When the 12U Baldwin Bulldogs arrived at Carrick tonight they were dealt with a surprise trip to play on the Pony field due to a scheduling conflict. Playing their second game of the season, under the lights, on a larger than usual field would prove to be a challenge but the Bulldogs didn’t back down.

In the first Caleb singled with two outs and moved up to third on a stolen base. The Bulldogs weren’t able to capitalize though. In the bottom half Caleb took to the mound. A well placed ground ball to short ended up being a leadoff single. Two of the next Carrick batters struck out. However, an error led to four Carrick runs. Caleb struck out the last Carrick hitter to come in down 4-0.

Coaches could be heard encouraging Caleb as Carrick’s batters were overmatched in the inning but walks and the error put the Bulldogs in an early hole. In the second inning Dylan walked with one out. His aggressive base running lead to the Bulldog’s first run of the night. Two stolen bases moved Dylan to third. Luke D then singled him home to bring the score to 4-1.

Caleb went back to the mound for the second inning and struck out three of the five batters he faced to keep the score 4-1. Coach Kevin stated “I’m proud of the way Caleb shook off the first inning and attacked in the second. He didn’t let the error carry over to the second as Coach Carl told him that he just needed to throw strikes and trust his stuff and his defense.

In the third Gavin battled to a full count but his season opening run of three straight walks came to an end. Evan was able to make solid contact but the Carrick first baseman was able to make the play for the second out. Isaac singled and moved up to third on stolen bases and was called out at home on a controversial call at the plate.

Pitching in the third inning was Luke T who struck out three batters but some miscues in the field lead to two more Carrick runs and a 6-1 deficit.

The Bulldog bats came to life in the fourth with Caleb coming through with his second single of the night. Caleb showed off his wheels as he stole second and the Carrick catcher threw the ball into center. Caleb never stopped and raced home making it 6-2. Matt earned a huge walk and was followed by Dylan who singled in a run to get to 6-3.

The Carrick squad was able to get one of those runs back after a batter was hit by a pitch and scored later in the inning to get the lead to 7-3. Coaches said “You can tell that Luke T is pitching with confidence. He’s always been a hard thrower and seems to have found his command and will be a huge part of the pitching staff!”

Baldwin played a little small ball in the fourth inning to get a run back though. With one out Tyler S alertly took first on a dropped third strike. He then stole bases and scored on a Logan ground out to second. Coach Lonnie told Logan that was a huge productive at bat to get us a big run back.

Going into the fifth Carrick still lead 6-4. Dylan took to the mound. A leadoff single was followed by a ground out to second which brought in a run. A Carrick batter singled and ended up at third on stolen bases. However, a passed ball was calmly fielded by catcher Tyler H who was able to apply the tag to get a big out number three, at the plate, to keep the game in reach at 8-4.

Then … came the fireworks. With one out Isaac, Mikey and Caleb walked loading the bases. Luke T ripped a double up the middle bringing in two making it a 8-6 game. Luke then stole third and raced home on an errant throw getting the Bulldogs closer at 8-7. Matt earned another walk which was followed by another Dylan single making it 8-8. With still only one out Tyler H singled giving the Bulldogs the lead at 9-8. The Bulldogs tacked on an insurance run making it 10-8.

Dylan took to the mound to close out the game . Coach Carl preached that he wanted strikes from Dylan, good defense and focus on the field. Dylan calmly struck out the first batter. A walk and two stolen bases put a runner on third but the Bulldogs knew that run was meaningless. A dropped third strike didn’t faze the catcher Tyler H as hewas able to tag the runner out for out number two. Dylan then struck out the final Carrick batter on a caught foul tip for strike three sealing the amazing comeback win for the Bulldogs.

Coaches praised the players for never giving up in the game and battling till the end. The Bulldogs stated they all believed they could come back and win even after being down early. While it’s early in the season it’s apparent that these Bulldogs have some strong pitching options, some bats who are capable of doing big things and a defense that, while needs some fine tuning, will be capable of helping their pitching staff out. The Bulldogs will look to improve on the 1-1 record when they play their first home game of the season on Friday against Brookline.