After nine days off, the Braves traveled to Fellowship Christian School this evening for a match-up against the Paladins' Junior Varsity team.  On a beautiful evening for baseball, we handed the host team an 18-5 loss as our squad used the opportunity to tune up for the USSSA Elite 32 World Series next week in Orlando.  #22 Jon Jon Banks led our scoring attack with a 4 for 4 outing as he scored 3 runs and batted in 2 more.

Offensively, it was somewhat evident that the Braves had not swung our bats too frequently over the past week.  Nonetheless, we pounded out 18 hits against the Paladins' out-matched defense and recorded 5 extra-base hits in the process.  #5 Hunter Swilling and #22 Jon Jon Banks each stroked singles in the first inning as the Braves took a 2-0 lead through one complete frame.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio dropped a single to left field in the second inning and wound up on third base after a fielding and throwing error by the Paladins' defense.  He then scored on a passed ball to increase the Braves lead to 3-0 after two innings.  The third inning saw #5 Hunter Swilling drive a TRIPLE to the left field corner, #10 John Davis poke an RBI-single to the right field corner, #22 Jon Jon Banks blast a DOUBLE to the left field gap, and #2 Sam Ayers crush a 2-RBI single to the left field gap as the Braves increased our lead to 6-2 after three innings.  Following a hitless and scoreless fourth inning, the Braves unloaded on the Paladins with 6 runs in each of the final two frames.  The fifth inning included singles by #21 Brian Kehner, #5 Hunter Swilling, #10 John Davis, #22 Jon Jon Banks, and #8 Patrick Schultz.  Then, #2 Sam Ayers recorded BLAST OF THE GAME #1 with a 2-RBI TRIPLE to the right field corner.  On the play, the Paladins mishandled the throw from right field and Ayers ended up scoring on the error to give the Braves a 12-3 lead after five innings.  Finally, in the sixth inning, #12 Will Schnure led off with a TRIPLE to right field.  #11 CJ Brazil and #7 Tyler Weyenberg followed with singles.  And then, with 2 outs in the inning, #22 Jon Jon Banks recorded another single and #8 Patrick Schultz launched BLAST OF THE GAME #2, a 3-RBI TRIPLE to the left field gap to run the Braves final talley to 18 runs on 18 hits.

Defensively, the Braves also looked a bit rusty on the mound after the nine day break.  #21 Brian Kehner made his 11th start of the season and allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits and 3 walks with 2 strike outs.  He was relieved in the third inning by #11 CJ Brazil who recorded his 7th win of the season while giving up 1 earned run on 1 hit and 3 walks with 5 strike outs through the fifth inning.  Then, #16 Nathaniel Maggio closed the final inning, giving up 2 earned runs on 1 hit and 2 walks with 0 strike outs.  The trio of pitchers obviously received excellent run support from their offense and (hopefully) worked through some kinks in preparation for the Elite 32 World Series.  Their defense made nearly all of the routine plays and only suffered one throwing error and one catching error in the infield.

Sporting our new tri-colored caps (compliments of Coach Shane), the Braves completed our sweep through the Milton JV Invitational tournament on Friday evening at Creekview High School with a 15-0 shut-out over the North Springs Spartans JV.  The game only lasted 3 innings via the "15 runs after 3 innings" mercy rule and was never in doubt as the Braves pounded out 12 hits and scored early and often.  In fact, across the 4 game tournament, none of the games were ever close to being in doubt as the Braves outscored our 4 Junior Varsity competitors 39-1 and outhit our 4 Junior Varsity competitors 43-6.

Offensively, the Braves hits were distributed across the order as #33 Stephen Wrenn blasted a TRIPLE to centerfield, #8 Patrick Schultz launched a DOUBLE to left field and a single through the left side of the infield, #10 John Davis stroked a DOUBLE and a single to right field, #5 Hunter Swilling shot 2 singles to left field, #22 Jon Jon Banks drove a single to right field, #19 Ryan Murphy poked a single through the left side of the infield, #12 Will Schnure pushed a single to centerfield, #2 Sam Ayers bounced a single through the left side of the infield, and #21 Brian Kehner drilled a single down the left field line.  Once again, that's blasted, launched, stroked, shot, drove, poked, pushed, bounced, and drilled for 12 hits.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner got his tenth start and seventh win of the year as he recorded the first 6 Spartan outs in order across the first two defensive innings, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out and 5 fly-outs.  #11 CJ Brazil relieved Kehner to pitch the third and final inning, striking out 4 batters in the inning as one batter reached on a dropped third strike and the other reached on an infield error.

The win puts the Braves at 40-20-1 on the season as we take a well-deserved break over the next 9 days.

The Braves traveled to South Forsyth High School for our third game in the Milton JV Invitational tournament against The Lovett School's JV Lions, and the end result was quite similar to our first two games in this tournament yesterday.  The Lions only managed 2 hits against Braves' Ace #44 Jordan Brown while the Braves stroked 9 hits, including a SOLO HOME RUN (the Blast of the Game) by #33 Stephen Wrenn in the top of the fifth inning.  Wrenn's dinger, his fourth of the season, traveled 335 feet out of the park in the thick afternoon air and landed 10 feet beyond the 25 feet tall centerfield fence.  He finished the day a perfect 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI's.

Offensively, the visiting Braves began applying pressure on the Lions right out of the gate.  Wrenn led off the game with an infield single to the hole on the left side that he legged out ahead of the throw.  After stealing second base and moving to third base on a ground-out by #5 Hunter Swilling to the right side, Wrenn scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by #10 John Davis.  In the top of the second inning, #22 Jon Jon Banks led off with a single to the right side that the Lions' second baseman gloved but was then unable to produce a throw.  He moved to second base on a passed ball and then stole third base via an excellent jump off the Lions' pitcher.  Banks then scored our second run on an RBI-ground out to the right side by #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  In the top of the third inning, #12 Will Schnure led off with a single to the left field gap.  Running for Schnure, #11 CJ Brazil then stole second base, advanced to third base on a passed ball, and scored our third run on a single ripped past the Lions' third baseman by #33 Stephen Wrenn.  Wrenn then received a free trip around the bases on 2 stolen bases and a passed ball to score the Braves fourth run.  In the top of the fourth inning, #19 Ryan Murphy led off with a 4-pitch walk and advanced to second base via a ground-out by #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  Murphy then scored our fifth run on an RBI-single by #44 Jordan Brown down the right field line.  Finally, in the top of the fifth inning with a 5-0 lead, the Braves scored 4 more runs on 4 hits to put the game out of reach.  #33 Stephen Wrenn led off the inning with the aforementioned SOLO HOME RUN.  Our other 3 hits in the inning were all singles of the bats of #5 Hunter Swilling, #10 John Davis, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  #19 Ryan Murphy also recorded an RBI in the inning via a sacrifice fly to left field.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown shut down the Lions' offense with a 2-hit, complete game, shut-out on 78 pitches across 5 innings.  Aside from their 2 hits, which came in the bottom of the first and fifth innings, the Lions only baserunners were the result of 2 walks by Brown, 2 defensive errors by the Braves, and a fielder's choice hit by the Lions.

The 14U East Cobb Braves welcome Zach Brown (Catcher) from Woodward Academy and Braves Baseball Club out of Dunwoody, Georgia, to the team.  Zach came aboard on Wednesday, 24 June, for the team's doubleheader at Creekview High School.  He will serve as the Braves #1 bullpen catcher for the remainder of the summer and has already sparked the Braves to a 3 game win streak in the Milton JV Invitational tournament this week.

Welcome aboard ZACH !!!

Following the morning win over the Creekview Grizzlies JV in the Milton JV Invitational tournament, the Braves stayed hot for a second win over the McIntosh Chiefs JV in the second half of our doubleheader by the score of 5-1.  This time, we outhit the competition 8-2 and recorded 4 extra-base hits in the process.

Offensively, we scored our 5 runs in the odd innings of the game.  The first inning netted 1 run on a lead-off DOUBLE by #5 Hunter Swilling that he stretch into a three-bagger via an errant throw by the Chiefs left fielder.  Swilling scored on an RBI-single hit to the right field gap by #33 Stephen Wrenn, but the Chiefs' defense then tightened to strand Wrenn at third base after he stole 2 bases.  In the third inning, #5 Hunter Swilling again led off with an extra-base hit, this time a "Blast of the Game" TRIPLE that one-hopped to the centerfield fence.  Swilling then scored on an RBI ground-out by #33 Stephen Wrenn to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.  #19 Patrick Shultz also stroked a deep blast to the left field gap in the inning that recorded as a DOUBLE and an inning-ending out as he overshot second base and unsuccessfully tried to hustle back to the bag.  After leaving the bases juiced in the fourth inning on a DOUBLE by #19 Ryan Murphy, a walk by #44 Jordan Brown, and a single by #11 CJ Brazil, the Braves capped our scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning with 3 runs on 2 hits.  With one out in the inning, #33 Stephen Wrenn reached on an error by the Chiefs' third baseman and #8 Patrick Schultz reached on an RBI-error by the Chiefs' second baseman that scored Wrenn.  Both errors were well-stroked balls that the Chiefs' defenders simply misplayed.  In between, #16 Nathaniel Maggio stroked a single to shallow left field and #2 Sam Ayers poked an RBI-single to right field to score Maggio.  #19 Ryan Murphy then launch a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Schultz.

Defensively, #5 Hunter Swilling was back in his groove on the mound, pitching five excellent innings and giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 1 walk with 7 strike outs.  Swilling's strike to ball ratio was 2.26 as his fastball and breaking balls were filling the strike count.  #8 Patrick Schultz relieved Swilling in the sixth inning and threw 2 excellent innings to save the game for the Braves.  Schultz faced the final 8 batters and allowed 0 runs on 0 hits and 2 walks with 4 strike outs.  And, the Braves defense turned in an error-free effort by making all of the routine plays behind their pitchers.

The Braves were back in action this morning in the Milton JV Invitational tournament at Creekview High School against the Creekview Grizzlies JV.  Despite giving our metal bats a week's rest during the Perfect Game tournament last week, we picked up right where we left off in terms of outhitting our competition, this time by the talley of 14-2.  The net result was a 10-0 shut-out that got the Braves back into the "W" column after two rough games this past weekend.

Offensively, the turnaround was evident in the Braves hitting .467 for the game, and #19 Ryan Murphy led the way with a perfect 3 for 3, 4-RBI outing that included a "Blast of the Game" DOUBLE and 2 singles.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio and #12 Will Schnure each contributed a 2 for 3 effort as the Braves bats were sizzling in the hot morning sun.  After a scoreless first inning that included back-to-back singles by #10 John Davis and #8 Patrick Schultz on two outs, #22 Jon Jon Banks led off the second inning with a DOUBLE to the right field gap.  With one out in the inning, #12 Will Schnure then reached on an RBI-error by the Grizzlies right fielder which set the stage for an RBI-DOUBLE to the left field gap by #19 Ryan Murphy.  Murphy then scored on an RBI-single by #11 CJ Brazil to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.  Following a quiet third inning in which the Braves fell in order, we lit up the scoreboard for 4 more runs in the fourth inning on 5 hits.  With one out in the inning, #16 Nathaniel Maggio shot a single through the middle and was moved to third base on a DOUBLE to the right field gap by #12 Will Schnure.  #19 Ryan Murphy then recorded another RBI with a single to right field that scored Maggio.  #11 CJ Brazil followed with a fielder's choice to set the stage for a 2 RBI-DOUBLE crushed into the left field corner by #5 Hunter Swilling.  Swilling then scored on a single through the middle hit by #33 Stephen Wrenn to give the Braves a 7-0 lead.  In the top of the fifth inning, we sealed the deal with 3 more runs on 4 hits to activate the mercy rule.  #2 Sam Ayers, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #12 Will Schnure, and #19 Ryan Murphy each stroked singles in the inning.

Defensively, #22 Jon Jon Banks recorded a 2-hit shut out through 4 innings with 1 walk, 3 hit batters, and 5 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton then closed the final inning, giving up 0 hits and 0 walks with 2 strike outs.  The Braves defense made all but one routine play behind the excellent pitching effort by Banks and Sexton.

It is always tough to stomache a blown call that costs any team a run in baseball, especially when a blatant mistake is made by an umpire.  Today's homeplate umpire in Round One of the Perfect Game - World Wood Bat Association championship bracket certainly holds some of the reponsibility for today's outcome given the completely incorrect call against the Braves at the plate in the top of the seventh inning.  Moreover, the NUA team's admission of their error after the game simply adds salt to the wound.  But, as has been the case far too often this season, three crucial infield errors in the final two innings are what enabled the game to be as close as it was regardless of the umpire's blunder.  It is a game, afterall, that is both played and umpired by imperfect human beings.

Offensively, the Braves only mustered 4 hits, including 2 singles by #22 Jon Jon Banks and a single apiece by #8 Patrick Schultz and #1 Nick Sexton.  Our first run came in the second inning after Sexton reached on a walk and was sacrifice bunted into scoring position by #44 Jordan Brown.  Then, #8 Patrick Schultz stroked an RBI-single to right field to score Sexton.  Our second run came in the seventh inning on a suicide squeeze bunt by #12 Will Schnure that scored #2 Sam Ayers, who reached after being hit by a pitch, and #22 Jon Jon Banks, who reached on his second single of the game.  But, the homeplate umpire incorrectly called Ayers out at the plate when he properly avoided direct contact with the catcher who was 5 feet up the third base line from the plate.  Rather than putting the Braves ahead by a run, the play ultimately only tied the came to force the opponent to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Defensively, the aforementioned infield errors contributed heavily to the Braves loss.  #33 Stephen Wrenn got the start on the hill for the Braves, but could only go one 1 inning.  Wrenn gave up 0 runs and 0 hits with 1 walk and 1 strike out.  #44 Jordan Brown relieved Wrenn in the second inning and completed the final 5-1/3 innings.  Brown allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits and 4 walks with 8 strike outs.

It was the perfect combination for the Jr. Patriots of Central Florida - the intimate confines of ECB Field #5 and accurately slow pitching - that led to the demise of the streaking Braves at ECB this evening in the Perfect Game - World Wood Bat Association 2013 Grads National Championship.  After posting two wins in our earlier pool games, the Braves looked to secure a top seed in the championship brackets play that is slated to begin on Sunday morning.  But, despite out-hitting the Jr. Pats 7-4, we only managed a single run while giving up 2 earned and 1 unearned runs to go down by the score of 3-1.  The loss left the Braves scratching for the 16th seed which we won by virtue of our 10 runs allowed and 19 runs scored in the tournament's three pool games.

Offensively, the Braves stroked 4 hits in the top of the first inning and appeared to be dialed-in to the Jr. Pats' slow pitching.  However, those hits only generated our first and only run as our normally aggressive base running was shut down by Field #5's intimate confines.  To get the Braves started, #33 Stephen Wrenn whacked a DOUBLE to the right field corner on our second at-bat of the game.  Wrenn was moved to third base on a single up the middle by #10 John Davis and then scored on an RBI-Fielder's Choice hit to the right side by #2 Sam Ayers.  #22 Jon Jon Banks and #8 Patrick Schultz then added singles though the middle to load the bases, but all three baserunners were left stranded as the Jr. Pats worked their way out of an early jam.  Across the next three innings, the Braves brought 4 hitters to the plate in each inning but only managed 1 hit per inning, all singles off the bats of #5 Hunter Swilling in the second, #10 John Davis in the third, and #8 Patrick Schultz in the fourth.  We then fell in order in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings on 4 fly outs and 5 infield ground outs to end the game.

Defensively, #5 Hunter Swilling got his third start of the season and pitched through 3 full innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 5 walks with 2 strike outs.  Swilling gave way to #21 Brian Kehner in the fourth, and Kehner shut down the Jr. Pats offense across the final three innings, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits and 0 walks with 2 strike outs.  The Braves defense only committed one error in the game, but that error led to the Jr. Pats' unearned insurance run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With a 2-1 pool record, the Braves enter the championship brackets on Sunday as the #16 seed and will face the #1 seed West Florida Panthers on ECB's Showcase Field.

The Braves returned to ECB this morning for our second pool game in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association 2013 Grads National Championship.  Facing the St. Louis Outlaws, the game was less-than-perfect in the early going as the Braves committed 3 critical, defensive errors in the first two innings to hand the Outlaws 6 unearned runs and take a 3-run deficit into the third inning.  The score stayed at 6-3 Outlaws until the Braves finally came alive and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 7-6 lead into the final frame.  But, the Outlaws battled back to tie the score at 7 in the top of the seventh inning, which set the stage for back-to-back DOUBLES in the bottom of the seventh inning for the home-team Braves to record the 8-7 win.

Offensively, the Braves manufactured 3 runs in the bottom of the first inning on 2 walks, an Outlaws error, and a 2-RBI DOUBLE mashed into the left field gap by #22 Jon Jon Banks.  Through the next 4 innings, however, we only managed 4 baserunners and were unable to record any runs on 3 walks and a bloop single into shallow centerfield by #10 John Davis.  Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning down 6-3, #10 John Davis and #2 Sam Ayers led off the inning with singles to the right side.  Next, #8 Patrick Schultz grounded out to score Davis from third base and move Ayers to third base.  #22 Jon Jon Banks then recorded a walk and gave way at first base to pinch runner #21 Brian Kehner.  With 2 outs in the inning and the tying runs aboard, #16 Nathaniel Maggio poked a single to left field to score Ayers and move Kehner to second base.  #12 Will Schnure followed with a single of his own to move Kehner to third and Maggio to second.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg then blasted a sky-high infield single that both the Outlaws shortstop and third baseman lost in the bright Georgia sun.  When the dust settled from the play, Schnure was tagged out trying to advance to third base to end the inning, but ahead of him, Kehner scored the tying run and Maggio scored the go-ahead run to take a 7-6 lead into the final frame.  After the Outlaws battled back to tie the game at 7, #5 Hunter Swilling led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a missile down the third base line for a DOUBLE, and then #33 Stephen Wrenn traded places with Swilling at second base as he recorded a walk-off DOUBLE to the right field gap to score Swilling from second base.  It wasn't exactly how the coaches drew up the game plan before the first pitch, but in the end, it was a great gut-check for a team that has clearly grown and gelled together over the past few months.

Defensively, #55 Todd Dial joined the Braves on the hill to deal out some of his nasty stuff to the Outlaws.  With the defense not playing well behind him, Dial gave way to #11 CJ Brazil in the second inning after the Outlaws racked up 6 unearned runs on 1 hit and 4 walks.  Brazil pitched very well through the next 3-1/3 innings, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with 2 strike outs.  Then, #33 Stephen Wrenn returned to the hill for the first time in several weeks to close out the game, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out in the top of the seventh.  Despite the Braves' defensive blunders, #12 Will Schnure gunned down an Outlaws base stealer at second base in the top of the sixth inning, and right fielder #1 Nick Sexton threw out an Outlaws baserunner at the plate via a perfectly executed relay through #22 Jon Jon Banks at first base to #12 Will Schnure at homeplate to end the Outlaws scoring threat.

The Braves used the Showcase Field at ECB this morning to put on a hitting show in the first game of the Perfect Game - World Wood Bat Association 2013 Grads National Championship.  Ironically, our opponent - a team named "Hit After Hit" from Nashville, TN - failed to mount much of an offensive game, falling prey to a COMPLETE GAME, 1 HIT, SHUT OUT thrown by the Braves' Ace, #44 Jordan Brown.  But, on our side of diamond, the hits were coming one after the other as we run-ruled the boys from Nashville by the score 10-0 in 5 innings.  And, speaking of hit after hit, we also out-hit them 13-1.

Offensively, the Braves benefitted from more than a handful of defense errors early in the game by Hit After Hit's defense.  After reaching on an error to lead-off the game, #5 Hunter Swilling stole second base, advanced to third base on another error, and then scored when #10 John Davis reached on yet another error.  In the second inning, #8 Patrick Schultz and #16 Nathaniel Maggio each recorded singles, but we left the base loaded as Hit After Hit's defense tightened.  #10 John Davis led off the third inning with one of two BLASTS OF THE GAME on a triple to the wall in the left field gap.  Davis then scored when #2 Sam Ayers put the ball in play and reached on yet another infield error.  Two more hits in the inning included a blooper single to right field by #22 Jon Jon Banks and a very well-stroked 1-RBI DOUBLE into the left field corner by #19 Ryan Murphy.  But, once again, the Braves left 2 in scoring position.  After a quiet fourth inning, the Braves lit up the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning as we batted around the order and recorded 7 runs on 8 hits.  #22 Jon Jon Banks led off the inning with the second BLAST OF THE GAME, a deep fly ball crushed over the left fielder that went for a DOUBLE.  #19 Ryan Murphy and #8 Patrick Schultz followed Banks with singles to the left and right side respectively.  Then, following a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by #12 Will Schnure to move Murphy and Schultz into scoring position, the Braves strung FIVE singles together off the bats of #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #5 Hunter Swilling, #33 Stephen Wrenn, #10 John Davis, and #2 Sam Ayers to seal the deal for the Braves.  Davis recorded 3 RBI's on his hit as he managed to empty the bases and advance to third on more errors by Hit After Hit's defense.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown threw an absolute GEM of a game, striking out 7 batters and only allowing 1 baserunner on Hit After Hit's lone hit.  His efficiency on the hill was fantastic as he only needed 57 total pitches across 5 innings and recorded a 2.35 strike to ball ratio.  Brown's COMPLETE GAME, 1 HIT, SHUT OUT was just what the doctor ordered as the Braves' defense played flawlessly behind him to record the other eight outs via 4 ground outs and 4 fly outs.  Brown also contributed defensively on a perfectly executed 3-1 ground-out in the second inning that first baseman #22 Jon Jon Banks fielded while moving to his right, then turned and threw a perfect dart to Brown as he hustled over to the first base bag from the mound.

Hats off to the 13U East Cobb Astros for being crowned the 2009 USSSA Georgia Major State Champions in the 14U age bracket.  It was an all-East Cobb field for today's final matchups, and the Astros confidently worked their way through the EC Titans in the Loser's Bracket semi-final this morning and then the EC Braves in the Championship and "IF" games this afternoon to claim the top hardware.

For the Braves, it was certainly NOT one of our better days.  In the first game, we only managed 2 base runners on a walk and an infield error by the Astros.  It was the first game this season where we failed to record at least one hit.  After imploding to allow 6 runs in the top of the second inning, our defense tightened and only allowed one additional run in the game.  But, our fate was sealed at the plate as the Astros recorded 11 ground outs, 8 fly outs, and 2 strike outs through 7 innings to completely shut down our offense.

The second game was far better for the Braves, although the scoreboard did not reflect it.  We immediately snapped the hitless streak in our first at-bat as #5 Hunter Swilling recorded a single to left field in the top of the first inning.  Two batters later, #10 John Davis added an RBI single to right field to score Swilling.  #2 Sam Ayers next added a single of his own to right field, but was stranded as the Astros shut down our first inning attack.  In the top of the third inning, #33 Stephen Wrenn punched another single to center field, but we left two runners in scoring position and were unable to capitalize.  The fourth inning had a similar feel as #2 Sam Ayers and #19 Ryan Murphy pounded shots to each side of the outfield, but both were also left stranded in scoring position.  Then, in the top of the fifth inning, #5 Hunter Swilling recorded the BLAST OF THE GAME with a DOUBLE to the right side gap.  #33 Stephen Wrenn then executed a squeeze bunt to score #7 Tyler Weyenberg who had reached ahead of Swilling on a walk, but Swilling was tagged out at the plate as he attempted to also advance on the squeeze.   Carrying a 2-2 tie going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Braves then imploded (again) to allow 8 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the game was called via run rule.

Today's two tough losses gives the Braves a second place finish in the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship and three days to prepare for the Perfect Game WWBA 2013 Grads National Championship.

It starts as a "no win" situation.  Playing an in-park team that is "one age level" lower means that you are supposed to win.  Then, when you don't win, as the Braves had experienced two times prior, the "David and Goliath" chatter fills the back channels.  But, then when you do win, amazingly, the back channel chatter shifts to classless public jeering.  "Yea for the Braves ... they finally won a game.  Haha-huh-haha-haaa!"  Well, luckily, the action on the field in this evening's semi-final in the winner's bracket of the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship far outclassed the action in the visitor's stands at Pope High School as the Braves advanced via an 8-3 win into tomorrow's championship game.

Offensively, the home team Braves scored 8 runs on 8 hits as our bats continued to stay hot.  After #5 Hunter Swilling and #33 Stephen Wrenn reached on back-to-back errors off hard hit balls in the bottom of the first inning, #10 John Davis stroked an RBI-DOUBLE to the right field gap to score Swilling for our first run.  Wrenn later crossed the plate on a double-play ground out to give the Braves a 2-1 lead after one inning.  In the second inning, #16 Nathaniel Maggio blooped a single behind third base but then got snuffed-out in an unfortunate hit and run double play on a liner to the opponent's second baseman.  #44 Jordan Brown added a single in the inning, but was stranded on base as the Braves held a 2-3 deficit going into the third inning.  The deficit did not last long, however, as two more defensive errors and a trio of singles by #10 John Davis, #2 Sam Ayers, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio enabled the Braves to take a 6-3 lead on 4 runs scored in the bottom of the third inning.  We then added 2 more insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on our final 2 hits of the game, including an RBI-TRIPLE to the right field corner by #33 Stephen Wrenn who then advanced to home on a botched tag at third base.  #10 John Davis next completed his 3 for 3 effort with a hard hit single through the hole on the left side of the diamond, but he was stranded at second base as the inning ended.  Although the Braves went down easily in the fifth and sixth innings, the early damage done on the scoreboard was more than enough to sustain the 8-3 win.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown made his 15th start of the season and pitched a complete game on 100 pitches.  Brown gave up 0 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 8 strike outs.  He got stronger as the game wore on, as evidenced by a pair of called strike outs and a gloved line drive in a sixth inning that only required Brown and catcher #12 Will Schnure to play defense.  Brown also sat down 2 opponent batters via strike outs in the fourth and fifth innings.  In the middle infield, we limited the first inning damage by the opponent with a 6-4-3 double play, and we made the majority of the routine plays to keep the opponent from scoring in 5 of their 7 innings.

The win places the Braves as the top team advancing from the winner's bracket into the State Championship game at ECB tomorrow.

UPDATED 14 June 2009

The Braves traveled to the neutral ground of Walton High School this evening for the perfect storm, both literally and figuratively.  Playing in the second round of the championship brackets in the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship, tonight's game featured the Week 9 TravelBallSelect #1 Ranked East Cobb Braves versus the Week 9 TravelBallSelect #2 Ranked Sandy Plains Wildcats.  And, after the rains passed, the lightning subsided, and all of the outs were recorded, this complete seven inning contest left no doubt that the Braves are the superior team.

Offensively, the Braves once again out-hit the Wildcats, this time by the talley of 9-4.  We started our punishment of the Wildcats' defense right from the start, converting two lead-off walks (by #5 Hunter Swilling and #33 Stephen Wrenn) and a rocket-shot single off the bat of #10 John Davis into 3 quick runs.  With no outs in the top of the opening inning and the based loaded, our clean-up hitter, #2 Sam Ayers, blasted a 2-RBI DOUBLE into the left field corner to score Swilling and Wrenn.  Then, with 1 out, #8 Patrick Schultz jacked a sacrifice fly to right field to score Davis on the tag-up from third base.  After a quiet second inning, #10 John Davis reached on a throwing error by the Wildcats' third baseman and later scored on an RBI-DOUBLE launched past the Wildcats' third baseman and into the left field corner by #22 Jon Jon Banks.  Prior to Banks' at-bat, #2 Sam Ayers stroked one of his "signature singles" to the right field gap and moved to third base on Banks' double.  Ayers then scored on a passed ball.  After a quiet fourth inning, #10 John Davis stayed hot in the top of the fifth inning with the BLAST OF THE GAME, a leadoff DOUBLE that sent the Wildcats' centerfielder racing all the way to the fence.  #2 Sam Ayers then poked a ball to the right side to move Davis to third base, and #22 Jon Jon Banks then launched a sacrifice fly to right field to score Davis once again on the tag-up.  After a quiet sixth inning (recognize the pattern here?), the Braves sealed the deal in the top of the seventh and final frame with 3 more runs.  The inning featured two DOUBLES by #5 Hunter Swilling and #10 John Davis, and two singles by #33 Stephen Wrenn and #2 Sam Ayers.  Davis finished the day with a perfect 1000 On-Base Percentage, going 3 for 4 with 2 DOUBLES and scoring 4 runs.  Ayers also turned in a 3 for 4 effort with 1 DOUBLE, 1 run, and 2 RBI's.

Defensively, the Braves 3-man pitching staff dominated the Wildcats' hitters, allowing 0 earned runs on just 4 hits.  #5 Hunter Swilling got his second start on the hill and pitched very well through five innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 4 walks with 2 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton then provided excellent middle inning relief, facing the heart of the Wildcat's lineup in the bottom of the sixth inning and recording a pair of strike outs as the Cats mounted a brief comeback.  Then, our Closer, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, was called upon to record the final 4 outs, which came via two strike outs and two ground outs.  In the middle infield, #5 Hunter Swilling and #2 Sam Ayers turned two 6-4-3 double plays to squelch a couple of potential ralleys.  And, #8 Patrick Schultz made an ESPN Top Ten diving play in left field on a fly ball that was tailing away from him towards the line.

The lopsided victory gives the Braves a 3-0-1 record against the Wildcats and advances us into the Winner's Bracket Semi-Final at Pope High School, another neutral ground, tomorrow night.

The 14U computer rankings for Week #9 have been published by TravelBallSelect.com and the EAST COBB BRAVES are once again #1 based on the strength of schedule and the order finished in the Georgia Super NIT, Tennessee Super NIT, and North Carolina Super NIT tournaments.  The top 25 teams in the nation for Week #9 include:

Team	Rank 14U	State	Region Name
East Cobb Braves 14u	1000	Georgia	Southeast
Sandy  Plains Wildcats	933	Georgia	Southeast
Heat	800	Virginia	East
BL Team Alabama	792	Alabama	Southeast
5-TOOL NATIONALS	733	Georgia	Southeast
East Cobb Astros	594	Georgia	Southeast
Louisana Tigers	594	Louisiana	Southeast
Dallas Tigers - Oldham	594	Texas South	Midwest
D-Bat Mustangs Blue	528	Texas North	Midwest
Gameday Athletics	462	Alabama	Southeast
Indiana Prospects	462	Indiana	North
Georgia Prospects	450	Georgia	Southeast
BL Bombers	396	Alabama	Southeast
Bullet Baseball Red	396	Louisiana	Southeast
Mac-N-Seitz Indians	396	Kansas	Midwest
Florida Flash	396	Florida South	Southeast
D-Bat Mustangs 2013 Black	396	Texas North	Midwest
All-American Sports Academy	396	California South	West
Texas Blackhawks	396	Texas South	Midwest
D-Bat Mustangs Southwest	396	Texas North	Midwest
FV Predators (Orange)	396	North Carolina	East
Memphis Tigers	333	Tennessee West	Southeast
NC Cleveland Indians	330	North Carolina	East
Team Orlando 14's	330	Florida South	Southeast
Alabama Seminoles	330	Alabama	Southeast

After a near, game-time forfeiture by the Homeplate Chili Dogs due to missing players and coaches, the Braves took to Field #5 at ECB this evening for our first-round brackets game in the USSSA Georgia State Championship.  Despite a shakey start defensively, we held an early 2-0 lead through 2 innings.  However, we then had to battle back in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game at 3 apeice.  That set the stage for a 1-out, solo, walk-off HOME RUN in the bottom of the seventh inning to advance the Braves into the second-round in the winner's bracket.

Offensively, #5 Hunter Swilling led all hitters with a 3 for 4 effort that included 2 singles plus the SOLO, WALK-OFF, HOME RUN to win the game for the Braves in the final frame.  Our other 5 hits were all singles off the bats of #33 Stephen Wrenn, #10 John Davis, #2 Sam Ayers, #22 Jon Jon Banks, and #7 Tyler Weyenberg.  In addition, #8 Patrick Schultz recorded a key sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning to score the tying run.  And, #2 Sam Ayers recorded his 13th Hit By Pitch of the season.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner made his eighth start for the Braves, pitching 4 innings and giving up only 1 earned run on 3 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  #11 CJ Brazil relieved Kehner in the fifth inning and became the pitcher of record for the win.  Brazil pitched 3 innings and gave up 0 runs on 2 hits and 0 walks with 2 strike outs.  The Braves defense nearly gave the Chili Dogs another unearned run in the first inning on a dropped ball in the outfield, but a heads-up throw later in the inning by #1 Nick Sexton from right field to first base for the third out saved the additional run.

The win places the Braves in the second-round of the Winner's Bracket against the Sandy Plains Wildcats on Friday night at Walton High School.

This evening, the Braves traveled to Pope High School, home of the 2009 Georgia 5A High School Baseball Champions, for our second pool game in the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship against the East Cobb Titans.  What transpired was perhaps the strangest game the Braves have played this season.  Mixing flashes of offensive brilliance with flashes of defensive dullness, we used our sticks and legs to outhit the Titans 16-12 on offense, and then we used our gloves and arms to commit a season-high eight defensive errors to hand the Titans 10 unearned runs.  The net result was a stinging 12-9 loss, and blaming it on the new uniform combination would simply be too easy.

Offensively, #33 Stephen Wrenn led the way with a 4 for 4 effort that included a TRIPLE, DOUBLE, and 2 singles.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg was right behind Wrenn with a 3 for 3 effort that included 3 well-stroked singles.  Additional DOUBLES were recorded by #12 Will Schnure and #22 Jon Jon Banks, and the remainder of our hits were all singles off the bats of #2 Sam Ayers (2), #8 Patrick Schultz (2), #10 John Davis, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, and #12 Will Schnure.

Defensively, #22 Jon Jon Banks got his second start of the season and pitched well through three innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  Banks was relieved by #10 John Davis who completed the final 2-1/3 innings before time expired.  Davis gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  Unfortunately, our 2-man pitching staff performed well enough for the Braves to earn the "W", especially considering the run support they received from their offense.  But, the aforementioned eight defensive errors sealed the game for the Titans who benefitted mightily from the 10 unearned runs gifted to them by the Braves.

Put simply, it was a tale of two teams ... an offense that is beginning to fire on nearly all cylinders and a defense that simply tanked for a 2 hour period.

The  Braves opened the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship this evening at East Cobb with a convincing 9-1 drubbing of the Homeplate Chili Dogs, a team that we have beaten twice before.  A week of light practice and rest seemed to payoff for the Braves as we stroked 10 hits and kept our focus in the lopsided victory.  With the game tied at 1 run apiece going into third inning, the Braves broke the game open and scored 8 unanswered runs in the final five frames.

Offensively, a lead-off walk to #5 Hunter Swilling enabled the Braves to manufacture our first run in the top of the first inning via a ground out by #2 Sam Ayers and a sacrifice fly by #10 John Davis.  In the second inning, #19 Ryan Murphy and #44 Jordan Brown each stroked singles to the left side, but Murphy was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double on a semi-errant throw, and Brown was left stranded.  Then, with 2 outs in the third inning, our top of order got things going with back-to-back-to-back hits by #5 Hunter Swilling, #2 Sam Ayers, and #10 John Davis.  Ayers and Davis each jacked long, 1-RBI DOUBLES to the left field gap that ripped through the heavy night air.  The hitting continued in the fourth inning, again with 2 outs, #8 Patrick Schultz and #7 Tyler Weyenberg recorded singles to power a 3-run inning that broke the game open for the Braves.  #10 John Davis added another single in the fifth inning but was stranded at third base.  Then, in the sixth inning, #7 Tyler Weyenberg smacked an RBI single up the middle to continue our scoring attack.  And finally, in the seventh and final frame, #16 Nathaniel Maggio stroked an RBI DOUBLE into the right field gap to seal the deal.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown recorded the Win in his 14th start on the hill.  Pitching ahead in the count against most batters faced across 4 innings, Brown gave up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with 4 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton relieved Brown in the fifth inning and threw 2 innings of shut out baseball, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits and 2 walks with 0 strike outs.  Then, #16 Nathaniel Maggio closed the final inning, giving up 0 runs on 1 hit and 0 walks with 0 strike outs.  Behind our 3-man pitching staff, it wasn't the prettiest game we've played defensively with 4 errors that extended 3 innings for the Chili Dogs.  Nonetheless, there were a few bright spots.  #12 Will Schnure did a fabulous job directing the defense from behind the dish and recorded two outs himself via pop-ups on either side of diamond.  And, #7 Tyler Weyenberg assisted on a 9-3 put-out from right field on a ball hit sharply through the right side.

They say a tie is like kissing your sister, and in the final round robin game of the CABA Georgia State Championship at East Cobb this evening, there were a whole lot of sisters lined up on both sides of the diamond as the dust settled and the umpires walked off the field.  It was yet another thrilling game against a very worthy Sandy Plains Wildcats team that once again produced a see-saw score across 7 innings.  The Braves made the first charge, taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.  Then the Wildcats surged in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-3 lead into the final frame.  But, the Braves were up to the task, scoring 3 runs in the top half of the seventh inning and shutting down the Wildcats offense in the bottom half of the seventh inning to record the come-from-behind 6-6 tie.

Offensively, the Braves bested the Wildcats by 3 hits, recording an even dozen across 7 innings.  Two DOUBLES in the second inning got our scoring started as #2 Sam Ayers launched a deep shot to centerfield and #11 CJ Brazil dropped a line drive in front of the centerfielder to score #22 Jon Jon Banks who hoofed out a dropped third strike ahead of Brazil's hit.  But unfortunately, a botched squeeze attempt nailed Ayers in no man's land between home plate and third, a mistake that would later loom large for the Braves.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg led off the third inning with a single through the middle.  Then, with 2 outs in the inning, #10 John Davis launched a single of his own through the middle to set-up a 2-RBI DOUBLE off the bat of #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  #22 Jon Jon Banks led off the fourth inning with a DOUBLE to the left field corner, but we failed to string anything to it in the inning.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg and #10 John Davis each recorded singles in the fifth inning, but an inning-ending double play got the Wildcats out of the inning unscathed.  Then, in the top of the seventh inning, down 6-3, the Braves finished strong with 3 runs on 4 hits.  All singles, #19 Ryan Murphy, #11 CJ Brazil, #7 Tyler Weyenberg, and #33 Stephen Wrenn each had clutch hits to contribute to the come back.  And, the come back nearly turned into the lead as the Braves had the bases loaded with 2 outs in the inning.  But, a well-stroked ball down the third base line by #2 Sam Ayers was handled by the Wildcats' third baseman to once again overt an even bigger inning for the Braves.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg added to his hitting totals in the day's previous game to finish the day 5 for 6 with 4 runs and 3 RBI's scored.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown turned in a solid effort in his 5th complete game on the hill for the Braves, giving up 6 earned runs on 9 hits and 2 walks with 3 strike outs.  Brown faced the minimum 12 batters through the first 4 innings and had a 1-hitter going into the bottom of the fifth inning.  The Braves defense made all of the routine plays and turned a 4-6-3 double play in the bottom of the third inning.  Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score knotted at 6 apiece, #7 Tyler Weyenberg started a relay from right field to #2 Sam Ayers at second base to #19 Ryan Murphy at third base to tag out a Wildcats' hitter who was attempting to stretch a double into a triple.  That outstanding play proved to save the tie for the Braves as the next two Wildcats' hitters recorded singles that would have easily scored the winning run for the Wildcats from third base.

It certainly wasn't pretty as the Braves squandered another game verses the 13U Astros, this time in the third round of the CABA Georgia State Championship at ECB.  After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, things began to go poorly for the Braves as the 13U Astros put 14 runs on the scoreboard across the first two frames to take a 14-4 lead into the third inning.  The positive to be found in it all was that we battled back across the final two frames to score 6 runs and make the score respectable at 14-10.  But, given the length of time it took to get through the first two innings, the game ended after our at-bat in the top of the fourth as time expired.

Offensively, the Braves continued to out-hit our opponents as we notched 9 hits compared to the Astros 7 hits.  We manufactured our first run in the top of the first inning on three walks, a dropped third strike, and a balk by the Astros' pitcher.  What appeared at that point to be a long day for the Astros pitching staff turned into a sloppy start for the Astros that simply migrated across the diamond to the Braves.  After hitting our first 2 batters in the second inning, #5 Hunter Swilling connected on a 2-RBI HOME RUN over the left field wall that temporarily sparked the Braves offense.  Hunter's hit was followed by a DOUBLE off the bat of #33 Stephen Wrenn and a single by #10 John Davis, but both runners were stranded as the Astros found their way out of the inning.  In the top of the third inning, the Braves recorded 2 quick outs and then proceeded to send 8 more batters to the plate, scoring 5 runs off 4 hits and 4 walks.  In the inning, #7 Tyler Weyenberg and #2 Sam Ayers recorded singles and #5 Hunter Swilling and #33 Stephen Wrenn recorded DOUBLES to spark the Braves' scoring attack.  But, we ended up leaving the bases loaded and missed an opportunity to get back into the game.  Our final at-bat in the fourth inning yielded 1 more run on 2 hits, a single by #11 CJ Brazil and a 1-RBI DOUBLE by #7 Tyler Weyenberg.  Weyenberg ended up going 2 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's scored for the Braves.

Defensively, it was simply "one of those days" for the Braves.  Our 4-man pitching staff gave up 6 earned runs on 7 hits, 8 walks, and 1 hit batsman.  The Braves defense committed 3 errors and was forced into "infield in" situations that enabled the Astros to record several infield hits.  The bright spots included a 4-6-3 double play to end the first inning and a foiled bases loaded, suicide squeeze attempt in the second inning to cap the Astros scoring at 14 runs.

The hits just kept on coming on Field #5 at East Cobb tonight as the Braves run-ruled the East Cobb Yankees 21-0 in just four innings to record the "W" in our second round robin game of the CABA Georgia State Championship.  As a team, the Braves hit 18 for 34 yielding a .529 batting average.  Four pitches into the game, the visiting Braves took a 2 run lead on a 2-RBI HOME RUN off the bat of #33 Stephen Wrenn that cleared the left field wall, his third dinger of the season.  Sixteen hits and nineteen runs later, mercy was granted and the Braves officially notched their 30th win of the 2009 season.

Offensively, the Braves set a season record for the number of hits in a single game at 18.  Nearly everyone was in on the action, with 6 of the 18 hits going for extra bases.  #5 Hunter Swilling went 3 for 4 with 3 singles, #33 Stephen Wrenn went 3 for 4 with 2 DOUBLES and 1 HOME RUN, #10 John Davis went 2 for 4 with 1 DOUBLE and 1 single, #2 Sam Ayers went 1 for 1 with a single and also recorded a game-high 3 HBP's, #8 Patrick Schultz went 2 for 4 with 1 DOUBLE and 1 single, #22 Jon Jon Banks went 4 for 4 with 4 singles, #12 Will Schnure went 1 for 4 with 1 DOUBLE, #7 Tyler Weyenberg went 1 for 2 with 1 single, and #21 Brian Kehner went 1 for 2 with 1 single.  Wrenn led all Braves' batters with 5 RBI's, Schultz and Banks each contributed 4 RBI's, and Davis had 2 RBI's.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner pitched a 1-hit complete game shut out on 50 pitches.  His strike to ball ratio was 1.63 across the game's 4 innings as he struck out a season-high 7 batters and issued only 1 walk.  The Braves defense played exceptionally well behind Kehner, catching 5 fly balls for the balance of Yankees' outs.

On just one day's rest after winning the USSSA Georgia Super NIT Championship, the Braves returned to the East Cobb Baseball Complex for the opening round of the CABA Georgia State Championship.  It was a new day for the Braves to play in a new tournament, sanctioned by a new association and played on a new field, but it was not a new competitor or a new result.  For the fourth time this season, the Georgia Prospects could not hold back the Braves as we cruised to a rain-shortened, five-inning win by the score of 7-2.

Offensively, the Braves doubled the Prospects hit production at the plate, stroking 8 hits across 4-2/3 innings of offense before the complete game was called due to rain.  The friendly confines of Field #5 necessitated well-placed hits in order for us to score runs the non-manufactured way, and the Braves were up to the task from the onset.  Lead-off hitter #5 Hunter Swilling ripped the second pitch he saw down the third base line and into the corner for a DOUBLE in the bottom half of the first inning.  #33 Stephen Wrenn followed with a second pitch line drive into centerfield to move Swilling to third base.  A double steal appeared to put-out Wrenn between first and second base as Swilling crossed the plate, but the Prospects' second baseman failed to apply the tag and Wrenn was called safe at second base.  Following a passed ball that moved Wrenn to third, #2 Sam Ayers connected on a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Wrenn for a 2-0 lead.  The Prospects next handed the Braves two baserunners on an error by their centerfielder on a deep fly off the bat of #16 Nathaniel Maggio and an error by their first baseman on a dropped put-out off the bat of #22 Jon Jon Banks which enabled Maggio to score.  #44 Jordan Brown then recorded a single in the inning on a shot to the right of second base, but he and Banks were stranded as the Braves settled for a 3 run first inning.  After going quietly in the bottom half of the second inning and leaving #33 Stephen Wrenn stranded at second base after his lead-off DOUBLE in the bottom half of the third inning, the Braves strung 4 singles together in the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead.  After a throwing error by the Prospects' third baseman and a hit batsman, #11 CJ Brazil, #1 Nick Sexton, #5 Hunter Swilling, and #33 Stephen Wrenn recorded back-to-back-to-back-to-back singles to put 4 runs across the plate.  But, with bases loaded and only 1 out, the Prospects changed pitchers and managed to get out of the inning without further damage.  Then, as the Braves were batting with 2 outs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, the skies opened and a hard rain began to fall.  Within minutes there was standing water in the batter's box and basepaths and the complete game was called.

Defensively, #1 Nick Sexton was called upon for his second start on the hill and he went 2-1/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 3 walks with 3 strike outs.  #11 CJ Brazil relieved Sexton in the third inning and pitched 2-2/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 3 walks with 0 strike outs.  Our defensive play was a bit uninspired, but we nonetheless made most of the routine plays behind our 2-man pitching staff and committed only 1 error that led to the Prospects first run.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio gunned down two Prospects' base stealers at second base in the first and fourth innings, and #11 CJ Brazil fielded a hot grounder on the mound and made a put-out at third base that turned into an inning-ending double play in the fourth inning after an errant throw from third base to first base.  As the Prospects base runner tried to advance after the errant throw, #44 Jordan Brown fired back across the diamond from first base to put-out a limping Prospect player at third base.

Over this past Memorial Day weekend, the 14U East Cobb Braves claimed First Place in the USSSA Georgia Super NIT tournament at the East Cobb Baseball Complex and surrounding high school diamonds in Marietta, GA.  Having already won a berth into the USSSA Elite 32 World Series via a Second Place finish in the rain-shortened Tennessee Super NIT in Kingport at the beginning of May, today's victory was a significant accomplishment that more than solidifies the 2009 Braves as an elite team in the 14U age bracket.

Twenty teams from the southeast competed over the four day tournament as USSSA's "Road To Disney" made its annual stop in North Georgia.  After going 2-1 in pool play and emerging as the fifth seed overall in Monday's championship bracket, the Braves defeated three top-ranked USSSA teams enroute to their First Place finish today.  The victories included a 10-2 win over the East Cobb Titans in the quarterfinals, a 6-5 win over the Sandy Plains Wildcats in the semifinals, and a 7-2 win over the Hanover Heat in the Championship Game.  In bracket play, the Braves outscored and outhit their opponents 23-9 and 29-20 respectively.

When asked about the weekend accomplishment, Manager Shane Monahan commented that it was a total team effort that demonstrated significant improvement by his players over the past two months.  "My players believed in their abilities this weekend, and the results were no surprise to those of us who know what this team is capable of doing," said Monahan.

The Braves will next compete in the CABA Georgia State Championship, the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship, and the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship.  Then, their trip to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for the USSSA Elite 32 World Series will mark the culmination of 7 months of hard work in mid-July.

Congratulations BRAVES on a job well done!!

Following two impressive wins over top-rated USSSA teams, the Braves entered the Championship Game of the USSSA Georgia Super NIT on a mission to leave no mistake that we will be a force to be reckoned with at the Elite 32 World Series in July.  Facing yet another top-rated USSSA team in the Hanover Heat from Richmond, VA, we accomplished that mission with a 7-2 victory that featured a total team effort.

Offensively, the Braves managed 7 runs off of 7 hits and took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by the Heat to claim First Place.  Our hits included a DOUBLE by #33 Stephen Wrenn and 6 singles off the bats of #5 Hunter Swilling, #10 John Davis, #7 Tyler Weyenberg, #33 Stephen Wrenn, #8 Patrick Schultz, and #12 Will Schnure.  #2 Sam Ayers also contributed with an RBI sacrifice fly in the first inning to score our first run, and #21 Brian Kehner executed a perfect sacrifice bunt up the first base line in the fifth inning to advance #33 Stephen Wrenn to third after his DOUBLE.  Wrenn then scored on an RBI ground-out by #2 Sam Ayers in the inning.  #10 John Davis also recorded an RBI ground-out in the seventh inning to score #5 Hunter Swilling who reached on an error by the Heat's third baseman.

Defensively, #10 John Davis got the call for back-to-back starts on the mound and pitched very efficiently through 2 innings, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits with 1 walk and 0 strike outs.  Davis gave way to #21 Brian Kehner who threw a 3-inning masterpiece in the third, fourth, and fifth innings on only 29 pitches, with 25 being strikes.  Kehner gave up 0 runs on 2 hits and 0 walks with 3 nasty strike outs.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio continued with the efficient pitching effort in the sixth inning, sitting down the side in order on 8 pitches.  But, after walking the first two batters in the seventh inning, Maggio gave way to #1 Nick Sexton who fittingly recorded the final three outs and completed the Braves' remarkable day.

The win positioned the Braves as the First Place Champions of the USSSA Georgia Super NIT and cemented our rain-shortened Tennessee Super NIT berth into a truly legitimate award to a serious contender for the Elite 32 World Series title in July.

The Braves continued to roll on Sunday afternoon in the Semi-Finals of the USSSA Georgia Super NIT at the East Cobb Baseball complex with a huge win over the top-ranked Sandy Plains Wildcats, winners of the Mississippi Super NIT one weekend ago.  The game was a see-saw battle between two surging teams that saw the score tied at 1 run apiece in the third inning, 3 runs apiece in the fifth inning, and 5 runs apiece in the sixth inning.  The difference in the game was back-to-back doubles in the seventh inning by #16 Nathaniel Maggio and #8 Patrick Schultz that pushed the Braves ahead 6-5.

Offensively, the Braves once again sent the Hits register on the (non-lit) scoreboard into double digits, outhitting the Wildcats 10-9.  Two singles in the top of the first inning on deep shots by #33 Stephen Wrenn and #2 Sam Ayers, coupled with an 8-pitch walk to #10 John Davis gave the Braves an early scoring opportunity with bases loaded and 1 out.  But, an infield fly and a fly ball to left field got the Wildcats out of an early jam.  Then, in the third inning down 1-0, #5 Hunter Swilling knotted the game at 1 run apeice with a SOLO HOME RUN, his first of the season, over the left field fence that fired up the Braves dugout.  Faced with a similar situation in the fifth inning down 3-1, the Braves again ralleyed on 3 hits and a walk to tie the game at 3 runs apeice.  After a lead-off walk to #11 CJ Brazil, #1 Nick Sexton launched a DOUBLE to the left field gap.  Then, with 1 out, #33 Stephen Wrenn beat out a chopper to third base to load the bases.  #10 John Davis then delivered with a 2-RBI single to the right field gap to score Brazil and Sexton.  But, we again left the bases loaded with an infield fly and a fly ball to centerfield to enable the Wildcats to work out of yet another jam.  In the sixth inning, we temporarily took a 2-run lead on 2 hits and 2 walks, only to give up 2 runs to the Wildcats in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 5 runs apeice.  Our hits in the sixth inning included singles off the bats of #44 Jordan Brown and #33 Stephen Wrenn.  #5 Hunter Swilling also contributed with an RBI sacrifice fly to centerfield.  That set the stage for the aforementioned back-to-back doubles by Maggio and Schultz in the seventh inning to give the Braves the 6-5 win.  Maggio's DOUBLE was a blast over the centerfielder's head that got all the way to the wall, and Schultz's 1-RBI DOUBLE was a slicing line drive to the left field corner that enabled courtesy runner #21 Brian Kehner to score the winning run.

Defensively, #21 John Davis was called upon for his fourth start and he pitched extemely well through 3 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 4 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  He gave way to #5 Hunter Swilling in the fourth inning who pitched 1 inning and gave up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out.  #1 Nick Sexton took care of the pitching responsibilities in the fifth inning, also giving up 0 earned runs on 1 hits and 1 walk with 0 strike outs.  Finally, #16 Nathaniel Maggio closed out the final two innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 1 hit and 0 walks with 2 strike outs.  While our defensive play was a little flat and included 2 errors, we nonetheless made the routine plays, as well as two, huge, NON-routine plays.  In the third inning, #16 Nathaniel Maggio at first base and #5 Hunter Swilling at shortstop turned a 3-6-3 double play on a hard hit grounder to first base that lit a charge into the team.  And then, in the fourth inning, #1 Nick Sexton in right field chased down, completely laid out for and gloved a gap shot, and then quickly got to his feet and started a 9-3-2 double play to tag out the advancing Wildcats baserunner at the plate.  Without a doubt, Sexton's amazing play rates as the Braves' #1 outfield highlight of the 2009 season thus far.

The wins places the Braves in the USSSA Georgia Super NIT Championship Game against the Hanover Heat from Richmond, VA, yet another top-rated USSSA team in the nation.

The Braves returned to East Cobb this afternoon to face the #4 seed East Cobb Titans in the quarterfinals of the USSSA Georgia Super NIT tournament.  With a 2-1 lead going into the fifth inning, we busted it open with 8 runs across the final three frames for a convincing 10-2 win against one of the top-ranked USSSA teams in the nation.

Offensively, the Braves outhit the Titans 12-8.  #33 Stephen Wrenn got the hits started in the top of the first inning with a single up the middle.  After stealing two bases, Wrenn then scored our first run on an RBI put-out by #10 John Davis.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio copied Wrenn's single through the middle in the second inning but was thrown out attempting to steal second base.  In the third inning, #11 CJ Brazil reached on an error by the Titan's second baseman, and later scored on an RBI-DOUBLE to the right field gap off the bat of #5 Hunter Swilling.  #10 John Davis led off the fourth inning with a single to the left field gap, but the Braves were unable to string anything together to continue our scoring.  That problem ended abruptly in the fifth inning as the Braves used 3 hits and a walk to record 3 runs for a 5-1 lead.  #44 Jordan "Hank" Brown drilled a ball to the wall in left-centerfield and #11 CJ Brazil recorded 6-pitch walk to set the stage for an RBI-DOUBLE to the right field corner by #1 Nick Sexton.  One out later, #33 Stephen Wrenn shot a 2-RBI single to the right field gap to score Brazil and Sexton.  Then, after a quiet sixth inning, the Braves used our last at-bats in the seventh to seal the deal with 5 runs on 5 hits, all singles off the bats of #8 Patrick Schultz, #44 Jordan Brown, #1 Nick Sexton, #33 Stephen Wrenn, and #2 Sam Ayers.  The inning also featured a towering sacrifice fly to centerfield off the bat of #10 John Davis.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown pitched a masterful complete game, giving up only 1 earned run on 8 hits and 1 walk with 7 strike outs.  He also fielded his position well, recording three put-outs at first base from the mound.  #11 CJ Brazil quarterbacked the defense from behind the dish, gunning down 1 Titans baserunner at second base.

The win places the Braves in the Semi-Finals against the cross-town rival Sandy Plains Wildcats, yet another top-ranked USSSA team in the nation.

It took several innings to get things going, but on the strength of a 4-run inning in the bottom of the fifth, the Braves defeated the Dublin Young Guns 5-3 at Kell High School to claim the top place in our pool, thus advancing into Monday's championship bracket in the USSSA Georgia Super NIT.  Scoring 5 runs off of 6 hits showed a marked improvement in our hitting and baserunning over the past 2 days.  Nonetheless, we missed two golden opportunities to score more runs as we left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings.

Offensively, we did not see our first hit until the bottom of the third inning as #8 Patrick Schultz connected on a single to the opposite field.  Another single was recorded in the bottom of the fourth inning off the bat of #5 Hunter Swilling.  But, with a walk and a hit batsman in the inning to load the bases, the Young Guns got out of the inning unscathed on three fly balls hit by the Braves.  The fifth inning, however, was quite a different story.  A combination of 3 singles hit by the Braves and 2 infield errors committed by the Young Guns' first baseman enabled 4 runs to score.  #44 Jordan Brown led off the inning with a hard bouncing single past the third baseman.  #11 CJ Brazil followed with another single to shallow centerfield, and #19 Ryan Murphy shot a line-drive 1-RBI single into centerfield.  In between those hits, #5 Hunter Swilling reached on a sky-high pop-up that was misplayed in the bright sky by the Young Guns' first baseman, and #1 Nick Sexton followed with a grounder down the first base line that the Young Guns' first baseman also misplayed.  Sexton's grounder enabled 2 runs to score and opened the flood gates as the Young Guns pitcher and catcher began to struggle.  With a 4-2 lead going into the sixth inning, we added an insurance run on another errant throw to second base by the Young Guns' catcher as #12 Will Schnure scored from third base.  #44 Jordan Brown also stroked a second single in the inning, but we once again left the bases loaded as the Young Guns overted a rout.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner was called upon late to make the start in place of #33 Stephen Wrenn.  Kehner pitched 2-2/3 innings and gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits and 3 walks with 3 strike outs.  #11 CJ Brazil relieved Kehner in the third inning, pitched 2-1/3 innings, and gave up 0 runs on 1 hit with 0 walks and 2 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton closed the final 2 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 1 hit and 1 walk with 2 strike outs.  Our defense played exceptionally well behind the 3-man pitching staff, committing 0 errors and making the routine plays look routine.  One particularly stellar play involved a 5-2 put-out manufactured by #19 Ryan Murphy who fielded a hot hit on the left side of the infield and threw out a baserunner at the plate.  Catcher #12 Will Schnure provided the bullet proof wall down the third base line that proved to inpenetrable, even by a Young Gun.

The win enabled the Braves to win our Super NIT pool and advance into Monday's championship bracket as the #5 seed overall.

The Braves returned to ECB Field #2 for our second pool game in the USSSA Georgia Super NIT to face our most familiar foe of the season, the Georgia Prospects.  Having won two and lost two in our previous four matchup's, the game served as the rubber match between two teams who have played well against each other this season.  The Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, and that early lead that would prove to be enough for a 2-1 victory that keeps the Braves in play for the Super NIT championship brackets beginning Sunday night and stretching into Monday.

Offensively, #5 Hunter Swilling got the Braves fired up right from the start with a towering TRIPLE over the right fielder's head to lead off the bottom of the first inning.  He later scored on an RBI-single by #33 Stephen Wrenn on a shot through the right side.  Wrenn moved to second base on a passed ball and then advanced to third on an error by the Prospects' shortstop.  He then scored our second and final run on a passed ball.  Wrenn also had a DOUBLE in the bottom of the sixth inning and #19 Ryan Murphy added a single in the same frame.  However, our 4 hits, 6 walks, and 1 hit batsman only produced 2 runs given some errant baserunning by the Braves that enabled the Prospects to keep the game close through the top of the seventh inning.

Defensively, #22 Jon Jon Banks got his first start for the Braves and pitched very confidently through 5 innings, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits with 0 walks and 4 strike outs.  #11 CJ Brazil relieved Banks in the sixth inning and gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits and 2 walks with 0 strike outs through two-thirds of the inning.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio then competed the last inning and a third, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits and 0 walks with 2 strike outs.  The Braves defense played exceptionally well behind our 3-man pitching staff.  #12 Will Schnure gunned down two Prospect base stealers at second base, and #10 John Davis started a fabulous double play on a ball hit to third base with a runner at second base.  He looked the runner back and fired the ball to #16 Nathaniel Maggio at first base for the first out, and then Maggio fired the ball back across the diamond to #5 Hunter Swilling who was covering third base from his shortstop position to tag out the advancing runner from second.  #8 Patrick Schultz also made two fabulous plays in right field to keep two Prospect hitters off second base on singles through the right side.

The win places the Braves at 1-1 in pool play and sets up a critical game against the Dublin Young Guns tomorrrow at Kell High School.

The ability to make the necessary adjustment at the plate to nullify or offset the strengths of an opposing pitcher is one of the hallmarks of a consistent hitter.  This evening in the opening game of the USSSA Georgia Super NIT at ECB in Marietta, GA, the Braves' hitters were unable to do so against a strong outing by the 13U East Cobb Astros starting pitcher.  Following our excellent hitting and scoring performances over the past two weekends, the Braves could only muster 1 run off 3 hits and were eventually run-ruled 9-1 in six innings.

Offensively, the Braves enabled the Astros to record 12 outs via fly balls, accounting for two-thirds of our overall outs in the game.  Add 3 strike outs and a batter's interference call at the plate and you've got 16 of 18 total outs recorded by the Astros with minimal effort.  Only singles by #33 Stephen Wrenn, #2 Sam Ayers, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio found the turf on Field #2 before an Astro fielder was able cradle the ball in his glove.  In the top of the third inning, Wrenn's single scored #7 Tyler Weyenberg who had reached on an outfield error by the Astros for the Braves only RBI of the game.

Defensively, the Braves used four arms across six innings to try to tame the Astros.  In the end, our staff gave up 9 earned runs on 10 hits and 3 walks with 4 strike outs.  In the field, the Braves only committed one error that eventually factored into the final run scored by the Astros.

Assuming the sun actually does come up tomorrow, the Braves are slated for yet another rematch versus the Georgia Prospects as pool play continues in the Georgia Super NIT.

The evening air brought a chill to Allatoona High School and the rain gave way to a beautiful sunset over Acworth, GA, as the Roswell Hornets and East Cobb Braves took to the field for the Duel on the Diamond championship game.  The excitement built as the Braves took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning, only to see the Hornets tie the game in the fourth and then take a 2-run lead into sixth and final frame.  The Braves fought back with 1 run in our half of the sixth inning, but then time expired in the bottom half of the sixth to send the championship medals to the young men from Roswell.

Offensively, the Braves out-hit the Hornets 9-5, giving us a weekend total of 54 hits (including 14 extra-base hits) across our 5 tournament games for a .439 tournament batting average.  But, two failed attempts to steal third base and a close (but accurate) play at the plate nullified 3 potential runs for the Braves and ended up playing a significant role in the outcome.  Our hits against Roswell included a towering 1-RBI DOUBLE by #8 Patrick Schultz in the second inning and singles off the bats of #33 Stephen Wrenn (2), #10 John Davis, #2 Sam Ayers, #1 Nick Sexton, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #8 Patrick Schultz, and #12 Will Schnure.

Defensively, #10 John Davis started for the third time on the hill and pitched well through 3 innings.  But, after giving up 2 walks in the bottom of the fourth inning, Davis gave way to #5 Hunter Swilling who pitched the fourth and fifth innings.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio then entered the game in the sixth inning and was on the hill when time expired.  Our three-man staff gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits and 3 walks with 3 strike outs.

Congratulations to the Roswell Hornets for winning the first Duel on the Diamond at Allatoona High School.

The Braves had enough time to dry off, warm up, and grab some food after the McEachern win in the Allatoona Duel on the Diamond tournament before taking the field again to play the #1 seed Homeplate Chili Dogs on Sunday evening.  Our intensity at the plate, however, did not take a break as we added 15 more hits to our 10 hits from the McEachern game to talley 25 hits across two games.  Making an early statement in the first inning, we pounded 6 hits for 6 runs to take an early lead that was simply too much for the Chili Dogs to overcome.

Offensively, the Braves' 10 hits included DOUBLES by #19 Ryan Murphy, #10 John Davis, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  Murphy's 2-bagger came in the top of the first inning with the bases juiced and two outs.  His shot to deep centerfield sent the Chili Dogs searching for antacids as the bases cleared for a 3-RBI DOUBLE.  Davis' 2-bagger came in top of the fourth inning with a man on first base and two outs.  His line drive to the left field corner drove in #8 Patrick Schultz from first base for a 1-RBI DOUBLE.  Maggio's 2-bagger led off the top of the sixth inning and nearly cleared the centerfield fence.  Maggio later scored on an RBI-single off the bat of #19 Ryan Murphy.  Our other hits were all singles off the bats of #5 Hunter Swilling, #33 Stephen Wrenn, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #19 Ryan Murphy (2), #10 John Davis, #44 Jordan Brown (3), #12 Will Schnure, #2 Sam Ayers (2), and #8 Patrick Schultz.  Murphy finished the game 3 for 4 with 5 RBI's and 1 run scored, and Brown finished the game 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored.  All in all, it was a most impressive offensive effort.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown pitched a complete, 6-inning game to record the win.  Operating on a still slippery mound that was soaked from a solid day of rain, Brown gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 5 walks with 4 strike outs.  The Braves' defensive committed 2 errors that led to the Chili Dog's other run.  Catcher #12 Will Schnure gunned down the other Chili Dog who reached base on a Braves' error in an attempt to steal second base.

The win put the Braves in the Championship game with the Roswell Hornets.

The Braves returned to Allatoona High School on Sunday afternoon as the #4 seed in the Duel on the Diamond tournament to take on the #5 seed McEachern Indians.  As the rain and wind picked up in the third inning, the weather became the great equalizer as the Braves started on top but then had to come from behind to pull this game out by the score of 7-6.

Offensively, the Braves continued to hit well with #5 Hunter Swilling and #2 Sam Ayers stroking extra base hits to lead off the bottom of the first inning.  Swilling rocketed a DOUBLE to the left field corner and promptly advanced to third on an errant cut-off throw by the Indians' shortstop.  Then, Ayers stepped up and drilled his first pitch deep into the right field gap for an RBI TRIPLE.  Ayers later scored on a passed ball to put the Braves up 2-0 after one inning.  In the second inning, #5 Hunter Swilling continued with his hot bat as he connected on a 2-RBI TRIPLE to the right field gap that scored #8 Patrick Schultz, who reached on a 4 pitch walk, and #7 Tyler Weyenberg, who reached on a single to shallow centerfield.  We then recorded three more singles in the third inning off the bats of #33 Stephen Wrenn, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, and #10 John Davis.  But, an extremely unfortunate hit & run flyout to right field netted a triple play for the Indians as the Braves' baserunners were doubled and tripled up at first and second base.  After a lack-luster fourth inning, the Braves found ourselves down one run with time expiring as we went into the bottom of the fifth and final inning.  But, we wasted no time loading the bases with no outs via lead-off singles by #5 Hunter Swilling and #2 Sam Ayers, and a 4-pitch walk to #33 Stephen Wrenn.  Then, with a 2-0 count, #16 Nathaniel Maggio drilled a line drive over the shortstop to record a 2-RBI single that ended the game.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner started on the hill and pitched well through the first two innings.  But, after allowing three walks and two hits in the top of third inning, Kehner gave way to #11 CJ Brazil who completed the game on the slippery mound.  The totals for our 2-man pitching staff included allowing 5 earned runs on 3 hits and 8 walks with 6 strike outs.  The Braves' defense played well through the tough conditions, only committing one error which led to one run for the Indians.

It was perfectly scripted in the top of the first inning as the visiting Braves scored 3 runs on 1 hit to jump out to a 3-0 lead over the Newnan Cougars, our second opponent in the Allatoona High School Duel on the Diamond tournament in Acworth, GA.  However, what followed over the next 75 minutes was absolutely NOT scripted as the Braves gave up 4 unearned runs on 4 errors to literally hand the game to the Cougars.  Our 8-9 loss was fueled by two critical errors - a botched, routine double-play in the infield and a dropped "can of corn" fly ball in the outfield - that gave the Cougars 3 unearned runs, which was more than enough for them to squeak out the win.

Offensively, the Braves outhit the Cougars 9-7 in the 5-1/2 inning time-shortened game.  #5 Hunter Swilling led off the game with a deep blast to the right field gap that resulted in a TRIPLE, his second 3-bagger in five games with the Braves.  Heads-up baserunning by #33 Stephen Wrenn and #10 John Davis enabled the Braves to manufacture two additional runs in the inning.  However, lead-off DOUBLES in the second, third, and fourth innings by #44 Jordan Brown, #5 Hunter Swilling, and #19 Ryan Murphy only enabled a one additional run for the Braves across those three innings.  And, three three additional singles by #2 Sam Ayers, #8 Partrick Schultz, and #12 Will Schnure in the top of the fourth inning were not enough to push any additional runs across the plate.  Then, after leaving two baserunners in scoring position in the top of the 5th inning, the Braves showed some life down 9-4 going into the sixth and final inning.  Three hit batsman plus an RBI single by #44 Jordan Brown and a 4-pitch walk to #7 Tyler Weyenberg got the inning started.  Then, #5 Hunter Swilling blasted a 2-RBI single to left field that got the Braves within a run of the Cougars.  But, from there, the Cougars tightened and recorded the final three outs on an infield fly, a force-out at second base on a fielder's choice hit, and a hard-hit line drive directly to the shortstop.

Defensively, the Braves struggled on the mound and in the field.  The previously mentioned 4 defensive errors were simply too much to overcome.  The totals for our 3-man pitching staff were 5 earned runs on 7 hits and 5 walks with 3 strike outs.

The loss placed the Braves at 1-1 in round robin play with 9 runs allowed going into Sunday's brackets play.

The Braves early wake-up call this morning turned into a hitting & pitching clinic as Starting Pitcher #44 Jordan Brown got outstanding run support to fully compliment his domination on the hill.  The net result was a mercy rule-shortened, 1-hit shut of the Sandy Springs Longhorns as the Braves cruised to an 8-0 victory in the opening game of Allatoona High School's Duel on the Diamond tournament in Acworth, GA.

Offensively, the Braves stroked 11 hits in just 4 innings to crumble the Longhorns' spirits early.  #33 Stephen Wrenn recorded the Braves' first hit in the bottom of the first inning with a nifty bunt-single to the right side of the infield.  After stealing second base, Wrenn then scored on a DOUBLE to the right field gap by #10 John Davis.  But, after two more singles off the bats of #16 Nathaniel Maggio and #19 Ryan Murphy, the Braves were unable to capitalize and left both runners on base.  In the bottom of the second inning, #2 Sam Ayers put another DOUBLE in the books with a pop-up behind shortstop that the Longhorns' charging centerfielder was unable to glove.  After taking third base on a passed ball, Ayers then scored on an RBI ground-out by #44 Jordan Brown.  #12 Will Schnure recorded another single in the inning but was left stranded.  In the bottom of the third inning, the Braves lit up the scoreboard with 6 runs on 5 hits to nail the lid on the game.  The inning featured a well-hit single by #33 Stephen Wrenn, a 2-RBI single by #19 Ryan Murphy, an RBI TRIPLE by #2 Sam Ayers, an RBI single by #44 Jordan Brown, and a single by #1 Nick Sexton.  Those runs would be all the Braves needed to apply the 8-runs after 5-innings mercy rule two innings later.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown turned in another outstanding effort, going 4 innings with a 2:1 strike to ball ratio while allowing 0 runs on 1 hit and 0 walks with 3 strike outs.  #21 Brian Kehner relieved Brown in the fifth and final defensive inning for the Braves and also recorded a 2:1 strike to ball ratio while allowing 0 runs on 0 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  The Braves' defense looked crisp behind their pitching staff, committing one error that merely allowed the only Longhorns' baserunner to advance to third base in the game.

The 14U computer rankings for weeks 5-6 have been published by TravelBallSelect.com and the EAST COBB BRAVES are firmly ranked in the #1 position based on the strength of schedule and the order finished in the Tennessee Super NIT and North Carolina Super NIT tournaments.  The top 10 teams include:

Team	Rank 14U	State	Region Name
East Cobb Braves 14u	594	Georgia	Southeast
D-Bat Mustangs Blue	528	Texas North	Midwest
Heat	462	Virginia	East
FV Predators (Orange)	396	North Carolina	East
All-American Sports Academy	396	California South	West
BL Team Alabama	396	Alabama	Southeast
East Cobb Astros	396	Georgia	Southeast
Texas Blackhawks	396	Texas South	Midwest
Garland Cubs	330	Texas South	Midwest
West Covina Bombers Elite	330	California South	West

The Braves dodged the afternoon showers and slugged our way to a second Mother's Day Round Robin victory at Allatoona High School this afternoon with a convincing 16-5 win over Team Georgia from Alpharetta.  Picking up from where we left off against the D-Backs, the Braves stroked 15 hits across 7 innings, bringing the hit total for the day to 29 hits across 13 innings.  The "blast of the game" came in the top of the seventh inning when #2 Sam Ayers launched a 3-RBI TRIPLE to the right field gap that cleared the bases.  Two innings earlier in the top of the fifth inning, Ayers also demonstrated a fine piece of opposite field hitting with a 2-RBI single down the right field line.  Ayers finished the game 3 for 4 with a total of 6 RBI's.

Offensively, #10 John Davis and #44 Jordan Brown were also big contributors with back-to-back DOUBLES in the third inning.  Our other 10 hits were all singles off the bats of #12 Will Schnure (2), #33 Stephen Wrenn (2), #16 Nathaniel Maggio (2), #10 John Davis, #19 Ryan Murphy, #44 Jordan Brown, and #1 Nick Sexton.  One of Wrenn's hits was a perfectly executed bunt-single on the right side of the infield to lead off the top of the third inning.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown shut down Team Georgia through 4-2/3 innings, allowing 0 earned runs on 4 hits and 2 walks with 2 strike outs.  #21 Brian Kehner and #16 Nathaniel Maggio combined to close out the final 2-1/3 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits and 4 walks with 1 strike out.  Although the Braves' defense commited 2 fielding and 1 throwing error, we were able to pick ourselves up and remain focused despite our miscues.

The Braves players were eager to play for their Moms on Mother's Day after being rained out of practice since returning from Kingsport.  And, their eagerness showed early and often in the first game of our Mother's Day Round Robin at Allatoona High School against the 15U East Cobb Diamondbacks.  After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, the Braves went on to score 17 unanswered runs as we out-hustled, out-hit, and out-classed the D-Backs by a final talley of 17-1.

Offensively, the Braves put on a hitting clinic with 14 hits across 6 innings.  Our extra-base hits included TRIPLES by #5 Hunter Swilling, #8 Patrick Schultz, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  #44 Jordan Brown also added to the extra-base talley with a DOUBLE.  The remaining 10 hits were all singles off the bats of #10 John Davis (2), #33 Stephen Wrenn (2), #5 Hunter Swilling, #12 Will Schnure, #44 Jordan Brown, #19 Ryan Murphy, #21 Brian Kehner, and #1 Nick Sexton.  In the third inning, the Braves batted around our 10-man batting order, sending 13 total batters to the plate.  The inning featured 5 singles and back-to-back TRIPLES by Maggio and Schultz that generated 9 runs.

Defensively, #5 Hunter Swilling made his Braves' debut on the mound, pitching well for 3 innings while allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits and 2 walks with 1 strike out.  #1 Nick Sexton and #11 CJ Brazil then saw 2 innings of work apiece and combined to allow 0 runs on 1 hit and 1 walk with 3 strike outs.  The defense played well behind our pitching staff with only 1 error that ultimately contributed to the D-backs run in the first inning.

The East Cobb Braves family welcomes home COLONEL KEN SWAITHES from his second tour of duty in Iraq.  Thank you for your courageous duty to our country.  We all look forward to personally greeting you at an East Cobb Braves game soon.

Overnight rain and the threat of continued rain on Sunday forced the cancellation of the championship brackets in the USSSA Kingsport Super NIT tournament.  The net result was a SECOND PLACE finish and the awarding of an ELITE 32 WORLD SERIES berth to the East Cobb Braves.

As the Braves faithful departed Kingsport, Tennessee, much earlier than planned this morning, the chants of "We're going to Disney World" could be heard through cell phones and text messages all across the southeast.

CONGRATULATIONS EAST COBB BRAVES ... We're going to Disney World!!

Within minutes of winning our first pool game over the Blue Ridge Blaze in the USSSA Kingsport Super NIT, the Braves were back to work in our second pool game against the 5-Tool Nationals from Moultrie, Georgia.  With one loss to the 5-Tool Nationals already in the scorebook from the Triple Crown March Mayhem tournament on March 22, the Braves knew we had our work cut out for us as the rain began to fall in Kingsport.  What ensued was a pitcher's duel that took a full 7 innings before the Braves could record a 4-3 victory.

Offensively, the Braves manufactured 4 runs on 2 hits and 8 walks.  Half of our walks came in the first inning as the 5-Tools pitcher put 4 Braves on base in a row, yet we were unable to capitalize on the scoreboard as we ran ourselves out of a run with a failed steal attempt.  Our first hit came in the third inning off the bat of #44 Jordan Brown who later scored on a passed ball to give the Braves a 1-0 lead through 3 innings.  Then, #8 Patrick Schultz led off the fourth inning with "the blast of the game" ... a SOLO HOME RUN over the left field wall, his first home run of the season, to put the Braves back on top 2-1.  The 5-Tools then left the bases loaded in their half of the fifth inning and scored 2 runs on 2 hits in their half of the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning.  Finally, the Braves were able to capitalize on our final 2 walks by the 5-Tools pitching staff, with #10 John Davis and #5 Hunter Swilling scoring our tying and winning run after reaching base on walks.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown pitched well through 4 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 4 hits and 1 walk with 4 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton and #16 Nathaniel Maggio combined to close the final two innings, giving up 1 earned run on 2 hits and 3 walks with 0 strike outs.  The Braves' defense struggled on the wet fields and committed 4 errors, although none of them contributed to runs for the 5-Tool Nationals.

The win placed the Braves as the SECOND SEED going into Sunday's bracket play with a 2-0 record and only 4 runs allowed.

The Braves traveled to Kingsport, Tennessee, for the USSSA Kingsport Super NIT tournament and our second chance to win a berth into the Elite 32 World Series.  Our first opponent was the Blue Ridge Blaze from Fletcher, NC, and the Braves wasted no time recording a 3-1 win in a tough fought game.

Offensively, #11 CJ Brazil and #10 John Davis led off the bottom of the first inning with a pair of singles.  Then, #5 Hunter Swilling - the Braves new middle infielder from Smith Station, Alabama - delivered a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Brazil.  Still in the first inning, #16 Nathaniel Maggio reached on a catcher's interference call, was moved around to third base on a fielder's choice by #19 Ryan Murphy and a single by #8 Patrick Schultz, and then scored on a passed ball by the Blaze catcher.  In the second inning, #12 Will Schnure led off with a single through the middle but was left stranded on second base after a successful steal.  Our only other hit in the game came in the third inning when #5 Hunter Swilling stroked a long DOUBLE to left field and then scored on a 1-RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of #16 Nathaniel Maggio.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner threw four innings of shut-out baseball, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with 5 strike outs as the Braves took a 3-0 lead into the fifth inning.  Kehner's effort included getting out of a self-inflicted jam in the fourth inning after walking two batters and hitting a third batter to load the bases.  Three Braves pitchers - #8 Patrick Schultz, #1 Nick Sexton, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio - combined to close out the final three innings, giving up 1 earned run on 3 hits and 3 walks with 5 strike outs.  The Braves' defense committed 2 errors in the game, but neither contributed to any scoring by the Blaze.

The Braves returned to the ECB complex on Sunday morning for a semi-finals matchup in the USSSA World Series Qualifier against the #2 seed East Cobb Astros.  Motivated and ready to play, the Braves held the Astros to 1 run across the first four innings and took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the 5th inning.  But, three hits in a row followed by a 2-out, 2-RBI double to center field by the Astros saw the lead quickly disappear as the Braves dropped a heart-breaker by the score of 4-3 in a time-shortened, 5-1/2 inning game.

Offensively, the Braves only mustered 3 hits in the game and were unable to fully capitalize on 3 dropped third strikes and 6 walks.  In the second inning, #19 Ryan Murphy led-off with a single to the right field gap.  #1 Nick Sexton followed with a single of his own to shallow right field.  Then, #7 Tyler Weyenberg delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to score Murphy from third base.  Our only other hit was recorded in the fifth inning by #11 CJ Brazil who stroked a 1-RBI single to left field.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio also recorded a 1-RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to bring our third run across the plate.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown pitched well through 5 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 1 walk with 6 strike outs.  And, the Braves defense played well behind Brown, only committing 1 error in the bottom of the second inning that did not factor into the Astros' scoring.

The loss placed the Braves in a tie for Third Place and ended our run in the USSSA World Series Qualifier.

The Braves returned to ECB on Saturday afternoon to play the Atlanta Wildcats in the opening brackets game of the USSSA World Series Qualifier.  Aside from a shakey third inning that saw the Wildcats take a 6-2 lead on 2 defensive errors and 2 hit batsmen, the Braves demonstrated mental control and physical stamina by battling back and ultimately recording a convincing victory.  In the fifth and final inning, the Braves recorded a season-high 11 runs on 6 hits to end the game early via the mercy rule by the score of 14-6.  That inning featured a towering 2 RBI HOME RUN over the left field wall off the bat of #11 CJ Brazil.

Offensively, the blast of the game clearly belonged to Brazil with his 2-run shot over the left field wall.  However, the Braves also recorded a season-high 5 DOUBLES in the game, including a long DOUBLE down the right field line by #16 Nathaniel Maggio, two blistering DOUBLES to center field and left field by #44 Jordan Brown, a tailing DOUBLE down the right field line by #10 John Davis, and a game-ending DOUBLE down the left field line by #11 CJ Brazil.  Our other 6 hits were well-stroked singles off the bats of #10 John Davis, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #8 Patrick Schultz, and #7 Tyler Weyenberg who had 2 singles.

Defensively, #10 John Davis started on the hill and pitched 3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  #44 Jordan Brown relived Davis in the fourth inning and faced the final 8 Wildcats batters, giving up 0 runs on 1 hit and 0 walks with 4 strike outs.

The Braves regrouped after our opening loss to the EC Titans in the USSSA World Series Qualifier at ECB to shut-out the Spartans from Mountain Brook, Alabama, in a mercy-rule shortened, 4-inning game.  From the opening inning, which featured 5 Braves runs on just 1 hit, it was fairly obvious that the AA Spartans were in a different USSSA league classification from the Braves.

Offensively, the Braves 8 hits includes two RBI DOUBLES off the bat of #16 Nathaniel Maggio, each well hit to the left side.  #8 Patrick Schultx and #1 Nick Sexton each recorded two singles, and #21 Brian Kehner and #12 Will Schnure rounded out the hits with singles of their own.  Kehner's single came in top of the second inning when, as the lead-off batter, he laid down a perfect bunt on the third base line and beat the throw to first base.  The Braves scored in each of our four offeensive innings with strong hitting and the benefit of 2 walks, 5 hit batsman, and 4 Spartans defensive errors.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner pitched the first three innings, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit and 2 walks with 2 strike outs.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio closed out the final inning on the hill, striking out 2 batters and getting the final batter to ground out back to the mound.  The Braves defense also played well throughout the game and turned a 1-6-3 double on a come-backer to #21 Brian Kehner on the mound in the second inning.

The Braves opened play in the USSSA World Series Qualifier tournament at ECB this evening and were quickly stunned by the East Cobb Titans who put 10 runs on the scoreboard across the first two innings and then cruised to a 10-4 win.  The Braves managed to match the Titans hit for hit (9 total for each team) and error for error (5 total for each team), but the more important number (runs scored) left the Braves with extremely little chance to win our pool going into Saturday afternoon's bracket play.

Offensively, the Braves managed 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning after #33 Stephen Wrenn reached with 2 outs via a walk.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio then stroked a single to right field and was followed by a 2-RBI DOUBLE down the right field line by #19 Ryan Murphy.  Down 10-2 going into the bottom half of the second inning, #8 Patrick Schultz and #12 Will Schnure started in the inning off with two more singles to the right side.  Then, unbelievably, #2 Sam Ayers ripped another ball to the right side.  But, when the dust cleared, the Titan's second baseman had recorded a triple play by snagging the line drive, stepping on second base, and then throwing to first base to triple-off our baserunners.  Our remaining hits were singles by #10 John Davis, #11 CJ Brazil, #1 Nick Sexton, and #33 Stephen Wrenn.  The blast of the night came off the bat of #8 Patrick Schultz who hit an RBI DOUBLE in the bottom of the sixth inning to score our final run.

Defensively, starting pitcher #11 CJ Brazil struggled to find his control in the first two innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 5 walks with 2 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton relieved Brazil in the second inning and gave up 0 earned runs on 3 hits and 1 walk with 3 strike outs.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio closed out the seventh inning, giving up 0 earned runs on 0 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out.  The Braves infield commited 5 errors, but those errors only enabled 1 Titan's run.  On a positive note, the Braves defense and relief pitching completely shut down the Titans in the final five frames.

Having already shown tremendous growth, perseverance, and heart from our 2 previous games earlier in the day, the Braves entered the semi-finals of the USSSA Greensboro Super NIT tournament as the 11th place seed from pool play.  The game was yet another rematch against one of our pool play opponents, the NC Cleveland Indians who seeded #2 following their pool wins over the Braves and the Georgia Prospects.  Across the first three innings, the Indians put up 10 runs on a struggling Braves pitching staff to put the game out of reach early.  We fought back to an 11-2, mercy-rule shortened loss and settled for 3rd place in our first Super NIT of the 2009 season.  But, while the loss was disappointing, it simply could not take anything away from the Braves' accomplishments of the day.

Offensively, we managed 5 hits in five innings, including a DOUBLE by #33 Stephen Wrenn that hit hard off the wooden outfield fence.  #10 John Davis stroked two singles, and #19 Ryan Murphy and #44 Jordan Brown each added a single apiece.

Defensively, we cobbled together a 5-man pitching staff who gave up 3 earned runs on 13 hits, 4 walks, and 1 hit batter with 2 strike outs.  #12 Will Schnure made his debut on the mound for the Braves in the third inning, giving up 2 earned runs on 1 hit and 3 walks with 1 strike out.

The momentum gained from our brackets victory over the Georgia Prospects in the USSSA Greensboro Super NIT earlier this morning was apparent as the Braves stayed focused and refused to be intimidated by the #3 seed Team Orlando in our second Super NIT brackets game.  And, even though we had to make a confusing trek across town on a dozen different roads named I-40, their was no confusion in the eyes of the Braves players as they stepped onto the field at Smith High School and took care of business against Team Orlando.  Not even an overturned call that only temporarily ended the game and gave Team Orlando a fourth out in the final inning was enough to keep the Braves from advancing into the Semi-Finals of the Super NIT with a 6-3 victory.

Offensively, a quiet first inning was followed by 3 consecutive singles to lead-off the second inning and give the visiting Braves a 1-0 lead.  It was the second time in as many games that an inning featured a trifecta of Braves' singles.  These hits included a shot through the left side by #16 Nathaniel Maggio, followed by a shot down the right field line by #19 Ryan Murphy, and finally followed by an RBI single back through the left side by #8 Patrick Schultz.  We added another run to our lead in the top of the third inning via a lead-off walk by #7 Tyler Weyenberg who was moved around the base paths via two more singles off the bats of #1 Nick Sexton and #33 Stephen Wrenn who recorded the RBI.  Tied 2-2 going into the fourth inning, the Braves intensity was heightened as we put up 3 more runs on 2 hits to begin sealing the deal.  #19 Ryan Murphy led off the inning and was the recipient of Team Orlando's only fielding error in the game.  Murphy was quickly moved to third base on a DOUBLE blasted to the right field gap by #8 Patrick Schultz.  Then, both Murphy and Schultz scored via some heads-up base running on a 2 RBI, fielder's choice hit by #12 Will Schnure.  This play involved an attempted put-out at the plate that left Team Orlando's catcher on his back without the ball, compliments of a hard charging Ryan Murphy.  Schnure later scored as well on yet another RBI single to the left side, this time by #7 Tyler Weyenberg.  The strong hitting continued in the fifth inning with 3 more singles, all to left field, by #1 Nick Sexton, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, and #19 Ryan Murphy.  But, the Braves left all three stranded in the inning, seemingly missing an opportunity to finish off their opponent.  An insurance run was added in the sixth inning as #7 Tyler Weyenberg recorded a walk and was then moved into scoring position by #21 Brian Kehner and brought around to home on an RBI DOUBLE that was blasted to the wall in the right field gap off the bat of #10 John Davis.  #33 Stephen Wrenn then recorded our final hit in the 7th inning as he stroked a liner back through the middle.  But, Team Orlando then rolled a 1-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.

Defensively, #10 John Davis and #33 Stephen Wrenn split the pitching responsibilities and limited Team Orlando to just 3 runs on 6 hits.  Davis started the game and went 2-1/3 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 1 hit and 3 walks with 1 strike out.  Wrenn relieved Davis in the third inning and completed the game, giving up 0 earned runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 6 strike outs.  The defensive highlight was a perfectly executed 6-4-3 double play that #2 Sam Ayers and #7 Tyler Weyenberg turned in the middle infield to end a scoring threat in the sixth inning.

The win moved the Braves into the Semi-Finals of the Super NIT with a rematch against the #2 seed NC Cleveland Indians.

Following a very rough start to the USSSA Greensboro Super NIT on Saturday, the Braves literally awoke on Sunday as a new team with a new purpose on a new mission.  Seeded in last place in the Championship Brackets with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Braves demonstrated their resolve to be a true contender by pounding out 11 hits and picking each other up after 4 defensive errors to send the Prospects packing via a 6-2 win.  An absolutely stellar pitching performance by #44 Jordan Brown sparked the team early in the game and sent a message up and down I-40 that the East Cobb Braves had finally arrived in Greensboro.

Offensively, it appeared that our fourth meeting with the Georgia Prospects in the past 2 weeks might turn out to be a pitcher's dual as the Braves only managed two hits and two base runners in the first two innings.  But then, the Braves put three consecutive singles together for the first time this season to lead-off the third inning.  #2 Sam Ayers poked the first single to the left-center gap, followed by #44 Jordan Brown who contributed to his own cause with a single down the left field line.  Then, #11 CJ Brazil recorded an RBI single to left field that scored Ayers for a 1-run lead.  The hitting continued in the fourth inning with a lead-off DOUBLE hit by #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  Then, with 2 outs in the inning, #8 Patrick Schultz reached on the only fielding error in the game by the Prospects to keep the inning alive.  Maggio had previously moved to third pass on a passed ball and subsequently scored on the Prospects' fielding error.  Taking advantage of what they gave to us and still with 2 outs in the inning, the Braves then put together two more singles off the bats of #12 Will Schnure and #2 Sam Ayers, with Ayers recording the RBI that brought Schultz in to put the Braves ahead 3-0 going into the fifth inning.  We added 2 more runs in the fifth inning via a lead-off single by #11 CJ Brazil who later scored on a sacrifice fly to deep left field by #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  #1 Nick Sexton also scored in the inning after being walked and later scoring on a passed ball at homeplate.  After leaving the bases full in the sixth inning that featured another hard hit single by #8 Patrick Schultz, #1 Nick Sexton scored the Braves final run in the 7th inning after getting a free pass to first base and being shuttled to third base on a monster DOUBLE over the centerfielder's head off the bat of #33 Stephen Wrenn.  Sexton then scored on an RBI ground-out by #19 Ryan Murphy.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown brought his A-game and then some to a record a complete game victory from the hill.  He dominated through the middle innings and got stronger as the game wore on.  His totals included 0 earned runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 6 strike outs and a 2.0 strike to ball ratio.  The Braves defense also recorded some decent play behind Brown, and #16 Nathaniel Maggio picked off 3 base runners from behind the dish at second and third bases.

The victory placed the Braves in the next round against the #3 seed Team Orlando.

Immediately following our tough Pool Game #1 loss to the Georgia Prospects in the USSSA Greensboro Super NIT, the Braves needed to immediately regroup and prepare for our second pool game opponent, the NC Cleveland Indians.  After giving up an unearned run in the top half of the first inning, the Braves once again lit up the scoreboard with 4 runs manufactured on 2 hits in the bottom of the first inning.  Over the next 4 innings, we extended our lead to 5-3 going into the final two frames and were 6 outs away from recording a respectable 1-1 record in pool play.  But instead, the Indians quickly blew away our lead with 7 runs in the sixth and seventh innings and took a 10-5 lead into the bottom half of the final frame.  While we managed 2 runs in the inning and had the tying run at the plate for the final out, it was once again obvious that our lack of mental toughness and preparedness contributed to our late inning implosion and the 7-10 loss.

Offensively, #33 Stephen Wrenn provided some big-time fireworks with two TRIPLES in the game, including a 2-RBI triple in the first inning to the right field gap and a 1-RBI triple in the third inning to the right field corner.  #1 Nick Sexton was our only other multi-hit player with a single to each side of the outfield in the third and fifth innings.  The balance of our 7 total hits were all singles off the bats of #11 CJ Brazil, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, and #10 John Davis.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner made his second start of the season, pitched 5 innings, and gave the Braves an opportunity to win the game after being relieved in the sixth inning with a 5-3 lead.  Kehner gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits, 4 walks, and 1 hit batter with 1 strike out.  But, in the sixth and seventh innings, the Braves defense lost focus and gave up 7 runs on 7 hits (including 4 DOUBLES), 3 walks, and 2 hit batters while the Indians left the bases loaded in both final frames.

The loss left the Braves' Greensboro Super NIT record at 0-2-0 with 17 runs allowed for the tournament's last place, 11th seed in Sunday's Championship Bracket.  And, via the path that we laid for ourselves with 2 pool game losses on Saturday, we earned a rematch on Sunday with none other than the #6 seed Georgia Prospects.

The Braves kicked off the USSSA Greensboro Super NIT tournament with a bang, facing the now familiar Georgia Prospects for the third time in two weeks.  Giving the appearance of a team who was fully focused and ready to play, we surged early in the game, putting up 4 runs in the first inning on 4 consecutive singles.  But, the Prospects returned the favor in the bottom of the first inning, stinging the visiting Braves for 4 runs of their own.  From there, each team added one run and battled to a 5-5 tie going into the seventh and final inning.  The Braves got 1 run in the top of inning, but unfortunately we gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the final inning to suffer the 6-7 loss.

Offensively, the first inning began with a lead-off single by #33 Stephen Wrenn to short centerfield.  #11 CJ Brazil followed with a bunt single to the third base side that the Prospects' third baseman overthrew to first after Brazil had already reached bag, sending Wrenn to third base and Brazil to second base.  But, the play did not end there as the Prospects' first baseman made another errant throw to third base that sent Wrenn home and Brazil to third.  After a quick time-out by the Prospects, #19 Ryan Murphy then shot a blooper over the third baseman's head for an RBI single that scored Brazil.  Murphy moved to second on yet another Prospects' throwing error, and then moved to third base on a fly ball single to left field by #16 Nathaniel Maggio.  #8 Patrick Schultz next grounded into a fielder's choice on the third base side of the infield, and heads-up baserunning by Murphy at third, who darted towards home and then retreated back to third base, resulted in the bases loaded with no outs.  Taking one for the team, #12 Will Schnure held his ground in the batter's box as the Prospects' pitcher plunked his backside to record an RBI HBP to run the score up to 3-0.  And then, Maggio stole home on a confusing throw by the Propects' catcher for the 4-0 first inning lead.  From there, we left two runners in scoring position in the first inning, laid a goose egg with no base runnners in the second inning, and left the bases loaded in the third inning on three consecutive free passes to first base.  In the fourth inning, #7 Tyler Weyenberg led off with a single through the right side and eventually scored on an RBI single down the left field line by #11 CJ Brazil.  In the fifth inning, we left two more baserunners in scoring position as #10 John Davis lit up a liner to the left field gap.  Then, after a hitless and scoreless sixth inning, #11 CJ Brazil turned a lead-off walk and a stolen base into the seventh inning's, go-ahead run on a hard hit, RBI single to the left side by #19 Ryan Murphy.  Our 8 hits and 6 runs put us three outs away in the bottom of the seventh inning from our first pool game victory.  But, it was not to be.

Defensively, the Braves' sent a 3-man pitching staff to the hill who combined to give up 5 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks with 6 strike outs.  #10 John Davis pitched well in his second outing, going three full innings in the fourth, fifth, and sixth while accounting for 4 of our strike outs and holding the Prospects to 0 earned runs on 0 hits and only 1 walk.  And, with only 1 infield error, our defense was physically solid throughout the game, but we tended to show less mental intensity as the game wore on.  The loss left the Braves faithful stunned as the team quickly prepared for our second pool game against the NC Cleveland Indians.

After a 10-day break from the action, the Braves looked rested and ready as we squared off against the Sandy Plains Trojans at Harrison Park this evening.  All players saw action in this time-shortened, 6 inning contest as we scattered 8 hits for 7 runs across 6 innings to record our 12th win of the season by the score of 7-4.  Only the temperature was cold as the Braves demonstrated a newly found ability to hit and score early in the ballgame.

Offensively, our hitting began right out of the gate with two, well-hit outfield flies for outs to open the first inning.  Then, with 2 outs, #19 Ryan Murphy connected on the game's first single through the middle and promptly stole second base to get into scoring position.  His hit was immediately followed by an RBI DOUBLE off the bat of #8 Patrick Schultz that traveled over the right fielder's head to the fence, scoring Murphy.  Our hitting continued in the second inning with a single by #16 Nathaniel Maggio and RBI singles by #21 Brian Kehner, #11 CJ Brazil, and #8 Patrick Schultz.  The third inning featured yet another RBI single by #16 Nathaniel Maggio and our last single by #44 Jordan Brown to cap our scoring at 7 runs.  Although we did not score again in the fourth, fifth, or sixth innings, we continued to pound the ball hard with several long fly-outs spread around the Trojans' outfield.

Defensively, #21 Brian Kehner made his first start of the year on the mound and went two innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with 3 strike outs.  He closed out his second inning on the hill by snagging a line-drive hit back to the mound and then doubling up the base runner at first.  The third inning featured #8 Patrick Schultz on the hill, and he gave up 0 earned runs on 1 hit and 0 walks with 1 strike out.  In the fourth inning, #10 John Davis made his pitching debut for the 14U Braves and struck out the #3, #4, and #5 Trojans' hitters on 15 efficient pitches.  Davis' performance was followed by another 14U Braves' pitching debut by #2 Sam Ayers who went 2/3 of an inning and gave up 2 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with 0 strike outs.  Finally, #1 Nick Sexton closed out the final 1-1/3 innings and gave up 0 earned runs on 1 hit and 1 walk with 0 strike outs.  The Braves defense played well behind the 5-man pitching staff, committing only 1 error that allowed the Trojans' first run to score.  #16 Nathaniel Maggio also made his 14U Braves debut behind the dish and did a fine job managing the game.

Next up, the Braves travel to Greensboro, NC, this weekend for our first of three USSSA Super NIT tournaments.

The Braves returned to ECB this afternoon for a rematch against the Georgia Prospects in the semi-finals of the USTBA Spring Nationals tournament.  It's always a tough challenge to defeat a team two times in as many days, and the Prospects proved early in the game that they were up to the challenge of the rematch.  When the dust settled after 7 innings, the score was tied 6-6.  Then, in the decisive 8th inning, a hit batter and a deep yard ball over the left side wall gave the Prospects their winning run and an insurance run to defeat the Braves 8-6.

Offensively, our 5 total hits included a couple of well-stroked, extra base hits.  The first was an RBI TRIPLE hit deep in the left field gap by #33 Stephen Wrenn in the 2nd inning that capped a 4-run inning to tie the game at 4 apiece.  The other extra base hit came in the bottom of the 5th inning when lead-off hitter #2 Sam Ayers cranked a deep drive also to the left side gap.  In the same inning, Ayers and Wrenn, who was intentionally walked, scored on a 2 RBI single to right field by #19 Ryan Murphy.  Those runs gave the Braves a temporary 6-5 lead late in the game.  Our other hits were singles off the bats of #12 Will Schnure and #3 Cole Higbie.

Defensively, we once again used a 4-man pitching staff who combined to only allow 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 6 walks with 8 strike outs.  However, our walks, defensive errors, and passed balls at the plate were key factors in the Prospects 6 unearned runs.  On the positive side, right fielder #19 Ryan Murphy and center fielder #33 Stephen Wrenn each made tough catches in the outfield on well-hit balls by the Prospects.  Pitcher #44 Jordan Brown and catcher #3 Cole Higbie combined to tag out a Prospects' runner caught between home and third base in 3rd inning.  And, Higbie also created a critical out to stop another scoring threat on a passed ball that he flipped while laying on his back to pitcher #11 CJ Brazil to end the 7th inning and preserve a 6-6 tie game.  Catcher #12 Will Schnure also gunned down a base runner stealing second base in the top of the 8th inning.

The Braves now take 7 days off for Spring Break and will resume baseball during the week of April 12.

The second half of the Braves' twilight double-header in the USTBA Spring Nationals tournament at ECB this evening saw the home team Braves bust out the bats early and score in every inning of the time-shortened, 6-1/2 inning contest.  Scoring 11 runs from 11 hits came mostly from the bottom half of the order tonight as all of our players stepped up to support a team victory.  The 11-5 win secured a #2 seed in tomorow's American Division Championship bracket and the opportunity to play the #3 seed Georgia Prospects a second time in as many days.

Offensively, #44 Jordan Brown led the hitting attack with a 3 for 3 effort that included two solidly hit singles and an RBI DOUBLE to the right field corner.  Brown also scored 2 runs and was responsible for a second RBI.  Another strong effort was turned in by #3 Cole Higbie who reached in all three of his at-bats on 2 singles and an error by the Titan's infield.  The offensive highlight of the evening was a "DOUBLE STEAL, 2 RBI BUNT SINGLE" executed perfectly by Higbie that scored #2 Sam Ayers from third base and #7 Tyler Weyenberg from second base.  As the Titan's pitcher, catcher, and first baseman all converged on the right side bunt to make a play, all three Braves runners advanced safely with first base and home plate being left uncovered.  Higbie also scored 3 runs in addition to his 2 RBI's.  Adding to Brown's extra base hit, #11 CJ Brazil launched a DOUBLE to the left field corner in the third inning.  Our other hits were all singles off the bats of #12 Will Schnure, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #19 Ryan Murphy, #33 Stephen Wrenn, and #1 Nick Sexton.

Defensively, the Braves fielders picked up a sub-par pitching effort with decent play overall in the field.  However, three infield errors enabled 3 unearned runs to score for the Titans as our 4-man pitching staff combined to allow a season-high 11 walks.  Our lone defensive highlight came in the top of the third inning as the Titan's lead-off batter was thrown out on a dropped third strike by #3 Cole Higbie who had to hustle from behind the dish to the fence on the third base side and make a long, accurate throw to first base for the out.

In our opening game of a twilight double header in the USTBA Spring Nationals tournament at ECB this evening, the visiting Braves took a hard fought, 1-0 lead into the seventh inning against the Georgia Prospects.  In the final frame, a towering TRIPLE by #8 Patrick Schultz and three errors by the Prospects' defense powered the Braves to a 4-1 win.

Offensively, the Braves returned to old habits with a relatively slow start across the first 6 frames.  But, unlike last weekend, there were some sparks in the early innings that indicated we were on the verge of improving our run production.  #33 Stephen Wrenn reached on a dropped third strike in the 1st inning, and #8 Patrick Schultz accomplished the same feat in the 4th inning.  Our first of only two hits came in the 2nd inning when #12 Will Schnure blasted a DOUBLE into the left field corner.  Attentive baserunning by Schnure enabled him to advance to third and score the Braves first run on passed balls charged to the Prospects' catcher.  The final blow, however, was saved until the final inning, as #8 Patrick Schultz led off the 7th inning with his deep shot to the left field gap.  The Prospects then imploded with 3 defensive errors across the next 5 Braves batters providing 3 unearned insurance runs that were more than enough to hold up for the victory.

Defensively, #33 Stephen Wrenn was on the hill and turned in the Braves first complete, 7 inning game of the season.  Wrenn demonstrated masterful control thoughout the game and only gave up 1 earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks with a season-high 10 strike outs.  His strike-to-ball ratio was in excess of 2 as he kept the Prospects' hitters off balance all night.  Our defense also executed a proper run-down between second and third base, and #12 Will Schnure picked off a runner attempting to steal second base on perfect strike to shortstop #10 John Davis.

In our last of four games today in the USSSA East Cobb Qualifier, the Braves squared off for the first time this season against the East Cobb Astros.  The time-shortened, four inning contest saw the Braves score 2 runs on 4 hits while giving up 7 runs on 8 hits.  Wind chill temperatures dipped into the lower 40's as both teams completed a long, 9+ hour day at the ECB complex.

Offensively, #10 John Davis recorded a single in the first inning on a line drive ripped through the middle.  Davis and #19 Ryan Murphy, who reached on a walk, later scored on a combination of passed balls and a balk to tie the game at 2-2 after 1 inning.  Then, down 7-2 in the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Braves threatened on a single by #33 Stephen Wrenn to left-center, another single by #10 John Davis to right-center, and a walk by #8 Patrick Schultz to load the bases.  But, two infield ground-outs and a fly ball to right field prevented the Braves from capitalizing.  Again, in the bottom of the fourth and final frame, the Braves again got 2 men on base with a walk by #7 Tyler Weyenberg and a single to right field by #12 Will Schnure.  But, an infield ground-out and two infield flies got the Astros out of the inning to end the game.

Defensively, #33 Stephen Wrenn pitched 2-1/3 innings and gave up 6 earned runs 4 hits and 3 walks with 2 strike outs.  #1 Nick Sexton relieved Wrenn in the 3rd inning and pitched the final 1-2/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 4 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out.

We should have never been in the position to lose our third game of the USSSA East Cobb Qualifier tournament in the fifth and final frame.  But, after leaving 10 baserunners on base in the first four innings (including bases loaded in the first three innings), the Braves fell prey to a blown Infield Fly Rule call with 1 out and the bases loaded again in the top of the fifth inning that ended the game in a 4-3 loss to the Ohio Heat from Fairfield, Ohio.

According to MLB and High School rules, the Infield Fly Rule was properly applied today when, with bases loaded and one out, #8 Patrick Schultz popped up a high fly ball that was misplayed and landed in fair territory on the infield turf just a few feet away from the Heat's first baseman.  But, the Infield Fly rule also clearly states that baserunners may advance at their own risk following an enforcement of the Infield Fly Rule, and that ALL FORCE PLAYS ARE REMOVED since the batter has been previously called out.  So, when #12 Will Schnure advanced from third base to homeplate following the missed infield fly and slid across the plate and into the Heat catcher's ankle as he reached to catch the ball from his first baseman, only the homeplate umpire (and, to be fair, the faithful fans in Heat's bleachers) saw the mysterious tag that yielded the Braves' last out.  The moral to the story:  The game is played by human beings and umpired by human beings, so one can only expect that errors will be made from time to time.

Offensively, #19 Ryan Murphy led the way with a 3 for 3 trifecta of singles on a blast over the centerfield's head, a liner to right field, and a rip down the third base line.  Murphy also factored heavily in the Braves run production, accounting for 2 runs himself and recording the other run via an RBI.  Our 10 total hits included additional singles from #33 Stephen Wrenn, #10 John Davis, #7 Tyler Weyenberg, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, #2 Sam Ayers, #21 Brian Kehner, and #12 Will Schnure.  But, 5 infield put-outs (including a 1-2-3 infield double play), 1 baserunner caught stealing, 2 strike outs, 4 outfield flies, 2 infield flies, and the final put-out at the plate following the Infield Fly Rule came at unfortunate times and only enabled the Braves to score 3 runs.

Defensively, #11 CJ Brazil pitched 2 innings and gave up 0 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks with 2 strike outs.  #3 Cole Higbie relieved Brazil in the 3rd inning and pitched 2/3 of the inning, giving up 0 earned runs on 2 hits and 1 walk with 0 strike outs.  #21 Brian Kehner relieved Higbie with two outs in the 3rd inning and pitched the final 1-1/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 0 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  Kehner's effort on the mound included a "hurry-up" fourth inning with the game clock expiring that yielded three quick ground-outs to short, second, and third, thus enabling the Braves to come to the plate for a chance to win in the top of the 5th inning.  But, it was not to be.

The Braves' second round robin game in the USSSA East Cobb Qualifier was a time-shortened, 3-1/2 inning thriller against a hard hitting Indiana Bandits Baseball Club from Greenfield, Indiana.  Despite the Braves' 4 defensive errors and 5 walks that contributed to the Bandits 5 unearned runs, we managed to swing the bats for timely hits and excellent run production.

Offensively, our hitting and scoring finally got underway EARLY in the game when #33 Stephen Wrenn connected for his second HOME RUN of the season on a 1-2 pitch in his lead off at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.  #19 Ryan Murphy was then hit by the Bandits pitcher and took second base on a subsequent balk by the Bandits pitcher.  #10 John Davis moved Murphy to third on a single through the left side, and then #8 Patrick Schultz crushed an RBI DOUBLE to the right field gap to score Murphy.  But, trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Braves showed that they weren't finished offensively.  #1 Nick Sexton led off the bottom half of the 2nd inning with a walk, and then #7 Tyler Weyenberg drilled an inside pitch past the Bandits' first baseman for a single that sent Sexton to second base.  A nifty, delayed double steal then moved Sexton and Weyenberg into scoring position.  #33 Stephen Wrenn next walked to load the bases and was followed by an RBI walk by #2 Sam Ayers to score Sexton.  Both Weyenberg and Wrenn later scored on passed balls by the Bandits pitcher ahead of yet another walk issued to #10 John Davis.  This set the stage for Davis to purposefully get into a run-down between first and second base that enabled Ayers to steal home and score the go-ahead run just ahead of Davis being tagged out.  With a 6-5 lead going into the the 3rd inning, that was all the offensive the Braves needed to record their second win of the tournament.

Defensively, #16 Nathaniel Maggio pitched 1-1/3 innings and gave up 0 earned runs on 4 hits and 4 walks with 1 strike out.  #21 Brian Kehner relieved Maggio in the 2nd inning and pitched 1-2/3 innings, giving up 0 earned runs on 3 hits and 0 walks with 1 strike out, picking up the win.  #1 Nick Sexton recorded the Save in the final inning, giving up 0 earned runs on 0 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.  The Braves middle infield factored into the 4-run second inning for the Bandits on two of our overall four defensive errors.  But, the Braves' offense picked up the defense and powered the team to a 6-5 win.

After three solid days of rain on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the USSSA East Cobb Qualifier finally got underway today with each of the 5 tournament teams playing four, 5-inning, round robin games against one another.  The Homeplate Chili Dogs from Peachtree City were the Braves Game #1 opponent as a chilling wind swirled through the ECB complex.  It looked like it might be a long, cold day as the Chili Dogs only gave up 2 hits and 1 walk across the first four frames and took a 2-0 lead into the 5th and final inning.  Then, the Braves finally got things going with a lead-off walk and three straight singles that enabled us to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the inning and win the game by the same score.

Offensively, #11 CJ Brazil recorded the Braves first hit with a two-out DOUBLE to the left field gap in the top of the 3rd inning.  The 3rd inning also featured two well-struck, line drives off the bats of #44 Jordan Brown and #33 Stephen Wrenn that were snagged by the Chili Dogs third and first basemen respectively.  In the 4th inning, #19 Ryan Murphy hit a lone, one-out single to the left field gap and #10 John Davis ripped another line drive that was snagged by the Chili Dogs pitcher.  Finally, inspired by these hard contacts that unfortunately yielded no runs, the tide turned in the 5th and final inning for the Braves' offense.  #8 Patrick Shultz led off with a walk and moved to second base on a passed ball.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg then shot a grounder through the middle that moved Shultz to third base.  #12 Will Schnure then connected on his second pitch with a deep shot to the right field gap, scoring Schultz and sending Weyenberg to third base.  #44 Jordan Brown then chopped an infield single to the right side, scoring Weyenberg (to tie the game) and sending #3 Cole Higbie (running for Schnure) to third base.  Then, facing #11 CJ Brazil, the Chili Dogs' pitcher commited a BALK, enabling Higbie to score what would be the winning run.

Defensively, #44 Jordan Brown pitched a complete (5-inning) game and gave up 0 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 5 strike outs.  In the bottom of the 5th inning with the 3-2 lead, Brown looked strong as got the first Chili Dogs' batter to ground out to shortstop and then wrung up the next two batters to end the game.  #12 Will Schnure also turned in a stellar defensive effort, throwing out 2 baserunners at second base and putting out 2 more baserunners at the plate with assists from #44 Jordan Brown from the mound and #33 Stephen Wrenn from centerfield.

The Braves' plans for a full day of baseball on a beautiful spring Sunday were cut short this morning in the Triple Crown March Mayhem tournament as the 5-Tool Nationals from Moultrie, GA, used consistent pitching and timely hitting to eliminate the Braves in the first round of the Gold Championship brackets at the ECB complex.  Taking a 3-1 lead into the top of the 4th inning, the 5-Tool Nationals leveraged a lead-off walk, an infield single, and a shallow left field bloop to trigger a 5 run inning that left the Braves in a deep 8-1 hole.  From there, we only managed 2 more runs while leaving 4 base runners on base to suffer the 8-3 loss.

Offensively, this morning's highlight was a 3 for 3 effort by #1 Nick Sexton who drilled a single down the right field line and shot two more singles into shallow left field.  Our six other hits were also singles that came off the bats of #33 Stephen Wrenn, #10 John Davis, #19 Ryan Murphy, #12 Will Schnure, #11 CJ Brazil, and #7 Tyler Weyenberg.  But, our hits were spread too far apart and were poorly mixed with 5 strike outs, thus yielding our low run production.

Defensively, the Braves turned in a sub-par effort as we never really seemed to hit our groove.  Three critical throwing errors in the 4th inning contributed to the 5-spot put up by the 5-Tool Nationals.  On the mound, #33 Stephen Wrenn, #21 Brian Kehner, #11 CJ Brazil, and #44 Jordan Brown combined for 10 strike outs to record just over half of the total outs in the time-shortened, six inning contest.

The Braves answered the early wake-up call today to convincingly defeat the Alpharetta Jr. Raiders in our second Pool Game of the Triple Crown March Mayhem tournament.  Yet another strong defensive outing supported by timely hitting and a host of Raider defensive & pitching errors enabled the Braves to win 16-1 in 4 innings at American Legion Field in Alpharetta.

Offensively, the home team Braves lit up the first inning with 6 runs after allowing the Raiders to load the bases on three solid hits in the top half of the inning.  Our first inning production was the result of a line-drive DOUBLE past the second baseman by #16 Nathaniel Maggio and 3 singles off the bats of #10 John Davis, #8 Patrick Schultz, and #11 CJ Brazil.  Our second inning yielded 5 more runs on only 2 singles off the bats at #8 Patrick Schultz and #12 Will Schnure.  Our third inning yielded 3 more runs on just 1 hit, a single by #10 John Davis.  Finally, our fourth and final inning brought an end to the contest as the "15 runs after 4 innings" Mercy Rule was enforced after lead-off singles by #3 Cole Higbie and #12 Will Schnure that were followed by 3 more Raider pitching and defensive errors.

Defensively, #33 Stephen Wrenn and #8 Patrick Schultz split the four inning contest on the mound.  Wrenn gave up 0 runs on 4 hits with 1 strike out and 1 walk, and Schultz gave up 1 unearned run on 0 hits with 3 strike outs and 3 walks.  Aside from a couple of infield hits by the Raiders that could have gone for outs, the Braves' defense continued to show improvement.

The Braves played our first Pool Game in the Triple Crown March Mayhem tournament this evening at ECB and recorded our first shut out of the season with a 5-0 win over the Kennesaw Mustangs.  Our defense played exceptionally well once again as our fielders combined with our 3-man pitching staff to record a 1-hit shut out.

Offensively, the visiting Braves jumped out on the Mustangs in the 1st inning to take a 2-0 lead on lead-off walks by #33 Stephen Wrenn and #1 Nick Sexton, followed by a single off the bat of #19 Ryan Murphy.  #33 Stephen Wrenn also recorded a single in the third inning and scored on errors by the Mustang defense to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.  Wrenn produced another single in the 6th inning and was moved along the base paths on a sacrifice bunt by #1 Nick Sexton and a sacrifice fly by #19 Ryan Murphy to extend our lead to 4-0.  Then, in the 7th and final inning, #16 Nathaniel Maggio crushed a lead-off DOUBLE and later scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of #11 CJ Brazil for the 5-0 victory.

Defensively, #11 CJ Brazil pitched brilliantly through 4 innings, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits with 5 strike outs and 3 walks.  #21 Brian Kehner kept the no-hit shut out alive through the 5th and 6th innings, giving up 0 runs on 0 hits with 1 strike out and 1 walk.  Then, #16 Nathaniel Maggio completed the shut out in the 7th inning, giving up 0 runs on 1 hit with 1 strike out and 0 walks.  The Braves' defense was fundamentally strong behind our pitching performance as we recorded a win in our first tournament game of the 2009 season.

The Braves put together our most "complete package" of the young season with a mix of great hitting, base-running, pitching, and defense in a 12-2 win over the Cherokee Jr. Warriors at ECB this evening.

Offensively, the Braves' 12 runs came from 9 hits, 4 walks, and 4 defensive errors by the Warriors.  #8 Patrick Schultz got the hitting and scoring started in the 1st inning on a DOUBLE to the right field gap.  #1 Nick Sexton continued the extra-base trend in the 2nd inning with a 1-RBI DOUBLE to the left field gap that scored #3 Cole Higbie.  #21 Brian Kehner continued the hitting in the 3rd with a 1-RBI hit & run single just over the shortstop that scored Sexton.  The 3rd inning yielded another DOUBLE by #19 Ryan Murphy followed by singles off the bats of #10 John Davis and #12 Will Schnure.  All three hitters also scored in the inning to put the Braves ahead 6-3 after 3 innings.  In the bottom of the 4th inning, #1 Nick Sexton crushed his second DOUBLE of the game to leadoff the inning.  #7 Tyler Weyenberg and #19 Ryan Murphy followed later in the inning with singles and the Warriors defense broke down to enable the Braves to put 4 more runs on the board.  Then, in the bottom of the 5th inning, the Braves Mercy Ruled the Warriors (10 runs after 5 innings) when #12 Will Schnure reached on an error, #11 CJ Brazil walked, and #3 Cole Higbie sacrifice flied to center field.

Defensively, the Braves put together a total team effort, committing no defensive errors while making routine plays look routine.  On the hill, #1 Nick Sexton pitched the first 2 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 2 strike outs and 2 walks.  #19 Ryan Murphy also pitched 2 innings, allowing 0 runs on 0 hits with 1 strike out and 0 walks.  And, #21 Brian Kehner closed out the final inning, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits with 1 strike out and 0 walks.

The Braves managed 4 runs on just 3 hits in a twilight matchup against the Sandy Plains Wildcats at East Cobb this evening to record our fourth win of the season.  Down 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th inning, the Braves showed some early season toughness as we battled back to win the game.

Offensively, it once again took the Braves a few innings to get our bats working effectively.  Leading off in the 4th inning for our second run through the batting order, #33 Stephen Wrenn connected on a fastball and sent it to the right field gap for the game's first hit and the team's first TRIPLE of the season.  #11 CJ Brazil followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Wrenn and put the Braves up 1-0.  Our scoring continued in the 5th inning when #8 Patrick Schultz reached on a dropped third strike by the Wildcats' catcher.  Schultz then advanced to 2nd base on a passed ball and was batted forward to 3rd base and scored on an errant throw by the Wildcats pitcher following a full-swing bunt off the bat of #19 Ryan Murphy.  Then, in the final frame down 3-2, the Braves loaded the bases as #10 John Davis reached on an error, #16 Nathaniel Maggio recorded the game's second hit on a liner to left field, and #2 Sam Ayers was intentionally walked.  With 1 out, #1 Nick Sexton squared to bunt on a first pitch suicide squeeze and laid down the ball on the third base line just a few feet from the Wildcats' catcher as #10 John Davis barreled into home plate to tie the game.  It then only took 4 more pitches to #19 Ryan Murphy who recorded the Braves 4th walk of the game and the winning RBI.

Defensively, the Braves improved dramatically from our last outing and recorded only 1 error.  On the hill, #33 Stephen Wrenn pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 4 strike outs and 0 walks.  #1 Nick Sexton pitched the final 2 frames and gave up 0 earned runs on 2 hits with 1 strike out and 1 walk.  It was a true team effort defensively which gives the Braves some positive momentum to build upon.

The Braves took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon and a formidable competitor in Team Georgia to play another scrimmage game in the early 2009 season.  Batting all 13 players and switching up the defense in each inning to gain insights for tournaments to come, the Braves unfortunately allowed Team Georgia to capitalize on 6 unearned runs from 7 defensive errors that enabled a 10-6 win over the Braves.

Offensively, the Braves manufactured a run in the 1st inning on a lead-off walk by #33 Stephen Wrenn.  Wrenn quickly moved himself into scoring position on a stolen base to second and was then batted forward to third base on a 6-3 put-out off the bat of #19 Ryan Murphy.  Then, #8 Patrick Schultz crushed a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Braves ahead 1-0.  But, aside from a 2-out single to shallow left field by #7 Tyler Weyenberg in the 2nd inning, the Braves' bats were silenced over the next four frames.  It wasn't until the 6th inning with the Braves down 8-1 that some signs of life reemerged as #44 Jordan Brown, #3 Cole Higbie, and #21 Brian Kehner recorded singles in the inning.  But, the net result of those 3 hits only yielded 1 run.  Finally, in the 7th and final frame with the score 10-2, the Braves' bats continued to awaken with singles by #19 Ryan Murphy, #16 Nathaniel Maggio, and #7 Tyler Weyenberg.  The offensive highlight of the inning and game was a towering, RBI DOUBLE to the right field gap by #2 Sam Ayers.  But, the 4 runs put up by the Braves in the final inning were simply not enough to compensate for the earlier errors.

Defensively, the Braves' errors masked a decent outing by #44 Jordan Brown and #21 Brian Kehner who each pitched 3 innings.  Brown gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 0 walks with 2 strike outs, while Kehner gave up 1 earned run on 4 hits and 1 walk with 1 strike out.

The Braves completed the Astros Invitational at ECB on a chilly Saturday evening with a rather flat game against a scrappy 14U South Oakland A's team from Madison Heights, MI.  With a 3-1 lead going into the sixth and final inning (due to the 2-hour time limit), the Braves defense yielded 2 earned runs and 3 unearned runs to put us into a hole that proved to be too deep.  When the dust settled, the A's recorded a 6-4 victory that left the Braves faithful wondering what could have been.

Offensively, we only managed 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks.  Our scoring began in the bottom of the third inning on a lead-off walk by #19 Ryan Murphy who then advanced to second on a balk, to third on a passed ball, and to home plate on another passed ball.  It continued in the bottom of the fifth inning on a lead-off single to the right field gap by #16 Nathaniel Maggio that was followed by an RBI DOUBLE to the left field gap by #8 Patrick Schultz.  #19 Ryan Murphy then clubbed an RBI single to shallow right field to put the Braves up by two insurance runs.  But, the insurance came up short in the top of the sixth inning as our defense gave up 5 runs on 5 singles and 1 walk.  The Braves could only muster one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning after #1 Nick Sexton led-off with a towering DOUBLE to the right field gap and later scored on an infield single by #33 Stephen Wrenn.

Defensively, three Braves pitchers combined to record 8 strike outs with 8 hits, 3 walks, and 2 earned runs.

Today, Shane Monahan officially took the helm of the 14U East Cobb Braves as Head Coach.  Joining the team at their indoor hitting practice at Kell High School, Shane's presence was felt immediately as the retired Major Leaguer assessed swings and checked out arms.

An alumnus of East Cobb Baseball and a 1992 graduate of Wheeler High School, Shane was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 18th round of the 1992 amateur draft.  Instead, he decided to attend Clemson University where he became a three-time All-American and three-time All-Conference baseball player.  In 1995, he was chosen as the ACC Player of the Year.  That year, Shane was selected in the second round of the amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners.  Then, at 23 years old, he broke into the big leagues on July 9, 1998.  He played in the outfield for the Mariners and retired from professional baseball in 2003.

The Braves family welcomes the Monahan family to East Cobb Baseball.

The 14U East Cobb Braves baseball team is an elite travel team with the prestigious East Cobb Baseball program in Marietta, Georgia.  Under the direction of retired MLB player, Shane Monahan, the team is comprised of some of the finest youth baseball players in the metro Atlanta area.  Since joining ECB in 2005, the Braves have played in the USSSA Majors, Triple Crown, USTBA, and other nationally recognized tournaments.  We have also been nationally ranked in the top 20 teams within our age bracket.  Our home is the East Cobb Baseball Complex, one of the finest youth baseball facilities in the southeastern United States.

The purpose of the East Cobb Braves Baseball program is to allow young men who have a passion for baseball to learn the game at a higher level and to play quality baseball throughout the season.  Our program endeavors to insure that the experience is one that the players will remember for the rest of their life.  Over the past four years, our program has enabled coaches, parents, and teammates to forge a bond of friendship that will endure forever.  This season, we are excited to build new friendships with our new Head Coach, players, and families.

For the latest updates on the team, read the News on this site.  Or, click here to contact Head Coach Shane Monahan for more information.