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hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

hshuler posted:
smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

hshuler posted:
smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

The numbers are accurate. 120 max pitches. 96 the first night, when the last batter got up in the final game he was at 23, but allowed to "finish" the batter per ghsa rules. :-(

CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:
smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

The numbers are accurate. 120 max pitches. 96 the first night, when the last batter got up in the final game he was at 23, but allowed to "finish" the batter per ghsa rules. :-(

So to this point, GHSA pitch count rules are a complete and total joke.

Under all rules during the season, a player throwing 96 pitches would require 3 days rest before being able to throw again.  But for the playoffs they abandoned ALL of the pitch rules in favor for the combined 120 pitches over three days?

Clearly Georgia pitch count rules have NOTHING to do with protecting player arms if they allow a kid to throw 96 pitches for a complete game on Wednesday and toe the rubber to throw 28 pitches, let alone a single pitch, again on Thursday.   Add to it that they could have left him in the game beyond 120 pitches and the only penalty would be a 2 game suspension for the coach and the $250 fine.

Any credibility the GHSA might have gained by implementing pitch counts were completely flushed during the playoffs.

Last edited by Nuke83
Nuke83 posted:
CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:
smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

The numbers are accurate. 120 max pitches. 96 the first night, when the last batter got up in the final game he was at 23, but allowed to "finish" the batter per ghsa rules. :-(

So to this point, GHSA pitch count rules are a complete and total joke.

Under all rules during the season, a player throwing 96 pitches would require 4 days rest before being able to throw again.  But for the playoffs they abandoned ALL of the pitch rules in favor for the combined 120 pitches over three days?

Clearly Georgia pitch count rules have NOTHING to do with protecting player arms if they allow a kid to throw 96 pitches for a complete game on Wednesday and toe the rubber to throw 28 pitches, let alone a single pitch, again on Thursday.   Add to it that they could have left him in the game beyond 120 pitches and the only penalty would be a 2 game suspension for the coach and the $250 fine.

Any credibility the GHSA might have gained by implementing pitch counts were completely flushed during the playoffs.

I was very surprised when they put him in as well.  All I can think is that the kid is a senior and maybe he asked to be put back in?

CaCO3Girl posted:
Nuke83 posted:
CaCO3Girl posted:
hshuler posted:
smokeminside posted:
hshuler posted:

Season over! Lost 4-3 to finish 35-4. I feel really bad for the seniors who were class acts on and off the field. 

Must have been a heartbreaker, but what a game, Shu, and what a year!  Sounds like Woodstock had a one man wrecking crew of a hitter, and their closer must have been dealing.  Hang in there....

It was definitely a heartbreaker for the boys. Their closer had 24 pitches left and was at 23 when he started that at-bat against our best hitting which ended with a K.  Not sure if those number are completely accurate but they are close.

He was last night's starter who beat us 3-2. 

The numbers are accurate. 120 max pitches. 96 the first night, when the last batter got up in the final game he was at 23, but allowed to "finish" the batter per ghsa rules. :-(

So to this point, GHSA pitch count rules are a complete and total joke.

Under all rules during the season, a player throwing 96 pitches would require 4 days rest before being able to throw again.  But for the playoffs they abandoned ALL of the pitch rules in favor for the combined 120 pitches over three days?

Clearly Georgia pitch count rules have NOTHING to do with protecting player arms if they allow a kid to throw 96 pitches for a complete game on Wednesday and toe the rubber to throw 28 pitches, let alone a single pitch, again on Thursday.   Add to it that they could have left him in the game beyond 120 pitches and the only penalty would be a 2 game suspension for the coach and the $250 fine.

Any credibility the GHSA might have gained by implementing pitch counts were completely flushed during the playoffs.

I was very surprised when they put him in as well.  All I can think is that the kid is a senior and maybe he asked to be put back in?

But that's the beauty of rules.  To protect him from himself or a coach.

Here's my two cents:

I said before the playoffs that the 120 pitches in the series totally disregards the main purpose of the rule - mandatory rest days. 

Also, there is a third official, as mandated by the GHSA, to keep the official pitch count. Why do you still leave it up to the coach to possibly break the rule? Shouldn't the third official have the authority to say to the HP umpire that the pitcher has reached his limit and he must be replaced at that time. 

 

hshuler posted:

Here's my two cents:

I said before the playoffs that the 120 pitches in the series totally disregards the main purpose of the rule - mandatory rest days. 

Also, there is a third official, as mandated by the GHSA, to keep the official pitch count. Why do you still leave it up to the coach to possibly break the rule? Shouldn't the third official have the authority to say to the HP umpire that the pitcher has reached his limit and he must be replaced at that time. 

 

I think the easiest way to address is to simply mandate that once a pitcher has exceeded his allowable pitch count, every pitch thrown thereafter will be ruled a "ball".

Can't imagine a coach would leave a kid in during a one run, winner take all game in that circumstance.

But in this case, no rule was even violated.

Nuke83 posted:
hshuler posted:

Here's my two cents:

I said before the playoffs that the 120 pitches in the series totally disregards the main purpose of the rule - mandatory rest days. 

Also, there is a third official, as mandated by the GHSA, to keep the official pitch count. Why do you still leave it up to the coach to possibly break the rule? Shouldn't the third official have the authority to say to the HP umpire that the pitcher has reached his limit and he must be replaced at that time. 

 

I think the easiest way to address is to simply mandate that once a pitcher has exceeded his allowable pitch count, every pitch thrown thereafter will be ruled a "ball".

Can't imagine a coach would leave a kid in during a one run, winner take all game in that circumstance.

But in this case, no rule was even violated.

LoL. 

Ball five, ball five, ball five.... 

Well... this chapter is now complete as my son's team lost in the first round of sectionals. A total shock, but the game is a great reminder of why they play the game.  4-3 loss.  Son came in into the game in the 6th with runners on first and third with no outs (the starter had just given up two runs).  He struck out the first guy and got the second batter he faced to roll over and hit into a grounder fora double play. Seven pitch inning They brought in the teams closer for the 7th. We mounted a come back but fell short.

Hard to believe that HS Baseball is over.  Surreal actually. Very happy the finished his high school career on a good note.  He leaves with some great memories...making the team as a freshman (SUPER HARD considering the team was ranked in the top 50 his freshman year and #1 in the country his sophomore year), winning everything his Junior year (league, tournaments, state sectionals) and winning his league this year after some rough off-field issues.

 So glad for my son that he isn't hanging up his cleats like a lot of the kids on the team.  Can't imagine what he'd be feeling if he wasn't playing in college.  Excited to see what the next chapter brings.  I know it will be different and he does too.  

As excited as I am for him to experience something new, I will really miss the innocent nature of high school baseball. 

Tough loss in championship of our meaningless league tournament. The kid and I are at a JC game right now -- well, I am; he just left to go to the cage -- where I saw something I have never seen before and hope to never see again.  Big hitter let go of his bat on a swing and took out both catcher and plate ump. Sheeez. Waiting for a replacement ump.  C seems ok. PU being taken to infirmary.

(this could also be posted under "The Demise of High School Baseball?")

Quick overview.  Freshman son placed on JV team to start the season, along with three other freshman.  JV is half Juniors, rest Sophomores and the four freshman.  Often, the four freshman would be at C, P, SS, 2B at the same time.  Team won about half its preseason tournament games, and all its district games.  Many shutouts, and occasional errorless games.  Good team.  Kids got along great.  Son met a bunch of new guys, became friends.  The juniors would come and pick him and the other freshman up for pregame meals, etc.  Parents in the stands all got along great.  Kid was starting pitcher about every third game, more or less.  Only two games a week here in regular season.

Son and another freshman were called up to the varsity for playoffs.  Coach has coached 32 years as a varsity head coach.  I hear he is old school, wouldn't know for sure, he doesn't talk to parents about baseball.  Nice cordial guy, though.  "Pitching depth" the two freshman were told.  Team has a couple of stud jr starters - one of them is a D1 commit, a curveball closer and that's about it. But son got to ride the bus, he was thrilled.  He got to pitch to the varsity lineup in practice each week.  He warmed up several times in games.  Team won the first series in three games using only three pitchers.  Same in the second series, beating the #1 team in Texas (by one poll, PG had them as the 26th in nation - no idea how they can rank that many teams like that).  

Third series was against what I think was a better all round team then the team we beat in the second series.  From pitching to line-up, they looked more talented to me.  First game, our usually very reliable starter and defense came unglued, we got behind 7-0 in the third.  With a runner on third and a 2-0 count, they bring in my son.  So first varsity pitch comes in the third round of the state playoffs.  And it's a change-up, bounced, blocked and smothered. Son walks him on next pitch.  Runner scores on a groundout.  He gets the next hitter to end the inning.  Goes out for the fourth, HBP, K, BB, K, BB, goes to 2-1 on the hitter, throws a ball.  Batter thinks it's ball four and starts to jog to first.  Runners hesitate, then start to jog to the next base.  Son throws over and gets the pick off.  Thank you baseball gods.  Coach told son after the game that he looked 86/87 on a couple of them.  That's a tick or two over what he has been gunned. Next freshman comes in, gets hit a little, and error or so for a couple runs, but throws two innings. Game ends.  Down 0-1.

Next night, opponent throws the #1 RHP in nation in 2019 class.  We throw our D1 guy.  Maybe 800 people at the HS field.  It sizzled all night long.  You could hear it from behind the backstop. There guy up to 93, our guy looked low 90's, but someone said touched 94.  (Can't verify that.) Our guy was a little shaky in the beginning with command, and gave up three runs.  We get one run, but run up the pitch count on their guy.  He comes out.  Down 3-1 going to the last inning.  We get a walk and an error, they get two outs.  The next three batters go down to the final strike, but all three come through with hits.  We go up 5-3, and then close them out in the bottom of the 7th. Go even at 1-1.  

Next day bats come out, we win 8-3.  Son and other freshman ate up some pitches, we had enough pitching to finish them off.

So three times, I have picked up my son from the school after the game.  Three times we both said "That's the most exciting game I have ever played/watched!"

Fourth round starts Thursday at University of Houston.

Demise?  

From here, only demise may be me with a heart attack!

Go44dad posted:

(this could also be posted under "The Demise of High School Baseball?")

Quick overview.  Freshman son placed on JV team to start the season, along with three other freshman.  JV is half Juniors, rest Sophomores and the four freshman.  Often, the four freshman would be at C, P, SS, 2B at the same time.  Team won about half its preseason tournament games, and all its district games.  Many shutouts, and occasional errorless games.  Good team.  Kids got along great.  Son met a bunch of new guys, became friends.  The juniors would come and pick him and the other freshman up for pregame meals, etc.  Parents in the stands all got along great.  Kid was starting pitcher about every third game, more or less.  Only two games a week here in regular season.

Son and another freshman were called up to the varsity for playoffs.  Coach has coached 32 years as a varsity head coach.  I hear he is old school, wouldn't know for sure, he doesn't talk to parents about baseball.  Nice cordial guy, though.  "Pitching depth" the two freshman were told.  Team has a couple of stud jr starters - one of them is a D1 commit, a curveball closer and that's about it. But son got to ride the bus, he was thrilled.  He got to pitch to the varsity lineup in practice each week.  He warmed up several times in games.  Team won the first series in three games using only three pitchers.  Same in the second series, beating the #1 team in Texas (by one poll, PG had them as the 26th in nation - no idea how they can rank that many teams like that).  

Third series was against what I think was a better all round team then the team we beat in the second series.  From pitching to line-up, they looked more talented to me.  First game, our usually very reliable starter and defense came unglued, we got behind 7-0 in the third.  With a runner on third and a 2-0 count, they bring in my son.  So first varsity pitch comes in the third round of the state playoffs.  And it's a change-up, bounced, blocked and smothered. Son walks him on next pitch.  Runner scores on a groundout.  He gets the next hitter to end the inning.  Goes out for the fourth, HBP, K, BB, K, BB, goes to 2-1 on the hitter, throws a ball.  Batter thinks it's ball four and starts to jog to first.  Runners hesitate, then start to jog to the next base.  Son throws over and gets the pick off.  Thank you baseball gods.  Coach told son after the game that he looked 86/87 on a couple of them.  That's a tick or two over what he has been gunned. Next freshman comes in, gets hit a little, and error or so for a couple runs, but throws two innings. Game ends.  Down 0-1.

Next night, opponent throws the #1 RHP in nation in 2019 class.  We throw our D1 guy.  Maybe 800 people at the HS field.  It sizzled all night long.  You could hear it from behind the backstop. There guy up to 93, our guy looked low 90's, but someone said touched 94.  (Can't verify that.) Our guy was a little shaky in the beginning with command, and gave up three runs.  We get one run, but run up the pitch count on their guy.  He comes out.  Down 3-1 going to the last inning.  We get a walk and an error, they get two outs.  The next three batters go down to the final strike, but all three come through with hits.  We go up 5-3, and then close them out in the bottom of the 7th. Go even at 1-1.  

Next day bats come out, we win 8-3.  Son and other freshman ate up some pitches, we had enough pitching to finish them off.

So three times, I have picked up my son from the school after the game.  Three times we both said "That's the most exciting game I have ever played/watched!"

Fourth round starts Thursday at University of Houston.

Demise?  

From here, only demise may be me with a heart attack!

44 - I can relate to the "heart attack" comment. Son came up in a big spot last week against a Power 5 signee. The crowd was bananas and I was nervous for him. I can only imagine what my blood pressure was at the time. 

Good look in round 4 and keep us posted!

hshuler posted:
TPM posted:
Iowamom23 posted:

So our season in Iowa starts tomorrrow. Doubleheader planned--my 2018 to pitch first game, his best friend--my son from another mother--to pitch the second. 40% chance of rain. Keep your fingers crossed for us!! 

Good luck and fingers crossed.

+1

Thanks for the crossed fingers! Weather held, if by held you mean it's okay wearing a sweatshirt, a coat, two blankets and gloves. And son had a good first outing. Gave up two hits, no walks, 5 strike outs and we won 4-1. Only run came on an error by third baseman.

My son from another mother had a rougher start to his season — started the game and did well, but we lost 4-0. It was a lesson in how a good catcher really matters. My son got to pick his, second pitcher had to take second string and it didn't go well.

But at last — baseball in Iowa is off and running!!

It was 90 here too and we won our first round playoff game! We haven't been to the playoffs since 2010. It was an amazing pitching duel that went 9 innings and saw both starting pitchers go the distance (both stayed under the state pitching guidelines). The only run came in the top of the 9th for us off a single, sac bunt (my kiddo) and huge double. We were the 24th seed and beat the #9. 

Next up, we play our rivals in the 2nd round on Wednesday. 

Well, all done for the year. Entered the 8-team double-elim state as the #1 seed i the state. My 2018 took the mound in the first game and was as dominating as I have ever seen him...until he wasn't. Through 5 innings he had struck out 14 and only three balls had been put in play. He was pounding the strike zone, throwing 89-91 and they couldn't touch him. Through 5 innings, two hits, 14 K's, 0 walks and holding a 5-1 lead. Then came the sixth. He plunked the first batter, gave up a single to the second and then hung an 0-2 curve that a big lefty put about 400' over the right field wall. Still no big deal. Then he walked the next guy and we removed him. The normally reliable relief pitcher loaded the bases with walks and then let a run score on a wild pitch and two more on a single. Scratched one across in the top of the seventh, but lost 7-6.

In the next game, an elimination game, we faced our biggest rival school who we had swept two games from just a couple of weeks ago, 1-0 and 8-5. This was a rematch of the two pitchers who threw the 8-5 game. This time it was a pitcher's duel. Our guy threw a two hitter, but unfortunately, those two hits came in a sequence of single-sac bunt-rbi single and we lost 1-0 with only three hits of our own. My son has been devastated. In the 1-0 loss, it was a sharp single to right that he bobbled for a second. If he had made the play cleanly, he might have had a play at the plate. He feels like he personally blew both games.

That's a baseball lesson for him. If he truly thinks he wants to play this game for a living, he needs to understand there will be lots of days like that. 

We only lose two senior starters, both big producers, but should be back next year as a favorite for a state title (been saying that for three years, though). Now, it's on to summer ball. No time to rest. WWBA in Arizona next week, followed closely by the MLB PDP and Fort Meyers for the PG National Showcase. 

We are done with HS baseball.   The boys lost their first one-and-done game yesterday 4-1. Things got off to a rough start when our #1 starter was scratched due to a sore shoulder, and then the opponent's first batter hit a hard one hopper that bounced off our SS's arm and took him out of the game (he's ok).  It was almost fun to watch the other team play - they were kind of a doppelganger in terms of talent, but they really executed on both sides of the ball, something we have not done consistently this season. Their defense made all the plays and their pitcher gave up just 1 run on 3 hits and no walks. Our starter looked great until he got to 0-2 or 1-2, when he threw some mistakes, and their hitters did a good job of making him pay.

One bright note was my kid leading off the bottom of the 7th with a single in his last HS at-bat -- I think he's hitting  1.000 in the 7th inning of elimination games -- and scored our only run on a sac fly that could have turned the game around had their CF not made an incredible catch on a drive to the wall.

Another bright note was watching the kid who came in to relieve for us.  1 hit and 6 K's over 3 innings (yeah he probably should have started) .  His development this season has been astounding. He'll be at the local  JC next year so it'll be fun see what he does there.

This final high school season has been a little bumpy and has had much more drama than I would have liked to have seen, but over the past 4 years it was great fun to follow 2017 on his ride and see how much he's grown in the process. He's an amazing kid.  

And of course I'm glad that he's got more baseball in front of him.

Our season ended last night too. We played one of our cross town rivals and lost 4-2. We actually played really good baseball. Just a couple little lapses that made all the difference. The boys literally fought until the very end. They had the bases loaded in the top of the 7th with only 1 out (should have had them loaded with zero outs but our coach made a bad call to send a runner when he thought there was an overthrow - there wasn't). The next two batters struck out. Both seniors. Tough to end your HS career on a strikeout.

We did have a couple of fabulous plays and successfully executed a trick play. A couple years ago, there was a college play (I think) that went viral. The pitcher, middle infielders and center fielder pretend the pitcher overthrows a pick off attempt at 2nd base. The infielders both dive, the Center field frantically runs toward the overthrown ball and the bench is yelling "3rd, 3rd". All the while, the pitcher is heading toward 3rd to back up the supposed throw from the outfield. Except, the pitcher actually has the ball and tags the runner. Our kids played it perfectly. The runner was thoroughly confused because his coach was telling him to go back to 2nd. He walked right into the tag. Even the umpires were laughing. 

It's a tough end for a team filled with truly great kids. They accomplished so much more than anyone thought they could this season. They were the #24 seed in the state. They made it to the final 16 and came so close to the final 8. My son has been playing with these seniors since 8th grade. Our ace pitcher is his mentor. This is going to sting for a little while, but summer ball is just around the corner.

Good luck to all of you still in the playoffs.

Seems like the theme for the day.  We were bounced Tuesday.  I was out-coached.  They were able to run on our LHP/Catcher combo that had shut down runners all year.  

I get a call from a parent the next night, expressing how disappointed he was in me allowing a kid to use a wood bat in the game.  Just finished eight straight months of 4-5 hours per day, five or six days a week, very minimal pay that goes back to the assistants and this is the call I get.  And he isn't aware but I am the guy that decided to shut his son down from pitching when a saw a little something that didn't look quite right and probably saved any hopes of a pitching career.  Well, still love the boys.  The thread IS HS baseball after all.

Last edited by cabbagedad

My 2017 catcher's season ended last week, first round of conference playoffs, losing 11-4 to a team we beat both times in the regular season. But our regular season ended with a 7th inning, 4-error collapse. The other team was riding high after beating a top-ranked team who had little to play for going into playoffs. But our boys still seemed somewhat dejected, and the other team was still pumped. Home game.

Started poorly with the umpire calling a TINY strike zone. I mean it...tiny SZ. Our all-conference pitcher got frustrated visibly, not getting close pitches over and over again top of 1st and 2nd. They mostly kept the bat glued to the shoulder and walked with at least 3-4 HBP and a few hits that dropped. They scored early but still manageable. And the SZ opened up.

But we did not hit well and the boys pressed. Sprinkle in a few errors, hits, and scores and we were down 11-0 bottom of 7th. My son batted 4th and we had 2 outs at top of order. I did not think he'd get up again (he was 0-2 with a HBP). Finally, they pulled their very effective starting pitcher and the reliever walked and loaded them up with a hit and a score.  My son came up, base loaded, 2 outs. First pitch: base-emptying hard LD up the middle. 11-4. Next batted struck out. So that's a wrap for 4 years of HS baseball. But nice last AB double!

I've gone to one conference championship game since then and one regional playoff game. I plan to hit 1-2 more. Love to see good HS baseball... 

Good luck to everyone still in the hunt!

Last edited by Batty67

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