The Latest Local News from the Rome News
It began with a pitch from a well-known Hall of Famer and a rousing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by a local elementary school chorus and ended in a rundown between third base and home as the Rome Braves opened the 2015 season falling one run shy of the defending SAL Champion Asheville Tourists.
Former Atlanta Braves manager and now Hall of Famer Bobby Cox windmilled his right arm three times before delivering a solid opening pitch.
And while one Hall of Famer got things started, some players, who have seemingly boundless potential wearing the Braves’ uniforms, showed they may one day be at least all-stars if not Hall of Famers.
Braxton Davidson, the franchise’s top pick in the 2014 draft, delivered a moon shoot solo home run in the fifth inning, giving Rome its first run of the game.
Davidson also showed poise at the plate in the final inning. Trailing 4-3 and already saddled with one out, the 18-year-old fell behind in the count 1-2 before working the count back full and drawing a walk.
While he looked mostly strong at the plate, he did have a double error in the top of the fifth inning. However, it pays to remember he played first base in high school and is being converted into an outfielder.
Ozhaino Albies, a smooth fielding shortstop from Curacao, proved watching him field might be the worth the price of admission alone.
The shortstop, possibly the same age or younger than local high school seniors, provided three highlight-reel defensive plays.
Albies charged in and seemingly across half the infield and fired a strike to first base just missing getting a runner out on one play. He also handled a short hop and a speedy runner to get the first out in the sixth inning.
Perhaps his best play though came on a pop up in the ninth. The ball hung in the air before Albies delivered a diving grab for the out.
He also came within inches of a big base hit, but the Toursits center fielder managed to catch what appeared to be a base hit in his glove’s webbing for an out.
It wasn’t just Davidson and Albies, though. Third baseman Jordan Edgerton turned in a couple of nice plays to get speedy batters at first.
Left fielder Joseph Daris did yeoman’s work to manufacture a run for the Braves in the fifth. He reached base on a walk, stole second and move to third on an error before coming home to score on a wild pitch.
Second baseman Omar Obregon also made a nice play or two in the field and got himself in position to score a run after drawing a walk and stealing second. He also singled in the ninth inning.
Big 6-foot-8 pitcher Max Povse showed lots of promise on the mound and several times the press box denizens exclaimed ‘nice pitch’ on one of his snappy deliveries.
And yes, the Braves did lose, dropping their overall record for home openers to 6-7. Remember this was the unlucky 13th home opener, but the promise the players showed on the diamond means there will be plenty of marks in the wins column as the season progresses.
Jim Alred is the Sports Editor for the Rome News-Tribune.
Source: Rome News
The post JIM ALRED COLUM: Young Braves show promise in home opener appeared first on My Web Pal.
from My Web Pal http://ift.tt/1CBbLfX
via http://ift.tt/16tBHl4
No comments:
Post a Comment