footmaster

Yes, Bellevue won the game 6-5 in 8 innings. Anyone who was there may argue a bad call at first where the Bellevue kid never had the ball as Ludlow scored 2 runs, which would have made Ludlow the winner 7-6... But the umpire called what he called. Final was 6-5 Bellevue.

Great list! And I'm not just saying it because you mentioned every kid on my original list...

Haha, I was just kidding... But 2 games cancelled on Ludlow in a matter of a couple hours... If anyone needs to pick up a game, you might wanna call Coach Gray.

Ludlow and Cooper should play a double header since everyone keeps canceling on them.

Newport just cancelled on Ludlow.. Why is Bellevue canceling? With the weather problems this year, I can't think it would be too many games...

Yeah, it was just one of those weird games that happens sometimes in baseball. Literally just about every kid for Ludlow hit the ball... Even the subs. It happens and Villa will bounce back. Ludlow lost big to Beechwood early in the year and have played really well in almost every game since.

Agreed! This horse is dead.

Is Hunter playing varsity or JV? Wondering if I've seen him...

Good win for NCC.

It's safe to say, just about everybody hit the ball for the Panthers. Tyler Lyons pitched a complete game (5 innings) for the win. Tyler Lyons was 4-4 with 4 rbi's Michael Camarena was 4-4 w/ 3 doubles and 3 rbi's TC Eads was 3-3 Matt Gibson was 2-3 Kolin McCauley was 2-2 Evan Slone was 1-2 w/ a triple and 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored Geoff Thornsburg was 2-5 Jake Mahan was 2-5 and I'm pretty sure that Jerad Howard and Tyler Durham each had a hit as well... Another solid defensive performance from the Panthers as well. Coach Gray really has them focused on the fundamentals of the game.

Any sophomores to watch from Holmes or Dayton or any other schools who haven't been mentioned?

See, there's another kid... Lol! I love it.

We've gone from less than 10 kids mentioned to 25 or more in just a day's time... Pretty impressive. And I know there are many more. NKY is loaded with sophomore talent, more than I can remember in many years.

Other than worrying about over-working pitchers, there is definitely no health concerns. As mentioned, many of these kids play 65+ games over the summer and then also play fall ball. So, definitely don't use a tired pitcher... But maybe get a couple of older and talented JV pitchers some varsity game experience... That would be better than a forfeit anyway.

Looks like Beechwood and Conner are loaded with good young players...

Someone told me Seiter played Varsity baseball in 6th grade! Anyone know if that's true? I know many of the Beechwood kids started Varsity young... And I know Slone has been an everyday Varsity starter for Ludlow since the 8th grade and was probably their best JV player in 7th grade... But 6th grade sounds crazy to me... Lol!

Agreed. Ludlow appears to have had 4 or so pretty solid hitters all season long. If they can get production from 2 or 3 more guys, look out. They are a team on the rise IMO.

I've since seen Slone several times, yet to see Scott though.

A friend of mine said he saw Slone (Ludlow) and Scott (Simon Kenton) on the same team in a tourney game last year. Not sure what team it was or which tourney... But he said Slone and Scott could both really hit.

I said in another thread that Kevin Gray has the Panthers playing some good baseball! Congrats Ludlow!

Haha! Yeah, I was at the Florence Freedom All A games and Combs is a big kid! I know Slone from Ludlow is only 15 and someone (I think it was a Ludlow parent) told me Combs is that young too. Stringer looked big for a young kid too.

Yeah, a lot of these kids are either so big and/so good that I think I'm watching a senior... And then someone will say "oh no, he's a sophomore"... Lol! It's crazy, but it's also good for NKY baseball. Future looks bright for a lot of teams... Including teams that aren't historically loaded with talent like Ludlow and Bellevue.

I thought most of BW's best players are sophomores... Maybe I'm wrong, Stringer and Combs for example. I have yet to see Heppler... But Slone was very impressive against Dixie. Where does Andrew Trame play?

Ok, so between myself and Clyde... We've come up with about 10 kids to watch. Come on people, who else is out there as top sophomores? Love to watch these young players develop.

Again, doesn't matter what teams are involved or who's tired or if you're low on pitching... If the game is on the schedule and the fields are playable.... Play the game. Cooper should win by forfeit. And even if Cooper had to go against a JV pitcher, it's better for them than not playing games. Any team needs game experience and reps to stay sharp. Some JV pitchers are better than some varsity pitchers anyway. We all know this.