Park1221

Eastern beat Male 4-1. The coach at St. X said that Male was the best team in the state and the 7th region champion would have to knock off Male. That either means Eastern is the best in the region or he inflated Male's worth after knocking off his own team.

Male was the real deal...best hitting team in the 7th and maybe the state. Male ran into Spencer Drake (UK bound) today and Spencer got the best of them. Its baseball. St.X escaped by Trinity 4-2...Spalding pitched and hit a 3 run bomb for the difference.

Senior night was a great night for Ian Tompkins of St.X--he recorded all 15 outs via strikeout during his 5 innings of work last night against a pretty decent Oldham County team. He did give up a hit in the first inning and allowed a couple of walks. X won 10-0 in 6.

Very impressive win for the Tigers over the #1 team in Alabama 5A.

After getting double dipped Friday night by a very good Madison Academy team it was an impressive bounce back win. The 5-3 win over Thompson Al the next game was equally impressive as it was basically an all junior lineup (Trumbo, McFarland, and Denzik on the hill) Tiger QB Mattingly provided the go ahead run with a solo homer.

Can't wait to hear from 58Bulldogs.

Sorry Marley, been on vacation. What would you like to hear? Homerun gave an accurate synopsis and I don't have much to add. Bottom line is that Moeller and Noblesville played better and deserved the wins. X bounced back tonight with a 6-2 win in Cincy over previously unbeaten Cincy X. Spalding went 5 ip, 8 K's, 2 runs, 0 ER. In my opinion Moeller and Cincy X are evenly matched teams. It will be interesting to see who wins the GCL.

X has a very nice pitching staff. But they are not a lock to win 7th region, much less state.

Spalding throws Strikes!

Spalding was 92-94 yesterday in intrasquad...topped at 96. His teammate Ian Tompkins hit 91. The 3 bottom of the rotation/bullpen Tigers (Loehnert, Clooney and Mercer) sat between 84-88 and topped at 89. 3 pro scouts in attendance with radar guns. By the way, Perfect game has Louisville St.X ranked #28 in the nation preseason. Marley, I believe Moeller was ranked #48.

Give me a kid who can change speeds, throw strikes while keeping the ball low, has a nickel curve and hits the corners time after time while understanding that there is a art to pitching and I will take that "pitcher" any day over your 90 mph "thrower"! You don't have to be a flame thrower to keep the other team off the bases, just a kid who understands how to pitch, who has control and isn't afraid to challenge the hitters with junk and makes the hitters pop up or ground out to his infielders!

Good points...there have been many tough crafty pitchers that don't throw hard who have had great high school careers. Perhaps we should start a thread about the pitchers with best command or best off speed. As to hard throwers, the players mentioned on here (Spalding, Shepherd, Hollon, etc.) are not just hard throwers. They know how to pitch and know where the ball is going when it leaves their hand. I"ll take the kid throwing 90 on the corners over the kid throwing 79 or 80 on corners.

58Bulldogs you need to educate yourself. First of all people in the ninth region thread were talking about ninth region players not kids from around the state. Secondly, you have named six kids that throw 90 plus that is a very small percentage of high school pitchers in Ky. Also if I want to watch big time high school baseball I will go across the ohio river and watch teams like moeller.

Quote from Marley in the 9th Region thread: "Like I have said before very few player are throwing in the eighty. Two weeks ago at a showcase at Champions, and out fifty pitcher's only five or six were hitting in the eighty and three were from NKY, Shumate, Sexton and Cottingham."

Marley, before I posted anything in the 9th region thread you made the above post and expanded the discussion to pitchers outside of the 9th Region to pitchers you saw at a Champions Showcase. So, my friend, it was YOU, not I, that began talking about pitchers outside the 9th Region. I took simply took issue with your statement that "very few players are throwing in the eighty(sic)."

As to having to go across the river to watch "big time high school baseball" to watch teams like Moeller, I understand your point. Louisville X will travel through the entire 9th Region to play Moeller in early April.

Condor, Rew2, Beanie,

My apologies...this was my attempt at humor. I was being sarcastic. I had previously posted about Spalding in the 9th Region thread and was immediately bashed by 5 or 6 people who suggested I was either lying or confused because I had been in a blimp over Arizona watching a Spring Training game when I saw Spalding throwing in the 90s and three other Tigers in the 80's.

Beanie, just look at the thread re 9th region so you can be educated on how hard kids can really throw.

Matt Spalding hit 95 mph multiple times last Saturday during an inter-squad St X scrimmage

Well Mr. Beanie, you must be new around here because you are apparently not familiar with Rule 3 of BGP which prohibits posting false or misleading information. I've been informed on here that no pitchers in the entire Commonwealth in Kentucky can throw in the 90's except for a pitcher from UK, Alex Meyer. You sure you weren't at a major league spring training game when you saw 95?

I like what you are saying. I wish Coach all the luck in the world like I said earlier but lets be real you still need to WIN!! The one thing that people are not saying or telling is what Coach told the people who helped him get the job that he is not following through with now. I am out of this debate and moving on to better things!!

"lets be real you still need to WIN!!" And you do that by letting kids leave the team for Spring Break??? Is it your position that Coach Baioni doesn't want to win? Do you think he has some hidden agenda in forbidding players to go to the beach during the season? Or, do you really in all seriousness and sincerity, all kidding aside, really and truly believe that the key ingredient in building a winning high school baseball program is sending kids to the beach for a week after the season starts? If the latter is your position, please tell us of a recent high school success story that follows this recipe for winning. Or, this just hit me, are you just annoyed that you can't go to Coconut Joes's this Spring?

At Highlands yes the players would give up Thanksgiving for a trip to State it happen's every year. Now back to baseball I was sitting watching the UK basketball game last nite with my good friend Mr. Myerhof from Beechwood and for all you out there that want to know Larrimore is about 80% healthy however, not when it comes to batting he is well at 100%. Also I personally asked him about high shool pitchers pitching consistantly 80 to 85 mph. Hog wash it does not happen that often in high school if it did alot of kids would not be able to hit it. Just my two cents from a good knowledgeable person that knows what he talks about. Yes he also approved me in answering these questions. JD

When you say "hog wash it does not happen that often in high school"...define "often". If by "often" you mean less than 50% of ALL the fastball pitches thrown this year by ALL the high school pitchers will be less than 80 mph I would probably agree. But 80 to 85 is a very hittable pitch and if someone tracked all the pitches thrown this year there would be over a 1000 pitches thrown this year in Kentucky at 80 or greater.

Who says a kid is going to party? Do you let your kids drink and act crazy? We sure do not. Just because a kid wants to go on spring break with his family or church group does not mean he is drinker or a bad kid!

I said nothing remotely suggesting that kids who go on spring break are "bad kids." It's a simple decision, play baseball for your school or go on Spring Break and do whatever. If you don't want to play competitive baseball, go on Spring Break, come back and join a recreational team. I am aware that there are schools who treat baseball and some other spring sports as a semi-competitive venture and allow their spring athletes to go on spring break. My daughter runs track and she is going on Spring Break. She elected to be on the school's B team which means they go on Spring Break and do not travel with team for weekend meets. She's doing it for fun and to stay in shape. My son on the other hand plays baseball and will not be joining his Mom, Sis and the rest of Louisville in Destin, Fl. He's been to the beach many times before and knows the beach will be there when the season's over. That's fine for those semi-competitive schools who choose to honor the non-federal holiday of Spring Break. But I assure you that the PRP's, Apollo's and Lex Cath's of the world don't allow their baseball players to take off for Spring Break.

Not even if the trip is sponsored by a fundamentalist Baptist Church with a 100 adult chaperones would Bill Miller at PRP allow a player to miss a week of baseball for Spring Break.

Let me get this straight, HHS has a rule that if you abandon your team and go on Spring Break to party that you can't play baseball? Sounds egregious. What next, football players have to practice during the Thanksgiving Holidays?

Which Champions are you talking about, the one in Cincinnati only had 15 Schools and 2 major league scouts. And it was not called the Ohio Valley Showcase so try again.

Marley, Champions in Lexington held the Ohio Valley Showcase. No need for anyone to "try again".

Please. There is noone in the state of Kentucky that is throwing like that. Chandler Sheppard has the best arm and I know he is not throwing like that right now. Only Alex Meyer from UK is throwing 95 and he is going to be a first round pick. Whoever had that gun for the hs kid that was throwing 95 needs to get it calibrated for the new season.[\

 

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=116572

 

Walrus, since you said "please" I posted the perfect game link about Spalding.

Sportsfan, apology accepted. Leonhnert is the only UK signee. Spalding and LHP Tompkins are both WKU signees.

TOG, you're usually pretty knowledgeable so I'll forgive you too.

My point in posting was not to toot St.X's horn (that's why I didn't mention the school or player names until TOG suggested I was low down dirty liar) but to defend the poster who said a couple 9th region kids were throwing in the 80's after it was suggested that "not many kids throw eighty."

It's Louisville ST.X.. Two of the 80s kids pitched and beat cov cath two years ago, TOG should remember. Spalding is the 90s kid. Padres had a scout there with a stalker gun and I was not in a blimp, I stood right beside him. Just google matt spalding and you will see that perfect game had him throwing 91 to 95 in jupiter this fall.

Very few player throw in the Eighty. Maybe the radar guns need to be checked.

Watched an intrasquad scrimmage last saturday and the first 4 pitchers all threw in the 80's except 1, and he was in the 90's. The 90's kid topped at 95. The 80's kids topped at 88, 85 and 83. 80's is not uncommon in this day and age. I would venture to say that most of the top 20 teams in the state will have multiple pitchers throwing in the 80's.

T will win 24-10, BTW how is Ballard the best public school in the state when Male beat them and only lost to X with 18 seconds to go. Ballard has a fine team but it amazes me how even after the Dawgs beat them and go 6-2 so far, how they still are not mentioned as the best public school this season.

I posted earlier this year that I thouhgt Ballard would be better than Male....but based on the head to head meeting it makes no sense that Ballard is ranked higher.

Jimmy, Glaser did not encourage Ryan Leohnart to play fall baseball. He wanted him to play football, but not at quarterback which happens to be his best position. Had Ryan been given a chance to compete for the QB job he would have played football. From my experience, Glaser does not discourage multi-sport participation. Beatty is dealing with and has dealt with the multi-sport issue as well with Brohm, Robey, Quick, Hatcher, Nix, (and the kid who went to Morehead to play baseball, name escapes me). I will agree that in the last couple years there have been several key freshmen football starters at St.X who have elected to forego football for their "meal ticket" sports of basketball, baseball, etc...(Matt Spalding would have been a great WR or DB and Clooney could have helped the Dline)That's not a reflection on Glaser, it's a reflection on how competitive and year around many non-football sports have become.

Trinity is an injury away to Wright to being on the level with St.X and a couple other teams. Much like X last year when Brian B. was injured.

I disagree. T's backup, Wolfe, is very good and actually has the stronger arm. Besides that, our offense was responsbile for the lopsided victory, not Wright.

RHP/Utility from Louisville St.X committed to UK last week. X now has three senior pitchers that have committed to D1 schools (Spalding and Tompkins to WKU).