Welcome back Sports Fans and thanks for taking the time to check out this week’s installment of my blog. It was an exciting week in the AFL with lots of great performances. 5 out of our 6 games this week were won or lost by one run. The Phoenix Desert Dogs went 3-3 to improve their record to 5-6 which is good enough for second place in the National division.

     Let’s start with a little recap of last weeks games, early in the week on Monday we received a great performance from infielder Rusty Ryal (Diamondbacks), with 2 home runs in our 3-2 victory over the Javelinas. Tuesday’s game showcased a come from behind victory on the road by the Desert Dogs. Leading the way was Ryan Patterson (Blue Jays) with a 2 run homerun in the top of the 9th followed later by Scott Campbell’s (Blue Jays) game winning RBI single to give us 3 runs in the frame. Let’s skip ahead to Friday’s game where the Desert Dogs experienced their first walk off victory in the AFL with Eric Young Jr.(Rockies) singling to center to score Ryan Patterson.

     As for me, I pitched in our 8-2 loss to the Peoria Saguaros on Thursday. I pitched 2 innings giving up no runs on 4 hits while striking out 4. It was nice to be able to throw two innings in the same game since the norm for relievers in this league seems to be just pitching one. Thursday was also a great day for me personally because I was able to see some familiar faces. My dad flew in early Thursday afternoon and will be staying with my uncle until Tuesday, who lives in Peoria. Also, my pitching coach from college, who was in the area scouting for his new program Villanova, was able to attend the game. I was thankful to be able to get some innings in while my dad, uncle, and coach were at the game. Whether it’s during the regular season or during fall baseball in Arizona, it’s always nice to see family and friends, because as much as we all love baseball it does bring you back to the real world just a little bit.

     As for the weekend, Sunday is our off day from baseball, so I figured that would be a great day to be able to spend some time with the family. After catching up on some sleep, it was time to head to the Arizona State Fair located in Phoenix to meet up with my dad, uncle and cousin. I really was hesitant at first to jump on the crazy rides that they had there, but I felt obligated to ride because I really didn’t want my little cousin to show me up. So after about 3 or so hours walking around winning prizes and experiencing some rollercoaster’s and rides we headed back to Peoria to watch game 7 of the ALCS and to have a nice Sunday dinner prepared by my Aunt.

I look forward to writing again next week and please don’t hesitate to ask questions.

See you at the Ballpark,

Andrew