“Let’s go, batter up, we’re taking the afternoon off! It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame, for a ballgame, today…” – Jon Weisman
From Walla Walla to Kalamazoo, the recent weather is screaming BASEBALL!!! And today at Millikan High (1:30pm) the Rams (5-0) will play host to the Lakewood Lancers (4-1) in what will serve as the perfect ending to the first round of play in the Moore League. This is the day game you saved that long lunch for…
MILLIKAN
All you have to say is 35 consecutive scoreless innings in ML play. The Rams have obviously used great pitching to hold the rest of the league down, but it really has been a team effort. The offense has given pitchers Josh Frye and Andrew Culver early leads, and the defense has been on point.
Josh Frye. Photo by Matt Guardabascio
“Guys are just ready… we’re doing the little things like shifting over and making the plays,” says coach Scott Glasser. “We’re on top, and that’s where we want to stay.”
To stay on top the Rams will have to keep hitting the ball and grabbing early leads like they have recently. Glasser joked at the beginning of the year that some games would be a race to one run, but after he moved first baseman Jon Singleton to the second spot in the lineup, he’s seen more pitches to hit, and guys down in the order like Matt Clampitt (.476) have been raking ever since.
LAKEWOOD
Coming into the season, the Lancers were the odds-on favorite, mostly due to their performance in the summer and winter ball leagues. Behind the solid play of Jeff Yamaguchi and Matt Duffy, who are both hitting around .400, Lakewood has the best overall record in the ML. Usually serving as the left side of the infield, these two team leaders have taken the majority of the pitching load with the injury to Jon Worrell.
Jon Worrell. Photo by Tom Duffy
Worrell sat out most of the season because of kidney stones, but made his first ML appearance two weeks ago. The coaching staff has worked him back slowly, and when he’s spotting his fastball, Worrell is one of the most dangerous arms in Long Beach. Offensively, with Worrell on the hill, that puts Duffy and Yamaguchi back in the field and at the top of the lineup.
Prediction: Millikan (Frye) vs. Lakewood (Worrell)
Don’t be surprised by extra innings, because we probably won’t see too many runs. See you in the stands!