Today's game contained a big adjustment for the Grizzlies. As of April 27th, we are moving towards 3 strikes as an out (instead of 6 hittable pitches) in the Coach-Pitch division. It is definitely a little tougher, but it's important to keep in mind that the major goal of the Coach-Pitch division is to prepare the kids to play real baseball rules. With one of our practices snowed out this week, we didn't get as much time as I would have liked to work with the kids on understanding to only swing when the pitch is a strike. We will work more on that. But with that said, I thought the majority of the Grizzlies showed good discipline at the plate and didn't swing at balls out of the strike zone. Nice job! Moving to 3 strikes as an out will be a bit of a progression - today you may have noticed that we just did it the 1st time through the batting order and then switched back to 6 hittable pitches. But even when we do that, we will not be as liberal as we have up to this point and if the batter swings and misses, that will count as one of the 6 even if the pitch wasn't in the strike zone. Practice hitting at home...if you need to borrow a bat and a couple balls don't hesitate to ask! Let me know if you have any questions on this change.
On to the game....Congratulations to the day's MVP,
Ethan! He hit safely 2 times, including the 1st at bat when we were counting 3 strikes as an out. While playing 3rd base, Ethan made a great play on a ground ball and wisely got the force out at his base. Way to be, #6!
Other highlights:
- With the bases loaded, TJ pounced on a short ground ball near the pitcher's area and quickly threw home to JD who made a nice catch for the force out at the plate
- Brad played a terrific 1st base - he fielded a hard hit ground ball and got the out at first. Later, he made a couple nice catches on throws that arrived just barely too late for the out.
- Kyle showed why it's important to be "in the game" even when playing the outfield when he picked up a fly ball off one hop and got a nice force out at 2nd base.
- The Grizzlies just keep getting better and better at being down and ready on every pitch. The players that I noticed were down and ready every pitch were Blake, Brad and Toby. There may have been others...the coaches will continue to watch for this!
