How thorough was the domination in the second game, a 23-5 win over the Edenton Bulldogs? On offense, Big Blue pounded out a season-high 29 hits, with every player on the roster getting at least one hit, 11 different players collecting at least two hits, and 10 different players scoring at least one run.
And that wasn't even the most impressive part of the game. That came on defense, where Big Blue ended any Edenton dreams of an upset right away. The Blue defense retired the first eight Bulldog hitters in a row, setting a fall record for the most consecutive hitters retired (if you're wondering, the team-wide record is 14 hitters in a row retired against the Efland Hawks back on June 17 in Wilmington--you might remember that as the game when the pitching machine was on the fritz, and eight of those outs were via strikeout). Making it more impressive, all eight of the Edenton hitters put the ball in play, and all were handled cleanly.
By the time Edenton had its first baserunner, Big Blue had already built an 11-0 lead. That continued a trend--over the course of the fall, Blue has outscored opponents 40-7 in the first inning, and that figure would be considerably larger if it were not for run limits.
The Edenton bats did eventually find some holes, and the four runs they pushed across in the bottom of the sixth gave the Durham Indians the top seed in Sunday's bracket play. That means Big Blue is the second seed and will open against Southern Pitt at noon on field two. The winner of that game advances to the Winter World Series championship game at 3 p.m.
Game 2 Big Blue scoring plays
First inning
It didn't take long to get the limit of five runs. In fact, Big Blue did it without recording an out for the only time of the day. Bryce and JT teamed up for back-to-back singles leading off, and Gavin drove in a pair with a deep double to left-center. Chace singled in Gavin. Jake reached on an error, and then Mason singled home Chace. After a single from Joey, Jake crossed the plate with the inning's fifth run on a single by Ben.
Score after one-half inning: Big Blue 5, Edenton 0
Second inning
Elias singled and was sacrificed to second by Asher. Great baserunning by Elias enabled him to hustle all the way around on Trey's single to the right side.
Score after one and a half inning: Big Blue 6, Edenton 0
Third inning
Just like the first inning, it took just eight at-bats for Big Blue to plate five runs. JT led off with one of his four hits for the game and moved to second on Gavin's fielder's choice. Chace singled to put runners on the corners, and Jake beat out a single that scored JT. With two outs, Joey lined an RBI single. Ben's grounder up the middle wasn't handled, scoring Jake and moving Joey to third. Timmy ended the inning (due to the run rule) with a two-RBI single to center.
Score after two and a half innings: Big Blue 11, Edenton 0
Fourth inning
Once again, it took only eight at-bats to hammer out five runs. With one out, Asher singled through the middle. He moved to second on Trey's single, but then Trey was forced at second on a fielder's choice. That gave Big Blue runners on the corners with two outs, but the inning was just beginning. JT hit what looked to be a single to left...but then turned into three runs, as JT hustled all the way around the bases. Gavin started the rally again with a triple to the fence in right-center, and scored on Chace's grounder. Jake ended the inning with a long double to left-center.
Score after three and a half innings: Big Blue 16, Edenton 0
Fifth inning
Mason and Joey led off with back-to-back singles. With one out, Timmy drove home Mason with a single. Then, with two down, Asher went the other way for an RBI single that plated Joey.
Score after four and a half innings: Big Blue 18, Edenton 1
Sixth inning
Seven straight batters reached leading off the inning, which eventually turned into the fourth five-run inning of the day. Bryce was the first Big Blue hitter on base, and then JT and Gavin cracked a pair of singles. Chace drove in two with a double, and then Jake drove in Gavin. Joey's single scored Chace, and then Elias earned the last RBI of the day with a single to left.
Score after five and a half innings: Big Blue 23, Edenton 1
Game 2 Web Gems
- JT and Chace teamed up on a terrific play to end the first. JT fielded a hard-hit ball down the third base cleanly, then threw all the way across the diamond. That's where Chace was waiting, as he showed some nifty footwork to haul in the throw while maintaining contact with the bag to end the inning.
- The Bulldog batter hit a shot leading off the second, but Mason was there in the pitcher's circle to stab the ball out of the air, then calmly toss to first for the out. Mason and Trey combined to play a flawless 12 innings at pitcher on the day.
- Gavin made a leaping catch of a looping liner over shortstop leading off the third.
- Chace made another great stretch leading off the fifth, doing a near-split to retire a speedy runner by a half-step.
- Elias covered a ton of ground in the fifth, ranging all the way from his normal left field position to left-center to grab a fly ball.
- Big Blue got another out at the plate in the sixth, and again it came from right field. This time it was Jake fielding a hard-hit Bulldog ball and firing into Bryce as the cutoff man. The Big Blue second baseman turned (glove side, of course) and threw a strike to the plate, where Asher was waiting to catch the throw and apply the tag on a leaping runner.
- The bionic Coach Eric pitched both games of the doubleheader and was absolutely crushed--which is great news.
| Game 2 line score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H |
| Big Blue | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 29 |
| Edenton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
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