footmaster

Yeah, I just pulled these up today... So no idea when some of these were last updated. Impressive still though, because I know in Slone's case, he's batting third in the line up. And I think all the BW sophs are batting in the top 4 of the order somewhere. Not sure where Heppler bats... But anyhow, for young kids at the varsity level.... Most of them are in premier spots of the batting order (being pitched around in many cases) and still are very productive. All these kids have bright futures IMO.

Since I've seen a lot of stats floating around several threads... I thought it might be a good time to show some of the most up to date stats I could find on some of these Varsity Sophomores... Keep in mind, not all schools post stats (couldn't find Dixie or Bellevue) and for some reason, Beechwood hasn't posted pitching stats. But these are the ones I could find. No one was left off intentionally. If you don't see a kid, their team didn't list stats or I simply missed them. I searched hitting by batting average and pitching by wins... So the kids are listed in that order. Hitting: Braydon Combs - 80AB , 23 runs, 40 hits, 12 2b, 0 3b, 4 hr, 29 RBI, 3 sb, .524 obp, .500 avg Brett Slusher- 60 AB, 23 runs, 29 hits, 6 2b, 3 3b, 1 hr, 22 RBI, 17 sb, .551 obp, .483 avg Will Heppler - 90 AB, 17 runs, 40 hits, 4 2b, 0 3b, 0 hr, 24 RBI, 0 sb, .505 obp, .444 avg Evan Slone - 72 AB, 16 runs, 26 hits, 3 2b, 3 3b, 1 hr, 21 RBI, 7 sb, .408 obp, .361 avg Ethan Stringer - 76 AB, 27 runs, 27 hits, 7 2b, 3 3b, 1 hr, 19 RBI, 8 sb, .412 obp, .355 avg Jeffrey Purnell - 64 AB, 14 runs, 21 hits, 2 2b, 1 3b, 0 hr, 12 RBI, 1 sb, .371 obp, .328 avg Pitching: Evan Slone - 28 ip, 4 wins, 1 loss, 27 strikeouts, 1.06 whip, 1.73 era Jeffrey Purnell - 21 ip, 1 win, 1 loss, 23 strikeouts, 0.78 whip, 1.29 era No idea if all these stats are completely up to date, but very good numbers from some very young players. Nky is gonna have some great young baseball talent to keep an eye on for awhile it seems!

There's actually been a lot of talk in the area this season about the other kids on the list as well. That is why I started this thread. I don't know about the rest of Kentucky... But in NKY, there are more productive Sophomore varsity baseball players than I can ever remember. And when I say that, I mean from multiple schools. So, just saying it'll be interesting to see if NKY is well represented in that All Star game or not. They should be whether the tomahawk kids can go or not.

I've seen multiple mentions of the following NKY kids on this thread: Stringer (BW) Combs (BW) Slusher (BW) Heppler (Cov Cath) Slone (Ludlow) Smallwood (Dixie) Purnell (Boone Co) Seiter (Bellevue) I wonder if some of them, if any, will get an invite to the State Sophomore All Star game...

Pretty sure he's the kid that pitched against Ludlow earlier this year in the extra inning bonanza. Congrats!

Found these stats on Cincinnati.com: Ludlow stats: Tyler Lyons. .375 avg Evan Slone. .357 avg Geoff Thornsburg .329 avg Tyler Durham .329 avg Jerad Howard .311 avg Jake Mahon .304 avg Tyler Lyons has 2 doubles and 1 triple Evan Slone has 3 doubles, 3 triples and 1 home run So, they certainly have some capable hitters. Like you said, get hits with runners in scoring position... And Ludlow could surprise some teams.

Wow. Seems like Simon Kenton has had a very weird up and down season.

Ludlow beat Holmes 5-2 and then beat Nicholas Co 7-3. Somehow they got both games in before the rain hit on Saturday. Obviously, Ludlow continues to pitch well and play good defense. Coach Gray has lead the Panthers to their 14th win this year. Impressive turn around from last season for sure. Anyone who was there, feel free to share details.

Agreed, it would be a crime if NKY isn't well represented.

I'm interested to see how many of the kids in this thread will have an impact in this year's 9th region tourney. I have a feeling several of them will. I've seen a lot of great sophomore talent this year. If you pulled the best sophs from several teams...you'd have a heck of an all star roster.

I agree with Hellbird in basic premise. Clearly, in most cases, if a parent is out of control... The word will get around and back to the coach (either through players, other parents or fans). If it involves a terrible incident or multiple incidents... I see nothing wrong with a coach stepping in and talking to the AD and the parent in question. I don't think it puts too much on a coaches plate as I've been too a lot of games and have not seen many incidents (even in seriously emotional rivalry games). But if the crap does hit the fan, I would hope the coach on my kids' teams would try to step in some way if possible... Admittedly, I don't know what a coach can specifically do in these cases... Other than maybe have rules and expectations for players and parents typed up and sent home before the season and have people sign it.

Yeah, sounds like Bellevue was unprepared for that one...

I've never seen a small school make such an improvement in just one season as Ludlow has this year. They are 12-8... Literally could have easily won their games against Dixie, Scott, Bellevue, St Henry and Lloyd... Could you imagine a 17-3 record right now?! Just goes to show how hard Coach Gray, his staff and the kids have been working. Point is: if Ludlow can do it...Dayton can do it. They just have to hang in there and keep working hard.

Gonna be a lot of good games this year. There aren't near as many teams that are "an easy out" as there have been in recent memory..

Dixie is the best all around team I've seen this year. But I did see Ludlow play them toe to toe... Only 3 outs away from the upset. So, you never know in baseball... Although Dixie is 22-1 for a reason. Solid club.

I didn't see this one, but heard Dayton literally only had nine players dressed ( some maybe 7th and 8th graders). Much respect to those players and coaches for giving it their best.

I heard Bellevue hit the ball, but right at people and/or great plays were made by Highlands.

Very well said, I couldn't agree more! Two good squads that are deserving of everyone's respect.

Neat... Not near lol

It would be near if they could do some kind of weekend tournament for these teams someday...

They have a Pangallo Freshman, a Junior and 2 Seniors... Hmmm

No worries...

Totally agree! All I did was to clear up a statement someone made about Ludlow winning. They didn't, Bellevue did. And Papa Bear had a problem with me saying "anyone who was there could argue the call". That by definition means: some people think the kid was safe and some people think the kid was out. The umpire said he was out and I accept it. I don't hate anyone. I support and enjoy Bellevue baseball. I have been around this game for many years and I am friends with certain parents, players and coaces on almost every team in NKY. But I will defend myself and my comments. Papa Bear came at me aggressively and again, I never said Bellevue was afraid to play Ludlow. I challenge anyone to find where I stated so.

You get over it.. Coach Gray and his assistants wouldn't have gone so crazy if the call was correct. The 2nd baseman from Bellevue made a great play and the first baseman didn't have the ball. I saw it on the dirt as did the Ludlow Coaches. No one is whining either. I said "he called what he called" and it is what it is. I also never said Bellevue was afraid to play Ludlow. This time of year schedules get messed with to get in conference games... It's understood and no complaints. But don't come at me as if you were there and it was the correct call.... Blah blah. I know for a fact from seeing the play and talking to coaches and players (from both teams I might add).... The call was wrong. But, it's over and no one died. It's just a baseball game.

I haven't seen a lot of freshman... But I like Ethan Doty (highlands) and TC Eads (Ludlow)