July 9 & 16, 2016 Game Recap

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Padres of Quitanca vs Indians of Candelaria

The Indians had an unfortunate start of their season with a mix of kids being sick, on vacation, and “grounded” they only had seven players show up to play. They had to forfeit their game but being that the Padres had all twelve all show up, two of their players played with the Indians show that the kids could still enjoy a game. It turned out to be a thrilling game. The two teams went back and forth the whole game and although we changed this category from tee ball to coach pitch the kids were still hitting the ball with ferocity. The game was tied 8-8 heading into the fifth and final inning. The Indians saw routine singles turn in to doubles and triples as the Padres committed crucial errors and gave away four runs to trail 12-8 heading into their final at bat. The little guys from Quitanca fought back and scored three runs but could not muster anymore as the Indians used skillful defense to get the last three outs. The Padres were led by Jordan Zuniga and Erwin Valdivia who went 2-3 with 3 RBI’s and 2-3 with 2 RBI’s and a double respectively. While the Indians were led by Norlan Trana and Jelson Mendoza who went 2-4 with a homerun and 2 RBI’s and 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI’s.

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer

The Pirates came out hot and took a surprising 4-2 lead after one inning of play over the heavily favored Tigers. But, after three innings it was the Tigers who led 9-5. Each team would add one more run as the game ended 10-6. The Pirates were led by Sergio Sarria and Jostin Mayorga who had the exact same stat line of 3-3 with a run, RBI, and a triple. The Tigers were very well balanced but were led by Elio Rodriguez and Justin Somarrilla who surprisingly also had the same stat line of 2-3 with a triple, run, and RBI.

July 16 Games

The Indians easily took down the Pirates 11-5 thanks to homeruns by Jelson Mendoza and Martin Gonzalez.

The Padres got revenge on the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in a defensive battle by winning 4-2.

Next Week:

We will have the championship rematch when the Indians face the Tigers and the Pirates will look to get in the win column as they face the undefeated Padres.

Belen is ready to get back to it!

These guys are on the quest to defend their title!

 
 

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Cardinals of Santa Matilde

It was a pitching battle through the first two innings as the score was 1-1 and each pitcher had 6 strikeouts. The game started unraveling for the Cardinals in the third as the pitcher walked the bases loaded and the defense made crucial errors and the Braves scored five. The game did not change much after that as the game ended as a 7-2 victory for the Braves. Alexander Lopez led the way for the Braves as he pitched 4 innings while surrending only 1 run and striking out 10. At the plate he went 2-2 with a triple and a RBI. Luiz Marin struck out 9 and only gave up 2 earned runs in four innings of work for the Cardinals as he came in relief of the starter Adolfo Cordoba.

Game: Athletics of Quitanca vs Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer

The Athletics picked up where they left off from their undefeated championship season and once again dominated. Like always they were well balanced at the plate but it was Carlos Mesa and Julio Somarriba who did the most damage as the four and five hitters. Carlos hit a homerun and Julio pitched in with 2 RBI’s as the Athletics easily won 11-1. Josel Sarria was the only Ranger to get a hit and he also scored the lone run for the team from Nuevo Amanacer.

July 16 Games

In an exciting game it was the Cardinals outlasting the Rangers to win 8-7 thanks to a crucial 2-run double hit by Ana Mesa in the bottom of the fifth.

The Braves finally made it over the hump and took down the big, bad Athletics. Alexander Lopez was a triple away from the cycle as he led the Braves to a 6-5 victory.

Next Week:

The A's will look to get back on track as they face the Cardinals and in the other tilt, the Braves will look to remain undefeated as they face the Rangers.

This tree turns into one of the favorite hangout spots before games

Eduardo was thrilled after the Cardinals' first win of the year!

 

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Reds of Candelaria vs Yankees of Santa Matilde

The Yankees set out to send a message to the Reds after the Reds pulled a miracle in the semifinals of the playoffs and send a message they did. After the Reds scored a run in the first the Yankees would shut them down and only allow one more run over the final six innings. The Yankees used a big second inning where they scored 4 to propel them to victory as they won 7-2. Domingo Dolmos pitched five innings and struck out 7 while only surrending one run to win the game for the Yankees. At the plate it was the catcher Francisco Mendoza who shined the brightest as he went 2-2 with 2 RBI’s and 2 runs.

Game: Giants of Nuevo Amanacer vs Red Sox of Quitanca

The last game of the day turned into an absolute slugfest. The Giants scored 14 runs through the first three innings including an 8 run third. The Red Sox although scoring 8 runs through two were shell shocked as they trailed 14-8 through three to the team that finished last in the previous season. The Giants would calm down and only scored two runs over the final 4 innings. The Red Sox tried to mount a comeback but the Giants were there to shut them down every time they got something going. The Giants made a statement by taking down the defending champs 16-13. The thee and four hitters for the Red Sox, Ivan Zeledon and Pedro Perez, played their parts as they went 3-5 with 4 RBI’s and 3-4 with 3 RBI’s and a home run. While the three and four hitters for the Giants, Stiven Lacayo and Joel Vilchez, identically went 3-5 with 3 RBI’s and 3 runs.

July 19 Games

The Yankees, led by Crisanto Mesa, took down the Giants 5-2 to stake their early claim as the division's best team.

Not wanting to start the season 0-2 the Red Sox rallied from behind and won on a walkoff single by Pedro Perez.

Next Week:

The Yankees are poised to show they are the best team while the Red Sox will look to prove why they are the defending champs as these two heavy weights will battle it out. The Reds will try to avoid an 0-3 start as they take on the Giants.

Ivan and the Red Sox have had a tough two first games

It is great to have everybody back around on Saturdays!

 

May 14, 2016 Game Recap

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Indians of Candelaria

It was the Indians who got on the board quickly to start the game thanks to a three run home run by Jelson Mendoza and after one inning of play the Indians were leading 4-0. Over the next two innings the Indians would shut down the Tigers defensively and would score 9 more runs that pushed the lead to 13-0. It looked all but over but in the bottom of the third the Tigers gained some life with an 8 run explosion thanks to homeruns by Jimmy Garcia and Elio Rodriguez. It was a 13-8 game with two innings left to play. Unfortunately, the Tigers would not score any more runs and the Indians would add 6 more over the final two innings as the Indians won the championship by winning 19-8. It was a total team effort by the team from Candelaria as every player scored at least one time and all but one player had an RBI. The Tigers will look to regroup themselves over the next month or so and comeback with a fire in their bellies in July.

The Tigers came in with their game faces on!

The champs from Candelaria!

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Athletics of Quitanca

It was not a good start for the Braves as an error riddled top of the first helped Quitanca take a 6-0 lead. However, the Braves would get 2 back thanks to a 2-run homerun by Alexander Lopez as the Braves trailed 6-2 after one. The game would stay the same until the bottom of the third when the Braves would score 3 runs due in part to Ricardo Estrada who hit a 2-run home run and the game was close with the A’s leading 6-5. After two innings of being shut out the A’s found another run in the top of the fourth to extend their lead to 7-5. The Braves would answer and again it was the A’s holding on to a 1 run lead with two innings left to play. It was yet another error that allowed the Athletics to extend their lead to 8-6 in the top of the fifth. They would get more help as a misplayed ball by the center fielder allowed Julio Somarrilla to race around the bases for a 2-run homerun and the lead was 10-6 heading into the Braves final at bat. The Braves saw their 8^th and 9^th batters strikeout and they were down to their final out of the season. Missael Rivas hit a dribbler to the first baseman who somehow misplayed it as the Braves were looking to spark a miraculous rally. The next batter was hit and the Braves had hope as Alexander Lopez stepped to the plate and Ricardo Estrada was on deck. The crowd was alive as the pitcher, Bryan Sarria, was battling with the big man from Candelaria. With the crowd chanting his name the young left hander got a fastball by Alexander on a 3-2 count to give the Athletics the championship. It was an amazing season by the A’s who finished with an unblemished 15-0 record. The Braves will look to correct their defensive mistakes and come back ready to go in July.  

 

Walberto giving his pregame speech!

Although it doesn't look like it in this picture, they were happy to win!

 

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Reds of Candelaria vs Red Sox of Quitanca

It looked as though we would be heading for another exciting game as the two teams each scored runs in the first inning, but that was not to be the case as it looked like the Reds were suffering a hangover from last week’s heartbreaking loss. The Red Sox would score a whopping 15 runs over the first 5 innings as they ran away with the championship by winning 15-4. The Red Sox were led by Jose Reyes and Edwin Perez who combined for 5 hits, 5 RBI’s and 5 runs. The Red Sox only suffered one loss and were dominant all year. The Reds will look to their last couple of games to end the season as hope that they can compete and beat anybody come July. 

 

The champs of the oldest division!

Game Recap May 7, 2016

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Indians of Candelaria

The championship games got started off right as these two teams battled it out for five thrilling innings. The Tigers got things going early as Elio Rodriguez and Eliseo Rodriguez both scored to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. In the bottom half the Indians would rattle off 3 runs of their own thanks to a 2-run double by Kevin Montes, he was eventually brought home by a Jelson Mendoza single as the game was 3-2 after one inning. The Tigers found some magic in the bottom half of their lineup as their 9^th and 10^thbatters found base, which setup a 3-run homerun by Sander Garcia and the Tigers retook the lead 5-3. Norlan Trana would open up the bottom of the second with a solo homerun but that would be the only run of the inning as the Indians went into the third inning trailing 5-4. The Tigers would not be able to get anything going in the top half and the Indians took advantage as they would score 2 in the bottom half as the game saw its fourth lead change of the game. The Indians would once again shut down the Tigers in the top of the fourth and added another run in the bottom half to give themselves a two run lead at 7-5. The first runner for the Tigers would find base and eventually find home as Justin Somarilla hit a slow dribbler to second base, but the Tigers were down to their final out and still trailed by 1. It was Jose Flores who stepped into the limelight and shined the brightest when his team needed him the most as he hit a game tying homerun. The Indians would retire the next batter and go into their final at bat with a chance to win the game. The Indians had their dynamic duo, Ruben Calero and Norlan Trana, leading off the inning. Ruben would hit a hard ground ball to shortstop but the Tigers’s shortstop, Sander Garcia, made a great play to get the out. Norlan Trana then hit a shot to left center as he raced around first for a standup double. The next batter, Cesar Vega, hit a grounder to second that was enough to advance Norlan to third, but the Indians were down to their last out. Martin Rosales who was 1-2 on the day came up to the plate looking to give the Indians a crucial game 1 victory, and that he did as he hit a hard ground ball between the third baseman and shortstop and Norlan raced home as the Indians took a 1-0 series lead with a exciting walk-off winner. Norlan Trana and Kevin Montes were the stars at the plate for the Indians as they combined for 5 hits, 4 RBI’s and 4 runs. 

This team was estatic to take game 1!

Poor Belen was in shock after the game!

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Athletics of Quitanca

The Braves looked to do something they had not done in any of their four previous games against the Athletics and that was score early. They had a great chance in the first as they got the bases loaded with two outs. Jose Luiz was battling Carlos Mesa and after three foul balls, he finally hit a shot to third that was corralled and Julio Somarrilla calmly stepped on the third to get the Athletics out of the jam. After walking the first batter, Alexander Lopez struck out the next two batters he saw but due to passed balls the runner had advanced from first to third. A misplayed ground ball by the shortstop would allow Luis Ramirez to score as the A’s took an early 1-0 lead after one inning. In the second the Braves once again would find themselves with a two out opportunity as they had runners on second and third, but Carlos Mesa struck out Kenner Gomez to once again get the Athletics out of a jam. An error filled second inning by the Braves would allow the Athletics to open up their lead to 4-0. In the top of the third, the Braves would go three up three down and the Athletics headed into the bottom half looking to end the game early. That is exactly what they did as their first four batters would come around to score and Braves found themselves down 8-0. Carlos Mesa would strike out all three batters in the fourth and the Athletics added 2 more runs in the fourth and the game would end in a 10-0 victory for the undefeated team from Quitanca. Carlos Mesa dazzled again as he would only allow one hit and struck out ten. At the plate Evert Somarrilla and Luis Ramirez both went 3-3 and each score three times to lead the way for the Athletics.

That's how an undefeated team takes a picture!

Carlos Mesa was channeling his inner Hideo Nomo with that windup!

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Reds of Candelaria vs Red Sox of Quitanca

After upsetting the Yankees the week before to advance to the championship the Reds looked to do it again against the Red Sox. Neither of the teams did anything in the first inning, but in the top of the second Alejandro Melendez and Luiz Santana hit back to back doubles to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. The score stayed the same through three innings of play. In the fourth it was Luiz Santana once again sending Alejandro Melendez, this time it was off a single to centerfield. The Red Sox once again could not do anything in the bottom of the fourth as you could sense their frustration as they trailed 2-0. The Reds went three up three down in their half of the fifth and the Red Sox were desperate to try to get something going. They would use a two out rally to score 3 runs thanks to an error by the Reds that would have ended the inning with only 1 run, but instead the Red Sox found themselves with the lead 3-2. In the top of the sixth, the first three batters for the Reds all reached base and the Reds had the bases loaded with no outs and Alejandro Melendez at bat and Luiz Santana on deck. Alejandro hit a grounder to short, and Jean Carlos made a tremendous throw to get the runner at home out. Luiz Santana would strike out and the Reds’ runner at third inexplicably though the inning was over as they wondered off the base and the alert Red Sox tagged them out to end the inning. As somehow they escaped without surrendering one run. The Red Sox would score another 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth as another the second baseman for the Reds committed another crucial error. With the Red Sox leading 5-2 you could tell the Reds had lost hope and it showed as they went three up three down in the top of the seventh to give the Red Sox the first game of the three game championship series.

Walberto giving Jean Carlos some advice a crucial at bat!

Game Recap April 30, 2016

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer vs Indians of Candelaria           

The playoffs got started with the Pirates looking for a big upset. Unfortunately they did not have much of a chance. After surrendering one run to the Pirates in to the top of the first inning, the Indians put up a five spot thanks to a grand slam homerun by Ruben Calero and that was followed up by a solo home run by Norlan Trana. The Indians never looked back as they would score 8 more runs and easily win 13-2. Ruben and Norlan once again led the way as they combined for 7 of the 10 RBI’s by the Indians. 

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Padres of Quitanca

These two teams have had some good games against each other over the course of the season, but nothing came close to what happened on Saturday. They went back and forth to the final out in what was the most exciting semifinal game. Yelkel Martinez got things going in the top of the first as he hit a 3-run homerun to give the Padres a quick 4-0 lead. Not impressed by Yelkel's efforts, Elio Rodriguez, Justin Somarrilla, and Jose Aranda all hit homeruns in what was a 6 run inning for the Tigers. Using the momentum from their bats, the Tigers shut down the Padres in the second and then put another 4 runs through as it looked like the Tigers were going to pull away with a 10-4 lead after two innings of play. The Padres would halve the lead in the top of the third to 10-7 only to see the Tigers respond with 2 more runs of their own and the Padres continued to trail 12-7 after three. In the fourth inning, realizing they were looking at only two more innings to extend their season, the Padres came alive. The first six batters amazingly all reached base and scored as the fans from Quitanca were going crazy to see their little ones take the lead for the second time in the game 13-12. The Tigers quickly responded in the bottom half when Justin Somarrilla tied the game with another homerun, this time it was a solo shot. The Tigers would squeeze out one more run to retake the lead 14-13. Emotions were at an all time high as the Tigers took the field to try to win the game with their defense. That hope did not last long as the Padres’ second batter of the inning, Alexis Espinoza, hit a 2-run home run to give the Padres the lead 15-14. The Padres added two more runs and took an astonishing 17-14 lead into the bottom of the fifth. The Tigers were stunned but confident as they had the top of their order coming to the plate. The Padres retired the first batter and were two outs away from completing an amazing comeback. The Tigers’ next batter would reach base and then Elio Rodriguez went yard again with a 2-run homerun to bring the Tigers within one run. After another Tiger found a hit, Justin Somarilla would bring him home with a double and the game was tied. Two more batters came to the plate one was retired and the other hit a single that setup the Tigers with men on first and third with two outs. Rosita Garcia came to the plate and hit a dribbler to second base who looked to have easily controlled it and was on his way to stepping on second to force extra innings, but then somehow the ball popped out and the runners were all safe and the Tigers won on a crazy walk-off error.

Next Week:

The first game of the three game championship series will feature the Indians taking on the Tigers. The Tigers gave the Indians their only loss of the season in the final game of the regular season. The Indians will be looking to avenge that loss as the Tigers will look to try and beat the Indians two more times in what should be a very competitive championship.

Although they suffered a tough loss this little team will be geared up and ready to go again come July!

The Pirates were trying to sort things out defensively as they took the field

 

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Athletics of Quitanca vs Cardinals of Santa Matilde

The Cardinals played admirably and fought to the bitter end but unfortunately the pitcher for the Athletics, Carlos Mesa, brought his Clayton Kershaw stuff as he struck out 12 of the 18 batters he faced. Evert Somarrilla struck out 3 of his own in the sixth and final inning as these two pitchers combined for a 15 strikeout no hit performance. Carlos Mesa walked three batters to give the Cardinals their only base runners on the day. The Athletics surprisingly only registered three hits one of which was a 2-run homerun by Bryan Sarria. It was their lowest hit total on the year but they took advantage of 11 walks and managed to score 6 runs to win 6-0.

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer

The Rangers beat the Braves with a walk off hit the last time these two teams played. Needless to say the Braves were looking for revenge. Alexander Lopez wanted to show that his stuff was just as good as Carlos Mesa’s as he struck out 9 of the 14 batters he faced and only walked 2 in four innings of no hit baseball. The Braves put together their best hitting performance as all but one of their players reached base and they sent a message with a 13-0 win in a game that was called early. In the batting department the Braves were led by Kenner Gomez and Ricardo Estrada as they both went 3-3 and had 3 RBI’s each.

Next Week:

The Athletics have yet to taste defeat and do not plan on doing so. Meanwhile, the Braves after being embarrassed the last time they played the Athletics are looking to carry over momentum from their best game of the season and will look to surprise the undefeated team from Quitanca.

Pregame high five line!

The great Chepe Caballo, feeling pretty studly after hitting his first homerun ever!

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Reds of Candelaria vs Yankees of Santa Matilde

This was suppose to be a formality for the Yankees as they have dominated the Reds the past two times they have played them and the Reds have mightily struggled over the last half of the season, but the Reds came to play when it mattered the most. They surprised the Yankees with 3 runs in the first inning and took a quick 3-0 lead. The score would stay like that until the bottom of the third when Crisanto Mesa hit a solo homerun and Josue Dolmos singled in another run to cut the lead to only 1 for the Yankees. In the following inning the Yankess would again score 2 runs as it looked like they would begin to take control as they grabbed the lead for the first time 4-3 after four innings. After the Yankees switched pitchers to start the fifth, the Reds quickly pounced and scored 3 runs to re-take the lead 6-4. The Reds would not look back as the Yankees could not buy a hit. The Reds would add a run in the sixth and seventh to give them a surprising 8-4 lead. Isiais Pereira was the player of the game for the Reds as he pitched six innings and went 3-4 at the plate.

Next Week:

Unfortunately the Giants did not have enough kids show up to the game and they forfeited to the Red Sox, which leads us with a championship series that will feature the Red Sox of Quitanca taking on the Reds of Candelaria.

 

The Reds were thrilled to have pulled off the upset!

Ministry Update

 
It is hard to believe but we are completely done with the regular season and this weekend starts the playoffs. The Reds, after getting embarrassed a week ago, bounced back and beat the Giants 10-6 this past Saturday to claim third place in the oldest category. So the official “brackets” for the playoffs are: 7-9 year old division (1) Indians of Candelaria vs (4) Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer and (2) Tigers of Santa Matilde vs (3) Padres of Quitanca; 10-11 year old division (1) Athletics of Quitanca vs (4) Cardinals of Santa Matilde and (2) Braves of Candelaria vs (3) Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer ; 12-13 year old division (1) Red Sox of Quitanca vs (4) Giants of Nuevo Amanacer and (2) Yankees of Santa Matilde vs (3) Reds of Candelaria. Everybody is very excited to see what will happen and we expect to have some great, intense games over the next couple of weeks.

It seemed like just the other day we were having our kick off event and with a snap of a finger over twelve weeks have past and we are almost done with our first season. To be honest it does not seem that long ago when I was daily fielding calls on something going wrong with the fields and being put it in situations where I would not know what to do with everyone speaking English, much less when everything is in Spanish! Yet, God has been good and even though it has been a whirlwind it has been a big blessing to the communities. We are excited to share that we might have a huge answer to prayer in being able to have Nicaraguan leadership for the actual league itself! The two coaches from Quitanca, Ivan and Walberto, are two men who have a passion for baseball and kids. For over 10 years they have worked with kids four to five times a week without receiving a single penny, but just doing it to help kids do something productive. It was quite random how we came into contact with these two, which makes one believe it was God. The pastor of the church in Nuevo Amanacer, Pastor Bismark, invited Ivan to a dinner we were having with the pastors and prospective coaches back in June when Stan was here. There was limited contact with him until November when we realized that we were not going to have enough teams between our churches to fill the 12 spots in the league. I met with Ivan a couple of days before I left for the States for 8 weeks. He was more than excited to have a team participate in our league. When I got back from the States, I realized the plan of having two Candelarian teams in the oldest and youngest division was not going to be possible due to lack of faithfulness in coaches and players. When I went to Quitanca to be at one of their practices Ivan and Walberto almost begged me to have teams in the oldest and youngest categories and little did they know that I was actually going to ask if they could put together two more teams. Ever since then it has been a great growing relationship between them and us. I cannot tell you how many times they have expressed their gratitude and thankfulness for what we have done for them and their kids. Their presence, along with the people from Quitanca, have been refreshing and we are excited to have them be apart of our ministry. The idea is to allow them to “run” the league for our second season that will be from the beginning of July to the end of September. We share this as a praise report, but also ask for continued prayers in this area as well.

 

Ivan leading his team in a pregame prayer

Walberto is looking pretty intense, but this was the best picture I had!

To close this update I feel compelled to share what God has been teaching and showing me through His word and surprisingly my kids that can so easily frustrate me. I do not have any children so I do not have any sort of sense the love and care that a father would have for a child. The closest thing that I have experienced to that feeling up until this moment is the relationships I have with the kids on the team that I personally coach. All but two of them have been coming to practices since last March and I sincerely do love them. I value that they came to practices weekly when there were no sights of games or uniforms, the exact things that I had promised to them. Yet even though I love and care for them, they can frustrate the living mess out of me. Especially when they continue to do things that I have been teaching them not to do be it in baseball or how they treat one another. Sometimes it feels like I am speaking to a wall. A couple of days ago I had to kick two players off my team the week of the playoffs due to their continual lack of respect towards me. One was my second best player. I did not want to do it, but I gave them chance after chance after chance and they refused to change their attitudes. What hurt the most is I tried to console them with love that was not received and they continually back talked me and verbally disrespected me. It hurt to take them off my team, but it hurts even more to know what their lives will look like five years from now. It just speaks to the culture and the up bringing that kids have here where they are constantly yelled at and degraded and unfortunately the kids often times take the personalities of their parents. Knowing that, I extended an inordinate amount of grace to them but it became that every practice and every game there was at least one if not multiple instances when they would raise their voice at me or completely ignore me when I told them to do something. So I had to do what I did not want to do. 

There are three other full time missionaries that live here and every Thursday morning we have devotion and worship time together. For the past three weeks we have been going through Malachi, which has taught me more than I could imagine on who God is and what His heart is like. For much if not all my life I have viewed the Old Testament God as being different than the New Testament God. The Old Testament God was on a rampage and destroying anything and everything in His path, while the New Testament God was all about grace and love. The truth of the matter is that there are plenty of harsh “punishments” listed in the New Testament for believers and unbelievers, but we like to skip over those parts and make our own warm fuzzy feeling watered down Gospel. Also the Old Testament seems to be only about how stupid the Israelites are, God saves and restores them but then they revert back to their old ways and neglect Him. It is easy to look and say the Israelites were dumb but, the Israelites are such a perfect picture of how humans are. Malachi begins with him calling out the Israelites for their sacrifices. Instead of sacrificing their best cattle (something that was going to genuinely cost them) they were sacrificing their sick and crippled cattle (something that they would probably have killed anyway). Let me tell you, God was not happy about this. In Malachi 2:3 He says, “I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile.” Talk about going from 0-100 real quick. How can the Israelites been so stupid in their sacrifices? The funny thing is although I am forever grateful to have been born under the new covenant that abolishes the need to offer sacrifices to cleanse me of my sins, there is still a sacrifice to be given and that is my heart, it’s my life. O how are sacrifices are so similar to those of the Israelites. We neglect to give God our best, the very definition of a sacrifice is giving up something that costs you! Yet we continually give God our “sick and crippled” selves and expect that it does not matter to God. Is God not the same? Jesus Himself says in Luke 14:26 & 27, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own self—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Ummm, that whole sacrificing your best cattle thing is sounding a lot better. God desires all of our hearts, but why? It is what stems his anger towards the Israelites throughout the Old Testament; His passionate, all-consuming, all-covering, radical love for us. Of course He is a jealous God because He understands that we will never be complete, we will never experience full joy outside of His love. That is why He passionately seeks us, waits on us, calls us into deeper because He loves us so much. I almost daily tell my kids, “I will not tell you to do something that will hurt you or make you worse. Trust me and do what I say.” O how frustrated I get when they continually do the things that I tell them not to do. I ask myself, why do they do things that make them worse? I can just see God bopping me on my head and passionately saying, “Jeff why do you continue to do the things you do? Why do you continue to neglect my teachings? Why do you not surrender this part of your life to me? Don’t you know that I will not do something to hurt you or make you worse? I love you and want the best for you!” The “anger” we see from God in the Old Testament I believe comes out of frustration and sadness from people that He radically loves and wants the best for, but continue to make the same mistakes and refuse to walk in the ways of the Lord. In Hebrews it says, “…the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.” Like I said when I have kids of my own I will understand more of how God’s love is for us and understand better of what it means to discipline out of a place of love. But the even more beautiful part of the story is that we are not only God’s sons and daughters, but we as a church are His bride. John Piper in a preaching he did on Malachi 2 sheds some light on God’s heart for His chosen people, “He is the God of Israel. The fellowship may be broken. There may be exile and separation. There may be anger and tears. But when the whole story is told, the sum of the matter is Isaiah 54:4-8: ‘Your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.’ God will never nullify His marriage to the elect. Christ will never forsake His bride, the church. He is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper.” Praise be to God. Please keep me and this ministry in your prayers. Thanks and God bless.

Game Recap April 16, 2016

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer vs Padres of Quitanca

The Pirates only win on the season came against the Padres and they were looking to close out the regular season with another one. However they did not get off to a great start. Although Martin Timoco hit a 2 run homerun in the top of the first for the Pirates, Alexis Espinoza would answer for the Padres in the bottom half with a 3 run shot of his own. The Padres would add 2 more in the first and kept things going with another 5 run inning in the second as they led 10-2. Alexis Espinoza would hit his second homerun on the day in the third to give the Padres a 12-2 lead. The Pirates would put through 5 in the top of the fourth to halve the lead thanks to homeruns by Esling Lacayo and Marvin Timoco. The Padres again answered the Pirates with 4 runs in the fourth, and although the Pirates put together a nice 6 run rally in their final at bat it was not good enough to top the Padres as they lost 16-13.

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Indians of Candelaria

Everybody wanted to see if the Indians could complete their perfect season as they faced off against the ever-improving Tigers. The Indians got on the board first with a 2 run first inning. The Tigers would put up 2 of their own thanks to a homerun by Jose Aranda and that seemed to had been the spark for the Tigers. In the following inning Elio and Eliseo Rodriguez hit back-to-back homeruns that capped a 4 run inning for the Tigers who took their first lead of the game 6-2. The Indians would only score 1 run in the third. In the fourth inning the Indians defense began to unravel as their errors gifted the Tigers 4 more runs and they trailed 10-3.  Martin Gonzales hit a 2 run homerun to give the Indians hope trailing by 5 going into the fifth and final inning. Yet, the hope was quickly squashed by the Tigers as Eliseo Rodriguez and Justin Somarriba hit back-to-back and gave the Tigers a 15-5 lead. The Indians would score 5 in the bottom half but it was not enough to continue their perfect season as they lost for the first time 15-10.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Indians (11-1), Tigers (8-4), Padres (4-8), Pirates (1-11). In two weeks we will begin the playoffs and it will see the Indians face the Pirates and the Tigers play the Padres. 

The Padres and the Pirates fought it out!

The Tigers were happy to finally knock off the Indians!

 

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Cardinals of Santa Matilde

The Braves were looking to win second place outright and the Cardinals were looking for some confidence heading into the playoffs. The Cardinals came out strong as they scored 3 runs thanks to a 2 run double by Adolfo Cordoba. The Braves as they seem to always do came out sluggish as they struck out 5 times in their first seven at bats, but good pitching and solid defense kept the game 3-0 going into the bottom half of the third. The pitcher for the Cardinals started to lose control and the Braves took advantage of walks and shaky defense to score 4 runs and take a 4-3 lead into the fourth. The score stayed the same until the end. The Braves almost added to the lead but the Cardinals made a great play at the plate to give themselves a chance. Yet, Alexander Martinez emphatically closed out the game with six strikeouts in two innings to give the Braves second place for the year.

Game: Athletics of Quitanca vs Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer

The Athletics looked to try not to lose their perfect season as the Indians had earlier in the day and they took care of business as they have done all year. They once again used their outstanding hitting, good pitching and great defense to easily beat the Rangers 11-0. Juber Guivera hit another homerun for the Athletics and Evert Somarilla almost pitched a no hitter as he only gave up one hit, 2 walks and struck out 6 in four innings of work.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Athletics (12-0), Braves (6-6), Rangers (4-8), and Cardinals (2-10). The Athletics get the Cardinals and the Braves and the Rangers will play in the other semifinal matchup.

Milton was feeling good after the big win to clinch second place!

The cool kinds

 

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Red Sox of Quitanca vs Yankees of Santa Matilde

This very well could have been a preview of the Championship and if it was we will be in for a treat. The Yankees are the only team to have beaten the Red Sox this year and they looked poised to do it again as they started off the game with a good first inning where they registered three hits but were only able to score one run. From there the game turned into a pitching/defensive battle as the two teams struggled to get base runners much less hits.  Through five innings the score was 1-0 and the pitcher for the Yankees, Josue Dolmos, had a no hitter going. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees had four straight innings of only having three batters come to the plate. The Yankees got a hit to start the sixth by Julio Flores who went 2-2 in the game, but the next three batters did nothing and the score stayed 1-0. After getting the first out in the bottom of the sixth, Ivan Zeledon finally broke the no hitter with a single. He would get to third by stealing, and eventually brought home by a misplayed ball in the outfield and the Red Sox tied the game 1-1 going into the final inning. The Yankees went three up three down in the top half and the Red Sox had a chance to win it with their final at bat. Josue Dolmos got the first batter out but then was looking at the two of the top three batters in the league in Jean Carlos and Jose Reyes. Jean Carlos was up first and hit a triple. Then, Jose Reyes hit a deep fly ball that was caught but was deep enough that it easily scored Jean Carlos without much of a play at the plate, and the Red Sox ended the season with a walk off victory 2-1.

Game: Giants of Nuevo Amanacer vs Reds of Candelaria

The Reds controlled their own destiny. All they had to win and they would win third place outright. But with the Giants knowing that fourth place has to play the Red Sox in the playoffs, they came out swinging. They scored 6 runs over the first two innings of play and would add five more over the final four innings. The Reds, who have mightily struggled at the plate the past couple of weeks, only managed 1 run and they fell to the Giants 11-1. With the Giants winning they are completely tied with the Reds as they both sport a 4-8 record and have beaten each other twice. Next Saturday they will play to see who gets the displeasure of having to face the Red Sox.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Red Sox (11-1), Yankees (5-7), Giants (4-8), Reds (4-8). Again the playoffs will not start until another 2 weeks but the Red Sox will get the loser of the Giants and Reds as the Yankees will play the winner.

Nice game action shot!

David vs Goliath