The Archers learned a lot July 30th through August 1st at the 2020 Indy Thunder Invitational. It was great to finally compete against some of the best teams in the nation. All of the teams, players, and coaches were very welcoming and helpful to our new team. Here are some of the highlights from the games we played.

Game 1: Indy Edge 15, Archers 1

Our first game was a matchup against one of the perennial top 4 teams in the country. Archers kept it close in the first 2 innings only giving up 2 runs with Jonathan Clemons getting a great put out on #7 of the Edge. Chad Dillon in his first professional at-bat smacked a line drive down the first baseline, and it was a race to the base which he won by a few feet. The Archers put 8 other balls into play, 3 of them by leadoff man, Josh Sisson. The Edge defense was amazing, especially tournament defensive All-Star, #9 Marc Morris.

Game 2: Chicago Comets 15, Archers 2

The Comets can really hit. They were putting everything into play. Our defense really stepped up and got 12 put outs. A bulk of those was done by Kim Blumenthal. Archers got 2 runs in the 5th inning by Josh Sisson and Jonathan Clemons, but not enough to rally the team.

Game 3: Aztec Warriors 4, Archers 0

Archers had a rough game hitting the ball. Liam, Kim, and Casey all put balls into play, but the Aztec defense snatched them up. Defense was able to get 4 putouts.

Game 4: Indy Edge 12, Archers 1

Our rematch with the Edge went slightly better than the first meeting. Defense played a bit tighter and got more putouts, but the Edge has some BIG hitters. Casey Scott got his first run of the tournament and his first run of his professional BeepBall career.

Game 5: Lone Star Roadrunners 8, Archers 4

In their last game of the tournament, the Archers were finally able to string some hits and runs together. Chad started it off in the first inning, getting his second run of this tournament. Down 4-1 moving to the top of the fourth and with 2 outs, the top of the line up rallied with 3 straight runs from Jonathan, Chad, and Casey to tie the game at 4-4. The Roadrunners were able to string some runs together themselves and took the lead in the bottom of the fourth and didn’t let the Archers back in it.

Overall, this tournament was a learning experience for the players and coaches alike. Half of the team had never played in a national tournament like this. The Archers will take what they learned here, apply it to the practice field, make adjustments, and hopefully come back stronger at the next tournament.

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