cooperstown

Wow, in reading jpa's scoring summary, it sounds like NCC handed this game away. I don't believe HHS scored a single earned run. That's the stuff that'll drive coaches crazy!

Why is that?

Watched one Conner player (won't mention name) yesterday throw his bat so hard after popping up that it almost hit his on-deck batter. As he was stomping towards the dugout, the guy next to me said "I'll bet we get to see a helmet toss as well." Sure, enough, took off his helmet and flung it in the dugout. That being said, seems to be the exception and not the rule. I have always been extremely impressed with Arlo's demeanor on the field and I'm sure he expects the same from his players.

Boys Varsity Baseball HighSchoolSports.net-Massey Top 25 Ratings HighSchoolSports.net is the nation's #1 internet site devoted to high school sports and is connected with the Massey Ratings. NKY schools of note: #4 Covington Catholic #19 Ryle #30 Dixie Heights #40 Boone County #43 Holy Cross

OK. Thought as much, just making sure. :thumb: I would agree. Decent pitcher, but not special. Certainly would be of value to Conner in the tournament, however. Shame he was unable to accept his role. And your comment about "Little Timmy's" parents is spot on.

I can't help but ask - are you serious about this? Do you think he's a draftable player?

Indeed. There are situations when it is a worthy risk, but it has to be right. As TOG pointed out, St. Henry would probably not be a worthwhile risk because they have a very good pitcher that can cool down good offenses. Ryle played them twice this year and only won 5-2 and 3-2. Not as certain about Highlands and could see someone taking a calculated risk there. Generally speaking, I am also usually of the mindset that you can't win the next game if you're not playing in it. I can remember a couple of tournaments as a coach in which I had perfectly strategized to save my ace in the championship game. Slightly disappointing when we watched that game from the bleachers. Though at least my ace's arm was totally fresh for the next league game during the week.

Someone needs to tell Conner that if the bunt defense they are going to use with a runner on second base is charge their already-pulled in 3Bman, have the SS attempt to hold the 2B runner at the bag and then try to wheel him over to third to cover the base (and catch any throw from the catcher on a dead run, if the catcher even bothers with a throw), they are going to give up a ton of free steals on fake bunts. Not an effective bunt coverage at all.

Certainly not with Maines pitching. I am wondering, however, were the two kids that threw tonight (Herman and Ross) their #2 and #3 guys?

Ryle run-rules Conner in 6 innings to win District 33 championship. Conner jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after 2 innings, but it was all Ryle after that, as they absolutely crushed the ball in innings 3 through 6. Mitch Lawson gets the win for Ryle. Other than the second inning when he gave up a couple walks and hits (3 runs), he was in control the rest of the game.

A good general rule to follow, but not an absolute. You certainly have to take into some consideration the quality of your opponent and the overall the depth of your staff. If Newport would upset Highlands tonight and advance to the region, I'll bet there's a good chance some teams would go with their #2 pitcher.

And Lloyd. But the vast body of their work over the last few weeks has been pretty impressive. As far as their pitching staff, I don't know. But they just put up two TD's and two 2-point conversions on the board against Boone. Hit like that and you don't need a ton of pitching. :lol:

Sac bunt redemption opportunity.

Sounds like someone didn't get down a sac bunt.

Should be a terrific game tomorrow between Ryle and Conner. Conner has caught fire at the right time of year. Ryle will have their work cut out for them and need to bring their hitting sticks. I assume Nelson goes for Conner?

For a team that doesn't take their baseball serious, they certainly have a nice history of success.

I don't think Friday night is even an option - Freedom has a home game. I think it makes sense they will use Thursday night and if weather is a problem, move the game back to Friday early afternoon so as not to conflict with the Freedom game. The draw for the tournament is on Saturday, I believe.

Probably is correct, as the Freedom plays at home on Friday. Not to say a game couldn't be played there earlier in the day, but just guessing they'd schedule it for Thursday to avoid any potential conflict, as well as give them a safety net in the event of bad weather.

A little harsh. Pretty clear he made an error of judgement in doing the game and should have let the assignor know about the conflict, but it's not exactly the crime of the century. I know the guy a little bit - I don't think he was there to help ensure Ludlow would come out the winner. It certainly appears he made a mistake, but I just don't think it's an unforgiveable sin.

Coach Sanders knows a thing or two about effectively running a baseball team. Perhaps he could have a sit-down with the girls' softball coach and teach him a thing or fifty.

Maybe, but this issue tends to get minimized a bit playing at Freedom. Unless it's an all-day hard rain, they are generally going to be playing ball there as scheduled.

He doesn't throw soft, that's for certain. I thought he was absolutely bringing it last night. A couple weeks ago he was gunned at Midland (Ryle played Milford there) throwing 85-86 mph. I don't personally think he was throwing that hard earlier in the year, but seems to have gotten stronger as the season progressed. He throws both his curveball and changeup for strikes. What ultimately makes him so tough, however, is that he lives - and I mean he absolutely lives - at the knees. He also has a terrific demeanor on the mound - kid doesn't seem to get bothered by anything.

I was told late last night the name of the umpire involved. I have always considered him a very good umpire and, although I can't claim to know him extremely well, a good guy as well. I just don't believe that he intentionally slanted calls in favor of Ludlow. That being said, he still should have recused himself from this game assignment knowing there was the appearance of a conflict of interest. I think what likely happened is that he made some close calls that just so happened to go against Villa and suddently this conflict of interest is now brought to the forefront. I don't disagree that it's a legitimate gripe for Villa fans, but truly don't believe this ump would intentionally bias his calls because of his nephew.

Downs is one of the better pitchers to come along in NKY in several years. I liken him to Isler in his senior year at CCH (Isler was pretty much untouchable). He now has a 9-1 record on the year (only loss was 3-1 to St. X), has an ERA of 1.00, and 75 K's in 63 innings. And has earned these stats pitching against the likes of #3 St. X, #11 Bryan Station, #13 Danville, #18 Bullitt East, #24 Boone County, Milford, Conner, and Campbell County. Pretty solid opposition. Guess there's a reason why he was recruited at the high D1 level.

Do you know for an absolute fact that the umpire was the shortstop's uncle or did they just have the same last name? If truly related, the assignor for the 9th Region made a serious mistake.