Not off the Press: Regular season is wrapping up; time for the tournament
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
First off, congratulations are in order for the South Central Ohio League softball champion McClain Lady Tigers. They have been nearly unbeatable in league games this year, and they deserve and have earned the right to be league champions this season.
On Saturday they won two games, and mixed with recent losses by CM, it was the year of McClain in the SCOL softball scene.
McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said this on Saturday: "The girls were clutch … I have said it time and time again … we never quit. We just keep battling."
Job well done, Lady Tigers, on a league title that is much deserved.
• Tournament games
Today starts the 2011 baseball and softball tournaments for teams in Highland County.
Monday alone, Highland County has four teams playing postseason games, all being road games. Baseball has Hillsboro at Circleville and McClain at Sheridan for Division II games, and Lynchburg-Clay and Hillsboro softball are also on the road.
Though we've had too many rainouts this season, it is still hard to believe this is the final postseason tournament of the 2010-11 school year. Time went fast this year, and good luck to all the teams in not only the baseball and softball tournaments, but track & field and tennis tournaments as well.
I wouldn't want to play the Hillsboro Indians with their offense as the postseason begins in baseball, plus with league champions in Lynchburg-Clay baseball and McClain softball, they should be dangerous as well. Not to mention with possible league champion in Fairfield softball (they are 10-0 in SHL), while being a state-ranked team, Highland County has the good chance of making a dent in this postseason.
Plus, Highland County has some teams coming into the postseason under the radar, and they, too, with a good day of pitching and hitting, are very much able to get into the district tournament. It comes down to being crisp on defense … I'm saying this right now … Highland County has the teams and talent to make it to the district tournament. I'll be surprised if we don't have teams in the district tournament this spring.
Good luck to all the teams in the postseason.
Here is a quick look at each team's first game of tournament play for baseball and softball:
Baseball
Division II
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 5 Hillsboro (8-7) at No. 4 Circleville (9-8)
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 6 McClain (9-7) at No. 3 Sheridan (10-5)
Division III
Friday, May 13, 5 p.m.
No. 3 Lynchburg-Clay vs. No. 6 Huntington (9-7)/No. 11 North Adams (1-9)
Division IV
Thursday, May 12, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Whiteoak (7-8) vs. No. 5 Manchester (5-9)
Thursday, May 12, 5 p.m.
No. 3 Fairfield (8-5) vs. No. 6 Portsmouth-Clay (4-10)
- - - -
Softball
Division II
Wednesday, May 11, 5 p.m.
No. 3 McClain (11-4) vs. No. 6 Sheridan (9-6)
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 9 Hillsboro (2-12) at No. 8 Miami Trace
(5-10)
Division III
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 10 Lynchburg-Clay at No. 7 Piketon (10-10)
Division IV
Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.
No. 2 Fairfield (12-1) vs. No. 7 New Boston/No. 10 Western
Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.
No. 5 Whiteoak (5-8) at No. 4 Sciotoville (14-3)
• 10 Thoughts on high school sports
1. There are two good ways to describe the Lady Tigers' softball team this season: clutch and champions.
2. The Whiteoak Wildcats are hitting their groove at just the right time headed into postseason play. Plus, they have the nicest field that I've been to this season.
3. When the Fairfield Lady Lions were ranked fourth in the state this past week, that was a honor that was well-deserved.
4. Thanks to all the student-athletes this week that had such good athletic moments and moves that I was able to catch with my camera. Makes the job a little bit easier.
5. There was actually more sunshine last week than rain … I think.
6. Once this season, I was told I bring luck when a player gets on the front sports page of the Highland County Press. I think it is still working, but I'm not messing with the streak by talking about it anymore.
7. On Friday, Gage Carraher had another one-hit loss this season. Gage has to have set some sort of record consisting of throwing one-hitters and not gaining the win. The sophomore can pitch with the best of them in this district.
8. So far, we have two league champions in baseball and softball combined this season. With one more league win, the FHS softball will join that list, and that would be nice to see after half the schedule has been washed out this season.
9. Wish I could have seen more non-league teams this season, but with the rain of April, it just wasn't meant to be in 2011.
10. Thanks to all the coaches and parents who have sent me stats this spring. You have no idea how much I appreciate you putting in your time to send me an email with game information ... THANK YOU!
• Stat of the Week
Kyle Carson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, where he is 23-for-44 in that span. On Saturday, he had one game of 4-for-4 with four RBIs and hit a double in the second game of a doubleheader.
• Quote of the Week
"Our goal since day one was to win the SCOL. These girls deserve all the credit in the world. It would be hard to find a group of tougher individuals on the ball diamond. They accept any challenge given to them, and they don't quit … they don't give up. Now they are champions, and hats off to all of them." — Jarrod Haines, McClain softball head coach after his team won the SCOL title.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We have really turned the corner this week, and this was a good week for us to do that." — Chris Veidt, Whiteoak baseball head coach following his team's fourth game of the week last week.
• (A Third and Final) Quote of the Week
"We've been inside many nights, and this team obviously wants this very, very bad. This is a good team we just played. We've been talking about us being a team, and we have stayed focused very well. The little things gelling are making us come together as a team … more than any other team that I've been associated with." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following a league win on Thursday against Fayetteville.
• Non-high school sports thought
I would have never guessed in 100 years the L.A. Lakers would have been swept in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. This year's playoffs has been so much fun to watch for the fact you can see the guard in the NBA changing with teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and even the Dallas Mavericks making this mark this postseason.
If this is the last year of Phil Jackson on an NBA sideline, well, he brought many fans good and bad memories with his Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers teams.
• One last item of business
Though at times it would have better served us to have boat races instead of baseball and softball games this spring, there is nothing that can relax a person more than watching a great game of high school baseball, which is what I had the opportunity to do last Friday. Friday's game between Peebles and Whiteoak was a finely played baseball game with two pitchers who pitched the type of game I enjoy watching. That was just a fun day to watch a game.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
On Saturday they won two games, and mixed with recent losses by CM, it was the year of McClain in the SCOL softball scene.
McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said this on Saturday: "The girls were clutch … I have said it time and time again … we never quit. We just keep battling."
Job well done, Lady Tigers, on a league title that is much deserved.
• Tournament games
Today starts the 2011 baseball and softball tournaments for teams in Highland County.
Monday alone, Highland County has four teams playing postseason games, all being road games. Baseball has Hillsboro at Circleville and McClain at Sheridan for Division II games, and Lynchburg-Clay and Hillsboro softball are also on the road.
Though we've had too many rainouts this season, it is still hard to believe this is the final postseason tournament of the 2010-11 school year. Time went fast this year, and good luck to all the teams in not only the baseball and softball tournaments, but track & field and tennis tournaments as well.
I wouldn't want to play the Hillsboro Indians with their offense as the postseason begins in baseball, plus with league champions in Lynchburg-Clay baseball and McClain softball, they should be dangerous as well. Not to mention with possible league champion in Fairfield softball (they are 10-0 in SHL), while being a state-ranked team, Highland County has the good chance of making a dent in this postseason.
Plus, Highland County has some teams coming into the postseason under the radar, and they, too, with a good day of pitching and hitting, are very much able to get into the district tournament. It comes down to being crisp on defense … I'm saying this right now … Highland County has the teams and talent to make it to the district tournament. I'll be surprised if we don't have teams in the district tournament this spring.
Good luck to all the teams in the postseason.
Here is a quick look at each team's first game of tournament play for baseball and softball:
Baseball
Division II
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 5 Hillsboro (8-7) at No. 4 Circleville (9-8)
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 6 McClain (9-7) at No. 3 Sheridan (10-5)
Division III
Friday, May 13, 5 p.m.
No. 3 Lynchburg-Clay vs. No. 6 Huntington (9-7)/No. 11 North Adams (1-9)
Division IV
Thursday, May 12, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Whiteoak (7-8) vs. No. 5 Manchester (5-9)
Thursday, May 12, 5 p.m.
No. 3 Fairfield (8-5) vs. No. 6 Portsmouth-Clay (4-10)
- - - -
Softball
Division II
Wednesday, May 11, 5 p.m.
No. 3 McClain (11-4) vs. No. 6 Sheridan (9-6)
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 9 Hillsboro (2-12) at No. 8 Miami Trace
(5-10)
Division III
Monday, May 9, 5 p.m.
No. 10 Lynchburg-Clay at No. 7 Piketon (10-10)
Division IV
Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.
No. 2 Fairfield (12-1) vs. No. 7 New Boston/No. 10 Western
Saturday, May 14, 1 p.m.
No. 5 Whiteoak (5-8) at No. 4 Sciotoville (14-3)
• 10 Thoughts on high school sports
1. There are two good ways to describe the Lady Tigers' softball team this season: clutch and champions.
2. The Whiteoak Wildcats are hitting their groove at just the right time headed into postseason play. Plus, they have the nicest field that I've been to this season.
3. When the Fairfield Lady Lions were ranked fourth in the state this past week, that was a honor that was well-deserved.
4. Thanks to all the student-athletes this week that had such good athletic moments and moves that I was able to catch with my camera. Makes the job a little bit easier.
5. There was actually more sunshine last week than rain … I think.
6. Once this season, I was told I bring luck when a player gets on the front sports page of the Highland County Press. I think it is still working, but I'm not messing with the streak by talking about it anymore.
7. On Friday, Gage Carraher had another one-hit loss this season. Gage has to have set some sort of record consisting of throwing one-hitters and not gaining the win. The sophomore can pitch with the best of them in this district.
8. So far, we have two league champions in baseball and softball combined this season. With one more league win, the FHS softball will join that list, and that would be nice to see after half the schedule has been washed out this season.
9. Wish I could have seen more non-league teams this season, but with the rain of April, it just wasn't meant to be in 2011.
10. Thanks to all the coaches and parents who have sent me stats this spring. You have no idea how much I appreciate you putting in your time to send me an email with game information ... THANK YOU!
• Stat of the Week
Kyle Carson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, where he is 23-for-44 in that span. On Saturday, he had one game of 4-for-4 with four RBIs and hit a double in the second game of a doubleheader.
• Quote of the Week
"Our goal since day one was to win the SCOL. These girls deserve all the credit in the world. It would be hard to find a group of tougher individuals on the ball diamond. They accept any challenge given to them, and they don't quit … they don't give up. Now they are champions, and hats off to all of them." — Jarrod Haines, McClain softball head coach after his team won the SCOL title.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We have really turned the corner this week, and this was a good week for us to do that." — Chris Veidt, Whiteoak baseball head coach following his team's fourth game of the week last week.
• (A Third and Final) Quote of the Week
"We've been inside many nights, and this team obviously wants this very, very bad. This is a good team we just played. We've been talking about us being a team, and we have stayed focused very well. The little things gelling are making us come together as a team … more than any other team that I've been associated with." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following a league win on Thursday against Fayetteville.
• Non-high school sports thought
I would have never guessed in 100 years the L.A. Lakers would have been swept in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. This year's playoffs has been so much fun to watch for the fact you can see the guard in the NBA changing with teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and even the Dallas Mavericks making this mark this postseason.
If this is the last year of Phil Jackson on an NBA sideline, well, he brought many fans good and bad memories with his Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers teams.
• One last item of business
Though at times it would have better served us to have boat races instead of baseball and softball games this spring, there is nothing that can relax a person more than watching a great game of high school baseball, which is what I had the opportunity to do last Friday. Friday's game between Peebles and Whiteoak was a finely played baseball game with two pitchers who pitched the type of game I enjoy watching. That was just a fun day to watch a game.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]