Southeastern District Games: April 23-28 (Week 6)

This is the week that I think things might start taking shape in the middle of the pack.

The Hickory v NR at Harbor Park is a huge game. Both will be going with their best. Winner stays right in the hunt but the loser will need help.

Winner of the GF v IR game probably comes close to cementing a playoff spot. Both will be hard to unseat anyway.

OS needs to win both games this week to keep their hopes alive. Lakeland's tough schedule might be the knock out for them.

GB hits the softer part of its schedule with 3 of the bottom 4 in thier next three games. They have to win out and get help so this is a spot for them to begin a run.

Looking at the future schedule it would that WB has a very difficult 8 day stretch ? During that stretch they play GB, NR, IR and then Hickory... If they survive that test they should be considered the region favorite going into the playoffs !

quote:

Originally posted by driller:
Looking at the future schedule it would that WB has a very difficult 8 day stretch ? During that stretch they play GB, NR, IR and then Hickory... If they survive that test they should be considered the region favorite going into the playoffs !

If they (WB) survive that, I think they would undoubtedly be the favorite going into the playoffs. I tend to believe that they will drop a couple games though. Its hard to imagine that they sweep both GB and NR. In addition to IR and Hickory, which you mention, I wouldn't exactly sleep on Grassfield either.

I heard the Grassfield coach was suspended. Anyone know for how long? Also the GB vs. Lakeland game was canc for tonight. I do not know the reschedule date/time yet.

The SED tournament qualifiers are probably set - WB, Hickory, NR, GB, IR and Grassfield. Lakeland has Great Bridge and Nansemond River this week. If they lose both games, they will have ten losses. Don't see them making the tournament with ten losses.

Driller, WB's upcoming schedule is not very difficult, it is a gantlet. Hard to imagine they will emerge unscathed. Bigger questions are how many losses will they sustain, and who will take advantage of it.

Per high school sports net, Great Bridge - Lakeland game postponed to Thursday, April 26.

Nansemond River 5, Hickory 1 (10 innings)

Tied 1-1 after seven. Leave the rest to GoDawgs!
Both starting pitchers (Blake and Rice) threw well.

Nansemond River 5 Hickory 1 - 10 innings

Nansemond River 5 Hickory 1 in 10 innings. More later

Western Branch 11, Kings Fork 0

Indian River 5, Grassfield 1.

Deep Creek 8 Oscar Smith 6

Nansemond River 5R 6H 3E 6LOB
Hickory 1R 7H 1E 7LOB

A pitcher's duel at Harbor Park. Zach Rice and Ryan Blake matched up for almost 7 innings. The starters combined for 25 strike outs in a 10 inning game. Blake impressively went 9-1/3 innings before finally running out of gas (I think). Blake was perfect through 4 innings until Zach Vann hit a double off the right center field wall. After a four pitch walk and sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, Matt Boone (courtesy running for Vann) scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. Hickory struck back in the bottom of the 6th when Matt Campbell led off with a double and moved to third when the out fielder fumbled the ball before throwing it back in. Ryan Blake hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Campbell 1-1 after 6 innings. In the 10th, Blake struck out the lead off hitter but then issued a 4 pitch walk to Trevor Riggs. Riggs stole second and scored, what would be the decisive run, on a throwing error to first on a ground ball by TY Brown. Blake was then relieved and the next batter, Travis Johnson, hit a single that scored Brown. Brandon Lowe then hit a mammoth HR to right center field to close out the scoring for the game at 5-1. TY Brown retired the side in order in the bottom of the 10th for the win. Great game, hated to see anybody lose a hard fought contest like this one.

Pitching:
NR
Zach Rice 6.2IP 1R 4H 2BB 11K
TY Brown (W) 3.1IP 0R 3H 0BB 2K
Hickory
Ryan Blake (L) 9.1IP 3R (2ER) 4H 3BB (1 IBB) 14K
Matt Campbell .2IP 2R 2H 0BB 2K

Hitting:
NR
Travis Johnson 2-5, RBI, run scored
Brandon Lowe 1-5, HR, 2RBI, run scored
Hickory
Ryan Blake 2-3, 2B, RBI

correction
deep creek 9 oscar smith 7

Great High School baseball game played @ Harbor Park yesterday between two talented and well coached teams. Starting pitchers on both sides (Rice for NR, Blake for Hickory) were impressive and dominated the hitters most all of the game. I hope Hickory starter doesn't have any lingering effects from throwing 130+ pitches. That kid was an absolute BULL DAWG yesterday ! Reliever for NR did a great job and is very athletic on the mound. His play on the sac bunt and pick-off of the runner at second base in the extra innings was impressive. Other than the hitters not making much contact in two strike counts it was a very enjoyable ball game that I'm glad I witnessed.

I had 139. If you figure about 6 warm up pitches before each inning and about 20 warm up pitches before the game, my guess is he threw around 220 yesterday.

I was surprised how good he still looked when he was pulled. In my humble opinion, that is way too many pitches for high school. If I were his attorney, I would have objected!

quote:

Originally posted by driller:
Great High School baseball game played @ Harbor Park yesterday between two talented and well coached teams. Starting pitchers on both sides (Rice for NR, Blake for Hickory) were impressive and dominated the hitters most all of the game. I hope Hickory starter doesn't have any lingering effects from throwing 130+ pitches. That kid was an absolute BULL DAWG yesterday ! Reliever for NR did a great job and is very athletic on the mound. His play on the sac bunt and pick-off of the runner at second base in the extra innings was impressive. Other than the hitters not making much contact in two strike counts it was a very enjoyable ball game that I'm glad I witnessed.

The reliever was TY Brown, which is NRs No. 1. The lack of offensive production yesterday was a direct result of one of the best pitching displays I have seen in a while. That goes for both sides. Blake was fantastic against a very strong lineup. He mixed in a very nice breaking ball and a mid-80s fastball that seemed to have some movement. The two for NR were flat nasty. Both sat in the mid-upper 80s, with a few 90s on the radar, to go along with solid off speed stuff as well. The game definitely had a playoff feel to it!

quote:

Originally posted by QuadAAAA:
I heard the Grassfield coach was suspended. Anyone know for how long?

I hear it's indefinite and that he is probably done coaching at Grassfield. Seems the Coach had a meltdown on the bus after last Wednesday's loss at Nansemond River. Coach forgot about those pesky cameras on the buses. Tape was turned over to the Principal the next morning.

great bridge at lakeland ppd due 2 weather make up not sure

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs:

quote:

Originally posted by QuadAAAA:
I heard the Grassfield coach was suspended. Anyone know for how long?

I hear it's indefinite and that he is probably done coaching at Grassfield. Seems the Coach had a meltdown on the bus after last Wednesday's loss at Nansemond River. Coach forgot about those pesky cameras on the buses. Tape was turned over to the Principal the next morning.

Go Dawgs, where did you get that info?

If you remember the PA kid threw over 150 in the state Champ Game years ago, but I believe he is pitching for the Diamonbacks, I am sure you would be his agent sportsattorney

quote:

Originally posted by thesportsattorney:
I was surprised how good he still looked when he was pulled. In my humble opinion, that is way too many pitches for high school. If I were his attorney, I would have objected!

But did he throw that number of pitches routinely during regular season games? A state champsionship game is a little different that a regular season game. And then there are stories on the other side. I recall reading about a local pitcher who regularly was throwing 145+ pitches during the regular season a couple years ago. By the time his team reached the Eastern Regionals, it was obvious that his arm was very tired. Within a couple years of that, the young man had to have arm surgery.

quote:

Originally posted by GF:

Go Dawgs, where did you get that info?

GF - There are not many secrets in the electronic age. I'm not surprised at the meltdown on the bus. It began in the 2nd inning of the game when a base runner at second base was thrown out on a ground ball in the hole between short and third that was fielded and flipped to third in time to tag the runner. At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player and it continued after he stalked back and forth in the dugout before the beginning of the bottom half of the inning. Mix in the stranding of runners in a bases loaded 5th inning with a 2 run lead, a ground out to right field in the 6th, and a bases loaded strike out again in the 7th that ended the game the frustration probably reached the boiling point.

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs: . . . At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player . . .

I have been to more than one SED game where coaches' words were clearly audible by fans and clearly violative of the VHSL rules and in many instances violative of city ordinances. Where are the school administrators who are supposed to be at the games, or more importantly why aren't they doing something about it? It is sad when a player has to listen to a coach use the F word almost 50 times in a post-game huddle. Maybe it is indicative of the coach's lack of a vocabulary.

quote:

Originally posted by WB Reporter:

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs: . . . At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player . . .

I have been to more than one SED game where coaches' words were clearly audible by fans and clearly violative of the VHSL rules and in many instances violative of city ordinances. Where are the school administrators who are supposed to be at the games, or more importantly why aren't they doing something about it? It is sad when a player has to listen to a coach use the F word almost 50 times in a post-game huddle. Maybe it is indicative of the coach's lack of a vocabulary.

toucher

great bridge @ lakeland is to be made up on may 7

quote:

Originally posted by baller10:
great bridge @ lakeland is to be made up on may 7

Wow... 5 games in 8 days.

quote:

Originally posted by WB Reporter:

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs: . . . At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player . . .

I have been to more than one SED game where coaches' words were clearly audible by fans and clearly violative of the VHSL rules and in many instances violative of city ordinances. Where are the school administrators who are supposed to be at the games, or more importantly why aren't they doing something about it? It is sad when a player has to listen to a coach use the F word almost 50 times in a post-game huddle. Maybe it is indicative of the coach's lack of a vocabulary.

I have said on other strings that coaches are going to need to stop this kind of stuff because of all the camera's out there.

It might take someone who teaches to lose that job too before it changes altogether.

Hickory 4, Indian River 0
Western Branch 7, Grassfield 0

Great Bridge 8, Deep Creek 0

Nansemond River 6 Lakeland 0 bot 2

Oscar Smith 6 king's Fork 2

GB 8R, 11 Hits, 1 E
DC 0R, 4 Hits, 2 E

Pitching Lines
DC
#18 CG 7 innings, 11 hits, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 2 K

GB
Con. Jones 4 ip, 1 hit, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 4 K
T.Jones 1 ip, 1 hit, 2 K
B.Beard 2 ip, 2 hits, 1 BB, 4 K

DC Hitting:
#27 1-3
#12 1-2, BB
#8 2-3

GB Hitting:
D.Smith 1-4 Leadoff HR
B.Beard 3-3, 2b, HBP
K.Mattews 2-4
S.Dudley 1-4, 2R HR

DC just couldn't get anything going against GB pitching tonight. GB got started early with D.Smith's leadoff HR and they kept adding a few runs every few innings after that. It was GB 2-0 after 3, 4-0 after 4, 6-0 after 5 and 8-0 after 7.

Fairly clean game including some nice defensive plays by the DC shortstop.

Nansemond River 10 Lakeland 0 in 5 innings

Backing the coaches corner, when you put all that time into a group of kids you expect more out of them. I'm not condoning the actions of that moment on the bus, but society and some parents have molded there kids to think that they are never wrong and that that game owes them soemthing. Everyone is quick to jump the coaches back, but kids need to see the harsh reality of life. Players going to big-time D1 schools aren't going to get a pat on the back for not doing their job on and off the field. A coach that just retired last year, used to let words fly from the coaches box and no one had a problem with it. Bottom line is that kids are babied to much. Again I'm not agreeing with what happened but sometimes kids need to hear the honest truth.

quote:

Originally posted by mathews41:

quote:

Originally posted by WB Reporter:

quote:

Originally posted by Go Dawgs: . . . At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player . . .

I have been to more than one SED game where coaches' words were clearly audible by fans and clearly violative of the VHSL rules and in many instances violative of city ordinances. Where are the school administrators who are supposed to be at the games, or more importantly why aren't they doing something about it? It is sad when a player has to listen to a coach use the F word almost 50 times in a post-game huddle. Maybe it is indicative of the coach's lack of a vocabulary.

toucher

quote:

Originally posted by nrbb07:
Backing the coaches corner, when you put all that time into a group of kids you expect more out of them. I'm not condoning the actions of that moment on the bus, but society and some parents have molded there kids to think that they are never wrong and that that game owes them soemthing. Everyone is quick to jump the coaches back, but kids need to see the harsh reality of life. Players going to big-time D1 schools aren't going to get a pat on the back for not doing their job on and off the field. A coach that just retired last year, used to let words fly from the coaches box and no one had a problem with it. Bottom line is that kids are babied to much. Again I'm not agreeing with what happened but sometimes kids need to hear the honest truth.

quote:

Originally posted by mathews41:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by WB Reporter:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Go Dawgs: . . . At the end of the half inning the coaches words were clearly audible to those of us on the other side of the field while he was nose to nose with the player . . .

I have been to more than one SED game where coaches' words were clearly audible by fans and clearly violative of the VHSL rules and in many instances violative of city ordinances. Where are the school administrators who are supposed to be at the games, or more importantly why aren't they doing something about it? It is sad when a player has to listen to a coach use the F word almost 50 times in a post-game huddle. Maybe it is indicative of the coach's lack of a vocabulary.

To a certain extent I tend to agree with nrbb. Kids today are certainly too babied and everyone gets a trophy and told its ok to not pay attention or make a real effort, especially starting at the younger age groups. The kids tend to grow up and play with this sense of entitlement from that point forward, I have seen it at every level of coaching. BUT, the Coach is the adult, he is empowered with certain abilities and emotions that a 15 or 16 yo has yet to master and should be held to a higher standard. It is COMPLETELY counter-productive to spend the entire game or practice or post game huddle ranting and raving or singling out a kid. Games are for playing, not coaching by yelling across the field to rub in an error or mental shortcoming by a player. I am certainly not suggesting we baby the HS player, just don't beat them down to the point where their confidence and love for the game is taken away from them. Truth is it starts at an early age, and usually due to the "helicopter" parents.

nrbb07, could not disagree more. Did not like the retired coach's vocabulary, and do not condone the current coach's actions. They have no place in high school sports.

Verrrrry interesting. Our retired coach pulled off some beauties.

I saw about 1/2 the games in the last five seasons two of my favorites were:

A fouled off sac bunt. "TIME!" 45 foot walk (stomp might actually describe it better) toward home plate where the batter meets him half way. A clean snatch of the bat and a quick refresher on how to square up and hold the bat on a bunt. That sophomore clearly wasn't paying attention in practice and needed to be coached up during the game. 15 year old embarrased about it.... tough crud.

In another episode a sophomore runner (not the same player as episode 1) went back into first on a pick off standing up. "TIME!" A double time across the infield for a quick face to face with the bill of cap against the bridge of players nose about "get f'ing dirty or do you have a problem?" A snappy "No sir" from the player and meeting adjourned. This lazy youngster clearly has an attitude problem and needs coach's firm guidance.

I have no doubt that these wussies will carry the life lessons taught in these moments into their adulthood and be better men for it. I don't know how exactly but I AM sure of it.

To be serious for a moment. Think about this...what would have happened if one of these players told him to "get out of my face let me play the game". Benched, suspension, booted off team? I somehow doubt an "atta boy now you're toughing up that's what I've been talking about" would be the result.

For HS coaches to embarass players publicly or cuss at them without recourse is an unacceptable state IMHO. Not sure who said it but "winning is a great deoderant" and all the while John Wooden spins in his grave.