As part of my training for the “real world,” I’ve taken up an internship with the Florida Collegiate Summer League (http://www.floridaleague.com). This is a wood bat league in central Florida. While it’s not as famous as the Cape Cod League, it’s growing in popularity. College players from the local area come to play and show how well they can handle the change from an aluminum bat to a wooden one.
There are six teams in the league, and I am responsible for the press releases of one of them: the Sanford River Rats. I haven’t been able to contribute too much to At Home Plate or my blog since starting, so I hope that you will enjoy the only thing I have time to write: a weekly summary of just how my team is doing. Without any further ado, here it is.
The past week was a bittersweet one for the Sanford River Rats. On the field, they won on Wednesday and Friday against the Winter Pines Warthogs and Orlando Hammers, respectively, but lost their first game of the year against the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs on Saturday. A 2 and 1 week isn’t something to complain about, but the team definitely finished on a down note with Saturday night’s late loss. They’ll get right back on the field, ready to play, on Tuesday against the Orlando Shockers at Tinker Field.
The team’s offense produced well in the week that was. On Wednesday, two errors in the first inning helped the Winter Pines’ offense score six runs. The River Rats rallied back, however, scoring four in the fourth, four in the sixth, and twice in the eighth. Shortstop Michael Marseco (Samford University) and center fielder Chadd Hartman (University of Central Florida), who both drove in two runs apiece, were both big reasons why. On Friday, the team waited until the bottom of the tenth to send every one home. Catcher Dan Williams (West Georgia) had a run scored in the sixth and took a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the tenth to win the game. Saturday the Rats only scored one run, which came on consecutive doubles by DH Benji Waite (Samford University) and Vinny Cucci (University of Central Florida). The Rat Attack scored 15 runs over the span of three games, which averages to a very good five runs a game.
Pitching was another strong point for the River Rats last week. Despite some shaky defense behind him, Justin Young (Jacksonville University) limited the Warthogs to only three earned runs over four frames. Five of Bryan Kelley’s (Daytona Beach Community College) six innings on Friday night were perfect against the Orlando Hammers, and he only allowed one hit. Saturday night starter Chris Smith (Ohio Dominican) pitched five innings and only allowed one earned run. For the week, the pitching staff had an ERA of 2.08.
“The Diamond Dawgs and Altamonte were considered the top of the league at the beginning of the year. Not many people gave us a chance to win,” said Coach Kenne Brown after Saturday night’s game. “It’s great to get a chance to see how we matched up with these guys [the Dawgs], and I think we matched up pretty well. We had a chance to win late in the game, and that’s the only thing a coach can ask for.”
Injuries loomed large for the River Rats last week. Center fielder Chadd Hartman, who was leading the team in batting average and playing fine defense in the outfield, aggravated an abdominal muscle injury on Wednesday night. Coach Brown pulled Hartman from the game, and he has yet to see time on the field since then. The injury is so severe that Hartman is scheduled to get an MRI. First baseman/outfielder Austin Pride (Florida State) cut one of his fingers very badly last weekend, and missed Wednesday’s game. Despite the pain that comes with gripping a bat, Pride played both Friday and Saturday.
Daniel is an AtHomePlate blogger; to see his article archive, click here.
