A Little Orange Leaf- Yes Please!

Monday is usually our Fun Day since I am off but not this week!  This momma had some major cleaning to do around the house and food to be bought!  The boys slept in until 9:30 and once they were awake, Jake and I ran to WalMart to get groceries!  I came home and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more- my house finally got some attention!  Clutter is always picked up, my house honestly stays pretty uncluttered but dirty, yes it was very dirty thanks to baseball!  I cleaned toilets, dusted furniture, mopped the hardwood floors, vacuumed, scrubbed tubs...you name it, it was done!  It felt good to have a clean house once again.  The boys and I headed to the dentist in Evansville around 2:30 for Jake's 3:00 appointment.  After the dentist, I treated the boys to Orange Leaf which was devoured on the way home to get ready for baseball practice.  Jake had practice from 5:30 - 8:00, it was a beautiful night at the ballpark!  After practice, Jake went home with his buddy from the team- Ethan and Jordan had his friend Skyler over.  Skyler ended up staying another night, he left this morning.  We had a productive, restful Monday....I wish I had every day during the Summer off to spend with my kids!

Rookies at Golfmoor Tourney 2014

Golfmoor didn't treat us well, the boys lost in the second round of the tourney.   I have never seen grown men act like babies more in my life than at this tourney.  We went 3-0 in pool play during the week and faced a tough Newburgh team on Saturday in tournament play, winning 18-6!  Sunday we faced East and their coach was absolutely the most ridiculous coach I have ever seen.  It is sad that he is a role model for his team.  He charged the field arguing with the umps more time than not and got the umps to reverse a call-which is not allowed to happen!  It was sad how uninvited we felt there.  We will not be back next year for sure!  Our boys played their hearts out, giving all they had to an inconsistent pitching machine!  They trailed 7-0 up until the 3rd inning and came back strong scoring 4 and holding East until the end.  We could never score again but we played with all heart!  My fav. picture so far this season (& it's a blurry one) is of Jordan pulling Jake's bag after pool play Fri. evening.  He was away at church camp all week missing the Tues night games and was so excited to get home in enough time Fri. to see the Rookies play.  He is truly Jake's biggest fan, he works non stop with him!  I love my boys and even though they do fight at times, they are best friends!

Called to Duty Teen Camp 2014

Jordan finally got home from camp Friday evening!  I was so happy to have him home after being gone all week to church camp.  He had an absolute blast!  God laid being baptized on his heart, so we are in the process of setting that up!  I believe he has a calling on his life, just waiting on God to show him.  I love my boy so much, we butt heads so much but at the end of the day we love each other!

Sweet Summertime Memories

Jordan is at church camp this week and Brad is off working around the house.  We let Jacob have a friend over and of course, he wanted his best buddy Dom over.  We headed to Owensboro after I got home from work and had supper at Applebees.  After dinner, we headed to Golfland USA so the boys could practice in the batting cages and ride go karts!  They had an absolute blast!  On our way back home to get some ice cream at TF, I was on facebook and read that our friend's daughters were playing a softball game to win the championship.  We haven't been able to attend a game due to Jake's ball schedule and we thought we were going to miss the one last night because of our trip to O'boro!  So we were excited that they were playing another game.  We headed to the ball fields and Jake was excited that his buddy from his baseball team was there cheering on his sister who was on the opposite team!  Dom, Jake, Ethan & Cameron played tag all night while we watched the game.  They finally ran out of steam around the 5th inning which was close to 11:15!  They watched the last 2 innings and the Blue Lightening won over Newburgh 17-13!  It was a great game and we had two very sweaty, tired boys on our hands.  Dom and Jake hit the showers around 12:30 a.m. and were in bed and asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows! It was a fun night spending qt time with friends and family!

Rookies Pool Play at Golfmoor

Golfmoor pool play, game 1, Rookies vs Golfmoor Orange. Gilmour "Eazy E", got the defense started in the first carrying his team on his back and recorded all 3 outs. Rookies answered with 5 in the first. Golfmoor didn't lay down as they scored 5 in the 2nd. After 4, Rookies were down 9-7. Then came the bottom of 6th with Rookies down 12-10. Christie led off with a single followed by C Wat and Webb's (6 foul ball at bat). Anglin and Hunt moved runners setting it up for Fuller's game winning hit. Rookies win 13-12. Hard fought victory! Kuebler hit 3 bombs (thought one was gone) and had a head first line drive catch in LC.

Pool play, game 2 vs McCutchanville. Game couldn't be more exciting than the first, right? WRONG! McCutchanville started out red hot, smoking the ball all over the field on their way to an 8-0 lead. Rookies proved to be unwavered by all the fuss and scored 5 in the 3rd. Rookies down 8-5. We scored another 4 in the 4th and took a 9-8 lead lead into the 6th. It wasn't going to be enough. McCutchanville scored 2 to take a 10-9 lead into our last at bat. Rookies, who have answered every opportunity this season, did not disappoint once again. Watson and Webb got on followed by Anglin, Hunt, Fuller. Kuebler hit a laser to LF and was robbed. Winning run still on 3rd with 2 outs when Seth "Big Cat" Williams dropped one in LF for the game winning hit. Rookies Win! Rookies Win! Rookies Win!
Lashley continues to impress with his acrobatics at first base. Hunt followed with a solid game at SS. Rookies, not afraid to throw the ball, recorded several outs tonight. 2 from OF to third, and 2 more outs at home with Caige "Block the Plate" Christie! Rookies showed heart and resilience tonight with their "never quit" attitude!

Landon & Jake: Best Rookie Buds

Rookies 2014

 Rookies 2013

Rookies in Hopkinsville KY "Hoptown"

The boys were in Hoptown over Father's Day weekend.  The Rookies went 2-0 in pool play on Saturday beating the P-town Tigers and The Naturals.  After the games, the team headed to O'Charley's for some bonding time and lunch!  After lunch, we checked into our hotel and the kids went swimming for a few hours.  Pizza was on the menu for supper at the hotel and we celebrated Father's Day and Caige's birthday!  The night was ended with glow-in-the-dark wiffle ball in the hotel lawn.  Sunday we were able to sleep in some, we didn't have to be at the field until 10:30.  The boys blew through the day and beat LRC, P-Town Tigers and for the Championship, The Hub City Havoc!  It was an awesome weekend for baseball....the weather was perfect, we spent time with friends & family and celebrated Father's Day.  The Rookies are the Hoptown Champions for 2014!!!!

Rookies Report by Coach Mike Webb

Rookies in Hopkinsville June 14,15. Pool play opened against P-Town Tigers and Rookies revenged their first BPA loss (12-10 in Benton) by winning 5-1. Lashley saved extra bases by coming off the bag and snagging some throws. Williams avoided all concern for his body chasing 2 foul balls down the RF line. Watson said "no, no, no" as he gunned down a runner at 3rd ( from RF). Hunt played a perfect game at SS as he and Wells played tight D up the middle. They almost rolled 3 double plays coming up a step shy each time. You'll get it boys. Offense was led by Ethan Gilmour and a collection of Rookies coming thru whenneeded.
2nd pool play game vs. Naturals went fast. Rookies came out of the gate scoring 7 in the first. Christie, throwing caution to the wind, hurdled his mask and caught a foul ball with full extension. Rookies were blanked in the 2nd but, scored 5 more in the 3rd. Run rule in 3, 12-0 Rookies win! Jake, aka "Jake the Snake, "Big Daddy", "White Mamba", or simply "The Man" lined a shot over 2nd base for an in the park HR!!

Elimination day game 1 vs. LRC (idk?) was a complete rout by the Rookies winning 12-0 in 3 innings. Defense played well with what little action they had. Offense was rolling around the bases with hit after hit. The team rallied around their catcher and erupted as he went 2 for 2. Welcome back "Catch"!

Game 2 vs P-Town Tigers ended in another rout for the Rookies. 14-3 in 4 innings. Everybody got in on the action on offense. Watson crushed the ball, followed by Wells timely hitting. Anglin emptied the bases with a shot to the fence. Hunt, Fuller, Webb, and Kuebler kept everyone moving around the bases as they continued to hit. Williams, Gilmour, Lashley, and Christie continued to hit the ball and push runners across the plate. Truly, a team effort at the plate. Jake "Shut 'Em Down" Fuller pulled off a 3 up, 3 down inning from 3rd base.  Championship game here we come!

Championship game vs Hub City Havoc. Remember, we beat them 4-3 in ETown where they are from. We knew they would bring it and bring it they did. However, it wasn't enough. Rookies win 6-4! Hub City had two runners on with their lead off on deck when Hunt fielded the ball on its short hop to get the force at 2nd.

Lashley played a strong first base doing the splits and showing ump the ball. OF with Anglin, Williams, Kuebler, Webb, Watson played as smart as they could and kept Hub City to one base at a time in several key moments. Offense came out in first with 2 out in the park HR bomb by Anglin. Rookies 1-0. Williams knocked Webb in in the 2nd. Rookies 2-0. In the 3rd, Watson, Anglin, Hunt score. Hub City answered with four of their own. Rookies 5-4. Rookies answered in the 4th when Williams knocked in Kuebler. Rookies 6-4. Lance "L Train" Webb sent to 2nd on an overthrow at first got into a pickle. The play ended in a collision with L Train purposefully running into a mountain. Lost that battle as he limped off and retrieved his helmet from RF. Happy Father 's Day!

Sweet Summertime

We've been spending our Summer playing ball, watching friends & family play baseball and having fun with friends.  Jacob headed over to his friend Dom's house on Thurs. night.  He and Dom get along so well, half the time you never know they are around!   Their plans were to go to SkyZone in Evansville but it wasn't open yet.  The boys ended up at the ballpark practicing baseball and had lunch at Mr. Gatti's.  They played and went swimming both days.  Friday evening I picked them up along with Jordan's friend Jacob and we headed to Eville for a bite to eat before the movies.  The two younger boys saw Million Dollar Arm and Jordan and his buddy saw Blended.  I promise I do have another son, he never wants his pic taken- it's called being 13!

Saturday was spent at the ballpark watching Justin play. After Justin's last game, we headed with my mom, sis, bro in law and Jus to Moonlite BBQ.  It was so yummy.  Sunday we finally got to go to church-woohoo!!!  After morning church, Jacob had two scrimmage games against Evansville East.  He was so excited to see his friend Jesse there filling in for a missing teammate.  We then headed back to church for evening service and both boys had a friend over Sunday evening.  Monday was spent sleeping in, playing video games, fighting with NERF guns and playing baseball with all 4 boys!  The boys left, we had supper and waited for Brad to get home.  Brad ate supper and then took the boys to the ball field to watch their buddies game.  It has been a whirlwind Summer so far, full of fun, friends and baseball!!!