HIGHLIGHTS

PACIFIC COAST

Bees 7 - Sounds 5


In the first game of the Pacific Coast 2008 Playoffs the Bees met the Sounds at Beacon # 3 pm Thursday night.  

Our heroes started off strong with Jacob Foulkrod making all 3 plays at 1B catching a pop-up, & fielding 2 grounders to put out

 the remaining Sounds batters.  Our offense came to play today as Devone Williams led off with a nice single. 

Anthony Monteleone & Jacob Foulkrod both singled to load the bases for Philip Walker.  Young Philip picked a great time for his best hit

of the season when he smashed a solid double which scored 2 runs.  Mickale McKithen also singled & when the 1st inning was over t

he Bees had a 4 - 0 lead. 

The Bees kept the Sounds off the board in the 2nd & 3rd as Jacob Foulkrod took the mound & fired strikes which retired the side. 

 The slugging Bees would put 3 more runs on the board in the 3rd against Sounds pitching as Miles Greene & Anthony Monteleone

 got hit by pitches.   Jacob Foulkrod singled which loaded the bases for Cole Greene.  Cole stood in & displayed smart hitting & walked

to 1st plating his brother Miles.  Mickale McKithen came to the plate next & smashed a long single to center field which scored our

 last 2 runs & brought the score to 7 - 0.  Mickale McKithen pitched the 4th walking 1, and striking out the next 3 batters.

Excellent pitching Jacob & Mickale!!!   The Sounds were starting to heat up in the 5th & 6th innings as they scored 5 runs to

 make the game close.  The Game Ball went to Jacob Foulkrod for going 3 for 3, 2 singles & 1 double, scored 2 runs, 2 RBI,

made all 3 outs in 1 inning, made several defensive plays & pitched a hitless 3rd inning.  Nice game kid. 

Congrats to the entire BEES squad in their 1st playoff win!  Next Game vs. The Grizzlies on Saturday,  GO BEES GO!!!!

The weather was beautiful for a change at Beacon, and these two teams came to play.  

 The Thunder boomed into the first, with singles from Lorenzo Mitchell and Cameron Pope, and a DEEP double to right center

from John Hogrebe.  The Canadians answered back in the bottom of the second,

with singles four singles in a row from Michaela Kirck, Owen Rossman, Jared Rees (driving in the first Canadian run) and Chris Walters.

  The Canadians defense tightened up in the second, with excellent play at first from Tarran Allen -

Timothy Dombrowski was left stranded after a one out single.   Tarran then led off the second with a sharp single

and Luke Smith and Dean DeWaele followed with singles of their own.  Kaeleb Donaldson then hit the hardest hit ball of the

season down the left field line for a double, and Sam Campion's single gave the Canadians a 4-1 lead.  

Kid pitch in the third started with Kaeleb hitting the first batter, and then striking out the side.  In the bottom of the third,

 John Hogrebe pitched well, striking out two, hitting one, and walking one.  Chris Walters double in the first run of the inning,

 AJ Saffore singled in the second and Jordan Buck singled with two out to give the Canadians a seemingly strong 7-1 lead.

 Tarran Allen pitched the top of the fourth, striking out two, walking one and hitting one.  

Cameron Pope came right back for the Thunder, striking out the side to keep the game within reach.  

That was key, as the Thunder got hit from six of their first seven batters in the fifth.  Miranda Smolinski led off with a nice single,

 followed by Patrick Grundman.  One out later, Lorenzo Mitchell singled in the first run of the inning.  

Elijah Stamatakis and Cameron Pope followed with singles of their own, and after hits from John and Zach Hogrebe,

the game stood 7-5.  The Canadians were unphazed, as they answered back with five runs of their own with hits from Michaela,

Owen, Chris (doubling again!), AJ, Olivia, Tarran and Jordan, stretching the Canadians' lead to 12-5.  

The Thunder did not give up, getting lead off hits in the sixth from Tim Dombrowski and Miranda Smolinski,

 but the Canadians shut them down from there for the win.  The Canadians now move on to face the cross-town rival Rainiers -

bring it on!  The Thunder move on to face the Beavers.  Good luck to all teams as they continue their runs to glory!

Both teams did a great job tonight slogging their way through a wet field at LL# 2

The Bee's lead off the game with a single by Devone, who scored on a single by Cole

The Grizzlie's answered back in their half of the first as Shane hit a double to lead off for the Grizzlies.

This hit got the grizzlies' bats going as they scored 4 in the first. The Grizzlies kept the Bee's off the board in the 2nd as Shane made

 2 nice put outs on grounders. In the bottom of the 2nd the Grizzlies added three more runs powered by CJ hitting a double.

Both teams pitched well in the 3rd and 4th innings. Shane ended a Bee's threat in the fifth by catching a line drive to deny the Bees again.

 The bottom of the order came through for the grizzlies in the fifth as Kaitlyn and Daniel each had a RBI single.

 Cj and Anthony each made a great play in the field to hold the Bee's to one run in the top of the sixth and end the game.

Great game by both teams

 managers opinion.  The two teams that took the field were battling to keep their playoff hopes alive, and BATTLE they did

as the defensive play was absolutely outstanding on both sides of the field.  The game was fast paced as each team took their turn

 trying to push one run across & gain an advantage, but both defensive units shut down each other in grand fashion as great play

 after great play of solid baseball skill was displayed.  The kid pitch innings would be no different as

Jacob Foulkrod & Mickale McKithen tossed strike after strike & retired the Beavers batters in order keeping the score

deadlocked at 0 - 0.  Through the end of regulation the Bees continued to play rock solid defense & would not waiver from the

 task at end.  Philip Walker, Devone Williams, Mickale McKithen, Jacob Foulkrod & Cole Greene just to mention a few, made play

after play fielding ground balls, making good throws, covering their bases, hustling for foul balls (esp Cole at catcher)

which all contributed to a total team effort & kept us in the game.  This game would take 10 innings to decide a winner & the Bees

 were ready to end it in the bottom of the 10th.  It started with a hit by Anthony Monteloene in which he scampered to 1B on an

 infield single.  The next batter would be Jacob Foulkrod who is taking his last AB's in the Pacific Coast league very seriously. 

Jacob hammered a ground ball past the 2B man to the RF Keegan Hurley who was playing on the edge of the infield & took one

for the team stopping the shot with his body.  Nice job Keegan!  After a strikeout Philip Walker came to the plate with only

business in mind.  Philip hit a well placed ground ball up the middle to load the bases.  Mickale McKithen would not disappoint in joining

 the cast of heroes in this game by taking a Coach Steve pitch straight through the middle & delivering a playoff victory for the boys

in yellow & black.   It was a real shame there had to be a loser in this well played playoff elimination game. 

Total props go the Beavers for their excellent play & great sportsmanship in this ESPN instant classic.  

All the Bees coaches are very proud of the team for fighting & never giving up in this 10 inning marathon whale of a game. 

 GO BEES GO!!!!!!!!!

Mother Nature has challenged us all year, but the Canadians and Grizzlies would not be denied this day

and both teams played very well, with the Canadians holding on for the 6-4 win.  

Steady Michaela Kirck (who just watched her older sister Izzy win the Major League title) started the game off with a single

(big surprise).  Owen Rossman moved her to second with a ground out to first, then Jared Rees followed with a single to move

 Michaela to third.  Chris Walters then did what he has all season, singling up the middle to get the first run of the game home.  

 The Grizzlies (short Shane Jackson) answered back with a one out single from Matthew Mazzola.  

With two out, Caleb Jackson rocked sharp double to center to tie the game.  

 Leading off the second for the Canadians, Tarran Allen hit a double of his own.  Luke Smith moved him over to third

with a ground out, and then with two outs Dean DeWaele (who now has six hits in the playoffs) singled to bring Tarran home.

  The Canadians kept the Grizzlies in check in their half of the inning, allowing a two-out single to Kaitlyn Snyder before

Owen Rossman caught a pop up at pitcher for the third out.   In the third inning (kid pitch time!), Sam Campion led off with a well

earned walk.  Michaela Kirck followed with the same, and after Owen moved the runners up (again!) and a strike out, Chris Walters

 came thru with another run scoring single to make the score 3-1.  

Chris shut the Grizzlies down in the bottom of the third with three strike outs.  

The Grizzlies shut the Canadians down in the fourth, but came back to score three in their half and take a 4-3 lead due to some

 shaky Canadians pitching.   The Canadians kept their composure, and in the fifth retook the lead.  Kaeleb Donaldson led the inning

 off with a single, and after two ground outs moved him to third, Owen Rossman singled to bring Kaeleb home with the tying run.  

Jared Rees hit a sharp single (after his textbook bunt was overruled!) to move Owen to second, and then Chris Walters doubled for

his third hit of the day, giving the Canadians the lead.  AJ Saffore followed with a single to bring Jared home, giving the Canadians

 the 6-4 lead.  In the bottom of the fifth, with one out, the Grizzlies loaded the bases with hits from Matthew Mazzola, CJ Antkowiak

and Caleb Jackson.  Adonis Wilson then hit a rocket to right center that Olivia Randazzo made a great catch on, and the Grizzlies

were denied.  The Canadians loaded the bases themselves in the sixth, with two out singles from Jordan Buck, Dean DeWaele and

 Kaeleb Donaldson, but were held scoreless.  The Grizzlies tried to mount a come back, but Owen Rossman single-handedly shut

them down.  For the first out he threw the lead off batter out at first, and then after Kaitlyn Snyder singled, Owen caught another

 pop up at pitcher and threw to first for the double play to end the game.   Both teams played very well today!  

Congratulations to both teams on fine seasons.  The Grizzlies move on to play the winner of the Sound / Bees game,

and the Canadians move on to the Championship game, waiting for the winner of the Grizzlies game.

 
The Sounds came up to bat first & put together a collection of hits that produced one run & took the early lead.  

 Our Bees came to play today and assembled their own array of hits.  Devone Williams started us off with a single. 

Miles Greene was next with a ground ball that moved Devone to 2B. Anthony Monteleone also grounded out but

 moved Devone to 3B.  Jacob Foulkrod came up next & singled in Devone from 3B.  Cole Greene was next in line & smashed his

first of 3 singles of the game.  Philip Walker, Mickale McKithen, Jahmeir Shorter, & Nathan Gunter all singled to finish the inning &

 take a 4 -1 lead & never look back.  The Bees good hitting presented itself again in the 2nd as Jonas Harness blasted one

to the outfield for a long single. Nice Hit Jonas!  Devone Williams, Miles Greene, Jacob Foulkrod, & Cole Greene all singled to

 help build the lead for the Bees 7 - 1.  Jacob Foulkrod took the mound in the 3rd & continued his good pitching striking out the side. 

 The Sounds pitching was solid as well in the 3rd as they retired 3 straight Bees batters.  Mickale McKithen pitched the 4th for the

 Bees walking 5 & recovering to strike out 3 Sounds batters with minimal damage.  The Bees put 2 more runs on the board in the

 5th with singles by Jacob, Cole, Mickale, & Jahmeir.  Cole Greene did a fantastic job earning a playoff game ball  going 3 for 3,

 & good play at catcher.  Way to go Cole!  Our hats off to the Sounds who battled hard us every time this season & made a nice

 run in the playoffs.  Next game tonight against the Grizzlies.  GO BEES GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 This particular evening would prove to be one I'll remember for a long time as the Bees had to face the #1 team in the regular season

 & a team we had no answers for all season & into the playoffs.   The mighty Grizzlies came to play & slammed their way through the

1st inning scoring 4 runs with a bevy of singles, 1 double & good base running. 

 Our Bees didn't falter as we put forth maximum effort to close the gap in the 2nd inning.  Mickale McKithen & Jahmeir Shorter started

us off with solid singles.  Nathan Gunter was next & hit the ball sharply which resulted in a ground out, but helped the team by

 moving the runners up.  Savannah Sams came through for the team as she singled & pushed Mickale across for an RBI. 

Jonas Harness was next & would prove to be a valuable asset during this game as he put the ball in play & moved the runners

resulting in an RBI.  Devone Williams & Miles Greene continued their clutch hitting & ultimately singled in Savannah bringing the score 4 - 3.

Our Bees defense was stellar all evening as we kept the Grizz off the board for the next 2 innings.  The 3rd inning brought Devone Williams

 to the mound and his best pitching performance of the season!  Devone struck out 2 batters, walked 1, & got one batter to fly out. 

Way to go Devone!  The Grizzly pitching was equally impressive as they retired all 3 Bees Batters in the 3rd. 

 Mickale McKithen pitched the 4th and walked 2 batters & gave up a single.  Jacob Foulkrod came out of the bullpen to help out & walked 1,

 & struck out 3 Grizzly hitters to get us out of the inning surrendering only 1 run & bringing the score to 5 - 3 Grizzlies. 

The coming innings would mark a turning point in the Bees vs. Grizzly rivalry in that the Bees would find a way this time. 

Our Bees would inch a little closer on the scoreboard in the 5th with solid singles by Jacob Foulkrod, Cole Greene, Mickale McKithen &

 Jahmeir Shorter which produced 1 more run & changed the score to 5 - 4. The Grizzlies battled & never quit scoring another run in the

 bottom of the 5th on 4 singles but in a key turning point in the game Mickale McKithen caught a short infield fly & smartly gunned it

back to Jacob Foulkrod at 1B for the double play which ultimately ended up quelling the Grizzly attack.  Big Defense Bees! 

Our heroes came up to bat in the 6th with one thing in mind, HIT!  Jonas Harness led the charge with a huge blast to the outfield which

 easily put him at 1B.  Devone Williams was ready to go next as he smacked a single & put runners at 1B & 2B. 

Miles Greene would would ground out next, but did his job as the runners advanced.  Jacob Foulkrod would come up again in the

 clean up spot in a crucial point in the game with 2 outs & not disappoint with an absolute shot to LC for a double that would score

 2 runs & tie the game 6 - 6. Cole Greene was next & belted a pitch to the Griz SS who threw to 3B & tried to get Jacob running from 2B. 

Jacob made a couple of quick moves & got past the pickle & safely to 3B.  Smart base running Kid! The inning ended with a couple

 of strikeouts & no further damage done.  The Bees defense would once again prove to be HUGE in the bottom of the 6th as

 Jacob & Mickale worked their magic fielding ground balls & throwing runners out at 1B & Jacob catching an infield fly to end the Grizzly

threat keeping the score deadlocked 6 - 6 and push the game into extra innings.   The Bees would take full advantage of their AB's in the

 top of the 7th as Mickale McKithen led off with a shot to RC which was cleanly fielded & thrown in to hold Mickale to a single. 

 Jahmeir Shorter & Nathan Gunter came up huge & singled on close plays at 1B to load the bases for Jonas Harness after a strikeout. 

 Jonas wasted no time blasting his best hit of the season to the outfield & scoring Mickale from 3B & taking the lead for

the first time in the game!  Nice Hit Jonas!!! 

Devone Williams was due up next & came through with a clutch hit which plated Jahmeir from 3B.  After a strikeout the cleanup

hitter would come up again with 2 outs & the bases loaded & a chance to put some distance between the 2 great teams. 

Jacob would come through again & crush a pitch to deep center field for a double which scored Nathan & Devone & set the score at 10 - 6

which would prove to be just enough to ice the game for the boys in yellow & black!  The Griz weren't done yet & made one last push

scoring 3 more runs, but the superb Bees defense prevailed as adjustments were made & key plays were made by

 Devone Williams at SS, Mickale McKithen at pitcher & Jacob Foulkrod at 3B to seal the victory & prove to this manager, coaches,

parents & fans,  that anything can happen if you believe!  No matter what happens the rest of the way, I'm very proud of the entire

 Bees squad for giving me your all & never quitting.  Thank You!   Game balls went to Jonas Harness & Nathan Gunter

 for their clutch hitting & fielding!  Great Job Guys!  

 Next game vs. The Canadians for the right to play for the CITY CHAMPIONSHIP, WOW!!!!   GO BEES GO!!!!!!!!!

City Championship

What a great night for Pacific Coast baseball.  After being rained out three days in a row,

 the Cilluffo Canadians finally met their opponent on the field, the Szolach Bees.  

The Canadians beat three teams to get this far – the Thunder, Rainiers and Grizzlies.  The battle-tested Bees took the

 harder road, beating the Sounds, then losing to the Grizzlies forcing them into the loser’s bracket.

 They then beat the Beavers in a 10 inning game, beat the Sounds again, and then took down the mighty Grizzlies in another

 extra inning game, earning the right to play for the City Championship.

In the first inning, after a lead off strike out, Miles Green, Anthony Monteleone and Jacob Foulkrod all singled to load the bases.

 Cole Green grounded out to Jared Rees at second, but got the first run of the game home.

 In the bottom of the first, the Canadians looked to be off to a slow start, but Jared got a two out single, followed by a sharp

single from Chris Walters that moved Jared to third.  AJ Saffore singled to score Jared and tie the game.

 Olivia Randazzo singled to load the bases, and Tarran Allen hit a scorching single down the right field line to plate Chris and AJ,

giving the Canadians a 3-1 lead.  In the Bees second, the Canadians’ defense shined.  Mikale McKithen hit a sharp grounder

 to Chris Walter at short for the first out, and then Jahmier Shorter singled to right center.  

The next two batters hit short grounders that forced first baseman Tarran Allen to field them, but second baseman

Jared Rees smartly covered first on both plays, shutting down the Bees offense.  In the Canadians half of the second,

Jordan Buck and Dean DeWaele led off with singles.  Kaeleb Donaldson then hit a bullet down the left field line for a double,

 scoring Jordan.  Sam Campion then grounded out, scoring Dean from third.  Young Aminah Whitfield, keeping an eye

on her brother’s championship game on LL #1, then singled sharply to bring Kaeleb home with the third run of the inning.

 Owen Rossman earned a two-out single before the Bees stopped the Canadians’ rally, but the damage was done

and the Canadians took a 6-1 lead.  Kid pitch time brought Chris Walters to the mound, and after Jonas Harness led off with a single,

 Chris then struck out the next three batters.  Jacob Foulkrod matched Chris’ effort, striking out all three batters he faced.

 Young Owen Rossman took the mound for the Canadians next, and got a ground out and two strike outs around a two out hit

from Mikale.  Anthony Monteleone pitched next for the Bees, and after two lead off walks, settled down to get Jordan Buck to line

 out the short, and then struck out the next two Canadians.  In the fifth, more Canadians’ defense from Jared Rees,

now playing pitcher.  The first two batters grounded out to Jared, and after another Jonas single, the Bees were denied.  

The Canadians got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, when with two outs Michaela Kirck,

 Owen Rossman and Jared Rees all singled to load the bases.  Chris Walters then got an infield single to bring in the seventh

 Canadians run.  The Bees would need a big sixth to deny the Canadians.  After a strike out and another ground out to Jared,

Jacob Foulkrod crushed a rocket to center field for a double, but Cole Green hit a line drive, but right to short stop Kaeleb

 Donaldson to end the game. Congratulations to the Bees on an excellent run in the playoffs – they should be proud!  

Way to go Canadians on a well earned Pacific Coast City Championship.