Friday morning brought some surprise news for the BWAA Bulldogs 12u team. Due to CIT dropping out of competition Brookline reached out asking if the Bulldogs would be up for an impromptu season opener later that day. Coach Kevin said “I couldn’t have been happier to get the quick responses from our families. They showed how excited they are about playing ball and this season in general.”

The Bulldogs started out fast. Dylan batting in the leadoff spot was hit by a pitch and Austin followed with a single putting two men on base for Nick. Nick promptly ripped a 2 run double to right center putting the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the first. Coach Kevin said “Getting a lead in the first is always nice and gets the kids excited so we were thrilled with that big time hit by Nick.”

With the skies looking a little on the ominous side and the possibility of no field lights Austin got the nod for the start. In the first inning Austin struck out two and watched as Nathan caught a sky high pop up to end the inning.

Heading into the second up 2-0 the Bulldogs hoped to tack on some insurance but a tough third strike call on Tyler H and two nice plays by the Brookline second baseman kept Mikey and Cooper off the bases. Coaches stated “You can tell Brookline has a solid defense because those were two nice plays by the second baseman there to keep our guys off the base paths.”

Austin took the mound for the second and struck out the side in a quick 1-2-3 inning. Even the umpire could be heard saying “He looks really good out there.”

For the third and fourth innings the Bulldogs had to face one of Brookline’s flame throwers who mixed in some off speed pitches as well. Coach Kevin said “That pitcher was impressive. He had some serious heat and knew when our batters were catching up and then would change speeds.” The pitcher ended up striking out 6 of the 7 batters he faced. Bulldog coaches felt facing a pitcher of that caliber at this point in the season will only benefit the Bulldogs because they’ve seen an assortment of pitches and the more experience they get the better they’ll be as the season progresses.

Baldwin turned to Luke to pitch the third. In his season opening outing Luke got a big strike out with the bases loaded. Luke and Nathan would also earn an out on a pickoff at first when the runner left the bag and Nathan got the tag on for an out. The inning ended on a ground out to second. The Bulldogs came in down 4-2.

In the fourth Mikey took to the mound after doing some really nice things behind the plate as catcher for the first three innings. The Bulldogs defense made a highlight reel play in the inning. With the bases loaded and no outs a hot shot line drive to second was snared by Dylan who realized the runner was well off third and quickly turned the double play. The inning would end on a ground out to third but the Bulldogs came in down 7-2.

With the field getting darker by the minute the umpire brought in the coaches to discuss player safety as the lights were not turning on. The coaches and umpire decided to end the game.

Coach Kevin told the players after the game that he was impressed with their effort in the first game. There was some phenomenal pitching by Austin, a big hit by Nick, solid catching by Mikey, a near caught stealing at third by Tyler, some nice outfield work including a heads up play by Issac in right field keeping a well struck ball in front of him and a quick throw to his cutoff to keep the Brookline hitter to a single, then nice infield work as well. Coaches would later say “We know we have work to do but the season is young and there is plenty of time to improve in a few areas. The wins will come. We were down two key players in Dacien due to a prior commitment and Tyler S due to an ankle injury. We got some great help from our call up, Cooper, and look forward to seeing him again.”

The Bulldogs hope to get another shot at the Brookline squad this Sunday at 6pm at home. They’ll just need Mother Nature to cooperate.