All good things...

must come to an end! Yes, even baseball. The Woodcreek 11 year old squad rolled through District 54(we even Beat El Dorado Hills for a 3rd time)until we faced Lakeside. Lakeside beat us the 1st time we faced them(11-6). We beat them the 2nd time we faced them(6-3). Playing for the District 54 Title, it was Woodcreek vs. Lakeside. Mind you, Lakeside did not even make it out of pool last year. We were hoping for a District Title WIN! During the final game, Carter is the lead off batter and gets up to bat(his 1st at bat of the game)and nails a home run! It was so exciting a GREAT way to start the game.

Lets just say, we went downhill from there. The boys struggled to keep it together to pull off a win. The final score was 11-3 Lakeside...ouch! I do want to mention how well these boys handled themselves after a big loss. We we had them get together for one final team photo, those 11 year old boys smiled and held up two fingers and said "we are # 2!" It made us all laugh and smile. They are talented young men with big hearts and a HUGE love for the game!

We are not quite sure what we are going to do now that All Star season is over??? It was what we did last Summer and we loved every minute of it! Until next season...

Nor Cal State Champions

Belmont beat San Francisco. We played Belmont tonight. The deal was, if we lost, we would play them again on Saturday. If we won, we claimed that Nor Cal State Champions title. The boys were pumped up for this game. The parents were pumped and still on a high from Tuesday nights game/win. Carter is the lead off hitter for the team. We were the visiting team for the evening so we were up to bat first. Carter takes his place at the plate and the first ball crosses the plate. Strike one. The 2nd ball is thrown and Carter nails it, hitting a home run right over the center field fence. It was awesome! The crowd went wild. As the innings went on, our pitching was phenomenal. The bats were making contact with the ball. The boys were on F-I-R-E! Carter gets up to the bat during the 3rd inning and he hits another home run over that center field fence again. Two home runs in one game. It was simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Carter's pal, Daniel also hit a home run. The WOODCREEK (9-10 yr. old)ALL STARS win the California State Title. Out of the 350 teams in Nor Cal,they are the last team standing. That is something to be proud of.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from today's game/win! So proud and happy for Carter and his entire team. What a ride it has been.

State Games

We have begun our All Star games at the state level. We are traveling to Danville to play against the top 6 teams(including our team) in Nor Cal.. Out of 350 Little League teams, we are down to the final 6 teams. That is something to be proud if. Our 1st game was against Hollister. We ended up winning the game but only by 1 run. Our boys played flat. We have no idea what happened but we needed the win and were super happy when they pulled it off. Up next, we played Fresno. We beat them 14-4. Right on! Those are the All Star boys we know and recognize.














Now we are up to speed/date. Today's game was against Belmont. We had heard from others that this was the team to beat. Let me just say, beat them we did but not without some serious excitement. This was seriously the most exciting game to date. By the time we entered the 5th inning, our team was down 11-1. Yes, you read that right. We were down 11-1. The boys were dropping balls out in the outfield due to the sun setting. They said they could not see the ball until the ball dropped. Belmont loaded their bases a few times due to the balls hit into the outfield. Our little All Stars rallied back and we cheered them on like crazy. By the time we hit the bottom of the 6th inning(our ups), the score was 10-11, we are still down by ONE run. With one out and 2 boys on base, Carter gets up to bat and hits a walk off double. We win the game by one run! Oh my! What a game.

Here is Carter receiving big hugs from Dad after hitting the walk off double.



















We loved having our family here to cheer Carter and his team on. Tonight, we had Grandpa Randy, Grandma Sandy, Uncle Brandon, and Uncle Tyson here.











This was such a BIG come back and a HUGE win for the boys. We headed back to the hotel so the boys could swim and enjoy a pizza party. The smiles said it all. Way to go WOODCREEK ALL STARS.













Now we just wait to see who wins the Belmont vs. San Francisco game. We will play the winner on Saturday...can't wait!!!

Section 4 champs

The Woodcreek All Stars took one more title tonight. They are the Section 4 champions. They played the Tri-City team from Rocklin. Carter was put in as the relief pitcher during the 4th inning. He struck the batters out to get his team out of that inning. Carter then closed the top off the 5th off with another strike out. It was a good game but we clenched it in the end. Way to go boys. We are so proud of each and everyone of them. GO WOODCREEK!

Our very own All*Star

We have all been on a serious high since the Woodcreek 9-10 old Stars beat the El Dorado Team, to take the Section 54 title last weekend. I have sat on this post for a few days so I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed when sitting down to record the memories. Well, here I sit and I still have a ton of emotions(all happy) that accompany this post. The 9-10 year old El Dorado Hills team was the team to beat in this series. We played them a total of 3 times. We lost the 1st game to them, but not by much. We played them a 2nd time and beat them, 13-6. Our boys were on fire when it was their turn to bat. One of the Uncles of a teammate heard one of the EDH's Moms say(when it was evident that we were beating them...bad)"What are we going to do with the 20 pizzas that we have waiting for the boys at the coaches house?" They were so sure and smug thinking they were going to beat us and take that District 54 title. By the end of the 2nd game, each team had 1 win. That allowed us to play them one more time. We came out swinging during the 1st inning of that 3rd game. We were ahead 3-0 by the end of the 1st inning. By the 6th inning, the score was 6-4 and we were losing. It was a good thing that we had the home team advantage. We had one more chance at bat. Our first batter struck out. Our second batter walked, taking 1st base. Our third batter got a base hit, sending runners to 1st and 2nd. Our 4th batter singled. Bases are loaded. It is now Carter's turn to bat. He has an awesome line drive that brought two runners home, making the score 6-6. Our 4th batter takes his stance on home plate and hits a double all the way out the right field fence. That double brings Carter across the home plate to WIN the game. All of the fans were on their feet cheering and yelling so loud. It was AMAZING. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.

I love this shot. Coaches picking up their players. Coaches picking up each other. Players dog piling Carter and Daniel(winning run and hitter of that winning run) at home plate = magic on the ball field.



















Seriously, if this experience is even a tiny bit of a glimpse of what it is like to win the World Series, those SF Giants deserved all of the credit, cheers and hoopla that they got. This experience has been AMAZING and so much fun...I am not even a player, just the cheer leading Mom on the sidelines!

We have had a week off from games and will resume play next week. Sections, here we come! We will be back on our home field and are excited for what the week holds. GO WOODCREEK!

p.s. The boys even made the front page of the Roseville Press Tribune. There was a great photo of the boys at home plate, ready to high five their teammate who had just hit a home run. The reporter gives another boy credit for crossing home plate for the win but it really was Carter :-).

Tradition

It is tradition that once you make the WLL All Star baseball team, you bleach your hair. We had fun attending the team hair bleaching party. Who knew there was such a thing? I had very mixed emotions about this bleaching of the hair. Carter, on the other hand was ready and excited. I should have known he would be all over this idea. The highlights he asked for back in March for his 10th birthday should have been my 1st clue.

Here he is as I am applying the first round of bleach.





(such a cute little face, with cute little freckles...sigh!)

While they were waiting for their hair to fall out, ummmmm I mean process, they enjoyed munching on fruit and pizza, all while quizzing each other on their signs.


We ended up having to apply 3 rounds of bleach to get his hair to the desired All Star color(Barbie blond/white). It is quite shocking and very bleached looking... exactly what they were looking for. His hair is still wet and combed funny, but you get the idea. I think his new hair color makes him look entirely too old. I am so happy that he is a boy. Once the season ends, we will just shave it right off. In the meantime, he is happy to be a part of the tradition that lives on.
















I still need to get a group photo. The boys were coming and going during our little hair bleaching party. As if it wasn't already hard enough to tell them all apart in their baseball hats, out on the field. This ensures that will will get them confused, all of the time. Good luck to the 9-10 WLL All Star team.