Team Victory

Maybe it was because the St. Mary's players were mad at the coach for being so hard on them, especially at practice on Wednesday.

Maybe it was because they realized they really do have something to prove, and that they weren't going to just show up at Riverside Park Thursday afternoon and have Westminster hand them a victory on a silver platter.

Whatever the reason, the St. Mary's Saints came to the ballpark with a sense of purpose, with a sense of pride and a sense of passion, and they got the job done in a 9-2 win over Westminster.

No, it wasn't perfect. We're still not swinging the bats as well as we should. We're still not doing all the little things or taking care of all the little details that helps build an average ballclub into a championship-caliber team.

But the good news is that every single player on our ballclub made a contrbution Thursday.

Everyone.


Tyler Williamson — Solid contact at the plate, solid defense at second

Denis Douglas — Two walks, two stolen bases, two scoreless innings of relief. Lots of twos; maybe that's why they call him "Double D"

Collin Oliver — Big two-RBI single in the sixth to blow the game open

Jeremiah Schaeffer — Two hits, two runs scored, and his usual outstanding defense at shortstop

Palmer Douglas — A hit, a walk, two runs, and a couple of nice plays at third

Ben Agee — As a pinch-hitter in the fifth, draws a two-out walk, and scores a big run with two outs to give St. Mary's a 5-2 lead

Chris Leonard — Keeps the fifth-inning rally alive with a pinch-hit, two-out walk to set up Oliver's key base hit in the inning

Chris Singletary — Steals a base as a pinch runner in the second, draws a pinch-hit walk in the sixth, and scores a big insurance run

Bradley Miller — Robbed of two base hits, but does a solid catching job behind the plate and stops a Westminster run on a bang-bang play at the plate in the sixth inning on a perfect relay throw by Jeremiah Schaeffer

Zach Pace — Makes a solid defensive play in right field in the sixth inning, throwing a strike on the relay throw to Schaeffer, who then nailed the baserunner at home plate with a perfect throw to Miller

Brendan Douglas — The sixth grader is the offensive catalyst, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs

Chris Lenear — Goes 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored, and makes a stellar catch in right field in the seventh inning, then throws to nab the runner at first base for a game-ending double play

Carson Simmons — Draws a walk in the second, steals second, and scores the Saints' second run

Alec Anderson — Turns in a strong performance on the mound in his first start, allowing just three hits and two runs with six strikeouts in five innings

Sam Few — Our injured captain in the dugout and proving to be the ultimate 10th man on the field

Fifteen players. One total team effort.

Have we seen the best of the St. Mary's Saints this season? No, not even close.

But Thursday is what it's all about. Every single man on our ballclub did at least one thing to contribute to this victory.

On Wednesday, I gave our players a little dose of "tough love." I questioned whether our players truly believed in the concept of BIG TEAM LITTLE ME, or if it was merely nothing more than a catchy slogan.

After a 90-minute practice that clearly wasn't your best effort, I demanded you all pay the price at the end of the day Wednesday. And, as a result, I'm sure I wasn't the most popular guy around the ballclub Wednesday evening. But I hope you all realize we, as coaches, are only hard on you sometimes because we care and because we know we have yet to see the best of what you all have inside.

But Thursday afternoon, the St. Mary's Saints responded and showed that maybe they really do believe in BTLM after all.

There's still a long, long way to go. Again, let's not get too excited about one victory.

But without a doubt, this was a big step in the right direction.

And I owe you some Ring Pops on Monday.

Have a great weekend. You all earned it. We've got First Academy on Monday. See you then.