I was sick to my stomach after watching us lose to Ingelmoor on Wednesday but then I found out I really   was sick to my stomach with an infection.  As I laid there waiting for a cat scan, I reflected on the game and how we have come a long way since the loss to Redmond. We have won five straight games and slowly we are becoming a better team. We are not there yet but we are making progress. Friday we beat Lake Washington and hit well but still made a few errors and a number of bad at bats. Connor Young had a big home run and Mike Paulson, Shane Yarnell Spencer Rogers, Grant Gellatly and Marc Gann all had a big day with the bats. However, we still need to do all the little things, like blocking the ball, getting bunts down, making all the plays in the infield and not walking a batter. Overall, it was a good week. We sit in second with two games this week so let’s hope our leaders can keep us hungry for more.

A NEW WEEK

You can win a game but if feels like a loss. And when this happens, it turns a coach’s stomach. If you don’t play the game the right way, later down the road it will bite you in the butt. In this situation, these traits are the same and what is important is to learn from it.

 

For years, Issaquah Baseball has played the game right and you can tell by how often we have won championships or been in the playoffs.

Here is the story in the paper today by the Issaquah Reporter:

Issaquah’s Yarnell locks down Roosevelt bats in one-hit shutout | Baseball

By KEVIN ENDEJAN
Issaquah Reporter Sports Editor
Apr 07 2010, 4:31 PM · UPDATED

Issaquah baseball coach Rob Reese gathered his team in shallow left field on Tuesday afternoon, asking them all to take a knee. He continued to speak to his players for more than 30 minutes — delivering an animated speech normally reserved for a tough loss.

There was one large difference on Tuesday, however. The Eagles had just defeated Roosevelt 4-0 in a KingCo 4A contest.

“It felt like we lost, we didn’t play very well,” Reese said, admitting it might have been the longest talk he’s ever had with a team after a victory.

The problem for Reese rested solely on the offensive end.

Issaquah recorded just four hits in their win, scoring three of its runs on Roosevelt errors. The Roughriders helped the Eagles with five total errors for the game.

“We’ve swung the bats well all year except for two games, and today was one of them … our guys didn’t adjust very well.” Reese said.

The saving grace for the Eagles was senior pitcher Shane Yarnell. The right hander went a complete seven innings, allowing only one hit. He faced just one batter over the minimum, at 22.

“I was just thinking throw strikes, let them hit the ball and trust my defense to make the plays behind me,” said Yarnell, who recorded his first ever one-hitter.

Roosevelt had just two base runners the entire game. David Holt reached on an error in the first inning, and Reid Martinez lined a single up the middle to lead off the fourth. Yarnell recorded five strikeouts and didn’t walk a single batter.

“It was a pretty outstanding effort by him,” Reese said.

The Eagles scored first in the bottom of the fourth when Marcus Gaan hit a pop fly to right field. Roosevelt dropped the ball, allowing pinch runner Adam Dondoyano to score from third. Spencer Rogers delivered an RBI single in the fifth and Issaquah tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, both coming on errors. Roosevelt dropped another fly ball in left field, allowing Dondoyano to score. The Roughriders later threw a ball past first on an attempted double play. The miscue allowed Gaan to score.

“We didn’t play very well, but we got a win,” Reese said. “Usually you can learn some things in losses, so hopefully we can learn it after a win.”

Issaquah improved to 4-2 in league and 7-2 overall with the victory. They face Ballard (2-3, 2-5) next at 3:45 p.m., Thursday in Seattle.

Paulson 3-3, 3 RBI, 3 Run, 2B, Young 2-3, 2 RBI, HR, 2B, Rogers 2-4, 2 RBI, 3 Run, 2B,  2SB, Gellatly 2-5, 2 Run, SB, Team 8-8 SB

 

 

On Wednesday we first started with a “come to jesus” meeting followed by a good practice. On Thursday vs ballard, Issaquah won13-1 and did it the right way. As I told the team Tueday, its time for the seniors to step up and become the leaders.  It takes alot of work, but today I saw improvements, good job team!

coach Reese

has seen it before.

My Son Mario called me tonight and he had just got done with two league games vs. Treasure Valley. The first thing he said was, “what’s the matter?” I said “We just lost our first league game to Newport” and he asked how ? I explained what happen and it took me 20 minutes to tell him what went wrong . Mario says to me, “Dad this is a good thing.  A loss will help you gain focus and make you a better team down the road”. He also stated, “Remember back in 2007 and how we lost 5 games in a row. The losses help us win State and it brought us closer as a team”. Wow! I was stumped. This is Mario I was talking to and he made me feel better about tonight’s game.

After all that, I asked him about his games and he said they won both. Mario went 5-8 in two games, a couple of RBI’s, walked twice and executed a perfect hit and run to set up the winning run in the 11 inning in the first game. Mario then states to me, “Don’t worry about my games, focus on having a good practice on Thursday and win Big on Friday.” I sat there with the phone in my hand thinking tomorrow will be a better day…

We will learn from this I feel this team will come out Thursday on a mission.

  I believe do you?

It’s no secret that Major League Baseball players can hit, catch and throw far better than the rest of us. But these abilities don’t just come from their above-average physical prowess.

As Yogi Berra once infamously said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical. If you’re a hitter, you fail two-thirds of the time, so you can imagine why self-confidence would be really important. You have to keep,  plowing through, even though you just struck out four times in a game or commited a error ”

These traits are the same that are important in individual sports such as tennis and golf because of the importance of the one-on-one match-up between a pitcher and a hitter in baseball.
Some of the players on this year’s team I have seen fail in the past. They struggled hitting and pitched poorly but the improvement I see this year blows my mind. Leaders are players that lead by example, just check the box score and the names speak for themselves.

I love baseball my parents love baseball and even as a kid I knew it could be something that connected us no matter what else was going on in our lives. I love watching young players come up, I love watching mediocre players do well, even if only for a game. I love watching a struggling player come out of a slump. I love seeing the unexpected, which happens an awful lot in baseball. Unlike any of the other major sports, baseball gives a team many chances to do well. In a two-game series with the opposing team, you can lose one game and still come out of the series up. It makes every minute of the game ‘important’. Baseball is a wonderful diversion from my real life. Especially when my real life isn’t going well. It seems to be a rite of passage in our American society for a father to take his son to his first ever baseball game, and there’s an odd phenomenon that draws Americans to the ballpark every year, regardless of their understanding of the game.
People who don’t understand baseball will never understand how I am able to listen to a scoreless baseball game with a grainy radio for 5 1/2 hours and then hear me say when it’s all over that it was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever heard. Baseball is a different kind of sport. Being the better team does not ensure victory. A game ends only when it’s done, not because some time clock ran down to zero. And every game brings with it the potential of showing even the most long-term & dedicated fan something they’ve never seen before. I have coach this game for a long time and it never gets old I love being out there watching that young player mature and get better each year there always is that one kid who breaks out and has a great year. And that’s what make this game great Dustin Talley last year Ben Rossalini maybe this year you never know. I have been blessed to be around great coaches all my life .one’s I have coach with or have been coach by .motivator’s teacher’s of the game the best coaches I know. And this is why I love this sport . It takes on so many different forms of itself, each unique and different and yet, you can find solace in the comfort of the sights, sounds and smells being as they’ve always been

AIt was a great week! Wednesday Issaquah took care of Hazen with a great pitching job by Shane Yarnell and timely hitting by Spencer Rogers and Yarnell.�
On Saturday, Issaquah took on Kelso. We started slow but came back strong when Ben Rosalini had a huge 3-run bomb off the scoreboard

 Conner Young 2 big hits off the bench Hunter Healey a big hit and seals a base and let’s not forget Devon O’Donnell 3-4

. Defensively, Issy was solid. Pitching wise, we were walking on thin ice but came through in the end as we went 2 - 0 for the week.�
However, the toper for me was Sunday as my 13-year-old team came up with a big win first time out! We did well and that was a good way to end the week.�
We start league play this week as we head to Garfield and see Eastlake Thursday.�
�
As we go through the rest of this year’s season and have those games where we are struggling, we can look back at the previous games, such as our Kelso game and know as a team, we can come back. When I look back on previous seasons, like the 2007 year, we had a game early in the year where we were behind and then we came back and won but we also went through a losing steak, which actually made the team stronger, and in the end, we won state. This year’s team I can see a similarity with Issaquah’s 2007 year as we will have growing pains but in the end it will make us a stronger team and maybe we will see another state title.�
So as Babe Ruth always said BADA BING BABY lets win it all this year……………………

As I  stood 3 feet from one of the greatest to play the game all I could tell him was good luck this season and then he asked about the team.Like a idiot I said what team?and he said  the team you coach at Issaquah high school so I told him all about the 2010 eagles.I also mentioned we will be playing at safco field in April and how excited the team was about playing there he wished us good luck and then he turned his hat around took his glasses off put them on the back of his hat and then said he would get me the keys to Manager Wakamatsu office that got a laugh from Don. Then Griffey  went in the cage and hit .He followed Ichiro who had just put 5 balls over the right field wall JR joked I guess he made a adjustment Manager Wakamatsu smiled and keep throwing BP to Jr. I have had moments in my life when I have been that close to a  great player when I was 12 I got to go down into the San Francisco giants club house and meet The greatest center fielder of my time Willie Mays the same thing happen I could not speak it was the biggest thrill of my young life and I know what your thinking how can coach Steve be speechless well I was.Now I am   standing with two of the greatest players in  the game and now  I did not know what to say .After my hart stop racing I watched and enjoyed every minute of it the sun was out and I was watching are team the mariners work out it was the best.This was my first time to spring training and my wife was the one who surprisedme with this trip she loves baseball as well after 30 years of marriage she still puts up with me .And to  all my kids who  covered the sandwich shop why where gone  and Coach Rob and Coach CAP and coach Bruce covered for me on the baseball field  thanks to all of you your the best I love you all. WE GET STARTED WEDNESDAY AT ISSAQUAH VS HAZEN 345