HoosierCB

Regarding Cov Cath piching, Matt Schmahl decided not to play baseball this year and his shoulder injury preventing him from pitching anway. Ben Heppler struggled last season due to a shoulder injury and his status as a pitcher is unknown. Senior Jake Tomlin returns after Tommy John surgery and has a quality arm. Colonels will need pitchers to emerge from kids who did not pitch much on Varsity last season.

Florence Freedm Elite program covers several age groups including both 16 and 17. The 17 Year old team includes kids from 8 local high schools including 9th Region MVP Mason Forbes. They play their home games at UC Medical Center Stadium. Check out their roster and schedule at [http://www.florencefreedomelite.com].

I've watched each of the "better" teams in the Region play at least twice. It my observation that Ryle is the most complete team around. Solid (not great) pitching, excellent offensive players throughout the lineup, great athletisicm/speed, and outstanding depth. They have kids on the bench (i.e. Jeremy Downs) who would be stars on other area teams. Add in very good coaching and team chemistry and they are easily my favorite to win the Region. That said, they could certainly have a bad day and lose to any of the other Region's better teams as seems to happen every year in the Regional tourney (watch out for NewCath!). However, I expect Ryle to win the Regional and advance to the State tourney where they will struggle against pitching like they have not seen recently in No. KY. St. X, Lex Cath and PRP all seem to have a stable of stud pitchers who can throw 85-90 with excellent command. Sadly, I don't see any No. KY team going very far into the State tourney. Should be a competitive and exciting regional tourney though!

Junior Mason Forbes from Ryle?

Mason Forbes has always been an excellent ballplayer, but until he turned 16 or so, his arm was weak and his throwing motion flawed. As he entered high school, he corrected the problem through arm strengthening and throwing exercises. When Mason showed up for his summer team winter workouts last winter, he amazed his teammates and coaches with his newfound arm strength. He asked to pitch and again shocked everyone with his 80 mph fastball and command. While his weak arm had previously limited him to 2B, his summer team coaches mostly played him in the OF, but also gave him some reps at SS. Mason also showed his incredible work ethic by continuing to work out with Freedom SS Junior Arrojo last summer to improve his footwork as an infielder. Arm strength is no longer an issue. Mason is now a legit 5-tool player with the ability to play infield or outfield in high school and beyond.

Walks are NOT automatically unearned runs. Like runners who managed to get on base via a hit (or even a HBP) and come around to score, the circumstances that led to him scoring determines whether the run is earned or unearned. A pitcher could walk 4 straight hitters and the run in EARNED! For a run to be UNEARNED, an error of some kind must occur.

I understand the argument about natural grass vs. turf, but none of the high schools in this area can accommodate the crowds that the event draws at Florence Freedom Field. The tourney drew a record 2,300 people on Monday. Further, the pro ballpark offers better seating, parking and sightlines than any high school field. Besides, the kids love playing there. As for the financial arrangement, the gate belongs to the schools after the Freedom subtract their expenses for staffing, lights, etc. This year's tourney set total attendance records and netted the schools more money than they ever earned when it was played at St. Henry. With regard to a lack of practice time on the field, the Freedom hosted a youth tournament Memorial Day weekend. However, the Freedom offer every high school the opportunity to play regular season games there for FREE which would give them even more valuable exprience playing there than an hour of shagging flyballs. Yet, very few accept. Without taking anything away from Coach Schulkens or the NCC players who have won 2 in a row and 3 of the last 5 championships there, they have played more regular season games at the Freedom than anyone, perhaps giving them an edge. Very few communities have access to facilities such as the Bank of KY Center or a nice minor league ballpark for high school championships like we do. We should consider ourselves fortunate.

HaHa. Actually, the gate belongs to the schools! Price remains the same as in recent years - Adults $7 Students $5. Your ticket is good all day, including both sessions on Monday, as has been the practice for years. Given the schools involved, we hope for record attendance.

That is Vito LaCorte whose son, Tony, plays JV for St. Henry.