Brase Sports Update 3/28 - 3/29

Hello Everyone,

Let's get started. A busy weekend for the family ! We'll start with Kylie.

Saturday: Mystic 96 traveled up to Westminster for the Outlaws friendly. A very warm day ! Our schedule got changed once we got there. We ended playing So Cal Jynx first. This is a very good team. In fact they are currently ranked 5th in so cal. Kylie didn't play this game. The y were saving her for our second game. Anyway, Mystic went down hard 12 - 2.

Mystic's second game was against Minor's Gold. Another ranked team. Kylie started at pitcher. Came out strong throwing hard ! She threw 4 innings of shutout ball. The score was 1-0 Mystic in the top of the 5th. Kylie got one out, then the next hitter hit a nice single that went up the middle. All of sudden ....... the ball goes under the CF mitt !! AHHHHH !!!! All the way to the fence. The girl scores. 1-1. Kylie gets through the inning again. Mystic comes up and does not score. Top of the 6th. Kylie goes out and gets 1 out. Next thing I know, Kylie is bent over with blood pouring out of her nose. The dry weather combined with the dust, did her in. I came out and got her. Poor kid. Probably the worst one I've seen her get. She handled it great. Too bad Mystic did not. Mystic goes down 3-1.

Last game of the day is against Las Vegas Rage. Pretty darn good team. The teams battled back and forth. Kylie sat for half the game. Kylie goes in to pitch in the 5th inning with the game tied 3-3. She ends up striking out 2 and the other fly's out. Mystic then takes the lead, 4-3. Kylie goes out for the last inning. She walks the first hitter. Next hitter hits to Kylie who overthrows 2nd !! So now it's runners on 1st & 2nd no outs. Next hitter Kylie goes 3 balls no strikes on. Uh Oh. Oh gosh, everyone run for the hills. The other team starts cheering super loud. Then ... steeeerike 1 , steeeerike 2, steeeerike 3 !! 1 out. Next hitter Steeeerike 1, steeeerike 2, steeeerike 3 !! 2 outs. Next hitter then hits a line drive to 3rd, 3 outs game over !! Woohoo ! She's on fire !

Now to Nick. The Raptors played the Volcano's again. The pitching machine was a little crazy again. But the Raptors were able to settle in and crush ! Nick was on fire at the plate again ! His swing looks great and his desire to hit is unmatched !! He had 3 scorchers ! He also made 3 more outs in the field. Click HERE for hit #1 and HERE for hit #2. Hands back, legs slightly bent, step to the ball, transfer weight, turn back foot = crusher !! The kid really has it ! Good job Son !!

Ok, on to Sunday Softball with Kylie. We headed down to Chula Vista for a San Diego Elite friendly. First game was against TNL. A very good team with very good coaches. Kylie sat for most of the game, waiting for game #2. But she did come in the last 2 innings. First inning she was in, shut em down ! Next inning, that scoreless inning streak ended at 13. She struggled. Walked a couple of girls, gave up a couple of hits and 3 runs. Anyway, Mystic got pounded 13 - 5.

Next game was against San Diego Elite. I was hearing it was a rival of Mystics. Kylie started at pitcher. 1st inning was a little rough. Mystics defense was dead. There must have been 4 errors in the first. 3-0 Elite in the first. Mystic got it together as well did Kylie. Kylie shut them down for the next 3 innings. Mystics' CF did decide to add one more error to her stats for a 3 base error. Grrrrrrrrr. Kylie did have way more control of her curve, rise, and change up. She also crushed the ball to center to start a 3 run inning. Then also had another hit to start another 3 run rally. Elite goes down 8 - 3.

Next game was against San Diego Eclipse. Kylie started at pitcher for this one. Kylie struck out 2 and 1 runner got on by an error, but later scored. Next inning she struck out 1 and got 2 more outs. Mystic then switched Kylie to 2nd. She made a couple of outs including a throw out at home. Nice. She also went 3/3 with 2 RBI's and scored twice. Eclipse gets crushed 16 - 3 !!

Whew, that is it !! Next weekend we are headed to Palm Springs for a Triple Crown Tournament. See you next weekend !

Brase Sports Update 3/21/09

Hello Everyone,

Let's start with Nicholas ! The Raptors played the Diamondbacks on Saturday. This game was so evenly matched ! Both teams were hitting and fielding. Nick continued to crush the ball ! I think he got some new fans too ! To see a little guy swing like that is pretty cool ! Again, lots of oohs and ahhs when there would be a big swing and foul ball. It was cool. The best part of the game for us was that Nick made the final 3 outs in the last inning. He was pretty happy with himself !! He also got another game ball from the coach. Good for him !
Ok, now for the Kylie breaking news ! After long talks and lots of consideration, we decided that Kylie would go and tryout for another Travel Softball team. So, we set up a try out with Mystic 96. This was a team that her pitching coach had recommended. We did not let her Legacy (current team) coach know ahead of time. Thought that would not be a good idea.
Anyway, we get to the tryout and at least half the team know Kylie from past Allstar tournaments. That was pretty cool. We also notice that instead of the team having a practice, the are having a double header against the top program in SD. Powersurge. Hmm. The coach walks up to Kylie and says "Well, I'm going to have to see you pitch". So, she warms up and the next thing I know, she's walking out the the pitchers circle to start the game ! I'm thinking, Ok she hasn't pitched a game in 4 months ! OMG !! The coach did ask her what were her best pitches and what location do you like to throw them. I then had an idea that they actually might know what they were doing ! Nice. The game starts .......... and that kid was awesome ! I honestly could not believe what I was seeing. I had tears in my eyes as I watched her have full command of what she was doing. Totally motivated and totally focused. Incredible. After the first inning, we had the coaches coming over telling us that they wanted her. It was really nice to hear. We weren't used to hearing that. I consider myself friends with the Legacy coach, but he had a diamond the whole time, but refused to check it out. Needless to say, Kylie pitched 6 innings of shut out ball allowing only 1 hit with 6 strikeouts !! She also had 2 hits and scored once. There may be some drama dealing with their #1 pitcher now, but we'll handle that when it gets here. So what I am saying, Kylie is now playing for Mystic 96 !
There should be a lot of Sports news next weekend ! See you then !

Brase Sports Update 3/11, 3/14-15

Hello Everyone,

We'll start with Nick's game on Wednesday. It was the the Raptors vs. Red Wings (again). The boys played real hard again ! Their defense was tough !! Nick hit the ball well. Lots of comments like "when he gets a hold of it". His best part of the game was his defense. The last inning was on the defense to hold the other team for the win (if we kept score :)) The boys gave up one hit and got the other 3 outs ! Nick had 2 put outs. What was awesome was that every time the boys got an out, they would raise their fists in victory ! All in unison ! Like team of victorious Warriors !! OH YEAH !!

Ok, on to Saturday. Baseball first. It was the Raptors vs. the Volcano's. I wasn't able to go to this one because of Kylie's tournament. But I do have some info. The Volcano's were shorthanded in the field. Unfortunately, sounds like the coach didn't have much help from any of the parents. The Raptors continued to roll ! Great defense and spotty hitting. The pitching machine was having some serious issues. The pitches were all over the place. But, they managed to get it done ! Nick continues to show great hitting mechanics. There were predictions of balls going over the fence before the end of the year for my little beast ! Love it !

Now, on to Kylie. She had a Triple Crown Tournament in Hemet. Way out on the Soboba Indian Reservation. Lots of rumors of people shooting out there and craziness. But, it was fine. Beautiful fields and beautiful surroundings. The only craziness were the parents who think they know everything and wouldn't shut up. Whew .... ok ..... onto the games.

Saturday: Legacy started off against the Rattlers. The game was over in 1 hour. Legacy crushed their pitcher ! Kylie had 1 at bat and hit a run in. Legacy wins 10 - 0 !

Second game was against Fury. This was a very good team. Very well coached and very disciplined. It was nice to see a female head coach. You don't see much of that unfortunately. There is something about a male coach yelling at your daughter that really bugs. So anyway, the game was VERY tight. 1-0 Legacy late in the game. A ball was crushed deep to RF and the RF mis-played the ball and it went all the way to the fence. The girl came all the way around for a Home Run. Tie game. 2 more runners get on and a HUGE error at 3B. Now, it's 3 - 1 Fury. Legacy started hanging there heads really bad. They did manage to start coming back. Runners on 1st and second, no outs, your power hitter coming up. Coach gives the signal and she ........bunts. BUNTS !!!?? What the ?! The balls bounces up and hits the batter in fair territory. 1 out. Grumbling in the crowd. Now, next batter strikes out. 2 outs. The last batter battles like crazy and then grounds out to SS. Legacy goes down 3-1 to Fury. Tough loss. Kylie played 2B the whole game but the coach had someone hitting for her.

Sunday: Legacy vs Lights Out. Legacy came out playing hard. Faced a very good pitcher. Ended up beating Lights Out 7-0. They just secured the #1 seed. Unfortunately, Kylie did not play this game. Onto Bracket play.

Next up was Legacy vs Norco Filly's. Filly's were over matched from the beginning. They did have a very good pitcher though that kept it close for them. Unfortunately, her defense wasn't on the same level. Kylie played RF the whole game and and had a great bunt to advance the runner and she got on base. She also grounded out to 3b. Legacy 7-0. Legacy advances.

Next up: Legacy vs Corona Eliminators. Good game. The Eliminators had a good left handed pitcher that could really hit her corners. She held Legacy in check. Kylie played RF the whole game. She had some awesome defensive plays too. She out hustled our "diva" centerfielder to get the ball in to keep the hitter to a double. She also caught a bomb that was hit way out to right center. This was done in a full sprint. Very nice.

The game was down to the last inning. It was 3-1 Eliminators. Their CF had just made a HUGE play. A ball was bombed to deep left center and this kid ran the ball down and practically layed out for the ball. Unbelievable. One of the best plays I have ever seen for a 12 year old !

So, runners on 1st and 2nd for Legacy. 1 out. Kylie coming up and then ......... coach pulls Kylie and puts another hitter in. Ummmm. Breathe. Yeah. Breathe. Whatever. Kylie's pinch hitter goes on to fly out to the SS. Hmmm. The tough thing is that Kylie had just crushed the ball to the outfield her lat AB and had the pitchers number. Anyway, 2 outs. Next hitter grounds out. Game over, tournament over. Yep, it was a little harder than normal to deal with that one. Legacy shows signs of playing real well. But, they are still struggling when it counts, might be something the coach needs to look in the mirror about. "The looking glass never lies". I love this therapy, uh I mean Blog. See you next week.

p.s. if you click on the pictures, they will enlarge.

Brase Sports Blog Update 3/7 - 3/9

Hello Everybody !

Alright we have some sports to talk about !! We'll go in order.

Kylie started the weekend with a basketball game Saturday. The Power Rangers (Ky) vs. The Super Chicks. The Power Rangers came out on fire !! They had double digits before the Super Chicks even scored ! It was a blowout, but a very hard fought game on both sides. Kylie had a great game again. Played very hard, hustled, and played smart. At one point, She had a breakaway and was fouled very hard. In fact, a technical was called. It was pretty nasty. She ended up with 8 points and the Power Rangers destroyed, 42 -21. Too bad, so sad !

Next. Softball. Legacy had a 3 game friendly in the Temecula area Sunday. Legacy really needed to go out and really crush some teams. And they did. 1st game, Legacy 7 - Revenge 4. 2nd game, Legacy 12 - Extreme Heat 1. 3rd game Legacy 13 - Bullpen Heat 0. Kylie had a great bunt to advance the runners, a solid single, and a bomb to right that was caught. I though she hit it hard, but I heard her say"I just missed it". Makes me get chills to think what's going to happen when she nails it ! She also played great in the field. She's getting a lot of playing time and has become quite a leader on the field.

Ok, last but definitely not least. Nick Baseball ! Nick had his first game Monday evening. The Raptors (Nick) vs. Red Wings. It was so much fun to watch and the boys had a blast ! The game was a slug fest ! Nick had 4 at bats. He got on base all 4 times. Hit the ball real well. His 3rd at bat was a HUGE bomb to right center that went all the way to the fence ! Yahoo !! Like his sister, he played extremely well in the field. He is a really smart ball player. It's so funny, he'll goof off and be doing some very "interesting" dance moves in the field and all of sudden snap into playing position. Can' t wait for Wednesday's game !

It was very very cold at the ball fields ! Gloves and possible snow jacket next game for the "Old Man" !! Anyway, enjoy the Blog and see you next week.

Brase Sports Update 2/28 - 3/1/09

Hello Everyone,

Have not had that much to report the past couple of weeks. This past weekend, Nicholas had more baseball practice. He's definitley getting more comfortable and knocking the rust off. Opening Day is 3/7. His first game is 3/9. Looking forward to seeing him play hard and have fun.

Kylie had a Softball friendly this past Saturday in West Covina. Legacy played against the #2, #5, and the #15 teams in SoCal. Needless to say, they got their butts kicked. 0-3 for the day. The team had 2 hits all day. Hey, at least Ky had one of them. Kylie played great in the field too. She had several put outs. She is clearly the starting second basegirl. I can't really explain why the team was not competitive. The girls are having a hard time relating or respecting their coaches. I had to move from sitting by the dugout because I found myself wanting to lecture a couple of the girls for their attitudes. For their team to start playing together, there cannot be a double standard for coaches kids. There is only so many push ups these girls can do or actually want to do. Hopefully, they'll figure it out soon. Lots of games and tournaments coming up. Anyway, new blog next week with better news (hopefully).

Steve