Wonderboy Roy

I think my money would be on WV, although I think it will be a great game. Both Smith and Crupper have pitched well lately for Ryle, but I like the overall strength of WV with pitching, defense, and hitting. I know Ryle lost to Cincy Oak Hills yesterday, but I didn't see a score on Mercy vs Ryle that was scheduled also. Anyone have the outcome?

Mamee Salzer signed Thursday afternoon with Thomas More College at a multi-sport signing ceremony held at St. Henry District High School. Congratulations to Mamee!!!

Notre Dame is having a really nice run! Congrats on another solid win. Thy are definitely making believers out of all who thought they were still a year or two away.

ST. HENRY WINS 4-0 IN 5 INNINGS BEFORE RAIN ENDS GAME. I stand corrected on prediction. Salzer very tough overcoming some sloppy infield defense with several key K's and pop-ups, while Kirkwood gets bases-loaded double/2 rbi. Freshman Molly Dietz 2 solid hits/rbi, and Butts triple. A nice win for the Crusaders! Everyday is a new spin of the dial in the 9th Region!

Yes sir Shamrock, this could get ugly tomorrow. St. Henry could be pitching Cy Young tomorrow, but it won't matter if the defense doesn't suddenly get a whole lot better overnight.The young eighth graders are trying hard but the defensive mistakes and lack of hitting for them should be going on in JV now...not varsity. Unfortunately, there is no JV team and those kids are being asked to fill in for no less than five kids who all started and were expected back (transfers, track team, and injuries/"other" reasons). St Henry has a few top shelf offensive threats, but all wheels will have to be clicking for them to overcome a very solid Dixie team. Dixie's coaches have done a very nice job! Of course based on how this season has gone so far the 9th is more open than ever. I think Dixie, Conner, and Boone County have been the most consistent and are the leading favorites...just my opinion.

Great job! Some really nice quality wins!

Wow!!! That's a bit of a shocker I figured Conner would win but it would be much closer. Did Ellery Kring play at SS or is she still out with an injury?

Shamrock, you've convinced me about ND being legit for top ten contender. They seem to be getting more and more consistent. They remind me of HH early in the season and they too will get it together again I believe. Congrats on big win tonight!!!

The story last year on the region that could be supported by several who witnessed was that Mamee Salzer had a freak cramping problem in the top of her pitching hand occur the day before districts. She had it checked and the DR said it was a slight strain that would subside as each day went by. She couldn't pitch or play the first district game but was fully able to play the field and bat after that. Pitching-wise it still bothered her to throw her change-up. The coach was told at the second district game and every region game thereafter that she could definitely play 3B and hit, but chose to be unresponsive. The school administration was confronted about this during and immediately after the region final. They could not explain why the coach contradicted their defense of supposedly looking after the kid's welfare, yet they allowed her to fully swing, throw, and warm-up before 3-4 consecutive district/region games. There was no communication during those games to the kid or parents. It was a sad situation that should have never taken place and no one was accountable. Salzer pitched 4 days later in a travel ball tournament.

SSC - you hit the nail on the head concerning your comment on SH. Apparently Porky has also picked up on the problem there also.Thank heaven for those few kids who have not allowed the problem to take away their passion for the game. It's sad because they could have been so much more successful. As for Region 9, it looks wide open right now with Conner and Dixie playing above the rest at the start - JMO

Grant County has a real solid team, but Walton has been very consistent in proving to be the best team in NKY. Congrats to WV!

East Central won 10-0

Yeah, I think the Anderson kid is the pitcher for Clermont isn't she? Good pitcher!

No...as stated earlier their second pitcher Butts pitched for St. Henry. Salzer did not pitch but played 3B. She is pitching against Walton tomorrow. I would agree with some of Lawnboy's comments, however he fails to allow for the fact that there were several very hard hit balls by St. Henry for extra bases, (besides the HR) that went along with the dropped fly balls by HH. As I said HH looked very good and should be able to hang in with any of the top 4-5 teams in the 9th region.

Highlands young kids were impressive. St. Henry started their second pitcher Butts and she didn't really pitch bad. HH hit some hard shots, as did St. Henry. St. Henry has lost 2 or 3 of their starting nine from last year due to transfer (to BC) and kids switching to track. They had 2-3 8th graders starting and had some fundamental catching/throwing errors. At the same time though HH looked very young... but they had some nice at bats and played very tough. HH did drop a couple balls, but St. Henry really hit some hard long balls - Butts had 2b, Salzer had a 2b & 3b, Ives HR, and Kirkwood a 3b. It was a really entertaining game.

I like what your coach is building there. Witnessed her enthusiasm last year and definitely going in the right direction!

ABC2 - how did your team do in scrimmages against Cooper and St. Henry? Who is your pitcher and how has she looked so far?

HC has some pretty good hitters of the 5-6 kids I'm familiar with. Were the kids just off their offensive game or was the new BB pitcher dominating. I don't think I remember her from JV.

Would that be the Crupper girl for Ryle.... Mr. Porky? By the way, Boone County picked up a nice player (starter) transfer from St.Henry in the Kramer kid (1B/ Catch). With that in mind, BC moves up in my top 4, Ryle still the strongest for overall starting lineup.

I personally know several rec coaches that know more about the fastpitch game than some of the HS coaches; unfortunately their commitments don't allow them to coach travel ball. The really successful coaches in the area are those who can't get enough of it, like in any sport. They will make the extra effort to learn the different facets of the game from the baseball game that they grew up with, they will schedule as many games as possible, work to make up rainouts, keep their players in the fore front, actually get up off their fanny and "work" to develop player skills, and eat/sleep/drink the game through the summer and even fall ball. If you're lucky enough to have that type of coach, then baby you need to hold on to him or her. To be fair, there are a few of those around here, some of which are still a work in progress, but the key word being only a "few".

I really like Beechwood as an up and coming team. Their team had alot of room for improvement over the years and I thought they really started to look decent last year. Their coaches are definitely into it! Ryle is still the best with overall 1-9 players on the field. Conner will be good, but maybe somewhat less than last year. I believe Ryle can be taken down by either St.Henry or Boone. This is by far the best year for both of those schools to have a shot at taking the region.

Miami Valley Express last year and I believe this coming summer season also.

Congrats Jessica! I'm very happy for her and family. She's a very nice young lady besides being a good ball player!

You've always had a good pulse on the area. What's your take on the rest of the teams/players to watch out for, 9th Region and NKY area?

Agree, she would probably be the odds on favorite going in. Just a great athlete and has demonstrated consistency through the years although i thought her ERA was higher than normal. They had a strong defense didn't they? I know the Gregg kid is a good outfielder with speed, plus the pitching ended up being shared more too.