Hello Braves!
Chris and I saw this year’s Braves practicing at the high-school softball field a couple of days ago, and we got nostalgic about how much fun we had with last year’s Braves. It seems as if this year’s group is off to a great start.
Jim Higgins asked me to write a bit about what the two Braves’ alumni are doing this summer. Here goes:
Jason Blacher and Chris Pritchard now play on the Wisconsin Wildcats travel team for 13-year-olds. Jason and Chris are regularly in the starting lineup for the Wildcats, who play games on fields that are much bigger than the Majors field at Water Tower. Some of their games are played on diamonds with 80 feet between the bases and the pitcher’s rubber 54 feet from home plate. Other games are played on fields with major-league dimensions (90 feet between bases, the rubber 60 feet, 6 inches from home).
Jason plays mostly at shortstop and Chris mostly at first base, though both of them have also played other positions and pitched. Like most of the guys on the Wildcats, they had some initial trouble adjusting to the unfamiliar distance of the pitcher but lately they have been striking the ball with authority.
For example, Wednesday evening at Harden field on Milwaukee’s south side – a field with major-league dimensions including a center-field wall 380 feet from the plate – Chris clouted a long double to right field and smoked a triple down the right field line. He also pitched two hitless innings.
Chris’ second hitless inning ended when Jason making an amazing full-extension Sports Center top-play-worthy dive to snare a line drive that seemed headed for center field. You won’t find many 13-year-old shortstops better than Jason in the field. Jason was also productive at the plate, smashing a line-drive hit over the shortstop’s head into left field.
Wednesday’s victory left the Wildcats with a 9-4 record. Overall, the team will play 50-55 games, with the season ending the last weekend in July. There are 12 guys on the Wildcats, and playing time is distributed very equally. The team is a travel team, but other than one soggy April weekend in Iowa the travel is limited to southeast Wisconsin.
Chris and Jason really enjoy the guys on the Wildcats; the players’ parents get along well, too. Five of the Wildcats are from Whitefish Bay, three from Fox Point, and one each from Cedarburg, New Berlin, Greenfield, and Pewaukee. The head coach is a soft-spoken former college player in his mid-20s who the players and parents like a lot.
If any of the Braves are considereing a more intense baseball experience next year than the Juniors will offer, I’d encourage them to consider the Wildcats. Tryouts for the 2011 Wildcats will be in late summer. You can learn a little bit more about the Wildcats by going into the Roster and Calendar portions of http://wsbcc.com/.
Meanwhile, keep up the fantastic play at Water Tower! I follow your games via Jim’s blog, and when you get to the championship game I’ll make sure that Chris and I are in the stands to cheer you on.
Dave Pritchard
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