Homerun

Sometimes factors like this are helpful in the transition to college life. I saw him pitch in the Junior East/West All Star Game and he did a very good job.

Congratulations to Ryan. He is a very talented young man (including an outstanding student). It’s great to see three players already commit to the Division I level. There are a number of other college prospects on the team, including DI. Hopefully the Tigers can put the pieces together.

I wish the young man the very best. I remember seeing this article about Craig Breslow, a pitcher on the Oakland Athletics (Link:http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-breslow091410 ) . He's a Yale graduate. Division I sports can be very time consuming. I've heard that pitchers, in a way, have a lot more flexibility in their scheduling of college classes to try to take more challenging course work. Between travel and practice, it can be hard to make time to study and do demanding course work.

Any names mentioned?

Who pitched for each team?

Here's The Courier-Journal's article. Tompkins' no-hitter leads St. X to 4-0 win http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100519/SPORTS05/5190434/1002/sports/Tompkins++no-hitter+leads+St.+X+to+4-0+win

Any word if there are any games being played this morning? Is rain preventing getting it in?

Congratulations

If St. X got 3 outs in the 7th inning, maybe this question would not be even be brought up. Debating some decisions like a “Monday morning quarterback” is different than while the game is going on. Another perspective is the St. X may have felt comfortable with the success Tompkins was having and that Loehnert has had before that Loehnert would get the 3 outs and the win. Who knows, could St. X even have wanted to give Loehnert the opportunity to shine? (There were college coaches present.) Sometimes things just don’t go as expected and it’s easier to second guess them after the fact.

Thompkins has outstanding natural throwing motion. He has a downward plane to his fastball as well as movement. He is left-handed and about 6’ 1”. He has made substantial progress from last year and I believe will continue to improve more and more. He has had very limited formal pitching instruction. I believe that he will add velocity, skill to his off-speed pitches, and more over-all consistency with time and training. He likes baseball, has a very good attitude, and is willing to work hard. He is a bright young man and does very well in honor classes. Spalding is a hard-throwing right-hander who has hit 92 mph on the radar gun this spring. The upside about Spalding is that he can contribute in so many different ways. Besides on the mound, he adds at the plate, running bases, and in the field. I am not for sure why Spalding was not used as a closer in the Lexington Catholic game. (In fact, I think that Spalding’s best role on the mound may be as a closer.) I would like to hear the coaching staff’s reason; but one possible explanation might be that Loehnert was a DH and might be more easily warmed up?

St. X provides a recap of games under the “Teams/Schedules” section of the website under “Athletics.” If the score is clicked, the recap appears. For Lexington Catholic, the recap states: “The varsity baseball team lost a heart breaking 4 to 3 decision at number one ranked Lexington Catholic Thursday night. It was the Tigers first loss this year by one run, making them 9-1 in these clutch games. Matt Spalding sparked the Tigers early with his 3rd home run of the season to put St. X up 2-0 in the 4th. After LexCath answered with one run in the bottom of the 4th, the Tigers let a golden opportunity slip away to put the game away. Ryan Loehnert's infield single put the Tigers up 3-1 and gave them runners on 2nd and 3rd. But the Tigers were denied on three straight batters to pad their lead and the Knights would make them pay for their lack of execution. The Knights got their leadoff man on in the top of the 7th and chased starter Ian Tompkins who pitched nicely recording 6 strikeouts. After loading the bases the Knights scored on a double and then pushed a single pass the drawn in infield to secure the win. The Tigers record stands at 19-6 as they head to Owensboro Catholic for a double header on Saturday against the Aces and then Lloyd Memorial. The Tigers return from their 2 week road trip on Monday for a 3 game homestand.” The link to this section of their website is: http://www.saintx.com/page.cfm?p=304&teamID=21

Baseball is a funny game. At any level, one game situations can vary. One factor that may provide insight is that in the second game of the day, St. X had a number of players go to a prom after the first game with Owensboro Catholic.

Congratulations. Great article. Yes, I would love to see pictures, too.

This article was in The Courier-Journal this morning. Benefit in teen's honor planned after accidents forge bond between two families http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100208/NEWS01/2080352/1008/NEWS01/Benefit+in+teen+s+honor+planned+after+accidents+forge+bond+between+two+families

Holy Cross in upset.

I have tried to read most the posts in this thread, but I have not read them all. I do not know if someone has also mentioned what I am about to. First, coaching does matter at St. X and Trinity. Both schools have very good coaches and a system that develops players. But what I have not seen posted is the ability of a coach at these schools to handle other aspects of the job. For instance, Calipari was in Frankfort last week to address the legislature and then also promoted and raised over one million dollars for Haiti relief funding. Billy Gillespie didn’t seem comfortable, or have the ability, to do those things. At X, the football coaches have the ability to teach skills, but there is also more to the job. Not anybody could do some of those things.

I have not kept up with the discussion about Redman; but with the story in the paper, I have not seen a couple of things. First, would he now be eligible for retirement and a pension from JCPS? But probably more importantly, Male is busting out at the seams in student enrollment. I have heard it is harder to get student/athletes into Male as it use to be. One post talked about “losing athletes to Central.” It might be as much or more as the difficulty of getting into Male.

Papa, I’m baffled by your response. Where do you get your information? “If this is the case than why does KBC consistently play teams in Kentucky that are high school teams and why do they play in many tournaments that are largely made up by high school teams?” - I followed the 16U KBC team closely last year and I cannot remember that team playing one high school team at all. I do not remember that team even playing one high school team in any tournament. They did play in a 16U National Championship in Atlanta. Some played in a WWBA World Underclass Championship in Ft. Myers, FL. “KBC plays more and plays through the dead period and that maybe the biggest difference between them and high school summer teams.” - This statement makes me wonder about your understanding of travel baseball and what the real differences are.

Quite amazing for Trinity to win three big tournaments like they have.

Wow.

Roundballfanatic, thanks for your input. First of all, this thread actually discusses a complex situation with Coach Hammond and touches on a number of points. It is sadly ironic that the coach is being inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend (?) and being fired from his job this week as well. I do not know a lot about Coach Hammond, but it sounds like he has put in a lot of time over the years and accomplished a lot. Really, I believe that his firing and this discussion touches on a number of things: the transfer rule, how the KHSAA operates, the integration of travel ball and high school ball, politics, and how the high school baseball world is changing as well. I do not agree with a lot of the changes in the job and profession that I have, but they have occurred and are not going back to the way things use to be. The Courier-Journal just not too long ago cost 25 cents and was relatively thick. Now the paper costs 80 cents (I do not see many, if any, paper machines any more that you could get them for 75 cents) and is very thin. The point is that the world is changing and not necessarily in ways that I like—but I am striving to accept some things because they are not going back to the way that they were. I know of only one high school coach that has the reputation and clout to obtain scholarships for his players on his word alone—at least that is the way it use to happen. I am not for sure if it is still the same or not now. Maybe Coach Hammond is one of those coaches. A lot of colleges take the input from high school coaches with a grain (or chunk) of salt. With that being said, college baseball coaches see a lot more players during the summer and fall in their off-season than during their and the high school’s regular season. The same has happened in basketball. The coaches would rather go to one place to see many quality players than go to one school to basically see one player. I have heard some colleges use Monday’s during their season when they don’t have a game of their own to go to a high school game. Otherwise, it might be the playoffs or a tournament on the weekend that colleges could see a player during the season. I am not saying that I agree with this—just that it is occurring. “I do not agree that KBA or any other organization offers more exposure than the Henry Clay baseball program.” Some high level travel teams (not just any team), as well as organizations like Perfect Game, have a lot more ability to increase exposure for a quality player than the majority of high school coaches. Colleges do not use Perfect Game as an end all, but I think that an objective third party evaluation can be valuable for the college to have. The organizations that I am talking about have a lot more ability to network with colleges and pro scouts than the vast amount of high school coaches. “They have always played a top notch summer schedule…” The summer schedule for high school teams, sadly, is very inferior to travel teams as far as competition. Too, the high level travel teams have high quality players with aspirations beyond high school. Their effort and attitude before and during the game is much different that the high school games that I have witnessed. The travel teams have problems of their own, including their role in arm injuries, but I don’t think it comes close when comparing schedules. I use to be thankful that my son chose to focus on baseball because it was a “blue collar” sport; but the high the level he has played, the more costly and bigger sacrifice it has become. I get frustrated with baseball and the changes going on. Travel teams and participation in showcases, acquiring lessons, and equipment can be very expensive. I do wish Coach Hammond well. It seems like he has given quality service over many years.

Foolish statement. Not based on reality.

Really good points by cooperstown. First, the feel of the bats can be much different. It is amazing how 3 different 33" x 30 ounce bats can feel so much different. My son found that he liked the feel of the Easton blue Stealth bat the best. It swings much more like the wood bat he uses. The point also about how a certain amount of wear to a composite bat can help. I did not know that until last year. I guess there is an art to determine when the bat is finished. The Stealth has a different sound when the ball comes off of it versus some other bats.

Our deepest sympathy to Ethan and his family. May God be with them at this difficult time.

Good comeback. I know that this is a discussion about “virtual football,” but a lot of the comments after the state tournament about Highlands have been out of touch with reality.