Wolves Take Second In Turkey Gobbler Classic

3 Victories in ONE WEEKEND !!!!

The Avalon Park Wolves came into the Turkey Gobbler Classic with high expectations.  After two weeks of solid practice and rapid improvement in several areas of the game, the Avalon Park Wolves were ready to play this weekend.

The fans were not disappointed.

The Wolves rewarded their fans with three victories and almost won the championship game in a thriller.   Overall, it was an example of a total team effort by everyone.  

On Saturday, the Wolves came out and played flawless defense.  Plays that were missed at the beginning of the season were made.  Deep fly balls, screaming liners, and pop ups all landed in gloves with precision. 

The Wolves started off by crushing the Future Stars 8-0.  This victory was especially rewarding since a couple of weeks earlier the Wolves had lost to the Future Stars by one run in the last inning.  The boys and coaches alike cheered real loudly once the game was called by the umpire.  The Wolves used a "pitch by committee" strategy with four different players seeing the mound.

In the second game, the Wolves played the K Town Cobras.  Again, a rock solid fielding effort really kept the Wolves ahead.  The game was eventually won 8-1 - with the lone run being scored on an ultra close play.  Again, four different players saw the mound.  So at the the end of the seeding round, over 8 different Wolves played got a chance to throw the rock.

The Wolves entered pool play with high expectations.  Due to seeding, the Wolves were re-matched with the K-Town Cobas again.  This time, the game was closer with the Wolves running behind.  This time, the Wolves came out a little tight and were not crisp on defense.  The Wolves got behind 5-0, but managed to come back to claim victory 8-5.  

In the Championship Game, the Wolves were matched up against the Winter Springs Matrix.  In an ultra close game, the Wolves fought up to the very last moment. Unfortunately, a few different calls, hits, bounced balls, and other plays added up and eventually the Matrix won 9-8.  Despite the disappointment, our boys held their heads eye and came home with very nice medals for their effort.  

Managed Ray Elwell offered some colorful commentary in his post game interview with the ESPN and the national press corp:

"When they awarded the turkey to the other team, I just had a sick feeling in my stomach. I really wanted that turkey." When several of the press corp. looked at each other in bewilderment as to the relevancy of the turkey upon his team's play , Elwell continued. "I mean, times are tight,  and that could have saved us a bundle at Thanksgiving."  Coach Roy Stevens seemed to get the conversation back on track with a few comments in Ray’s error.  Fortunately, Elwell recovered and got back into his post game stride:

"Well, our boys played really well. There are some many things to be proud off.  Our team has come a long way and to win 3 out of 4 games in a weekend and take second in a tournament makes me feel like we have really turned the corner with this team.  We see so much improvement from all of our players. They have exhibited great attitudes throughout the weekend as we played well.  It rewarding for the coaching staff to see how much we improved from our first game in Lakeland.  There is still much work to be done, but this team does not even resemble the team we had even 8 weeks ago, much less the team that started practicing in late July."

Here are some highlights from the game - consider this an "incomplete" listing. With three victories, I am sure each one of the players did more than what is written here:

Alec:  Let’s just call him “sponge” since he seemed to field everything hit to him this weekend.  A rock solid second baseman and consistent hitting all weekend long helped us significantly on offense and defense.

Andrew: Contributed at the mound with several innings of rock solid pitching.

Bradley: A great baserunner who managed turned a dropped strike into a third base appearance by being heads up.  This came at a critical moment in the semi-final game !

Caleb: Really hit the ball well with several strong hits to left field.

Conner: A few strong hits into right center.  Since he clearly has the loudest bat on the team, everyone heard it !

Christian: Solid pitching throughout the weekend.

David: Had a key hit and also played very well at third with several strong stops.

Kenny: Contributed well on the offensive side with many strong hits and RBIs.

Michael: Got his first taste of travel ball and adapted well to the different pitching and hitting.  Michael was a great addition to the team this weekend.

Peyton: Several strong hits, including a ground rule double,  and contributed on the mound as well.

Paul: Solid catching and pitching.  Blasted one to the fence for a key hit.  Two feet higher and it was gone.

Trevor: Contributed  well on the mound and at the plate. Also drew countless walks which, despite his frustration, had a solid on base percentage.

See the following pages for photos of the tournament