Go BCC Blue Jays!: Blue Jays get cooking versus Tigers

The Blue Jays discovered all sorts of ways to cool off throughout a very hot rematch with the Tigers (orange) Sunday, June 10, at Westland Middle School. This was a game of survival!

Charlie Knowles was hot!

Gavin Ferguson was hot!

Jeremy Robertson was really hot!

Sam Berman was hot!

John Wyatt was hot!

Dylan Edwards was steaming hot!

The spectators were hot!

But the Blue Jays kept their cool and delivered clutch hits and solid defensive plays at key moments.

The final score was Blue Jays 10, Tigers 5.

June 10 Game Report

Charlie Knowles tied a bow on his inaugural Blue Jays campaign with another 3-for-3 day at the plate. Above, Charlie gets his team going with a single up the middle in the top of the first inning. He added singles in the second and fourth innings to raise his season's batting average to a blistering .913. Charlie also scored two runs, bringing his season total to twelve.

Charlie's excellent day in the field was highlighted by a reaching grab of a line drive at 1st base in the 5th inning. He also logged the first out of the game when he snagged a grounder and stepped on 1st base to end the top of the first inning. Charlie leads the Blue Jays this spring with ten unassisted put-outs and eight infield assists.

George Roggie dutifully executed his role in the catching rotation in the top of the first. But his best defensive play occurred in the sixth inning when he extended upward and to his right to catch a throw from 2nd baseman Dylan Edwards to complete a huge put-out. It was George's fifth assist of the year.

George gave the Blue Jays some breathing room in the bottom of the 4th inning when he scorched a bases-clearing line drive to right field for a three-run triple, his fourth three-base knock of the season. George bounced a single up the middle in the second inning, reached on a fielder's choice in the third, scored two runs, and collected a game high four RBI.

Sam Berman's hustle accounted for this unusual out to end the top of the second inning. After catching a throw at 3rd base, he noticed that the runner was attempting to score. Sam gave chase for 55 feet and then reached out and made the tag before the runner could get to the plate! In the fourth inning, Sam charged a slow grounder at 3rd base, scooped it up and stepped on the bag for a force out, his fifth unassisted out this season.

Sam ripped a single in the bottom of the first inning to extend an early rally. His solid grounder to 2nd base drove in the Blue Jays' fifth and final run of the decisive fourth inning.

Ethan Yu has swung a hot bat throughout the spring season. In the game with the Tigers, he continued to set a blistering pace. Ethan singled and scored in both the first inning and the fourth inning. Ethan now sports a .739 batting average and ranks among the team leaders with twelve runs scored.

Ethan made an impressive fundamental defensive play in the third inning. Playing at 2nd base, he smoothly fielded a hot grounder and alertly reached up and made the tag to complete the unassisted put-out. Ethan also made an outstanding stop on a grounder at 2nd base in the fifth inning.

Jeremy Robertson has quietly established himself as one of the Blue Jays' more productive offensive players. In the game with the Tigers, Jeremy put together a sterling 3-for-3 batting line that included a double to center field and two singles up the middle. Jeremy collected his sixth RBI of the year and raised his batting average to .647.

Jeremy handled some hot grounders at pitcher's helper in the second and fifth innings. He also did a terrific job at catcher in what was thankfully a very brief top half of the fourth inning.

Dylan Edwards is making a habit of logging outs at 2nd base. He executed a cool pickup of a smoking grounder and threw accurately to George Roggie at 1st bast to notch the first out of the sixth inning. Dylan has checked in with an infield assist in three consecutive games.

Dylan continued to make significant progress offensively, getting solid aluminum on the ball in multiple plate appearances. He pounded a single up the middle in the first inning and knocked a sharp grounder to the 2nd baseman in the 5th.

Braden Poon typically does a great job at the shortstop position. The Tigers must have thought so, too, because they avoided hitting the ball in his vicinity. Braden did a superb job when he was called upon to be the cutoff man, making fantastic catches and preventing base runners from advancing.

Braden wielded a hot bat on this scorching afternoon. He blasted singles in the first, third and fourth innings, scored two runs and added an RBI. Braden has one game remaining in which he can add to his season totals of nine runs scored and 13 driven in.

Jack Raymond followed up his clutch performance of a week ago with another dose of timely hitting. His single up the middle in the third inning plated two teammates and put the Blue Jays in the lead. Jack is turning up the heat late in the season, knocking in three runs in the past two games.

Jack was kept busy in the first and third innings at the pitcher's helper position. He gave great effort on three high fly balls and stopped bouncers before they could get to the outfield. Jack also took a fine turn at catcher in the fifth inning.

Gavin Ferguson parlayed an excellent two-tee drill in practice into a hot blast to the 2nd baseman in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gavin's searing smash was one of the game's more exciting highlights.

Timing is everything in baseball. When Gavin played the pitcher's helper spot, the middle of the infield was relatively quiet. The ball didn't go near him very often. When it did, he did a nice job making stops. Gavin did get an opportunity to work up a good sweat at catcher in the second inning.

John Wyatt hit in the number two spot in the order and continued to generate solid production, just as he has all season long. He contributed to rallies in the second and fourth innings, smacking solid singles and scoring a run. John is now hitting .773 with seven runs scored and nine RBI.

John did a great job at 3rd base in the first, third and fifth innings. He was a consistently dependable cutoff man on hits to the outfield.

Dylan Yoon accepted a new challenge in the game with the Tigers, playing shortstop for the first time in his rookie season with the Blue Jays. Dylan performed well, pursuing the ball more aggressively as the game went on. Dylan's future looks bright at this key infield spot.

Offensively, Dylan clubbed a single and scored a run in the third inning. He was robbed of extra bases in the fifth inning when his line drive was swallowed by the glove of the Tigers' very talented shortstop.

Hotline!

Afterwards, the Blue Jays and the Tigers lined up and congratulated each other for a fun, competitive, and very hot game!

Hot Help

Tom Yu handled 1st base coaching and umpiring duties with cool precision. Nevertheless, we assure you that he was, in fact, hot!

Our close-up shots of Brian Ferguson did not turn out so well. Therefore, we present the photo above that includes much of the left side of a very hot baseball diamond. If you look closely then you can see Brian coaching at 3rd base.

Susan Poon and Trista Robertson are the rocks upon which the Blue Jays' game day foundation is built. Rocks are formed by molten lava, which is only slightly hotter than the bench that Susan and Trista occupied on Sunday.

Thanks for sweating it out with us, ladies!

Chuck Edwards assisted in calibrating the appropriately named Blue Flame pitching machine between innings. He, too, was hot!

Following the game, the players were still hot. Fortunately, cool relief was not far off!

Richard Wyatt furnished the cold drinks at the field.

Thanks, Richard!

Derrick Raymond then led the team back to his home, where he and Eileen had prepared a pool party and cookout that was cool beyond any reasonable expectation!

Thank you so much, Derrick and Eileen!