TigerX

I dont know as much about the first play, but I watched 2nd base the whole time during the next play. Cline caught the flip from Ferch went well out behind 2nd base and was still taken out. The kid running to 2nd base slid well outside the baseline and slid with his spikes high. It was a dirty play regardless. Plays like that get kids hurt and what was even more impressive is that Cline went completely airborne and still finished turning the double play. The rule, as far as I understand it, has always been that you must go directly into the bag. I feel like the coaches had a valid point in general. Excluding those 2 plays, I still feel like it was a very poorly officiated for both sides.s

Justin Amlung pitched for X and McCombs threw for Ballard. Tigers put together a good 3rd inning with a few hits and scored three runs to go up 4-1. They tacked on another late in the game and went on to win 5-1. Amlung gave up a couple of good hits early, but settled in and finished strong. Coach John Jefferson and Tab Brown were both ejected from this game after two runners went into 2nd base out of the baseline and with spikes high. On two consecutive plays both of X's middle infielders were taken out. Both times the runners went in with atleast one foot two feet in the air with the spikes exposed. The coaches weren't arguing the taking out of the players at 2nd, but how it was done. They were arguing for the safety of their players. Either way, it was a good, strong win for X.

Two of the 7th region powers collide. Who pitches for both teams and what are everyone's predictions on the game?

It was SS Cline that hit the flair down the RF line and I believe he had the only other X RBI in the first inning. Granted he didn't crush the ball against FC but he has been byfar one of the hottest Tigers in recent weeks. It was a very scary moment and maybe the most anti-climatic game winning hit I have ever seen. I was just glad to see that both young men for FC were able to walk off the field under their own power. Is there any update on those 2 players from after the game? I think X showed a lot of class by not going crazy after that game winning hit, there wasnt any jumping or shouting. The whole team came out and stood by the 3rd baseline and applauded the 2 players when they were able to make it up. A lot of class was shown by both schools on a very hard fought game.:thumb:

I didn't know anything about Jeff going into last night. But after watching them play, I was very impressed with them. They have great size and hit the ball very hard from top to bottom. They are one of those teams that no matter how far up you are on them, your lead is never really safe. That is what Coach John Jefferson said in the courier-journal " I was never comfortable in this game." I dont know who the pitcher was for Jeff, but after a rock 1st inning he settled in. I don't know much about IN baseball this year, but the teams that X has played (Jeff, Madisonville, Vincennes, and Indianpolis Cathedral) have all been very solid. Hopefully this extremely tough schedule, both in state and out of state, will help X come playoff time.:thumb:

Great job hitting tonight by the Tigers. SS Ryan Cline hits an inside the park homerun in the top of the 1st to get the Tigers ahead. Jeff battled back to take the lead 3-2. St.X scores 4 in the top of the 6th off several base hits and several great bunts. The Tigers tacked on another run in the top of the 7th off of an Eric Burke homerun to center. Jeff added two homeruns of their own during the game and they hit the ball very hard. Brent Sweeney started on the hill for X and looked good the first couple innings, but then Jeff started hitting the ball and he started to lose focus. Kyle Just came in in relief of Sweeney and pitched a pretty good ball game the rest of the way. X posted 8 runs, 13 hits, and no errors. Good hard fought win for the Tigers on the road!

I don't think Tingle pitched for Butler, I think he played SS. I got there after the starting line-ups were announced. There pitcher had pretty good velocity, people from Butler said he throws in the mid 80s. He also had a very good curve ball with a lot of movement. At Jeff, IN Thursday @7pm

Nice outing by X. Ryan Moesby pitched well and the Tiger defense played excellent throughout. Great shot by Kevin Brinkman hitting a 2 run homerun to open the lead up. Great barehanded snag by Cline in the 7th to record the 1st out. Butler hit the ball hard, but X was very stingy on defense. Good Job Tigers!

St. X has Butler, Jeffersonville, and Fern Creek slated for this week before they head to Cincy. Can anyone tell me about any of these 3 teams (stats, pitcher, records)? I don't know a whole lot about any of them and wanted someone to fill me in? Thanks.

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!! :thumb:

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.

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.

One of the best performances X has put up on the year. 10 runs off of 15 hits and Good defense. Kyle Just pitched very well for X and kept Catholic off balance most of the night. Strong win for the Tigers. LIT vs Heath 11am Saturday at X

X plays Lex Cath @ X 7pm Thursday Owensboro Catholic- Friday Heath - Saturday at 11am I know the 2 Catholic schools are strong. How is Heath doing this year? Looks like X may have a tough weekend ahead.

X through Ryan Moesby and Male started with Zach Greishaber. Greishaber was pretty effective keeping X hitters off balance the first couple of innings. He had good velocity and good command of his off speed pitches. He got in trouble about the 3rd or 4th inning when a couple runners got on and he gave up a few hits. X scored 4 in the 4th and Male relieved him. His defense did not help him tonight at all, Male had atleast 4 or 5 errors that kept big innings alive for X. X did what good teams do and capitalized on mistakes. At one point in the 7th X had 3 or 4 double in a row and busted the game open. Moesby looked pretty strong overall, he gave up a couple of long shots to the wall. Because of the short field in left and strong arms, a couple of Male's would be doubles were thrown out. Moesby threw better tonight in terms of velocity and control than he has all year. Jr. Brent Sweeney came in relief of Moesby and threw well. He struggled a little with control, giving up a few runs off some good hits in the 7th, but worked well enough to close out a big win for the Tigers. This was the best overall game I have seen X play in a while. They swung the bats well from top to bottom, and they also played small ball very well. I know the SS had two sacrifice bunts as well as the 2nd basemen Ferch. I think Jefferson was pleased at the way the Tigers came alive tonight. After talking to several of the Male parents, they said Male has really been struggling of late. It sounded like they were having many of the same problems that X was having, in terms of hitting the ball and executing on defense. Good Win for the TIGERS!!:dancingpa

Pitchers duel til the 4th and then both teams unloaded. St. X scored 5 runs in the top of the 7th and Male scored 4 in the bottom. Best game X has played in a while, especially on offense. Good Luck tomorrow against LexCath!:thumb:

I'll agree with BirdieCat and say it will be a low scoring game. There is potential for this to be a high scoring game, but I think with this game playing a big role in the district that you will see each teams best or 2nd best pitcher. Hopefully X pulls together enough runs to come out on top.

It is probably Brinkman. Cline has not missed any games because of his injury. He has been rested in some games in order to help it heal.

Brinkman and Cline pinch hit last night against Floyd Central. Cline looked to be running pretty well, so hopefully his groin is well enough to be back at SS tonight against Male. Brinkman was hit by a pitch, so its hard to tell how he is doing. The person he hit for re-entered to run, so i haven't seen him do anything except HBP. It will be interesting to see if Brinkman takes back over in left tonight after a couple weeks off.

Whats everyone think?

According to the radio broadcasters during the X/Trinity game, other than X winning in '81, Manual is the only previous team to win the state championship from the 7th region. I think they did so in 1962.

Park, I know that Brinkman has been pushed extremely hard by the trainers and has undergone extensive rehab in the past few weeks. According to most of the parents, Brinkman was worked harder in Alabama than the team was at certain points. They understand that he is a crucial player to the Tiger line-up, as well as a key defender in left. They are working very hard to get Brinkman back in the line-up as soon as possible, but still keeping his health in mind as well. As far as other injuries yesterday, I know the SS Ryan Cline has been nursing a groin injury that was suffered earlier in the season. Apparently he re-aggravated it yesterday when diving for a ball up the middle and someone told me that his feet flew out from under him on the wet outfield grass that did not help the situation. Cline is one of the quiet seniors on this team that no one hears a lot about. He is a solid contact hitter in the middle of the line-up and according to the official book and stats he is batting somewhere around .480 on the season. Doesn't hit for a lot of power, but hits line drives and finds the holes in the defense; as well as also being a solid defensive player. Hopefully, here in the next couple of weeks the Tigers can get the whole line-up healthy and get all their starting seniors back on the field so that they can make a good run a the end of the year. Good Luck, Go Tigers! :thumb::thumb:

After watching the game today, I would say Berry and Roney are probably the best up the middle that I have seen. X's middle two have the potential to be strong but need a little more work together. Who plays 2nd when Roney pithces for the Rocks? The Tigers have a rough week ahead with Floyd Central, Male, and Lexington Catholic during the week. Then I believe they have Heath and Owensboro Catholic on the weekend set. Hopefully, they can find a way to get out of this hitting funk that they currently find themselves in. Congrats to the Rocks today, they came out and took it to the Tigers and capitalized on every X mistake. Thats what good teams do. Hopefully X will rebound and start to play strong baseball like they are capable of doing.

Just wanted to see who everyone thinks is the best SS/2nd base combo in the 7th region?:confused:

TC, I just found out that senior right-hander Kyle Just will be on the mound for the Tigers. He doesn't have a whole lot of speed, but typically has very good control of some nasty off speed pitches. If he is on tomorrow, he could give the Rocks some trouble. I have yet to see him pitch this year, but in seasons past he has been very tough for opposing lineups. My understanding is that he suffered the loss in X's 3-2 loss to Brentwood Academy in Nashville. Should be a good one tomorrow at Slugger Field. How are the Rocks doing this year? I know they suffered a couple of close losses, but it sounds like they are playing good baseball. Can anyone give me some information about the Rocks squad?