The other story of the game was the Big Blue defense. Even with the coaches shuffling some players to different positions, the gloves were airtight all the way around, with minimal errors. Elon sent just 20 batters to the plate in the five innings of play.
The win meant the Big Blue-Blue Sox matchup in the 12:30 game would be for the tournament championship. Upon hearing that Bryce wanted to see Boshamer Stadium, where the Carolina baseball team plays, the entire squad decided to take a field trip. They were, of course, suitably impressed by the multimillion dollar facility, including the following high-dollar highlights:
1. Chasing foul balls.
2. The Gatorade machine near the UNC dugout.
3. The fact that the Tar Heel players get a lot of shoes.
Carolina's appeal was so incredibly overpowering that Mason was heard to rave about it, saying, "I guess I wouldn't mind going here." Even Bryce was heard to say that Carolina might not possibly be the worst option in the entire country. He was last seen getting into the car and being handed a book by Coach Kevin.
Game 1 Big Blue scoring plays
First inning
Bryce reached leading off the game, then dashed to third on JT's single. Gavin collected the first RBI of the game, a single to right that moved JT to third. JT's baserunning turned out to be important, because it enabled him to score on Jake's fielder's choice.
Score after one-half inning: Big Blue 2, Elon 0
Second inning
The biggest inning of the game began with back-to-back singles by Elias and Ben. Timmy's grounder to first scored Elias and moved Ben to second. Asher singled back through the middle, and Trey's infield single scored Ben. Bryce and JT smacked back-to-back singles that scored Asher and Trey, and then Gavin's deep triple cleared the bases and invoked the run rule.
Score after one and a half inning: Big Blue 8, Elon 0
Third inning
Jake led off by crushing a triple to deep right-center, then scored on Mason's sacrifice fly. Joey singled and Elias beat out a grounder, and then Ben singled to load the bases. Timmy, Trey and Bryce drove RBI singles to complete the scoring.
Score after two and a half innings: Big Blue 12, Elon 0
Fifth inning
Big Blue once again put up the five-run limit in the fifth. Timmy led off with a single and moved to second on Asher's single. Trey's hard-hit ball to left turned into a fielder's choice at third on a nice play by the left fielder. With runners on first and second, Bryce drove in a run with a single. JT's single scored Trey, and then Gavin singled to load the bases for Jake. Using the new bat, he drove in a pair with a two-run double. Mason's single scored Gavin and ended the inning with five runs and just one out.
Score after four and a half innings: Big Blue 17, Elon 1
Game 1 Web Gems
- JT ended the first inning with a double play, spearing a line drive at third and then firing to Timmy at first to double the runner off and retire the side.
- Gavin made a nice sliding play in shallow center for the second out of the third inning.
- Timmy smoothly caught a fly ball in left to end the third.
- Timmy also ended the fifth--and the game--with a good play at first base. On a hard-hit line drive straight down the first base line, he moved to his left and made a diving snag.
- NOT A WEB GEM: Jennifer LaMattina was in perfect position to catch a foul ball for the second weekend in a row, but some other selfish parents jumped in front of her. The good news is no nails were lost this weekend.
| Game 1 line score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H |
| Big Blue | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5 | X | 17 | 24 |
| Elon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 1 | 3 |
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