Game 2: Riverdogs 12, Mudcats 8

In another rocky start, the Riverdogs proved to be true “Comeback Kids” on Tuesday night as they pulled out a win over the Mudcats. The first win of the season was a hard fought battle that showed both the hitting and fielding ability of the team.

Over the first two innings, the Riverdog offense was shut down and the defense allowed the Mudcats to put 7 runs on the board. The third inning proved to be the turnaround as Ryder started off the hitting spree that brought in 6 runs in just one inning. The fourth and fifth innings were less lucrative but regardless there were 3 runs that crossed the plate in each inning.

Many of the Riverdogs had multiple hits and multiple RBIs. Notably, Nathan and Caleb were 3-3 and Preston was 2-2. William racked up 3 RBIs with Will, Matthew, and Mason bringing in 2 RBIs each. Titus, Ryder and Preston each had one RBI as well. Matthew and Caleb also turned a double play to add to the strong defense display in the last 3 innings.

The next game is Thursday at 7:30pm against the Scrappers.

Game 1 : Bulls 13, Riverdogs 12

In what turned out to be a great battle back, the Riverdogs fell just short in their comeback resulting in a loss in their first game of the season to a strong Bulls team.

A rocky start lead to the Riverdogs being outscored 10-1 over the first two innings but then the bats came alive in the third inning. Ryder started the comeback and the scoring of 5 runs over the third. Will and JP both had 2 RBIs off great hits to the outfield and Caleb had one RBI.

The fourth inning proved to be another great scoring push for the ‘dawgs. The RBIs just kept rolling in with Ryder, Preston and Will joining in totally another 6 runs scored.

An impressive double play by Matthew and JP did not prove to be enough as the Riverdogs offense was stalled in the last 2 innings. The top of the Bulls lineup proved to be too much to overcome and resulted in the loss.

There were strong moments for the Riverdogs in their first game of the season. Will and Caleb had multiple innings with RBIs. Matthew had 2 doubles during the game as well as the double play mentioned previously that he turned with JP. The entire team hustled and put forth a great effort.

The next game is Tuesday at 7:30 against the Mudcats.

Final All-Stars Update (7)

Congratulations to Blake and the 8U Blue all-star team as they won the 8U Cal Ripken Southeast Regional tournament in Martin, TN this past weekend!!! The regional included teams from North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida and 8U Blue came out on top!!!

This marks the end of the all-stars season for Blake and 8U Blue as there is no Cal Ripken world series at the 8U level, so Blake and 8U Blue went as far as they possibly could!!! Congratulations to 8U Blue as they won Cal Ripken Area, State and Regional titles this summer, as well as won three local area travel tourneys and finished runners up in a fourth!!

Congratulations to Jacob, Matthew N. and the 8U Red all-star team for a great run in the PONY South Region Zone tournament in High Point this weekend!!! 8U Red went 3-1 in Pool play, and lost in bracket play by 1 run to a strong Western Branch Gold team.

This marks the end of the all-stars season for Jacob, Matthew N. and the 8U Red team. Congratulations to 8U Red as they advanced out of the PONY Piedmont sectional to the Pony South Region Zone tournament, as well as won three local area travel tourneys and finished runners up in a fourth!!

Congratulations to Caleb and the 7U Blue all-star team as they won the Silver bracket of the NC AAU 8U Summer World Series in Oxford this weekend!!! Editor’s Note: 7U Blue got a raw deal as due to weather, they were only able to play one pool play game – a game they lost to the eventual gold bracket champions by one run - whereas most other teams played two, thus were seeded based off one game and assigned to the Silver bracket. Nonetheless, 7U Blue took care of business in the Silver bracket to bring home the hardware and win their second 8U tournament this summer.

This marks the end of the all-stars season for Caleb and the 7U Blue team. Congratulations to 7U Blue as they won Cal Ripken Area and State titles this summer, as well as two 8U local area travel tourneys!! In fact, 7U Blue compiled a 20-2 record this summer (10-0 in Ripken play) with the two losses both coming to 8U teams by 1 run each!!

Here is the official team picture of your 7U State Champions!!!

Congratulations to all Riverdogs who participated in a very successful summer all-stars season!!

All-Stars Update (6)

Congratulations to Blake and the 8U Blue all-star team as well as Jacob, Matthew N. and the 8U Red all-star team as they finished champions and runners-up respectively at the NC AAU 4th Annual Oxford Ring Championship July 9-10. Both teams were undefeated in Pool play as well as bracket play and met for the championship in the Gold bracket, with 8U Blue prevailing over 8U Red in a well-played game. Congratulations to both teams on representing West Raleigh well in the tournament.

Caleb and the 7U Blue all-star team did not play this weekend. The Capital City Tigers team did play this weekend, however Carter and Matthew D. were not available to play.

All-Stars Update (5)

Congratulations to Caleb and the 7U Blue all-star team as they won the 7U Cal Ripken State tournament in Wilson this past weekend!!! Much like 8U Blue, 7U Blue did it in dominating fashion as they went 6-0 for the weekend and outscored the opposition 126-2!!!!

There is no Cal Ripken regional tournament at the 7U level, so Caleb and 7U Blue went as far as they possibly could! Caleb and 7U Blue will play 1-2 local tournaments in July to extend their season a little bit and keep the fun going. Stay tuned for updates!

Congratulations to Blake and the 8U Blue all-star team as they won the NC AAU Firecracker Classic in Clemmons this weekend!!! 8U Blue went 4-0 on the weekend to take the title!

All-Stars Update (4)

Congratulations to Blake and the 8U Blue all-star team as they won the 8U Cal Ripken State tournament in Winterville this past weekend!! 8U Blue did it in style as they outscored their opponents 84-3 over six games in the tourney! Good luck to Blake and 8U Blue as they advance to play in the 8U Cal Ripken Southeast Regionals in Martin, Tennessee beginning July 12th.

Congratulations to Jacob, Matthew N. and the 8U Red all-star team as they finished runners-up of the PONY Piedmont Sectional in Garner this past weekend!!! 8U Red went 4-1 on the weekend with the only loss coming in the championship game to a strong Garner team. The runner-up finish advances Jacob, Matthew N. and 8U Red to the PONY South Region Zone tournament in High Point beginning July 15th. Good luck!!

Congratulations to Caleb and the 7U Blue all-star team as they won the NC AAU Beach Super Regional 8U tourney in Oak Island this past weekend!!! Yes, you read that correctly – 7U Blue won an 8U tourney!!! 7U Blue was the only 7U team in the field and came out on top. 7U Blue went 4-0 on the weekend and won the championship game by mercy rule 14-4 in four innings. Good luck to Caleb and 7U Blue as they start the 7U Cal Ripken State tournament in Wilson beginning June 30th.

The Capital City Tigers team also participated in the NC AAU Beach Super Regional 8U tourney in Oak Island this past weekend. While not getting the results they would have liked, the team played extremely hard, got better; and it was fun to watch them and the 7U Blue team root for each other during the games.

All-Stars Update (3)

Congratulations to Blake and the 8U Blue all-star team as they won the 8U Cal Ripken Area tournament in Hamlet this past weekend!! Blake and 8U Blue advanced to play in the 8U Cal Ripken State tournament in Winterville this coming weekend.

Congratulations to Caleb and the 7U Blue all-star team as they won the 7U Cal Ripken Area tournament in Wilmington this past weekend!! Caleb and 7U Blue advance to play in the 7U Cal Ripken State tournament in Wilson in two weeks.

Note: The 9U, 11U and 12U Blue teams of West Raleigh all won Ripken area championships this past weekend as well. 10U Blue has their area tournament this coming weekend.

Congratulations to Jacob, Matthew N. and the 8U Red all-star team as they won the Silver Bracket of the Top Gun Summer World Series this weekend. If you’re keeping tabs at home, that’s three tournaments played, three championships won for 8U Red.