Very sad to hear that Alex Graue was hurt. I hate any young man getting hurt. Great kid, great family and dedication to the sport. My son who has played with Alex on competitive and same teams over the years has always appreicated his great talent, heart and friendship. Such a class act!! Prayers with you Alex!!

Solid outing by both P. Cochran was a bulldog working out of trouble and pounding the zone with strikes over 6+. Bartels breezed through the first 10 batters before Whitford's blast. 2nd run that inning was unearned on a 2 out E6. However, the E only produced a run due to steals of 2nd & 3rd b Ramey with some heads up running when they weren't paying a lot of attention.

 

Whitford & Ramey combined again in the 6th via a double and single to plate an insurance run. The 2 collected HHS' only 4 hits on the evening.

 

Jones came on in the 7th with 3 Ks to close things out. He threw strong and threw strikes.

 

The formula was the same last year - throw strikes, play solid defense, put together enough offense to win. Survive and advance.

 

NOTE: 3 SO and 1 JR mentioned above. SR leadership is huge on this team, but the future is also bright.

 

#RTB

Shame to hear about Alex, prayers on a speedy recovery.

I would also include props to Q Murray behind the plate picking a runner off of first to end one scoring threat and turning a double play to end another in back to back innings. He is a leader.

 

Spot on OB, how easy it is to overlook Quentin.

The pickoff at first was a dagger as the following inning the leadoff batter lined a shot to center that would have easily have scored the man on second.

 

The unassisted double play ball by Quentin was a thing of beauty and again a killer.

 

At this level and at this time of yr the team that only gives up 21 outs a game will win more times than not. Just sayin...

 

On a side note for anyone at the game, I noticed the NewCath player bench doing a wave or arm wailing during the pitch release which I assume was an attempt to distract the Highlands pitcher mainly during full count sets.

Real odd imo for a Class Act program like NewCath to do this at the Varsity level...

Speedy recovery for the young man from NCC. Hate to see anyone get injured.

Speedy recovery for the young man from NCC. Hate to see anyone get injured.

 

Absolutely, really hate to see any kid get hurt like that.

I really liked the way the umpires and coaches handled the situation while the ambulance arrived and attended to the young man.

No game is more important than the health of a young kid:thumb:

 

I hope for a speedy recovering as well...

Spot on OB, how easy it is to overlook Quentin.

The pickoff at first was a dagger as the following inning the leadoff batter lined a shot to center that would have easily have scored the man on second.

 

The unassisted double play ball by Quentin was a thing of beauty and again a killer.

 

At this level and at this time of yr the team that only gives up 21 outs a game will win more times than not. Just sayin...

 

On a side note for anyone at the game, I noticed the NewCath player bench doing a wave or arm wailing during the pitch release which I assume was an attempt to distract the Highlands pitcher mainly during full count sets.

Real odd imo for a Class Act program like NewCath to do this at the Varsity level...

 

Great win for Highlands. This game last night don't mean nothing remember last year be careful whst you say Sweepboy don't won't to wake a team up that is already motivated from a serious injury to one of their best players. Win the game that matters the region not the district.

Great win for Highlands. This game last night don't mean nothing remember last year be careful whst you say Sweepboy don't won't to wake a team up that is already motivated from a serious injury to one of their best players. Win the game that matters the region not the district.

 

So by your improper use of a double negative ill assume you mean this game meant something. This game means a lot! Yes NCC won region last year, but IMO this team isn't as good as that team. This HHS team is way better than last year. This game really helps in seeding for the tourney to advance. Yes this game didn't mean a whole lot but to HHS it did an that's what matters. Also by losing NCC didn't do themselves any favors for region seeding.

So by your improper use of a double negative ill assume you mean this game meant something. This game means a lot! Yes NCC won region last year, but IMO this team isn't as good as that team. This HHS team is way better than last year. This game really helps in seeding for the tourney to advance. Yes this game didn't mean a whole lot but to HHS it did an that's what matters. Also by losing NCC didn't do themselves any favors for region seeding.

 

In regards to the seeding, I don't think it matters if you are a 1 or 2 this year. It's pretty open.

 

1 seeds: highlands, Dixie, Boone, cov Cath

2 seeds: NCC, st Henry, Ryle, beechwood

So by your improper use of a double negative ill assume you mean this game meant something. This game means a lot! Yes NCC won region last year, but IMO this team isn't as good as that team. This HHS team is way better than last year. This game really helps in seeding for the tourney to advance. Yes this game didn't mean a whole lot but to HHS it did an that's what matters. Also by losing NCC didn't do themselves any favors for region seeding.

 

Winning the district is great but it don't guaranteed you a better draw. Yes it was great for Highlands Baseball, but if you would ask the players winning the region is a whole lot better. NewCath has won 3 out 5 regions in the past five years do you think if they didn't they would say well atleast we won district come on. I'm fans of both Schools have friends and both Coach B wants to win the big one. And to say NewCath is not better this year then last year you are crazy they are good. Good Luck to both Teams next week

In regards to the seeding, I don't think it matters if you are a 1 or 2 this year. It's pretty open.

 

1 seeds: highlands, Dixie, Boone, cov Cath

2 seeds: NCC, st Henry, Ryle, beechwood

 

Yeah this is pretty evenly drawn out. Every two seed has a stud to throw Monday.

For NCC, the pitching is just as good at the top but not as deep as last year. The lineup last year 1-9 they were fairly formidable, this year it's about 1-5, and then drops off considerably. So yeah NCC isn't as good as last year. But this is just semantics anyway, goodluck to them. BTW I have never seen a school get by with talent like NCC. They for whatever reason are never the most sound team fundamentally but can get by with pure talent. Pretty amazing really.

Great win for Highlands. This game last night don't mean nothing remember last year be careful whst you say Sweepboy don't won't to wake a team up that is already motivated from a serious injury to one of their best players. Win the game that matters the region not the district.

 

What do you think Sweep said that could be used to wake up a team?

For NCC, the pitching is just as good at the top but not as deep as last year. The lineup last year 1-9 they were fairly formidable, this year it's about 1-5, and then drops off considerably. So yeah NCC isn't as good as last year. But this is just semantics anyway, goodluck to them. BTW I have never seen a school get by with talent like NCC. They for whatever reason are never the most sound team fundamentally but can get by with pure talent. Pretty amazing really.

 

Very true about hitting Newcath had a soph that lead them in hitting this year. I think Highlands and Newcath are very similar in teams Highlands don't hit either the only two players had all thier hits Whitford and Ramey outside of that it drops a little Murray can hurt you also. Last night was Highlands best game they played all year on the D. IMO

A few additional thoughts re: Highlands

 

* JR Evan Allen was very solid at 2B. Made two plays in paritcular that were big. Opening batter (after Grau's injury) hits a hard ground ball up the middle that he backhanded and made strong throw to get the out. Later in the game (5th or 6th?), he made a great backhand pick on a low throw in the dirt. He doesn't make these plays, and NC's in business.

 

* Cochran's improvement is especially evident in 2 ways from last year. First and foremost, he doesn't let adverse events affect his performance. Last year, an error or not getting a call snowballed into a big inning. This year, he bows his back and grinds it out. Second, his off speed stuff is dramatically better. He throws them with confidence, for strikes, and without tipping them.

 

* IMO, with Cochran and Jones, HHS has the most underrated 1-2 (you could flip a coin as to which is the #1 and which is the #2) going into next week.

 

* The seniors really stepped up their leadership in the last few weeks. Before the season, I posted that this was the biggest question mark. This team was Mitch Meyers' last year (as the only senior starter). His bat was solid (but I think we can agree that Ramey has met that challenge). A bigger question was the leadership void that his departure created. In the last few weeks, I've seen that group step up and take the reigns. They lead by example and they have figured out how/when to pick a teammate up (whether it's a pat on the back or a kick in the butt).