Winter World Series championship: Big Blue 19, North Wake 6

We could talk about the dominating 19-6 win over a red-hot North Wake team in the 2012 Top Gun Winter World Series championship game. We could talk about the big hits, or the amazing defensive plays (and we will talk about all of that, eventually). We could talk about the five great coaches...but I think we all know they are insufferable already.

So instead, to provide the perfect picture of the fall Big Blue season, let's go to the second inning of Sunday's championship game in Wake Forest. North Wake had built a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the inning, with Ben due to lead off. He blasted a ball to right field that rolled all the way to the fence, and by the time North Wake got the ball back anywhere close to the infield, he was already crossing the plate.

When it became obvious that it was going to be a home run, I turned around to the Big Blue cheering section to try and find his parents, to enjoy how happy they would be. I couldn't find them--because literally every person in the stands looked like Ben's parents. I saw brothers and sisters of his teammates standing up, rattling the fence as he rounded the bases. I saw mothers and fathers of his teammates standing and looking every bit like it was their son flying around the bases. I never did see Ben's parents, although I'm guessing they were happy. And by the time I turned back around, Ben had already crossed the plate and was making his way to the dugout.

Or rather, trying to make his way to the dugout. He couldn't quite get there, because all of his teammates had poured out of it, and were banging him on the back and smacking him on the helmet. You know for sure Ben is never going to forget that--and what made it so much fun was that it looked like no one else wearing a Big Blue jersey would ever forget it either.

That's the kind of fall (and summer, for that matter) that it's been. What makes this group a really good baseball team is that they are impressive baseball players. They finished 12-0 this fall, outscoring opponents by 189-42. Averaged out, that's roughly 16-4 per game--and keep in mind that many of those innings and games were shortened by the run rule. For example, in the four games in this weekend's World Series, 11 of Big Blue's innings were cut short by the five-run rule. So roughly 30 percent of the time the offense came to bat, the umpires were the only people who could stop it.

So that's pretty impressive. But what carries it beyond being just a really good baseball team is what really good kids--and families--they are. For whatever reason, this group just works together perfectly. I have heard other coaches say they've had trouble with problem parents, and have been around some on previous teams. But I've never heard any of that on this team, and because the parents are setting the example, I never heard the kids complain about the batting order or their defensive position. (Let me take this opportunity to be the first, and say that I really felt all season that Asher should be hitting cleanup, and if Coach Kevin would've just put him there, we probably could've won the Winter World Series title.)

It's just a really fun group that we're so lucky to play with. We have friends who play on other teams, and it's not unusual to hear them talking about how their coach messed up something, or one of the kids on the team is a pain, or they don't want to go to practice. And they give us that look like we're supposed to commiserate and there's not really anything we can say, because every time we play or practice, it always ends up being one of the best parts of the day.

I was thinking about all of that after the 19-6 win. The teams had shaken hands and it was time to clean out the dugout. As usual, the last player in the dugout was Asher, because he was still trying to wedge everything into his bag. He carries approximately enough equipment to stock a Dick's Sporting Goods outlet store, so it takes a while. I was starting to wonder if he'd ever finish, so I walked into the dugout to see if I could speed things along. He had his back to me and couldn't see me coming, and I realized he was talking to himself. And sometimes, seven-year-olds just say it perfectly. Because as I walked up, as he tried to wedge his catcher's mitt into his bag, with no one else around him, this is what he was saying:

"Whooooo! Man, that was fun!"

Championship Big Blue scoring plays
First inning
Bryce led off with a sharp double down the third base line. He scored on JT's single, and JT alertly moved up to second on the throw. He moved to third on Gavin's single, putting runners on the corners. Chace singled home JT, and when the ball wasn't handled cleanly, Gavin also hustled all the way around and Chace raced to third. That put him in position to score on Jake's fielder's choice RBI. With the bases clear, Mason started the rally again with a single. Joey doubled him home to plate the fifth run of the inning and invoke the run rule.
Score after one inning: Big Blue 5, North Wake 2

Second inning
Ben led off with a home run. Ho-hum. Oh, wait a second: BEN LED OFF WITH A HOME RUN! It was blasted to right and wasn't even close at the plate, sparking a wild celebration from his Big Blue teammates. Ben was so excited that he cracked a half-smile. Coach Kevin would like to point out that the homer came on the second pitch of Ben's at-bat, which is roughly 34 fewer pitches than he had in his at-bat at Thursday's practice. Timmy and Elias followed the homer with back-to-back singles, and Asher sacrificed them to second and third. Trey's fielder's choice scored Timmy, and then Bryce singled home Elias. JT's long triple scored Bryce.
Score after two innings: Big Blue 9, North Wake 6

Third inning
Chace singled to the left side of the infield. With one out, Mason ripped a triple to center that scored Chace. Joey doubled home Mason.
Score after three innings: Big Blue 11, North Wake 6

Fourth inning
Elias led off with a single. Asher reached on a fielder's choice that saw Elias forced at second. Trey singled to left. Bryce singled home Asher, and JT singled home Trey. With two outs, Chace's opposite-field single scored Bryce.
Score after four innings: Big Blue 14, North Wake 6

Fifth inning
In a fairly incredible offensive display, especially considering it was the middle and bottom half of the order, Big Blue needed just six batters to score the five-run limit in the bottom of the fifth. Mason and Joey led off with back-to-back singles. Ben singled home Mason and sent Joey to third. Timmy's grounder to short was unplayable, scoring Joey. Elias laced a single to center that scored Ben, and when the throw came home, both Timmy and Elias moved up a base, putting them at second and third. Asher's single to center scored them both and invoked the five-run rule. Fittingly, in the last inning of the season, Big Blue did not record a single out before plating five runs.
Score after five innings: Big Blue 19, North Wake 6


Championship Web Gems

• On the second hitter of the game, Gavin made a tough stop of a hard grounder. His throw to Bryce to try and get the force short-hopped the second baseman, but Bryce dug it out to get the out.
• Big Blue got its third out of the weekend at the plate in the second, as Mason fielded a bases-loaded grounder and threw to Asher for the force at home. 
• What may have been the momentum-turning play of the game happened in the third. With one out and Big Blue holding a fairly narrow 9-6 lead, the North Wake batter hit a hard shot to Elias in right field. In fact, it may have been too hard, because Elias fielded it on the hop, never hesitated, and threw a rope to first base. That's where Timmy was waiting, keeping his foot on the bag while stretching to grab the throw and record the out. That's when you could first see the North Wake mood shift from, "We can do this," to, "They even get us out when we get hits!"
• Mason came flying out of the pitcher's circle in the fourth, scooped up a ball rolling down the first base line with his bare hand, and fired to Chace at first for the out.
• In the fifth, the leadoff North Wake hitter ripped a hard shot down the third-base line that looked like a sure double. Except that JT was already standing there, and snatched it out of the air for an easy out.
• Jake ended it as only he could, running over to grab a fly ball, then alertly firing in a throw to first to double off the unsuspecting runner and end the game and clinch the Winter World Series championship.

Championship line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
North Wake	2	4	0	0	0	0	6	13
Big Blue	5	4	2	3	5	X	19	25