heavy duty

Good team with a strong junior pitcher. My pick to win the 3rd, if they can get some backing in the circle to keep Whelan fresh for the post-season, when it REALLY matters. Pitching 20 innings on Saturday in March (when you have Mercy coming in 2 days later, no less), is probably not a good recipe for a trip to Owensboro in June, IMO.

The site is not showing the current poll when you hit that page, but at the top of the poll there is a link that says "Coaches Poll – March 24, 2015". I am assuming this will be corrected soon enough to display the most recent poll at the top when you hit the page. Confused me when I first saw it, also.

That is good news, indeed. Thanks for the clarification. I hope to make it to the Mercy/Ballard game this week, if weather allows.

Never said their pitching was weak. Said I thought last season pitching was their weakest link.

Male topped Holy Cross (Lou) 3-1 in 5 innings. They will play McCracken this AM. McCracken's pitching, I thought, was their weak link last season. Depth and hitting are definite pluses for them, but they had no pitchers that were what I would consider "studs" last year. Holy Cross' pitcher looked very good. I believe it was their senior, Gailor. Saw a little of Mercy at opposite field playing Green County. Mercy won 2-0 in 7, and was probably indicative to what they will do this year, which is the same as last season. Not score many runs, and ride Thomas in the circle until her arm falls off. With a pitcher of her caliber, it's a useable strategy, but I'd risk trading early season "W"s for tournament innings on her arm, and use a different pitcher as the middle of the season progresses, personally. Won't make it down today, so I'll check back here for some details, hopefully.

Meade scored on a 3R home run and a squeeze play. Male left a lot of runners on the pads. Timely hitting was elusive down the stretch.

Good game by both teams. Whelan pitching for Meade is very good, as was Suski for Male. Neither team looked anywhere near mid-season form, however, I was impressed by both considering how little time either team has had on the dirt. I predict IF Meade can develop some more productive offense out of the lower half of their lineup, they will be in very good position to spoil some Region 3 predictions. Whelan will have to stay healthy and rested, though.

hmmm....not sure if truerank is active any longer. Hope it's not the case, but....

As my Grandma used to say, "Consider the source". The "coaches polls" are voted on by coaches that are paid members of the KSCA, which this year is down to 106 head coaches across the entire state, with only Conners, Highlands and Notre Dame representing the 9th Region, so to make any sense or assumptions based on any of the polls coming out of this body, you must understand who is actually voting. Combine the limited enrollment in the KSCA with the politics and voters personal feelings, both positive and negative, for individual teams, coaches and players around the state, this poll and the end of season awards have become, or maybe always have been, quite dubious, at best. Not involved with the guys at http://www.truerank.org, but I like the approach they use. They have a mathematical algorithm that ranks teams and has a purported 82% accuracy over last 3 years. Check 'em out at truerank.org

mc 62, In college the main factor that separates teams from one strata to another is pitching. Period....after that it's hitting, and that is, for the most part, developed by the coaches...many college players do not play the positions they played in HS or travel (unless they are pitching in college), nor do they hit like they did in HS...Speed is a natural ability that can be enhanced, but not taught, so it is at a premium. So, to your point, Yes, I have noticed 9 players on the field, and even more in the dugout, and they are not just there to take up space, that is an obvious point...from my experience, though, the two skill positions that carry the most weight in the sport right now are the Pitcher and Catcher positions...so, if you're not one of those players, and you're NOT a competitive threat with a bat in your hand, then you're one of the 6 or more in the dugout, and you have a different job to do....vansmetal, I agree with you that "mentally strong" is more desirable than "mentally smart" in my wish list.

I'll say, flip that #1 & #2 , then move catcher out on it's own to #2 , leave your #3 & #4 where they are, and rest your current #1 just below them.

Male's Olivia Suski played on the TN Fury 99 team that finished Top 10 (tied for 7th) at 14U ASA Nats. Jessica Wireman from Male, along with Alyssa Tarquinio of Assumption and Karlee Humphry of Tilghman played with Cincy Doom Gold and finished Top 24 (tied for 17th) at 18U ASA Nats. Their only 2 losses of the week were the two teams in the Championship Game. Dani Walls from Male and some other KY girls finshed Tied for 33rd with Sluggers-Ridolfi, while the Southern Force-Dillander with a group of KY girls finished Top 12 (tied for 9th) at 16U ASA Nats. Lot of good news from KY players.

AllenR...I personally agree with you, however the reality based on past and current situation leads me to wholeheartedly believe the KHSAA decision has absolutely nothing to do with the fields the girls play on, and everything to do with the perks and facilities on the side of the fences where the dirt ain't. If the fields and facilities for the PLAYERS mattered, it would NEVER be played at Fisher Park. Period. The proof is in the puddin'.

6th/7th played at Ulmer the following night, I believe. 7th juniors won and 6th seniors won. Pretty fun night for everyone.

Very nice job, Maroons!! Congratulations!! Male Bulldogs set season team record, and are tied for 4th now with 35 trotters this spring, including 9 at the State Tournament with 4 against Greenwood in one game, 1 against Mercy and 3 against McCracken and 1 against Scott Co over the weekend....Only 5 of Male's 35 HRs were hit against non-Top 25 teams (Presentation-2, PRP, Eastern & Manual), and also had dingers against highly ranked out of state teams (Niceville FL-2, Sparkman AL, Riverdale TN, Carmel IN & Roncalli IN)....Dawgs had a more even spread than MNH with 9 players getting in on the action. Amanda McIver -11 Olivia Suski - 10 Jessica Wireman - 5 Madison Mudd - 3 (1 legit inside the park) Alyssa Case -2 Hannah Poynter - 1 Dani Walls - 1 Abby Luckett - 1 Kennedy Bishop -1

I was there, and feel terrible for the young lady. Seemed to me that the KHSAA officials were trying to ferry the JC crowd out of the park, with the assistance of multiple local police offices, as quickly as possible. JC earned the victory. Conditions dictated otherwise, sadly.

This may have been a surprise to some, but not for Male. We LOVED the first round draw against GW. 2nd game of this season was against GW, Wireman had 7 Ks over 6 innings in that game. The Bulldogs have grown tremendously since then, and tonight showed. GW literally weren't close to Wireman, and the Bulldogs were relentless at the plate. Bloomer called off the Dawgs, and the last 6 or so batters were subs......who produced. Tomorrow's game against Mercy is another I have been waiting for. There are 5, maybe 6 legit contenders here, like every year, and Male/Mercy is a prime matchup of 2 of the top teams here.

Best men's slow pitch fields in a 3 mile radius, but man that press box rocks!!

Actually, forecast is pretty sweet. High 70s. No rain.

That is one of the funniest things I have read in quite a while :lol:

3 up, 3 down, only drama was the weather stretching this out to a 3 day ordeal. Male goes on to defeat Assumption 9-3 to capture their 2nd straight 7th Region crown. First game Thursday at State Tournament will be against Greenwood. Last time they played Male ended their winning streak, and that was 2nd game of the season. 6PM EST from Ownesboro....Live Action!!!

Ulmer Stadium. One solitary cell developed from nothing right over the UofL campus in no time flat. No time to even tarp the field. Didn't move, just sat and dumped nearly 3" of rain in about an hour's time. Supposed to be ready by 5PM to complete Semi game, and then winner goes right into Championship Game against Assumption. Not of fan of that scheduling decision, but what are you gonna do. Male up 4-2, top of the 7th. Ballard has 9-1-2 batters up.

Game postponed for weather...again. Male up 4-2 beginning of the 7th. #3daygame

mommy scorekeeper

I'll say they will still win the 4th Region. Too many good players, and the competition in the 4th is not that strong. If by chance they do not, then the internal strife is deeper than anyone outside the GW dugout realizes.