Hall of Fame

Gehrig's Locker

Ommegang Brewery

  
     Believe it or not, there are other things to do in Cooperstown.  On Monday, during the rain delay, several coaches and parents took a trip over to Ommegang brewery.  If you are not familiar with Ommegang, you should check out their delicious Belgian style brews.

Are we not men?

Our tour guide

Savour the flavour

Inspiration

Coach Nick is happy.

Smoked Trout Crepe

One and Done

     Cooperstown (Wednesday)- In the first game of tournament play, the Thunder took on the Quakerstown Panthers in a 10 am game under sunny skies and a pleasant 78˚. Jack Purdy provided the only hit (HR) for the Thunder and DHYS pitchers gave up 3 home runs. The Panthers played stellar defense, while the Thunder had several miscues in the field and on the bases, leading to a 7-1 victory for Quakerstown and elimination for the Thunder.
     All in all, it was a tremendous experience for the Thunder players, coaches and parents.

Missouri Slides Past Thunder

     Cooperstown (Tuesday)- Under mostly sunny skies, the Thunder took on the Missouri Sliders in the last game of pool play. Neither team got any runners on in the first and it looked like it might be a pitcher's duel. In the 2nd, Mercer Buechner got the Thunder on the board with an RBI single, scoring James Huey, who had a leadoff single. The Sliders scored 5 runs on only one hit in their half of the inning. No runs scored in the third for either team.
     Jack Purdy got things going in the 4th with a leadoff single and Ben Thilo, pinch hitting for Mashman, smashed a two run shot over the fence to get the Thunder within two runs.   With Huey on the mound, the Thunder looked to hold the Sliders at 5 runs. The inning started out with a pop to Max at first and then a one out walk. The runner stole second which set up the "BE ALERT" play. Jack (SS) and Ryan (2B) let the runner get a confident lead off of second and Noah snuck in from centerfield to get the throw from James and tag out the runner. With two outs, things looked good for the Thunder. Six batters later, the Sliders had pushed across four more runs, which proved to be too much for the Thunder to overcome and the boys from Decatur finished 1-5 in pool play.

Interesting stats and facts:
-Ben Thilo homered in his 3rd straight game
-Mercer Buechner 3-3, 3 singles, 1RBI

Bloggers equipment

Too Little, Too Late For Thunder

  
     Cooperstown (Tuesday)- The Thunder took on the Ohio Cardinals in a late morning game under partly cloudy skies with Ryan Murray on the mound.  Neither team scored in the first inning and Murray got out of a big jam in the second.  With the bases loaded, Noah Hammond caught a deep fly to center and threw out the runner at the plate, who had tagged up on the catch. The Thunder could not gain any momentum and went down in order in the third. Kenny Andrews came on to pitch and the Cardinals capitalized on 5 hits including a grand slam to run the score to 11-0. The Cards added one more in their half of the fifth.
     In the Thunder fifth, the bats came alive with 6 hits (Thilo, Jones, Hammond, Gulley, Cook, Buechner) and 6 runs. Ben Thilo hit another long home run and the lead was cut in half. That was all the Thunder could muster and the Ohio team hit another grand slam to seal the win 18-6.

Interesting facts and stats:
-Ben Thilo has a home run in each of the last two games
-Mercer had an unassisted double play at third
-Thunder parents were "punked" by an ump from Pittsburgh
-A thrown ball left the playing field and Noah Hammond was awarded home after Coach Phil conferred with the umpires. Pointing to Noah at 3rd, the ump yelled "You! Home!"
-Despite the loss, another gorgeous day at Cooperstown Dreams Park

Thilo Homers, Thunder Lose in Late Late Game

    
     Cooperstown- (Monday) In a game that did not start until nearly 10:00, the Thunder got down early and could not get anything to click all night. Facing some strong pitching from the Jersey Shore Hurricanes, DHYS was held to just two hits: Ben Thilo's homer and an infield single by Mercer Buechner. The fog began to roll in just before midnight and the boys headed to the barracks for some much needed rest. The final score was NJ 16 - DHYS 1. The Thunder play two on Tuesday and hope to even up their pool play record.

Thunder Get First Win at Cooperstown

  
     Cooperstown- (Monday) Some morning rain postponed the scheduled game for the Thunder vs. the Syosset Cubs from Long Island, pushing the game back to a 3:44 start. The skies were still cloudy at first pitch and the temperature was a pleasant 76˚.  DHYS was the visiting team in the blue uniforms and Gaines Moore led off the game with a soft liner to second for the first out. Noah Hammond walked but was stranded on the bases. With Mercer Buechner on the mound and Hammond behind the dish, the Cubs leadoff hitter grounded out to second for the first out. The next two batters hit solo home runs to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead, but Mercer settled down to get out of the inning with no further damage.
     The Thunder went in order in the top of the second, not getting any good swings against the Syosset pitcher. Mercer stayed in control and caught a pop up, handled a sharp grounder and struck out the last batter with a nasty change-up. Buechner then led off the bottom of the first with a single to center and Trevor Gulley had a check swing bloop down the right field line and Mercer hustled to third. With Ben Thilo at bat, Trevor was on the move to second and the Cubs catcher threw to the shortstop, who tried to catch Mercer off guard at third. A bad throw allowed Mercer to score to cut the Cubs lead in half. Ben walked and Gaines hit a pop to short center, which was dropped by the second baseman, who threw to second to force out Ben.  With two outs, Jack Purdy went deep to give the Thunder their first lead of the tournament. Max hit a smash to second and hustled down the line but was called out on a bang-bang play.
The Cubs were able to tie up the score at 4 thanks to two Thunder errors.
     The boys from Decatur could not get anything going in the top of the fourth.  Jack Purdy came on in relief for the Thunder and a leadoff walk came home to roost to give the Cubs a 5-4 edge.  Mercer led off the fifth with another single and Trevor followed with a chopper to short. Buechner was moving on the pitch and when the shortstop committed to throw to first kept on motoring to third. The first baseman tried to gun down Beek but the throw got away from the third baseman allowing Mercer to score to tie the game. Ben followed with a long single and Kenny moved him over with a grounder to short. Noah coaxed a walk and Jack was intentionally walked to load the bases. James Huey, pinch hitting for Max, looked overmatched on the first two pitches, but then crushed the ball to left for a double and two RBI's to give the Thunder a 7-5 lead. Jack gave up a leadoff home run and two singles, but Kenny Andrews, in for Noah at catcher, threw out a runner trying to steal third for the first out. The next two Cubs grounded out to short to end the inning and the lead was still intact for the Thunder.
     Mashman led off the top of the sixth with a walk and Jarrett smashed a single and took second on the throw to third where Connor got in safely. Mercer picked up an RBI with a groundout to short to give DHYS an insurance run. Jack shut down the Cubs in the bottom of the sixth to preserve the win and the Thunder picked up their first win of the tournament. Great job boys!