Coach Rater

Practice will be held on Tues, Dec 22 @ 8PM.

The St. Joseph's Varsity Boys team opened up their season with a great team effort that resulted in a 27-26 victory over St. Matthias. The taller opponent created rebounding troubles, but aggressive defensive pressure on the ball by St. Joe's produced several turnovers. Chris led the offensive charge with 11 points and blistering long-range accuracy. Ben pumped in 5 points, including 2 clutch free-throws with under a minute to play. Andrew had 4 points, which included the first score of the game and another shot to take the lead for good with about a minute to play. Fernando finished with 3 points to go with a team-leading 4 assists. William and Austin rounded out the scoring with a basket each.

There were several defensive gems. Ben racked up 5 blocked shots and the team had 8 total blocked shots for the day. William was a rebounding machine late in the game and both Chris and Ben came up with key steals throughout the game.

Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. The boys made the adjustments they needed to and applied what they have learned in several long practices. Parents should be proud of each and every boy's effort today. We might not always be fortunate enough to win these close games, but we have taken a step in showing that we will be competitive this season.

p.s. Coach Rater runs the blog, but today's win wouldn't have been possible without the work put in by Coach Hutson and Coach Nguyen.

The boys split their weekend games and now stand at 5-5. Friday evening the St. Joseph's Varsity Boys played an 8PM game against St. Jane de Chantal and thrived under the lights. They played great defense and cruised to a 20-3 victory. Offensively the team was led by Ray, who almost hit for the cycle. He was 3/4 with a single, double, and a home run. The home run was the team's first this season. Austin was 3 for 3 and executed a perfect suicide squeeze with Andrew in the 2nd inning. Fernando and Austin each pitched 2 innings in the win. Fernando recorded 6 strikeouts and Austin 2.

Saturday mornings continue to be our nemesis. Less than 12 hours after ending the Friday night game, the boys took the field again against the number 1 team in the league, St. Mark's. After playing close for the first 2 1/2 innings, the boys were down only 3-1. However we gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the 3rd after issuing 6 walks and giving up a bases clearing double. In the end, the boys lost 10-1 and have yet to win on a Saturday morning. We picked up only 2 hits in the game (one each by Ryan and Kevin).

The boys have 2 games left before the playoffs begin. As of right now, we will make the playoffs but face two tough opponents next weekend. A split in those games should guarantee a spot.


Statistics:Record: 5-5

Team Batting Average - Season: .344
Opponents Batting Average - Season: .160

Team Leaders:
Batting Avg - min. 15 at bats: Bruce (.500); Ray (.467); Ryan (.452)
Hits: Ray (14); Ryan (14); Bruce (13)
RBI: Ryan (7); Ray (7)
Runs Scored: Ray (14); Bruce (10); John (10); Ryan (10)
On Base % - min 20 plate appearances: Austin (.576); Bruce (.552); Andrew (.533)
Walks: Andrew (10); Devon (9); Austin (8)

Coach is tired and there is not a whole lot to say. The boys played a double-header on Saturday against two tough opponents and came up short in both contests. In the first game, against St. Mary's, an error-filled 2nd inning allowed St. Mary's to take an 8-1 lead that we couldn't recover from. We struggled at the plate, getting only 5 hits (2 each for Austin and Ryan) and lost by a score of 9-3. In the second game against Holy Redeemer (a team we beat earlier in the season), the bats got even colder and we only managed 2 hits. We did play better defense, but in the end we found ourselves with a winless day, losing 6-0. Our batters struck out 10 times in each game. Ray picked up 5 Ks in 4 innings of work against St. Mary's, and Bruce recorded 5 Ks in 4 innings of work against Holy Redeemer. Ryan struck out 3 in 2 hitless innings against Holy Redeemer.

On Monday evening we tried to get back on track against one of the better pitchers in the league. We travelled to Bowie to play St. Pius. It was a well-played game by both teams, but we came up short on the scoreboard, losing 5-2. Austin and Ray both went 2 for 3 in the game. Ryan pitched 4 innings, yielding no hits and getting 5 strikeouts. It was Ryan's 6th straight inning without giving up a hit.

Our record now stands at 4-4 with at least 4 more games left in the regular season. Our effort against St. Pius once again showed that we can play with any team as long as we don't beat ourselves when we are in the field. We are still within reach of the playoffs and I like our chances of getting there.

Statistics:
Record: 4-4
Team Batting Average - Season: .335
Opponents Batting Average - Season: .153

Team Leaders:
Batting Avg - min. 15 at bats: Bruce (.524); Ryan (.480); Ray (.458)
Hits: Ryan (12); Bruce (11); Ray (11)
Runs Scored: Ray (11); Ryan (9); Bruce (8); John (8)
On Base % - min 20 plate appearances: Austin (.593); Bruce (.583); Andrew (.542)
Walks: Andrew (9); Austin (8); Devon (8)

The St. Joseph's Varsity Boys improved to 4-1 with a 16-6 win over St. Jerome's on Saturday. Down 2-0 after 2 innings, the team erupted for 9 runs in the top of the 3rd and never looked back. Bruce went 4 for 4, including a double, and had 4 RBI. Ryan was 3-4 with 2 RBI and Ray was 2-3 with 3 RBI. All told, the boys produced 16 hits and hit .533 for the day. Ryan pitched 3 innings and recorded 3 strikeouts and allowed only 2 hits. Ray pitched 2 innings and recorded 3 strikeouts and gave up only 1 hit. The game was called after 5 innings due to the slaughter rule.

Fielding was a bit spotty at times, as the boys had 4 errors on the day. However they regrouped nicely and never allowed that "big inning" to happen.

The boy's have a double header on Saturday, May 9. The team is in 2nd place, 1 game behind league leader St. Mark's.

Statistics:

Record: 4-1
Team Batting Average - Season: .419
Opponents Batting Average - Season: .137

Team Leaders:
Batting Avg - min. 10 at bats: Bruce (.769); Ray (.500); Ryan (.400)
Hits: Bruce (10); Ray (8); Ryan (8)
Runs Scored: Ray (10); Bruce (8); John (8); Ryan (8)
On Base % - min 10 plate appearances: Bruce (.813); Devon (.727); Fernando (.700)
Walks: Andrew (7); Austin (7)

The first game under the lights for the St. Joseph's boys did not go as planned, and they lost for the first time this season, 9-1 to St. Mark's. This was the second game of the evening for St. Joe's and they put up a great effort against a fresh and very good team. But in the end, we couldn't overcome a 6-0 deficit after the first inning. In the 1st inning, anything that could go wrong, did. Four walks and 3 errors led to 6 unearned runs. And the boys were facing the toughest opposing pitcher they will see this season.

*** Actually I think even if they make it to the minor leagues this will still be the toughest pitcher they faced. ***

Despite the 6-0 deficit, the boys only allowed 1 more run through 6 innings and gave themselves a chance to get back in the ballgame. But St. Mark's held tough and scored 2 more in the top of the 7th to put the game out of reach. Whether it was fatigue or just great pitching, we struck out 15 times in the game, which was definitely the worst offensive outing of the season.

For the season, the boys are hitting .374 and holding the opponents to a paltry batting average of .137. If our pitching stays strong and we prevent the big innings we should be in great shape come playoff time.

The St. Joseph's Varsity Boys opened up their first double-header of the season with a well-played 11-3 victory over St. Matthias. Many friends and family spent their Friday evening cheering on the boys and they sure appreciated it. Bruce got the starting nod and pitched 3 good innings while giving up only 1 hit and recording 6 strikeouts. St. Joseph's took a quick 3-0 lead in the 1st, only to see the lead evaporate in the top of the 2nd with a hit batter, a couple of walks and an error. However the boys came back strong and shut the Mustangs down for the remainder of the game while scoring 1 in the 2nd, 5 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th. Ray came in to pick up the last out of the 4th inning and then pitched a 1-2-3 5th to seal the game. The game was called due to the time limit after 4 1/2 innings.

Offensively the boys were strong, hitting .400 for the game and only striking out 4 times. Ryan was 2-2, with a double in the 1st and a 2-RBI single in the 3rd. John was also 2-2 with a double in the game. Kevin picked up his first RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning.

The victory raised St. Joseph's record to 3-0 and set the boys up for a game against undefeated St. Mark's in the second game of the evening.

The St. Joseph's Varsity Boys followed up their season-opening win on Friday night by crushing St. Jane De Chantal in a Saturday afternoon contest. The opponents struggled on the mound and our batters took several walks and some very big swings. The game was never close as the boys opened the top of the 1st by plating 7 runs. Inning 2 generated another 8 runs, and the 3rd inning the boys let loose and scored another 15. Meanwhile, Bruce was on the mound and was in complete control, striking out 7 in 3 innings of work. He only gave up 1 hit on a blooper to right field. The game was called after just 3 innings with St. Joseph's up 30-0.

Ryan hit the team's 1st triple this season, after hitting a double earlier in the same inning. Ryan, Andrew, and Fernando each scored 4 runs. John came up with a huge hit in the 3rd inning, getting him his first RBI (2) of the season. There were several advances on passed balls, but Ryan, Ray, and Bruce all picked up legitimate steals.

The defense was solid, base running was smart, batters were disciplined, and pitching was strong. If we keep that up we will have a very successful season.

p.s. The plaid shorts will be worn again.

After an opening-weekend rainout and time off for Easter break, the St. Joseph's Varsity Boys team finally took the field for a Friday night contest against Holy Redeemer. Down 3-2 after 4 innings, the boys combined key singles with 6 walks to plate 4 runs in the 5th inning. After holding Holy Redeemer scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, the bats came alive in the top of the 6th, highlighted by doubles from Ryan, Bruce, and Ray, to plate 5 more runs. Due to the long top of the 6th inning, and the lack of field lights, the game was called due to darkness and the game was official at the end of the 5th with St. Joseph's getting a season-opening win which was officially scored as 6-3.

Ryan pitched 4 stellar innings and racked up 11 Ks. Ray pitched the 5th inning and picked up 2 Ks.

Bruce, John, and Chris all reached base in every one of their plate appearances.