Bleak Offense Leads to Early Exit for SKS at State
Kokomo, IN 7/31/10
When the 10 teams arrived in Kokomo, Indiana for the
ASA Class "B" state championship on Saturday morning,
they were greeted with non stop showers of heavy rain
that would push back most of the first round games about
five hours. By the time the Street Kids Softball team took
to the field for their first game, the rain may have stopped,
but the outlook for SKS was very stormy.
Street Kids had a great team on paper heading into the
state championship, but everyone knows games are won
on the field, and on this particular Saturday afternoon in
Kokomo, the SKS team would not win any games,
going a disappointing 0-and-2 for the first time since
2006, and that only happened once that year.
The only one real bright spot for the Kids (81-20 overall)
was young Scott Martin, who batted .857 in the two
games. But the rest of the team (not counting Martin)
batted .472, which is not enough to win any games, let
alone a state championship.
"It was tough today," said manager TJ Jorgensen. "A few guys hit the ball well right at people, and our defense was very good,
but we just couldn't put together the big hits when it mattered. We lost both games by a combined six runs, and could have won
both of them. If we come through with a couple of clutch hits, this could have been a completely different weekend."
It has been no secret that the team has had some issues with personnel and some of it was handled with some roster changes last
week. But Jorgensen said he is not giving up despite how the team has played lately.
"We are going to make a couple of more roster moves by Monday," he said. "Some will be a surprise but the goal is harmony. If
we can find a way to play well together, even for just one weekend, we can still salvage this season with a championship."
SKS has little time for rest, as the team returns to Indianapolis this Saturday for the NSA "B" state championship. Their first
game is scheduled for 10:15am against the winner of Wildman and K&G Reds Boys.
When the 10 teams arrived in Kokomo, Indiana for the
ASA Class "B" state championship on Saturday morning,
they were greeted with non stop showers of heavy rain
that would push back most of the first round games about
five hours. By the time the Street Kids Softball team took
to the field for their first game, the rain may have stopped,
but the outlook for SKS was very stormy.
Street Kids had a great team on paper heading into the
state championship, but everyone knows games are won
on the field, and on this particular Saturday afternoon in
Kokomo, the SKS team would not win any games,
going a disappointing 0-and-2 for the first time since
2006, and that only happened once that year.
The only one real bright spot for the Kids (81-20 overall)
was young Scott Martin, who batted .857 in the two
games. But the rest of the team (not counting Martin)
batted .472, which is not enough to win any games, let
alone a state championship.
"It was tough today," said manager TJ Jorgensen. "A few guys hit the ball well right at people, and our defense was very good,
but we just couldn't put together the big hits when it mattered. We lost both games by a combined six runs, and could have won
both of them. If we come through with a couple of clutch hits, this could have been a completely different weekend."
It has been no secret that the team has had some issues with personnel and some of it was handled with some roster changes last
week. But Jorgensen said he is not giving up despite how the team has played lately.
"We are going to make a couple of more roster moves by Monday," he said. "Some will be a surprise but the goal is harmony. If
we can find a way to play well together, even for just one weekend, we can still salvage this season with a championship."
SKS has little time for rest, as the team returns to Indianapolis this Saturday for the NSA "B" state championship. Their first
game is scheduled for 10:15am against the winner of Wildman and K&G Reds Boys.
