This one's for you, Mom!

On a cold and blustery morning that blew dirt around the infield and took off a hat or two, the Green Mountain Rams faced the undefeated Wheat Ridge Farmers. The game, like so many this season, was a complete team effort with every Ram contributing to the 8-7 victory.

Wyatt Featherston got the call from the team's coaches to be the team's starting pitcher. Showing a growing confidence on the mound, Featherston walked the first three batters he faced, but didn't allow the base runners to shake him up. Featherston struck the fourth batter out, and got help from teammate Arley Anderson, who made a nice throw to first to get the second out. Catcher Joe Anderson made a terrific play at home plate to end the inning.

The Rams' were up next, and Austin Jones drew a walk off the Farmer's pitcher. Alex Haussmann chipped a single down the right field line to score the runner. Featherston singled and drove in a run, followed by a hard hit ball by first baseman Trevor Willson, who sent Featherston home. The next four Rams drew walks: Joe Anderson, Garrett Storm, Benjamin McHugh, and Arley Anderson, but only Anderson made it home. The inning ended with a score of 5-3.

Featherston settled in to the game in the second inning, and found a way to stop the Farmer's attack, allowing only one runner on board. Shortstop Jake Staley made an excellent defensive stopping a bullet and executing a timely throw to first. Featherston struck the next two batters out.

Rams' batters Jones and Haussmann both grounded out to the Farmer's shortstop, who made excellent plays all game long. Featherston smashed a double, and took third on an overthrow from the outfield. He scored off the bat of Willson. Score 6-4

Featherston pitched valiently in the third inning and with the infield help of Anderson and Willson kept the Farmer's from scoring. For the Rams, Joe Anderson, Storm, and McHugh all drew walks from the Farmer's pitcher. The inning ended, however, when the Rams left the bases loaded without scoring a run.

The top of the fourth inning also featured great plays by both the pitcher and infield. Arley Anderson blocked another hard hit ball and threw the runner out at first. Willson snagged a wicked ball in his glove and secured the final out of the inning. In a virtual repeat of the second inning, Jones and Haussmann grounding out to the Farmer's shortstop, and Featherston striking out.

Featherston kept his composure and the lead, though, as he pitched through the fifth inning. He struck out the first two batters. Centerfielder Haussmann caught a high fly ball to end the inning. But the Farmers made short work of the Rams' next three batters and no runs scored.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Farmer's battled back and saw their batter's come alive. Three runners came in to even up the score 7-7. The Rams' continued to struggle at the plate, with only Colton Faubion getting on board off a single that was drilled -- literally -- at the pitcher. Faubion didn't get home, though, and the game was sent into extra innings.

Jake Staley took the mound for the Ram's in the sixth inning, and struck the Farmer's batters out in order. That set up the win for the Rams. Austin Jones battled hard at the plate, and was ultimately hit by the pitcher, putting the winning run on board. Haussmann cracked the ball between second and third, and sent Jones home for the winning run.

Final score: Rams 8, Farmers 7.

Gritty Pitching Effort Helps Rams Secure Win

A pair of powerful hits by slugger's Wyatt Featherston and Alex Haussmann and a valient effort by the team's pitching staff lead the Rams to a 13-6 victory last night over the Stanley Lake Gators.

The game started with the first two batters, Jake Staley and Ben Boyd, drawing a walk from the opposing pitcher. Next, Haussmann snaked a hard-hit single through the hole, and drove both baserunners home. That cleared the plate for Featherston, who smashed a monster home run, scoring two more runs. Trevor Willson singled and Austin Jones drew a walk, as did Garrett Storm. The inning ended with the Rams scoring an impressive 7 runs.

Pitcher Jake Staley struck out the first two batters he faced, and allowed only one run on a walk. In the early part of the game, it looked like it was going to be a blowout.


The second inning saw Staley lacing a single down the third base line. Then, with two outs on the board, Haussmann smashed his best hit of the season: a triple that rolled all the way to the fence. He made it home off the bat of Featherston, who hit a single down the line. The Rams had scored 10 runs.


In the bottom of the second, the Gators scored three runs. The inning ended on an infield play to second baseman Arley Anderson. The Rams batters kept things going in the third, with a double by Austin Jones. Garrett Anderson was hit by the pitcher, and driven home on a sacrifice fly by Benjamin McHugh.


When it was clear that Staley had run out of gas, Colton Faubion took over the pitching effort and forced a couple of hits that the outfield easily handled. One particularly pretty catch was made by Staley, who was playing shortstop at the time.


The team started showing wear in the fourth and fifth innings, and allowed the Gators to stay in the game. Faubion gritted through the inning, allowing only two runs, despite obvious fatigue.



In the top of the fifth, the Gator's pitcher made a couple of oustanding plays, catching hard hit balls by both Featherston and Jones. Willson, however, singled, and catcher Joe Anderson smoked a ball past the shortstop to drive hime home. McHugh connected for the second time in the game, and added another run to the score.



The game ended in great style, as Faubion struck the next two batters out. The third batter connected and sent the ball sailing into the outfield. Not to worry. Center fielder Storm made a beautiful catch and ended the game. Score: Rams 13, Gators 6.

Rams Face Tough Competition at Spring Blast Tournament

The 2008 Green Mountain Rams took another step toward becoming an elite baseball team this weekend, as they battled some of Colorado's toughest AA teams at South Jeffco's Spring Blast Tournament. The games featured some outstanding baseball and provided the kind of "tough" playing time that will make a difference as the Ram's enter the second half of league play.

As typifies this Rams' team, every player contributed to the games against the Columbine Crushers (13-5), the Longmont Stealth (9-17) and finally the Eastern Colorado Cobras (5-13).

Some of the individual accomplishments include:
Alex

Continuing to demonstrate tremendous discipline at the plate, Alex challenged every pitcher he faced. When drawing a walk, he would shake his head wishing he could have smashed yet another line drive for the team. Alex caught a fly ball during the game against the Cobras and showed his improving arm strength by throwing it on a rope to Ben McHugh at third base.

Arley
When Coach Dave handed the ball to Arley during the final inning of the tournament, Arley didn't hesitate to take the mound. He put every ounce of his energy into trying to stop the rally of the Eastern Colorado Cobras. Arley also made some great plays second base, and hit a single in the game against the Columbine Crushers.

Austin

One of the Ram's most enthusiastic players, Austin got more valuable playing time at second base and short stop during the tournament. He also made several plays in the outfield. He continues to swing the bat hard, and kept the team's rally going against the Crushers in the first game of the tournament.

Ben B.

Having earned the spot as the second batter in the Ram's lineup, Ben demonstrated his speed around the bases and determination to help the team score runs. He had several strong hits during the tournament. Like his hero Garrett Atkins, Ben did an outstanding job playing third base.

Ben M.

The Rams' needed a hit when Ben took the plate against the Longmont Stealth in the second game of the tournament, and Ben didn't disappoint. He smashed a hard hit double far into center field. Ben also got some valuable playing time at third base and showed his coaches that he's quite handy with the glove.


Colton
When Colton took the mound for the Ram's in the game against the Crushers, he proved again that he has the mental toughness to close the game. At third base, Colton was part of an exciting pickle during the team's final game, and drew new respect for the team's outfielders as he chased ball's down in left field.

Garrett
In perhaps the best back-to-back plays of the season, Garrett fielded consecutive fly balls in the game against the Eastern Colorado Cobras. Each time the outfielder produced the ball, his grin was a mile wide.

Jake

Proving why he's the team's stingiest pitcher , Jake shut down the Columbine Crushers during his only outing during the tournament. As the team's lead-off batter, he found a way to manufacture critical runs during each game. He also made several outstanding plays at short stop, throwing his body down to keep the ball from escaping to the outfield.

Joe

The Ram's are lucky to have Joe's impressive talent at catcher. It's clear that he's improving his game each week. During the final game of the tournament, Joe caught several Cobra's in a pickle between third and home. His quick arm and ability to run the batters down prevented several runs.

Trevor
The Ram's have come to rely on Trevor's powerful bat, but it was his first outing as a pitcher that will be the lasting memory from the Spring Blast tournament. With steely determination, Trevor kept the Rams in the game for more than three innings of play, baffeling nearly every batter he faced.

Way to go, Trevor!

Wyatt

Whether it's playing short stop, batting, or playing pitcher, Wyatt has a way of making baseball look easy. He made several outstanding plays in the field at both short stop and first base. During his pitching outing against Longmont, he showed that he's gaining more control over his cannon of an arm.