April 7, 2008                        Check Out previous Blogs

PItching dominates this week.... why? ....coaching carousel continues to go around....some great games of the week...

After the long storm that wiped out or postponed many games during the last 10 days, a bright sun was greeted with joy by MO coaches.  When action resumed, pitchers dominated many games across the state. For example,

Hallsville's Austin Church struck out 13 batters as his Indian team handed the Fatima Comets their first defeat 3-0.

Kevin Burks (KU recruit) of Warrensburg outdueled Jordan Adrian (Rock Bridge) as he shut out the Bruins 4-0 on just two hits. Adrian, the heart-break loser, had permitted just one earned run during his 6 inning stint.

DeSmet's Coach, Greg Vitello, went to team concept on the mound. Coach Vitello used four different pitchers that scattered five hits on route to a 7-0 whitewashing of Belleville East.

Trey Sehibi of Pilot Grove tossed a complete game, 5 hitter while hanging up 11 k's as his team upended Higbee 3-1.

Other low scoring affaors from this week: Lee Summit 2  Truman 1 ; Oak Grove 3 Sedalia-Smith Cotton 0; Edwardsville 4  Vianney 0; O'Fallon (Ill) 3 Chaminade 1;  O'Hara 4  St Pius X  0.

Why ?  I'm thinking that the long layoff sent many batters to the cage without seeing LIVE pitching. Now, swinging in a cage can be very useful however after several weeks, the principle of diminishing "returns" applies here. The LIVE pitcher throws different pitches, different places, different speeds, different release points. I recall in recent years at baseball tryouts, batters would always "take" the first pitch. I wondered why until it dawned on me...where's the next pitch going to be, how fast is it, how does it look. You don't have that opportunity as a batter in a game. Take a strike and you are behind in the count.

Some baseball unique excitement...

A catcher took the mound recently. Usually, this is like a member of the congregation preaching to the minister. It usually doesn't work. Not so this time as Stuart Pudenz of Blue Springs South hurled 5 2/3 innings, struck out 10 as the Jaguars beat Oak Park 4-2. Pudenz pick up the win for the Jaguars despite these unlikely settings. Oak Park, coming off a game that they scored 19 runs and South dropping a game to their rival, Blue Springs, the previous day. Most catchers do have strong arms but the throwing motion is so totally different that this adjustment is seldom seen.

Stealing home !  Clearly one of the most exciting, dangerous (on the high school level) plays in baseball can ignite a team's momentum. Parker Jones of Ft Osage (7-2) stole home in the 2nd inning. As sometimes happens, it was a missed sign that sent Jones to the plate for the stolen base! Parker's steal helped the Indians knock off the Belton Pirates 6-2. Johnny Johnson tossed a 4-hitter and struck out 10 for the Indians to record the win.

More Baseball..

Cape-ND escaped with a 6-3 win over Dexter despite walking 10 Bearcat batters ! In fact, Dexter loaded the bases on walks in the final inning before Cape-ND could slam the door with 3 strikeouts for the win !

Tailing 2-0 as the 7th began, Bowling Green rallied for 6 runs to whip the N.Calloway Thunderbirds. It was a HUGE day for the Bobcats Luke Hubert who pitched the complete game win and knocked the game winning run with a 2-RBI hit.

Best STAT of the week...

Brian Doyle (Oakville) has 5 saves already this year ! His Oakville Tigers are 8-0 in the early going of the season.

This time of year is the time when teachers and coaches have their contracts renewed (or not renewed). Some well-known coaches will be "moving on" as recent notifications become public. Mark Spigarelli has accepted the girls basketball position at Blue Springs. Coach Spigarelli owns 12 district and 4 state championships as the coach of Pembroke Hill Girls teams. His overall record is 343-84! Obviously there were many applicants but BSprings felt like that got "their man". Unlike many positions, the BS job has much talent returning. Departing coach Tony Armstrong compiled a 25-3 record last year, 24-0 in conference and 70-37 during his tenure at BSprings. Coach Armstrong stepped aside to have the time to watch his own son compete at the collegiate level.

Coach Jerry Buescher, the 4th winningest coach in MO basketball history with over 800 wins, resigned from Helias recently. Coach Buscher, who worked at Helias 8 years, has been in the coaching ranks for over 40 years. Figure it out...40 years x 20 win/year = 800. Man, that's some winning! While at Helias, he was 159-55. It wasn't like he was losing? Coach Buescher felt that he had strong teams but that the multiplier for private schools, which forced Helias to compete against larger schools in districts, was an obstacle that was tough to overcome. One never knows the situation regarding these announced "resignations" by the schools unless you are directly involved. Generally, there is more to the story than the winning and losing. I can't speculate on this one, because I don't have any facts,  but it seems to speak volumes to me about why YOUNGER coaches aren't as inclined to remain in coaching when they see these veteran legends "resigning" so mysteriously.

Prepcasts is loaded with some great baseball games this week. Tune us in LIVE or LATER. You'll get it nowhere else-- www.prepcasts.com

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