ft bronc

Football field is very nice.......How long did it take you to pick the splinters out from the baseball bleachers?

LO fricking L! I was picking 'em out of my forearm on the way home! Real nice facilities though.

I've got to believe that budgetary constraints play some role in NKY teams not traveling downstate more often?

Final JV score was actually 11-10.

Kenny Ball pitched the first 5 effectively, keeping the Scott hitters off balance with his usual repertoire of off-speed pitches mixed in with well located fast balls. Joseph Martin pitched the 6th, giving up no runs if memory serves correctly, and the score was 11-4 entering the bottom of the seventh. That's where things got a little dicey. Martin struggled hitting the mitt, and a few runs scored. Luke Hennigan eventually took the mound for, I believe, the first time in his HS career, pitched pretty well, and eventually got the 3rd out, but not until the score had reached 11-10. Weird ending to a game the JV Birds had really dominated.

The JV Birds continue to hit the ball well, with nice shots by too many kids to mention. Keep it up against Holmes tonight!

Has there been anything from CovCath because I have only heard here.

I talked to Coach Wirth a couple of months ago and he said the schedule was the same as last year.

He also said that the next schedule he would like to play another GCL school.

I could see them playing next year and Moeller being the first game under lights.

Sorry if I totally missed this, but is Cov Cath adding lights to their baseball field? Are they already in place & I've been smoking crack?

Agree but some baseball first kids in the younger ranks. I truly believe that the 7,8,9 ranks have moxie and for more than a few the preferred sport is baseball. I think this group is in for the long haul.

The JV Birds have been impressive lately also, winning 5 of their last 6 with the loss coming against Cinti St. X - a game the Birds lead for the majority of the time & could have won with one or two fewer walks. JV Birds are playing with some swag, and are a fun team to watch. Put the current varsity sophs & frosh down on JV and you really have a solid club.

The playing surface is as hard as a rock, lending to several fielding miscues by both teams. Other than that (and having to walk 5ks to go to the restroom) it is a wonderful baseball facility. Great Hamburgers too!!!

Last Friday I was also surprised how dry & hard the Dixie field was. Facility sure is nice, but playing surface could stand a little TLC.

Who are some of the JV birds? I know that there has been some roster movement between the frosh and JV teams and was wondering why that takes place? I saw one day where Kenny Ball was catching a frosh game and then 2 days later throws a complete game against Dixie JV. Does he only pitch on the JV or does he play the field as well?

Quite a few kids have moved back & forth to varsity, and a few back & forth to frosh, but in no particular order, here are kids I'm aware of who have played jv this year: Vennenman, Gesenhues, Noe, Martin, Buten, Murray, Blesser, Tippenhauer, Ruehl, Ramey, Mills, Ball, Jones, Whitford, Hennigan (predominately varsity), Vermeil & Hergott. Sorry to any I've missed.

Nice win for the Birds. Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 6th, Birds rallied for 5 big runs. Hennigan's bunt plated 2 as he gave himself up with Jake Heck bearing down on him from 3rd and picked the ball off his shoe tops with the bat to get it down in fair territory. Junior Lester, running from 2nd on the suicide, made a heads up base running choice by carrying his momentum around 3rd and barely breaking stride to head home when the Lloyd player went to 1st to get Hennigan.

 

Schultz pitched very well. Lots of movement on the ball. When he zeroes in on the strike zone, he is tough to hit.

 

On the JV side, I heard the Birds had a convincing win against Lloyd with Soph Vermeil pitching well. If anyone can provide details, please do so either here or in a separate thread.

JV Birds jumped up early & never looked back. Vermeil pitched all five effectively, working ahead in the counts and bringing the hook for strikes, giving up 1 run on (I believe) 1 hit, 2 walks & a decent quantity of KO's (disclaimer - family connection). The boys continue to hit the ball well both early & late in the counts - Venneman (among others) with a couple nice shots - and were pretty solid in the field, with Blesser making a couple nice grabs getting the start at short.

JV Birds will get some good tests the rest of this week, going to SK today, and hosting NCC & Cov Cath Thurs & Fri. Keep it up boys!

I noticed that Cov Cath has 5 pitchers in the area top 50. Is their staff really that good, or is it partially due to data collection (maybe not all area schools reporting stats, etc.)?

at St. X

 

If you can't throw strikes, you can't win. After Schultz had trouble in the 2nd (0-0 after 1), Heck, Bausch and Duesing followed.

 

JV and Frosh both lost in extra innings to St. X yesterday.

I can't speak to the Frosh game, but the JV game was very good. Martin pitched the first 5 or so innings very effectively, and the Birds were on top for the majority of that time. The JV Birds hit the ball very well all night long, including in the bottom of the 8th after X had gone up by a few in the top of the frame. Unfortunately, just couldn't get enough across & left the bases loaded to end the game.

It was my first time at a JV game this season, and I was very impressed with the team overall. As a group the kids hit the ball very well, play good defense, and seem to have a little swagger going. They were not intimidated by the physically much larger X squad, and kept fighting right up to the end.

Keep it up boys! :thumb:

So why is it always W/L with you?

 

Why can't it be a learning experience, a growing experience, or a trip of a life time for a bunch or kids, who I am sure had a ball?

 

Why does it always have to be about W/L?

 

Darn it, I just broke a rule that I swore I wouldn't break again and that is to post on a HHS thread but why not just let the kids have fun while learning and playing a game, that most will never play again on any level out of HS. Can't some things in this day and age just be fun!

 

So they lost some games but I am sure the kids had a ball playing against teams that were from different parts of the Country. They I am sure grew as a team together and it just might make some sixth, seventh or eight graders to continue to play baseball because of the great trip and experience they get to have as a member of the HS team!

TOG - You're exactly right. ABC2 gets it also, whether he admits it or not.

From a sportswriter that covered high school sports back in AZ:

 

He was one of the better quarterbacks in the area last year. Should have a pretty good senior season. Not elite, but a good player.

If he does play QB at NCC, it will be interesting to see how his success compares to AZ. I lived a handful of miles from Gilbert HS for three years, and the level of play out there is not what it is here, IMO. There's some good schools out there (Chandler Hamilton, Scottsdale Chaparral), but generally what I saw was not on the level of the better NKY or Cinti schools.

Funny factoid: at Gilbert HS, most likely he played Highland HS (also of Gilbert).

It was actually a nice night at the plate for a lot of the Birds. A real good team win.

Unfortunately, the Birds lost soph 2nd baseman and pitcher Evan Allen for a couple weeks with a fractured growth plate in his right ankle. Real tough timing for Evan as the team leaves for Myrtle Beach & the Cal Ripken Experience on Monday. Heal up well young man. The team will need you down the stretch!

Great early season game. Brossart has four sophomores in the lineup regularly. MacDonald at 1st, Verst at 2b, Bauman in Right, and Rieger in left. Sophomore Connor Verst came on in relief of Zach Fardo and was the pitcher of record for the Mustangs. The side-wheeler kept the Colonels off balance for three innings before allowing the winning run.

 

Pretty good showing for the Mustangs today against the top team in NoKy in their house.

 

Amused that the scoreboard was out of order because someone stole the copper wiring out of the back of it.

Rough neighborhood!!! :lol:

Jake Bauman's a nice player. Will he see any time behind the dish?

TOG - Sorry for potential hijacking, but can you give an update on Isler at UC? Hard to tell much from just the stats line.

Are Murray and Schultz the Bluebirds number 1 and 2 pitchers?

Don't know that they've actually been labeled as such, but it's probably a good guess.

A couple impressions:

1) A movement of hitter's spray charts away from their pull side towards their opposite side. The ball doesn't appear to spend as much time on the bat as before, so it seems to be harder for the kids to pull the ball.

2) A definite reduction in HR's by average size & strength players. The only HR's I've seen so far have been by physically very large players. I've seen a couple instances where average size kids put very good swings right on the screws that would have easily been out last year, but fell 10 yards short this year. Kids of average size and strength will have/are having a much more difficult time hitting it out IMO.

I am a little concerned about the number of these new bats breaking. I have heard of 3 in the NKY area so far this season and witnessed one of them. It is my understanding that they are breaking off at the handle. Are these just "defects" and if so, why are there so many defective bats? I question the safety of the new BBCOR bats.

I'd be interested in hearing which brand and models these were. BBCOR does not mandate a common construction method, so there should be no reason all BBCOR rated bats are breaking. Logically speaking, it should be a design, manufacturing or durability related issue with one or more manufacturer or model, and not something directly attributable to the BBCOR rating itself.

Most should have anywhere from $3-$5 from not having to pay admission to get in. Keep the concession stocked.

Amen brudder! It will be stocked and running, assuming the thunder showers hold off of course.

Well, let's just not cut anybody....every kid makes the team, and gets a juice box and a cookie after every game. I don't see how it's denying a kid an opportunity if he isn't good enough to deserve it. And let's just apply this type of thinking across the board. Play the less talented senior over the super talented freshman, because the senior deserves the right to experience of playing his senior year. What about the handful of eighth graders that play varsity baseball, basketball and almost every other sport? Should they not play even though they earned the spot? You don't see 8thgraders taking AP courses over high schoolers because no matter how smart you are, typically an 8th grader isn't ready to take AP calculus. There are 8th graders ready to play freshman sports, and even JV and varsity. And I can guarantee if Joe Eighthgrader proved he could handle AP Calculus, and Physics, or whatever, the school district would do whatever it needed to do to allow that kid to take those classes. Conversely, they aren't going to allow Joe Freshman (or any other kid regardless of age) to take AP classes if they AREN'T prepared or academically able to just so they can have the experience of doing so, even if they will likely fail miserably. So, I guess I do agree that sports shouldn't be handled any differently than athletics. Put children (and adults too in the adult world) in positions where they can succeed.

 

On the point of high school athletics NOT being there to prepare kids for college sport, I ask why isn't it? You certainly have a much better chance of playing college sports if you play in HS. Yes only a few kids will have an opportunity to play at the next level, but what you learn in high school sports certainly does prepare you. And if you don't make the baseball team, there are plenty of other sports, clubs, classes and extracurricular activities that DON'T cut that kids can participate in. When one door closes another one opens.

This post so exaggerates my position, I'm not sure where to start.

Well, let's just not cut anybody....every kid makes the team, and gets a juice box and a cookie after every game.

Did I say this? I simply stated that HS kids should not be CUT in favor of MS kids. If a HS kid is cut in favor of a more deserving HS kid, I have absolutely no problem with that. Such is life.

I don't see how it's denying a kid an opportunity if he isn't good enough to deserve it.

He is good enough to deserve it. He's better than enough kids from HIS school to make the team. Unfortunately for him, kids from OTHER schools are better & have been brought in to supersede him.

Play the less talented senior over the super talented freshman, because the senior deserves the right to experience of playing his senior year.

Please show me where from my post I said anything even remotely related to this.

You don't see 8thgraders taking AP courses over high schoolers because no matter how smart you are, typically an 8th grader isn't ready to take AP calculus.

And the "typical" 8th grader is not ready to play HS sports either. Some are - they are untypical. There are plenty of untypical academic MS types who are more than capable of taking certain HS AP courses, and if they do, great for them. If the HS "cuts" a HS kid from an AP course in favor of a MS kid, shame on them. The MS kid will have his chance to take that class in a few years. The HS kid may never have another chance.

And I can guarantee if Joe Eighthgrader proved he could handle AP Calculus, and Physics, or whatever, the school district would do whatever it needed to do to allow that kid to take those classes.

"Whatever it needed"? Are you sure? Would the district "cut" a HS kid from that class to make room for the MS student? I have never heard of such a thing, but if it happened to my kid I would scream bloody murder to the Principal and the school board. Add the MS kid to the class, I think that's great. Cut a HS kid to make room for him, no way.

Conversely, they aren't going to allow Joe Freshman (or any other kid regardless of age) to take AP classes if they AREN'T prepared or academically able to just so they can have the experience of doing so, even if they will likely fail miserably.

Duh.

Look, my son played Frosh baseball as an 8th grader. The school did not have enough HS kids to fill the roster, and I had, and still have, no problem with him playing. Had the school had enough HS kids, however, it would have been a different matter, for me at least.

Look at it this way, most high school AP classes have limited space. Do we ever bring extremely smart middle schoolers into those classrooms in lieu of high school kids who would have otherwise been selected? NEVER. Why not? Because we'd be robbing those high school kids of the opportunity to learn the things taught in that class. The middle school kid will have the opportunity to learn those things when he/she gets to the high school. Why should sports be any different? Be careful. High school sports do not exist to prepare athletes for college athletics. Nor do they exist as a source of entertainment for the community. They exist to provide additional educational opportunities for those students at the school.

More like the Jimmy's and Joe's have to stay in the program. I know they only have 3 seniors and a handful of juniors which is not a lot to be quite honest. The current frosh class is pretty strong and the 8th grade class has some solid players which means they are basically two years away if all of these kids continue to play the game and a few that are not playing decide to play the game at a later date.

What about the Soph with the game winning hit tonight, or the soph that laid down the two strike sac bunt to put the runner in position to score? Or the two of the handful of Jrs who combined for 8 innings, 14 SO's and 1 run? This team is better than a lot of people give them credit for. They're young. They will take some lumps. But they will also surprise some teams who overlook them.

WV 10 - HHS 1 WOW though this year was going to head in a different direction?

Keep your pants on. Plenty of baseball to come.

Personally, I see interracial marriage as sort of the last frontier of race relations in this country. There's no greater acceptance than to take another human being into your family, and the frequency with which families are now taking people of other races into their families bodes well for our society. 20 years ago when you talked interracial marriage, generally you meant a black man and a white woman. Why? Because women tend to be more open minded & less racist. But now days, I see more and more marriages of white men and black women, of all economic levels.

There will always be racism, coming from all sides, going in all directions. It's important that we continue to work against it, but it's also important that we understand it will always exist. Why is it important to recognize that racism will always exist? Three reasons IMO: 1) so that we don't let the existence of it keep ourselves from appreciating the progress we've made, 2) we don't overreact to what will always exist no matter how much we fight against it, and 3) to remind us of the base tendencies we as humans can fall back on if we don't pay attention to our thoughts and actions.

Beechwood & HHS played 6 innings to a 1-1 tie. Jones, Schultz, Liggett and Murray (2 pitches) tossed the last 4 innings. I missed the 1st 2, so someone else will have to fill it in.

Heck pitched the first inning, and Lester the second. Heck showed a nice increase in velocity from last season.