The Colts opened the season with two wins on Saturday, a spot in the gold bracket, and plenty of reasons to feel good about the baseball they were playing.
Pitching set the tone in the opener against Scottsdale Heat.
Beckett was dominant through two scoreless innings, striking out five while throwing 18 of his 26 pitches for strikes. Benji added three strikeouts of his own, throwing 17 strikes on 27 pitches, and the Colts’ defense played clean behind them.
AMDG built a five-run lead and then had to hold on as Scottsdale made a late push, coming away with a 5–4 win to start the season.
Game two gave the Colts a chance to show what the offense could do.
They jumped on Paladin Red early and kept going, rolling to a 14–1 win. Wyatt supplied one of the weekend’s biggest moments with a two-run home run to center field, while the lineup piled up 12 hits and kept pressure on throughout the game.
The pitching stayed strong, too. Anthony threw 18 strikes on 29 pitches in the start, and Carson and Everett finished the game in relief, throwing seven of 10 and six of 11 pitches for strikes, respectively.
By the end of Saturday, the Colts were 2–0 and headed to Sunday’s gold bracket.
Sunday brought the first real adversity of the season. The boys fell behind early and never quite found the rhythm they had the day before, ending the tournament with an 11–2 loss and a third-place finish.
It wasn’t the ending they wanted, but it was probably a useful one to get early.
The weekend showed what this team can look like when the pitching is sharp, the defense is clean, and the offense puts pressure on opponents. It also gave the boys their first reminder that a game can turn quickly — and that learning how to respond when it does will be part of this season, too.
“Two wins. Strong pitching. A big swing from Wyatt. And a third-place finish to start the fall.”
There’s a lot to build on.
And a lot more baseball ahead.