St. X 3 Heath 2

Totally different from the Owensboro Catholic game, this still may have been one of the best high school games I have seen. Senior Daniel Webb took the hill for Heath, while Joey Golemboski hurled for the Tigers. This game a was pitcher duel from the start, with very few hits until late in the game. Heath was on the board first as they scored twice in the 5th inning. X answered with one of there own, as Ryan Cline blasted a double into the right centerfield alley. He would later come around to score and make the game 2-1 Heath at the end of 5. Zach Septembre came on in relief of Golemboski and pitched an excellent last couple of innings, holding Heath to just hits and no runs. In the bottom of the 6th, Justin Amlung got things started with a single to left field and moved to 2nd on a pass ball. Ben Zoeller made it to 1st on a dropped 3rd strike and a throwing error by the catcher, which moved amlung to 3rd. Cline hits a ground ball to 3rd and is part of a controversial call at 1st. The 1st baseman drops the ball and can't get ahold of it, Cline beats the throw out but is still called out. 1st base coach Barry WIlkerson, gets ejected for arguing a play that would have tied the score at 2.

In the bottom of the 7th Webb really struggled with control and began to overthrow. I believe it was Justin Merimee that got the game tying hit. With a runner on third, Heath intentionally walks Derrick Ferch and leadoff man Kal Scheler. Brinkman comes up and hits a sacrifice fly to left field to score the game winning run.

The Tigers played excellent defense today. Ferch and Cline were remarkable turning several double plays and making several tough plays in the hole. The Tigers are starting to peak again and playing very well.

Heath has a very solid team, this was the first time I have seen them and I was very impressed with their team play. They hit the ball very well from top to bottom. I look for them to come out Western Kentucky and have a very good chance to make it to Applebee's.

Great Job by both teams, really could be one of the most amazing high school games I have seen. A good pitcher's duel and lots of good small ball play.

Looks like the St.X Tigers are starting to get it going again! Next up the Butler Bears.

Originally Posted by TigerX

Cline hits a ground ball to 3rd and is part of a controversial call at 1st. The 1st baseman drops the ball and can't get ahold of it, Cline beats the throw out but is still called out.

I was pretty close to the play. Goins, Heath's first baseman, picked up the ball before the runner hit the bag. The umpire got it right.

Originally Posted by TigerX

In the bottom of the 7th Webb really struggled with control and began to overthrow. I believe it was Justin Merimee that got the game tying hit. With a runner on third, Heath intentionally walks Derrick Ferch and leadoff man Kal Scheler. Brinkman comes up and hits a sacrifice fly to left field to score the game winning run.

Heath had a couple of big errors, too ... including one on what could have been a line-drive double play. Heath's shortstop seemed to take his eye off the ball for a split-second, trying to get in position to make the throw to pick off the baserunner.

Nonetheless, X came out on top and capitalized on the Heath mistakes. Give X credit for not giving up, that is one thing I have learned about that team is that they will take you down to their last strike. They fight and scrap till the very end.

I talked to the Cline kid after the game and he said as he crossed the bag he could still see the ball laying on the turf. Plus the 1st baseman trapped the ball on the turf and never had control of it. The umpire was on the otherside of second base which made it extremely difficult to make that call. Oh well, it didn't matter, they still found a way to come out on top against argueably the best team they have played so far.

Originally Posted by TigerX

Totally different from the Owensboro Catholic game, this still may have been one of the best high school games I have seen. Senior Daniel Webb took the hill for Heath, while Joey Golemboski hurled for the Tigers. This game a was pitcher duel from the start, with very few hits until late in the game. Heath was on the board first as they scored twice in the 5th inning. X answered with one of there own, as Ryan Cline blasted a double into the right centerfield alley. He would later come around to score and make the game 2-1 Heath at the end of 5. Zach Septembre came on in relief of Golemboski and pitched an excellent last couple of innings, holding Heath to just hits and no runs. In the bottom of the 6th, Justin Amlung got things started with a single to left field and moved to 2nd on a pass ball. Ben Zoeller made it to 1st on a dropped 3rd strike and a throwing error by the catcher, which moved amlung to 3rd. Cline hits a ground ball to 3rd and is part of a controversial call at 1st. The 1st baseman drops the ball and can't get ahold of it, Cline beats the throw out but is still called out. 1st base coach Barry WIlkerson, gets ejected for arguing a play that would have tied the score at 2.

In the bottom of the 7th Webb really struggled with control and began to overthrow. I believe it was Justin Merimee that got the game tying hit. With a runner on third, Heath intentionally walks Derrick Ferch and leadoff man Kal Scheler. Brinkman comes up and hits a sacrifice fly to left field to score the game winning run.

The Tigers played excellent defense today. Ferch and Cline were remarkable turning several double plays and making several tough plays in the hole. The Tigers are starting to peak again and playing very well.

Heath has a very solid team, this was the first time I have seen them and I was very impressed with their team play. They hit the ball very well from top to bottom. I look for them to come out Western Kentucky and have a very good chance to make it to Applebee's.

Great Job by both teams, really could be one of the most amazing high school games I have seen. A good pitcher's duel and lots of good small ball play.

Good summary. BTW, Coach Barry did not get ejected because he was back out there in the 7th inning. This marks the 7th win this season where the Tigers were tied or trailing in their last at bat. Can I get some love for Ryan Cline? One of the numerous scouts there for Daniel Webb asked Cline where he was going. "No one has talked to me"- Wow! A solid hitter and fielder, surely some college needs that!! By the way, the Brinkman kid is getting healthy so the whole lineup gets better.
As to Heath making it to Applebee's, the winner of the 1st Region plays the winner of the 3rd region in the semi state ( @ Apollo) then plays the winner of the 5th and 7th region. There's a chance this game could be a preview if all things fall right. Winner gets PRP. Wow, this could be exciting.
BTW, I was really impressed with Chad Wright, centerfielder for Heath. UK did well to recruit him. Also impressed with the left fielder Kyle Williams who took one out of Tiger park at about 12:45 AM to defeat Owensboro Catholic. It was between the light post and the 400 foot sign in center. That was a shot!!

I totally agree with you on Ryan Cline. He seems to be a very quiet kid that no one ever really hears a whole lot about. He is a solid contact hitter, who always seems to deliver in the clutch. Every so often he does demonstrate that he can hit for power as well, just as he did in the Heath game. He really is one of the best SS that I have seen this year, I know there are others that people are really big on, but maybe one of the best overall players that I have seen. It is hard to believe that a kid like that has been overlooked. Last I saw he was batting somewhere around .460, which for any player is awesome and especially against the caliber of pitching X has seen this year. I heard about the contact with the pro scout as well, and apparently according to some other people around the X community, the scout has a few coaches in mind that he is going to contact about college? From the times I have spoken to Ryan Cline and from what I here among the X faithful, he is a great kid with a lot of potential to succeed at the next level. I just hope everything works out for him.

What is X's road to applebee's look like? Should they play well enough to make it through the district and 7th region tourney, what are the semi-state match-ups for this year? I think they are a good enough team to make it there and win. X has shown that they can compete with the nation and the state's best and win. If they stay hot and continue to play good defense, they will definitely be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

Good Luck the rest of the way Tigers!!

Heath could get a rematch with Apollo in the semistate, if they both win their respective regions. Heath is the Region 1 favorite, while Apollo has a tougher road in Region 3. The semistate is at Apollo, too, so Heath will have a tough road to get back to Applebee's.

Apollo beat Heath 2-1 in the state tournament last year, with Webb pitching with a broken foot after the first inning.

Originally Posted by TigerX

I totally agree with you on Ryan Cline. He seems to be a very quiet kid that no one ever really hears a whole lot about. He is a solid contact hitter, who always seems to deliver in the clutch. Every so often he does demonstrate that he can hit for power as well, just as he did in the Heath game. He really is one of the best SS that I have seen this year, I know there are others that people are really big on, but maybe one of the best overall players that I have seen. It is hard to believe that a kid like that has been overlooked. Last I saw he was batting somewhere around .460, which for any player is awesome and especially against the caliber of pitching X has seen this year. I heard about the contact with the pro scout as well, and apparently according to some other people around the X community, the scout has a few coaches in mind that he is going to contact about college? From the times I have spoken to Ryan Cline and from what I here among the X faithful, he is a great kid with a lot of potential to succeed at the next level. I just hope everything works out for him.

What is X's road to applebee's look like? Should they play well enough to make it through the district and 7th region tourney, what are the semi-state match-ups for this year? I think they are a good enough team to make it there and win. X has shown that they can compete with the nation and the state's best and win. If they stay hot and continue to play good defense, they will definitely be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

Good Luck the rest of the way Tigers!!

The path to Applebees is long and requires At least 7 wins> Tigers could bow out on May 18th with a tough district loss> but if they make it through the district and of course the tough 7th region of Ballard, Eastern, Trinity,
among others< then they take on the winner of the the 5th region in the semi state. Applebees starts with winner of 5 and 7 playing the winner of 1 and 3. Then Prp in the semi and Dunbar/Henry Clay? lexington Christian in the final
11 games to win state.. along way to go with 14 regular season games to go.

Originally Posted by jimmyref

The path to Applebees is long and requires At least 7 wins> Tigers could bow out on May 18th with a tough district loss> but if they make it through the district and of course the tough 7th region of Ballard, Eastern, Trinity,
among others< then they take on the winner of the the 5th region in the semi state. Applebees starts with winner of 5 and 7 playing the winner of 1 and 3. Then Prp in the semi and Dunbar/Henry Clay? lexington Christian in the final
11 games to win state.. along way to go with 14 regular season games to go.

That's a tough road to Applebee's.