Don't Go Soft, Play Hardball!

2011 Pacific Division Champion Braves Season Highlights

2011 Pacific Champion Braves Celebrating!
Braves celebrating their Pacific Title! (Photo by Chris Hindenes, Andy Evert's Mom).

Regular Season Summary

2011 Pacific Champion Braves Team Photo!
(Front Row) Paul Codiga, Paul Woo, Dave Smith, Gabe Resendez, Andy Evert, Anthony Barron (Back Row) Dave Painter, Tom Herrington, Greg Rodrigues, Conan Tzou, George Lee, Miguel Alvarez, Jim Bellew (Not Pictured) Dominic Bejarano, Ben Carrasco, Bubba Cordeiro, Andy Gonzalez, Mito Guel, Ray Munoz, Zach Phelps (Photo by Chris Hindenes, Andy Evert's Mom).

Starting off the season with several new players (5 at the beginning and two later in July), we started off the season in typical Braves fashion, a little slow out of the gate. After the first half of the season we were 3-6-1 and floundering a bit. We started rolling in the second half, once July hit, going 9-1 in our last ten games; a huge boost provided by many of the new players. Overall, valuable contributions were made by everyone, which is reflected in the overall team batting average.

We finished the regular season 12-7-1 with a team batting average of .359.

Regular Season Hitting Highlights

Regular Season Pitching Highlights

Playoff Summary

Andy Evert Celebrating The Braves Pacific Title!
Andy Evert celebrating the Braves Pacific Title! (Photo by Chris Hindenes, Andy Evert's Mom).

We opened the playoffs as the #3 seed against the #2 seeded White Sox at Oak Grove HS. The White Sox held first place for most of the season until the last day, when the Red Sox won two and jumped over them for the #1 seed.

Semi-Finals Game One

Game One turned into a pitching duel between Tom Herrington of the Braves and Erik Herboldshimer of the White Sox. The White Sox took a 2-0 lead going into the sixth with an unearned run in the first and a rbi single by Lopez in the fourth. The Braves scored in the sixth on a single and stolen base by Herrington and an rbi single by Jim Bellew. In the top of the ninth, Paul Codiga gets hit by a pitch and scores from first on an rbi double by Bellew, fracturing his right wrist in the process of tagging home. A single by Dave Smith and a walk to Conan Tzou with one out loads the bases. Dave Painter drives in the go ahead run with a sacrifice fly. Herrington shuts them down in the ninth for the complete game win. Braves 3 White Sox 2.

Semi-Finals Game Two

Game Two was the complete opposite of Game One, with the two teams combining for 36 runs, 45 hits and 14 walks. Codiga starts the game, despite the fractured wrist on his glove hand. He starts the seventh with a 14-9 lead, after a 4-run Braves sixth on a 2-run home run from Tzou and run scoring doubles by Miguel Alvarez and Herrington. The White Sox get a couple of hits, 3 uncharacteristic walks from Codiga and an error to get 5 runs to tie it; Anthony Barron comes in to get the last out and keep the game tied at 14. In the bottom of the seventh, a single by Smith, an rbi single by Greg Rodrigues, a stolen base and score on an error and an rbi single by Dominic Bejarano put the Braves up 17-14. In the top of the eighth, the White Sox score 3 runs without a hit on six walks by Barron. Codiga reenters the game to get the final out of the inning on a popup to first, with the score tied again at 17. In the bottom of the eighth, George Lee walks but gets thrown out at second on an attempted steal. Singles by Alvarez and Herrington (advancing to second on throw) put runners on second and third with one out. In typical clutch fashion, Bellew drives in both runners with a single; going into the ninth, Braves lead 19-17. In the ninth, Codiga pitching, man on second and third with two outs, Rodney Lopez hits a screaming line drive to the left of third base. Herrington dives, knocks it down, picks the ball out of the powdery dirt and throws him out at first - game over. Braves 19 White Sox 17. Braves win series, 2-0.

Finals

In the finals at Gunderson HS, the Braves are pitted against the awesome hitting #1 seeded Red Sox team, who had knocked out the #4 seeded Padres previously.

Finals Game One

With Herrington pitching, the Red Sox lead 6-3 going into the top of the eighth. On two errors and a walk, the Braves load the bases with one out. Andy Evert crushes a bases-clearing double to tie the game 6-6 and give the Braves new life. In the bottom of the inning, Ben Hartshorn hits a towering home run to centerfield with two outs to give the Red Sox the lead again, 7-6. In the top of the ninth, Barron hits an rbi single with the bases loaded to tie the game again, 7-7. After Herrington gets them out in order in the bottom of the ninth, we head into extra innings. Tzou leads off the tenth with a home run which clears the high screen in right center, giving the Braves the lead 8-7. Ben Carrasco comes in to try and shut the door in the bottom of the tenth. After the first two batters get on, with a single and a walk, Carrasco gets three outs on groundballs to get the save and secure the win. Braves 8 Red Sox 7.

Finals Game Two

With Codiga pitching with a fractured wrist (gamer), the Red Sox strike right away in the top of the first with a 3-run bomb from Kevin Angelinovich, well over the left field fence. The Braves scrape across a run in the bottom half on a single and stolen base by Evert and a double by Alvarez. Going into the fifth, trailing 3-1, the Braves put up five runs on a double by Bejarano, singles by Herrington and Barron, a sacrifice fly by Paul Woo, a single by Rodrigues, an rbi single by Painter, a 2-run single by Evert and an rbi single by Alvarez; after five innings, Braves lead 6-3. In the top of the seventh, the Red Sox tie it with three runs on two singles, a double, two walks and a sac fly. In the top of the ninth, with the game still tied 6-6, Hartshorn hits a huge 2-run home run with two outs to give the Red Sox a 8-6 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Braves scratch out two runs on 3 singles and a walk, an rbi by Herrington and a tying rbi single by Barron with two outs. We head into extra innings again tied 8-8. Carrasco comes in to work the tenth, and after getting the first two batters develops control problems and the Red Sox put up six huge runs. The Braves go quietly in the bottom of the tenth. Red Sox 14 Braves 8.

Finals Game Three

The championship comes down to one last game at Gunderson HS. Herrington starts for the Braves and Chris Jensen for the Red Sox. In the top of the second the Braves put up three runs on singles by Bellew and Alvarez, a two-run single by Bejarano and a sacrifice fly by Smith. In the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox strike for two runs to narrow the margin to 3-2 on an rbi single by Aaron Leon and a sacrifice fly by Dan England. The Braves quickly strike back for three runs in the top of the sixth on singles by Painter and Gabriel Resendez, an rbi single by Tzou and after a walk to Lee, a clutch two-run single by Bellew, giving the Braves a 6-2 lead. In the top of the eighth, with the score still 6-2, Andy Sanchez comes in to pitch for the Red Sox. With one out, Evert gets hit by a pitch, Resendez singles and Tzou deposits one over the right center field screen for a 3-run blow, giving the Braves a 9-2 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the never-say-die Red Sox put up three runs of their own on a Tony Anderson double, a Jensen single, an rbi double by Leon, a sacrifice fly by England and an rbi groundball by Jon Lugliani. Heading into the ninth, Braves lead 9-5. The Braves get a single by Woo and a walk by Smith but fail to score in the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, after a leadoff walk and a flyout to center, Nate Heimlich singles and Sanchez singles to drive in a run. On a 3-0 count, Hartshorn just gets under one and flies out to left field as Smith falls to the ground making the catch for the second out; Heimlich scoring on the play. Angelinovich pops out to Herrington for the final out; Braves win game 9-7 and Championship, 2 games to 1.

An incredible series, every game could have gone either way. The Red Sox, as always, hit the crap out of the ball and continually came back all series. Much props to Matt and his team.

Playoff Hitting Highlights

Playoff Pitching Highlights