Wonderboy Roy

Congrats to Madyson! She is one heck of a player who due to injuries has really not received the local publicity and honors that she is capable of. I hope everything falls into place for her and Holy Cross this year! I'm sure her parents are extremely proud!

Since there has been a lot of frustration and opinion over regional, state, tournament, and various all-star teams. I thought I would throw this interesting tidbit out there. Heard this recently a couple weeks ago and then had it confirmed at the 9th Region tourney by three separate coaches and two AD’s. Apparently during the recent NKY Coaches Association awards (2nd year for this association) there was quite a bit of frustration and disappointment over how the balloting was handled. Some coaches just didn’t reply to the requested nomination e-mail while there were several schools who misunderstood the request for nominations (POY, 1st & 2nd teams, & hon-mention) because it included a request for scholarship info also. Several schools appealed to the association administrators (2-3 local coaches) when realizing they overlooked the ballot part. Even though the appeals for a recast were over ten days to two weeks before the actual presentation (5/29), they were told no, and their ballots were not accepted. As a result, several good teams and some of the area’s top players were not represented. Several players left off the ballot were on the 1st/2nd team awards from the year before. Shame on those coaches who were too lazy to reply; and shame on the association administrators for not being more reasonable in realizing multiple coaches did not understand the e-mail and tried to correct the misunderstanding. What purpose does this serve other than to weaken the overall ballot and penalize kids who were just as deserving or possibly more deserving? Having said that, I’m sure there were some very deserving kids who were on the ballot and did receive awards; and I’m happy for them. The James girl (Dixie HS) certainly would have been in my top player pool consideration. It would be interesting to see the final team selections and know who was actually represented (or not) on the ballot itself. Anyone have this?

Regarding the KSCA regional Coach and Player of Year awards, I think Coach Oliverio would be in the mix but my pick would be the NDA or Beechwood coaches. As for POY award, I think the Oliverio girl is a solid player; however I could justify a case for at least 5-10 others that would be more deserving this year. The limitations on who could only be considered based on membership may serve well in other parts of KY, but the small existing 9th/10th region group makes it a little too biased. That’s just my opinion but I still extend congratulations to both Oliverios.

If you really want to get into the thick of area and tri-state fastpitch softball for travel teams try this site and click on forums: Ohio Fastpitch Connect at The Softball Zone - The Front Page

OFC-Ohio Fastpitch Connection at the Softball Zone

Congrats to Conner on a key win today. Too bad this game wasn't like the tough contests played out in recent years between both teams. Conner seems to have St. Henry's number and should move on through to the region final versus Ryle. St. Henry reverted back to their error plagued ways against Bracken last week, only this time their offense didn't make a game of it either leaving several runners on in the early innings. Congratulations to the Crusaders though on very successful season and overall record!

Congratulations to Megan on a fine season and nice career a Dixie!

A well played game by Denny and the girls of NCC. Congratulations on beating a very very good NDA team. Both teams have a bright future. NDA and Beechwood were two of the most improved teams this year and will be good again next year along with the lady Breds.

Congrats to Bracken for a big win and best of luck going forward in the Region. Lady Bears have a very nice team. Brossart had a fine season as always and should be even tougher next year. Congrats to the Mustangs too!

Looking forward to seeing what happens with the Brossart vs Bracken game. I think this will be a really good game between two similar teams, no matter what took place during the regular season.

I wanted to give a shout out to Holy Cross's lone senior for the 2012 season. Leah Volphein (sp?) Leah has been a 5 year starter for HC and been part of the main group of girls that started playing softball for HC as it switched from slow pitch to fast. Most the girls at HC were against the switch so it was not an easy decision for some girls to play.

 

I have a tremendous amount of respect for girls like Leah. She has never been a "star" or a girl that gets her name in the paper but always shows up and works hard. Leah has played volleyball, basketball, and softball for 4 years. So she has had very little time off during her HS career and HC is a better place bc of her!!

 

We all here stories of the Ginn's, Salzer's, Moran's and Smith et all, and they deserve the credit but HS sports wouldn't be the same with out girls like Leah. Leah isn't going to go to school to play sports but my guess is she will be very successfully in life. Best of luck to her.

 

I would love to hear stories of other seniors that we may not be familar with.

Very well said SSC. Leah has been that way, since I saw her play her first games at around 6 or 7. Whether it was softball, basketball, or volleyball you knew that she was giving her best effort. She is a great kid and comes from a very good family. Her work ethic and competive spirit makes you proud to have known her. Thanks for reminding all of us about the kids like Leah who make the game fun just to be around it.

Can't completely agree with you on that, the ball Kring hit was a shot but was misplayed by the 3b, but the ball Straley hit was clean. Brossart was sloppy on some of the bunts though.

There was no doubt about Straley's knock being a legit hit. I could go either way on the Kring shot, but I'd probably lean towards a hit given that it was hit so hard. Both teams played really tough and the game could have went either way. Somehow Conner continues to find a way to win all the close ones. The Boone/Conner match-up in district should be a another close one to watch.

Nice win for the Mustangs over a very good NDA team. Brossart has been known to be a solid hiiting team throughout the season, but their defense is very solid too. NDA's overall hitting lineup is one of the best in the Region. NDA seems to play almost everyone tight. Both solid teams that should be tough draws in district/region.

Congratulations to the Bears on a big win! They have a very nice team and execute the fundamentals. They play defense, are aggressive, and well coached. Looked like they were going to run-rule St. H early on. Bracken had some timely hits. Butts pitching for St. H was backed by the poorest defense of the year for the Crusaders as there were no less than 6-7 errors in the first few innings. Definitely a lack of focus on their part. Bracken executed a nice steal of home at one point. St. H appeared to be comong back in the 4th with 2B Butts and HR by Salzer leading to a 4 run inning. Didn't see the end, however heard that St. H failed to deliver with chances in last couple innings as Bracken's pitcher came through. Bears appear to be young and should continue to get even better. Will definitely be a contender in the 10th Region.

I am going to guess you don't normally post scores on here? I attended the game but realized when I pulled in the lot I had left my camera at work. Very different just watching the game. Two very solid teams. Congrats to St. Henry on the win. Good luck to both teams in the upcoming tourny.

Not sure of the reason for your comment......please explain.

After some sloppy defense in 1st with St. Henry down 2-0, Crusaders come back with 4 late in game to win.

Congrats to one of the most consistent and best players in NKY. She has had a super high school career and has definitely been the cornerstone of Walton's success over the last several years.

A worthy cause that next year should be expanded to an all day event with several more teams! Great idea of the picture shot from a light tower of all three teams forming the Cancer ribbon. Kudos go out for sure to the guy who made the climb! Game Results:

St. Henry 15-0 over Dixie in 6 innings

St. Henry 10-0 over Notre Dame in 6 innings

Notre Dame 4-3 over Dixie

St. Henry looked extremely strong.....pitching, power hitting, defense and with recent win over Ryle seems to be really getting it together heading into districts/regionals. Despite the run-rule score, ND has a very talented young group of girls who will continue to get better and better. After getting off to a good start this year, Dixie seems to be sliding back somewhat but has some nice players and good coaching.

Congrats to Collins, saw them earlier in the year and thought they had a tough team then.

It was a nice day at the Pandas home field today, ND 7-Camels 2. The Pandas were in control the entire game, great job girls!:ylsuper:

I think ND is the success story of the season. A really talented young bunch that seems to play everyone tough. Congrats!

The story of this game is Scott's new field, looks great. I haven't seen everyone's field but I would be surprised if its not the nicest in NKY. There are a ton of colleges that would love to have their field.

SSC - I would love to hear some game details if you attended tonight. I think both programs have had a tough year, but knowing some of these kids personally, I'd really like to see them end the season on a high note. Glad to hear one of the best players in NKY (your dd) is back on the field!

The Crusaders served notice tonight tonight that they should still be in the mix for the open 9th Region crown! Huge victory tonight for their Senior Recognition game. Ryle scores unearned run in first inning on infield error, walk, and passed ball. St. H comes back in first to tie score on big RBI single by FR. Molly Dietz. Then in 3rd or 4th inning St. H bats come alive after an infield error. Butts, Salzer, and Ives all with big hits. Salzer shuts down Raider bats for the win. Nice all-round game by Crusaders tonight!!

Both Mercy's pitchers Eggleston and Fie are tough competitors and I thought it would be a low scoring dual with either Smith or Crupper (another talented combo).

I agree that she was the most dominant pitcher I've ever seen in the area for as long as she did it. Nice volleyball player also.

Just curious as to where you got your cost numbers for the 3 schools you mentioned? From the extensive research I did(google) all 3 are cheaper than TMC. Shame on them too for helping kids out with the cost of their education to come "play" JV softball. You said many of those kids are going to get discouraged and quit, very few kids that head off to college to play softball make it the full four years anyway for various reasons. The creative grant/award packages you mentioned, are they for athletes only? That would seem to be the same as awarding athletic scholarships. Sorry to get off the topic, I do not want to take anything away from Mamee's accomplishments.

NKYSoftball - You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I was just trying to point out that that the bottom line cost figures aren't always as lucrative as they seem. The three schools that I mentioned were just about the "JV" circumstance in the article and I don't doubt that they're cheaper than some D-III schools like Transylvania or TMC. but if you take some NAIA schools and add the cost of living there, wouldn't you be in the upper 20's to upper 30k per year (such as Asbury, Georgetown $38k, Midway and Campbellsville $28k)? So if you stay at home, whether it's Transy or TMC or whoever and the bottom line cost is better.....that was my only point. Sorry if I hit a nerve on the topic, it's probably good discussion for a future thread.

I believe a kid plays travel ball because of competitve spirit. If you truly want to get better then travel ball offers that above playing rec-league. The term "showcase tournament" is over used to a good extent, however having frequented tournaments for years in both KY and Ohio, my opinion is that Ohio wins hands down as far as consistently presenting top-notch competition; the key word being "consistently". Just my opinion, but the Columbus area would rate first, then probably Dayton & Louisville areas, with Lexington area a little bit behind those. As for as NAIA/ D-2 athletic $ offers, you have to weigh everything and not just get caught up in the athletic portion of the package. What good does it do to go to a high priced NAIA school where the difference (after athletic/academic $) would be similar to local schools that are D-III? The D-III schools know what they're facing and they can get very creative with assorted grant/award packages. I can't remember the article but it was in the Enquirer a couple of years ago. It talked about specific NAIA schools (several mentioned in KY - Pikeville, Union, Campbellsville etc) that do nothing but load their rosters up to high 20's to to 30 or so kids and then they have a "JV team" with a hand full of games. After a year or two the kids grow disconted and quit the team, however the schools feel that they come out ahead because a lot of the kids tend to go ahead and finish school there. Unless you're going D-I or possibly D-2, the difference of absorbing the cost of campus living, and incurring more family debt or student loans isn't always the most practical. A lot depends on the coaching staff too and if the college has what you want to take. I know of several kids that were talented enough to have played at NKU, but did not want to go there and I also think NKU has couple of kids that could have played up a division over the years. There are so many individual variables to weigh...the coach, playing time, commuting or living on campus, field of study offered, reputation, debt for the parents or kids after it's all over etc etc. Anyway JMO......