In order for a rivalry to be born there has to be good competitive games between teams close in proximity, some controversy and a whole lot of team pride. In what has possibly become Baldwin’s biggest rival in Carrick all those boxes have been checked.

The vast majority of the Bulldog 12u team played on the same 10u team last fall. In what were some of the most memorable games of last year’s fall season the Bulldogs played in three walk off games against Carrick. Carrick took two of those games but the Bulldogs earned a win themselves. So go ahead and check the box for competitive games between two teams that have fields less than four miles apart. Controversy has been had on both sides of these games. It’s clear that players and families have immense pride in their respective communities as well so this is indeed a budding rivalry.

In the second game of the Bulldogs young season the team looked to earn their first win. Nick took the mound to start the game and struck out three Carrick batters. The only Carrick run scored on a wild pitch. Coach Kevin said “Nick really battled for us out there and left the bases loaded. Any time you can leave the bases loaded and limit the damage … it’s big.”

Carrick brings several pitchers who bring some serious heat. The Bulldogs were aggressive in the first at bats with Dylan and Nathan making contact on ground outs. Austin walked and stole two bags and Nick drew a two out walk of his own. Baldwin wasn’t able to get on the board but the coaches all agreed that their first game against Brookline proved beneficial as the batters looked much more comfortable in the box.

Nick took the mound for the second and made quick work striking out the three batters he faced. In his two innings Nick struck out six Carrick batters and looked confident and comfortable on the mound against some of the big Carrick bats.

In the bottom of the second the Bulldogs threatened again with two outs. A two out single for Dacien was followed by a walk earned by Tyler but the team came in down 1-0. Coach Kevin said “We felt good coming in down 1-0, after two innings, especially with our guys showing confidence at the plate the first time through the order.”

For the third inning Dacien took the mound and got a quick pop out and continued throwing strikes but took some hard luck walks. Dylan would switch positions with Dacien and both came up huge in the switch. Dylan was throwing strikes and induced a ground out that Dacien calmly fielded and threw to first baseman Nathan for the second out. The next batter hit a high pop up that Dacien caught for the third out. Coach Kevin said “Dace and Dylan both pitched for the first time in a while and came up with huge plays pitching and fielding. Without their combined work in the inning it could have been a much bigger hole than 4-0.”

Carrick brought in a new pitcher who was able to strike out three of the four batters faced to keep the score 4-0 after three innings.

With the bottom of the order coming up Coach Kevin asked Dylan to head to the mound again and came through with a huge inning. The inning started with a strike out and was followed by two walks. Feeling confident in his young hurler Coach Kevin stuck with Dylan who fielded a comebacker which was nearly turned into a double play after Austin got the out at second and fired to Nathan at first but the runner was safe by a hair. Nathan then ended the inning with an unassisted put out at first. Coach Kevin said “We love Nathan at first. His glove is so consistent and he’s always making plays.”

The fourth inning started quickly when Mikey earned a leadoff walk. Carrick’s catcher is known for his cannon behind the plate and showcased it by throwing out a would be base stealer. Not fazed by this one bit the Bulldogs’ kept moving right along. Isaac singled and after two outs the heroics began. Tyler H earned his second walk of the game. A pop single by Dylan brought in the first Bulldogs’ run with Isaac racing home. Nathan walked bringing up Austin to the plate. Austin battled and smacked a hot shot to the outfield and the race was on. Austin sprinting all the way home was involved in a bit of a collision and emphatically jumped up and smacked home plate with a gigantic home run giving Baldwin their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Both teams saved their “Austin’s” to pitch the final innings. Which Austin was better than the other? Well, let’s let the K’s do the talking. The Bulldog’s Austin took the mound in the fifth and struck out the three batters he faced. Carricks’ Austin struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth.

Coaches marveled at the Bulldogs’ Austin in the sixth as he pitches with ice in his veins. Coaches said “Nothing gets to Austin. He can be in a 3-0 count and he is still in total control. It’s fun to watch!” Austin once again calmly struck out the side in the top of the sixth and faced six batters and struck out all six.

Coach Kevin could be heard telling the players after the game that every player played a huge role in this win. Great pitching, timely hitting and slick fielding were all crucial in the win. Coaches praised everyone and specifically called out Mikey for six strong innings catching and showing that he has no fear in catching any of the hard throwers the Bulldogs have. Selfless play by Luke was also huge as he played strong defense in the outfield all night and was willing to help cover right field when Tyler S, who is fighting through an ankle injury, took to the field in an effort to help his team. Clearly, Austin was huge with his pitching and crucial hit.

An overall team effort earned the boys their first win of the season and it seems apparent they don’t plan on easing up. This should be an exciting season and, apparently, a rivalry has been born!