northernkysportfan

A catcher that would consistantly be a closer??? I believe you are asking for arm problems, unless they find a way for him to rest every other day. Maile will not close, he will catch, hit, and do some more catching and hitting.

I believe most schools are required to play there conference opponents atleast once along with district opponents once. So that probably takes up about 12-15 games on your schedule. There non-conference/ district schedule was pretty good, and i dont think you realize that they played the state champs 3 times. That alone has to improve your SOS. Good arguement though since last years schedule means absolutely nothing.

I think Shover may have been drawn away by the politics at CCH. I believe he was a better ball player than Holocher, yet for some reason he didnt start or play much:rolleyes:. I hear if you donate money you may buy your son a starting spot. Thats what i have been told.

Dont let DiamondDandy recieve word of this, he would be very unhappy if he knew that his Ryle Raiders were in for destruction this season.:sssh:

The state may have a better handle on the polls than the NKY polls. In the nky poll boone is ranked #3. This tells me that either nky is relatively weak other than 2 teams above them, or that the coaches do not know what they are talking about. I will have to agree that ryle will finish 3rd this year behind Cov Cath and Beechwood. I think it will be Cov Cath, Beechwood, Ryle, and Highlands at the top at the end of this year, but heck lets get this crappy weather out of here so we can play some games!:dancingpa

I have heard and seen Bertke's name a lot on BGP and just saw it in the paper today. I dont know what the deal is, are there some very bias opinions? Sounds like coachg13207 knows him well and has seen him play. Do you have any information on Bertke for us coach???

Boone at the 3 spot is a little suspect. 2 players wont win you every game.

Thornsburg 6'2"???? Wow he must have shot up about 3 inches in the last week since i saw him at practice. Its amazing how fast kids grow these days.

Word around town is stretching it a little bit to say the least, low 80's at best. The tigers may be lead by young Josh Bertke who is only a freshman! He pitched "a lot" of innings last year according to Bob Myerhoff in the paper, he should be a dominant force on the mound.

I am pretty sure everybody is "thinking" right now on if they are going to be good or not. Nobody is sure of anything because they have not proved themselves. You cant say they are good or bad if they haven't played a game yet. I don't buy any "they look good in practice" stuff because you aren't facing another team. It will be interesting to see how they do. I see them as 3rd or 4th best team in the 9th.

That starting rotation looks good, another option is Gohs at 3rd, Larrimore at SS, Slusher at 1st (as i thought he played a lot there last year). They seem to have a good amount of depth in the infield this year and should have about 12 players that could start on any given day.

Highlands pitchers also include Oliver Head and i believe there 1B/ DH. Big kid, cant think of the name though. I agree with your statement of Highlands will need more than one pitcher to win region. If Highlands can save Towles for a big game in the region they stand a chance of getting to the finals. They will need someone to step up on the mound to get them a W against average teams.

1a. Beechwood- Having 8 starters returning with a full season of experience really helps. This team will rely on pitching and defense. When it comes down to a big game in the 9th region i dont see anybody being able to beat Elliott when he is on the mound. 1b. Cov Cath- They have a great junior class this year, there only problem may be senior leadership. You see alot of succesful teams have great senior leadership; this team doesnt have that. Cov cath will be typical cov cath with solid defense and making the typical plays that give them a chance to win against anybody. 2. Highlands- Kind of a bold prediction here but i think the bird will have a very good season with Senior pitcher Thomas Towells on the mound who throws 84-87mph consistantly, they should be tough to beat. 3. Ryle- There has been a lot of hype about this team, and i think many people have them better than they really are. They lose around 12 seniors from last years team and i believe 8 starters? There JV program has been successful, but lets be realistic here. JV baseball is nothing like varsity baseball.

Back to the game tomorrow. I see Holmes coming out flat for the first quarter, and possibly the entire half. Halftime score I predict to be around 31-27 Holmes. I think the Bulldogs regroup at halftime and blow out the tigers in the second half. Holmes- 71 Beechies- 48

I heard that Nate Snyder and Stu Jackson can throw it down pretty good as well for the tigers. I dont know if my source is reliable but he did say both players are around 6'3". Still nobody can beat Arrez Henderson IMO. After seeing him catch the ball along the baseline against Highlands, taking one step, then a 2 hand flush, I was amazed how quick and high he got up.

I sure hope he can dunk lol. I dont think him or Maile are anywhere near the top 5 dunkers of the 9th region. I think I can speak for everyone when I say Ii'd rather see a dunk by 6'1" Arrez Henderson than 6'8" Luke Mace. It is much better to see shorter players dunk. It looks much better.

Beechwood- you can take their starting line up and put it against any small school and they would win 99% of the time. They have many quality players and over half of there starting line up can/will play college baseball. They have the best starting pitching rotation of the small schools, and maybe top in NKY with Elliott, Hadden, Smith, and Snyder. Villa- i think the name is Brian Hamilton, and he is fine ball player. He had a few arm problems in the past but he has since recovered from them. Heritage- catcher Nick Elwart is a great player and i have been told that he is getting some good college looks. Brossart- Josh Anderson is a great hitter and adds power to brossart's lineup.

Do we have any updates on this game?

Yeah, I could see Holmes beating Conner by 30+ if they come out playing how they can. If they come out cold and play lazy, Conner could keep it within 15 or 20.

I think Beechwood also chose it to be at Holmes, hoping that if Holmes does beat them (very likely) they will have home court and beat CCH or HC so atleast there is a chance that a NKY team can win state. Also if i remember back in the 90's i dont think Beechwood and Cov Cath like eachother that much, atleast they didnt in football. So if i am Beechwood and want to pick someone to host the districts i pick Holmes for a few reasons. 1) Biggest gym 2) Holmes actually has a legit chance at winning state 3) You never give your rival (CCH) home court advantage 4) HC gym is just too small

If Boone can handle the press of Holmes, then they stay in this game but still lose by 7-12 points. If they cant handle the press i see Holmes winning by 15-20. Holmes-67 Boone-53 On a side note, they are predicting snow tomorrow night, hopefully they dont cancel the game. I would be very upset!

I now understand why Holmes' coach doesn't allow them to dunk in warm-ups. Its because they have a tendancy to miss many layups. Not that it really matters, but when Holmes inbounded it with 1.7 sec left, there was IMO a definant foul by Highlands that i dont see how the officials missed. Can't complain about the officiating, they did a great job Thursday night. Even if Highlands has Stein, Simpson, and McGraw healthy, i still think Holmes is better by 10 points. Most of NKY knows that Holmes did not play well for the first 3 quarters last night. Arrez and Ricardo make for a deadly combination. I must say that I have never seen a 6 ft gaurd like Arrez that can catch the ball, take one dribble, then throw it down 2 handed. Holmes is very athletic and they really hurt you on the boards unless you are physical and clear them out. Highlands played pretty good Thursday night with the exception of Free Throw shooting. Thats one of the things that has to be preached over and over. You have to hit the free throws down the stretch.

They arent bad when they have something to cheer about, but like games when they play holmes, and when they are losing by 40, u cant blame the students for being quiet.

Beechwood played Cov Cath pretty close earlier in the season without Romes playing and @ Cov Cath. Beechwood hosts districts this year i believe and if they get CCH i could see a potential upset. Romes not only adds his 12-15 points a game but also makes the tigers better all around.

Somewhat good??? 19 points and 14 rebounds is just "somewhat good"? I bet you cant name 1 player in the 9th that has had that type of game this season and have someone say "he had a somewhat good game". I dont know what you expect Sorrell to do, i guess some fans expect 30 and 20 out of him. Give the kid some credit, he played a great game and is definantly a top 3 player in the region.