[quote]Just to note my son faced some very tough high school varsity teams this spring and did very well as a sophmore pitcher. But the team that hit him the hardest all year was a sixteen year old travel ball team this summer. They did better against him than the number two varsity team in the state did last May. Go figure.[quote]
The great thing about baseball is you can't establish a reason for why things like this happen. I too have had talented sophomore pitchers who have shut down great line ups in the past and never once thought it was because the competition was less. However, perhaps (just a guess here) your son was not on his game against the 16u travel team. Maybe he tipped his pitches. Fell into a rhythm of predictability. Fell behind in the count. Pitched above the belt. Caught too much of the plate in 2 strike situations. Allowed the lead off hitter to reach base in multiple innings. Didn't pitch to his defense. The defense failed to adjust to his pitching. Brought only one pitch to the park. Didn't establish the inner third of the plate.
While I am sure your son is very talented, I too am sure his success is not the criteria in determining the quality of Illinois HS baseball. Go Figure.