Tigers Shine In Final Tournament Game

    The SLO Tigers continued their passionate and excellent performance on the field Wednesday, when they were dropped out of the tournament in a one run loss to the Lenox Rebels Black.  The 43 seeded Rebels played their first game of the tournament against the Tigers who had already won two games in the day.  The Rebels appeared to be shocked by the 89 seeded Tigers who played strong and took the early lead in the game when Jake put the first run on the board with a solo home run over the center field wall.  The Tigers held the rebels scoreless through the bottom of the third.  In the top of the fourth, Drake pounded another home run over the wall giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  This woke up the Rebels who answered with two home runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking the lead with 3 runs scored in that inning.  

Jake hits one over the wall to get the first run on the board in the 3rd inning.

    In the top of the fifth with two outs, Jaden got on base with a single that got past short stop.  He advanced to second on a pass ball while Barry John was at bat.  Barry John then singled to right field, bringing Jaden home and tying the score.  The Rebels took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth with two more runs.

    The Tigers roared in the top of the sixth, giving the Rebels a scare.  Tigers were down 3-5 and had two outs when Joshua got on base with a walk.  He was able to advance to second with defensive indifference.  Eddie then hit a line drive single to right field, advancing Joshua to third and bringing Bryan up to the plate.  Eddie was able to steal second on a pitch to Bryan.  Bryan then hammered a single to right field, driving in Joshua and Eddie and putting the game in a 5-5 tie.  The Rebels were nervous but were able to clinch the game with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 6th.

Barry John went 3 for 3 at the plate.

    In all, the Tigers outhit the Rebels with 12 hits versus 11 for the Rebels. Barry John went a perfect 3-3  at the plate.  He singled in the first, third, and fifth innings. Barry John also made an amazing diving catch in right field that left him laying on the grass for a few moments.  He was able to get up and continue play, even taking the mound later in the game and striking out a Rebel.  All the Tigers continued their excellent defensive play from the earlier games.  Bryan dominated short stop once again, catching 4 line drives in the game.

    The Tigers were knocked out of the tournament with this loss, but the team, coaches and parents were thrilled with the performance on Wednesday.  The boys played nearly flawless baseball.  Coaches and parents of the opposing teams paid big compliments to our boys.  They praised both their baseball skills and their great sportsmanship.  The SLO Tigers have earned a reputation as some of the kindest boys at the Cooperstown Dreams Park this week. They have shined as baseball players and good ambassadors for San Luis Obispo County.

The Tigers Overcome the O City Orioles in a Heavy Hitting Game

The Tigers Best the O City Orioles in shootout, 15-9

Pitchers had a tough day during the game between the Tigers and the O City Orioles, as the two teams put up 24 runs combined in a 15-9 Tigers win.

The teams combined for 34 hits, including eight extra base hits. Leading off hits in the first inning, Jaden singled a line drive to CF. He then advanced to 2nd on a throw and then Barry John singled a line drive to center field.  Dalen then hit a home run, sending Jaden and Barry John home. Carson hit a single that finished off the hits for the first inning. Joshua pitched a short bottom of the inning which left the Tigers in the lead.

In the 2nd and 3rd innings, strong hitting continued for the Tigers.  Eddie hit a line drive down the center. Jake hit a single which advanced Eddie to third, and then Barry John hit a line drive, sending Eddie home and advancing Jake. Dalen singled sending Jake home and advancing Barry John. Hitting continued strong into the next inning. The O City Orioles scored some runs closing in on the Tigers, but the Tigers hit back with a combination of base hits from Evan, Eddie, Jake and Barry John and walks from Drake, Bryan, and Josh, the bases were loaded and runs scored to inch further and further ahead of the Orioles.

The big hitting events of the game were yet to happen, though. Jaden nailed a home run hit over the fence that also "sent Coach Higgins out of his shoes" according to Coach Silacci. The ball flew far over the fence with both Bryan and Jake score.  A three run homer.  Way to go kid! 

Jaden gets a high-five from Coach Billy as he rounds third during his home run.

Jaden gets a pat on the back from his dad, Coach Sterling.

In the next inning, a pitch that hit Drake in the helmet sent him to first and loaded the bases. That brought Carson up.  He hit his first home run of the week AND the Tigers only GRAND SLAM of the week! The fans cheered. The lead clearly belonged to the Tigers.  During the celebration, Drake was heard joking, "I set that up for him!"

Carson swings knee-high to hammer a grand slam home run!

Carson, the catcher and umpire watch the ball turn into 4 runs!

Celebrating Carson's Grand Slam, Drake is pointing to his helmet saying, "I set that up for him!"

The Tigers easily handled the O City Orioles pitching as seven hitters combined for 17 hits, 13 RBIs and 12 runs scored.

Tigers Best the South Florida Contenders in Game 1

    A rain delay that lasted more than four hours did not put out the fire in the Tigers on Wednesday morning.  With well targeted pitching by Barry John, sharp defense on the field, and strong hitting at the plate, the Tigers lead began in the second inning when Joshua, Eddie and Bryan all hit base hits. Jake came to bat with bases loaded.  A pass ball allowed Joshua and Eddie to score, advancing Bryan to third. Jake was walked.  Jaden lined out to center field, Bryan was able to tag up and score.  In the bottom of the third, Dalen got a base with a hit to left field and eventually scored on a pass ball.


    Rain, which had started falling in the second inning had soaked the field pretty well by the fourth inning.  When the first batter of the inning slipped and had to scramble to first base, the umpire sent the players back to the dugout.  In the dugout, the Tigers played music from Coach Sterling's iPhone, sang and danced for about 45 minutes until games on all 22 fields were put on hold.  All teams were sent back to their cabins to dry out and wait for the games to resume.  

    The game, which had begun at 8:30 a.m. was finally resumed at 2:00 p.m.  The Tigers' momentum continued after the four hour delay.  In the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers scored 7 runs on an RBI single by Bryan, a two-run single by Jake, a two run double by Dalen and a two-run home run by Drake!

Drake watches as his home run hit sails over the fence to tie up the score.

    Excellent defense was a big part of the Tigers victory.  Bryan caught five line drives at short stop.  In the fourth inning Eddie was instrumental in all the outs for the team, catching a fly ball at second, and then he caught a line drive and threw to first for a double play.  Joshua caught a line drive at third and threw to Bryan at second for another double play.  In outfield, Evan caught a fly to left in the second inning.

Rain Delay in Game 1 - Tigers Leading

Tigers started off strong in game 1 of the single elimination tournament.  Barry John is the starting pitcher and has three strike-outs through 3 innings.  Rain started at the top of the second inning.  The Tigers played smart baseball, getting on base and pushing three runs across the plate on pass balls or wild pitches. At the top of the 4th, the first batter for the South Florida Contenders slipped on his way to first base then the umpire called a rain delay.  As of this writing. all teams on all 22 fields have been sent back to their cabins to wait out the rain.  The tournament will go all night long if it has to!

Barry John pitches in the rain.

Joshua gets a base hit.

Drake rests in the dugout with Tyler and Eddie during the rain delay.

There was music, singing and dancing in the dugout during the rain delay.

Jake shows off his Gangnam Style moves.

Tigers Begin Tournament Play

Tigers Play First Tournament Game 8:30 AM Wednesday

Today Tigers begin their Cooperstown Tournament play. They finished 89th of 104 teams and so will play South Florida Contenders at 8:30 AM. The tournament is single elimination, so if they win, they play on...the possibilities are endless. Live the Dream Tigers!

Sophia Reminds Tigers What it Means to Be a Part of the Club

Sophia Posts Her Messages to Tigers on Posters Throughout the Week

Sophia encouraged Tigers sportsmanship as she created  posters to inspire and remind the players and families what it means to be a Tiger.  Coach Compton loved the posters and says, "That sums up Tiger Baseball".  And so from Sophia's message:

The Tigers

• Have good sportsmanship
• Don't give up
• Have a good attitude
• Always smile
• Think good of everything
• PLAY AS A TEAM

Sophia's messages encourage everyone and keep us focused on what it means to be a SLO Tiger.

Tigers Fall 28-2 to Miami Prospects Despite Barry John's Effort

Tigers Managed to Keep Smiles on Their Faces as They Play a Top Team 

The highlights of Tigers final game in pool play included Barry John's second home run in Cooperstown play in a 28-2 to Miami Prospects.  Tyler played his first inning this week rocking the Tiger spirit as he caught a fly ball at the fence in right field.  

Barry John hits his second home run in Coopertown play

Barry John hit one over the fence for the Tigers. Barry drove in one runner as he scored. He homered in the fourth inning.

Bryan began the momentum with a line out catch at SS and then assisted Dalen to help shut down a long first inning. Joshua struck out the final batter in the 1st inning.  

Drake winds up for the pitch and delivers against the Miami Prospects

Several pitchers tried their hand against the Miami Prospects' power hitters.  Bryan Arnold pitched the first inning followed by Joshua also in the 1st inning and part of the 2nd. Drake took over  in the 2nd and in the 3rd and Eddie closed out the game in the 4th. And yet, the Miami Prospects hammered the Tigers' pitching as 11 hitters had a field day, combining 24 hits, 25 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

Joshua and Jaden teamed up to produce a run in the 2nd inning with Jaden leading off with a single to 1st base and then after being advance by Joshua and Evan, tagged up and completed the first run of the game.

Home runs then came for Miami Prospects came when Figuerora homered in the 1st inning, Diaz homered in the 2nd inning, Pitelli homered in the 2nd inning, Garcia homered in the 2nd inning, Pena homered in the 2nd inning, Infante and Xavier homered in the 3rd inning and Gutierrez homered in the first homered in the first and third innings.

In the 3rd inning, Bryan caught another ball to SS and Dalen struck out #2.

Tyler closed out the third inning with a catch at the fence.

One run in the top of the fourth helped the Tigers score. A solo home run by Barry John sparked the Tiger spirit and a lot of smiles and cheers from the opposing team and fans, but it wasn't enough to overcome the home run storm of the Miami Prospect.