Here's The World Famous Recipe:
Make a bad call, let the opposing coach influence you, conference with another official, change your call (causing others to question your credibility), explain to the other coach how you realized you made the wrong call, walk down the first base line & argue with visiting fans, continue arguing with visiting fans, try to remove a visiting fan, argue some more (with that fan), ask the fan to please go "down there" (pointing down the right field line), tell the fan it was a judgement call and that the fan yelling could cause your judgement calls to get worse (as your credibility flies out the window), losing control and offering the fan $3.00 to go "down there", once the fan leaves the bleachers and moves to the outfield fence (as instructed by the umpire & coordinator), allow the third base coach to once again stop the game to approach you regarding the fan not leaving the park (as he ASSUMED the fan was told to do), conference with the coordinator regarding the "fan" matter, and finally PLAY BALL (after burning up 15 minutes of gametime), tell the visiting coach he could have ONE EXTRA MINUTE of gametime,allow NO time consideration for a 15 minute BLUNDER that should have taken all of 10 seconds (by simply making the right call to begin with), yell "BALLGAME!" with two outs in a 1 one run game @ the originally scheduled gametime, as players and coaches are shaking hands when asked about the extra minute, say "You want the extra minute, you can have 1 minute." WHAT!!!??? Are you KIDDING ME!!!??? Nope...It really happened.
There you have it...A perfectly cooked 3 course meal in 15 minutes, hot & ready for the home team to ENJOY!!!
On Monday night the Express jumped out to an early 6-3 lead against the ultra-competitive Sooners of Mustang. As expected, the visiting team did battle back. Scoring the maximum in the second, the Sooners took back command of the contest. DK offered some much-needed relief, and kept his team in the game. With the scoreboard showing a 10-7 Sooner lead, and the bottom of the order coming up heading into the last of the final frame, the Express needed something special...and they GOT IT!!! Kade Hileman led off with a hit. Dillon Goddard followed with a base-knock of his own. Two strikeouts later, Rhett Kouba stepped to the plate. With the runners going on the crack of the bat, Kouba hit a ball where they weren't, driving in two. Dallon Koehn followed with a HUGE double, scoring Rhett, and tying the game @ 10. Gage Armold, who was battling the stomach flu, ripped a two-strike pitch in the gap for the GAME WINNER!!! OMG!!! How much more exciting does it get??!! Kudos to #5 & #23 for getting into scoring position. Our one-two-three hitters flat came through for us tonight, going 7 for 8 and scoring 6 runs when we needed them to. Express win their 17th game of the season, upping their wins/losses to 17-4. This train pulls into Mustang next Tuesday night for a much anticipated regular season rubber-match against the Sooners. Enjoy your time off boys, and come back ready to do some more damage!
The Express traveled to Kingfisher to test the 10 year old waters over the weekend. In their first game they took on a solid 10 yr. old Kinfisher team. The Express held a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th. The older Jacket team drew a pair of walks and took advantage of a ball lost in the sun to score three, and send the game into extra innings. In the extra frame, Kale Owen struck out the first two batters but allowed the base on balls to the third batter. Two pass balls later, the Jackets scored the winning run 4-3. Not bad for a buncha kids.
In the second game, El Reno took their frustration out on an unassuming Cashion team. Four innings later, after some explosive offense and good base running, the scoreboard read...14-5. The Express took 2nd in their pool and moved onto play the "younger" Kingfisher team.
On Sunday a pitcher simply known as "Nick" was BLOWING GAS!!! Unlike anything we had seen before (and maybe won't see again until high school) the velocity was too much for the Express. Despite Gage getting a two-out hit and scoring to tie the game @ 1 after one, the Express would not score again. The Jackets left their starter in for the maximum (15) outs allowed, and held on to win 5-1. Coach Chris had this to say after the game "That's what I call RESPECT!"
In their final game of the tournament the Express blew off a little steam of their own in a 12-5 blowout en route to a third place finish. A key performance by Kale Owen broke out going 3 for 3 and scoring three, helped the cause. This game was not nearly as close as the score indicated. Everyone played their hearts out this weekend. The players battled the heat, as well as the toughest competition they'd ever faced. Overall, it was a successful weekend, as El Reno prepared to host the Sooners on Monday night. Leaving the ballfield in Kingfisher the Express had improved their overall record to 16-4. Way to hang with the BIG BOYS, Express!!!
FYI...
Game times for pool play on Saturday are 10:30AM and Noon. We will play on the east field at the Kinfisher complex, and are guaranteed two games on Sunday TBA. Hope to see everyone out at the ballpark this weekend!!!
In what must be the loooongest 2 inning game of all time, the Express took their sweet time dismantling the Piedmont Patriots onTuesday night. El Reno scored 6 runs in just under 25 minutes in the top of the first inning. Outscoring the Patriots 12-2 through 1 1/2, the Express allowed 5 in the bottom of the second. To recap, our boys didn't hit the ball that well, but played above average defense. In all fairness, our hitters didn't see alot of pitches to hit, and were extremely disciplined at the plate. Josh Castrop was solid in his first outing on the mound in a few weeks. Cooper reached on an infield hit, Zac drew a key walk, and both scored. Gage was a surprise in his career debut behind home plate. "Overall, a solid day at the ballpark for the visiting team. We got some good work in tonight." said Coach Chris, after the game.
With the win, the Express up there overall record to 14-2. Superb!!!
On Monday night in El Reno, the Express looked to better their record vs. the Yukon Storm. El Reno jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, the Storm battled back, and evened the score. Dallon pitched well, and got some help from the guys behind him. Seth Camper caught a fly ball in center, and double up the runner on second. Cooper Howard had a HUGE catch as well. Dillon and Gage were solid up the middle, and once again Kale was good behind the plate. Rhett K. came in to finish the game on the mound and pitched very well. With the score tied, and game time expired, Rhett Gathers led off with a walk, stole second, stole third and scored on a winning RBI hit by Dillon Goddard. Fantastic!!!
The Express travels to Piedmont tonight to take on the Patriots for the first time this season...Best of Luck Guys!!!
Early in the season the Mustang Titans traveled to El Reno and gave the Express a run for their money. With some nice defense, the Titans kept it close, but the Express were able to hang on for a 6-3 victory.
This past Tuesday, the boys from El Reno visited the Titans home park, with thoughts of the first meeting on their mind. The Express were up first, and did not dissapoint. Kouba, Koehn, Armold and Owen all had hits to begin the game. Then, with two on and two in, Josh Castrop stepped into the batter's box. One pitch later he was in his home run trot, after planting a ball over the left field fence. When he crossed home plate (grinning from ear to ear), the score had increased to 5-0. Gage Armold had the best outing of his young pitching career, going two innings, allowing no hits and only two base-runners. After cruising to an 11-1 lead, the Express allowed 5 meaningless runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. When time expired, the El Reno boys had won their 12th game of the season by a score of 11-6. Nice going guys...Way to go!!!
The Express can now concentrate on a Monday game night against a familiar foe, the Yukon Storm. This will be the first meeting of the season for these two teams, and promises to be a good one. Hope to see everyone at the ballpark!!!
The Express hosted the Bulldogs from Mustang tonight. With their bats a-blazin' the Express jumped out to 6-3 lead after one inning, and never looked back. Kale Owen and Seth Camper were a nice combination on the mound, and Rhett Kouba had a solid outing begind the plate. The real FIREWORKS came when Owen hit a ball off the top of the center field fence, followed by "Big" Josh Castrop hitting a Rocket that cleared the wall. Throw in a little defense, and you have a 12-6 victory for the home team. Great Outing Guys!!!
After improving their overall record to 11-2, El Reno travels to Mustang tomorrow night to take on the Titans...Good Luck Express!!!
After a late night at the ballpark in Mustang the night before, it would not have been a surprise if the Express showed up tonight a little sluggish for a game with the Patriots. Kale Owen began the game with two strong innings on the mound. Combined with some salty hitting and aggressive base-running, El Reno dominated 12-4. Another impressive outing for our baseball team. The Express improve their season record to 10-2, and have a week to get ready to host Mustang Bulldogs on Monday.
Note from Coach Chris: These boys have put in their time, and improved every week since we began practicing some 8 weeks ago. Their hard work has paid off early in the season...Awesome Job Guys!!! With over a month to go in the season, we will stay the course, have fun and get better everyday!!! This team is beginning to take shape, and players have stepped up to the plate when challenged. I couldn't be more proud of this group of young athletes. Keep up the GREAT WORK!!! Parents / Fans we could not be where we are today without your support. The coaching staff wants you to know how much we sincerely appreciate you being there night in and night out, and offering your assistance on a daily basis. Sponsorship has exceeded our expectations, and what you see on the field, could not be possible without that kind of generosity. Thanks to everyone involved with keeping this train rolling down the track!!!
Express Baseball opened their 2008 tournament play in Mustang over the weekend. The PCO Titans were first up for El Reno in round 1. The Express won the contest 8-0, behind fantastic pitching from Seth Camper and Rhett Gathers. Up next were the Bulldogs. The Express came out hammering the baseball, including a double and a triple by Josh Castrop, jumped out early...and never looked back...cruising to a 12-3 victory. This win set up a re-match with the Sooners on Sunday, who had handed the Express their only loss of the season. A shaky start put the El Reno boys in hole they, with the help of Dallon Koehn, would eventually dig out of. The Express never gave up, and came from behind to win 6-5, advancing to the tournament finals. In the final game, it was the Sooners again. In a rubber match, things fell apart a bit for the boys in Royal & Black. When it appeared the Express would battle back with "rockets" off of the bats of Rhett Gathers, Gage Armold & Kade Hileman.."We hit it right at 'em, and they made the plays. That's baseball." said coach Chris after the game. The Express dropped the contest 10-2 and had to settle for 2nd place. Bringing their overall record to 9-2.
Next the El Reno Express team played a pair against the Wildcats from Piedmont. First at home, our boys had little trouble dismantling the Wildcats 16-1. The following night in Piedmont, the home team jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Express battled back. When the smoke had cleared, the visiting team had come back to win in convincing fashion 13-6. The Express overall record improved to 6-1 with the victory.
The El Reno Express is BACK!!! Back and stronger than ever!!! Cruising to two victories by a combined margin of 29-3 in the preseason, we're off to the sound of Rolling Thunder!!!
Stay tuned for more updates!!!
It's BASEBALL season everybody...come out to the ballpark and have some fun!!!
