Dateline: Field of Dreams (Field #6)
Reston Warrior fans strolled in through the gates of Field of Dreams park to start the Reston Warriors 12U Tournament. It was fairly warm, but much cooler than Reston, VA and it was beautiful day at the ballpark. The Warriors wore the prescribed blue jerseys for the visiting team while the Wayne Warriors Sheriffs Posse of Wayne, New Jersey wore the red jerseys.
Reston jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first as Conor blasted the fourth pitch over the center field wall for his first lead-off home run of the week. Conor then went to the mound and struck out two batters and after one it was 1-0 Reston. Jordan led off the second with a single, he stole second. Graham walked. Conor singled to score Jordan. Andy hit a long sacrifice fly to center to score Graham. Wayne chipped across a run in the second and after two it was 2-1 Reston. Warriors bats were quiet in the third and Wayne chipped across another run and suddenly Reston held only a 3-2 lead.
In the fourth, Matt led off with a hard single to right. Conor blasted a double to left center to score Matt. Sam made a couple of great plays at third in the bottom of the fourth and Conor picked up another strikeout. After four, it was 4-2. In the top of the fifth, the wheels came off for Wayne. Justin led off with a single to left center. Jordan singled to left. Matt walked to load the bases. Graham hit a shot down the left field line to score Justin and Jordan. Conor then came to the plate. He blasted his second home run of the day to score Matt and Graham. When the dust had cleared it was 8-2 Reston. Jordan came on to pitch the fifth and held the Wayne Warriors to two runs. Andy got the last out on just two pitches.
In the top of the sixth it was all Reston. Justin again led off with a single. Brendan singled. Jordan singled. Matt singled to score Justin. Graham walked to score Brendan. With two outs, more offense ensued. Marty singled to score Jordan. Sam singled to left to score Matt. Justin batted again and picked up another single to score Graham. Brendan singled to score Marty. Jordan reached on an error to score Sam. Matt was hit by a pitch as Justin scored his second run of the inning. When the final out was made the score was now 16-4. Andy picked up the first out in the sixth and Mary came on to close out the game as he got the last batter to ground back to the mound.
Assistant Coach Grossman was available briefly after the game for a quick comment. “Well, we couldn’t have asked for a better first game. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a DVD out of this one. Conor looked great on the mound and his two home runs certainly helped get us rolling. We played solid defense, we hit the ball well and although the game was close for a while, our guys stayed tough and we eventually put some runs up on the board. I’m looking forward to our game tonight.
Editors Note: Wayne went on to be ranked #67 in the tournament. Clearly this resounded loss in game one didn’t help their tournament aspirations.
