Western Spring State Game 1: Big Blue 12, Porter Ridge 1

After the quick trip from Apex, Cary, West Raleigh and points inbetween, Big Blue reassembled in Mooresville for the Western Spring State. Just to make things more exciting, the Bees and Thunder decided to play eight innings in the afternoon's late game in West Raleigh, meaning Joey, Jake and Trey arrived just in time for the first pitch.

But once everyone arrived at the field, it was like Big Blue had never missed a beat. The first opponent of the tournament was Porter Ridge, which won the Western North Carolina state title in the summer of 2012 (the western version of the Eastern championship won by the West Raleigh All-Stars). But Big Blue got hits from 10 different players, outhit Porter Ridge 18-4, and flashed very solid defense, setting down Porter Ridge in order in two of the four innings. Just one Porter Ridge runner reached third base all night, and only three Porter Ridge runners reached second.

Coach Sean celebrated the game by losing his mind and declared--only after close consultation with Head Coach Adam, of course--that players could hit the hotel pool as long as they were in bed by 10 p.m. I was able to snap a quick photo of the Big Blue parents when he made that proclamation.

Big Blue will be right back on the field Sunday morning. The last pool game is at 9 a.m. against the Mooresville Legends, and bracket play will begin at either 1 p.m. or 2:30 p.m.

Game 1 Big Blue scoring plays
First inning
With one out, JT singled through the left side. Gavin drove him in with a double to deep right-center, and then Chace singled home Gavin.
Score after one-half inning: Big Blue 2, Porter Ridge 0

Second inning
Again, it started with one out. Asher singled. Elias ran for Asher (the catcher) and motored to third on Joey's deep drive to right-center. Jake hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored Elias, and then Trey picked up a two-out RBI with a single to right. Big Blue picked up another two-out RBI when, after Bryce's single put runners on first and second, JT singled to center to score Trey.
Score after one and a half innings: Big Blue 5, Porter Ridge 0

Third inning
Chace led off with a double. With one down, Mason ripped a shot back through the middle that had Coach Eric doing some Matrix moves, scoring Chace. Asher picked up a two-out RBI with an opposite field single that scored Timmy.
Score after two and a half innings: Big Blue 7, Porter Ridge 1

Fourth inning
For the fourth straight inning, the scoring started with one out. This time, it was Trey who ignited the biggest inning of the game, ripping a single to right. He moved to second on Bryce's single, and then JT loaded the bases with a single. That set up Gavin for an epic at-bat, battling Coach Eric for nine pitches before eventually crushing a triple to right-center that cleared the bases. Chace drove in a run with a shot to left-center, Ben singled hard to left, and then Mason finished the scoring with an RBI double.
Score after three and a half innings: Big Blue 12, Porter Ridge 1

Game 1 Web Gems

• In the second, Jake snagged a fly ball in right field and very nearly hosed the runner tagging up at third trying to score.
• Bryce made a diving catch on a sinking liner in right-center leading off the third.
• Virtually the entire Big Blue infield made a heads-up play in the third. With a runner on first, the Porter Ridge hitter singled to center, apparently putting runners on first and second. But Porter Ridge tried to get too aggressive on the bases when the throw looked like it was going to squirt through the infield. They didn't count on Timmy backing up the play, grabbing it near first and throwing across the diamond to JT at third to nail the lead runner.
• Chace made a nice play backing up on a pop fly over shortstop to end the third.
• Ben ended the game by perfectly tracking a fly ball into right-center, going deep to make the play look easy.

Game 1 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Big Blue	2	3	2	5	X	X	12	18
Porter Ridge	0	1	0	0	X	X	1	4