Clash of the Titans, (Almost)...

This was supposed to be one of the best baseball games of the year, a battle of two of the best 1A baseball teams in the state only separated by only about 15 miles. On paper it was going to be a great game when Stamford played Anson. The crowd was as big a crowd as I think I've ever seen for 1A teams in the regular season. The bleachers were jam-packed, people lined the first and third baseline fences in lawn chairs and after they filled the baselines, they started around the outfield. Then a few people even stood on top of the southeast end of the football bleachers which overlooked center field. I wasn't the only one expecting an epic regular season battle.

And, for the first 3 innings it was, then in the fourth inning Anson's wheels fell off. Stamford, like they've been doing the last couple of years started hitting the ball, slapping it through the infield, bloopers to the outfield, capitalizing on Anson mistakes, then a timely grand slam that blew the game open. After that Anson was frazzled and down big. in the fifth inning Stamford closed it out winning 11-1 by mercy rule. Stamford looked like the defending state runners up, and like they were hungry to finally get over the hump, and like no one was going to stop them. There will be another match up soon, I'm wondering how it will go.

P-Dogs 2 Day Homestand...

I spent a couple of days shooting the Abilene Prairie Dogs' recent home stand. The team is in its first year playing and has been pretty interesting to watch. The team hasn't been all that great, they've has some pretty bad pitching issues, with the bullpen blowing a lot of games or the hitters having a hard time getting clutch hits. But, given the price of the admission and from some of the games I've gotten to see this year it has been nice to get out and shoot some sports during the summer in a time when there really isn't a whole lot to shoot.

As a new tea in the league, the Prairie Dogs aren't playing the normal schedule of splitting their home and away game 50/50. Les then half of their games are home games. Which will often cause them to only play a couple of home games a week and some weeks they are gone the whole week. That keeps things from getting stale. The two games I shot a couple weeks ago between Abilene and Edinburg got pretty interesting with a nice argument between a player and an umpire, some fun games for the kids between innings and some really nice light. I think the best thing about getting to shooting minor league baseball this summer though, is unlike shooting high school and college baseball, there is no sound better than the carck of a wooden bat hitting a baseball.

Baseball Players of the Year...

For the baseball players of the year I actually had enough time to come up with a plan of what to shoot and decided to change things up and take the shots outside the studio. Having a couple days ahead of time to plan things I was able to find a baseball field to shoot on. The Hardin-Simmons baseball coach was nice enough to let me borrow their field for a couple of hours to use as a backdrop for the photos. I got there with, Joy Lewis, one of my awesome co-workers about an hour ahead of time to scout out ideas and places to shoot from as well as set up the lights. My first thought was to shoot the pitchers out on the pitcher's mound and then the batters from the dugout.

After a few test shots from the mound and then a couple where I was planning to shoot the batters from inside the dugout, I liked the dugout shots a lot better. The bright light on the mound plus a pretty strong wind that kept blowing over my softbox was becoming a real pain in the ass! So, I went ahead and shot everyone from the dugout. It made it easier to put the light on the players and balance the light with the outside light and the players weren't squinting from the sunlight. I was a lot happier with the final product this year than I have the last couple of times, having a nice field for the backdrop worked out nicer than the dark studio for a change.

State Baseball Game 2....

So, I'm about as far behind as can be, so I'm going to try and catch up over the next couple days. Stamford was playing in unknown territory having made it to the state finals for the first time after coming up short in the team's two previous trips to the state tournament. So, for the third year in a row, they were either going to win it all or lose to the eventual state champion.

The game didn't turn out the way the players were hoping for though. They lost to Fayettville 10-0, getting mercy ruled in the fifth inning. It was kind of an odd game though. They finished the game without any of the players striking out and even got some runners on base, but they couldn't string together enough hits to score some runners. And, in the field they were making uncharacteristic errors. Plus Fayettville was getting hits of their own and those balls were falling. Obviously the ending wasn't what the team was hoping for, but the good news is 7 of the 9 starters are returning next year and the team's best hitter was hurt most of the season and when he did play, he could only DH. So, a team made up of almost all juniors and sophomores at least has a really bright future ahead of it.

State Baseball...

Stamford was making their third straight trip to the state baseball tournament in Round Rock. The first year they went they got beaten pretty bad. Last year they lost again in the first round to the eventual state champion. This year, they were going in as the top seed with only one loss. Their opponent was Dodd City, a solid team that plays great defense.

The crazy thing about this team, is even though it is made up of mostly juniors and sophomores most of them played in this game last year and a few of them were making their third trip. So, not only were they young but they were also hungry and experienced. After last year, the looks on their faces showed disappointment despite being the third best team in the state. So this year, losing in the first round wasn't an option. The first couple of innings were scoreless. Both teams were trying to feel each other out. Stamford was hitting the ball but making a few mental errors. But, at least they were hitting the ball early, unlike what they had done in the past. Plus the pitching was doing well and they weren't making mistakes in the field.

The nice thing about having been here a couple of times is I already know ahead of time what shooting positions work out well and which ones don't. Sort of like when a team has been here before. And Dell Diamond has some really cool places to shoot from. The left field home run porch is not only different from where I get to shoot from regularly, but it's also a nice elevated position and what made things even better was that when I went up to shoot from there Stamford started scoring. After making it a thriller there towards the end Stamford was able to hold off Dodd City's final push and make the championship game for the first time in their three trips to state.

Regional Championship Series, Game 2...

The second game of the regional baseball series between Stamford and Winters had a little less drama then the first game. Stamford ended up easily winning the game 12-0 to qualify for the team's third straight trip to the state tournament. I really kind of hate shooting games like this. Even at this level, and since the team had been to state the last three years it's almost like it was expected. Plus when you beat a team by 12 runs, there isn't a huge celebration, since it's something you've already done. Well, it worked out ok, I got a decent trophy shot and a few action shot, but nothing spectacular, maybe next time.