Pre-season games can be rough waters. The BlueClaws experienced this first hand on Saturday night versus a lively-armed SeaDogs squad. Generally weak hitting and wild pitching were the key contribu Rest of story...

Pre-season games can be rough waters. The BlueClaws experienced this first hand on Saturday night versus a lively-armed SeaDogs squad. Generally weak hitting and wild pitching were the key contributors to the shelling. Despite clear room for improvement, the Claws exhibited some talent lurking in the depths. Here are a few highlights:

(1) Skelly "Skeleton" Smith received game ball honors for his 'heads up' fielding play at third base and a stolen base.

(2) Chauncy and Big E both had solid hits to the outfield.

(3) B-Rad held the Wet Pups scoreless in the first despite claiming he could only pitch well 'under pressure.' He created the pressure by loading the bases and then shut down the opposition with the help of some good defense by his teammates. He ended the inning by catching a high pop-up.

(4) Frenchy opened the game with a sliding basket catch in center and later pitched a walk-free inning in the fourth.

(5) El Gato ran the bases well and scored one of our two runs on Frenchy's sacrifice bunt. He also relayed a nice throw from the outfield to Big E at the plate for a run-saving out.

(6) Fro Boy made a nice grab on a line drive at first base.

I'm sure I've left out some of the plays made by Bulldog, Flick, and the rest of the squad. I can say that our good plays were outnumbered by our missed opportunities. Fixing that, my good fans of the shellfish nine, is what spring training is all about. Here's to a much improved performance at our next pre-season game!