jpa2825

Game will come down to offensive efficiency. I suspect a tennis match sort of game. If they win the toss, HHS will take the ball (i.e., serve 1st). Any break of serve (i.e., not scoring at all) or mini-break (i.e., FG instead of TD) will be critical. Turnovers will play a role because that will constitute a break of serve. This fact will be heightened if HHS runs the ball because the # of possessions will be reduced by the clock continuing to run. Look for McCoy to have a big night -- with his legs as much as his arm -- because if CCH drops into shell coverage, he has to be accounted for. How many players go both ways for CCH? Any DBs? So far this year, the opponent DBs have gotten pretty worn down chasing WRs all the way down the field and then hustling back to the line of scrimmage only to chase another WR (fresh from the sidelines) another 40 yards down the field. Lather, rinse, repeat. Go Birds. Beat CovCath.

EOTT -- great summary Since I was not there, would it have been competitive in the 2nd half if HHS scores after the interception in 2Q? Summary says HHS started drive at BW 31. Followed by a 63 yd. TD run with 29 seconds left in the half, seems like it could easily have been tied or a 1 point game at half if HHS converts on the TO. Good to see these 2 strong programs playing each other at any level. You only get better when you are tested.

Watson did run hard and well. However, kudos go out to the OL which was creating big holes and significant push. Houliston looked solid and eluded a strong rush by the Defenders. Big shout out to #54 Vermeil who forced a huge fumble as Bryan Station was driving late in the 4th to tie or take the lead. Not sure if the Bryan Station varsity team played Friday night. If not, would not surprise me if some of their "varsity-ish" underclassmen dressed out for this game. They had some serious size and athleticism. If not, they have a very strong program coming up. NOTE: No complaints intended from the comment as HHS used underclassmen that played some on Friday night (they almost have to with the significant rotations they are using at most positions) AND HHS would rather play better competition as witnessed by the schedule.

Better team played better. Hard to evaluate HHS against T, but it will certainly help coaching staff get the attention of any Birds that were already sizing rings for #6 (although I suspect that was a very small #, if any). 2012 T is on another level (as they have been recently). Good luck for the remainder of the season. T v HHS Programs (historically) is a good conversation with merits to both sides worthy of being conducted over a tall, cold beverage.

Someone told me that HHS has a 7 on 7 v. Mason Co. at HHS tomorrow and a couple next week (1 of which is likely at Withrow). Can anyone confirm?

Tough loss in bizarre fashion. Congrats to NCC on a great run and for representing NKy in the State Tourney. On the ground ball that would have been the 2nd out in the 9th, did the SS boot it and not make a throw? Would the runner on 2B have advanced to 3B if he had made the play cleanly? With respect to walking the #3 batter in the lineup to get to the #4 batter once the #2 batter, who reached on the E, had reached 2B on "defensive indifference" by NCC, that would certainly be the conventional wisdom. Puts a force at all 3 bases & home and brings the X-2-3 DP into play (you can't afford to try to turn 2 up the middle, even if it is hard hit right at the SS or 2B where the failure to turn the DP ends the game and your season). That said, it is not a complete "no-brainer." 1st, you had a 1-1 count on the batter already and with 1B open, you can "nibble" and try to make him hit "your" pitch. 2nd, load the bases and a walk ends the game in another tough fashion with lots of pressure on the P to throw strikes to very likely a very good hitter. 3rd, perhaps Schulkens didn't like what the #4 and #5 batters looked like. Maybe they had hit the ball hard all evening and just made "loud outs," while Cain had had success against the #3 hitter in each of the previous at bats. Just too many unknown variables to 2nd guess the decision not to walk the #3 hitter.

Assuming all teams played 5 games to get to the Sweet 16 (some may have played 6), here are the # of regular season games played by the Sweet 16 participants. Remember the KHSAA max is 36. North Oldham seems to be the real outlier both in # of games played (26) and record (15-16). R1 - Calloway Co. - 34 (32-6-1) R2 - Henderson Co. - 35 (26-13-1) R3 - Meade Co. - 29 (25-9) R4 - South Warren - 31 (22-13-1) R5 - Central Hardin - 35 (31-9) R6 - PRP - 35 (29-11) R7 - St. X - 35 (29-11) R8 - North Oldham 26 (15-16) R9 - NCC 36 (24-16-1) R10 - Bishop Brossart 32 (25-12) R11 - Woodford Co. 31 (30-6) R12 - Mercer Co. 30 (23-12) R13 - South Laurel 32 (26-11) R14 - Powell Co. 36 (30-11) R15 - Pikeville 29 (27-7) R16 - Ashland 30 (27-8)

NCC gets a rematch in 2012 as they face PRP tomorrow. Go Breds! Show well for NKY. Birds played PRP at their place early in the season. As always, they are a solid club.

Congrats to the Breds! Good pitching, great defense and timely 2 out hitting were the keys to victory. For the Birds, WOW! Lots of blood, sweat & tears at the end of the run. It's nice to see a group of kids and coaches that work as hard as they did this season get rewarded. From the days of conditioning to tryouts to the 1st pitch at Walton Verona to Myrtle Beach and the nice run at the end of the year, it was a great ride. For the Seniors, "Thank you" and you will be missed. As I have stated before, Grant Duesing did everything he was asked to do to overcome some hurdles and EARN his spot on this team. Chris Bausch came back to HHS and wanted to be a part of this team. He played every role from bullpen catcher to relief pitcher to pinch hitter to infielder. Mitch Meyer contributed on the field mightily, but more importantly to the development of these kids as both players and young men. Hopefully this will be the season everyone points to as the one that "turned around the baseball program at HHS." Of course, if it is viewed that way it will only be because that is the easy and simple way to look at it from 30,000 feet. The reality is that the turnaround began with a focused intensity a few years ago with players and coaches willing to do the hard work to try to build something. It began with a school board and administration willing to fund and coaches willing to staff a Freshman program to build a "feeder system" to encourage, develop and cultivate players. It began with coaches, parents and city administrators (but mostly coaches) willing to bring Highland Park up to a level where a top class program could play. It began with support from Coach Mueller and the Athletic Department at HHS, regardless of some perceptions which may exist to the contrary, proclaiming to anyone that would listen that baseball and football can co-exist and prosper at HHS. It began with coaches willing to make tough decisions that were often unpopular but right for the program. It began with being willing, even when it HURTS, to "go to battle" with those committed to battling with you rather than making exceptions for those talented enough to help, but unwilling, for whatever reason, to commit. Does a single season with a great run to end up District Champs & Regional Runner Ups mean HHS has arrived? Maybe / Maybe Not. Does it guarantee they stay there? No way. Are they going in the right direction? Absolutely. Is the right person guiding the ship? Positively. I heard at the game that Dale has cancelled football practice on 2 occasions in the last 15 years -- yesterday for the Regional Championship game and on 9/11. I think we're going in the right direction.

Cochran and Q. Murray are unavailable by rule (and common sense) as they pitched yesterday. Everyone else is fair game. Bartels seems unavailable by rule (and common sense) for NCC based on the CG yesterday. Unless whoever pitched MON pitched 6+, everyone should be available by rule.

Let's hear some predictions. Good luck to both of the District 36 representatives. Mainly starting the thread to let folks know the game time has been moved from 7:00 PM to 5:00 PM to try to beat the predicted rain tomorrow. Please let anyone who might need to know about this change.

Birds started strong with 3 in the 1st (hit the ball HARD) and 1 in the 2nd. Tack on 2 much needed insurance runs in the top of the 7th for a 6-0 lead and hang on in the bottom of the 7th for a 6-4 win. Birds avenge their only loss in their 10 games with a win over Dixie. Super outing from SO Joey Cochran going 4.2 scoreless innings. 1st 3 were unremarkable and got out of a bases loaded jam in the 4th with only 1 out. Impressive relief appearance by JR Quentin Murray working out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 5th, working a clean 6th and surviving some control issues & correctly pitching to contact with a 6 run lead in the 7th. Offensive stars included Murray, FR Jakey Whitford, JR Hector Molina, JR Jake Heck and JR Jake Lester. Lots of hard hit balls in this game.

Point well taken. This group will be playing their 40th game this season tomorrow!!! That is a ton of experience in 1 campaign. Q is right, it's kind of like the NCAA basketball tournament -- there are no Freshman in March and there are very few "young" players in Game #40 of the season. Go Birds! Beat Colonels!

You are correct. I always get confused. Rule is summarized below: 1 pitch in any inning = 1 inning 1 or 2 innings, no rest required 3 - 5 innings, 1 day rest required 6 innings, 2 days rest required 7 - 9 innings, 3 days rest required No > 9 innings in any single day No > 15 innings in any 7 day period

Should be a good game. With Stansberry pitching 7 against CovCath and JR Gabe Schultz pitching 4 against Conner, neither are available to pitch in this game. FR Mitchell Jones (2 inn) and JR Quentin Murray (1 inn) are both available for HHS. SO Joey Cochran started against NCC in the District 36 Final if that is any indication of who might start for HHS. Although HHS did not get to play on the turf at Florence Freedom yesterday, they played 5 games in 4 days on turf at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach during Spring Break. Those fields had dirt mounds and home plate area (which I think is a much better setup), but is better than having your 1st game on turf be in the Regional Semis. P.S. Although WED is the last day of school AND the 1st day of Football practice after school, I wouldn't be surprised if Dale lets the football players out of practice in time to get to Florence by 5:00 PM to root on the Baseball Birds. Student support has been great over the last 10 games including Senior Day, Community Appreciation Day, District Tournament (particularly in the Finals against NCC) and yesterday at both Florence Freedom before the game was postponed and at Dixie for the win.

Nice win by the Birds. Throw it, catch it & hit it. That is the name of the game. Back & forth game throughout. It was important that the Birds answered in the bottom of each inning when Dixie scored in the top. Maines pitched OK, but the Birds hit the ball hard (even some of the outs were very hard hit) and Conner did not field the ball well. Birds are playing very good baseball at the end of the season when it matters most. This team was 9-20-1 after a loss to Simon Kenton. They have won 8 of the last 9. The only loss during that stretch? 8-4 at Dixie. They will have a chance to avenge that loss on Wednesday at 5:00 PM at Florence Freedom. Should be worth the price of admission!!! Future is also bright. Starting lineup was 1 SR, 5 JR, 2 SO & 2 FR (counting DH). Add in another FR pitching 2 innings and 1 SO playing in the IF + some underclassmen pinch & courtesy runners throughout the game.

Anyone know if video or audio will be provided? Strongly suspect no based on change of location.

Anyone that wants the final bracket with results completed can go to https://highlandsbaseball.korrio.com/2012-schedules-with-results-records/2012-36th-district-tournament-bracket/

Given the public park setting, the volunteers were asking for admission fees only from those going to the game. Frisbee golf and the dog park attendees were spared. I'm sure most cooperated without incident.

Watched the pitch-by-pitch on my phone while at a work event. Report was that there was a HUGE crowd for the game at Highland Park. Birds scored 1 in the top of the 2nd. JR Jake Lester reached 1st on a dropped 3rd strike, stole 2nd and was driven home on a 2 out, 2 strike pitch by FR Luke Hennigan. HHS 1 NCC 0 NCC answered with 1 in the bottom of the 2nd. Cain led off with a double and came home on a Miller single. Miller was tagged out at 2B on the hit. HHS 1 NCC 1 NCC went ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the 3rd. Hoffstedder singled, DuPont walked, Hightchew bunts 'em over, Pangallo loads the bases on a HBP. FR Mitchell Jones comes in for HHS relieving SO Joey Cochran. Woltermann singles scoring Hoffstedder and DuPont. Cain grounds to 3B and JR Gabe Schultz cuts down Pangallo at home. Miller strikes out to end the inning. NCC 3 HHS 1 Birds score 3 in the top of the 4th. Schultz walks to lead off the inning. SR Mitch Meyer flies out for the 1st out. Lester reaches on an E6. SO Evan Allen reaches on an E3 to load the bases. Schultz scores on a WP and everybody moves up one base. Hennigan grounds out to 2B scoring Lester and moving Allen to 3B. JR Jake Heck singles to score Allen. JR Hector Molina pops out to 1B to end the inning. HHS 4 NCC 3. Birds add 2 in the top of the 7th. Molina walks to lead off the inning. JR Quentin Murray bunts him over to 2B. FR Jakey Whitford pops out to 3B. Schultz reaches on an E5, scoring Molina. Meyer singles Schultz to 3B. 1st & 3rd, Meyer runs and NCC throws through. They don't get Meyer at 2B and Schultz scores. Lester strikes out to end the inning. NCC scores 2 in the bottom of the 7th. After a ground out, DuPont hits a HR. Hightchew follows with a triple. Murray replaces Jones on the bump. Hightchew scores on a WP. Pangallo grounds back to the pitcher. Woltermann singles to keep things alive. Cain flies out to CF to end the game. Great catch by Molina according to the wife. Congrats to the 36th District Champs!!!

Nice win by the Birds. JR Gabe Schultz pitches 5 strong innings. Worked ahead (7/7 on 1st pitch strikes to start the game) and continued to pound the zone once offense got him some runs. Ended up with 9 Ks. Offense breaks loose for 6 runs in the top of the 2nd (always confusing to be the visiting team on the scoreboard at you home field) via hits, walks, errors and baserunning. Birds ended up with 12 hits. Birds v Breds in the championship game tomorrow at Highland Park at 5:00 PM. Should be well worth the $5 cost of admission mandated by the KHSAA.

Very close Q. Conner hit a 2 out HR in the bottom of the last inning early in the season at Conner. However, it was to tie the game at 10, rather than win it. Darkness finished it there for the unusual "tie" on the Bluebirds' 2012 record. Thanks to a ton of support from the Conner and HHS folks, which was also displayed by a huge crowd at Highland Park for the game including kids, students, parents, grandparents and friends, the game was the WLWT Game of the Week. Details and video highlights at Cincinnati Bell Wildcard Game Of The Week For May 18 - High School Playbook - Main News Story - WLWT Cincinnati Birds finish the season at 14-21-1 and with good momentum, winning 5 of their last 6 heading into the 36th District Tournament next week. Brackets w/ schedules can be found at https://highlandsbaseball.korrio.com/2012-schedules-with-results-records/2012-36th-district-tournament-bracket/ Go Birds!

Updated bracket at https://highlandsbaseball.korrio.com/2012-schedules-with-results-records/2012-jv-regional-tournament-bracket/

Tough loss for the Birds and a great win for the Eagles who hit the ball hard in the 7th. Birds almost pulled out the win with a diving stop by LF SO Brandon Hergott for the 3rd out, but the ball tipped off the edge of his glove and the inning continued. Congrats on a great season by the JV Birds. Lots to look forward to next year for this group -- some at Varsity (where only 1 SR starter is leaving) and others for another year of "seasoning" at JV. BTW -- Great hustle play by the Eagles CF to end the game. On a routine fly ball to LF, instead of running to celebrate with the RF, CF busted his hump to back up so that when the LF realized he had misplayed the ball and it was going to land behind him, the CF was able to dive and catch the ball for the 3rd out.

Better chance mid-SEP than end of OCT when it last happened and the Baby Birds made the trip to Boyle Co. to replace them.