Baseball Journal

[brock ratcliff]

Sounds like all is well in the baseball world! Congratulations to all of you.
After having received a "come to Jesus" speech and a bit of work, my boys got it together. They beat "the team" last night, and they beat them unmercifully! We will be having an early morning practice Saturday to brush up on a few items, but honestly if they continue to know and perform their rolls as they did last night, they should be eating ice cream the rest of the year.
One of the most exciting things seen last night was two long drives into the outfield by our opponents. They did not expect to be thrown out at 2nd, both were. At this age, its assumed the outfield is going to be weak - not our's. Those boys have worked hard on fielding and making quick, precise throws directly to 2nd, and it paid off. By the third inning, the other team wouldn't even attempt to turn for 2nd! .
These boys are learning and I'm pretty darn proud of 'em!

 

[bowhunter1023]

We managed to follow up beating Athens with an 11-3 win over the #5 team in the state and #1 team in our district Miami Trace last Tuesday. We scored early and rode a 3-1 score from the 2nd in to the bottom half of the 6th. MT tied the game on a couple crazy plays and it appeared we were once again in big trouble. Then we erupted for 8 runs in one of the most incredible innings I've ever seen. The first run of the inning was scored when our center fielder bullfrog leaped over the catcher who came down the line to catch the ball. It was spectacular! Later in the inning, the center fielder hit a bases loaded triple. Kid is full of D1 talent, unfortunately he is dyslexic and has trouble in school.

We came back on Thursday to play the #3 team in the bracket in Washington Courthouse. We throttled them from start to finish and won a district championship 11-3. Tomorrow night we travel to Gant Municipal Stadium in Zanesville to face the Cadiz - Harrison Central in the regional semis. (This would have been Mike's school had they won out; so how crazy would that have been!) We can beat HC as long as we hit fastballs and don't get pysch'd out by a 6'6" lefty who looks like Snoop Dog. The stars are lining up and we have a real chance to play for a state title. One game at a time and we might realize some dreams!

 

[Big H]

SWEET! Keep it going Jesse!

 

[cotty16]

Jesse, I had it all lined up to get out of my workshop early tomorrow so I could make it and now it's not going to happen. All kinds of crap going on at home that are interfering. Best of luck to you guys! I'll be following on Twitter

 

[finelyshedded]

Awesome stuff Jesse! Good luck to your team from here on out buddy!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Good luck, Jesse!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Anyone ever seen a serious pitching duel between two 9-10 year olds? We won last night 1-0. Our boy threw a no hitter, and we only had two hits! That was an exciting, yet boring game for little league. I'll probably never see that again!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Dang Brock, that is one for the ages! Congrats on a great win!!!

 

[Fluteman]

Good luck today Jesse!

That's pretty awesome stuff Brock!

 

[Buckmaster]

My team is now 5-1. I'm surprised by their growing talent since day one. I must have drafted the right kids none of which I knew at the time.
I drafted under the assumptions of quality parents and hot moms.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Our season is over after a rough 3-0 loss last night. They kid we faced ate our lunch. In reality, their crowd beat us. They brought 2 charter bus loads of people and a students section. I think it really fooled with our kids, not to mention a 6'6" lefty that was unlike anything they have ever seen. Still a hell of a ride and the boys should be proud.

 

[cotty16]

A district appearance is a great season. A regional appearance is an awesome season! Congrats on a great showing Jesse.

Keep them kids rolling Ben

 

[finelyshedded]

Like Mike says, still a heck of a great season Jesse! Congrats buddy!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Congratulations on a great season!

 

[cotty16]

I am one proud dad right now.

Last year, and years before, Kody was very mediocre. In fact, last year, he was one of the kids who played half of the game and struck out most of the time. he showed signs of it clicking, but it wasn't consistent.
This year... on Saturday morning he hit his 5th homer of the season and is second in the Ohio Valley Baseball League, behind a kid from Chester, WV for the league lead. His shot Saturday was a moonshot that landed on the second base bag of the opposite field. He is just murdering the ball and I am so happy for him. He's also becoming a pretty damn good catcher too. He blocks balls and throws guys out. Just solid all around. It's really cool having people come up to us and talk about how much he has improved. In fact, he was a unanimous choice for the tournament team. He never made one before and I think it is very rewarding to him.

My other son, Klay bats leadoff and is consistent with 3 or 4 hits a game. It has always come easier to him and I think that frustrated Kody even more. Klay did not get picked for the tournament team this year, but it's ok. There's a solid bunch of 12 year olds that made it and he's only 11. He will have his chance next year.

Tomorrow, we play in the league semifinals. We were the number 2 seed out of 16 teams and have won our first two playoff games. Hopefully we keep rolling.

Sorry for bragging on the boys, but the way Kody has turned things around I just had to brag on him a bit. Lol

 

[Buckmaster]

We're almost done with our season....just one game left on Thursday. My team is now 10-2. We lost to the same team twice which is of the next age bracket. It's nice to see what we'll look like two years from now.

 

[aholdren]

That's awesome Mike and you should brag, it sounds like he has put a lot of work in during the offseason. Congrats to you and your boys.
My boy is swinging a real good bat right now and got asked to play on a 9-10 year old tournament team that is made up of 12 boys and Austin is the youngest, he just turned 9 in March. They played in Athens this past weekend and finished first in the A pool. He will not see a lot of field time but Im hoping he enjoys his opportunity to play with a group of some very athletic boys and learns from it.

 

[Fluteman]

That is great stuff Mike and Aaron! I remember the first time I was selected for all-stars. I really had to work hard to be good at ball, because it just didn't come natural to me, so being selected really felt good. I'm glad things are clicking with both your alls boys!

 

[cotty16]

Thanks guys! Aaron, I hope your boy enjoys the experience. It can only make him better.

Ben, good luck in the season finale.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Good to hear fellas! I know how it must feel Mike, so enjoy it brother!!!

I played in only my 3rd adult league game on Sunday and boy was it ugly. Our team has a ton of talent, but play sloppy as hell. I finally got my bat going against a guy who only feeds me offspeed stuff. I wasn't about to let him beat me like he did last time. Went 2-3 with 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and a run scored. Other than that, it was an ugly day on the ball field!