College Spring Season 2013

Still, nothing makes me happier then to be there while he is playing. I stayed through every minute of both games! I am indeed very blessed.

Hey threebagger, hows that leading from the front going at Delta State, you guys ever going to hit a speed bump? And I see the Lander boys are surging - Coach May!  Everyone speaks highly of that Lander coaching staff, good to see them doing work. 

 

UTampa keeps playing Jekyll one night and Hyde the next, so many moving parts.  With 50% of the regular season now complete, I was hoping the Spartans would have hit our game to game stride by now, but many contests seem to come down to the last few innings.

 

I may be wrong, but I see a lot more parity across all levels of college baseball this year (except for a chosen few truly solid teams.)  Is it just me?

Backstop-17,

 

I don't know about speed bumps but our guys did see a couple of times that no one is going to roll over as we lost a couple of games that we probably shouldn't have. But no one is going undefeated and I think the whole key is to not let a loss here and there turn into a losing streak.

 

I also noticed that Coach May's son's Lander team is HOT and one of the very top DII teams. I also noticed that both your sons are having outstanding offensive seasons and as catchers are huge parts of their team's success.  I keep checking on that ever lurking Tampa team. I just have a feeling we may be in for a collision around regional time. Of course, a lot can happen before then, but I hope we both get there.

 

I've been following the teams closely this year and you could see Lander, Delta State, and Tampa wind up in Cary this year.  That would be very cool.

 

Jeff May has been making hay.  It appears that the young man is letting the game come to him.  Nice to see for him and Coach May.  

 

Three Bagger's son and Backstop 17's son are both hitting well above .300 on nationally ranked teams.  Kind of hard to nitpick 20-4 Backstop 17 but I think I know where you are coming from.

Thanks CD. This is the best Lander team Jeff has played with. And right now they are playing very well. But the conf is brutal. We have a very good Montevallo team this week end and series with USC Aiken, Ga College as well as a couple more very good teams. We could go from first in the conf to 5th or 6th in a hurry.

I hope we can continue to play well and get to Cary but its going to be tough we will see. But Lander is going to be a force at the D2 level. The coaching staff and facilities are better than most D1 programs. And they only start 2 Srs this year with all the pitching back.

Kermit Smith and Chris Anderson are class acts. Outstanding coaches and men who players absolutely love playing for them. My son has been blessed to be a part of this program.

Great to see Jeff and the program having a great year.Congrats and best of luck.

 

That's great news Coach. I know Lander is having a great season. I follow some because North Georgia is in my back yard but is having a struggling season with all the young players.

 

After a crazy season of Coaching and the never-ending pitching carousel the HC seems to continue going through my son had a great outing last night. He closes on weekends durin conference games and loves the role so being thrust into a starting role out of the blue was, well, a surpise. lol.

 

Went all 9 innings. 126 pitches (yes, you read that correct and think the same thing I am). Had a shut-out going into the top of the 9th. They scored 1 after he had 1 out. Luckily we had scored 2 in the 1st inning. 6 hits, 10k's.

 

Enjoying every moment I can this last season.

 

 

Son had a great day today.   PHCC traveled to Kinston, NC to play  Lenoir CC.  He DH'd in game one, went 2-4 with a stolen base and a run scored.  Game two he went 1-3 with 2 RBI's and a stolen base.  Despite his efforts in game one PHCC lost 4-3, but they rebounded in game two, winning 15-2.  Hopefully, they'll win tomorrow and win the series. 

Hi All, an update on my son, a recruited walk on at a top mid major on the west coast.  The team started the year ranked and has dropped a bit but remains high in the mid major rankings.  My son started the season hurt and missed the first 10 games or so but since then has been in and out of the starting line up as a freshman....starting like a third of the time.  I had no expectation of play time this year and the coaches had said he will play his way into or out of the line up and that's been true.  A good game is followed by another start and a hitless game is not.  It's been 100% true to coaches word, he is set to play in the Prospect league next summer and even though he isn't a scholarship player, he is given every chance any player is and is finding his way into the line up more often.  Don't write off a recruited walk on if you find a reputable program and a coach you trust.  This has so far been an excellent experience and he loves playing on a team with post season expectations and even embraces the challenge of playing his way onto the field.  I don't get to see many games but I have figured out how to run the video feed from my lap top on to my TV and that's not a bad alternative.  Hope everyone else is having a great season too. 

calisportsfan,

My son is also a PWO, but as a LHP, and we are finding the same.  There were a couple of freshmen brought in that definitely get the benefit of the doubt, but my son has been given some great opportunities in key situations to compete for innings.  I would say even more so than some of the other scholarship athletes.  Definitely has been the right choice for him so far...   the school he wants to be at, the right academic fit, and getting to play and contribute.

Shout out to Jeff May for his Grand Salami tonight.  He is doing work!

Thanks Buddy.

Coach May..  just saw this, that's fantastic.  I love to hear success stories like this.

Wow! Congrats Jeff! Those are few and far between! I hope Coach May had an opportunity to see the game!

  

Congratulations to you and your son Coach!

Thanks guys. There's a long way to go and very tough competition to face. I'm just hoping the team can finish strong down the stretch. Several posters sons are having very good years. It sure is fun to keep up with them and root for them.

Check out this poll and there are several others essentially like it:

 

http://baseballnews.com/polls/...-div-2-poll-3-25-13/

1. Delta State - Three Baggers Son

2. Lander - Coach May's son

3. Tampa - Backstop17's son

4. Mount Olive - Coach Merc's son

I don't know if Coach Merc has participated in this thread but his son is hitting over .350 with a .600 slugging percentage.  All four of the kids mentioned here are hitting well over .300 for nationally ranked teams.

nice!!!!

Excellent! I hope that they ALL finish strong!

 

WOW! Lander is ranked #2! Way to go Coach Kermit and Coach Chris! Awesome. Those two have put winning programs together wherever they go, VERY GOOD folks!!!

Congrats to dad43! Son43 (son37?) went 6 innnings, including 5.2 no hit, gave up 2 runs on 2 hits for the win as GU beats USF 7-2.

 

Look out for the Hoyas, they are now 18-8 and even their Big East record at 3-3 after taking 2 out 3 from USF.

Son hit a 3 run blast over the left field wall for his first college HR in PHCC's 12-2 win over New River CC on Friday.   

 

Was 1-1 on the day reaching base on 2 BB and a HPB as well.  PHCC swept the series taking both games of a double header yesterday, 16-0, and 18-2.  Way to go Patriots!

FoxDad,

Congratulations to your son on his HR!

 

It was a very frustrating weekend for my son as a player and myself as a fan. While we won both our games Friday due to giving up only one unearned run in 16 innings, my son had an off day with only one hit in seven official trips. The wins of course made that okay. But Saturday we and he came out swinging and he had two line drive doubles by the second inning and the team had a 6-0 lead with 10 hits in two innings. After we retired the other team in the top of the third, the rains came back and we were rained out and all the stats were washed out including his 2 for 2 day thru two innings!  This is the second time in two weeks our ace has lost either a shutout performance or an apparent win due to rain. Also we have now seen three conference games completely rained out and another end in a tie and these will not be made up. Very frustrating!!!!

 

I do want to give a shout out to our third baseman Tyler Aldredge who hit in our first 28 games safely, a new school record. He was stopped Friday in the 7 inning second game of the DH. He came right back Saturday with two hits in the first two innings but they were washed out with everyone elses stats.

Thank you, kind sir!  What he didn't tell me at the time (I found out from looking at the box score online) was PHCC was down 2-1 at the time and his HR blast ignited the rest of the team,

 

At any rate PHCC is playing College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City this weekend.  As it's only a 3.5 hour drive we are heading out in the morning.  It'll be good to see him.  The team is already there - a 6 hour drive from Martinsville.  Plan on taking him out for dinner tomorrow night.

PHCC swept COA (College of the Albemarle) by scores of 4-0, 3-1 and 4-3.  If I have it correctly, son went 3-8 for weekend.  Game 1 - 2 sacrifice bunts, sac fly and an RBI.  Game 2 - single, fly out and a ground out.  Game 3 - single, RBI double and a run scored.  The RBI double was literally 6" from going over as a HR down the LF line .  I truly thought it was gone.  Pending the results of the other conference games, the Patriots may may move up to 3rd place in the Region.  Way to go guys!  Keep it up!

Update:

 

PHCC won over Ferrum College 8-6 Tuesday, followed by a double header win over Central VA Community College 18-8 and 15-0 today. In the Ferrum game son was 3 for 5 with 2 doubles.  Against CVCC he was 2 for 3 with a double, 2 BB and 4 RBI's.  Against CVCC the coach went with the backups, and PHCC found themselves down 8-0.  In the 3rd inning coach put the starters back in and the Patriots rallied to win 18-8.  Son actually played his position (1B) instead of DH'ing for a change.  He's been on a hitting tear - his batting average has steadily risen from .194 to .313 in the last month.

 

The next two weekends will be challenging for PHCC.  They travel to Rockingham CC (currently in 4th place) and then to Catawba CC (2nd place and ranked 4th in the nation).  The last two weekends are home against Wilkes CC and Surry CC (both are conference teams) with two other non-conference opponents sprinkled in - RCC and Louisburg.

My sons team played a mid-week game against Army, at historic Doubleday Field in West Point, NY. As he was coming up to bat in the top of the 7th inning (at exactly 1700 hrs.) the campus went silent, everyone got up, removed their hats, as a lone trumpet played and the flag was quickly lowered from Trophy Point. Pretty cool!

 

 

In a bit of good news I wanted to share, my son was honored this week to be selected as Gulf South Conference player of the week as well as Delta State Athlete of the week after a good stretch of hitting and making some good plays in centerfield.Sunday our opponent kept him busy with 6 putouts in 7 innings almost all of which were well hit line drives.

 

The team keeps rolling although we had to go extra innings yesterday to win against a fired up team. I posted at the start of the season that this team had a chance to have a special season and so far so good, 31-5-1 record.

Congrats for your son Three Bagger!

 

PHCC took 2 out of 3 from Rockingham CC last weekend.  Lost the 1st game 2-1 in extra innings.  Won game 2 5-1 and game 3 8-2.  Son was 2 for 6 on Saturday and 1 for 5 on Sunday.  PHCC is in 3rd and takes on Catawba CC this weekend - 2nd in the Region and ranked 4th in the nation.  Thursday they host Thomas Nelson CC (non-conference).  The season is flying by.  After Catawba, PHCC has 4 opponents left - Rappahannock CC and Louisburg (non-conference), Wilkes CC and Surry CC (conference).  Then it's the Region X tournament.  PHCC is 25-12 overall, 15-6 conference.

Thanks, Fox Dad

This wasn't due to anything Josh did on the baseball field - the Saints have not had a great season - but it's still pretty cool.

http://news.sfcollege.edu/2013/04/16/josh-stewart-named-to-the-santa-fe-college-hall-of-fame/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=josh-stewart-named-to-the-santa-fe-college-hall-of-fame

That is awfully nice to read!  Well done Josh!

2Bmom,

 

That is pretty cool.  Congrats to your son, Josh!

I saw your post/picture last week, but I wasn't logged in....I agree with you, pretty cool!  BTW, I hope your son is doing well and staying healthy?!

Threebagger congrats to your son. You guys have been strong all year long. Good luck the rest of the way.

Thank you Coach May, Congratulations on your son's fine season also. Perhaps our teams will meet in Cary NC. Still a lot of baseball to be played before that though.

Not a good weekend for the PHCC Patriots.  Lost both games Saturday - 7-1 and 7-4.  Son went 0-6 with a HBP.  Today was better, he went 1-4 (double) in a 3-1 win.  At least they didn't get swept. Not too bad against a team ranked 4th in the nation in NJCAA DII.

 

Tuesday's games against RCC (non conference) are cancelled.  Play Louisburg Thursday with the final two weekends against conference opponents (Wilkes and Surry).

 

Looks the best they can do is 3rd in the conference.  Better than last years 6th place finish.

Kind of a bitter sweet weekend as I traveled to Mississsippi for my son's final weekend home games this year (unless we get the Regional home field) and Seniors Day Sunday. We won all three games and my son is a Junior, but his two roommates are both graduating as well as nine other senior teammates and friends. These guys have been to the Baseball Wars together as they have compiled a 84-20-1 record the last two years and one trip to the final game of the DII World Series after fighting out of the losers bracket in both the Conference and Regional rounds last year. We still have some playing to do this year, but for the first time it hit me that these guys won't be there anymore.

 

As they called out each one of those Seniors escorted by their parents, I thought of how proud I am of each of them as they have been my son's comrades, suffered together during the hard losses and gloried in the great and many wins. This whole group for the last few years has been close, supportive through thick and thin while grooming new guys in the winning baseball tradition of their university.  You know you can't ask for much more than that out of a group of young men.

Three Bagger,  tomorrow my son has his senior day, his last, and we can't be there for him. It was fun, exciting and sometimes stressful 17 years of baseball. The years fly by so quickly we shall miss watching him play.