Giant Effort

The Blue Jays put the pieces together in a complete performance versus the Giants Sunday, May 18, at Lynnbrook Park.

Fans appeared to be genuinely entertained by some outstanding youth baseball.

High fives and fist bumps came early and often.  The final score was Blue Jays 13, Giants 5.

May 18 Game Report

Andre Schnider did some serious damage with the bat.  He drew a walk in the first, reached on a fielder's choice in the third, and drilled a single to left field in the fourth.  In the top of the sixth, Andre launched the biggest blast of the afternoon, a line drive, opposite field homer to right.  He scored a run and drove in four.  Defensively, Andre demonstrated great footwork, moving from the shortstop position into shallow left field to catch a fly ball in the fourth inning.  For good measure, he closed the game on the mound, striking out one and allowing just one hit in the bottom of the sixth.

Observers suspected that Michael Hardie would emerge as a quality hitter over the course of the season, but nobody could have expected this much, this soon.  Michael finished Sunday's game with a 3-for-3 batting line that included two doubles, a single, a walk, four runs scored, and three RBIs.  To our knowledge, Michael does not have a nickname, but we suggest The Foreman - he is engaged in production.  Michael contributed a defensive gem in the bottom of the fourth, catching a sinking liner in the air at 1st base to end the inning and stifle a potential scoring threat.

Eli Kroskin contributed two huge plays in the field.  Playing at 2nd base, he caught a fly ball to log the second out in the bottom of the first.  Then, in center field, he started what was arguably the Blue Jays' most impressive defensive highlight of the game.  After chasing down a ball that had been hit over his head, Eli calmly delivered an accurate throw to the cut-off man, who then relayed the ball to 2nd base for a rare 8-6-4 tag-out.  Offensively, Eli chipped in with a single in the second and a walk in the fifth.

Will Dash is the undisputed winner of the Hard Luck Hitter of the Game award.  His searing line drive to left center in the top of the sixth might have been the hardest hit ball of the game.  Unfortunately, he had no choice but to tip his cap to the Giants' center fielder, who robbed Will of extra bases with a running, diving circus catch.  Undeterred, Will finished off a highlight reel play for the Blue Jays a half inning later, positioning himself perfectly at 2nd base, collecting a throw from the cut-off man, and applying the tag to the sliding runner, turning a potential double into an out.

Xander Yu's pitching kept the opposing bats silent in the game's early stages.  He struck out two and did not surrender either a run or a hit in two innings of work.  He took matters into his own hands on a come-backer to start the game, logging his eighth assist of the season, the best mark of any non-1st baseman.  Xander's line drive to left field in the top of the fifth, his third hit of the day, raised his batting average to .643.  He also scored three runs.

Sam Berman picked up where Xander left off, keeping the opponent at bay through the middle innings.  He struck out two and allowed no runs and no hits.  At shortstop, he notched two assists in the game's final frame.  The highlight was his execution of a cut-off on a ball that had been hit to deep center field.  Sam caught the throw from the outfielder, pivoted, and delivered a perfect throw to 2nd base without hesitation, converting a likely double into an out.  Offensively, Sam doubled in the third and was hit by pitch in the fourth.  He scored two runs and drove in two more.

Jake Lang delivered an excellent performance at the plate, in the field, and on the mound.  Offensively, he put the ball in play in each at-bat, knocking a base hit in the sixth and reaching on a fielder's choice in the first.  Defensively, he fielded a grounder at 3rd and made a perfect throw to 1st to rob the opponent of a hit in the bottom of the second.  He then assisted on another put-out at 1st base in the third.  On the mound, Jake went the entire way in the fifth inning, notching a strikeout along the way.

Gavin Ferguson came through with a key defensive play in the bottom of the third.  Playing at 2nd base, he vacuumed a slow roller and delivered an excellent throw to 1st base that arrived just in time to beat the runner, ending the inning with no harm done.  It was Gavin's fourth assist of the season.  Offensively, he put the ball in play in all three trips to the plate, reaching on a fielder's choice and scoring a run in in the top of the fourth.

Derek Sappenfield put the ball in play in two consecutive at-bats.  His well hit grounder to the left side of the infield resulted in a base hit in the top of the fourth.  He now sports a solid .667 Balls in Play percentage through five games.  Derek has played excellent defense throughout the spring, but the ball never found him in this contest.  That type of thing typically evens out over the course of a season.  When opportunity knocks, he'll be ready.

George Roggie yucked it up on the bench with his teammates between quality at-bats.  His 4-for-4 day included a double, three singles, two runs scored, and four RBIs.  He raised his batting average to a robust and probably unsustainable .917.  Defensively, George played a role in six put-outs, three assisted and three unassisted, at 1st base.

Dream Team

For all intents and purposes, Brian Ferguson coached the team in Saturday's scrimmage with the 10U Select Dodgers.  He returned to his traditional role for Sunday's game, assisting with warm-ups, coaching at 3rd base, and lugging equipment.

Ken Dash coached at 1st base, where he had plenty of opportunities to get to know the players.  Having witnessed 16 Blue Jays hits on the day, we're tempted to put Ken to work more often.

Steve Berman barely had time to pose for this photo.  He spent most of the afternoon feverishly logging hits and shading boxes on the visitors' side of the ledger.

Looking Ahead

The season's outlook is bright.  With three games remaining on the schedule, the Blue Jays will take a week off for Memorial Day and then get right back at it.

Go Blue Jays!

Coach Steve