Blue Jays shine in game with Phillies

The Blue Jays are a resilient bunch that is not afraid to play high quality competition.

They proved it again Sunday, April 29, in their game with the Phillies at Westland Middle School.

Dylan Yoon, George Roggie, Justin Conner, Ethan Yu, Charlie Knowles, Gavin Ferguson, John Wyatt, Ryan Groban, Jeremy Robertson, Jack Raymond and Sam Berman had fun and did their best all the way to the final out of the game.

The final score was Phillies 15, Blue Jays 7.

April 29 Game Report

Gavin Ferguson turned in a phenomenal all around effort.  Above, he races to 1st base after belting a base hit in the fourth inning.  An essential cog in the Blue Jays' offensive attack, Gavin also reached on a fielder's choice and drove in a run.

Gavin also delivered a defensive highlight in the fourth inning.  Playing at the pitcher's helper position, he cleanly fielded a solid grounder and delivered a perfect throw to George Roggie at 1st base for the put out.

John Wyatt got off to a hot start at the hot corner in the bottom of the first inning.  He speared a searing line drive at 3rd base for the Blue Jays' first out of the game!

John was Mr. Consistency on offense.  Above, he pulls into 1st base safely in the second inning.  He made a habit of this, collecting three singles and scoring a run in a perfect 3-for-3 day.

Justin Conner has a tendency to save his biggest hits for game day.  The game with the Phillies was no exception.  Justin knocked a double and a single, scored a run, and notched two RBI.

Justin contributed on defense, as well.  Above, he demonstrates his readiness at 2nd base.  Justin did a great job in center field in the third inning, rustling up two hard grounders and returning the ball to the infield to prevent the runners from advancing.

Charlie Knowles logged another efficient defensive performance in the game with the Phillies.  Playing at 1st base, he hauled in a fabulous throw from Ryan Groban to complete a put out in the first inning.  Two frames later, he did it again, this time handling a dart from Jack Raymond.

There weren't many holes in the Phillies' defense, but Charlie had no trouble finding them.  His 3-for-3 hitting performance included a double, two singles, and two RBI.

Ethan Yu was a rally starter for the Blue Jays.  Above, he prepares to belt a grounder to right field in the second inning.  Ethan's 3-for-3 batting line featured three singles and two runs scored.

There are two kinds of players - those who love to play the catcher position and those who prefer other roles.  Ethan is squarely in the latter category.  But when the time came for him to don the gear and take a turn behind the plate, he did so willingly and with the customary smile on his face.  An all star teammate, Ethan also did a fantastic job stopping hard grounders in center field in the third inning.

George Roggie put his reliable glove to good use at 1st base in the second inning.  Here, George gets under a high pop-up, sets his feet, and prepares to make the catch for a put-out.  George also hauled in Gavin Ferguson's flawless throw for an out in the fourth inning.

George continued to put the bat on the ball consistently in the game with the Phillies, reaching on a fielder's choice on two different occasions.  George also collected an RBI.

It was obvious that Dylan Yoon has spent some time working on his swing since the season opener.  He celebrated the unveiling of his compact new stroke with two solid singles and a run scored.

Taking his first turn behind the plate, Dylan put in a gutsy performance at catcher, showing no fear and occasionally popping up in an effort to nab fly balls in foul territory.  It's very difficult to catch what you can't see, but Dylan tried his best!

The photo above captures one of game's more scintillating defensive highlights.  Playing at shortstop in the first inning, Ryan Groban ranged to his left, fielded a scorching grounder, and unleashed a laser to Charlie Knowles at 1st base to complete the second out of the inning.  Ryan also did a great job in left field in the fourth inning, knocking down hard hits and getting the ball back to the infield to prevent runs from scoring.

Ryan hit from the lead-off spot and did a great job putting the ball in play, collecting two solid singles and scoring a run.

Jack Raymond contributed mightily to the Blue Jays' offensive attack.  Above, Jack races to 1st base after pounding a ground ball single to right field.  Jack would later reach base on a fielder's choice and collect an RBI.

Jack was fantastic at pitcher's helper in the third inning.  He nabbed a grounder and threw to Charlie Knowles at 1st base.  Jack also played well in left center field, stopping two grounders and limiting the opposition to singles.

Sam Berman put together some quality at bats in his first game of the season.  He sent a fly ball to left field in each of his three plate appearances.

Sam also contributed an unassisted out on defense.  Above, he demonstrates his outstanding ready position at shortstop, where he caught a high fly ball in the second inning.

Jeremy Robertson spent much of the afternoon pursuing hard grounders.  Above, he stands ready in left center field.  Jeremy also played very well at 3rd base.

Following on the heels of a breakout performance in the season opener, Jeremy further established himself as a key run producer on offense.  His RBI single in the fourth inning extended an exciting rally.

Competition and Sportsmanship

When the game ended, the Blue Jays congratulated the Phillies, a highly skilled and very experienced team that delivered a defensive performance that surpassed anything that we have seen at this level.

Appropriately, smiles were the order of the day.  The Blue Jays had fun, played well, and did their best right up to the very end.

Friends and Family

Coach Tom Yu assumed his customary spot in the 1st base coaching box.  He also handled his umpiring duties admirably, making good calls on several close plays.  Well done, Tom!

We are very happy to welcome Coach Brian Ferguson back to the Blue Jays' brain trust for a second season.  Sometimes, coaching at 3rd base requires restraint for the sake of sportsmanship.  This was not one of those occasions.  Appropriately, Brian sent the runners home!  Good call, Brian!

Trista Robertson is the glue that holds the Blue Jays together on the bench.  Once again, Trista did a great job keeping the players in their batting order and helping them get to the correct positions in the field.  Thanks, Trista!

When our scorekeeper was felled by illness, Fred Knowles stepped up and filled in admirably.  Fred's notations account for materially all of the data that we used in this game report!  Thank you, Fred!

An accomplished hockey player and coach, Kevin Conner is no stranger to body armor.  We were happy to stand back and allow Kevin to execute what is often an undervalued task.  Kevin also provided score keeping relief when Fred had to leave for his daughter's soccer game.  Thanks, Kevin!

Nothing draws a flock of Blue Jays like post game snacks and drinks.  The refreshments this week were again provided by Richard Wyatt, a gentleman who is rapidly becoming a favorite of the players.  Thanks, Richard!

Great Game Blue Jays!

The game with the Phillies demonstrated that doing our best in a competitive game against strong competition is lots of fun.  This is why we play.

Let's do it again next week!

Coach Steve