired in order. Then the Bobcats trotted Davis out to the mound in the bottom half. CAA's defense sent the first two batters back to the bench on a popup and a grounder to second, but then Davis walked the next batter, who stole second, and then hit the number 4 hitter with a pitch. Then, during the next at-bat, the umpire spotted lightning and called for a 30-minute delay. Everyone took cover, and for 20 of the next 30 minutes heavy rain fell. When the rain stopped, it was clear that the field now resembled the Great Lakes, and so the game was suspended until the following day.

Picking up with a fresh count the following evening, about 27 hours later, Davis induced the next hitter to ground out to second again, and so the teams changed sides. Looking fresh and rested now, the Bobcats' bats were, for the moment at least, much more potent, as Szczybor and Shearer started off with singles and advanced on steals. With one out and runners on second and third, Daniels singled to drive in the first two runs of the game. Jake Smuck and James Middleton each walked to load the bases, and Shugars came up and got a big double, bringing in 3 more. After another single by English to plate Shugars, the Bobcats were finished, and now held a 6-0 advantage. And they maintained that lead by holding Overlea scoreless on tight defense again, facing only four batters.

But after their explosion of offense in the second, CAA's bats got pretty quiet over the next three innings, despite hits-all singles-from Szczybor, Smuck, Shugars, and English. They came close to picking up another run in the fifth when Shugars, on a sacrifice bunt by English that moved Uebel from first to second, got caught in a rundown between third and home but managed to escape. But his Houdini act brought him back to third, where he would be stranded. Meanwhile, Overlea got their first run in the third without getting a hit, instead getting two walks off Davis and scoring on a wild pitch. And in the fourth, they got one more on a home run. Davis was then relieved by Carpenter, who got out of the inning to hold the Bobcats' lead at 6-2, and he held Overlea scoreless on a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth.

The Bobcats picked up one more run in the top of the sixth when Szczybor, who had singled and stolen second, scored on a single by Shearer. Then came the final frame. Carpenter struck out the first batter, then got the next hitter to fly out to Szczybor in right, a play that was foreshadowed moments earlier when one of the parents noticed the batter looking Szczybor's way. Now with two down and a 1-2 count, Carpenter 's next pitch fooled the Overlea cleanup hitter, and the Bobcats had their second BCML championship in three seasons under their belts. Asked what he thought of the Bobcats' achievement, Manager Bob Carpenter, clearly pleased and still wet from the ice shower he'd received from his players, had one simple, telling thing to say as this scene began to dissolve into the next one: “The boys finished the season the same way they started it. With teamwork.”

To view more game photos, go to the "Photo Albums" section of this site, and use the pull-down menu to select an album. For the games of the 2008 BCML playoffs, select the “BCML Playoffs 2008 2008 Game 1” and “ Essex Tournament 2008 Game 2” albums.

To read previous 2006-2008 Bobcats game stories, go to the "Bulletin Board" section of this site.