Our girls edged out a win over a big ranked team last week and it was an absolute blast to watch. There was an awkward silence afterwards when all you could hear was the other girls sobbing.
I can't remember the name of the team, down on Blain HWY. Brock probably knows. They are pretty dang good and I think the two teams could play every week with different outcomes. It was a real joy. One of the coaches for these girls as they grew looked at me and said "man them girls are really crying hard" I replied "we've been there" and it really put things in prospective from our side of the field.
Maddy just walked in, Huntington. They are a seed 3 team and we are seed 13.
I can't remember the name of the team, down on Blain HWY. Brock probably knows. They are pretty dang good and I think the two teams could play every week with different outcomes. It was a real joy. One of the coaches for these girls as they grew looked at me and said "man them girls are really crying hard" I replied "we've been there" and it really put things in prospective from our side of the field.
Maddy just walked in, Huntington. They are a seed 3 team and we are seed 13.
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Big_Holla
Senior Member
My wife and I go through softball withdrawals. Every tournament Allen's HS team has gone to had softball going on at the same time and there we are, watching them play LOL! Jenna on the other hand won't even watch it on TV, she put her cleats up and doesn't really get into it lately. She was helping out the HS team as her old HS coach now coaches at Algonac but she didn't get too involved as she was working on her nursing degree. I can see her getting into coaching at some point, she seems to be a natural at it.
Allen's HS team just beat a decent team 2X, first game was a 5-0 shut out and this last one was a 7-4 nail biter at the end. He hasn't played much since last week and he was told he wasn't playing in those two games. However the second game the other team started hitting the ball hard into the 5th inning driving in several runs. They brought Allen in to close out the last 2 innings, allowing only one hit and no runs with 2K's. Funny part was as he got on the mound to warm up and the other team started chanting "new noodle" which then turned into "little noodle" and "he's a little guy". He got the first two of that inning on crappy hits and the third did a pirouette on his third strike swinging. They stopped saying anything after that. In the 7th inning the next boy he struck out looking on a wicked curveball turned and threw his bat at the dugout. Last out was a lazy fly ball to the left fielder. Humbling LOL!
Allen's HS team just beat a decent team 2X, first game was a 5-0 shut out and this last one was a 7-4 nail biter at the end. He hasn't played much since last week and he was told he wasn't playing in those two games. However the second game the other team started hitting the ball hard into the 5th inning driving in several runs. They brought Allen in to close out the last 2 innings, allowing only one hit and no runs with 2K's. Funny part was as he got on the mound to warm up and the other team started chanting "new noodle" which then turned into "little noodle" and "he's a little guy". He got the first two of that inning on crappy hits and the third did a pirouette on his third strike swinging. They stopped saying anything after that. In the 7th inning the next boy he struck out looking on a wicked curveball turned and threw his bat at the dugout. Last out was a lazy fly ball to the left fielder. Humbling LOL!
Hoots grandson Matt Smith , sophmore, hit a walk off base hit that put his team ,Lakewood HS Hebron Oh, in the tournament.
Sophomore Smith delivers in clutch for Lakewood in district win vs Licking Valley
Lakewood sophomore Matt Smith had two RBI hits, including the game-winner, in a 3-2 victory against Licking Valley in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
newarkadvocate.com
Lakewood sophomore Matt Smith had two RBI hits, including the game-winner, in a 3-2 victory against Licking Valley in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
newarkadvocate.com
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Hillsboro won our District last night. They are peaking at the right time. Miami Trace is out. Being formerly ranked No.1 in the state was their kiss of death. BTW, Hillsboro was the team Mason list to in 10 with a score of 1-0. He had 14 k’s in that game. Poor kid lost every game this year... every game. Freshman and sophomore years, I don’t think he lost more than one. Dang.
So now he’s battling a decision. The Waverly post that he’s played on the last couple years has reached out to him to play after he’s told them repeatedly he would not. He has a serious personality conflict with the head coach. The man is not the brightest baseball mind, but he does have a group of talented kids put together- not exactly following Legion baseball rules in doing so. He recruits kids when their local teams do not want them - too young. Since the local teams signed off on them when they are young, he has them. Anyway, Mason tried out for the Hillsboro team the other night. He fooled em too. I’ve never seen that kid hit so well, something he’s always struggled with. By far the most impressive hitting seen at the tryout... and I’m being honest when I tell you he is not a good batter on a daily basis. I was happy he was going to play at Hillsboro. Well now the Waverly coach is texting him all kinds of good stuff about his buddies on the team, his buddies are texting him... and much to my dismay, I think he is going to go pitch at Waverly. The upside, he would only be pitching. Told the coach he would not attend most practices as he can throw bullpens with me, and he would not be attending most games he is not scheduled to pitch. All of that sounds like “bad teammate “ until you look at the reality of life.... and that is he needs to get to work and save some money since he is leaving in August for school. Maybe it’s the right move. Still playing, still hanging with his buddies, but not consumed by baseball.
Let’s all wish Cottis best of luck tonight! Tough tournament game ahead!
So now he’s battling a decision. The Waverly post that he’s played on the last couple years has reached out to him to play after he’s told them repeatedly he would not. He has a serious personality conflict with the head coach. The man is not the brightest baseball mind, but he does have a group of talented kids put together- not exactly following Legion baseball rules in doing so. He recruits kids when their local teams do not want them - too young. Since the local teams signed off on them when they are young, he has them. Anyway, Mason tried out for the Hillsboro team the other night. He fooled em too. I’ve never seen that kid hit so well, something he’s always struggled with. By far the most impressive hitting seen at the tryout... and I’m being honest when I tell you he is not a good batter on a daily basis. I was happy he was going to play at Hillsboro. Well now the Waverly coach is texting him all kinds of good stuff about his buddies on the team, his buddies are texting him... and much to my dismay, I think he is going to go pitch at Waverly. The upside, he would only be pitching. Told the coach he would not attend most practices as he can throw bullpens with me, and he would not be attending most games he is not scheduled to pitch. All of that sounds like “bad teammate “ until you look at the reality of life.... and that is he needs to get to work and save some money since he is leaving in August for school. Maybe it’s the right move. Still playing, still hanging with his buddies, but not consumed by baseball.
Let’s all wish Cottis best of luck tonight! Tough tournament game ahead!
I agree Brock, let him enjoy it!
Yeah, we have a tough one tonight. On Monday our ace struck out 18 against Philo. 18!!! It was insane to watch. We won 4-1, but should've absolutely buried them. We left a large tribe of Redskins on the basepaths. My hope was that we would put up enough runs to be able to get our ace out under 50 pitches and he'd be able to throw today. Our offense is just so putrid that it never worked out that way.
So... we face a tough Cambridge team at Sandy Valley HS today in the district final and we will be using our number 2 man. When he is on, he can be very good, but when things start to go bad he has a knack for folding like a deck of cards.
If we win, we move onto the regionals to play the winner of Bloom Carroll and Desales.
Yeah, we have a tough one tonight. On Monday our ace struck out 18 against Philo. 18!!! It was insane to watch. We won 4-1, but should've absolutely buried them. We left a large tribe of Redskins on the basepaths. My hope was that we would put up enough runs to be able to get our ace out under 50 pitches and he'd be able to throw today. Our offense is just so putrid that it never worked out that way.
So... we face a tough Cambridge team at Sandy Valley HS today in the district final and we will be using our number 2 man. When he is on, he can be very good, but when things start to go bad he has a knack for folding like a deck of cards.
If we win, we move onto the regionals to play the winner of Bloom Carroll and Desales.
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Best of luck Mike! The rain started here about a half hour ago. Based on the radar it’s gonna be here for a while.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Guys, I’ve been saving football, basketball, and baseball jerseys since my son began at 5, now 13. Someday, post Sports I’m going to hire an Amish lady to make a quilt out of our jersey collection. Something you new sports Dads might want to consider.
I’m old school. My opinion on the matter... he either plays or he doesn’t. Showing up just to pitch and picking which practices you attend is not being part of the team. Maybe things are different these days. I don’t know. I understand needing to work and save money. So if it were me, or my son, I’d tell him you better just decide which one is more important. Working or playing ball. I don’t care how talented or gifted a kid is... if he or she can’t be there to support their teammates, they wouldn’t be on my team. I think if Mason isn’t fully committed then the right thing to do (for the good of the team) is to pass. It’s Legion ball, not the Major Leagues... cohesiveness still matters.
Again, just my opinion. Not trying to ruffle any feathers. I simply can’t fathom the idea of a kid only showing up when it’s their turn to play, regardless of the circumstances. But also, again, maybe that’s normal these days for all I know.
I listened.to that Hillsboro second half on my way home last night. Awesome game!
Greysons team got run ruled last night 8-0. Other team had 4 kids that were giants. 2 of them pitched. All their kids could field their positions. Greyson played great at catcher and shortstop. He got plenty of work racing out to take the cutoff. 0-2 at the plate. 1 strikeout and 1 grounder at the plate. Those kids were fireballers
Spencie
Senior Member
My daughters both have quilts like this
Big_Holla
Senior Member
The Algonac Muskrats have been on a pretty good roll the last few weeks. Monday and Tuesday were our big games for the season in our conference as we took on Richmond Blue Devils, ranked 3 in the state for Division 3 baseball going into the games. It's a team of big and intense boys, most of which have that baseball look that fits their winning reputation for the season. Monday our two brothers on the team worked well on the mound to upset them 7-4. Allen played 2nd for the entire game with 3 put-outs. He struggled a little at the plate, getting one walk and a ground out but all were good quality at bats.
The Muskrats knew going into last nights game Richmond would be coming back with a vengeance.
Allen got the call to pitch Tuesday night after Monday's game was over. Terry and I felt like we were going to puke all night and day going into the game LOL! Man I was nervous for him but he seemed calm and cool. I thought about the play by play but I'll just go from here, Allen went 6 full innings, had 7 hits on him, 1 walk and 4 strike outs. We won 7-3!! Man I can only hope we can carry this momentum through next week as we have Districts starting and likely will see this team again!
Here is one of Allen's K's for the evening.
Every single time he has pitched this year you hear someone from the dugout, whether kid or even coach, say something about him being a little guy. Tonight was no different. "He's a little feller" as a couple boys laughed. Allen seems to thrive off of that, the other day Allen came in for relief the last 2 innings and here came the comments. "New Noodle" quickly turned into "he's a little noodle" and several other comments including from the head coach about his size. Allen retired the last 6 batters in a row with 2K's, ground balls and a pop-up with one boy doing a pretty pirouette across the plate swinging at his curve. He got a couple nice pitching comments from some of those boys on the way to the parking lot.
The Muskrats knew going into last nights game Richmond would be coming back with a vengeance.
Allen got the call to pitch Tuesday night after Monday's game was over. Terry and I felt like we were going to puke all night and day going into the game LOL! Man I was nervous for him but he seemed calm and cool. I thought about the play by play but I'll just go from here, Allen went 6 full innings, had 7 hits on him, 1 walk and 4 strike outs. We won 7-3!! Man I can only hope we can carry this momentum through next week as we have Districts starting and likely will see this team again!
Here is one of Allen's K's for the evening.
Every single time he has pitched this year you hear someone from the dugout, whether kid or even coach, say something about him being a little guy. Tonight was no different. "He's a little feller" as a couple boys laughed. Allen seems to thrive off of that, the other day Allen came in for relief the last 2 innings and here came the comments. "New Noodle" quickly turned into "he's a little noodle" and several other comments including from the head coach about his size. Allen retired the last 6 batters in a row with 2K's, ground balls and a pop-up with one boy doing a pretty pirouette across the plate swinging at his curve. He got a couple nice pitching comments from some of those boys on the way to the parking lot.
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No feathers ruffled. In most instances, I’d agree 100%. In this case, I don’t necessarily disagree with anything you’ve said, but I do see it for what it is. Mason is an outsider on that team. The coach recruits kids aggressively from other districts as I’ve mentioned earlier. He recruits pitching. There has never been a team in any tournament that has ever had too much quality pitching. He did not recruit Mason as a PO. However, last season when he moved up to the senior team, all he did was pitch. He literally sat on his butt every inning of every game even though he is a more than competent fielder. He did all the required fund raising. He attended all the practices (which are held an hour’s drive from our home), and he paid the full price to pay, rather I paid it, which was 400. He was never told he would only be pitching. We drove all over the freaking state for weekday evening games in which he never saw an inning of play. There is no way I’d encourage him to do that again. As an example of him doing the right thing, even against my wishes and suggestions... In the district tournament we were two games ahead of post 757. They had to beat Waverly twice to win. In the first game, Mason took the mound 757 was by far the best hitting team in the league. Their program is such that their senior team is made up entirely of 18 and 19 year old kids. Several having collegiate experience even though Covid shut them down early last year. Anyway, these kids were really good, but after the first inning they could not get a baseball out of the infield and Mason even had half a dozen or more K’s going into the 7th inning. The coach decided to sit Mason as he was headed out for the 7th with a 3-0 lead. He sent in a kid that throws near 90, but was struggling for the previous several weeks. Needless to say, we lost. Mason gets more competitive, more intense, just better the closer to the end of a game and this fool sat him down only to throw a kid who at that time could not find the strike zone. He sat countless innings, being a good teammate, doing the right thing only to have the rug jerked out when it counted. Needless to say that forced them into game two the next night. Mason, in spite of me suggesting he stay home, made the drive and sat the bench being a good teammate and watch them lose the championship game... again.
So, in this case, if he can free himself from sitting 100 miles from home all weekend, watching half a dozen games from the bench while waiting for his one time to play, I’m ok with it. Keep in mind, his issue is not with his teammates, the coach is an issue. The guy is not wanting Mason because he’s a good teammate (which he always has been), he wants him because he’s a workhorse that will benefit the team. His buddies on the team have been bugging him since last year to play, and even suggested he do exactly what he seems to be planning to do. Personally, I’d rather see him play with the Hillsboro post and be done with the Jackhole in Waverly.
We got rained out yesterday. We took the long ass two hour bus ride to the field just to sit for a few hours and then ride it two hours back home.
We play today in the same place at 5:00.
We play today in the same place at 5:00.
Brock, I totally get what your saying and I do agree. My boy had a great year this high school season, he hit well in the clean-up spot and did a pretty fair job at the hot corner. He is playing Legion for now but if it interferes with 2 Classes he's taking at the local Community College then we will have to take a back seat to summer ball.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
At some point they (our kids) learn to make those decisions themselves in what is important. We tried like hell to get Jenna to transfer to a 4 year college to play for 2 more years. She just told us she was ready for the next chapter in her life and wanted focus on her future......I'm like adulting sucks...play ball!!