Ohio Heat National 2011 12U Baseball - Game Recaps

In a game that had even the most apathetic of baseball fans pacing the sideline stands in fits of excitement and nerves (my daughter), the Ohio Heat were eliminated from Cooperstown competition in a 7-6 last-inning loss to the Mallard Creek Bulls of North Carolina. That the Heat were even in such a position is a testament to the heart and talent the team brought to this tourney, having overcome an early 5-0 deficit to take a tie into the final frame.

The Heat appeared poised to take an early lead as they loaded the bases in the first on singles by Jefferson Szydlowski and Jake Clements, with a walk to Maguire Stinson sandwiched in between. But a flyout to center ended any hopes of breaking through for a run.

The Bulls made sure they suffered no such fate as a walk and home run staked them to a 2-0 first inning lead. 

The Heat threatened again in the second when they began the inning with two singles, including a perfect bunt down the third base line by Joseph Cooney, but once again they were stymied in their effort to plate a run.

The Bulls extended their lead to 5-0 on a walk, a throwing error and two two-out singles in the second.

The Heat finally broke through for a run in the third when singles by Jefferson, Maguire and Will Hack loaded the bases with no outs, bringing Jake Clements to the plate. Jake, who was a remarkable 15-for-16  with five home runs and two grand slams for the tourney at that point, hit yet another rocket. Unfortunately, it was right at the second baseman, who turned it into a quick double play. Winston Owens followed with an RBI single and Joseph then singled to load the bases once again. But that would be it as far as scoring would go that inning, leaving the Heat with just one run to show for their nine hits through three innings, compared to the Bulls five runs on just three hits. Such is the game of baseball.

The Heat finally broke loose in the fourth. Zach Holliday got things started when he was hit by a pitch to lead off. Parker Kling then reached on a one-out error by the Bulls' shortstop. A strikeout had fans worrying that the Heat might squander another scoring opportunity, but Maguire proceeded to launch a ball over the leftfield wall for a three-run home that cut the deficit to one. The Heat were not finished. Will Hack was hit by a pitch and Jake doubled to right on a ball that hit the 200 foot marker down the rightfield line, missing a home run by about a foot. Jake's double brought Will home with the tying run and an error off the bat of Winston Owens plated Jake to give the Heat a 6-5 lead.

The Bulls came right back to tie it with a bases-loaded walk, but further damage was averted when Parker made an excellent catch deep against the centerfield wall for the final out.

The score remained tied going into the sixth and it looked as though the Heat might get something going when Parker laid a beautiful bunt down the third baseline and the throw to first sailed down the rightfield line. Parker was waved around to third, but the Bulls right fielder made a perfect throw and nabbed Parker as he slid into the bag. Jefferson then followed with asingle to center, but he found himself hung out to dry as a hit-and-run attempt turned into an inning-ending double play when the third baseman snagged Maguire's wicked line drive and Jefferson became easy pickings at first.

The bottom of the sixth began with a strikeout, but the second batter reached when he was hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt that saw Joseph make an outstanding snag of the throw to first that was wide of the bag in an attempt to avoid hitting the runner. The Bulls then sent in a courtesy runner for the man on second, prompting a protest by the Heat bench because the runner had already appeared in the game, hich was a violation of the tourney rules posted in each team's dugout. A confab of coaches, umpires and tournament officials took place on the infield grass. After several minutes, the umpires ruled the courtesy runner would be allowed. The next batter then ripped a shot through the hole into right and the attempt at a 9-3 putout fell short as the winning run scored and Heat players fell to the ground in disappointment and agony.

And so ended the Heat's remarkable run in Cooperstown, NY. The boys were nearly inconsolable as they exited the field for the final time in 2011. But as time goes by the pain should subside and be replaced by pride at what they accomplished this season. After a rather mundane 9-10 start to the season, they went on to win 23 of their next 31 games, including four of five league contests and two tournament championships. Along the way they earned the nickname of The Cardiac Kids for their late-inning come-from-behind heroics and never-say-die attitude. That attitude was on full display in Cooperstown right up until the very last pitch. They may have been knocked down in Cooperstown, but they were never knocked out. And from this reporter's perspective, that makes them winners through and through. Congratulations, men, on an outstanding season - and thanks for a year filled with excitement and countless memories. It is one you will remember the rest of your lives.

Until 2012, so long, everybody.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat shook off their heartbreaking loss of the day before and took the Savage Eagles of Maryland to task with a decisive 5-1 victory in fourth round action of bracket play in Cooperstown on Wednesday afternoon.

Connor Patterson picked up right where he left off on the mound, holding the Eagles to a mere run over six innings. Meanwhile, the Heat bats staked him to an early lead as they scored two in the bottom of the first for a lead that would never be relinquished. The rally began with a single to right by Jefferson Szydlowski. He went to third with a head first dive on a single to center by Connor. From there, he would score on a sacrifice fly by Maguire Stinson. Jake Clements finished the scoring with an RBI single that brought in Connor.

The Eagles threatened in the second when they loaded the bases with one out, but a fly to right and grounder to second out an end to that. They did close the gap with a run in the third, however, when their second batter of the inning barely beat out a throw to first from centerfielder Parker Kling and proceeded to score on an error and a double. The Eagles did miss a chance to tie the score when they had a man on third cut down trying to score from third on a wild pitch for the final out of the inning.

The Heat right back with one of their own on singles by Will Hack and Jefferson Szydlowski in the bottom of the third. They added another in the fourth on singles by Jake, Winston Owens and Josh Harrison to make the score 4-1. The final Heat run came courtesy of a Will Hack home run in the bottom of the fifth.

Connor then closed it out with a 1-2-3 sixth to send the Heat into the round of 32, exactly where they would have been had it not been for the prior day's loss, meaning they are right where they want to be.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Baseball has no clock, which is why Yogi Berra once pontificated that it isn't over 'til it's over. Never was that truth more apparent than in the final game of pool play when the Heat saw a 9-4 lead evaporate in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing the Hickory Hurricanes of North Carolina to walk off with a heatbreaking 10-9 victory and drop the Heat from a potential 12 seed to a 23 seed as bracket play was about to begin. The end result was a three game bye instead of four.

The Heat found themselves in an early 2-0 hole on a walk and home run in the first, but they came right back with three to take the lead when Josh Harrison reached first on a perfect bunt, moved to third and scored on an infield single by Zach Holliday. The next two batters went down quietly, but Jake Clements hit yet another home run to give the Heat a 3-2 lead.

The Hurricanes loaded the bases in the second with no outs, but a strikeout, a popup to first and a pick off of the man on third by Zach Holliday held the score at 3-2.

The Heat expanded their lead to 5-2 in the third on singles by Winston Owens and Maguire Stinson, a strikeout that allowed Will to score when the ball got away from the catcher and a sacrifice fly by Connor Patterson. The damage could have been worse, wer it not for a diving catch on a Josh Harrison liner to right for the final out.

The Hurricanes manufactured a run in the third on an error and thre stright 6-3 groundouts, leaving the score at 5-3.

The Heat made it 7-3 in the fourth when Trent Rosenbeck singled, moved to third and scored on a safety squeeze by Dylan Fry, and Jake scored on a single and an errant pickoff throw.

The Hurricanes cut the lead to 7-4 on four singles in the fourth, but the Heat got that back and more with a run in each of the next two innings to give the Heat what appeared to be a safe 9-4 margin going into the bottom of the sixth.

The Hurricanes began their half of the sixth with the dreaded leadoff walk. The next batter singled and an error loaded the bases with no one out. It was a situation similar to the one in the second, but there would be no getting out of this jam. Instead, a walk brought in the inning's first run and brought the tying run to the plate. It did not take long for that run to score as the Hurricane hitter launched one over the leftfield wall for a game-tying grand slam. With still no outs, the next batter singled. Jefferson Szydlowski then came on in relief and got the first batter he faced on a strikeout, but not before the runner made his way to third with the winning run. The next two batters were intentionally walked to setup a force at any base, but with the infield and outfield drawn in to generate a play at the plate, the final batter looped one into right center that brought in the winning run and ended the Heat's hopes for an undefeated run in pool play.

It was a disappointing end to what was an excellent run of baseball for the Heat in Cooperstown pool play. Despite the loss, the Heat still earned a 23 seed out of 104 teams, good for a three-round bye in bracket play.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Game 5 in Cooperstown saw the Heat rally from defictis of 3-0 and 8-7 to pull out a 12-8 victory against the Lapper Outlaws of Michigan and keep them undefeated heading into the final game of pool play.

The Outlaws jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first as two walks, a double of the left field wall and a sacrifice bunt that brought in two runs had them off to the races. Fortunately, the Heat came right back with five of their own in the bottom half of the inning when Jefferson Szydlowski singled, Maguire Stinson walked and Will Hack homered yet again to tie the score. Winstom Owens then singled to the left center wall, joseph Cooney followed suit with another single and Josh Harridon brought them both home with a line drive off the centerfield wall to give the Heat a 5-0 lead.

The Outlaws cut the Heat lead to one when a walk, single and a foul bunt bounced fair after hitting the grass down the first base line loaded the bases. A single up the middle then brought in the inning's lone run.

The Heat got that run right back when Jake Clements walked, took second and third and scored on a ground ball to short, giving the Heat a 6-4 lead.

The Outlaws put a man on third in the top of the third, but a pickoff turned it into a 1-2-3 inning.

The Heat added two more in their half of the inning whn Jefferson singled, Maguire forced him at second and Will singled to bring Maguire home.

The Outlaws took an 8-7 lead when they scored four on a couple of walks, a double and two singles in the fourth, but the Heat came right back with two on a Dylan Fry line drive single to left and a two run homer by Jake Clements. They added three more in the fifth when Maguire singled, Will Hack was intentianlly walked, Winston Owens reached on a run-scoring error and Connor Patterson ripped the thirteenth pitch of his at-bat to left for a two run single.

Jefferson then set the Outlaws down 1-2-3 for the victory, with help from Maguire, who put a sweet supie tage on the runner following a groundout to third. 

This victory left the Heat with a 5-0 record in Cooperstown and looking at a #10 seed with one game to go before one-and-done play began. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat played perhaps their most impressive game of the entire season, and in the process, quieted both Alta Loma Storm's bats and their fans with a convincing 7-0 shutout win that moved the Heat into position for a #9 seed in Cooperstown.

It was unclear early on which would be more difficult to shut down - the highly regarded Alta Loma squad from East L.A. or their fans, many of whom had come equipped with vevuzelas that made the pastoral setting of Cooperstown Dreams Park resemble a 2010 World Cup soccer match. The horns rang loud and long through the first two innings until Heat rightfielder Will Hack politely asked the umpire to request an end to the horn-honking taking place all along the rightfield line that made it impossible for Will to hear, prompting the Alta Loma crowd to resort to using their vocal chords to demonstrate their displeasure with the umpire's demand and to continue their intrusive style of cheering.

Given the largely male entourage from SoCal, the commotion was a bit unnerving. Naturally, the Heat moms are never ones to be outdone in the vocal department, and thus the noise rattling off the solid 8-foot fences ringing the field made for a cacophony heretofore unheard at any Heat game. As it became clear that the umpiring crew was becoming a bit preturbed by the fans, cooler heads prevailed on the Heat sideline and the Alta Loma fans were left to rile the men in blue at their own peril. The noise from the Storm side of the field reached a fever pitch as Alta Loma put men on first and second with one out in the scoreless third, until the Heat came up with the greatest silencer of them all - an inning-ending double play that started with a wicked one-hopper back to Jake Clements on the mound, who immediately threw to Connor Patterson, who stepped on the bag for one out, then fired across to first to shut down the threat and the riotous noise.

The Heat further quieted the crowd in their turn at bat by scoring two runs on singles by Dylan Fry and Winston Owens, an RBI fielder's choice by Parker Kling and an RBI single by Jefferson Szydlowski.

The Storm threatened in the fourth when their leadoff batter reached third, but he was cut down on a pickoff that was scored something along the lines of 2-5-2-5-2-5-2-5-2. Perhaps not a textbook rundown, but an effective one nonetheless. That runner, by the way, had reached third on a flyball to the wall in right where Will Hack made the catch, then unleashed a strike to third that looked for all the world like it had nailed the runner coming in from second. No matter, the guy was caught in the aforementioned rundown, making the questionable call moot.

The Heat scored three more in the fifth on a double by Maguire Stinson, singles by Will and Jake, a walk to Josh Harrison and a single by Zach Holliday.

The Storm learned what they were up against when Josh made an outstanding backhand of a hard one-hopper in the hole at short and fired to first for out number one. Two strikeouts later, the Heat still had their 5-0 lead.

The Heat added two more in the fifth when Maguire singled and came home on Will Hack's no-doubter home run that cleared several fences en route to becoming irretrievable.

After that it was up to Jake and the Heat defense, with Josh making another stellar play on a slow roller that he charged and seamlessly fired to first for the out. An easy pop to second then secured the shutout, putting the Heat in position for a four-round bye with two games of pool play remaining.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The night before the Heat took on the New Castle Quakers from suburban New York City, an opposing parent suggested the Heat should have little problem in disposing of the Quakers. That presupposition proved accurate as the Heat downed the Quakers 15-3 for a run-rule victory that moved the Heat to 3-0 in Cooperstown.

It took the Heat a bit of time to get rolling as the first inning ended in a scoreless tie. But an error by the Quaker third baseman to start the second allowed Jefferson Szydlowski to reach second. Jake Clements promptly singled off the left-center wall and an error loaded the bases. Will Hack then singled in the first Heat run. Zach Holliday followed with a two-run single to right and Winston Owens also singled to right for another run. Trent Rosenbeck closed out the scoring when his grounder to first brought in the sixth run of the inning.

The Quakers threatened in their half of the first when the leadoff man singled and reached third on a couple of groundouts. It looked as though he might score when the fourth Quaker hitter of the inning rocketed a single up the middle, but centerfielder Parker Kling came up firing and nailed the batter at first for an 8-3 putout and the third out of the inning to keep the Quakers off the board.

The Quakers threatened again in the third when two walks ended up putting runners on first and third with two out, but an attempted double steal ended badly - depending upon perspective - when second baseman Jefferson Szydlowski fired catcher Zach Holliday's throw back to Zach to catch the Quaker runner trying to sneak home from third for out number three.

The Heat then put the game away with a seven-run fourth on a single by Zach, a walk to Winston, a perfect sacrifice bunt by Trent Rosenbeck and an RBI infield single by Parker for the first run. After Joseph Cooney was hit by a pitch, Maguire Stinson singled to drive in a run and load the bases and Jefferson did the same, keeping the bases loaded for Jake Clements, who proceeded to clear them with his second grand slam in as many days to give the Heat a 13-0 lead.

The Quakers avoided an early run-rule loss by scoring three time in their half of the fourth, with the final two runs coming in on a bases-loaded single that hit the bag at first to avoid being an inning-ending and game-ending third out. Jefferson then came on in relief for the final four outs to secure the five inning run-rule victory.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Cardiac kids showed up in Game 2 at Cooperstown, as the Ohio Heat came back from an early 6-3 deficit, scoring three times in their final at-bat for a 10-7 win over the team from Flower Mound, Texas to up their Cooperstown record to 2-0.

It was a back-and-forth affair, with the Heat jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first as Parker Kling singled and scored on a single by Jake Clements. Following a walk to Maguire Stinson, Will Hack's force out broght Jake home and a drive by Jefferson Szydlowski that glanced off the leftfielder's glove near the wall drove in Will for the 3-0 lead.

Flower Mound got one back in their half of the first on a single, and error, a walk and a high-hopper up the middle to make it a 3-1 game.

Flower Mound threatened to break it open in the second when a diving attempt at a sinking liner in left fell just short, allowing the runner to reach base with one out. Another single, followed by a strikeout, put two on. A bad-hop single, one that bounced over Dylan Fry's head at second brought home the inning's first run, and another single brought in the second. The next batter then drove one over the wall for a 3-run homer and a 6-3 lead for Flower Mound.

The Heat came right back to tie it in the top of the third. Zach Holliday started the rally with a walk, then took third on a wild pickoff attempt. Parker then singled Zach home. Joseph Cooney followed with a single, but Parker was cut down trying to score. Jake brought Joseph home with an infield single, taking second on a wild throw. After Maguire reached on an error, Will closed out the scoring when his grounder to second brought Jake in with the tying run.

Winston Owens came on in relief in the third, shutting Texas down 1-2-3 with a little help from Maguire, who made his second fine scoop of the day on a throw in the dirt at first for the final out of the inning. 

The Heat took a 7-6 lead in the fifth when Connor reached second on a two-base error by the third baseman and scored on a groundout to second by Zach Holliday. 

Flower Mound would come right back to tie it in their half of the inning, but not without some controversy. Following a one-out single, the runner on first attempted a steal of second on what clearly appeared to be a foul-tip that richocheted off Jake Clements' catching mask. But the ump behind the plate saw it differently, claiming the ball never touched the bat. Fans in the crowd, who saw both the richochet and clearly heard the ding and clack of the ball hitting bat and mask, thought otherwise and let it be known in no uncertain terms, resulting in a request that one fan leave the viewing area. The importance of the call became apparent when the man on second (who should have been on first) took third on an infield error and proceeded to score on a sacrifice fly.

It all became moot, however, as Jake singled, moved to third, and came home on a strikeout in the dirt to Will - scoring on the throw to get the putout on Will at first. Jefferson then singled to left, followed by a walk to Winston to load the bases. Josh Harrison then singled in two for a 10-7 lead that would prove to be the final margin as Winston shut Flower Mound down on two strikouts and a fly to deep right to close it out.

The win gave the Heat a 2-0 record after Day 1 in Cooperstown, leaving them right where they hoped to be. Two more days like this could leave them with excellent seeding for bracket play, but with far fewer fans if the stress level remains anywhere near where it was tonight. But victories are victories - and we'll take them anyway we can get them.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

A three-pitch strikeout. That's how Connot Patterson started his outing on the mound in Game 1 in Cooperstown against the Piedmont Power of Delaware - and so notice was given that the Ohio Heat would be a force to be reckoned with in the cradle of baseball, as they played errorless ball behind Connor's one-hit, ten-strikeout performance en route to a 12-0 run-rule victory.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the second, when Jefferson Szydlowski gave the Heat their first baserunner of the tourney with a single up the middle with one out.  Winston Owens followed with a double to the wall in left center and Josh Harrison walked to load the bases. Zach Holliday then drove in the game's first run with an infield single. Then, after a force out at home for out number two, tourney teammate Jake Clements drove the first pitchhe faced over the right-center field wall for a grand slam to give the heat a 5-0 lead.

Connor gave up his only hit to start off the third, but then proceeeded to strikeout the next three Power players to end the inning. Connor would allow no more baserunners the rest of the way.

In the fourth, Winston reached second on a two-base error by the second baseman to start things off. Dylan Fry then took one in the back after two were out, bringing Jake back to the plate. Jake proceeded to drill the first pitch over the wall in left center for a three-run homer, giving him seven RBIs on two pitches (and leaving spectators speculating about the possibility of an HR cycle - a solo, 2-run, 3-run and grand salami).  Nonetheless, the Heat were now up 8-0.

With a run rule victory now in sight, Connor did his part by striking out the side in the fifth. The Heat bats did the rest as Parker started off the bottom half of the inning with a walk, followed by a Joseph Cooney single and a walk to Connor to load the bases. Another walk, this time by Will Hack, brought in one run and a single by Jefferson brought in another. Josh then singled two home, giving the Heat a twelve run lead and the victory.

Though it's early, the combination of hitting, pitching and defense bodes well for the Heat as they move forward. The next few days should be fun.  

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat's luck ran out as they were knocked from tournament action with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the South Dayton Sting.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Everyone got into the act as all ten Heat players connected for base hits, with Parker Kling and Will Hack collecting two each, as the Heat downed the TC Eagles 15-3 in a run-rule victory. Winston Owens and Dylan Fry held the Eagles to two hits in securing the tourney win.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Will Hack went 3-for-3 and Maguire Stinson added two more hits as the Heat downed a tough Warren County Swarm squad by a score of 5-3 in second round tourney play. For an idea of how tough the Swarm can be, when Jefferson's old team played them in 2009, the Swarm were on the winning side of a 20-1 score. Today's victory was no mean feat.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Joseph Cooney pitched five innings of three-hit shutout ball and Winston Owens closed it out with one inning of relief as the Heat downed the Xenia Scouts 7-0 in first round tournament action. Trent Rosenbeck led the hitting attack with two of the Heat\'s eight hits. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Maguire Stinson and Connor Patterson combined for a one-hitter and went a combined 5-for-6 at the plate in shutting down the Eastside Sluggers 6-1 to give the Ohio Heat their fourth consecutive league victory.  The Heat jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and tacked on two more in the third after the Sluggers had cut the lead to one. Two more in the fourth gave the Heat their final margin of victory. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The worst part about Saturday's 12-4 loss to the DNA Pride was that the Heat defense - which just a week ago was being praised by opposing parents and coaches - was responsible for at least seven, maybe eight, of the Pride's twelve runs. The good part is that if the Heat play the type of defense they typically play with the heart they've shown recently, they are fully capable of winning this game. Every player on this team needs to know they are every bit the team as those twelve year-olds on the other side of the diamond.

This game looked as though it might be a repeat of Wednesday's game against the Bombers, where the Heat fell behind early only to score a come-from behind victory. In fact, the parallels were eerie, as the first saw the Heat held scoreless despite a hard shot by Winston Owens that was flagged down by a diving second baseman and a line drive by Jefferson Szydlowski that was snared with a backhand by the Pride third baseman.

Meanwhile, the Pride scored two in their half of the first on a double and a triple that became a home run when the throw to the cutoff man squirreled away. It wasn't a bad play, but if executed the way the Heat are capable, the runner holds at thrid. That's one run.

The Heat threatened in the second when Connor Patterson launched a bomb deep over the centerfielder's head for a leadoff double, but he would be stranded to leave a 2-0 deficit.

The Pride produced their own threat in the second when a leadoff single and double put runners on second and third with no outs and a two-out walk loaded the bases, but a fine play by Josh Harrison on a ball up the middle that he turned into an unassisted force at second held the Pride scoreless.

The Pride upped their lead to 3-0 in the third on a two-out triple and single.

The fourth saw the Heat begin a comeback - one that saw the Pride become uncharacteristically rattled - when Jefferson walked and Connor ripped a grounder to first that saw the first baseman vacillate between going to second for the force, getting the out at first, then deciding to go for the force. By the time he made up his mind, both runners were safe. Will Hack then grounded to second, but the throw to second was wild, allowing Jefferson to score. Connor's aggressive dash to third drew a throw, prompting Will to head for second, also drawing a throw, which went wild. Connor considered heading home, but thought the better of it and remained at third. Maguire Stinson made it a moot point when his grounder to first was booted, allowing Connor to score and cut the deficit to 3-2. Will and Maguire then moved up to second and third with one out and it looked as though the go-ahead run would score when Josh looped one down the rightfield line that even Pride parents thought was fair, but the man in blue disagreed and so the score remained 3-2 as the Heat were retired.

The breakdown began in the bottom of the fourth. And here is where our boys need to realize it didn't have to happen. The inning began with a flyball flagged down in deep right-center by Winston. The next man was then hit by a pitch and stole second. The third man up then smoked a grounder up the middle. Jefferson, who was dashing back into position after holding the runner on second, had to reverse course and made a diving backhand on the ball and quickly fired to first for the second out while holding the runner at third. So here we are, man on third, two down and pumped from a stellar play when the Pride's #3 hitter steps up and smacks his second home run of the game (and reportedly his 20th on the season) to make it 5-2. A downer, but it happens. This is where a team must buckle down and hold the line. Unfortunately, it didn't happen.

With Jefferson now on in relief, the next man hit a grounder that looked to be fieldable, but it appeared the home run had taken the wind out of the Heat's sails and the ball rolled through cleanly for a single. An errant attempt to catch the man stealing allowed him to go all the way to third, and from there he was able to score on a grounder up the middle. That's a second run that could have been prevented.

It got worse in the fifth. After an excellent backhand stop by Connor at third that saw Maguire put a swipe tag on the runner at first, a throw in the dirt at first allowed the next man to reach. An infield single put two runners on and another infield error loaded the bases when the inning should have been over. Instead, a double and triple brought in four unearned runs to make it a 10-2 ballgame. By now, the Pride had been given six runs.

The sixth saw the Heat close it to 10-4 when Connor blooped one over third, Will reached on an error by the pitcher, Maguire rocketed an RBI single into left-center and Josh looped an RBI single into right.

But those runs were given right back as the first two Pride batters reached on infield errors to start the sixth and came around to score on three successive groundouts. That put the gift run count at eight, which turned out to be the entire margin of victory.

It would be easy to look at the doubles, triples and home runs and think the Pride pounded their way to victory. But most of those bombs would have never happened had the defense done what it has done so well the past month and had every play been approached as though the game depended on it (which, as it turns out, it had). This is not a knock on the boys. Errors happen. But it is meant as a wake-up call. You have every right to believe you are as good as anyone you play. Today you weren't beaten by an opponent, you were beaten by yourselves. The good thing is that you have it within your power to fix that. Knowing how you've played the past month, that fix should be easy. All it takes is effort and faith. Believe it.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Well that was one heckuva game. Despite falling into an early 5-0 hole, the Ohio Heat produced what has become a patented come-from-behind victory in defeating the Butler County Bombers by a score of 7-5 on yet another steamy baseball night, this time at John XXIII Field in Middletown. The early deficit notwithstanding, this game saw the Heat at their best, with steady - and at times, outstanding - defense, rock solid pitching, timely hitting and aggressive baserunning.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat made a statement today as they defeated a heretofore 27-4 JB Yeager squad in a nearly flawless 7-1 victory under a scorching mid-day sun at Bridgetown Jr. High Saturday afternoon. Despite the rather lopsided score, this was a game between evenly matched teams, with the difference being execution - the Heat did the little things in a way that Yeager did not.

For example, when Yeager got back-to-back one-out singles in the first, then double stole to put runners at second and third, Maguire Stinson bore down to strikeout the clean-up hitter and Josh Harrison turned a well-hit groundball to his left into a picture-perfect 6-3 putout to end the threat.

Conversely, the Heat were able to score two in their half of the first without a ball leaving the infield as Joseph Cooney and Winston Owens started it off with back-to-back walks, Jefferson Szydlowski loaded the bases with an infield single and Will Hack drove home the game's first run on a groundout to first. Then, after Maguire walked to reload the bases, Josh took a fastball square to the helmet to get an RBI the hard way. Hardly an offensive explosion, but enough for a 2-0 lead that would prove to be all the runs the Heat would need.

The second saw execution at its finest when the second Yeager batsman rocketed a ball that had to travel at least 300 feet into the left-center gap, but Parker Kling chased it down and fired it back to his relay man, holding the man to a triple. As one player noted afterward, if anyone but Parker is out there, that ball is a home run. As it was, Maguire then set the next two down on strikes and that triple wound up being as harmless as a bunt single.

The score remained 2-0 through several uneventful innings, with the Heat defense playing a big role in the fourth as Connor Patterson made an outstanding play at third on a slow roller that just eluded Maguire's glove to the third base side of the mound. Connor cut the ball off in front of a charging Josh Harrison and fired to first to just nab the Yeager runner.  The next hitter then hit one of those popups into short center that had tormented the Heat earlier in the season, but Parker raced in hard from center and caught the wind-ravaged ball with a sliding catch just a few feet into the outfield grass behind second for the second out. A one-hopper back to Maguire then ended what went into the books as a simple 1-2-3 inning, but in reality was so much more.

The Heat added a run in their half of the fourth when Maguire reached base with two out on a hard shot to the right side of the infield that Yeager couldn't handle. With Will Hack taking second after running for Maguire, Josh then rolled a grounder into the hole at short. Will nimbly jumped over the ball, and in the process screened the Yeager shortstop, assuring a clean single and an RBI for Josh to put the Heat up 3-0. Execution once again.

Yeager scored their lone run in the fifth on a bloop single just inside the rightfield line, a bad-hop single down the line at third, and then with two outs, a two-strike single into left. But that would be all that Yeager would muster this day.

The Heat then blew the game open in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four times. Parker reached safely on an error at second to start things off. Then after a strikeout, Winston bounced an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1. After Jefferson blooped a double down the leftfield line to put runners at second and third, Connor ripped a line drive that the Yeager shortstop made a leaping catch of, but heads-up baserunning saw both Heat runners dive back into their respective bases to prevent an inning-ending double play. That allowed Will to drive a two-run single into center, followed by an RBI single by Maguire off the bag at first to give the Heat their 7-1 margin of victory. That's three runs that were made possible by alert baserunning. Execution.

From there, it was up to Winston Owens, who'd come on in relief of Maguire to end the fifth. Winston was up to the task, setting Yeager down 1-2-3 in the sixth, with another fine play by Connor on a slow roller to third, and closing them down in the seventh, including one of Winston's signature strikeouts on a knuckler that left the Yeager batter watching as the ball fluttered past for a called strike three.

This win was the second in a row over tough league opponents and gave the Heat a 12-3 record over their last fifteen games. It was also a win that had opposing parents praising our boys' excellent fundamental play, especially on defense.  While there were several outstanding plays, the Heat made even those seem routine. And it's when excellence becomes routine that you have the makings of a powerhouse.  One player recently stated that other teams are starting to know us, but now it's time to make them fear us. It looks as though that time has come.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It goes without saying that baseball is a team sport and never was there a better example than Wednesday night when everyone contributed in a big way, none bigger than when Josh Harrison and Trent Rosenbeck teamed up to bring home the winning run in the Heat's last at-bat as our boys defeated the league-rival Cincinnati Sluggers by a score of 4-3 at WCBC.

The win was no sure thing, despite the Heat jumping out to a first inning 1-0 lead when Parker Kling reached base on an error and came home on a line-shot double to the leftfield corner by Connor Patterson.

Connor then held the Sluggers scoreless in the bottom half of the frame with a little help from his friends when Josh ranged far into right center to snare a leadoff flyball and Jefferson Szydlowski snagged a soft line drive behind second that looked destined for centerfield.

The Sluggers jumped out in front in the second on a bloop down the rightfield line that just eluded a diving Trent Rosenbeck, another blooper just out of reach of a diving Jefferson, a walk and a single. Despite the offensive outburst, the inning also featured what an onlooker in the stands (Ok, I'll give credit where it's due - it was Dave Hack), described as "fundamentally perfect" defense, including Parker making the putout at first on a bunt and thirdbaseman Winston Owens looking the runner back to second before making the throw to first as Jefferson covered third. Little things, perhaps, but the kind of little things that can make all the difference in a tight ballgame.

It looked as though those three runs might be enough as the Heat went into an offensive funk that saw weak infield outs give way to a stretch where seven of eight Heat batters went down on strikes. Despite the futility at the plate, the Heat were able to close the gap to one when Joseph Cooney singled down the line in left and Will Hack delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Heat down 3-2.

Meanwhile, Connor held the Sluggers at bay, again with a couple of solid defensive plays, including a backhand grab of a ball to the third base side of second by Parker, a solid running backhand snare of a flyball in right-center by Trent and the snag of a wicked line drive by Winston at third.

Down 3-2 heading into the sixth, the Heat tied it up when Parker and Joseph walked and Parker scored all the way from second on an error by the shortstop that barely rolled into leftfield. Parker's heads-up baserunning was proof-positive of how little things can make all the difference.

Will came on in relief in the sixth and the leadoff man greeted him with a flare into no man's land in short right field, but a hustling catch of a pop foul toward the first base dugout by Zach Holliday, followed by a strikeout and a popup back to the mound left the runner stranded.

It was then time for some heroics and Josh delivered with a line shot triple into the gap in right center that put the go ahead run 70 feet from home. The Sluggers then moved an outfielder in front of the bag at second, giving them five infielders in the hope of preventing anything from getting through that would allow Josh to score. But Trent confounded the strategy with a clutch single over the firstbaseman's head into the vacated rightfield that brought home the all-important go ahead run. It should be noted that Trent's rap would have been a hit, regardless of the Sluggers' defensive alignment.

It was then up to Will to shut it down and it looked as though he would do it easily as he induced a grounder to Winston at third and Parker made a sliding catch of a line drive just above the infield dirt at second. But nothing comes easy for the Heat (as though a one-run win wouldn't be enough of a nerve-wracker), so a two-out, two-strike line shot single into left kept the inning alive for the Sluggers. An error and hit batsman later, the bases were loaded. With tension rising, parents pacing and/or holding their breath and the heartbreaking walkoff loss from Monday still fresh in everyone's mind, Will calmly proceeded to strikeout the final batter on high heat to secure the dramatic win.

This win was the result of excellent defense, solid pitching and timely hitting. That the Heat were able to put Sunday's loss behind them so quickly and not buckle under the seventh inning pressure is just one more sign of the progress this team is making, having won 11 of their last fourteen. With some key league games coming up, their surge couldn't happen at a better time.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It happens to everyone at some point - you think you've got it won, but fate rears its mischievous head and snatches victory away when you least expect it. It happened Sunday in Indianapolis and it happened Monday in Columbus, as the Ohio Heat suffered a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to the top-seeded Huntington Heat in quarterfinal action at the Wayne Williams Memorial Tournament.

The Heat looked to take control from the outset as Joseph Cooney reached on an error to start the game. Winston then flew out to center, but the attempt to double Joseph off went wide of the mark, allowing Joseph to scamper to second. Jefferson Szydlowski singled sharply to center, sending Joseph to third. After a wild pitch allowed Joseph to score and Jefferson to take second, Will Hack singled to right to bring home the second Heat run. Maguire Stinson then singled and Dylan Fry was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but the Heat were unable to do any further damage.

The Elite got one back in their half of the first on an infield single that bounced high over the pitcher's head, a hit batsman (one that had many scratching their heads) and an RBI groundout.

After both teams went down 1-2-3 in the second, the Heat exploded for four in the third when Connor Patterson singled sharply to center, Will walked, Maguire blooped a single to left and Dylan did likewise to right to drive in a run. Josh Harrison then laid down a perfect suicide squeeze for another run and Parker Kling singled to center to bring in two more and give the Heat a 6-1 lead.

The Elite got one back in the bottom of the third on a walk, an error and a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2. And so it would remain through the middle of the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, the tide began to turn. The leadoff man singled to center to start things off. Following a strikeout, the next man looped a single into left center. A groundout to second brought in a run and a single to center brought in another, cutting the Heat lead to 6-4.

The Heat would go down quietly in the top of the sixth, save for an infield hit by Winston.

And then fate began its cruel power play. The Elite's first batter in the bottom of the sixth lobbed a soft liner into left that fell maybe six inches in front of a charging Joepsh Cooney. The next batter looped an even softer flare just over the head of a fast-retreating Winston Owens. Following a strikeout and a run-scoring 6-3 putout, the Heat were one out away from a 6-5 victory. With a man on third, the next Elite batsman bounced a soft high-hopper down the line at third. Winston charged hard to the ball, as did the Elite batter toward first. In a play that took mere seconds to play out, but seemed to last an eternity, the Elite batter barely beat the throw on a bang-bang play, allowing the tying run to score. Despite the emotion of the moment, the Heat coaches maintained their cool, with Jeremy reassuring the boys there was no harm done, just get the next out and then come in and score some runs. Alas, after the runner moved into scoring position, the next man up bounced a tough chopper up the middle. Jefferson knocked it down and the Elite runner held at third. But with coaches yelling to just "eat it!", Jefferson, with all the determination every Heat plaeyer had shown all weekend, threw the ball wide of first in a desperate attempt to end the inning and just like that, the Heat's weekend was over.

Now, the scoreboard may have shown a loss, but the Heat were not defeated this weekend. They showed grit and determination that has been building for weeks, never giving in, never letting up. Every single player contributed and each young man gave their all. While family and friends sweltered in the 90 degree-plus heat, our boys played their hearts out and left everything they had out on the field. The outcome may not have been what all might have hoped, but that is often the case in baseball and in life. As Theodore Roosevlet said long ago, "the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...".  If ever a phrase could describe this team, that is it. They deserve all the credit and praise we can heap upon them. Good job, men.

[A couple of side notes, First, I want to tip my hat to our coaching staff. Not only did they recognize the effort this weekend and keep the boys focused on the job at hand, they also did a masterful job with the pitchers as well. While tournament rules would have allowed a number of our pitchers to go further than they did this weekend, their commitment to putting the health and safety of our boys ahead of a possible tournament win is not only to be commended, it is something all too rare in today's world of youth sports. Gentlemen, I thank you.

Finally, a word about perspective. Like everyone else, Jefferson gave everything he had this weekend - having a shot nearly take his head off at third, another that banged off his shin on the mound, ribs banged up from diving after balls, elbows scraped from head-first slides and suffering from what turned out to be a 101 degree fever when we got home - only to make the error that ended his team's tournament chances. So I wasn't sure what to expect on the ride home, though I did tell someone it would probably take him half the ride home to put it behind him. I was wrong. After exactly twenty-two minutes of silently staring out the window, he turned to me and said, "So dad, about that fishing you promised if we had time today..." So we went fishing. The past is the past and tomorrow's another day. Baseball is important, but there's a lot more to life. Of course, we didn't have any luck at the lake. On this day, that would be par for the course.]

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Displaying the same intensity they showed earlier in the day, the Ohio Heat dispatched a fine Ohio Elite team by a score of 9-4 to secure a match with the top-seeded Huntinton Heat in the Wayne Williams Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio Saturday evening.

It looked as though the Elite might take an early lead as their first two batters reached safely in the first. But Winston Owens struck out the number three hitter, then snagged a hard one-hopper by the clean-up man to start a crisp 1-4-3 double play to end the threat.

The Heat used heads-up baserunning to manufacture a run in the second when Connor singled to left, then went first to third on a single by Maguire, sliding perfectly under the tag on a close play and allowing Maguire to take second. After an infield hit by Zach Holliday, Josh Harrison laid down a perfect bunt to bring Connor home with the games first run.

After Winston retired the Elite 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second, the Heat put some distance between themselves and their competition, scoring three times when Joseph Cooney singled and Winston reached on a rocket that handcuffed the shortstop, sending Joseph to third. The Elite's attempt to catch Joseph off third on Winston's steal of second went awry when the throw to the shortstop found him missing because he'd gone to cover the bag, allowing Joseph to scamper home. Jefferson then walked, while Dylan Fry, pinch-running for Winston, made his way to third. Connor struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but the ensuing throw to first allowed Dylan to score. Will Hack then launched a sacrifice fly to short right, with Jefferson somehow eluding the tag on a close play at home (this reporter still isn't sure how he was safe, but the look on Jefferson's face as he came to the dugout indicated he'd had no intention of being denied).

The Elite put one man on in the third, but a nice shoe-top catch on a line drive by Josh at short put an end to the inning.

The Heat put three more on the board in the fourth, beginning with a perfect bunt by Parker Kling for a leadoff single. Winston then brought two home on an error by the shortstop, with Joseph scoring all the way from second. It was another indication of just how determined this team was to continue playing baseball this weekend. When opportunity knocked, the Heat grabbed it with gusto. Winston scored the final run on a wild pitch to give the Heat a 7-0 lead.

The Elite made some noise in their half of the fourth on a double and two singles, the last being a bloop into no man's land in short right, to score two runs. But Jefferson converted a groundball up the middle into a 4-3 double play and Winston got the last man to watch a called third strike to keep the damage to a minimum.

The Heat were held scoreless in the fifth, despite another all-out effort play, this time by Parker, who slid safely into first following a bobble by the Elite first baseman.

Jefferson came on to pitch the fifth and promptly gave up a single before retiring the next batter on a popup to third. The next batter then smashed a line shot off Jefferson's shin, dropping him to the ground. Maguire picked up the ricochet and retired the man at first while Jefferson pounded his glove into the dirt. According to coach Ron, the first words out of Jefferson's mouth when the coaches arrived were, "Did we get the out?" Yes we did, and following that rather unroutine 1-3 putout, he got the final out on a popup to short.

Two insurance runs were added in the sixth when Jefferson and Connor both singled and Will rocketed a double down the line in left to drive in two and give the Heat a 9-2 lead.

Those insurance runs, while never necessary for the win, turned out to be very necessary for the nervous systems of all Heat fans in attendance as the bottom of the sixth began with an error to put a man on board. Then, after a strikeout, three straight bobbled groundballs put two on with two runs in and one out. But a flyball to center and a rapid throw toward home by Parker gave the Heat two outs and kept the score at 9-4. Jefferson then closed it out with a called third strike to put the Heat into the quarterfinals against the top-seeded Huntington Heat.

Despite the rather nerve-wracking sixth, the Heat once again demonstrated the resilience and determination that has become the trademark of this team in the past three weeks. It would be hard to imagine that any team, regardless of seeding or pedigree, would want to have to take them on.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It was the best of games, it was the worst of games. It was a game of stellar defense, it was a game with defensive lapses. It was a game with 1-2-3 innings and eight run outbursts.  It was a game where the Heat had five hits, seven baserunners and four runs with only one ball safely leaving the infield. 

Ok, enough with my lame attempt at impersonating Charles Dickens, let's try Yogi Berra - with the Heat, it ain't over 'til it's over. In this case, the Heat scored eight in the third, gave up five in the bottom of the inning, then put up seven in the fifth en route to a 16-6 victory over the JABC Blue Sox on a hot, muggy afternoon in Columbus, earning a spot in one-and-done bracket play in the process. 

The game looked early on as though it might be a pitchers duel, as the Heat led 1-0 after two, thanks to a blloop single to left by Winston Owens, an infield single to third by Jefferson Szydlowski and a sacrifice fly by Connor Patterson to start the first.

Meanwhile, Maguire Stinson mowed down the first six batters he faced, with a little help from Jefferson, who raced from his spot at secong to cover the bag at first on a ball fielded in the hole by Joseph Cooney.

The Heat appeared to blow the game open in the third on infield hits by Joseph and Winston, a strikeout and error that allowed Jefferson to reach safely and a run to score, a throwing error by the second baseman that allowed Connor to reach safely and two more runs to score, making it 4-0 with Winston's first inning bloop to left being the only non-infield hit. Will Hack finally put some muscle to the ball, driving an RBI double deep into the gap in right center. Maguire then reached on an error by the second baseman and Zach Holliday drove in two with a line shot over the thirdbaseman's head. Parker Kling and Joseph followed with walks and Winston closed out the scoring with a two-run single to center, giving the Heat a 9-0 lead.

With a pitch-count saving run rule victory a distinct possibility, the Heat proceeded to give up five in the bottom of the inning, thus putting off the victory celebration for a later time.

The Heat were held scoreless in the fourth, and the Blue Sox closed the gap to 9-6 on two infield hits, one which looked destined for rightfield were it not for a diving stab by Jefferson at second, and a wild pitch. The next batter walked, but not before Will almost made a diving catch of a flyball in foul territory down the line in right. Regardless of how the plays turned out, it was clear the Heat were giving all they had - a point made clear when Josh Harrison made a beautiful snag on a hard high-hopper up the middle to secure the final out of the inning.

The Heat finally put the game away for good in the fifth when they put seven on the board, thanks in part to five consecutive singles by Parker, Joseph, Winston (his third of the game), Jefferson and Connor to start the rally. All runners were safe on a fielder's choice off the bat of Will and Maguire walked to load the bases. Zach then rapped his second two-run single of the game to increase the lead to 16-6, 

The Sox weren't done however, putting the first two on with a walk and a single down the line at third. But Winston was able to stike out the next man on a beautiful knuckleball, then closed it out with an odd double play, stiking out the batter on a ball in the dirt, which prompted a throw to first to complete the "K". Meanwhile, the man on second decided to bolt for third and was easily thrown out for the final out.

This was a game in which the Heat looked brilliant at times, not so much at others. But at no time did they ever let up. They had the look of a team on a mission - a mission partially completed as they earned the right to move on in the tournament. But by the way they played, it was apparent that would not be enough to satisfy these boys. With three games down, they were looking to play four more and take home a trophy. With this type of attitude and intensity, there was no reason to doubt they could pull it off.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Joespeh Cooney had a one-hit shutout through four innings and finished with one run on two hits through five, but that one run would prove the difference as the Heat fell by a score of 4-0 to Steve's Sports in the second game of pool play at the Wayne Williams Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio Saturday evening.

There was not much to report through four as both pitchers mowed through the opposing lineups until Steve's broke through for a run in the top of the fifth on a walk and a double to left-center. Even then, it looked like the Heat might escape unscathed when Winston Owens made a sliding grasstop catch on a liner into short left for the second out of the inning. The the next hitter drove one deep into the gap to drive in the run that would prove to be decisive.

The Heat produced their only threat in the bottom of the fifth when Maguire Stinson led off with a single, but Winston's flare that dropped into short right-cneter resulted in a force at second, quashing hopes for a rally depite Dylan Fry's later base on balls.

It looked as though defense might energize the Heat in the sixth when the Heat pulled off a flashy double play after a run had already scored, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. Steve's had loaded the base with no outs and scored a run on a busted squeeze attempt when Parker Kling dashed hard to make a tough catch in right-center and fired a one-hop strike to Zach Holliday, who made a classic block of home plate and placed the tag to complete a double play. But as fans and players alike celebrated the dual putout and the ball was rolled to the mound and players from both sides made their way to their respective duoguts, the third base coach realized there were only two outs (in part because Heat fans and coaches were imploring the Heat players to pick up the ball) and surreptitiously signalled his runner at third to go home, which he did successfully to up the deficit to 3-0. With their sails suffinientlly deflated, the Heat proceeded to give up another run, resulting in the final score of 4-0.

While certainly a disheartening defeat, it was one that should not cause the Heat to hang their heads as it was a well played game start-to-finish despite the momentary lapse. With two solid games behind them, all they need do is come out with guns blazing sunday afternoon to assure they move on to play more tournament ball. Given the way they've played thus far this weekend, we should expect nothing less.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat delivered arguably their finest performance of the season in defeating the highly-regarded Mid-Ohio Blaze 9-3 in the opener of the Wayne Williams Memorial Tournament in Dublin Ohio Saturday morning. It was a game in which hitting, pitching and defense all came together for a convincing victory.

The Heat struck right out of the gate when Parker Kling led off with a seeing-eye single just under the third baseman's glove into left field. Jefferson Szydlowski followed with a walk and RBI king Connor Patterson brought Parker home with a sacrifice fly. Will Hack then singled sharply to left to bring Jefferson home with the second run.

It looked as though the Blaze may have no trouble erasing the 2-0 deficit as their leadoff man ripped a line shot off Jefferson's glove at third for a single and their number two man followed suit with a shot up the middle - but Dylan Fry, who was covering second on a steal attempt was in the right place at the right time, snaring the liner and turning it into a bases-clearing double play. The next man flew deep to center to end a 1-2-3 inning that had plenty of noise but no damage.

The Heat extended their lead to 3-0 in the second when Dylan Fry walked, then reached second on an unsuccessful pickoff attempt that can only be scored as 1-3-6-?-?, with Dylan avoiding the tag at secoond. Dylan then moved to third and scored on an RBI grounder by Zach Holliday.

The Blaze closed to within one in their half of the second on a catchable single to left, a pop to short right center that found its way between three Heat defenders,  a fielder's choice and a single. The damage could have been worse, but Zach corraled a a wild pitch behind home and flipped to Connor covering, who put the tag on the runner when he missed the plate with his foot and couldn't get his hand down before Connor nailed him.

The Heat gained those run back, plus one, in the third. The rally began with singles by Joseph Cooney and Jefferson, followed by an RBI groundout by Connor. Will then walked and Maguire Stinson reached on a controversial fielders choice that saw Jefferson called out at home, despite appearing to slide safely under the tag. Dylan then walked, but not before Will scored on a wild pickoff attempt at third. Zach closed the scoring when he bounced an RBI single into center, to give the Heat a 6-2 lead.

The Blaze threatened with back-to-back singles to start their half of the third, but a crisp 6-4-3 double play started by Josh Harrison and featuring a slick turn by Dylan eased the danger. A single brought in one run, but Connor was able to induce an inning-ending grounder to short to leave the score 6-3 in favor of the Heat.

The Heat put the game away with three more in the fourth as Joseph walked, Jefferson singled Joseph home and Connor singled, taking econd when Jefferson's turn at third drew a throw. Will then launched a double over the centerfielder's head to drive in the final Heat runs.

The Blaze would not go down easily, however, loading the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings, but a third-to-first double play ended the fifth inning threat and Connor's perfectly thrown third strike on the outside corner ended the sixth inning threat to give the Heat their well-deserved victory.

This was a huge win, not only because it helps keep the Heat in the driver's seat for a place in championship round play, but because it came against one of the toughest foes we've faced all year - a foe who will certainly be challenging for one of the two spots available from our bracket. A better time could not have been chosen for our young men to put all aspects of their game together.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat learned the difference that an inch or two can make the hard way Tuesday night as they fell by a score of 9-5 to the Ohio Force on a perfect baseball evening at WCBC.

The lesson began with the very first batter, as Parker Kling was retired at first with his foot no more than an inch above the bag after laying down a beautiful bunt to left side of the infield. That close play cost the Heat at least one run and perhaps more as Jefferson Szydlowski later doubled to left, followed by singles by Connor Patterson, Will Hack and Maguire Stinson to produce three runs before the side was finally retired. 

The Force tied it up 3-3 in the bottom of the second, but it could have been much worse as they loaded the bases with two our, but Maguire was able to induce a flyball to Parker in center to end the threat.

The Heat retook the lead when they scored a run without the benefit of a walk or hit as Joseph Cooney reached first following a strikeout and came around to score on successive groundouts to short, making the score 4-3 in favor of the Heat.

The score remained that way until the fourth, when the Force blooped a one-out single just out of reach in short left, then added another single on a bleeder in the hole, followed by a two run double down the line that was just out of reach of third baseman Will Hack and an RBI groundout to take a 6-4 lead. Three runs in what could have just as easily been a 1-2-3 inning. A game of inches.

The Heat closed to within one in the fifth when Josh Harrison and Jefferson both walked and Connor cracked an RBI single to center. But that would be as close as the Heat would get as the Force put three on the board on a walk, a double that was barely over Parker's glove in center, a sacrifice fly and a groundout to second. Three more runs that could have just as easily been none, were it not for the double that was maybe two inches to high to be caught. And so it ended as a 9-5 victory for the Force.

It's now on to Columbus for a weekend of tough tournament play. Our boys should remember that the breaks can just as easily go their way - and put everything into making sure they do. With the effort seen the past three tournaments and a touch of good fortune, this will be a weekend to look forward to.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Proving that the importance of securing a #1 seed in tourney pool play extends beyond byes and home field advantage, the Ohio Heat were awarded their second tournament championship in as many weeks when rained forced cancellation of the tourney final and trophies were awarded based upon seeding and overall performance. Of course, they had to win their semi-final match for that seeding to carry any weight, and they did so in convincing fashion as they downed the Tecumseh Tomahawks 9-0 to gain a spot in the canceled final.

Our boys took control of the contest in the second inning, pushing eight runs across to remove any suspense. The rally began with a walk to Connor Patterson, followed by an RBI single by Will Hack, who took second on the throw to the plate. Maguire similarly drove a run home with a single, but ended up on second thanks to the rightfielder's fielding error. Dylan Fry then laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line for another single and Zach Holliday followed with a two-run single, also taking second on an error by the rightfielder. Trent Rosenbeck, Josh harrison and Parker Kling all walked, with Parker's loading the bases and driving in a run, setting the stage for a bases-clearing double down the leftfield line by Jefferson Szydlowski.

The Heat added another run in the fourth on a triple by Josh and a run-scoring grounder to short by Joseph, who was out on a close call at first. Jefferson then walked, putting what would have been the winning run on base, given that the run rule would have been invoked with the tenth run scored. But he wound up stranded, sending the game to the fifth inning.

No matter, as Connor proceeded to shut the Tomahawks down 1-2-3 to close out the 9-0 shutout. With storm clouds gathering overhead, the heat faithful headed to shelter to await the final. Alas, with blue skies taunting from the west, the storm appeared to stall and the final was pushed back at least 30 minutes with each lightning strike overhead. At 6:15 pm, with a school day approaching and one last flash of lightning, the tourney was called and the Heat were named champions. Now it's on to a league game against the Ohio Force and a bigger challenge Memorial Day weekend in Columbus. With seven straight wins and ten in their last twelve games under their belts, it would appear the Heat are primed for the challenge.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat earned the top seed heading into championship round play at the Mark A. Kreusch Memorial Tournament with a 12-0 run rule victory over the Southwest Bearcats on a beautiful Saturday morning at tha Action Sports Center in Dayton. 

The game did not look all that promising at the outset as the Heat were held scoreless in the first, but they were able to break through for a run in the second on a walk to Will Hack and a groundout by Winston Owens.  Meanwhile, Joseph Cooney was outstanding on the mound, recording his first five outs via strikeout.

The Heat added three more in the third on a walk to Josh Harrison, a perfect bunt single by Parker Kling on which Josh went from first to third, a two-run double by Joseph and an RBI single by Connor Patterson. Two more runs were scored in the fourth on consecutive singles by Winston, Maguire Stinson and Dylan Fry, plus an RBI groundout by Zach Holliday.

The game was put away in the fifth when when Jefferson Szydlowski ripped a single to right after Josh had singled, Parker was hit by a pitch and Joseph had walked to load the bases. Connor followed with a two-run single of his own and Winston closed the scoring with an RBI groundout.  Will Hack then came on in relief of Joseph and shut down the Bearcats in 1-2-3 fashion to secure the shutout and the victory.

The victory was far more convincing than the one the night before, with the pitching of Joseph and Will especially dominant, with Joseph recording eight strikeouts in four innings of work and Will recording two in his sole inning. The hitting was also more robust, as the Heat clubbed eleven hits, compared to the five they were able to muster Friday night. Humming on all cylinders, the Heat are now poised to take their second tournament trophy in as many weeks, but to do so, they\'ll need to keep it up for two more games. It should be fun.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It may have been a beautiful night for baseball (finally!), but it wasn't exactly a beautiful night of baseball, as the Heat seemed to sleepwalk to a 9-2 victory over the Tecumseh Tomahawks in opening round action at the 4th annual Mark A. Kreusch Memorial Tournament at the Action Sports Center in Dayton.  

There were some outstanding individual performances, including Maguire Stinson's solid two-hit complete game that was marred only by a couple of unearned runs, but for the most part, this was a win that was given to the Heat rather than one that was taken by them. For evidence, one need look no further than the first inning, when the boys scored five times on one hit - a hit that didn't come until the ninth at-bat of the inning. Nor did the inning include a single error that allowed a man to reach base. It started with three straight walks to Parker Kling, Joseph Cooney and Jefferson Szydlowski, with a wild pick-off attempt by the Tomahawk catcher sanwiched in between that allowed Parker to score. Connor Patterson followed with a groundball, but Joseph was able to avoid the tag at home to score the second run, while Connor was safe at first on the fielder's choice. Will Hack then rolled one to short. Jefferson held at third but Connor did not hold at second, resulting in two Heat runners sharing third base. But for some reason known only to the baseball gods, the Tecumseh first baseman decided to throw down to second after making the putout on Will, allowing Jefferson to score and Connor to remain safely at third. So it's now 3-0 without a ball even leaving the infield. After a popup to third, Maguire and Dylan walked to load the bases and Zach Holliday finally got the Heat's first hit of the night to drive in two. One strange inning, but a 5-0 lead, nonetheless.

And so it would reamin until the bottom of the third, when Connor led off with a double to left center that showed what heads-up baserunning can do. Thanks to the short fences, first base coach Scott Harrison simply told Connor to take a big turn at first on Connor's shot to the wall. But instead of taking the turn simply because his coach told him to, Connor took it with the intention of going to second if the opportunity presented itself, which it did. That provoked a throw that got away from the second baseman and rolled into no-man's land near the first base line, allowing Connor to go to third - prompting another wild throw that allowed Connor to score. Contrast that with an almost identical hit in the the second, where the big turn was made on a shot to the fence, but made in what seemed to be little more than a token gesture. From this reporter's perspective, Connor's baserunning was the offensive highlight of the night, if only because it showed what heads-up baseball can do.

Will Hack followed Connor's around-the-bases adventure with a single and made his way to third on a single by Maguire, from where he was able to score on a balk. Maguire also made his way to third and was brought home on a grounder to second by Dylan Fry to up the Heat lead to 8-0.

The Tomahawks finally broke through on a single, a walk and a throwing error to first that allowed both runners to score, making it an 8-2 ballgame.

The final Heat run scored on another Connor Patterson double and a 4-3 groundout to make it 9-2 after five. After that, it was left to Maguire to close it out, which he did with the help of the defensive gem of the night - a diving stop by Dylan on a ball in the hole at second that he knocked down, gathered and threw to nail the leadoff man at first.

With all due respect to our opposition, this was the type of game that the Heat should have grabbed by the throat and put away in short order. That they did not may be a testament to the grit and determination of the Tomahawks, but it should serve as a warning to the Heat that they will need to step up their game as they look for a second consecutive tournament win and prepare for a very competitive ten days of baseball. It's time to step up and show the killer instinct.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It may have been done the hard way, but no one can say the Ohio Heat did not earn the Playbaseball.info tournament championship, as they walked away with the trophy (well, plaque, to be more precise) following their third extra-inning victory of the tourney, this time by a score of 14-6 over the Fairfield Union Falcons. While no tournament MVP was officially named, one would be hard-pressed not to bestow that honor upon Connor Patterson, who not only pitched four stellar innings in securing the semi-final victory and closed out the championship win, but by my unofficial tally went an astounding 13-15 at the plate with 11 RBIs over the course of the four game tourney. And FYI, Connor is currently on a 10-for-10 hitting streak. Red hot? White hot? I'm not sure what color should be associated with such a performance. A money ballplayer, to be sure.

Of course, Connor didn't do it alone in this seesaw affair.

As has been their custom in recent weeks, the Heat allowed the Falcons to jump out to an early lead, as Fairfield scored twice in the bottom half of the first (despite being the number one seed, the Heat were the away team as a coin-toss decided home field advantage for the championship game).

The Heat cut the deficit in half in the third when Zach Holliday led off with a single, worked his way to third, then came home on a wild pitch. It was a bang-bang play at the plate as the Falcon catcher and pitcher executed the play at home to perfection - with the exception that it appeared that Zach had slid right under the tag. Still, onlookers were unsure of the play's outcome as the umpire pumped his fist in the direction of home plate three times in what appeared to be an emphatic "out" call, but which was in reality his way of pointing out that Zach had indeed, slid under the tag. 

The Falcons got that run back, and then some, as they loaded the bases on a single, walk and an error. A sacrifice fly brought in one run and a single brought in another to make the score 4-1. But Connor gunned down a runner trying to steal second to limit the damage.

The Heat finally took the lead following a four-run fourth. Jefferson Szydlowski got things started when he poked a change-up into left for a single. Connor, as you can assume, followed with another single and Will Hack walked to load the bases with no one out. Winston Owens brought home the inning's first run on a grounder to second. Maguire Stinson then hit a sacrifice fly to left, but the ball was dropped, allowing Maguire to reach base safely as well as drive in the Heat's second run of the inning. Dyaln Fry also drove in a run on an error that allowed him to reach base (the official scorer, in consultation with various experts in the stands, decided the runner on third would have scored regardless of the error and thus, credited Dylan with an RBI). Josh Harrison brought home the final Heat run of the inning on a soft bloop single just inside the line in right field - a single that followed several rockets just foul down the leftfield line.

The Heat padded their lead with another run in the fifth on a Joseph single and Connor double (who else) to make the score 6-4, but the Falcons came right back to tie it on two walks, a fielder's choice, a ground out to short and a single just inside the line at first. But Will Hack, who was solid in relief, got the final out on a called third strike to keep the score knotted at 6-all.

Following a scoreless sixth that saw the Heat put two on with one out and Will Hack strike out the side (with a double sandwiched in between), the game went into extra innings. As in the other extra-inning affairs this tournament, the Heat began the seventh with runners at first and second and no outs. Perhaps the Heat should pretend that's the situation every inning, because the first six batters all reached base and scored, which in addition to the two courtesy runners, gave the Heat an insurmountable 14-6 advantage. As was also the case with each of the extra-inning games this weekend, the Heat began the inning with the top of the order. Parker Kling reached base on a flyball that was dropped by the Falcon's rightfielder, loading the bases. Joseph promptly singled to center to drive in two and Jefferson doubled over the leftfielder's head to bring in two more. Connor continued his monotonous ways, driving in a run on a single to center. Will then doubled to put men on second and third with still no outs and Winston bounced a single into center to bring in two more. Dylan brought Winston home with the final run on a grounder to short to make the score 14-6.

Connor came on in relief to start the seventh and promptly worked his way out of the courtesy runner jam by inducing a 4-6-3 double play to eliminate one runner and set the Falcons down to their final out. An out that was promptly made on a groundout to Dylan at second to secure the tournament championship.

This team demonstrated all weekend that if nothing else, they are resilient. It didn't matter if they had to come from behind or recover from losing large leads. Whatever the circumstance, they responded as champions do - and as the champions they are. Our young men played solid defense, came up with timely hitting and enjoyed outstanding pitching throughout. Just as important were the little things - noticing a pitcher going into a full wind-up with runners on base, picking each other up when one got down and taking extra bases when the opportunity arose (or not taking them when it didn't). As Jeremy said afterwards, this weekend showed they are becoming a team - the team we've known they were all along. The most telling part was that as tight as most of these games were this weekend, it seemed that the boys just knew they would pull them out. And well they should, because they continue to get better with each passing game and each passing week. Congratulations, boys, on a job well done and a championship well-deserved.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

There was no hesitation or suspense this morning as the Heat scored in every inning en route to a 12-2 run-rule victory over the Mid-Ohio Bullets in semi-final action at the Playbaseball.info tournament on a dreary Sunday at Rumpke Park.

The tone was set from the get-go, when the Bullets' leadoff hitter singled, then was promptly thrown out trying to steal by Zach Holliday. The Heat then put the heat on with two first-inning runs on singles by Joseph Cooney and Connor Patterson, followed by an error at second off the bat of Will Hack. After a 1-2-3 second courtesy of Connor Patterson, our boys manufactured another run on walks to Maguire Stinson and Dylan Fry, a fielder's choice and a groundout to short.

The Bullets cut the lead to 3-1 on a walk, hit batsman and a single to start the third, but the Heat came right back with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Joseph Cooney started things off with a walk (after falling into an 0-2 hole), followed by a Jefferson Szydlowski single and an RBI double to left by Connor. Will Hack then walked to load the bases with no outs, setting the stage for a two run single to center off the bat of Winston Ownes. Maguire Stinson walked to reload the bases and a double play ball brought Will home with the final run of the inning to put the Heat up 7-1.

The Bullets scored again in the fourth on a single and an error, but a strikeout followed by a 2-5-2 pickoff of the runner at third ended the threat. Not before, however, some kid lived up to Connie Kling's new Heat Fan Credo by taking a sloppy bite of his Nachos and spitting the chips that wouldn't fit into his mouth into a puddle right at Connie's feet. Connie's credo? "Redneck at the game, classy away." One could not ask for a clearer example. [Note - we do not know who the culprit was, nor do we assign this behavior to anyone associated with either team.]

With such inspiration so close at hand, it should surprise no one that the Heat then rose to the challenge and put the Bullets away with a five-run outburst in the bootom of the fourth. The clinching rally began with a double off the bat of Josh Harrison. Parker Kling was then safe at first on a bunt single. Joseph tipled both runners home,then scored on Jefferson's single to left center. Connor continued on his RBI tear, bringing Parker home with a single. Winston Owens then brought Jefferson home with an RBI single and Connor closed the scoring and secured the run rule victory when the Bullet catcher's pickoff attempt at third sailed into left field.

For once in this tournament, Connor's stellar pitching and the steady rumble of Heat lumber helped put away their opponent without requiring Heat fans to search for hidden supplies of Rolaids or Maalox. It was a welcome outcome as the Heat prepared to move on to the tournament final. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Never ones to let anything come easy - or convinced that they are supposed to play seven-inning games - the Heat won an 8-7 gut-wrencher in extra innings over the Mid-Ohio Bullets in game two of the Playbaseball.info tournament at Rumpke Park Saturday afternoon.

Once again, the Heat fell behind early as the Bullets scored once in the first, but some outstanding defense by Dylan Fry at second base kept it from getting any worse. After the Bullet's No. 2 hitter singled and worked his way to third, Dylan ranged far to his right to flag down a high-hopper up the middle and get the runner at first as the run scored. The next batter then ripped a line drive toward right that Dylan leapt high in the air and snagged for the final out. From that point forward, Maguire Stinson was dominant on the mound, holding Mid_ohio scoreless until the sixth.

Meanwhile, the Heat steadily built a 6-1 lead, beginning with three in the third. Dylan got it started with a walk, then moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Zach Holliday (who had helped end the previous inning when he nailed a Bullet st second as part of a strikeout/caught-stealing double play). Josh Harrison then brought Dylan home when his smash to third was mishandled, tying the score at 1-1. Joseph Cooney followed with a walk and Jefferson Szydlowski reached on an infield single. Connor Patterson then singled to bring in the final two runs of the inning.

There was something else that took place during that inning that bears mention. After one player was upset about striking out after a couple questionable called strikes, Zach took it upon himself to reassure his teammate. That is something we are seeing become much more routine and is indicative of the way this group is gelling into a team. That cohesiveness is sure to pay dividends, as would become evident a few innings later.

The Heat added two more in the fifth when Josh singled, Jefferson walked and Connor singled yet again to drive in two, giving the Heat a comfortable 5-1 lead. They would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Winston Owens reach on an error and Zach and Josh singled. That run would prove crucial.

The bottom of the sixth began with an easy groundout to second, but Maguire began to tire as the next four batters reached base on a single, triple, error and walk to close the gap to 6-3. The Heat then brought in Hayden Hoogerhyde, making his first appearance ever for the Heat, under the most difficult of circumstances. With one out, the tying run at the plate, and facing a steady rain, Hayen induced a flyball to deep right that seemed catchable, but was played into a triple, allowing two runs to score, making it a one-run ball game. A ball that scooted away on the next batter then allowed the tying run to score. But with two on, Hayden struck out the final batter to send the game into extra innings.

As in the first game, the Heat were given runners at first and second to begin the seventh and once again, they did not waste them. After moving up on a steal, Parker brought home the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Jefferson then walked and Connor rapped yet another two run single to give the Heat a 9-6 lead.

Hayden came back out for the seventh and with the two gift runners aboard, promptly struck out the leadoff man on a changeup that froze the hitter for strike three. The next batter was retired on a diving catch of a soft liner to short by Jefferson. Then after an error allowed the two courtesy runners to score and close the gap to one, Hayden closed it out with his third strikout in his 1-2/3 innings of work to secure the victory.

If I may, I would like to tip my hat to Hayden, who came on in a tough situation, one that had even the coaches feeling for him. Coming on in the midst of a rally and a steady rain, he maintained his composure in his first appearance ever and shut down a determined Bullets team. As a result, the Heat won both games Saturday and secured a #1 seed for Sunday's championship action. Who could ask for anything more.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It took longer than expected, but the Ohio Heat finally vanquished the Fairfield Union Falcons in extra innings by a score of 9-4 in first round action at the PlayBaseball.info tournament at Rumpke Park Saturday afternoon.

It was another comeback affair for the Heat, though it looked as though the Heat would jump out of the gate in this one when Parker Kling led off the game with a double to left center. But he would wind up stranded and the Heat would remain scoreless through three as the Falcons built a 3-0 lead.

The Heat finally broke through for two runs in the fourth as Jefferson Szydlowski and Connor Patterson started the inning with singles, then were brought home on a double by Winston Owens that sailed well over the left fielder's head, closing the gap to one.

The Falcons immediately got that run back in the bottom half of the inning when Jefferson immediately balked in the man from third upon taking the mound. But that would be the final tally for the Falcons as Jefferson went on to strike out seven of the twelve men he faced, allowing just a lone baserunner, in 3-2/3 of scoreless relief.

Meanwhile, the Heat clawed their way back into a tie with two more runs in the fifth. The rally began when Josh Harrison's fly to left was dropped and Parker Kling singled. Joseph Cooney then reached base on a fielder's choice that nabbed Josh on a tag play at the plate. Connor then singled through the hole at short two drive in two to tie the score 4-4.

The Falcons nearly pulled out the victory in the bottom of the sixth when they sandwiched a single between two strikeouts and moved the runner to third via stolen bases. The fourth batter of the inning then hit a sharp line drive back up the middle, but Jefferson was able to knock the ball down and get the man at first to send the game into extra innings.

Tournament rules called for extra innings to begin with runners on first and second with no outs - and the Heat did not squander the gift. Parker walked to load the bases and Joseph followed with a bouncer to the right side. Parker demonstrated deftness of foot as he hopped over Joseph's grounder, allowing it to roll into right and bring in two runs. Jefferson followed with another single to drive in another. Connor then doubled to bring in two more to close out the scoring and leave the Heat with a 9-4 lead.

The Falcons were also granted two baserunners to begin their half of the seventh, but a quick 1-2-3 inning made it a moot point and gave the Heat the victory. Not a pretty one, but one that once again showed the resilience of our young men. It would prove to be a trait that would be needed more than once this day. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Wednesday's game, a 10-0 defeat at the hands of the DNA Pride doesn't really merit much of a recap, so instead, I'm going to wax philosophical for a bit. The headline of this story was taken from a Nike billboard I once saw while driving through Chicago when Michael Jordan was still playing for the Bulls. Players Play, Teams Win. It struck me because it's so simple, and yet so profound.

Yes, it can be argued that a team is just a collection of players who wear the same jersey. But a team - a true team - is so much more. Players play for the name on the back of the jersey, teams play for the one on the front. Players care about stats and themselves, teams care about winning and each other. A player goes 0-for-4 in a winning cause and goes home upset, while a team player, under the same circumstances, goes home happy. Players pout because they don't get the playing time they think they deserve, team players double-down on their effort and earn that playing time.

I've seen that approach again and again with this team. When Zach Holliday was told he was sitting because he needed to improve his hitting, he was at the cages almost every night. His effort paid off with more playing time and the team's reward was one of the best catching performances anyone can remember in the Columbus tournament - a performance that helped propel the team to several big wins. When Parker Kling expressed an interest in playing second base, he showed up early for practice so he could take extra groundballs. When Joseph Cooney sat out a game in Columbus while he struggled at the plate, he didn't complain. Instead, he came back with a five-hit performance the following Saturday that included driving in the tying run and scoring the winning run in a dramatic walk-off victory. Players play, teams win.

We're going to learn a lot about what it means to be a team in the days and weeks to come. This past week has already taught us a couple of valuable lessons. Those comeback victories proved the truth of the old saying that winners never quit and quitters never win. It would have been easy to lay down and quit when the boys faced that five-run deficit against the Anderson Eagles last week, but they didn't. Showing themselves to be the winners they are, they went out and scored eight times to secure the victory. They did it again a few hours later, scoring a walk-off victory after falling behind 4-0. As one player was heard to say afterwards, "I went 0-for-3 in that game and I don't care!" It wasn't that he didn't care about his performance, it was just that the "W" mattered more. That's what teams do - they rely upon each other and focus on the common goal. Players play, teams win. 

There are countless reasons we get our kids involved in youth sports, some noble, some not so much. Some want them to have fun.  Some want them to get some physical activity.  And some of us probably hold out just a little hope that our child may be that one-in-a-million star who goes on to fame and fortune.   But in the end, these are kids. Kids looking to have fun, but kids who are also growing up before our eyes and learning lessons that will linger long after their playing days are done.  Lessons about effort, teamwork, success, adversity, victory and defeat. That being down does not mean you're out.  That hard work pays off.  That success comes when everyone works together toward a common goal.  To remain positive even when things aren't going your way.  To enjoy your success and forget your mistakes.  But most of all, to do the best you can, enjoy doing it and do it with a purpose that extends beyond yourself. If our young men learn those lessons, we'll have done our jobs as parents and coaches - and we'll have set them up for a lifetime of success that can't be measured by a stat sheet or a lineup card. Because players may play, but teams win.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Prepare yourself for a write-up like no other. If you Google "Adrenaline Physiology" (don't worry, no need to do that because I've done it for you), you'll find that shortly after a stress-induced adrenaline rush, the body tries to calm itself down by releasing compounds that counteract the adrenaline effect. Given all the excitement the Ohio Heat went through in securing a semi-final spot in the USSSA Ohio Heat Bash For Cash tourney, it should surprise no one that our boys were perhaps a little flat as they took on the Cincinnati DNA Pride for a spot in the tourney final just moments after an adrenaline-filled victory. That is not to say they didn't put up a battle against a team that sported a 27-3 record coming into the game, because they did. But there would be no miracles this time as they fell by a score of 5-0.

It was a close affair early on as Jefferson Szydlowski held the Pride to one run through three, with that lone run coming on a balk following a leadoff triple in the second. Meanwhile, the Heat offense had trouble getting untracked against a steady stream of breaking balls, with Parker Kling's leadoff single in the fourth being their only hit through the first six innings.

The Pride scored their second run in the fourth on a play that belied just how drained the Heat had become, as the leadoff man walked, then scored all the way from first on a steal attempt where the throw went wide at second and into right center. It can be argued that there is no excuse for that to happen, but as my Google search proved, there certainly can be an explanation. You can only run on adrenaline for so long before you crash. In fact, the effect is precisely like the crash that follows a sugar high - and lord knows we had many such highs all weekend. In any event, the play gave the DNA a none-too-daunting 2-0 lead.

The score remained 2-0 until the sixth, when a single, a walk and a rocket home run all the way to the wall in right gave the Pride a 5-0 lead.

The Heat were not yet ready to concede, however, and given the dramatics of the previous day no one was ready to write them off. Ronnie Allen started things off in the seventh when he reached base on an error with one out. Jefferson then singled him to third, raising hopes that just maybe, the boys had one more miracle left in them. But a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play dashed any hopes for a shot at the title.

While the game and the tournament may not have ended as all may have liked, no one can say these young men didn't leave everything on the field this weekend. After a disappointing Friday loss, they came back to play some of the most inspired baseball one could ever hope to see over the next 48 hours and left all who witnessed it with memories that will not be soon forgotten. We not only witnessed outstanding baseball, but watched a group of talented players become a team - a team that will need to be reckoned with by all who take them on from this point forward. I am sure I speak for all when I say congratulations, young men, and thank you for a spectacular weekend of baseball and heart.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It's said that nothing worthwhile ever comes easy, but must every win leave onlookers gasping for air? This time it wasn't a come-from-behind victory, but one that was of the "hold-on-for-dear-life" variety as the Heat, having already squandered a 5-0 lead, held on for an 8-7 victory over the Midland Warriors, avenging two earlier season losses and securing a semi-final spot in the USSSA Ohio Heat Bash For Cash tournament at Milford Expressway Park Sunday morning. Watching our boys secure that win was nearly as challenging as reading that last sentence.

It didn't look early on that there would be much drama, as the Heat jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the third. The rally began with the most improbable of plays - an infield single by Maguire "Wheels" Stinson. But Maguire's hustle down the line was emblamatic of the desire this team showed this weekend and it set the stage for what was to follow. Dylan Fry followed with a walk and after Zach Holliday advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Parker Kling was hit by a pitch to fill the bases. Ronnie Allen then singled to drive in the Heat's first run. Connor Patterson also singled to drive in two, with a third run scoring as the attempt to get the runner at third was wild, allowing Ronnie to scamper home to make the score 4-0. Will Hack then doubled Connor home to give the Heat what appeared to be a comfortable 5-0 lead.

But nothing would be comfortable this day, as the Warriors chipped away at the Heat lead, scoring two in the bottom of the fourth on two walks and an error, then three more to tie it in the fifth on a walk, a perfect bunt and two singles.

The Heat were undeterred, however, regaining the lead when Connor's fly to left was dropped by the leftfielder and Will's grounder to short was misplayed for an error put two on. Winston Owens then grounded to first, where the Warrior first baseman tagged the bag and tossed to second in an attempt to get an inning-ending double play, but the throw was dropped, allowing Connor to score the go-ahead run.

Two more insurance runs were scored in the top of the seventh - insurance runs that paid off, as we shall see - when Josh Harrison laid out a picture perfect bunt down the third base line for a single. Maguire also bunted and reached safely when the attempt to force Josh at second came up short, leaving two on with no one out. Dylan Fry then walked to load the bases. Following a force out at home, Parker Kling walked to force in a run and Ronnie Allen drove in another on a fielder's choice, putting the Heat ahead 8-5 as they entered the final frame.

Maguire Stinson quickly retired the first two Warriors and it looked as though all might enjoy a quick and easy victory. But a hit batsman and a two-strike single suddenly brought the tying run to the plate. This is where those two insurance runs the Heat plated in their half of the seventh paid off, as the next Warrior then doubled to leave the Heat clinging to a one-run lead. The next Warrior was intentionally walked to set up a force play, but Maguire made that move moot as he struck out the final batter to secure another hold-your-breath victory.

The win put the boys in a semi-final match against the DNA Pride and given the dramatics of the past 24 hours or so, anything was possible. It's certainly hard to ask for anything more.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Oh Baby! Just when it looked as though the Heat were going to waste their earlier game heroics and get knocked out of the Ohio Heat Bash For Cash tournament, they came up with even more late inning fireworks for a 5-4 walk off victory against the highly regarded Cincinnati Sluggers, thus securing a spot in championship round play.

The Sluggers struck early as the first two batters reached base after being hit by pitches. A single brought in a run and put a man on third, but a pick off ended the inning and the threat.

The Sluggers pushed three more across in the second on a couple of cheap hits, a walk, a hit batsman and a fielders choice that left everyone safe. It was hardly an offensive showcase, but it was enough to give them a 4-0 lead that looked as though it might be all they needed.

That 4-0 lead would hold until the bottom of the sixth, thanks to an outstanding relief performance by Ronnie Allen and with the help of some stellar defensive plays, including a fine over-the-shoulder catch in center by Josh Harrison, a textbook first baseman-to-pitcher covering play when Ronnie bolted from the mound as soon as the ball was hit to the right side, and perhaps the play of the entire tournament, when Dylan Fry made a diving backhand stop behind second and threw from his knees to nail the runner on a bang-bang play at first. These defensive stops were thrilling to watch, but would prove crucial as the game wore on. 

And so it went until the Heat came to bat in the bottom of the sixth. Joseph Cooney, who'd had three hits in the earlier game, led off with a single up the middle. Then after two were out, Parker Kling bounced one up the middle to drive in Joseph with the Heat's first run. Ronnie then doubled home Parker to cut the deficit to 4-2.

It looked as though the Sluggers might get those runs back and more as they loaded the bases with one out to start the seventh, but a pitcher-to-home-to-first double play ended the threat and left the door open for the Heat's last at-bat dramatics.

Connor Patterson led off the seventh with a single to center, which was followed by double to right by Will Hack, putting the tying run at second base.  It looked as though it might all be for naught as the next two batters went down with runners on second and third. But then Joseph Cooney ripped his fifth hit of the day. Connor scored easily, but Will stumbled momentarily as he rounded third, adding more drama than those in attendance needed. Fortunately, it was not enough to prevent him from scoring and knotting the game at 4-all. Joseph advanced to second on the throw home, bringing Dylan Fry to the plate with the winning run 140 feet from home plate and as Marty Brennaman would say, Dylan provided us with our Frisch's Big Boy Big Play of the Day. He promptly ripped a shot to center and there was no hesitation as Jeremy waved Joseph around third and toward home. And rarely has so much tension been released so quickly as when the Slugger centerfielder's throw sailed high and wide up the third base line, allowing Joseph to cross the plate uncontested and enter a mob of 12 year-olds that greeted him at home, then migrated as one toward the middle of the diamond to give Dylan his due.

Let it never be said that this team lacks heart. Following what can best be described as a lackluster performance the night before, these young men responded as only winners could, securing two improbable comeback victories when lesser teams would have folded. Never should any game be thought lost from this point forward. With this mix of talent and determination, anything and everything is always within reach.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

This was the day - the day the 2011 edition of the Ohio Heat went from being a collection of talented young baseball players and became a team. Trailing 9-4 as they entered the fith inning, our boys proceeded to tattoo the Anderson Eagles for eight runs en route to a stunning 12-9 come-from-behind victory in second round action at the Ohio Heat Bash For Cash tournament at Expressway Park in Milford.

Yet as dramatic as that fifth inning outburst may have been, the real turning point may have come an inning earlier, when the entire infield gathered at the mound to pump up Jefferson Szydlowski, who was struggling to close out the inning. Coach Jeremy was correct during his post-game talk in calling that the best thing he saw all game. It was a moment the players took it upon themselves to support a teammate and stop the Eagles' onslaught.  And it worked.  The very next play was a line-drive snagged by a lunging Connor Patterson at third that he converted into an inning-ending unassisted double play (and had there been no outs, it most assuredly would have been a triple play).

This game certainly didn't start out as one that would provide such dramatics. The Heat jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Parker Kling walked, worked his way to third and scored on a ground out to short. Jefferson then singled and scored on a single by Connor.

But the Eagles did the Heat one better, scoring three in their half of the first to take a 3-0 lead. It was not the prettiest of innings for the Heat and it looked as though the uninspired play of the evening before had carried over to Saturday.

It looked as though the Heat might break the game open in the second as they loaded the bases when Joseph Cooney ripped a shot to center, Dylan Fry walked and Parker was hit by a pitch. But they mustered just one run when Ronnie Allen walked to force in a run, leaving the score tied 3-3.

The Eagles took a 6-3 lead in the third with the help of a couple of fielding miscues and a single up the middle that went off the pitcher's glove (it wasn't a play that should have been made, just one of those oh-so-close plays that make baseball such a game of inches). While misfortune may have helped the Eagles plate their runs, Lady Luck also assisted the Heat, as the inning ended on a leaping catch of a line drive at short by Jefferson, who happened to be in position to make the catch only because he happened to be holding the runner on second. So luck goes both ways.

The Heat manufactured a run in the fourth as Winsotn Owens and Joseph singled, Dylan sacrificed them to second and third, respectively, and Parker brought Winston home with a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to 6-4.

But the Eagles came right back with three in the bottom of the fourth as Jefferson struggled with his control, perhaps due in part to a finger nail on his index finger that had been bent back in half during pregame warmups. It was after his fourth base-on-balls that catcher Zach Holliday called time to confer with his battery mate. Joseph took the cue and came over from first and the rest of the infield followed. We don't know what was said, but there were pats on the back and signs of reassurance. And then Connor pulled his rabbit out of the hat and snared a hard shot that looked certain to make it's way through the hole and into left. The Eagles were so certain that it would get through safely that the runner on third was practically in the dugout when Connor stepped on third to double him off.

Unlike the night before, when dazzling plays in the field were unable to spark the Heat to greater heights, Connor's play seemed to light a fuse as the boys came to bat in the top of the fifth. With the game nearing the two hour time limit, this would be the Heat's final chance to erase the five run deficit. And erase it they did. Jefferson led off with a hard shot that confounded the Eagle first baseman, resulting in an error. Connor followed with a slow roller that he turned into a hit with a headfirst dive into first, demonstrating that the spark was lit. Will Hack then doubled into the gap in left, driving in two. Josh Harrison walked to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Winston Owens, who ripped a wicked one-hopper to third. The Eagle third baseman, who seemed as surprised as anyone to find the ball in his glove, proceeded to sail the ball over the first baseman's head, bringing in another run. Joseph singled in another to cut the dificit to one. Then, after a walk to Dylan loaded the bases, Parker Kling ripped a line drive into right to bring in the tying and go-ahead runs. A couple of wild throws then cleared the bases and left the Heat with a 12-9 lead.

Ronnie then came on in relief of Jefferson and closed down the Eagles to secure the improbable victory.  In doing so, the Heat not only kept themselves in contention for championship round play in this tournament, but also set the stage for what would turn out to be the most dramatic and exciting day in recent Heat history. And as one observer predicted prior to the fifth inning fireworks, may have set a tone that will be seen as the turning point in the season. The rest of the day's events would appear to prove that theory correct.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The drought at the plate continued for the Ohio Heat Friday night as they fell to the Eastside Sluggers by a score of 6-1 in pool play action at the USSSA Ohio Heat Bash For Cash tournament at Milford Expressway Park.  That lone run did not come until the seventh inning, putting an end to a sixteen inning scoreless streak over the past three games.  Today's near whitewash left many scratching their heads, since this did not come against the dominating pitching of a week ago.  One can only hope that the signs of life seen in the seventh, when the boys put together three hits against a hard throwing lefty, will be the start of an offensive resurgence.

The first inning was typical of the whole game, with both teams putting a sole runner on base, but whereas the Heat left their man stranded, the Sluggers were able to bring their's home with some aggressive baserunning.  It looked as though the Heat might get a spark from a diving backhand catch of a soft line drive inches off the ground by Jefferson Szydlowski to end the first, but it was not to be as Will Hack was erased on a double play following his leadoff single in the second en route to a 1-2-3 inning.

The Sluggers scored one more in their half of the second, but the damage could have been much worse as they loaded the bases with one out. Maguire Stinson worked his way out of the jam, however, with a strikeout and a fly to left, leaving the Heat within striking distance 2-0.

The score remained that until the fifth with the help of a sliding grasstop catch by Joseph Cooney in left in the third and a 1-3-6 pickoff in the fourth.  But those were the sole highlights as the Heat bats continued their silent ways, save for a solid double over the leftfielder's head by Ronnie Allen.

The Sluggers broke the game open with four in the fifth on just two hits to make the score 6-0.

The Heat finally broke through in the seventh when Parker Kling led off with a single to center and Jefferson singled down the line in right. Will followed with another single and Winston Owens took a pitch in the back to load the bases, but that would be it as the Slugger lefty closed it out for the 6-1 victory.

It's tough to put a positive spin on this one. These boys have talent top to bottom, but it's now time to show a little pride, a little attitude, a little anger and let others know they're not to be messed with.  When they do, look out.  Let's just make sure it happens soon. there's no reason it shouldn't.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It may go into the books as a loss, but the Ohio Heat's 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Louisville Lightning in championship round play at the Central Ohio Select tournamnet in Dublin Ohio was a game any baseball purist could love, regardless of allegiance. It featured tight defense, heart-pounding suspense and some of the finest pitching one will ever see at this level.  That the Heat came out on the short end was simply a matter of fortune and fate, twin vixens that could have just as easily sided with the Heat as with the Lightning.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

This was one of those games that showed just how close the Ohio Heat are to being an elite baseball team, while also showing the distance they must yet travel to earn that distinction. For nearly five innings our young men hung right with one of the region's top teams, but a controversial call - an almost unfathomable call - in the fifth inning seemed to turn the tide, resulting in an 8-1 loss to the Louisville Lightning in the second game of pool play at the Central Ohio Select tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

The game began right where the previous one ended, with Zach Holliday making a spectacular play behind the plate, diving to catch a fouled bunt attempt and immediately throwing from his back to shortstop to double off the man on second.  The heads-up nature of the play - how did Zach know to make that throw when his back was to the infield - left fans and coaches alike shaking their heads in wonder.  If anyone is looking for an example of what the coaches mean when they say players must be aware of the situation, well, there it is. Simply unbelievable.

The Heat followed Zach's theatrics with a first inning threat, putting men on second and third following a walk to Jefferson Szydlowski and a Connor Patterson double, but were unable to push either across the plate. 

The boys were able to break through in the second on a walk to Winston Owens and a single by Josh Harrison - Josh's fourth hit of the day - to take a 1-0 lead, but Louisville came right back with two of their own on a walk, an odd-hop error and a two-run single.

The Lightning added another run in the fourth on a walk, hit batsman and a wild pitch, but as had been the case all day, the threat was limited when Zach Holliday cut down a runner attempting to steal second.

The fifth saw the play that seem to change the entire tenor of the game. With the score 3-1 in favor of the Lightning, Louisville proceeded to load the bases with one out.  They then attempted a straight steal of home, but Connor Patterson's delivery was too quick and stopped the Louisville runner dead in his tracks and sent him scampering back toward third.  Zach fired down to third, setting up a rundown.  Ronnie Allen fired back to Zach, who caught the ball and in one motion, applied a swipe tag on the runner tripping over Zach's leg as he blocked the plate.  The sound of leather slapping against the runner's backside could be heard far and wide and the only question as the dust cleared was whether Zach had held onto the ball.  There was a momentary delay waiting for the call - surely because the umpire wanted to make sure the ball had remained in Zach's glove.  And sure enough it had.  But then the umpire signaled safe - and all hell broke loose (please excuse the language, but that's the only way to describe it).  The entire Heat side of the stands exploded in disbelief (this reporter included, which as most know is entirely out of character).  The umpire argued no tag had been applied, leaving all to wonder which ballgame he was watching (and perhaps how he might be supplementing his income).  But no matter, the call stood and the Heat found themselves down 4-1.

The Heat suffered no further damage that inning, but the sixth saw Louisville put a four-spot on the board to take an insurmountable 8-1 lead, and that's how the game ended.

As stated earlier, this game showed how close our boys are - and what must happen to reach that next level.  They played an outstanding game for five innings, hanging tough against a solid rival.  Despite the call against them (and several others that were questionable in nature), they still had every opportunity to take this one.  All they need is to believe that themselves.  There is no reason they shouldn't and once they do, look out.  They'll get their chance Sunday.  Time to believe.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat rode Zach Holliday's catching clinic, which on the day included at least four runners caught stealing, a pick-off and a spectacular double-play on a pop foul, to an opening round 10-5 victory over the Toledo Rockets in the Central Ohio Select Tournament at Avery Field in Dublin, Ohio.

The Heat jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first without the aid of a single hit (but with the aid of several Rocket miscues) as Joseph Cooney reached base on a strikeout and passed ball, Jefferson Szydlowski reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, Connor Patterson loaded the bases on a fielder's choice (a poor choice, as all runners were safe) and another fielder's choice off the bat of Winston Owens that brought Joseph home with the game's first run.

The Rockets scored two of their own in the second to take a 2-1 lead, but the Heat answered with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning.  As in the first, the Heat loaded the bases with no outs as Ronnie Allen was hit by a pitch and Josh Harrison and Zach Holliday singled. Dylan Fry then brought two runs home on one of those "comedy of errors" plays, where the Rockets didn't quite know when to stop throwing the ball, allowing Ronnie and Josh to cross the plate. Parker Kling drove in the third run on a rocket to third that even the third baseman seemed surprised that he snagged. His "look what I found" hesitation wasn't enough to allow Parker to reach first safely, but it was enough to allow Zach to score the Heat's third run of the inning, giving them a 4-2 lead.  The damage could have been worse were it not for a diving backhand by the second baseman on a Jefferson Szydlowski rip up the middle for the third out. It was part of a strange pattern that saw the Rockets make fine plays with their gloves, if not their arms.

The Rockets scored once again in the third, but the damage was limited as Zach nailed his first runner attempting to steal to end the threat and the inning.

The bottom of the third saw the Heat extend their lead to 6-3 as Maguire Stinson drew a two-out walk, followed by a Winston Owens single that sent Will Hack, who was running for Maguire, to third. Will then scored on a throw attempting to catch Winston stealing second.  Winston then scored from second when the Rocket third baseman threw wildly to first following a Ronnie Allen groundball.

The Rockets threatened in the fourth with a one-out double, but once again, Zach nailed the runner trying to steal third to clear the bases. Connor Patterson then closed the inning with a strikeout.

The Heat proceeded to blow the game open with four runs in the fourth. Once again, the inning began with a Heat batter reaching base safely on a strikeout. Parker Kling followed with a solid single to left and Joseph walked, loading the bases with no outs for the third time in four innings.  Jefferson then singled on a 3-2 pitch to bring home two.  Will Hack brought home another on a groundout to short and Maguire closed the scoring with a solid RBI single.

The fifth saw the Rockets put the first man aboard with a single, but once again, Zach wiped him off the bases, picking him off third to end the inning - but not before Connor celebrated a strikeout with a little fist pump.

The Rockets tried to make some noise in the sixth as the first man reached on an error and went to third on a single. But having not learned their lesson, the Rockets tried stealing second, only to be cut down by Zach yet one more time.  The final two outs were recorded on a popup to Zach (who else) and a flyball to Parker in center to put the 10-5 victory in the books. 

It can be argued that an out is an out, no matter how it is recorded, but there is something about a runner being cut down on the basepaths after reaching base safely that makes for a double-whammy like no other. Not only does it take the wind out of one team's sails, but it seems to put a little more into the sails of the other. If that's the case, then today Zach Holliday was a one-man storm. Heat opponents would be wise to heed the storm warnings.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Heat bats picked up right where they left off in game one of the Sunday doubleheader agains the CC Reds, scoring in all but one inning in an 11-1 run-rule victory and doubleheader sweep at WCBC.  The boys jumped right out of the gate, as Jefferson Szydlowski reached first on an error and was brought home on a Will Hack double.  Connor Patterson then drove Will home with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Heat a 2-0 lead.

The Reds got one back in their half of the first on a walk and a single, but that would be it for the day as Jospeh Cooney, Dylan Fry and Connor Patterson proceeded to shut them down the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the Heat steadily built their lead, scoring two more in the second when Zach Holliday doubled to left with two outs, Dylan singled and Trent Rosenbeck did the same (following a nine-pitch at bat).  They added another in the third on a Jefferson walk, yet another Will Hack single and a dropped flyball in right, thanks in part to a wicked wind that wreaked havoc on balls hit in the air all day.

The boys broke the game open with a five run fourth.  Josh Harrison and Dylan got the rally started with singles, followed by a walk by Trent.  Parker Kling drove Josh home with a single up the middle and Joseph walked to drive in Dylan.  Jefferson then uncorked a two run double to left-center.  Connor then brought home the fifth run with yet another sacrifice fly, putting the score at 10-1.

The Reds finally held the Heat scoreless in the fifth, but a walk to Parker, sngle by Joseph and a sacrifice fly by Jefferson brought home a run in the sixth, securing an 11-1 lead.

The game wasn't all offense, however, as Zach Holliday and Parker Kling teamed up to nail a runner trying to steal second in the fifth, with Parker leaping over the incoming runner to snag the throw, executing a perfect swipe tag as the runner slid beneath him.  The game ended with a putout at home as Zach caught a Red wandering too far off third, putting the tag on after a brief, well-executed run-down.

It may have taken a while, but the Heat fired on all cylinders Sunday, with solid play on the mound, in the field and especially at the plate.  It couldn't come at a better time as we prepare to enter the heart of our season.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

It took a little while, but the Heat finally demonstrated Sunday what we've known all along - that they are a very good ballclub.  Early on it looked as though it might be another one of those games, as the CC (Corpus Christi) Reds took an early 3-1 lead on a lone hit, one that travelled no more than five feet from home plate.  It would prove to be the Reds' only hit of the game and one of only three they would muster all day.  In the end, the Heat would walk away with a 14-3 game one vistory at WCBC.

The first inning looked as though we might have a pitchers' duel on our hands as Jefferson Szydlowski retired the Reds on five pitches to start the game and the Heat went down on nine in their half of the first (seven of those pitches were to leadoff man Joseph Cooney).  The Reds tallied first when an error, the aforementioned tapper and a wild pitch brought home a run in the second.  But the Heat responded in kind when Connor Patterson doubled to left-center and came around on successive groundouts.

The third got a little hairy as the Reds scored twice without a single hit to take a 3-1 lead, but with the bases loaded and one out, Zach Holliday flagged down a wind-tortured flyball in rightfield to begin a doubleplay that ended the threat.  

The Heat evened the score in the fourth on a Joseph single, Will Hack double an error by the Reds pitcher and a fielders choice.

It wasn't until the fifth that the Heat bats came alive, and when they did, hooboy, the rout was on as they scored eleven to put the game away.  The rally began with singles by Josh Harrison and Zach Holliday, followed by an error by the Reds third baseman.  Parker Kling then laid down a perfect bunt for a single, Joseph walked, Jefferson singled, Will walked, Connor singled to right, Ronnie Allen doubled to the wall in left, Winston Owens singled, Josh reached on an error Dylan Fry got hit by a pitch and Trent Rosenbeck walked.  When it was all over, the score was 14-3 and the run-rule victory was assured.

Despite the shaky third, the boys showed their mettle, never letting the inning or the game get away from them.  Meanwhile, Jefferson and Ronnie combined for a one-hitter, which is the type of pitching performance that was so common last year.  It can be hoped that this is just a harbinger of things to come. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

If only it were May and we had twenty more minutes of daylight.  Heck, even if given just ten minutes, then surely the Ohio Heat would have completed their comeback against the Midland Warriors on Wednesday night. Instead, the game was called as the Heat were coming to bat in the bottom of the seventh, and thus the game ended as a 12-9 defeat. Why do I feel so confident the boys would have come back? Because of the way they came off the field after the top of the seventh.  I watched nine young men sprint - and I mean sprint as though in a race, which of course they were, against a setting sun. And the last words I heard before they disappeared into the dugout was Parker Kling yelling, "OK, here we go!"  This was a team that had closed the gap repeatedly throughout the night, and now having worn down the Warrior's pitching staff, knew they were poised for the dramatic victory.

Alas, Mr. Sun won the race.

Now, I know there was some consternation on the Heat side of the field that the man in blue called the game after allowing the Warriors to bat in their half of the seventh, but I will stand up here and argue that he did an outstanding job. Consider that as darkness fell, he had three options.  The first was to call the game as soon as the sixth inning ended. That would have sealed the defeat then and there. The second option was to play the seventh inning to completion, regardless of conditions. Clearly, that would be dangerously foolish. Or, he could let the sun dictate, allowing the Heat to take the field and see if they could retire the Warriors quickly enough to give themselves another shot at the plate. But with the sun already descended below the distant horizon, the Warriors were able to mount enough of a rally that by the time it came the Heat's turn to take their cuts, it was sufficiently dark to cause split-second delays in picking up the ball that could mean the difference between a clean play and serious injury. We may be disappointed we didn't get the chance to hit, but we cannot question the umpire's judgment. We can argue that he should have never allowed the seventh to begin, but the fact he did was in our favor. So, from this see-the-sunny-side optimist's perspective, he did everything he could to give us a chance without putting our boys at risk. I can't see how we could ask for anything more.

As for the game itself, well, we're dealing with a strange situation here at the Szydlowski household. I went to bed with my notebook sitting on the kitchen counter, only to wake up and find it missing.  Same with Chris's watch. I suggested that perhaps we'd been burglarized. Chris said she can't imagine that a burglar would have been interested in just her watch and my notebook (I beg to differ - I think I can be pretty entertaining). Nonetheless, I'm writing blind here until the mystery is solved. Perhaps we have a sleepwalker. Who knows.

Anyway, what I do know is that the Heat were in an early 5-0 hole when Parker Kling stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and ripped the first of his two hits on the night, bringing in two runs. Joseph Cooney, who also had two hits this evening, brought in another run. A fourth run was scored to close the gap to 5-4, but memory fails me as to how it was scored.

The Warriors promptly got back those runs and more, scoring six to take an 11-4 lead.  But the Heat kept chipping away, closing to 11-6, then 12-9 as they entered the seventh. Nearly everyone contributed, with doubles off the bats of Zach Holliday and Winston Owens. But as has been made abundantly clear in this missive, time was not on the Heat's side this day. But I do firmly believe that our young men had the demeanor of a winner as they prepared to bat in the bottom of the seventh, and that bodes well as we move forward. As was mentioned in the stands, Butler University began their season a disappointing 5 and 4, while UConn went 9-9 in the Big East. Yet the two met for the national title. Early season disappointment is not a reason to get down, it is a reason to get determined. I saw that determination in our boys' sprint off the field at the end of the seventh.  This team has all the talent and more from last season - a season that saw tournament championships and outstanding play against some of the best teams anywhere.  That talent will win out in the end, especially if combined with more of the determination the sun so heartlessly defied Wednesday night.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Heat were flummoxed for five innings by a deceptively crafty righhander as they fell to the Louisville Samurai by a score of 7-5, thereby dashing any hopes for a tournament championship at the Florence Freedom 12U Spring Fling.  Despite looking like someone the Heat could feast upon, the Samurai hurler did a nice job of mixing speeds and keeping hitters off-balance until the boys were finally able to break through for two runs in the bottom of the fourth on Will Hack's fourth home run of the season.  By then, the Samurai had plated three runs for a lead they would never relinquish.

The score remained 3-2 until the Samurai appeared to break the game open with four runs in the top half of the sixth.  But the Heat were not ready to concede defeat just yet. With one out in their last at-bat, Jefferson Szydlowski blooped a single just over the shortstop's head. Maguire Stinson followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-3.  Will Hack then came through again, bashing his second home run of the game - and fifth on the season - to bring the Heat within two. [At this point I must point out, to the chagrin of every parent who has spent a significant chunk of change on the latest whiz-bang, high-tech composite bat, that all of Will's home runs this season have come by way of a bat purchased off eBay for five bucks. Play It Again Sports, here I come.  But I digress.] Winston Owens followed Will's heroics with a double that brought the potential tying run to the plate, but it was not to be as the Samurai were able to garner the final out and the victory.

Though everyone was hoping to play more baseball this weekend, we saw the bats - regardless of price - churn out a team average that was 83 points higher than last weekend. We saw some tough kids take some hard shots (Maguire, Connor) and get right back in there. We may not have achieved what we hoped this weekend, but it seemed abundantly clear this team was capable of winning this tournament. It's just a matter of time until we get what's ours.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

One of the beauties of baseball is that there is supposed to be no clock, but it looked as though the Heat might run up against the 2 hour time limit imposed at Florence Freedom 12U Spring Fling tournament in the first inning Sunday as they pushed fifteen runs across the plate en route to a 20-5 drubbing of the Monroe Swarm Sunday morning in Round Two tourney action. It was the Heat's largest offensive display since enjoying a 24 run outburst against the Ross Rams in May of 2008.

The inning was remarkable in every way, as each player scored at least once, including fourteen of the first fifteen men to come to the plate.  It was 12-0 with two men on before the second out was made, at which time the Heat had been batting for almost 45 minutes.  And finally, it was all capped off with a three-run Josh Harrison home run, his second of the season. Here's how it all broke down:  Joseph Cooney walk, Jefferson Szydlowski walk, Maguire Stinson RBI single, Jefferson scores on a wild pitch, Connor Patterson walk, Winston Owens brings two home when he reaches on the shortstop's two-base throwing error, Josh walk, Ronnie Allen RBI single, Trent Rosenbeck RBI single, Parker Kling walk, Joseph two-run single, Jefferson run-scoring error at first, Maguire three base throwing error by the third baseman, Connor RBI single, Will Hack walk and Josh's home run grand finale.

The Swarm mounted a token rally, scoring two in the second, but Dylan Fry came on in relief with one out and the bases loaded and proceeded to shut the door with the help of a heads-up play by Trent at second, who fielded a grounder in the hole between first and second and alertly got the force at second when he found first base unattended. The inning also featured an act of revenge by the baseball, apparently for the damage done to it in the first, as Connor took a foul tip off his arm that left a clear imprint of the ball - seams and all - across his forearm.

The Heat added four more in the second as Trent walked, Parker reached base on an error, Dylan walked and Jefferson launched a triple that one-hopped off the wall some 325 feet away in right (if the Google Maps measuring tool is at all accurate). Maguire then singled Jefferson home for the inning's final run, bring the score to 19-2.

The Swarm scored three more in the top of the third on a couple of walks and singles, but the Heat were able to complete the run-rule victory in their half of the inning when Dylan Fry reached base on an error, bringing home Ronnie, who had singled to lead off the inning. All-in-all it was a fitting end to an error-free offensive and defensive display by the Heat on picture-perfect morning in as nice a setting for baseball as we are likely to see.  

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

So this was one to forget (giving up twelve in one inning with the help of five infield hits needs to be forgotten), but I have to give it up for Maguire Stinson.  That brutal inning ended thanks to one of the gutsiest plays you'll see as Maguire took a hard shot to his cheekbone when the ball ricocheted off the bag at first, off Maguire's face and into foul territory. Maguire chased the ball down and beat his man to first for the final out.  It was then, and only then, that Maguire went down in pain. I am quite certain we'll all see the aftermath of that play on his face tomorrow.  I know you are in pain Maguire, but you can stand tall, my friend.  That was a play only a real ballplayer could make.

There were other highlights in the 12-4 loss to the Butler County Bombers.  In fact, it looked as though the Heat had the Bombers' number early on as they rode Will Hack's early season power surge to a 2-0 first inning lead, thanks to his third home run of the new season.  This one was an inside-the-parker that rolled all the way to the warning track in left-center field of the Florence Freedom's cavernous minor league ballpark.  Winston Owens pushed the lead to 3-0 an inning later when he drilled a shot over the leftfielder's head that also reached warning track paydirt.  The Heat's final run was manufactured entirely by Joseph Cooney as he singled, went from first to third on a passed ball, then scampered home on another ball that scooted away from the Bomber's catcher.

Meanwhile, Winston was superb on the mound, holding the Bombers scoreless through three.  Power, hustle, pitching, defense - things were looking well-in-hand.  And then someone blared Cotton-Eyed Joe over the loudspeakers and everything changed.  I can think of no other explanation, so I'm going to go with that - it was Cotton-Eyed Joe's fault.  Whatever it was, everything the Bombers did turned up roses.  High-hoppers, slow rollers, bunts and bombs, no matter how they hit 'em, they worked for the Bombers. When the dust had cleared, Maguire wasn't the only one with a black eye.  But tomorrow's another day and the best thing we can do is pick ourselves up and prove what we are all about - just as Maguire proved what he's about on that play at first.  Tough, determined and not to be denied.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

The Ohio Heat downed a tough Diamond Elite squad Wednesday night - a squad that was coming off weekend victories over the Cincinnati Mustangs, Eastside Sluggers and Cincinnati Riverbats, National League powerhouses all.  

The 5-1 final was not at all certain as the DE held a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the third, when the Heat scored two on a rally that began with a picture perfect bunt by Joseph Cooney that ran about 10 feet down and three feet inside the first base line.  That was followed by back-to-back RBI singles by Maguire Stinson and Connor Patterson to give the Heat a 2-1 lead.  The rally also featured, hmmm, how shall I say it - a stop, hop and leap move by Connor, in an effort to avoid a tag at second, that proved to be not quite as effective as it was entertaining.  Nonetheless, his RBI single gave the Heat a lead they would never relinquish.

The Heat added two more in the fourth on a Will Hack single, walks to Jefferson Szydlowski and Winston Owens and a fielder's choice off the bat of Trent Rosenbeck that brought home a run.  My notes fail me in determining how the second run of the inning scored, but trust me, it did, putting the Heat ahead 4-1.

The Diamond Elite threatened in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but a one-hopper to Jefferson on the mound quickly turned into a 1-2-3 (pitcher to catcher to first) double play that ended the threat (it should be noted here that Dave Hack called the play before it happened.  Dave, you are now permanently on-call in the event of future such threats).

The Heat then added an insurance run when Will Hack's wicked rip handcuffed the DE shortstop, allowing Will to reach first safely and eventually score on a Josh Harrison single. And so ended the day's scoring, with the Heat up 5-1.

A thought to close with.  We should remember that our young men have had exactly one outdoor practice this season, one that took place in miserable conditions on a cow pasture masquerading as a soccer field.  They have not had a single round of actual infield practice.  Not a single round of outdoor batting practice.  That is through the fault of no one but Mother Nature. Yet save for the somewhat shaky second inning when the DE scored their lone run, the Heat defense was solid, with Josh, especially, putting on a smooth-as-silk display at shortstop.  That the bats might remain a little quiet or the arms and gloves a bit rusty should surprise no one. Everyone, boys included, need to keep that in mind, especially when one considers that the professionals in the sport just completed six weeks of daily practice on pristine fields in near-perfect conditions in preparation of their season.  No one, not even the best, can just fall out of bed and expect to be on top of their game.  It's why they call it "mid-season form."

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

So we lost a tough tournament game in the late innings Sunday.  A disaster?  A shame?

Absolutely not!  And let me tell you why.

I had to leave midway through what was a taut, well-played game with the boys down 2-1, but here is what I saw.  I saw Maguire Stinson, who was out with a concussion just the day before, drill a ball off his ankle and step right back in and take an aggressive cut on the very next pitch.  I saw Jefferson Szydlowski make a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle even though there was no hope of getting the runner at first.  I saw Dylan Fry make an all-out diving attempt on a ball he had no hope of even reaching.  I saw Joseph Cooney turn in three outstanding innings on the mound.  I saw Will Hack single-handedly fighting to get his team back in the game with his second home run in as many days, then start an inning-ending double play when he snared a hard liner back to the mound before tossing to double up the man at first.

And I apparently missed the best part.  Despite being down 4-1, our boys - excuse me, our young men - never gave up,  They battled back, evening the score on a Szydlowski double and taking the lead on Josh Harrison's clutch, go-ahead two-run homer. That is something to celebrate.  Yes, their opponents came back and won 8-6, but not without a battle, including another diving effort by Dylan that just eluded his grasp.  

These aren't the traits of a team that doesn't try or doesn't care, they are the traits of winners, no matter what the score.  These are skilled young men who have been working since November to improve themselves, who have taken private lessons, who've hit off tees in basements, practiced backhands in backyards and family rooms and taken countless cuts at public cages.  They work, they care and they want it every bit as much as the adults around them.

Might we be disappointed by the final score?  Sure. But is that the only measure of performance?  Not by a long shot.

I have long believed that there are just two kinds of organizations - those that motivate the good and weed out the bad, and those that frustrate the good and wind up left with the bad.  Which type of organization one becomes depends entirely on what one focuses upon.  Those that recognize and celebrate the positive will be rewarded with more of the same. Those that ignore the positive and dwell only on the negative will not.  Focus on the positive and you not only reward those for their efforts, but you set a clear example of what is valued and that to which all should aspire.  Ignore the positive and focus on the negative and you sap the spirit from those who gave their all.  And no organization - business, church, club or team - can thrive when sapped of its spirit.

So let's celebrate all that went right today and work on what did not tomorrow.  Every one of these boys are capable of getting the clutch hit, making the key defensive stop and as sure as the sun will rise, each will get their turn.  And I cannot wait to praise them from the rooftops when they do.  On that, you can depend.

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

Both the sun and Heat bats came out in game two of Global World Series Qualifier action, warming the hearts and bodies of Heat faithful with a 12-7 victory over the Athens Sandlot All-Stars at LJ Smith Fields Saturday.

The Heat looked like they might blow the game open early, loading the bases with two out in the first, but the fireworks would have to wait as they left the bases jammed. Starter Jefferson Szydlowski shut the All-Stars down in their half of the first, helping his own cause with a diving snag of a soft pop that looked destined to drop between the mound and the third base line to close the inning.

It was finally time for the bats to come out. Josh Harrison began by reaching first on an error. Parker Kling and Trent Rosenbeck followed with walks to load the bases. Following a force out at the plate and a fly to left, it looked like the Heat might be frustrated again, but a ground rule double under the right-center fence by Ronnie Allen plated two runs and the rout was on. Winston Owens singled in two more runs, Connor Patterson tripled in another and Jefferson brought Connor home with a single to left. Will Hack then capped the fireworks display with fireworks of his own, launching an improbable shot into a driving wind over the left-center fence for the Heat's first home run of the season to cap an eight-run rally, all of which scored after two were out. 

The All-Stars gained one back on a walk and a groundout in the bottom of the second, but the Heat responded with two more of their own in the third on a Trent Rosenbeck walk, Joseph Cooney single and RBI singles by Ronnie and Winston to make the score 10-1.

The Warriors crashed the plate for one in the third when a man reached base when two Heat players crashed into each other, then scored on a grounder to third, But that would be all Jefferson would allow, leaving with a healthy 10-2 lead.

The All-Stars began chipping away in the fourth, scoring two on three walks and a single. The Heat came back with one in the fifth when Zach Holliday reached on an error and scored on a series of groundouts to make the score 11-4. 

The All-Stars closed to 11-5 in the fifth and the Heat pushed the lead back to seven when the All-Star pitcher walked in a bases-loaded run following an erro and two walks.

It started getting a little dicey in the sixth when the All-Stars scored two runs on a couple of hits and an error, but ronnie Allen caught an All-Star looking a strike three for the final out of the game and the Heat's first win of the season.

It might not have been the prettiest win we'll see all season, but given how misfortune played a role in the opening game loss, it is hard to argue it wasn't deserved. The boys were agrgressive at the plate, smart on the bases and tenacious when it mattered in the field. That is where success is born - in this case, surely the first of many successes. 

Posted by Paul Szydlowski

You will never believe what an artful re-telling of the Ohio Heat's season-opening game I just composed - because as soon as I completed it and hit submit, I was greeted with a "You are not logged in" message and my prose was lost to the ether. Alas. Suffice it to say that the basball gods were not kind to the Heat today as an error, an oh-so-close diving attempt on a soft flyball to right-center and a wicked-hop triple to the wall paved the way for three Midland Warrior runs that made all the difference in a 4-2 loss on a cold, gray, blustery morning in first round action in the Global World Series Qualifier at LJ Smith Fields in Hamilton.

The Heat looked poised to take an early lead as they put two men on with two out in the first, but the Warrior lefthander's crafty move to first proved a little too crafty, putting an end to any Heat hopes of an initial score.

Heat starter Winston Owens was every bit as stingy during the Warrior first, setting them down in short order without a ball leaving the infield. The game remained scoreless in the top of the second despite a Will Hack double down the line in left, but a couple of walks and a single to center allowed the Warriors to take a 1-0 lead after two.

Following a quiet Heat third, the fates took over as an error allowed the Warriors to put a man on first to start their half of the inning. The next batter then lofted a lazy looper into short right-center that almost landed in the glove of a diving Heat outfielder but rolled away, putting men at first and third. The third man up then ripped a rocket cleanly to right that hit and bounced wildly to Will Hack's right and rolled to the wall for a two-run triple. What could have easily been two outs and a man on first was suddenly two runs in and a man on third with no one out. That man on third then scored on a routine grounder to third, giving the Warriors a 4-0 lead. 

The Heat looked like they may generate their own Opening Day dramatics as they came to bat in the sixth. Parker Kling reached first safely to start the inning, diving into the bag ahead of the throw after the Warrior second baseman's bobble. Parker made his way to third as Joseph Cooney worked for a walk, from where he would score on a Ronnie Allen groundout. Following a two-out walk by Connor Patterson, Jefferson Szydlowski singled to left to close the gap to 4-2. But that's as close as they would get as two sharply hit balls to start the seventh ended up as mere outs as the Warriors quelled any hopes of a come-from-behind victory.

Yes, baseball fate played its evil tricks Saturday morning, but just as certainly fate and skill will combine to provide more cheery outcomes in games to come. That, as much as anything, is why Ernie Banks would famously say, "Let's play two!"

Posted by Paul Szydlowski