MCC PIONEERS!!!!

whizonthegriz · Post by **whizonthegriz** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:37 am

Thanks for the Craig Perry updates. He is a very likable kid.

The Pioneers played pretty well and did a good job representing our state this weekend. In the two games they gave up just five runs and committed 0 errors.

They definately were the most polished team defensively that I saw in the tournament, and I saw all of the teams play in the two days. Their bats just went cold. For the most part, they faced good pitching and couldn't get a timely hit.

The heat and humidity was intense. It was 90 degrees with high humidity. In the second game, against Fredericks, the opposing pitcher was struggling with the heat. He was really laboring, and taking nearly a minute between pitches. He looked bad. The opposing coach was concerned and made a visit with the umpire to check on his health in the 4th. The Pioneers and the heat had him on the ropes. Then, before the start of the 5th inning, the home plate umpire got heat exhaustion. There was a long delay while they switched umpires. Then, after the delay, Fredericks scored two runs in the top of the 5th.

Long story short, their pitcher ended up with a nearly 1 hour rest. He looked like a new man and pitched well for the next two innings. Once MCC got into their bullpen, they started crushing the ball. It is just too bad that it didn't happen earlier.

To end the 2nd game, MCC's first two batters, Cole Pryor and Levi Johnson, made outs. Down by one run, Phil Perez fought off about 3 0-2 pitches, worked the count and smoked a ball off the left centerfield wall for a double. Tony Isabella then hit a ball as hard as I've seen hit to dead center. If he got under it, he would have knocked it out. The ball only went about 20 feet in the air. The center fielder raced back, buckled because of the trajectory of the ball and made the catch about 380 feet from homeplate.

They easily could have won both games

It is a very balanced tournament, on the first and second day there were a host of close games. The teams that I thought might be the favorites all lost the second day. A tournament favorite, Elgin Community College, also went 2 and done.

CodyCat · Post by **CodyCat** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:44 pm

Congrats to the Pioneers. I have had MANY of my friends and people who I played against (In Legion) play for MCC. I think it shows just how good American Legion is in MT. Congrats guys!

whizonthegriz · Post by **whizonthegriz** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:42 pm

Chauncy Handran signed with University of Minnesota.