Not off the Press: Honoring Jackie, another great pitchers' duel and battles for league titles
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Before I get started on writing about the local scene of high school sports, first I want to talk about yesterday in Major League Baseball and what Jackie Robinson means to me.
If you didn't know, Sunday was the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game in the Majors … every year, that day is celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day.
First off, there is nothing I can ever compare in my life that could even come close to what Jackie Robinson went through. From what I've read, heard and watched about him … he wasn't just a great baseball player but an even greater humanitarian.
When people always ask the questions "what three people would you want to have in a golf foursome?" or "who are the three people you'd want to have dinner with?" … one of the people I'd like to have in those groups is Jackie Robinson.
Not only was what he did for baseball amazing, but what he did for everyone away from baseball … he helped make the world a better place.
• Game of the Year Candidate
Last Thursday was another "Game of the Year" candidate, and I think it tops the list thus far, and again … it took place at the Whiteoak High School baseball field.
If you read my print column this past weekend, I talked about how much I loved pitchers' duels, and that is what I saw on Thursday with Gage Carraher of WHS and Derek Peters of Fayetteville for a majority of the game, but especially the first three innings for each pitcher.
Combined in those innings, Peters and Carraher totaled 12 strikeouts, and the ball left the infield just once on a fly out to centerfield.
Each pitcher did have their innings where they gave up runs, and basically the game was decided on an inside-the-park home run by Whiteoak's Doc Seip, eventually sending the Wildcats to a 5-4 win. This game was full of my favorite thing in baseball … great pitching.
Peters faced the minimum through four innings, and Carraher faced one over the limit after three innings. Carraher finished with 16 strikeouts, and the game even had some great storylines.
The main one was the Rockets and Wildcats are currently in a neck-and-neck battle for the SHL Division II title, as both teams as of the start of this week are 6-1 in league games, and they still will play each other again in league play later this season.
WHS head coach Chris Veidt told a couple fun stories following the game, starting out by just chatting about how great of a game it was. He told of a story about a mound visit with Carraher and the rest of the infield during the fourth inning, and following that visit … WHS allowed just one more run in the seventh inning, following their already taking a two-run lead in the fifth and sixth innings.
It was just a great overall game, and if the rematch sets up to be even more important later in the season, I may just have to make a trip to Fayetteville to watch that contest.
• League standing shuffling
League games in both the South Central Ohio League and the Southern Hills League are important in each sport, but the baseball standings are extremely close as the second half of the league games begin.
I wanted to start with the SCOL baseball standings, and just exactly how close it is between the top three teams with London leading the way at 5-1, followed by McClain and Hillsboro at 4-2 each.
This league shuffling has been interesting to keep track of as HHS had the early lead at 4-0 but have lost their past two league games to London and Madison-Plains. The Red Raiders' lone loss in the league was to McClain, and McClain, who lost their first two league games, have rallied for four consecutive SCOL wins.
For the SHL, right now the driver's seat is occupied by the Fayetteville Rockets and Whiteoak Wildcats with one loss each in the league, as Fayetteville lost to WHS and WHS lost to Ripley. As aforementioned, each team is 6-1 in the league.
Fairfield is right there as well, trailing by two games, and the Lions face both Fayetteville and Whiteoak this week.
This week's game will continue to shuffle the SCOL and SHL standings in baseball, which makes this time of the season fun to watch.
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• Random high school sports thoughts
- I'm a fan of the OHSAA adding a seventh football division. This was in the press release: "The plan will place the top 10 percent of schools based on enrollment in Division I, with the remaining 644 schools divided evenly among the next six divisions. This will leave 72 schools in Division I with the other six divisions averaging approximately 108 schools."
- I can't recall any Highland County softball teams hitting home runs at the pace of McClain and Fairfield. Shania Massie (MHS) has six total, and Courtney Huff (FHS) has at least four home runs, including two in one game Saturday against Miami Trace. Did I mention Huff is a lead-off hitter and Massie bats second for the Lady Tigers?
- I'm surprised with how much all the pitching is holding up with the number of games there has been this season. Usually this time of year, there are more rainouts than actual games.
- I took photos of track & field on Friday at Washington Court House with McClain and Hillsboro visiting. I got to watch something called a steeple race, as the big moment of the race is when runners have to leap over a small pool of water. Makes for good photos, and it was fun to see how each runner tried not to splash in the pool.
- Got an email late last week from Clarksville saying Clinton-Massie basketball player Sydney Brackemyre is being recruited (and getting offers) by Division I schools, as this past season was her sophomore season. Well-deserved.
• Quote of the Week
"I'm so proud of Gage's maturity shown in this game. At one point in the fourth inning, we were down 3-0, I went to the mound and I just straight told Gage his stuff was better than our opponent. I really meant that when I told him." — Chris Veidt, Whiteoak baseball head coach following the 5-4 win over Fayetteville.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"After a three-game losing streak, we needed a win. We played well (Monday), so actually we started playing well then. The way we played Monday carried over to (Tuesday). The biggest difference was we came out strong, and we talked about that before the game." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following an 11-4 win over Fayetteville.
• Stat of the Week
Before their game on Saturday, the Fairfield Lions' baseball team had 51 stolen bases in 53 attempts. Speaking of FHS, in their first 14 games of the year, they scored 152 runs or 10.9 per game.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
Through Saturday's games, (14 games) McClain freshman Shania Massie has six home runs in her debut varsity season.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
Whiteoak junior Gage Carraher has a total of 44 strikeouts in three starts and two relief appearances this season. In his three starts in '12, his strikeout totals are 10, 13 and 16.
• (A fourth) Stat of the Week
Combined league losses of McClain and Fairfield softball in '12 … zero.
• One last item of business
Hard to believe the first half of the spring season is complete, but if the second half is near as good as the first half, then there is a great possibility of teams from Highland County being crowned league champions in baseball and softball.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
If you didn't know, Sunday was the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game in the Majors … every year, that day is celebrated as Jackie Robinson Day.
First off, there is nothing I can ever compare in my life that could even come close to what Jackie Robinson went through. From what I've read, heard and watched about him … he wasn't just a great baseball player but an even greater humanitarian.
When people always ask the questions "what three people would you want to have in a golf foursome?" or "who are the three people you'd want to have dinner with?" … one of the people I'd like to have in those groups is Jackie Robinson.
Not only was what he did for baseball amazing, but what he did for everyone away from baseball … he helped make the world a better place.
• Game of the Year Candidate
Last Thursday was another "Game of the Year" candidate, and I think it tops the list thus far, and again … it took place at the Whiteoak High School baseball field.
If you read my print column this past weekend, I talked about how much I loved pitchers' duels, and that is what I saw on Thursday with Gage Carraher of WHS and Derek Peters of Fayetteville for a majority of the game, but especially the first three innings for each pitcher.
Combined in those innings, Peters and Carraher totaled 12 strikeouts, and the ball left the infield just once on a fly out to centerfield.
Each pitcher did have their innings where they gave up runs, and basically the game was decided on an inside-the-park home run by Whiteoak's Doc Seip, eventually sending the Wildcats to a 5-4 win. This game was full of my favorite thing in baseball … great pitching.
Peters faced the minimum through four innings, and Carraher faced one over the limit after three innings. Carraher finished with 16 strikeouts, and the game even had some great storylines.
The main one was the Rockets and Wildcats are currently in a neck-and-neck battle for the SHL Division II title, as both teams as of the start of this week are 6-1 in league games, and they still will play each other again in league play later this season.
WHS head coach Chris Veidt told a couple fun stories following the game, starting out by just chatting about how great of a game it was. He told of a story about a mound visit with Carraher and the rest of the infield during the fourth inning, and following that visit … WHS allowed just one more run in the seventh inning, following their already taking a two-run lead in the fifth and sixth innings.
It was just a great overall game, and if the rematch sets up to be even more important later in the season, I may just have to make a trip to Fayetteville to watch that contest.
• League standing shuffling
League games in both the South Central Ohio League and the Southern Hills League are important in each sport, but the baseball standings are extremely close as the second half of the league games begin.
I wanted to start with the SCOL baseball standings, and just exactly how close it is between the top three teams with London leading the way at 5-1, followed by McClain and Hillsboro at 4-2 each.
This league shuffling has been interesting to keep track of as HHS had the early lead at 4-0 but have lost their past two league games to London and Madison-Plains. The Red Raiders' lone loss in the league was to McClain, and McClain, who lost their first two league games, have rallied for four consecutive SCOL wins.
For the SHL, right now the driver's seat is occupied by the Fayetteville Rockets and Whiteoak Wildcats with one loss each in the league, as Fayetteville lost to WHS and WHS lost to Ripley. As aforementioned, each team is 6-1 in the league.
Fairfield is right there as well, trailing by two games, and the Lions face both Fayetteville and Whiteoak this week.
This week's game will continue to shuffle the SCOL and SHL standings in baseball, which makes this time of the season fun to watch.
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• Random high school sports thoughts
- I'm a fan of the OHSAA adding a seventh football division. This was in the press release: "The plan will place the top 10 percent of schools based on enrollment in Division I, with the remaining 644 schools divided evenly among the next six divisions. This will leave 72 schools in Division I with the other six divisions averaging approximately 108 schools."
- I can't recall any Highland County softball teams hitting home runs at the pace of McClain and Fairfield. Shania Massie (MHS) has six total, and Courtney Huff (FHS) has at least four home runs, including two in one game Saturday against Miami Trace. Did I mention Huff is a lead-off hitter and Massie bats second for the Lady Tigers?
- I'm surprised with how much all the pitching is holding up with the number of games there has been this season. Usually this time of year, there are more rainouts than actual games.
- I took photos of track & field on Friday at Washington Court House with McClain and Hillsboro visiting. I got to watch something called a steeple race, as the big moment of the race is when runners have to leap over a small pool of water. Makes for good photos, and it was fun to see how each runner tried not to splash in the pool.
- Got an email late last week from Clarksville saying Clinton-Massie basketball player Sydney Brackemyre is being recruited (and getting offers) by Division I schools, as this past season was her sophomore season. Well-deserved.
• Quote of the Week
"I'm so proud of Gage's maturity shown in this game. At one point in the fourth inning, we were down 3-0, I went to the mound and I just straight told Gage his stuff was better than our opponent. I really meant that when I told him." — Chris Veidt, Whiteoak baseball head coach following the 5-4 win over Fayetteville.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"After a three-game losing streak, we needed a win. We played well (Monday), so actually we started playing well then. The way we played Monday carried over to (Tuesday). The biggest difference was we came out strong, and we talked about that before the game." — Matthew Zimmerman, Fairfield softball head coach following an 11-4 win over Fayetteville.
• Stat of the Week
Before their game on Saturday, the Fairfield Lions' baseball team had 51 stolen bases in 53 attempts. Speaking of FHS, in their first 14 games of the year, they scored 152 runs or 10.9 per game.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
Through Saturday's games, (14 games) McClain freshman Shania Massie has six home runs in her debut varsity season.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
Whiteoak junior Gage Carraher has a total of 44 strikeouts in three starts and two relief appearances this season. In his three starts in '12, his strikeout totals are 10, 13 and 16.
• (A fourth) Stat of the Week
Combined league losses of McClain and Fairfield softball in '12 … zero.
• One last item of business
Hard to believe the first half of the spring season is complete, but if the second half is near as good as the first half, then there is a great possibility of teams from Highland County being crowned league champions in baseball and softball.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.